With all of my experimenting, I saw very little change. After a rough patch during my senior year when I had little time for anything, including my hair, I decided that I was ready for a change.  I wanted to go natural. This of course came after doing a ton a research and watching the videos of the women who were doing their thing with natural hair on Youtube. With all of this positive inspiration I was ready! I got my last relaxer on May 7th, 2010. I planned on doing a long transition (I had no desire to rock a twa), and at the first sight of any difficulty I would  be ready to turn back to my relaxer. During my graduation and other end of the semester senior events I kept my hair in buns. As my roots grew out during the summer I wore high buns with ribbons to mask the difference in textures.

                                                                                     length before transition 

From the beginning of September through the end of December I turned to small box braids with extensions as my main transitioning style. I had them done twice for two months spans with a day and a half break in between. By the end of my second time I could feel the hair weighing down on my edges and I knew it was time for a change before I lost any hair. When I took out my braids I experimented with bantu knot outs for about a week- they created a soft, curly fro look above my thick roots. For what became the final month of my transition I had braided cornrows with extensions that were pulled back into a bun. Throughout my transition I watched more and more videos and became increasingly impatient. I also unleashed my product junky habits and began stocking up on popular natural hair care products from Eco-styler Gel to a blow dryer with a diffuser attachment . Finally, on January 23 (so easy to remember- 1/23 lol) after eight and a half months, I built up enough courage to take the final step in my transitioning journey. I took out my braids, washed my hair & drenched it with conditioner. Using a pair of shears that I picked up a few weeks before I started chopping off the last of my relaxed ends. 

 After about three hours of snipping piece by piece (I'm definitely not a professional) for the most part, my relaxed ends were gone. I had a small fro, just shy of 9 months and it looked absolutely crazy! I tried to do my first twist out and it came out so bad! I had little sharp hairs poking out everywhere. The problem was that I overlooked a lot of relaxed ends- while I was cutting I was a little startled by the shrinkage and in some sections and I left less than an inch of relaxed ends. This ended up doing more harm than good.

As time went on my twist outs got better, and I cut off any relaxed ends that I saw poking out as I went along. My hair has also been growing! I've gone from mid forehead to nose tip length with stretched hair in five months. I love my hair and its many textures, and I especially love the versatility. I've done two and three strand twist outs, coil outs, braid outs and cornbraid styles. I'm currently wearing my first up do using an old cornbraid out and I'm looking forward to trying even more creative stuff with braids. My regimen is far from perfect- I still have a lot to learn, and try out and I can't wait!

Hey All!!

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a bit of a shopaholic. One of my all time favorite places to spend my hard earned cash is CVS! This might be a bit unusual, but I love CVS! There's always a ton of good finds and great deals, and its also much easier to justify a drug store purchase in my mind than one from a clothing or shoe store. It doesn't help that there's a mega CVS two blocks away from my job :/

Well, this past Friday while I was picking up my lunch (Lean Cuisine pizzas- sooo good! They taste just like the real thing!!) I spotted a display for a product that I've been wanting  for the past few months- Crackle Nail polish! I've been wanting to try this stuff since OPI launched it a few months back, but I just haven't been able to find time to make it all the way to the beauty supply store (in Providence not having a car significantly lengthens the time required for errands). Anyway, not only did CVS premier this product, but its also by my favorite nail polish brand- Sally Hansen. Her products are long lasting and amazing- I own more than 75% of her Hard as Nails line. I purchased the Sally Hansen Crackle polish in Ink Splatter and Antiqued Gold.

I also got a bottle of 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer in Digital and Glitzy Glamour Lip Gloss in All About Me, both from Milani for their BOGO 1/2 off sale.  I previously purchased the polish in the line's 3D gold shade- all of the colors on this line have a really pretty shimmer and they hold up pretty well compared to my amazing Sally Hansen polishes. The glamour gloss shade is a pretty matte reddish-brown/ mahogany color. It's a great shade, but the color really doesn't hold up well on its own.

 

After I got off of work I raced home to try out the Crackle polish- its AMAZING. I used the Antiqued Gold over the Milani Digital. This combination created a soft, subtle crackle look, but I love it. I'm excited to try more bold combinations.  I took pictures on my cell the camera couldn't really pick up the effects of the lighter colors.

**Update** I loved thes stuff so much that I went back to get another bottle in Fractured Foil. This is a shimmery silver that I'll be able to pair with almost any color in my collection- can't wait to try it out.