Almost BSL!!!

I decided to take my sew-in out 5 weeks earlier than I had planned. I got anxious and couldn't wait another 5 whole weeks to touch my hair again. So I took it out on Saturday and relaxed it. I'm happy with my progress, but I'm not happy with the results of my relaxer. I don't know if it's because I didn't detangle so well, but some parts of my hair came out underprocessed. And some other parts came out overprocessed. I'm more upset with the overprocessing part. I'll be doing a corrective relaxer at the end of the year. Other than that I can now say that I have made a full recovery from my very frustrating setback that I had in March.

Here are my progress pics:

Hair Update: Back To The Weave

Okay so after I took out my last sew-in, I thought I was going to go until November until I could get another sew-in done. Well that never happened. About a week after I took it out. I went and put a fresh new sew-in back in my hair. I just really want to get those last couple of inches before the year ends. I don't want to do anything that might jeopardized that. Also it was around this time last year when I started the downward spiral to my first hair setback. I never want to experience that again. I know I'll have to deal with my hair again one day. But it ain't happening at all for the rest of this year. I refuse!

Also I will be doing nail designs again. I should have a new nail design this weekend. I may even do a tutorial on french tips! :)

Honey Aftermath

Yay! My skin is back to normal again. I was so worried that I had ruined it for life. For the first 3 days I washed my skin with Biore Ice Cleanser w/ 2.0% Salicylic Acid and I didn't put anything else on my face for those days. Not even moisturizer. Then after 3 days had passed I only washed my face with pure water and at night I slathered petroleum Vaseline on my face. By the 5th to 6th day my skin was back to normal. So I am extremely excited about that.

After doing more research I realized that I didn't used pure organic honey. So if anyone wants to know what happens if you use impure honey on your face, look at my pics in the previous post. That should tell you all you need to know.

Honey is my Enemy! :(

WHY! WHY! Why did I do this? I am so upset right now. Okay here's what happened. My skin has always been smooth with no breakouts or blemishes. I noticed this past week I had about 2 very small dry patches on my face. So I searched the internet for some natural cures. I came across a few websites that suggested HONEY will leave your skin smooth and add moisture to it. So yesterday I decided to put honey all over my face. I left it on my face for 1 1/2 hours. After I washed it off, those sites were right it did leave my skin moisturized. But it also left my skin with the ugliest rash/breakout. I am so pissed! I have a major audition coming up next weekend. Plus I also have an interview with a talent agency in a few weeks. I need this gone, like now. Right now I'm sitting here with aloe vera gel on my face, praying to God that it will go away.

Here's the comparison shot of my face: BEFORE/AFTER










I believe I'm the only person in the world that honey has affected this way. I searched to see if anyone had the same issue, but everyone had great results. This definitely taught me a lesson. DON'T FIX IT IF IT AIN'T BROKEN!!!

Sew-In Pics

Here is the sew-in I did a few weeks ago. I totally forgot to post it. Anyways, it came out perfect. I braided my hair back vertically and then sewed the tracks across. I kept it in for 5 weeks and followed the regimen in my last post. I just took it down today. The takedown was fairly smooth and easy. I basically soaked my hair with conditioner and water, and my braids just slips right apart. I must say I'm very happy with the results. I actually gained an inch of new growth.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to put another sew in back in my hair until the end of October. I have a boatload of auditions and interviews coming up and I'd rather rock my own hair while I do those things. I was trying to hold off on the relaxer til' January, but I need to look fresh for a very important audition coming up. My career is first priority over my hair...lol. But I promise to post my relaxer pics when I relax in October.

Here are some more pics of my sew-in:

New Plan/ Sew-In Regimen

I was having a conversation with my sister last night about how I retained so much length and had better progress in the beginning of my hair journey. And when I think of it I used to wear a sew-in back in the beginning of my journey. It makes so much more sense. It meant less manipulation. So in the attempt to stop myself from messing with my hair so often I am going back to the sew-in. Maybe this will help me get to Brastrap length with ease.

Here's my new sew-in regimen:

• Take out and reinstall sew-in every 2-4 weeks.
• Moisturize daily with Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme
• Spray scalp with Aloe Vera juice daily
• Continue to take my vitamins as normal
• No relaxer for the rest of the year
  

Because I'm so excited about this new regimen, I'm going to install it tonight. The sooner the better of course. I washed and clarified my hair and scalp last night. The only thing I didn't get to do was a deep condition. So I definitely need to keep the moisture up for the next 4 weeks. I'm going to be using the Yaki texture hair by Enstyle. It only cost like $7.99 for a 1o". So it's definitely cost efficient. Plus I'm cheap and I just can't bring myself to pay alot of money for something that's only going to last me 4 weeks...lol...Anyways I will definitely post the finished results when I'm done installing it.

Hair Update: BSB

Here's my update...sorry it took so long. I took these 2 weeks ago and I've been too lazy to post them...lol! Anyways for the last relaxer I stretched for 10 weeks. I don't believe I'll do that again. I'm going to stick to 7-8 week stretches for now. Anyways I believe I made a bit of progress in the length department, but in the thickness department I soooo lost. I even suffered breakage in the front. I'm thinking it has something to do with the barrettes I was using to secure my ponytails. Also I've been very bad with the flat iron. I've flat ironed about 4 times in 2 weeks. :( So now I vow to flat iron at the end of the year instead. I'm giving it a break for the rest of the year.

Here are my progress pics: (Click to enlarge)

PJ'ism Revived

I made a promise to myself at the beginning of 2009 to cure my product junkie ways. I was doing great until last month. Here's a pic of all the latest products I've added to my regimen:








From left to right:

• Aussie Moist Conditioner
• Aussie Sydney Smooth: Calm That Frizz Creme
• Aussie Hair Insurance: Leave-In + Tip Protection
  
• Aussie Moist: Deeeeep 3 Minute Minute Miracle
• Gro-Aut: Jojoba Conditioner
• Soft & Beautiful: Hair Moisturizing Complex
• Jamaican Black Castor Oil
• Parachute Coconut Oil
• Dudley's: PCA Moisture Retainer
• Creme Of Nature: Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo

I will try to give a review of some of these products real soon. So far I'm in LOVE with the Aussie Moist Conditioner!

New Vitamins

I decided to switch brands on MSM. I used to take Spring Valley from Walmart, but I have a feeling it is not pure MSM. I try to be very cautious of what I put in my body. So I decided that my vitamins have to be the real thing. So I found a website called Nutrition Express and I bought the Lindberg brand. It said it was pure and it had great reviews so I'll give this a try.

I also decided to add a new supplement to my regimen. It's a mix of Choline & Inositol. I decided to add it, after I did a research of its benefits.

Here's a list of some of its benefits that I came across online:

• Inositol encourages hair growth and can help prevent baldness.
• It stabilizes the cell membranes, and its antioxidant property safeguards the hair follicles from damage.
• Coffee kills this nutrient. Caffeine will destroy it, especially if taken in high dosage.
  
• Helps in controlling estrogen levels and may assist in preventing breast lumps.
• Choline should be taken in the same amount as Inositol. (Best to take the entire B group vitamins with it) - My B-Complex doesn't list Inositol or Choline in the ingredients, that's why I purchased them separately.
• You can also consume Inositol with a diet of wheat germ, Brewer's yeast, veal, pork, liver, brown rice, wheat bran, oat flakes, nuts, vegetables, cantaloupe, raisins, and bananas.
  

Platinum or Silver?

I'm not sure what to call it. I call it platinum but my sister says it's silver. Actually, I always thought that they were the same thing. Anyways, here is the cute manicure I rocked this week. I used to Sinful Colors: "Out Of This World." I also added some cute rhinestones on the ring finger to form the shape of a necklace. I will definitely rock this look in the winter time, when it rolls around again. I think this look matches the winter season better than the summer season.

I Made Pizza!

It wasn't easy but I DID IT! YAY!!!!!!! Okay, seriously, I took info from several sites to get the finished product. It came out tasting like Digarno pizza which is tasty of course. But I was aiming for Papa John's pizza, but it wasn't bad for my first try. My whole family loved it, too, including the dog. First I made the sauce from the recipe on the Pizzamaking.com website. Then I found and easy recipe for making the dough on 1001recipes.com. I'm too lazy to write or copy the recipes but if you click on the links it will open to the exact location of the recipes.
Here are the results below:

Nail Design: Pink Is My Favorite Color

Everytime I think of pink the song from Aerosmith pops into my head...lol...
Well, I rocked "Cabana" from the Sinful Colors Collection this week. I actually did these when I was crunched for time, so I couldn't really do much of a design. But I did do some kind of Burberry plaid pattern design on the ring finger. I hope yall like it.
(Click Photos to Enlarge)

Sailmoon Chronicles: Ep. 4

Here's another great episode from the best animation ever.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!

My mom definitely enjoyed Mother's Day today. I made sure she didn't go hungry at all...lol. Seriously, she did not go hungry at all. My gift to her for Mother's Day was to cook her a great breakfast and dinner.





This morning I woke up real early and made her some french toast, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast. Then I placed her flowers on the center of the table with her card and gift card to MACY's. Then when she woke up I had it beautifully presented to her, with cranberry apple juice. She loved it so much...she even said the french toast was so tasty. YAY!!! A+ for the breakfast.

Then for dinner I put my new cooking skills to the test and I made chicken alfredo. OMG she loved it...Gosh the whole family loved it. It tasted so good.



And last night I baked her some cheescake brownies so that she can enjoy them all day for Mother's Day.








So all in all she had a great day and it was nice seeing a great smile on her face. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!!!! :)

Hair Update: Back On Track

I'm glad to say that after my setback about 3 months ago, I am officially back on track to reaching my next goal, which is Bra-strap length. YAY!!! After stretching for 8 weeks I decided to get a touch up. I really wanted to stretch much longer but I have an audition Monday and I didn't wanted 5 different textures to deal with.

So I relaxed last night with Soft & Beautiful. Then after I washed and conditioned, I put in some NTM leave-in and Hollywood Beauty Creme while my hair was still wet. Then I set my hair in rollers to dry. About half way drying I got tired so I just left the roller in, put a scarf over it, and I went to my bed. This morning I used the Organix Cocount Heat Serum as I flat ironed my hair.

Here are the results: (Click photos to enlarge)

Recipes: Kung Pao Chicken

My goal for 2009 was to learn how to cook. I wanted to learn how to cook alot of different meals. It didn't start off well. I tried cooking various meals and they all sucked. They all either burned, made family members sick, or just tasted gross. Well, today folks I can truly say I made a real meal. YAY!!!

I stumbled onto a Kung Pao Chicken recipe from blogchef.com and made it tonight for my family. It tasted sooooo good. Everyone loved it. No one became sick. Also, it was very easy and quick to make. I posted a few pics of the final results. The recipe can be found on blogchef.com.

The Sailor Moon Chronicles: Ep: 3

Here's another great episode from the Sailor Moon Chronicles. Enjoy the show!

Nail Design: Bronze/Princess Glitter

Here's a design I did today. I just wanted something really girly and I'm pretty sure this is as girly as you can get. First I polished my nails with Petites: "Bronze Baby." Then I started designing each nail with a cute glitter design with Petites: "Comet," which is the pink glitter and KISS: "Silver Glitter." Then I added a bow on one of fingers. I bought the bows off of Ebay for like $1 last month. So I decided to used them today since it seemed so appropriate.

The Sailor Moon Chronicles: Ep: 2

Here's episode 2 for all the Sailor Moon Fanatic Chicks out there...