winter hats for curly kids

check out www.curlyzebra.com
theyre satin lined winter hats for kids. sweet.

perfect curl product: raw shea butter

winter is here and my hair has been feeling it! my hair has looked pretty nice but has been feeling dry to the touch. ive been doing deep conditioning treatments, being a bit more heavy handed with my conditioner and oil and nothing seemed to work. last winter i had alot of growth and there were two things that i did differently: (1) i wore my hair up alot and (2) i used shea butter. so this year i told my sister to buy me some shea butter for christmas and now im back in business!

for 1st day hair, i applied my leave in + castor oil to my hair like i always do. then i took a few dabs of shea butter, rubbed it in my hands to melt it, and then smoothed it on my hair. my goal was to concentrate it on my ends, but i did apply it all over. it has been a while since ive used raw shea butter so i was hoping that the castor oil combined with the shea butter wouldnt result in a greasy mess. and it didnt. woo hoo! for my 2nd day hair, i took my hair out of the pineapple i sleep in and then applied the shea butter on my dry hair, the same way i did it on my wet hair.

its only been two days, but im starting to remember why i love shea butter so much. its great for sealing my ends, keeping my hair soft, reducing static flyaways, smoothing edges, and its a great skin moisturizer! i even used some on the man's coarse, thick type 2 hair. i used some to smooth his flyaways and to soften his dry, raggedy ends (he desperately needs a haircut).

3 cheers for raw shea butter!

The Sudden Big Chop—Joys and Trials

The Sudden Big Chop—Joys and Trials

check it out! my story is all the way at the bottom :)

celebrity curls i love: janet jackson

im not going to get into whether or not this is her hair via growing it herself or the beauty supply store :) i just love seeing janet rock this look. i love curly hair on janet, period.



pics from mediatakeout.com and x17online.com

long time, no see!

not much has been going on with me and my hair. im still in the process of growing it back out to BSL (bra strap length) and i can proudly say that ive stayed away from any random haircuts. and we all know thats a huge accomplishment for me!

ive started using gel again, just to switch up my look. my hair doesnt look too much different with or without gel, but using it does give me a tiny bit less shrinkage and a bit more control. in general, ive started using a bit more product in my hair. i had just been using elucence mb conditioner + castor oil. i would just mix the two in my hands and rake it through my hair. most recently ive been using the same conditioner and oil, but ive been adding a bit of veggie glycerine to that mixture. its been raining ALOT recently, so i figured it would be a great time to use glycerine. after i mix the conditioner oil and glycerine, id apply my gel. ive been shingling the products through--first the conditioner/oil/glycerine and then the gel. all in all, it still takes me less than 10 minutes to do my hair, but by the end of the day i still have a controlled look. at night if i go out, i can fluff my hair to get the volume i like, without frizz or humidity being an issue. here are some recent hair pics:







the first and third photo are at a packed club. without gel, my hair would just be a shrunken poof. i constantly had my hands in my hair and it looked that good thanks to good ol' fantasia ic gel w/ sparkelites.




moving on to the munchkin. i flat ironed her hair (bad mommy) just to get an idea of how long it was. she looks just like a geico caveman with straight hair, so thank God her curls finally came in (she was born with straight hair and didnt get curls until late in her infancy). as you can see in the pics, i didnt try to get her hair bone straight. just one swipe of the flat iron. i did it right before she went to bed and then i wet her hair first thing in the morning. i love her curls!





the munchkin stumbled across a great hair moment as seen in these pics:




i had given her a bath and used burts bees super shiny conditioner as her rinse out. then on her towel dried hair, i applied herbal essences long term relationship leave in split end protector for long hair and combed it through. she ran off to jump on our bed, took a nap, and then woke up with this gorgeous hair. the long term relationship leave in is something i use in her hair once a week. i use it sparingly because it makes her hair feel product-y and stiff if i use too much. i like for her hair to move, so i prefer to use only a small amount.



i think thats all thats been going on with our hair recently. i am considering coloring my hair again. i have a gift card to a local salon and spa so im deciding whether or not im just going to go for color or use it to try some ojon products. either way, i'll keep you posted!

celebrity curls i love: corrine bailey rae

there was a thread about this on nc.com (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=87598) and her hair looks amazing!

here is a pic from her myspace page:
My Photos Photo Gallery - Photo 12 of 12 by Corinne Bailey Rae - MySpace Photos

i got my hair trimmed again...

it was lacking shape and it was time to clean up my ends. yes, im still growing out my hair, so thats why i waited so long to get a trim. but it came back to bite me in the end because my ends were horrible so i had to get a bit more than i wanted taken off. if i stretch a curl at the nape of my neck, it reaches my collar bone. i feel like ive been at this length FOREVER! maybe its due to all the cutting i do to it though. this is the 100th time ive had scissors put to my head since i declared that i was growing my hair out. my mom says im rebellious. im starting to think shes onto something. why else would i keep cutting my hair even though im insisting that im growing it out????

ponytails

ive said it a million times an dim going to say it once more: i suck at hair styling and further more, i dont like it even if i were good at it. but i wanted to spice up the munchkin's ponytails. so i did brigitte bardot inspired side pony (deep side part, teased a bit at the crown for a bit of height). simple. age appropriate. super cute.




i love this look on wavy/loosely curled hair.




for the second twist on a regular pony, i just wrapped a small section of hair around her ponytail and bobby pinned it in place. it looks twice as cute when done on pigtails!

celebrity curls i love

TATIANA LONDONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for some weird reason i was watching HGTV this weekend, when i saw an ad for the show the property shop. i dont know what the show is about and to be honest, i really dont care. i just know that her hair is amazing!

for more on tatiana, check her out on hgtv.com (http://www.hgtv.com/tatiana-londono/bio/index.html)

product review: yes to carrots hair and scalp mud mask

i had heard alot of good reviews about yes to carrots hair care line from the wonderful ladies at http://www.naturallycurly.com but never felt inspired to give it a try myself until now. i decided to go with their deep treatment because you can never have too many deep conditioning treatments!

i must say, i was pleasantly surprised. it has great slip (and i can honestly say i cant think of another deep treatment that is slippery), melts tangles away, and it left my hair feeling super soft. i usually like to add a bit of veggie glycerine, oil, and honey to my dt's but i didnt have to add anything to this mask to feel the results. i know once i do add the glycerine/oil/honey mix, my hair will be ecstatic. its inexpensive ($13?), is easy to get a hold of (got mine from target), and it worked well on my curls as well as the little one's, so i definitely reccommend this product!

here is the product info directly from the yes to carrots website (http://www.yes-to-carrots.com/?CategoryID=428):


C is for Hair Care
Hair and Scalp Moisturizing Mud Mask

250ml - 8.45 fl.oz

Experience gorgeous hair like never before with C is for Hair Care.

Moisturizing, softening, detangling, shining, volumizing… need we go on??

C is for Hair Care contains extracts of organic carrot, organic pumpkin & organic orange, rich with Beta-Carotene, Alpha-Carotene, Vitamin E and other enzymes that keep your locks in tip-top condition.


Key Ingredients

Extracts of organic carrot, pumpkin, orange & honey contain Beta-Carotene and Vitamin E to keep your hair moisturized and full of shine.




Instructions


Apply to towel-dried hair and massage thoroughly. Leave on for 12-15 minutes (no cheating!) and rinse with lukewarm water. Use 1-2 times per week.



Tips

For maximum nourishment use twice a week, concentrating on roots and scalp.



Ingredients List

Water (Aqua), Silt (Maris Limus), Dead Sea Water (Maris Aqua), Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Oil, Glycerin, Lactic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Niacin, Dimethicone, Algae Extracts (Rhodella, Dunaliella, Spirulina), Ipomoera Batatas (Sweet Potato) Extract, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Juice, Daucus Carota (Carrot) Organic Extracts, Daucus Carota (Carrot) Juice, Panthenol, Chamomila Recutita (Chamomile) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Juice, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Fragrance (Parfum), Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Oil, Apple Vinegar (Acetum), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, Daucus Carota (Carrot) Seed Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Peel Extract.

perfect curl technique: smoothing every curl

recently, everyone has been talking about teri from tightlycurly.com and her smoothing every curl styling technique. if youve been living under a rock, and i say that with love :) and have no clue what im talking about check out the website and the video:


i tried it for myself and i have mixed reviews. technically i didnt style my entire head this way because i have neither the time nor the patience to smooth every curl. so i shingled in my products (elucence mb conditioner+ castor oil and fantasia ic gel w/ sparkelites) and just smoothed the defiant curls and rogue areas of frizz. all in all, this styling technique did as promised. my curls were defined.





pros:
- defined curls

cons:
- takes too long for my liking
- if you prefer a voluminous look, this is not for you

i think if my hair ever gets to be teri's length, this will definitely be a perfect curl technique.

fotki update

laziest blogger ever checking in :)

i added some new pics of my hair (as well as the munchkin and the man) to my fotki. check it out....

http://public.fotki.com/subbrock/

perfect curl products: standing the test of time

ive stated before that im not a product junkie (at least i think i have) and the main reason that im not a pj is because i use products that stand the test of time. i might tweak my routine a bit every so often, but ive seriously been using the same products for years. and the ones ive just fallen in love with keep on working their magic!

generic paul mitchell the conditioner- as far as ive been concerned, this has been the man's product. i dont mess with it and it doesnt mess with me. well, we were running low on my beloved elucence moisture balancing conditioner and i decided to give old paul mitchell a go. i mixed it with some castor oil and applied it to my hair as usual and i was pleasantly surprised at how well my hair held up. soft, moisturized, but light.


baby girl is also running low on california baby calming conditioner and is completely out of kinky curly knot today so i desperately needed to use something as her leave in. i gave the paul mitchell a try and it made her 3a ringlets sooooooooo soft. like buttah. this may be one of her new staple products.

its a great price and you can buy it at sally's. woot woot!

castor oil- castor oil can do no wrong as far as im concerned. if youre working with 3c/4a/4b/cnapp hair and havent tried castor oil thus far, what are you waiting for????? one of the beautiful ladies at naturallycurly.com started this thread after my recommendation: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=80691 thank you SBB for the shout out.


curly hair solutions curl keeper- looser haired curlies, if you havent tried curl keeper yet, what are YOU waiting for???? :) this is an HG product for about a blabillion wavies/curlies. type 2s/3a/3b please try this stuff if you havent already! and tighter curlies, it wont kill you to give it a whirl either. curl keeper is my daughter's HG product. if youve read any review ive written about this stuff, i always mention how you can revive and refresh the product by rewetting the hair. well this is a pic of my daughter's 2nd day hair:

oh yeah. 2nd day hair on a two year old. and id like to mention that this is her hair as shes playing in a tent that is misting water. humidity is no match for curl keeper (thats because glycerine is one of its ingredients)! i gave her a bath the night before and put in a leave in + curl keeper and the next morning i spritzed it with detangling spray to get the rouge tangles out and voila--gorgeous curls.

ouidad climate control gel- i love this stuff. and foxycus is enjoying it too: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=80565

more celebrity curls i love

two words: laurie berkner


if you have a little one or have had a little one in recent years, i probably dont have much explaining to do. and if you do have a rugrat, you probably feel like youre going to gouge your eyes out if you hear the song "googlehead" one more time as well...or is that just me? :) seriously though, laurie berkner and her band a great for small kids. and while my daughter is bouncing around to the music, im mesmerized by her wonderful hair. i cant help it---i love curls!


i found this pic of her on her website http://www.laurieberkner.com/ told you her hair was awesome....

subbrock hair pics

here are some pics of my hair as well as the munchkin's that i just uploaded to the fotki.



http://public.fotki.com/subbrock/2009/summer/



http://public.fotki.com/subbrock/2009/baby-curls/

bravo curlies!

im a reality tv junkie, so of course i spend alot of time watching shows on bravo. the fashion show (thursdays at 10 pm on bravo) has a few of my favorite curlies and here they are in no particular order:

daniella- she has beautiful loose curls naturally, but when shes not sporting those she tends to wear her hair curled like in this picture. gorgeous and talented.

merlin- im not entirely sure hes a curly to be honest, but this man is too awesome/hilarious not to be mentioned.

reco- yes hes bald, but i know under all that scalp is a curly dying to get out! im rooting for this diva to win.

lidia- im not sure if shes a natural curly, but she always wears her hear curled. on her final episode she had the most beautiful drool-inducing curly side ponytail. i loved it.

issac mizrahi- what is there not to love about issac???

and not to be forgotten, teresa (and her cute curly daughters) from the real housewives of new jersey!

www.bravotv.com

summer products part 2!

redken didnt discontinue my favorite product after all, they just changed the name! woohoo! so here it is, redken color extend sun sparkling shield leave-in smoother.



Helps provide water-resistant protection against UVA/UVB rays, chlorine and minerals while creating a sleek, polished finish.

WHY IT WORKS:
Water-resistant formula helps protect hair from UVA/UVB rays and the absorption of chlorine and minerals
Nourishes and conditions
Creates a sleek, polished look with multi-dimensional shine

KEY INGREDIENTS:
HYDRA-SHIELF COMPLEX
SoplexylTM - Prevents UV Damage
Mango Oil - Replenishes Moisture and Vibrancy
Ceramide - Repairs and resurfaces

Redken’s exclusive Interbond Conditioning System and advanced Hydra-Shield Complex with Soplexyl™, a patented UV filter, provide powerful protection while restoring lost moisture and luminous shine.

How To Use:
Apply to damp or dry hair. Leave in. Reapply throughout the day or as needed. Recommend to clients who swim and need to protect their hair from the sun, chlorine and minerals.

i love this stuff! and it even has little flecks of mica in it for extra bling. doesnt get much better than that...

summertime product!

summer is almost here! i usually dont switch up my routine or products much with the exception of something to protect my hair from the sun. in the past i had used redken's uv rescue. they had an awesome oil spray. but to my dismay, the uv rescue line has been discontinued. *sad face*



last year i used ouidad's sun sheild leave in conditioner for myself and for the little one. here is the product description from the website (http://www.ouidad.com/Sun-Shield-SprayIn-Beach-Conditioner):

The sun is not only dangerous to your skin but it can also wreak havoc on your hair—causing its color to turn or fade and drying out already thirsty curls. Sun Shield/Beach Pool Spray from Ouidad protects against sun damage with effective UVA/UVB blockers, which form an invisible breathable shield to lock out the elements. Spray on prior to sun exposure and any time by the pool or beach when you want to create softer, smoother, shinier curls.

Also effective against damaging environmental factors like wind, salt and chlorine, Sun Shield’s blend of special proteins and amino acids seal in moisture and nourish hair while shielding from overexposure to the drying and stiffening elements common to outdoor activity. Now you can love being outside and love your curls!

i'm a fan and i will be repurchasing. so if youre looking for something to protect your curls from all that summer fun you'll be having, give it a try.

celebrity curls i love

i saw the may cover of ebony and was so excited--not because of beyonce, but because of her hairstyle! i love big curls and big hair, not to mention this is my dream hairstyle (if i ever get married, this will definitely be my wedding hair).

taylor swift always has gorgeous waves. not to mention, i cant help but to admire a young superstar who doesnt give into the pressure of straightening. now back to drooling over taylor's amazing hair...

mixed chicks products: a testimonial

an acquaintance sent me this email so i decided to post it here. ive never used mixed chicks products so i cant add to the testimonial, but if anyone else has, feel free to leave some feedback!


I just bought this stuff yesterday & I should be on an infomercial! It is the bomb!! I did [baby girl's] hair last night & when we woke up this morning she still had beautiful soft ringlets & not big crazy hair. [Cousin], I'll let you try some on [your curly kid]. [Subbrock], I don't know what you are using in [munchkin's] hair, but I wanted to let you know about this in case you hadn't heard of it. I've spent almost 4 years looking for a product that works like this. Please pass this website along to anyone that it can help!!

http://www.mixedchicks.net/