I was sitting at my desk a couple of days ago and twirling my hair. I know, it’s a bad habit, but when your hair is feeling soft and supple, bouncy and healthy, it’s kinda hard to keep your hands out of it. While I was playing around a shed hair came out. I know it’s a shed one because it had the white ball on the end. No knots and no splits – thanks to the hair cut I gave myself in November.

Anyhow, here’s a picture.

Double-click to make it a little easier to see. Yes, 10 inches - let's celebrate little milestones!

Look at that! Ten inches of hair from the side of my head – a known trouble spot for me! Yay! I’m taking OK care of my hair (being tired a lot has stopped me from really doing what I’d like to), but keeping it simple hasn’t hurt… and some good pregnancy hormones!

HoneyFig’s Most Wonderful Time of the Year – One Day Sale!

Look what arrived in my inbox this morning:

Most Wonderful Time of the Year – One Day Sale!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Tis’ the season here at HoneyFig, and in lieu, we would like to commence the holidays with a HoneyFig event – “Most Wonderful Time of the Year – One Day Sale!”

To thank you, our customers for your continuous support this year, we would like to invite you to save 20% off all items * in the store and online, on Wednesday, December 21, 2011; while quantities last. To help you to enjoy the savings our store will be open 8am – 8pm on that one day; so come early for best selection.

To add a little flavor to the day… come out and meet with Jessica McGuinty, the creator of Jessicurl as she will be in store on, Wednesday December 21st from 5pm-8pm. Come on out and enjoy our:

“Most Wonderful Time of the Year – One Day Sale!”

• Date: Wednesday December 21st, 2011; 8am -8pm
• Location: HoneyFig 4967 Yonge St., Toronto, ON and www.honeyfig.com
• Contact Info: 416-226-2100 and email@honeyfig.com
• Meet and Greet: Jessica McGuinty 5pm-8pm

20% OFF sale: ALL DAY (while quantities last)

*20% OFF Deal does not apply to Miss Jessie’s BOGO products and Kinky Curly Curling Custard 16 OZ

[Edited to add:] I just got a message from Khadija of HennaSooq: “Extra note, myself, Khadija and Jamal of Henna Sooq will also be at Honey Fig from 5 pm to 8 pm during that sale and promotion. We’ll be there taking your questions and giving consultations. Thanks again!” So, if you need some henna help and more, this is the place to be if you live in the GTA!

Too bad I’ll be working

Enjoy naturalistas and relaxed girls!

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Today is a bit of a stressful day for me.

A year ago, this Tuesday (the actual date was December 14) I got a call that my dad was rushed to the hospital. He suffered a stroke. My family spent the next month in the hospital with my dad before he was transferred to a rehab centre.

Thank God, he’s doing well. Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts — I know my virtual family was wishing us the best. He’s been a home since February and he’s troublesome and surly as ever. (If you know my dad, you’d know that these are his normal traits.)

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, my phone rang. My heart jumped. My stomach immediately got sick. It was my father-in-law – the same person who called me a year ago to tell me that my dad was at the emergency. Guy, I nearly fainted. I took a seat on the stairs and gave the phone to my husband.

Sad news, a close family friend had passed away after a long illness.

Something about this Tuesday…

Anyhow, as we prepare for the holidays, let’s not forget to spend time with the people we love. You know what? Don’t even wait for the holidays. Make every day with them count. Even on the days when I want to choke my parents because they are being unreasonable, lawless or miserable, I thank God that they are still with me.

We were talking about gifts and gift-giving for this Christmas and I really couldn’t think of anything that I want besides healthy, safe and happy friends and family. If that’s all I get, I’m good. So, my grown up Christmas wish is that everyone – including you, faithful readers or someone who stumbles across this blog this holiday season – has God’s blessing on their lives this holiday and in 2012.

Hair post to come

Oh my goodness! Isn't my face getting super chubby? Shoot. But my hair looks cute

It’s been a LONG time since I did a formal hair update, so I have plenty to write about! OK, so the last time I updated you was in June… shoot, that’s like six months ago! Good grief! Let’s get started.

A year of twists and flaky scalp issues. I mentioned in June that I was going to get my year of twists going. From June 2011 to June 2012 it was going to be two-strand twists for three weeks, a week of a twist out and then wash. Well, my scalp hasn’t been letting me live up to that arrangement. I think it’s the hormones or something because for about six weeks or so, I had the WORST flaky scalp ever. It was to 2007 levels. I broke out my Morrocco Method shampoo and that helped get things under control. I’m all out of that – it takes quite a bit of shampoo to get this scalp clean. So what am I using, you ask, to wash my dome? My body soap. I know! I know! I reverted back to this a few months ago when my scalp was acting up. It’s pretty much saponified olive oil and cocoa butter. If my body can handle it without breaking out into hives, my scalp can and has been… with good results. My scalp is not 100% (when is it ever?), but it’s certainly better than it was. I’m going to keep working on it.

My new wash routine – excluding conditioner. Yep, I said it! If you read the blog, you’d know that I’ve been searching for a good deep conditioner since I started talking hair back in 2009. Since getting pregnant, I’ve been so tired and fatigued washing my hair is a two-day chore. So, I’ve needed to get rid of steps to get my wash/style time down to something manageable. What I’ve started to do is:

• detangling in the shower in sections
• wash each section separately
• come out of the shower and slather either shea butter or olive oil/castor oil on each section; detangle if necessary
• put a plastic cap and my heat cap on for about 20 minutes
• style with my modified Kimmaytube leave-in

My hair has been the softest and most manageable as it’s ever been! No joke – it is happy hair. And my pocket is happy too. I’m sure that pregnancy hormones have a little something to do with my hair looking like it does. So, I’ll have to see in a couple more months if I’m still singing the praises of my new routine or if I’m searching high and low for a conditioner. So far, the keep it simple is making me very happy.

Haircuts ARE necessary. I had read somewhere that it wasn’t necessary to trim your hair. I liked not having to cut my hair so I didn’t. Sigh. My hair did pay for that. Why? Unnecessary knots, hungry looking ends, hair just not looking right. A couple of weeks ago I tried to straighten my hair (I was bored) and my ends looked atrocious. I whipped out the scissors and gave myself a good trim. If you saw how my hair looked once I washed it! Glorious! Full! Bouncy! It’s so necessary to get rid of those weathered ends to help your hair just look and feel better. Forget about all the serums, creams and conditioners, sometimes you just need a good trim.

That’s about it on the hair update front. What about you guys? Anything interesting to share? New products? New techniques that we can use?

Courtesy of Google Images

Morning all,

As I hope all of you know, today marks World AIDS Day. This day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

Some quick facts for you (these are worldwide statistics):

• At the end of 2010, an estimated 34 million people were living with HIV worldwide, up 17% from 2001.
• HIV/AIDS is the world’s leading infectious killer claiming—to date—more than 27 million lives. An estimated 2 million people die every year from HIV/AIDS.
• There were approximately 2.7 million new HIV infections in 2010, including an estimated 390 000 among children. This was 15% less than in 2001, and 21% below the number of new infections at the peak of the epidemic in 1997.

This HIV/AIDS thing ain’t no joke.

We spend a lot of time thinking about our hair and what we put on our bodies, but we have to spend more time thinking about our health.

HIV is contracted in a number of ways:

• during sexual contact
• during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding
• as a result of intravenous drug use
• as a result of occupational hazard (meaning you’re a healthcare worker and are contact with HIV-contaminated blood)
• as a result of a blood transfusion

(Get more details about how you can contract HIV here.)

So how do you protect yourself from contracting HIV?

• Educate yourself. Back in the day when I was in high school and college, every song had a reference to a ‘jimmy hat’ and wrapping that sucker up before any sexual contact. Folks, we have gotten lax over the last 10 or 15 years. There are people right now who believe there is a cure for HIV. There is not. Knowledge is power. Know about HIV, AIDS and all the other STDs/STIs that are out there and how you can contract them. Learn how to use a condom.
• Have the talk. As uncomfortable as it may be, you need to have a conversation with your partner to find out about his/her sexual history and HIV status. Yes, it may be awkward, but having to take antiretroviral drugs for the rest of your days may be more awkward than a chat over wine.
• Get tested. Go to the doctor/clinic and get an AIDS test. Scary, yes, but you need to know, right?
• Protect yourself. If you are going to be sexually active, take care of yourself. Don’t fall for ‘it feels better without one’ or ‘I’m clean!’ Chupse. I’m directing this one at you, ladies. Make sure you have condoms ready to go. Don’t put your health in the hands of anyone else. If you think something is going to happen, get some condoms, put them in your purse and be ready to use them. Don’t take no for an answer — I don’t care how fine, how much you love him, how much he professes to love you. Love yourself more than you love anyone else.
• Abstain from sexual contact. People always act as if abstinence/celibacy is a death sentence. It really isn’t. As far as I’m concerned, we are too liberal with how we get down sexually and we need to use more common sense because ignorance is literally killing us. If you’re not mature enough to talk to your partner(s) about their HIV status, go to the drug store to buy some condoms and go to your doctor to get tested, you DO NOT need to have sex with anyone. There is nothing wrong with waiting until you are married or grown and mature enough to protect yourself properly. Even then, you need to have the talk and get tested.

Of course, if you’re using intravenous drugs and sharing needles, you’re putting yourself at higher risk for contracting HIV. If that’s the case, you need to get help. Talk to your doctor, a friend or someone who loves you and get back on track.

This is a hair blog — a place where we talk about fun stuff like deep conditioning and wigs and random foolishness. But every now and then, we need to get serious. I don’t want to scare anyone, but I do want you to be smart and look after yourself. It’s all good to have the hottest natural hair on the block, but if you aren’t taking care of the rest of you, what’s the point?

I got this in my email today from the folks at HoneyFig and thought I’d share:

Happy Miss Jessie’s BOGO Sale

“It’s that most wonderful time of the Year”…again! Miss Jessie’s Buy 1, Get 1 Free Sale, is back, at HoneyFig!

Starting November 25th through to December 31st; while quantities last.

Whether you are a Miss Jessie’s connoisseur, occasional user, or a first timer, this sale is the perfect opportunity to get the products you love; or have always wanted to try. This sale applies online (no promo code required); as well as in store, so take advantage of this once a year sale, today! Shop early, as products are available while quantities last.

Please note that Miss Jessie’s Trial Sizes, Deluxe Value Pack, Rapid Recovery Treatment and Unscented Curly Pudding are not included in this year’s BOGO sale. When shopping online, kindly request your BOGO (Free) item(s) in the comment section on the checkout page, otherwise the identical item(s) will be shipped out, with your order.

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy BOGO and Happy Shopping!

Of course, with American Thanksgiving tomorrow, there are a lot of deals that you can take advantage of. I don’t have the energy to list all of the sales happening from tomorrow night until Monday, but you can get details on a lot of them here at KisforKinky.

Enjoy your shopping!

Long time no post. I’m 23 weeks pregnant and tired as all get out! At least I’m not throwing up any more. I’m praising God for that 17 weeks to go!

Today, I saw an article at the Toronto Star’s website and thought it was important to share with you. It’s pretty timely because I was just thinking of dyeing my hair because my last attempt at henna didn’t do much in terms of colour. I still have a head full of greys that I’m looking to be rid of.

That being said, I was considering dropping by my favourite spot, Shoppers’ Drug Mart, to pick up a semi-permanent hair dye for the holidays. You can’t be decking the halls with streaks of grey, you know?

I happened upon this article that will definitely make me think twice. Check it out here.

Eyes swollen shut. Faces puffed to twice their normal size. A sudden collapse followed by a coma. Even a death.

Startling cases of suspected allergic reactions to hair dye springing up in the U.K. have raised serious concerns about the safety of the product, particularly the use of a known allergen used in hair dye sold in Canada.

What’s the allergen, you ask? PPD or paraphenylenediamine. It’s a well-known allergen that’s an irritant — but it’s more than an irritant if it can cause swollen eyes and faces and, more scary than that, a sudden collapse followed by a coma or death.

Colouring my greys is not that important.

As I always say and a word to the wise: read ingredients and do your research before you put any chemical or new product on your hair or skin.

Beauty is not worth your health.

Deep conditioners make me sad.

Why?

I can’t find one that does what I think it should do. I believe if I take the time to do a deep condition, my hair should be noticeable softer, more manageable, shinier or something. So far, they’ve all be ho-hum. These are the ones that I’ve tried out:

• Silk Elements Megasilk Olive Moisturizing Treatment. I don’t have a problem with it, but it’s been meh. I can’t say that there is a discernible difference when I use this product and when I just condition with a regular conditioner.
• Curl Junkie Curl Rehab Moisturizing Hair Treatment. Again meh. Nothing to write home about, unfortunately.
• Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque. It was OK. I like it better to do my twists than as a deep conditioner.

So, what has worked? My old faithful, shea butter. I don’t know why I act like I need to find something else when shea butter always seems to do what I need it to do. After washing my hair in about seven sections, I slather shea butter on each twist – making sure that my poor ends get an extra dollop. I use my heat cap for about 20 to 30 minutes and voila! I use to ‘rinse’ my hair afterwards, but I found that step to be useless. Now, I just start twisting using my modified Kimmaytube leave-in (Giovanni Direct leave-in, olive oil and aloe vera jelly).

My hair is soft, shiny and manageable, making me a very happy girl. I’ll use out the deep conditioners that I have – I’ll probably add some olive oil or honey to them and see what happens. But, honestly, I’m done being a mixtress – I want a product that’s just going to work out of the jar or bottle.

So, ladies, what deep conditioners do you use? Any tips or tricks to share? I’m curious to find out!

'Anti-breakage'? I think not, but that's the point of today's post. Quick and easy? Or a recipe for impending disaster?

Over the past few weeks, I haven’t had the energy to do much with my hair. I love taking the time to nurture my hair and create new styles and all of that. But when I was sick, I really wondered if doing my hair would have been so daunting if it was still relaxed.

No, I’m not running to the salon any time soon to slap some Optimum relaxer in my hair.

But I do wonder, if I really knew how to take care of my hair when it was relaxed — not relaxing every six weeks, wearing protective styles, etc. — would I have been so quick to go natural? Yes, I understand that my hair wouldn’t be as healthy as it is right now by the very fact that putting a chemical in your hair is going to wear it down faster than any twists that I can do.

After spending a lot of time on hair blogs and You.Tube, there are Black women who have relaxers and beautiful, strong-looking hair. I can’t believe I’m actually typing this, but I don’t necessarily believe anymore that relaxers are the devil. I’ll promote them to imps. Alas, that is another blog for another day.

The answer is I probably would have still ended up with natural hair – mainly because of my scalp problems that the relaxer was just exacerbating.

Sometimes the life of a relaxed chick looks so easy. Wash, condition, blow dry, flat iron and go about your business. For us natural chicas? Detangle (however long that takes and that can take FOREVER!), wash, condition, then take a couple of hours to style. Finally, fall asleep in a tired lump.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my natural hair, but the last eight weeks have been cruel (and my scalp is paying for it – I’ll tell you about that another day). For as great as natural hair is, there is a time trade-off that, on a regular Friday, I enjoy. But when all you want to do is crawl into bed, the very thought of going through the production can make you lie down and cry.

So ladies, what do you think? Would you ever consider relaxing your natural locks again? Especially now that you know more about healthy hair practices?

Picture courtesy of torontostyle.net.

Sale? Did someone say sale??

I honestly haven’t been doing much with my hair over the last little while, so I’m not really in need of products, but if you’re interested in stocking up, Honey Fig is having their annual anniversary sale.

This is the email that I received yesterday:

Anniversary Sale – 10% OFF

Promo Code: October10
This October we are celebrating our Anniversary and what better way to celebrate, other than to have a sale. Enjoy 10% savings all month long on all online orders and in store services and/or purchases. Join us today, to help us celebrate.

Happy Shopping!
Your friends @ HoneyFig

Although I know I don’t need anything, I will still peruse online to see if there’s anything that looks interesting…

Happy shopping and, to my Canadian readers, happy Thanksgiving!

It’s always nice when other bloggers want to hear your story and share it with their subscribers. B-Curlie graciously featured me in September and I wanted to post this earlier, but… well, you understand if you read my earlier post. Anyhoo, check it out here, check out Canadian Curlies and visit her blog regularly! It’s full of great content and features.