Perfecting the twist out

 Two strand twists and twist outs are a natural's best friend, but it took me awhile to finally perfect it. I know you're wondering "how can she not know how to do a two strand twist? it's so easy!" Yes, I know but it turns out I wasn't using the right products, and my twists outs would come out dry and frizzy. But this time I used the LOC method (which you can find out about here) and I am loving the results. Keep reading for how I did it.

I'm becoming a Product Junkie

When I decided to stop flat ironing, I was under the assumption that since I am a cheap person, I could find 1 conditioner, 1 leave in, and 1 styler and be done. I couldn't understand why other naturals were product junkies, and had tons of products on their bathroom sink.
BUT NOW I CAN!
There are so many hair lines marketed towards naturals, each with so many good ingredients that I want to try them all, but I know it isn't feasible on my budget
Here is a list of the products I want to try:

Amauri Hair Growth products (found this on Instagram)- these products are supposed to make your hair grow thicker and longer.
Oyin Handmade- natural hair and body products made with honey
Belle Butters-  these are butters for the hair and face
Darcy's Botanicals- a line with natural ingredients that a lot of people like
Chagrin Valley- I want to try their shampoo bars, and their website is VERY helpful
Bobeam- They have shampoo bars that I want to try as well and only $5!
Ynobe Shop- Her marshmallow root leave in sounds amazing (if you didn't know marshmallow root is a great detangler). Plus her products are not expensive.

"me" Monday: stop comparing yourself to other people

I've noticed that when I see a post on Instagram of a beautiful woman, I start to compare myself to her; "why can't my hair look like that?" "my skin looks horrible compared to hers" etc, but in order to be a better me I need to stop. At the end of the day, I will be the one who is feeling inadequate not the woman in the picture.
How do I stop this feeling?
1. Addressing it: What about this other person is causing me to be jealous? Hair? Clothes? Their lifestyle?
2: Embracing it: Now that I have figured out why I feel certain feelings, I can start working on them. This problem is based on insecurities and lack of confidence; I feel this way because I feel that I am not good enough compared to this other person. Now, I can start to let go of these feelings and work on myself.
3. Ignoring it: Negative influences will only continue being negative if I allow them. For the time being I will get rid of all negative influences, this includes unfollowing people on Twitter and Instagram, if I feel they aren't a positive influence in my life.

L.O.C. Method?

No I don't mean dreadlocks, I am talking about the method of keeping your hair moisturized. Here's the breakdown:
L: Liquid- water, aka freshly washed hair or you can use a spray bottle to wet your hair
O: Oil- I use olive oil, but you can use Jojoba oil, coconut oil, or whatever oil you prefer for your hair
C: Cream- For this I use a hair butter, like the Oyin Whipped butter, or you can use any cream of your choice to seal in the water and oil

I know some people reverse this and do LCO, but try this out if you notice your hair is losing moisture.

Let me know, did this method work for you?

FMOT (follow me on twitter)

Even though I've had a twitter for a couple of months, I'm still getting used to how it works (the RT's, replies, DM's, favorites, and hash tags). But I think I have a good grip on it now, so please follow me on twitter @tiaj42 that way it will be easier to see when I post new things because I will link them in my tweets.

Relationships: don't let outsiders come between the two of you

I'm pretty sure by know you have heard of the Gabrielle Union, Dwayne Wade, and the alleged mistress situation If you haven't here is the rundown: Some women wrote an open letter to Gabrielle stating details of their affair (the plain tickets that Dwayne's brother bought for her, the nights in the hotel, how she would sleep on her side of the bed, etc) and Gabrielle took to Twitter to talk say that the woman is crazy. I know I'm young, but I know in these type of situations I know it is just best to just ignore the other person. That woman is just looking for attention and trying to get her 15 mins of fame, and by Gabrielle responding, she just fueled a media frenzy. I know it's hard to ignore someone when they are spreading rumors about you that you know are false, of course the natural reaction is to immediately fire back to shut them up. But by doing that, you give that person exactly what they want: attention. This is why if you are on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever social media site you prefer, and someone says something negative just delete that post. Trust me, their anger/disappointment at not being acknowledge will be way better than your anger at what ever they said.

Do not let outsiders come between you and your significant other. Just live your life and be happy, that is the best form of revenge.

Reviewing Clear Ultra Shea

I've been focusing on the wrong end of my hair? At least that's what Heidi Klum
and Clear had me thinking. They say the true secret to healthy hair starts at the scalp not the ends. The commercial did its job and I immediately went on the Internet. Luckily I got my hands on some free samples, and I decided to try them out.
Let me tell you before I begin that I did not use their shampoo because it was full of sulfates.