Changing Platforms

Hello Everyone,

I know, I know!....I haven't posted to this blog in so long.  Well, some of you may know that I have a passion for makeup, aside from my natural hair, and I've created a blog for that via Tumblr.  If you haven't checked out my RéAL Beauty blog please check it out...

http://realbeauty-ral.tumblr.com/

With that said, I really wanted to continue my hair blog and I've been enjoying the platform that Tumblr provides.  I will no longer update this blog site.  I've moved all of my past blogs to the Tumblr platform.  You can find these and future hair blogs at:

http://www.rootofthenatural.tumblr.com/http://www.rootofthenatural.tumblr.com/

I will keep this blog up for about a week or two and then I will shut it down.  Hopefully you all will continue to follow me on Tumblr.  Thanks so much for your support and I'll see you at my new location.

Thanks for taking time to read my blog
Peace & Blessings…. Natural4Rachel

HOTD: Twists

     Hello Everyone! It's been 3months since my last blog post.  Where have I been?  Well I've gotten sidetracked with pursuing makeup artistry.  Things are going well with that and I've been very busy.  I've been so busy that I actually forgot my 1 year Anniversary post Big Chop on Sept. 30th, 2012. Maybe it was because I was doing a photo shoot that day. Well it's never too late....HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO ME! 

      This has been a great year of discovery while on my journey.  The first thing I've learned is that my hair grows very fast.  Thank goodness for growth.  The next thing I've learned is that it is possible to come out of product junkieism....LOL!  There comes a time when you discover which products work the best for your hair and you stick with them for a while. It's not bad to try new things but I will always have my go-to products.  My staples right now consist of WEN by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioner, Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque as my deep conditioner (I've finally run out of Bee Mine Deep Conditioner), and Kinky Curly Curling Custard  & Knot Today for wash and go styles.  When I want a conditioner only wash and go I use Tresemme Naturals Conditioner as my styler.  

     Today I've twisted my hair using Bee Mine Curly Butter and I've pulled most of the twists back into a ponytail.  The front twists are kind of pinned to the side. In the spirit of the series Game of Thrones..."Winter is Coming."  I know it is still fall, but from now and through the winter I am challenging myself to wear my hair twisted and pulled back or pinned up. I really want to work on my protective styling and see how this affects my hair growth.  If I need to dress myself up I'll just wear a twist out.  This will allow me to perfect that style as well.  

   Overall I've enjoyed this first year of being natural.  I can't say that it was hard for me.  I can say that most of my days were good hair day.  I haven't felt any sort of frustration with my hair.  Now that I've said all of that, lets hope that my second year is just as easy.  Right now my hair is in that awkward length stage. It's just another hurdle I will get past.  

     Where am I going with this blog?  Well my goal is to probably move it to the Tumblr platform.  If and/or when I do this I will be sure to direct you all accordingly.  Until then...

Thanks for reading my blog and please subscribe :)

Peace & Blessings....

Natural4Rachel

HOTD: No more gray....for now....

Since my big chop last September my gray hair had become more and more noticeable.  For the longest time I've wanted to color my hair but I didn't want to put any more chemicals in my hair.  I was afraid of possible color damage, excess dryness, and a possible change in my curl pattern.  Well, none of these fears manifested. I used Clairol Textures & Tones Permanent Moisture-Rich Hair Color in Dark Brown 2N.  This hair color does not contain ammonia.  I did research and compared products before making my choice.  Clairol's Textures and Tones consistently had good reviews and was tested by Consumer Reports.  Overall I had good results with this product.  It covered all of my gray hair.  The dark brown is very rich and dark. Today my hair does not feel dry and it is very soft.  I am pleased!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and please subscribe :)

Peace & Blessings....

Natural4Rachel

 

Cleansing...

Happy Thursday!  I've probably already mentioned in a previous post that Thursday is my favorite day of the week.  Anyway....let me get to the point of this post.....Cleansing

As you can see from a lot of the pictures I post of my natural hair journey, I wear makeup often.  Unless you are close to me and my family you will rarely see me without my "face" on.  Makeup is something that I enjoy wearing and applying on others.  I have VERY OILY skin and it is prone to acne if I do not properly cleanse it. Just like I enjoy putting on the makeup, I enjoy cleansing it. I think it is the most important step (the FIRST and the LAST step). 

Cleansing the skin is fairly easy.  The products and technique I use may not be right for everyone; you have to use what works well for your skin type and sensitivity level.

1.)  After a long day with my "face"on I begin my cleansing regime by removing as much makeup as I can with a makeup removing facial wipe.  I don't have a particular brand I'm drawn to but baby wipes can do the trick as well.

2.)   Second, I remove as much eye makeup as I can.  For hard stubborn waterproof eyeliner and mascara I find using good ole' Vaseline works just as well or better than an eye makeup remover.  Don't get me wrong, I have eye makeup remover as well.  What you use is your personal preference. I normally wipe the Vaseline off using the same facial wipe I used to wipe off my foundation.

3.) Next, I use my cleanser.  I cleanse my face using my hands and Philosophy's Purity.  You can use a cleanser that works well for you.  I findPurity is excellent for removing makeup.  When I am out of Purity I use Neutrogena®Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub. After I rinse my initial cleanser off with water, I go back and cleanse my face again using the Clarisonic. The Clarisonic pulls more dirt and makeup from deep within your pores.  The Clarisonic is what dramatically cleared up my skin and minimized the amount of breakouts I would have.

4.) After cleansing I use Witch Hazel as my toner.  This is just another measure to help pull traces of makeup out of my pores and gently reduces the size of my pores. It also helps remove access oil.

5.  Finally, it is time to moisturize.  Remember, I have VERY OILY skin so I do not moisturize regularly.  Within 20 minutes my face will look like a disco ball even without the use of a moisturizer.  If you have dry, normal, or combination skin I suggest to moisturize based on your skins needs.  Although I do not use a moisturizer regularly I do use an eye cream at night.

My particular regimen may not be right/perfect to you but what I want you to get out of this post is to WASH YOUR MAKEUP OFF EVERY NIGHT. DO NOT SLEEP WITH MAKEUP ON. Once I consistently followed this simple rule I developed fewer breakouts.  For me, it wasn't the makeup that was breaking me out.  It was not properly cleansing my skin that lead to breakouts. 

As always, what works for me may not work for you.  I do hope that what I share does help someone.  

Thanks for taking time to read my blog and please subscribe :)

 

Peace & Blessings....

 

Natural4Rachel

The Latest....

Hi Everyone!  I'm sure you are wondering where I've been.  The answer is nowhere.  But, I've been embarking on another one of my passions.  Makeup!  What better way to set off your look then by putting on a great face.  On Sunday, June 10th I was given an opportunity to participate in a photo shoot for the CinciNatural Hair Group and their upcoming magazine.  This was an awesome experience.  The photographer is Gregory Cooper Spencer of Cooper Spencer Images.  It was great to be able to bring two loves together....natural hair and makeup artistry.  I had the opportunity to meet so many nice people with great talents.  I want to shout out Lee, Katrelle TravelingStylist, Alex Spencer, Tequana LastraintuParis Colvin, Shtequina Q Ray, Iam NJ, Michael True Aquarius Jackson, Theron Washington, Jessica Boonz, April & Angel! I enjoyed being in "The Place" with you all.  Also I want to thank Trever Thomas for recommending me for this job. For posts to come, I plan to continue sharing my makeup artistry and hair experiences with you. Below are a couple of behind the scenes pics from the shoot.

 

Thanks for taking time to read my blog and please subscribe :)

 

Peace & Blessings....

 

Natural4Rachel

Today's Hair: Conditioner ONLY Wash-n-Go

 

Happy Monday Everyone!

I just wanted to show you my conditioner only wash-n-go.  This is actually 3rd day hair.  I did my hair this past Saturday.  All I will say right now is that I'm loving it.  This conditioner only wash-n-go gives me the look of 2nd day hair after using gel (more volume and softer).  I usually like my gel wash-n-gos more after the 2nd and 3rd day. This was my first attempt using conditioner only, so after I've tried it a few more times I will share my regime with you.  

Thanks for reading my blog and please subscribe :)

Peace & Blessings

Natural4Rachel

Natural Empowerment

Good Monday morning!

Well, here is my only blog post for the month of April....I have only three words "Do Better Rachel."  

A couple of weeks ago I met a nice young lady in passing, and we both admired each others' hair.  During our conversation we talked about how going natural has increased our self-confidence and feelings of the like. Then she asked me, can going natural automatically increase a young ladies self-confidence/self-esteem?  In my opinion, the answer is "NO."  What you get out of being natural is relative to each individual.  I believe that going natural will not make you be or feel something that you are not or already possess.  If a young lady or man is suffering from low self-esteem, going natural is not going to automatically boost their self-esteem. I think that in some cases it could make the low self-esteem worse.  I say this because making the decision to got natural goes against the grain of what society has labeled as beautiful.  To have long straight hair is having good hair and to have short kinky hair is having bad hair.  Thankfully, this is becoming less of the case, but still, going natural is a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. Some people need to be mentally prepared for it because not everyone is accepting of natural kinky-curly hair.  I believe that if you already have a decent amount of high self-esteem/ self-confidence and have made the decision to go natural then you are have probably said to yourself that this is what you were going to do and you don't really care what anyone else thinks about it.  You are making this decision for YOURSELF. With that decision may come increased confidence, increased since of self, and freedom. For example, girlfriend of mine who went natural shortly after I did said that going natural has given her more knowledge about how to take care of herself.  Learning to take care of her hair has contributed to taking better care of her skin and watching her diet. 

So in the end I can say that going natural has ADDED to my self-confidence that I already possessed.  What has going natural done for you?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.  

Thanks for taking time to read my blog and please subscribe :)

Peace & Blessings....

Natural4Rachel