Henna: My Experience As a Transitioner!

The back of my henna'd head!

                                                

   So I have stated before that I am going  natural and that I was going to do a henna post, well here it is! I heard of hennaing natural hair before, and the purpose of it for natural hair is to naturally dye hair is (only works if your hair is not black or dark brown), give shine,  stronger and thicker hair, and some believe it can loosen the hair texture. I wanted all of the above but was hesitant to do henna because, like most natural hair blogs I researched henna from, the "henna experiment" was done on fully natural hair and not on transitioning hair. 

   So I went on youtube and I found one transitioner who henna'd and it's pretty much the same thing! Also everyone can henna their hair no matter what race. So I went to my local Indian store which is an hour away, and I got whatever henna there was 'cause I trust the store to bring me the good stuff. The henna I bought is called Reshma Henna, and it looks like this:

                                                   

  Yep, anyway the henna process is a long one that's why I'm planning on doing it once a month to see the benefits. I tried the application after Christmas and my hair kind of had a looser texture but not really, and it was softer, but what I like the most was that my hair was easier to detangle and I could literally put my fingers through my hair after being out of the shower which never happened before. The cons of the henna application is that it is a long process ( I would say from setting the henna before applying to rinsing out the henna it is about a total of 12 hours!), and it is very hard to rinse out so don't expect it all to rinse out after washing it once.

   I was also warned of the application being messy, but there really wasn't too much of a mess when applying, just that when I slept overnight with it in my hair my bedsheets were stained (oops!). I also didn't get to play much with my hair this month to fully embrace my newly henna'd hair. The reason was beacuse my hair was in cornrows and under a wig for protective styling. Overall, I like it so far and will continue applying it once a month to see better results. Here's me rocking the henna:

My hair now at seven months of transitioning (no product):

  P.S - Henna can be drying to your hair, so I wouldn't suggest using lemons or ACV when mixing in the henna.I instead  used brewed tea and olive oil!

Pamper Yourself, Dahling!

  
                                  


     Now that Christmas break is over, and I am instantly swamped with a butt load of coursework, I have to remember to pace myself while making sure to get things done. In our ever-changing fast world we find ourselves to be cramped up with so much work, like doing errands, homework, whatever people do at jobs ('cause I wouldn't know in this economy), cleaning, volunteering, and so forth. It is very important to just take a break and to not overdo these requirements  because you may end up in the hospital with IV fluids running through your veins (no joke). Seriously, when we pamper ourselves we acknowledge the fact that we care about ourselves more than anyone else, which isn't as bad as it sounds, because in the end every single choice we make should benefit us in some way.

   You don't have to go to some five-star hotel and order the most expensive spa package  there is, it would be nice though, but it could just be going to the beach, reading a good book, painting your nails, writing a good story, writing a bad story, eating your favorite dish, basically anything that you like to do for fun. You see today while I was running around and doing my errands, I stopped by at Red Mango and you know I got me a nice, tasty Mango Mandarin smoothie. I also decided to paint my nails my favorite color: purple!

Ignore the bad paint job.

 

 

 

       Honestly, doing these simple pleasures makes me feel a lot better and takes a whole load of stress weighing on top of my shoulder blades. Also, it only takes about five minutes to do some of the things I like to do to pamper myself. In addition, let's just all breathe in and then breathe out whenever we feel stressed, just to know that we are still alive  and how much of a blessing that really is.

Eating Healthy Plus Healthy Sites!

Mmmm...!

                               
                            

                I am doing weekly posts now that school is back on. Anyway, we all have heard that beauty is in the inside. Well then it is important to put good things inside our body, and eating healthy  is  the key. Having sickle cell it is important for me to eat fresh foods to help my body produce healthy blood cells. However, you don't have to have an illness, or be overweight to start eating healthier. When I eat healthy I notice that I have a better attitude, I am more alert and happy about going on with my day.

                    Healthy is NOT eating junk food.
                
                    Healthy is NOT overeating.

                    Healthy is NOT under-eating.

                    Healthy is NOT fad dieting.

             Healthy is eating fresh produce, more cooking instead of buying, eating less of packaged foods. Also eating healthy is not suppose to be stressful,yes,  it is easier to go to McDonalds and order a Big Mac but if you went home and made some rice and beans doused with Tilapia fish and some vegetables on the side  or something that would be more satisfying and make you feel less sluggish at the end of the day.

     Anyway, this info is not new to anyone. Everyone knows you have to eat healthy because when you do it shows, from physical traits like hair, and skin to confidence as well.You don't have to become a vegan, or exercise every single minute of the day, just start with a few vegetables a day and go from there. I don't really go on a lot of  healthy sites honestly, but here is the top two that win first place in my heart!

Heyfranhey.com- Franchesca is the real deal when it comes to being healthy. Her website is full of How-to's on healthy dishes, exercising, and natural beauty remedies. However, she does show more of a  vegan-strict diet when giving out recipes which, trust me, isn't always easy to follow. Nevertheless, when reading her blog you get a sense that she really wants to help you, as she was in a similar state of being unhealthy and curing her kidney dialysis with eating more organic foods.

Greatist.com- This site is great for when you are starving from a disastrously long day and you find yourself screaming at the fridge for betraying you. This site makes you apologize to that fridge, so you can make some easy but satisfying healthy meals. The site also provides meat, vegetarian, and vegan meals to satisfy your appetite. It also has fitness tutorials that range from cardio to yoga!

Getting Help!

                                        
            This is not a PSA for depression...unless you want it to be.
         
         Wow! We're a week into the new year, and that usually means that people are working on their
 resolutions (if they haven't already). Mine is obviously talking to more people this year, but I think this  a year to work on yourself. Whether you want to get healthy, learn a skill, change careers, get a career, more friends, whatever!

    Sometimes those things can't be done on our own, therefore it is always great to seek help when you need it. I was severly depressed for a large amount of time, and when I finally had a break down that almost cost me my college career I knew that I couldn't battle this out on my own. I went through four psychologists to  until I finally found the right one to help me with my problems, but when you find the right one it is well worth it. It doesn't need to be a psychologist, but can be a friend, a relative, a teacher, a blog--whatever!

   I know I am sounding like a corny school guidance counselor, but sometimes we take on a lot of stress or try something that we have no idea how to do! Then we let our egos tell us that we don't need help and, for someone who likes to be independent like myself, it's hard to hear that we need an extra hand. If you still don't have a new year's resolution vow that you will do your hardest to make a better life for yourself, even if it's changing old habits.  Even if at the end of the year things don't go as plan (because sometimes they don't) you will know that you did something different than the year before and that's all that matters.

 

Here's some motivation from Iyanla Vanzant!