My Box Braid Styles!

I'll Be Back!

So it's the holidays and I've just been home spending time with family. This means I haven't got around to doing any cute styles but just for kicks I'll do a few videos on a couple of styles that I've done so far.

My box braids will be coming down in January so my coils will be back and I have so many ideas for my hair!

See you soon!

with Love from Liv <3

My Top 5 Beauty Must-haves!!

When it comes to hair and skin women go through so much trying to beautify ourselves. Not only do we waste a lot of time but we also shell out a lot of money! I've found some basic products and tips that have guided me through my skin and hair issues. I'm 19 so I'm crossing over from those awkward teenage years into my twenties and my skin is changing but I've narrowed a few things that help me maintain my good looks:

5. Lotion!

Moisturizing your skin is one of the best things you can do for it. I slap on some Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula after each shower and in between when my skin is dull and dry. Not only do lotions and butters keep your skin moisturized, they also keep it smooth and smelling amazing!

4. Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe Vera Gel is super moisturizing. I use it to moisturize my face after my two daily washes and my skin soaks it right up. It has no alcohol and the brand I use, Fruit of The Earth, is 100% Aloe Vera so it contains no extra fragrances or colors. I know many naturals use Aloe Vera for their hair, I don't but I'm sure the benefits are just as great!

3. Milk of Magnesia (Laxative)

What?!? I know, it sounds crazy but I use milk of magnesia on my face. I have very oily skin and I was surfing YouTube one day looking for a solution and I found multiple videos that were advocating milk of magnesia to solve problems with oily skin. I tried it and it works for me! I apply a moderate amount to a cotton ball and then blot it onto my face, focusing on the problem areas. It dries white so I either rinse it off or apply my moisturizer over it. My face is instantly matte! If you're wary about using it, watch a few YouTube videos or find information on acne help websites.

2. Cleanser

Washing your face is so important. We are bombarded with impurities and bacteria each day and all of it collects onto our faces. I use Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser morning and night to rid my face of dirt and oil. The active ingredient is Salicylic acid which treats acne. This cleanser is great because it doesn't dry out my face and I definitely noticed a difference in my skin when I started using it.
(PLUS: Don't forget to exfoliate your skin 2-3 times a week, this really helps get rid of dead skin and excess dirt!)

1. WATER!

Water is so important to your body; it makes up 2/3 of everything inside you, from your blood to your saliva. Your body needs water!! Too bad no one likes it... When I first started trying to drink lots of water I discouraged myself by keeping track of how much I was drinking. Now I simply choose to drink only water with 2 meals a day and for one meal I allow myself to drink one glass of juice/tea/soda and one glass of water. I also only keep water to drink in my dorm which forces me to drink it instead of going downstairs to the cafeteria to get something else. Tricking myself into drinking water has worked out the best!

BONUS: Vitamins!

Ok I know this makes 6 things on my list but I must stress the importance of taking a vitamin! No matter your age your body needs vitamins to function. Vitamins are nutrients.

 Nutrient: any substance which an animal cannot produce or synthesize in its own body.

This means that the only way your body can acquire vitamins is through your diet. Some people may be able to get all the vitamins they need through their diet but the average Joe or Jane has a diet that is missing a few key nutrients. This is where vitamins come in. They work wonders on your metabolism (Vitamin B), do great things for you hair and skin (Vitamin A). Why wouldn't you want to take them?

When It's Time to Speak Up..

I've never been one for confrontation, I guess you can say I've been pretty shy most of my life. As I've gotten older I have been faced with different situations that have forced me to confront others about certain issues. It's nearly killed me every time!

I don't stand up for myself the way I should because I would rather pretend there isn't a problem than be forced into confrontation. I'm not blunt or bitchy but there have been numerous times when I knew I should have said something but just couldn't bring myself to do it.

I've talked to numerous people about this and they all say the same thing: speak up. It sounds so easy but for someone like me it's nearly impossible no matter how uncomfortable or offended I may get. It is sad in a way and I know it's something I have to work on.

But what about when a friend or loved one does or says something you don't appreciate? How do you confront that person without putting your relationship in jeopardy?

These are a few things I've been struggling with lately. Confrontation scares me but at the end of the day, if something bothers me too much I have to speak up and solve the problem.

HSOTD

Check out how I did this style! It was really simple and really cute!

Box Braids!

Please check out the post below for more details!

Box Braids!

I surprised myself by following through with doing my own box braids. That's right, I did them myself!! I did have a few awesome friends take the time out of their Friday to help me!

The process started at around 1:00 pm and ended at around 3:00 am. Take into consideration we stopped to eat dinner and my friends left by 12am so the last few braids were left to me.

I hated this process!! I couldn't sit still and as much as my friends and I tried to entertain ourselves by watching Waiting to Exhale and Kevin Heart it took sooo long!

I used Kanekalon braiding hair and used 4 1/2 bags. I burned the ends at 3am something and called it a night!

I absolutely love these braids! And yes, I do whip my hair back and forth lol! I can't wait to start doing cute styles and best believe I will be updating the blog with all my cool HSOTDs.

Dark Skin v. Light Skin

World AIDS Day

I know people are going to get tired of me tweeting and updating my facebook status about World AIDS Day but its so important that people are aware. As a college student whose college campus has a number of HIV positive students, I think people should be more conscious of their health and the circumstances of actions like unprotected sex. I wont bore anyone with a lecture about AIDS awareness, instead just got to this site http://www.worldaidsday.org/!!

"It is bad enough people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance." -Elizabeth Taylor

Check It Out!

This is an awesome video I watched over at A Curl's Best Friend. Ms. Hadiiya Barbel talks about her views on hair and wigs (which she calls 'crowns').

A little Inspiration

I saw this picture on an amazing tumblr called awesome people hanging out together. These ladies are so inspiring to me!

HSOTD

Out of pure laziness I've been wearing scarves and beanies so much lately! When I came home for Thanksgiving I found an awesome scarf that had been lying around the house for years and did something a bit different with it.

Excuse me, I was trying yo be vintage, circa 1950, and I thought it was really cute so I made some of my pictures look a little old school just for fun!

Scarves are a really fun way to accessorize and I will definitely be wearing them throughout the winter!

HSOTD

BANTU KNOTS!!

I love Bantu Knots but I have to be in a certain mood to actually do them; if I want the right results I have to take my time.

I started with dry hair and detangled using a mix of water and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner and a paddle brush. I used Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream to seal in the moisture. I made 14 knots which I secured with bobby pins.

Freshly taken down; not styled. 

Here is the style I went for. I simply pushed my hair back with an elastic headband. I kept it really loose and created a bump in the front. This bantu knot-out lasted three days.

HSOTD

 I wanted to do something a little different with my twists so I pinned them up in the back and added a cute scarf to give the style some color!

 

PLUS, I got this awesome ring for $3 from a lady selling jewelry at the student union! So cute!

Check It Out!

Me featured on CurlyNikki.com for 15 Days of Giving Thanks! Find it here!

Check It Out!!

My nails are fly...

Thanks to my friend Ray over on tumblr (check her out!) 

They were inspired by the Arizona Green Tea can, of all things, and I think Ray did an awesome job!

Am I really going to do my own Box Braids?!

So every once in a while I hit a plateau when it comes to my hair; I don't know how to style it, I don't want to style it, and everything I do with it just doesn't look good enough. I'm seriously thinking about doing box braids (or Senegalese twists) for the winter time. Why?.....

 

Because they are so versatile and beautiful!! As you can see Solange Knowles and Jada Pinkett-Smith have worn them fabulously!

I would really love to wear this style this winter, but I don't want to come out of pocket too drastically to have them done. To solve this dilemma I'm just going to learn how to do them myself (I've estimated it will take about 14 hours based on the YouTube videos I've watched. Yikes!) Nonetheless, I'm really  excited to do something new with my hair!

Hopefully I'll be able to purchase the synthetic braiding hair over Thanksgiving break next week, in the meantime I'll be teaching myself how to braid with extensions. Wish me luck!

Pros and Cons of the Natural Hair Comminuty

In the past few years that I've been natural I have been both led and mislead by the blogs I've read and the fellow naturals I've had conversations with.

There are some wonderful things about the Natural community that I really appreciate, such as:

Strong Sense of Community

Naturals can relate to each other on many levels and I think it's great to have a support system there to back you up or give advice when you need it. This network of people can come in handy when you go natural on a whim or on your own. Although my mom is natural, we went about the process of going natural in different ways; she did the big chop and eventually got Sister Locks while I opted to long-term transition. It was really helpful to have sites like NaturallyCurly.com and CurlyNikki.com to coach me along in the process of transitioning and learning all the natural hair lingo. No matter how you choose to go natural or maintain your natural hair, the Natural community is a great resource for every curly girl or guy.

Promotion of Positive Black women

As a young black woman, I find it inspiring to see professional black women wearing natural styles and inadvertently sending a positive message that says its okay to be who you are and style your hair in its natural state even in the workplace. Using my mom as an example again, I was really proud to see her wear her TWA (teeny-weeny Afro) to work and later flaunting her beautiful Sister Locks. On sites such as Curly Nikki there are many contributions from natural bloggers who are successful black women; the sites creator herself is a licensed psychotherapist. I really appreciate this promotion of positive black women because I hope that one day I can be as successful and be someone else's role model.

Source of Education

The Natural community touches on more than just the physical aspects of natural hair; bloggers and vloggers alike discuss the psychology behind natural hair and the natural lifestyle that many naturals adopt. There was a lot I had to think about before going natural, the main thing being why my hair was relaxed in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I hold nothing against my parents for deciding to relax my hair, my concern lies in why society pressures black women to relax their hair and why we let it happen.

Despite answering this question, the Natural community has educated me on the dynamics of natural hair; curl type, what products to use, what products not to use, and all the do's and don'ts of maintaining natural hair. The main reason I stress education on natural hair is that curly hair in general is complex and if you want healthy natural hair it takes more than just avoiding relaxers and flat irons.

I have to be honest, in my opinion there aren't many downfalls to the Natural community except:

Negativity toward relaxed women
Ok, like I said I've read many blogs and articles on natural hair and I've found that many naturals can be negative toward relaxed women and even women with weave or dyed hair.
I'm a huge fan of versatility when it comes to hair; I find it so annoying to wear my hair the same way all the time, so I have flat ironed my hair and dyed it since going natural. Some naturals would say this isn't truly natural but I think its ok to change up your look a bit every once in a while.

Within the Natural community there are very strongly opinionated people who preach about not relaxing and even leading a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle in order to be completely natural. That's all good if it's what you want to do but that's not the only way to go about being natural.

I think the Natural community, with it's vast network of people all over the world, should focus on uplifting women of all hair types, whether relaxed, permed, or not, instead of making others feel inadequate.
I think a lot of negativity toward naturals comes from the idea that we feel we're better than other black women, or women of any ethnicity for that matter, who use chemicals.


So those are my PROS and CONS of the Natural Hair Community! These are just my thoughts so I encourage you to research on your own and educated yourself so you can form an opinion on this community.

HSOTD!!

So I'm back with my HSOTD. I actually did something to my hair today so I figured I'd share a few pictures.

I wanted a more interesting look with different textures but instead of just letting my two strand twists hang down like bangs, I decided to pin them up in a slightly intricate look.

I basically weaved the twists together and pinned them down with Bobbi pins. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

The style only took me about ten minutes which isn't bad compared to my usual times.

UPDATE

OK so I promise I'm still alive. I haven't done an HSOTD in a hot minute nor have I done any hair inspiration posts BUT I have some things I would like to discuss. I need to get my thoughts together and also figure out some computer issues and I'll be back! Don't fret, I think about what a crappy blogger I am everyday....

with love,
Liv

P.S.- I won the Curly Nikki '15 Days to Give Thanks' writing contest for curlynikki.com ( my favorite natural hair website) so look for my entry throughout the month of November!!

HSOTD

Here is my hair style of the day for Tuesday. After a weekend of neglecting my hair, I lightly shampooed and heavily co-washed my hair with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner. I detangled in the shower and put my hair in six braids using Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream . In the morning I took my braids down and lightly oiled my scalp with Africa's Best Super Gro Hair and Scalp Conditioner.

 

This style turned out really cute. The curls were nice and defined and I simply pulled my hair back loosely using my makeshift hair-tie (black nylon stocking).

HSOTD

I really need to get on these HSOTDs because this is from last Saturday..yay me!

This is the style that I wore to my schools homecoming game. I wanted to take out my twists and see what the result would be and it turned out really cute. The curls were super defined and bouncy; I absolutely loved it!!

Old video

Here's an older video of me styling my braid-out in my everyday style.
Music by Foster the People-"Houdini"
Please ignore my facial expressions and the fact that the song starts over like five times...

HSOTD!!

My laziness kicked in on Sunday night and I decided to wear two-strand twists this week.

I co-washed my hair that morning but I like my hair to be dry or slightly damp when I twist it so I let my hair air dry all day and then did my twists.

I simply spritzed with a bit of water and used a dab of my friend's hair food (which I would not normally use but I was too lazy to walk upstairs and get my own hair products).

 



The product I used:

HSOTD

OK this was my Hair Style of the Day for Monday. It had been a few days since I dyed my hair and it is still uneven but the color is looking better in these pictures.

I have been wearing this style all week. I've modified it a bit here and there but I'm trying to make this last. Busy week!!