Sunday, October 20, 2013

To Manipulate or Not


To manipulate, that is the question.  

On this natural hair journey of mine I'm discovering so many new things. For example, last week I maintained up-dos the entire week with the exception of taking my hair down and putting it in a ponytail during workouts. I don't like getting my ends wet during my workouts. In the evening I did the pineapple thingy with my hair. Violet doesn't like it when I leave her alone. LOL   Because I didn't twist my hair in the evenings I experienced mild shedding and didn't retain a whole lot of moisture. I did apply the LOC method to my hair and still experienced the shedding. 

So I learned my lesson. For me, it's impossible for me to not re-twist my hair in the evenings and I didn't like the condition of my hair last week. It looked great in an up do, but I just noticed the difference in the texture and how my ends reacted.  

Last night I re-twisted my hair and today it's retained moisture, bouncy, and full. I need to take my hair down at least a few days out of the week, but when the strong winds kick up I'll be doing a whole lot of bunning and an occasional updo. 


Monday, October 7, 2013

Protein Shakes, Excerise, and Healthy Hair

Since I workout six days a week, I like drinking protein drinks before and after my program. I'm happy to say I'm in my second round, second month of the Insanity workout. (I'll do a post on this soon.)

Not only is it imperative to have an excellent exercise regimen in place for endurance and strength training, it is essential to help with circulation. Exercise lowers cholesterol, subdues arthritis and combats old age. I'm 42 years old and I'm in the best shape of my life. Insanity will give you definition for sure while blasting away unwanted pounds.

In my family we have a history of high blood pressure, hip, back, and knee problems. During my periods of inactivity, I noticed slight aches and pains. Sometimes in the morning, it was a major production just getting out of bed. When I'm active, I don't feel a thing, with the exception of my knee acting up every now and again. Quitting my workouts is not an option.

I've been a yo-yo exerciser all my life and this year my goal is to continue working out on a regular basis. Now this past week was a little hard, I skipped two days of my workout, so I'm starting week two over again. I guess working out late in the evening took a slight toll on my body. Sometimes switching routines up helps tremendously.

Okay, I'm getting off track here. The purpose of this post is about protein shakes and natural hair. I first started using protein shakes back in 2005 when my hair was relaxed and I noticed a great amount of length retention and thickness in my hair. Unfortunately I slacked up using the shakes back then (as I did with exercising) I believe in conjunction with a healthy diet, fitness regimen, and maintaining the moisture balance in hair, protein mixes can promote the growth of hair.

I've used various shakes over the years. Just a few months ago I stocked up on peanut butter and chocolate Syntha 6 that I ordered from BodyBuilding.com. This was my first time trying this shake and I fell in love with the taste. It also wards off cravings, so if you're a snacker, protein shakes are ideal for you. Syntha 6 can be ordered from bodybuilding.com or the Vitamin Shoppe if you want access to it right away.

I ordered the Gold Whey mix below about a month ago. It has a delicious taste to it as well, but not like Syntha 6. Oh yeah, and the Quest protein bars are awesome too! They're great if you have to roll out the house. Remember folks, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and skipping your meals isn't an option! You need to fuel your body to get through the day!


One scoop of Gold Why has about 120 calories in it, and this is more than enough if your worried about caloric intake and are inactive. My Syntha 6 had about 200 calories per scoop, but that's okay because sometimes you have to up your calorie intake if you're committing to an intense program like Insanity or P90X.

Ladies, please know you're not going to bulk up if you take protein shakes. Protein aids in repairing muscle fibers and you'll find you're not as sore after a workout. If you don't have a protein shake, a simple glass of chocolate milk does the trick too. I know, it sounds crazy but it does work, I've done it before.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Violet is Blooming

Honestly I can't believe I didn't take the time to learn about my hair up until now.  We're totally co-existing in a peaceful manner.

While I absolutely loved my wigs, I can't believe I stifled Violet beneath them since April 2012. It's been a few weeks after my twists extensions have been taken out and let's just say I think I've adjusted well.

Violet has been in a bun all week and I just took her down to moisturize her with KeraCare...Boy I love that stuff!!  I've been using this as a moisturizer because to be honest I must remind myself that oils aren't to be used as moisturizers!!  See what I mean? Same goes for hair grease. I can't believe it because that's all we used back in the day was grease and water. Go figure.  Well peeps, until next time.