Easter Twistout! (a brief look at my difference in textures)

As I was taking my twists down today, I noticed that my twistout was more popping than usual..so I decided to share! I didn't separate it out because..well.....I don't really feel like it. lol ;) [It's one of those days]

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the textures in the front of my head are a very loose texture in comparison to the texture at the back of my head. 

The ends become very stretched out and seem to lose the little bit of "curl pattern" they have, so it's really annoying doing twistouts/braidouts, etc...cause the front will lose definition DAYS before the back does.

 Some people try to say maybe it's heat damage. Yea...no. It just grows that way. lol

I do protein treatments and set my ends on rollers and blah blah blah, but the ends will return to their stringy selves in the next two days....

The back and middle your typical 4 a-b textures. No complaints other than the fact that it grows slower than the hair in the front..and my hair in the middle of my head doesn't seem to grow at all. I've been hoping that the castor oil has been helping but, in all honesty, I haven't really been documenting any progress (oops =/)

Welp, there it is!

Have a Happy Easter everyone!!

=D

Cheap, EASY Lemon Scrub!

I've been using a lot of lemons lately (mainly because my mom bought me a 3lb bag of them) and I've kind of been regretting throwing away the rinds once I'm finished squeezing out the juice. Now, MOST of the time, I'd be squeezing the juice from them to use for my face anyway so I thought why not just use the leftover juice in the rind as well! 

I know...revolutionizing, right? *pats self on back* ;)

So what you want to do is take your lemon rind and flatten it out as much as possible.

Then add a reasonable amount of baking soda...

....and then scrub your face with it! 

It will feel bubbly and cool...and then it will sting. Lol

It leaves my face a little red at first, but it goes away after a couple of minutes. 

Easy, right? Cheap, right? AND it works!
I usually follow this up with fresh aloe juice from the actual plant. 

* I wouldn't reuse the rind for your face again, cause the juice will be alkaline because of the baking soda. I was thinking of maybe soaking it in my vinegar and using that solution as a natural cleaner?? Idk. I haven't tried it out yet....but I will!

HAPPY HEALTH!

=D

March Fitness Challenge Update!

Okay, so I started the ab and squat challenges both on March 9 (I was late ;) )

I haven't really been seeing any big difference in my abs, but my legs are DEFINITELY getting stronger. 

Along with the squats, I've been going to the gym on campus and doing squats/lunges on the Smith  Machine (squat machine) and although my legs sometimes feel like they're about to fall off, they're gaining more shape! 

Cellulite's still there (WOMP) but I know it'll take alot more than working out to reduce that, but I'm still trying! I have yet to try out that coffee scrub that I saw on Pinterest (mainly because coffee isn't cheap) but I'll suck it up and buy some....

I've decided to reincorporate cardio back into my workouts, cause I basically only lift and do crunches and squats...and I'm pretty sure that's the reason why I haven't noticed any spectacular change in my abs. 

I've also decided that once I run out of meat, that I'm not gonna buy anymore. So we'll see how that goes.

*temporary Vegetarian*

Anywhooz, here are my updated pics!

March 17 (8 days after I began)

March 17, right

March 17, left

Today, left

Today, right

Today, abs

I Think I'm Allergic...

These pics don't really show the flare up that good..but it was fairly red

Hey Guys!

So, I was kinda "bootleg washing" my hair today. I combined my baking soda w/ my Aussie Moist to scrub my scalp (which USUALLY works) and conditioned with the same mixture. Everything was good and gravy, as usual, until I got out of the shower. I noticed the sides of my cheeks (where I broke out while using Cantu) were starting to itch. When I looked in the mirror, I saw that the sides of my cheeks were starting to flare up and turn red. -___________-

I tell you, having sensitive skin is the WORST. I'm about to seriously go cold turkey on these store bought products...like, foreal. Cause I can't deal..these flare ups are starting to work my nerves. *sighs* so I decided to make my bentonite clay mask (that I'm currently waiting to dry as I type this) and I'm gonna follow up w/ some raw aloe vera juice/gel from the actual plant that I have. 

I really need to go to a dermatologist so that they can determine exactly which ingredient it is that I'm allergic to...cause these breakouts are not life. 

Meanwhile,

 I've decided to give you guys an idea of what my mask usually looks like through this pictorial...Enjoy!

 

The amount of aloe vera gel I use. I'd say about a 1/4 c

..next I add the juice of 1 lemon

I typically guess-timate the amount of bentonite to add. I like it to be thick..but not lumpy...

I mix it up with my finger and this is what it typically looks like. It will be foamy at first because of the reaction w/ the lemon but it will deflate after a minute or two.

Then apply & let it dry! Rinse it off w/ warm water & pat face dry =)

 HAPPY HEALTH!

=D

Fitness Challenge for March

I took this about last month ...it doesn't look like this when I'm not flexing. lmao

 I just started my workout plan today...(I've been slackin) but, hey...better late than never!

Like I said in my last post, I'm going to be focusing mostly on my legs/booty during my workouts, but I found myself tryna do this ab challenge for March as well....smh. I be tryna do too much! I blame Pinterest...-__-   LOL

I'm also cutting out sweets *gasp*

...&that includes juice, but only if it's from concentrate. If it's 100% fruit juice...imma drink that. lol

As far as incorporating more protein into my diet as I've previously stated...I don't have the funds to eat alot of meat, so I might find myself eating more beans and nuts and stuff...*sighs* 

Being broke while tryna get your life together<<<

#TheAlmightyStruggle

Anyways....

Here are my workout challenges for this month!! 

I did these this morning and the ab one was kicking my butt...that's what I get for not working out in 50yrs...-____- I started on March 1 so that I get the full month in. 

As for these squats, I did half of them regular squats and the other half jumping squats. I plan on switching up the style of squats I do each week just so that I get all of my booty muscles working. I started on day 1 of this one as well..and doing the regular squats was fine, but those jumping squats man.....*phew*. I almost died.

....isn't her booty glorious?? lawd...

Feel free to join along in this challenge! But if not...

HAPPY HEALTH!

=D

March Skin Update!

Okay guys, so my regimen has basically stayed the same. I've been doing my bentonite clay masks every other day, along with exfoliating w/ baking soda and doing a weekly lemon sugar scrub. I'm going to gradually reduce the amount of times I do my masks to only doing them weekly once my skin sort of balances itself out. It's behaving better, apart from my menstrual breakouts but those only occur once a month. I haven't had any signs of cystic acne on ANY part of my body, which is GREAT (whoop whoop!) and I'm trying to figure out a way to shrink my pores...cause they're GINORMOUS (like...literally). 

I've also made my own shealoe concoction (not really, it's just shea butter and aloe vera gel) and when I tell you...I LOVE this stuff. The aloe moisturizes my skin SO well and the shea butter just LOCKS it all in, it's glorious! lmao I use it all over my body, and once I'm finished with my body, I rub whatever is left on my hands onto my face so that I don't put too much on it. So I must say, so far so good! I also used the shealoe mixture on my hair this week for my twistout &can you say BAAAANGIIIIIN!!? Lawwwd...shealoe is life.

edges w/ shealoe applied!  curls just start POPPIN.

I got the aloe vera gel and the shea butter on amazon. I think it cost me about $15 for them both...but don't quote me on that, just go look for yourself. Lol

 ALSO....

I'm gonna share my bentonite clay mask recipe w/ you guys! (Yaaaaay!)

1 cup Bentonite clay

1 lemon, deseeded

Directions:

Combine and mix thoroughly until no lumps/ dry spots remain and a smooth "paste" is formed. Add a small amount of water if needed.  Refrigerate for up to a week.

There it is!

HAPPY HEALTH!

=D