I’ve been thinking about it for a long time now and I finally did it. I got two strand starter locs installed today . I’m nervous and excited at the same time. I’m sure I could have done it myself but I decided to go to a professional hairstylist. There are many ways to start locs but since my hair is so long, two strand twists was the best option. I know a lot people are going to ask me, “but why?” because I know a lot of people loved my loose coils. Here are a few reasons why I did it…

– I’m pretty sure I’m developing carpal tunnel from an excessive amount of typing at work so it’s becoming harder and harder for me to do different styles with my hair.

- My hair is long, thick, and kinky and so my hands end up cramping really bad when I’m styling it myself.

- Puffs always give my a headache so I don’t want to have to them again but sometimes it’s hard to avoid when I’m short on time.

- I don’t like other people tugging at my loose coils.

- A relaxer is not an option for me.

- I love how I look in yarn braids and would wear them every single day if I had the time or patience and since everyone thinks they are dreads anyway, why not just dread it.

- Finally, (the only reason I need) it’s my hair and this is what I wanted to do so I did it .

This is day one of a long journey. So, your support is appreciated.

Big thanks to my stylist, Paris, I know it was a whole lot of work and took a lot of patience.

 I realize I never posted before pictures. I’m 5’9” and currently about 148 lbs, my measurements are 34c-27-38. My goal is not to lose any weight but to tone my body. I don’t even weigh myself because it’s not at all important to me, as long as my pants size doesn’t change I’m happy. My focus is on my butt and thighs. I’m a pear shape body type so that makes me bottom heavy. This week I did start to incorporate some arm work because I have flabby triceps.

Everyday at work I do 2 one-mile walks during my breaks. This week at home I worked with weight.

For my arms, I did 3 sets each of…
10 Bicep Curls
10 Shoulder Press
10 Bentover Lateral Raises
10 Tricep Kickbacks
10 Upright Rows

For my legs and core, I did…
20 squats
30 lunges
40 sec planks
50 sec wall sits
100 calf raises
Then I did it again in reverse.

So, I decided to get more serious about working out again. I just completed my first week. Of course, I don’t notice any change yet but I’m starting to feel the difference already. I still do my normal two mile walk during my break at work. I’ve been doing that for a long time now. Now, I added an evening workout session to my routine.

This week I worked out to Kim Kardashian: Ultimate Butt Body Sculpt. This video gave me a great workout. I could really feel it in my butt and thighs which are my main problem areas. I get bored easy so I plan on doing something different every week so I won’t lose my motivation.

I also keep a fitness journal to help keep me accountable and focused.

The thing that keeps me the most motivated is following fitness blogs on tumblr. Those fitness blog remind me that there is no reason I should not have the body I want. I check them everyday and can’t wait to get work and exercise after seeing other people’s journeys.

Luckily for me, I’m already on the right track as far as healthy eating habits. Since I have endometriosis I’m already on a strict diet. Soy, wheat, dairy, and red meats have been out of my diet for a while now. This diet has forced me to eat more fruits, vegetables, and other fresh foods.

I’m not looking to lose any weight, I’m happy with where I am as far as weight is concerned. I’m just working on toning up. I’m proud of my progress so far and believe I will stick to it. There is no excuse not to be fit and healthy.

 I have always had the hardest time finding skinny jeans that fit me properly. Even though I’m kinda thin I have always had thick legs and thighs making it almost impossible to find skinny jeans that fit me throughout. I wear a size 7 pant but would buy my skinny jeans in a size 11 just so I wouldn’t have to cut myself out of them at the end of the day. This was until I discovered the Foxy Super Skinny Jeans by YMI at Dots. I absolutely love the skinny jeans there, they fit me perfectly and in my right size. Success!!

Product Description:

O.B.I is a company that creates hair care products with natural ingredients for people with natural hair. There is no mineral oil, parabens, sulfates, toxins, petroleum, colorants, phthalates, or gluten.

Neem & Tea Tree Shampoo Bar:

I washed my hair using the Neem & Tea Tree Shampoo Bar. I thought this product was real interesting. I have never seen shampoo in a bar. Since I’ve ever used a bar shampoo I didn’t know how to use it. I didn’t know if I was suppose to rub it on my hands and let it lather or was I suppose to rub it directly onto the hair. I tried both ways. I didn’t get much of a lather and I usually judge my shampoos by the way they lather; however, after I finished my scalp did feel clean so it did it’s job.

Curl Moisture Cream:

I applied the Curl Moisture Cream to my hair prior to detangling. This product is used to add moisture and to hydrate curls. I could see the definition of my curls come out when I applied this product to my hair. My hair also felt easier to detangle than usual.

Curl Enhancing Custard:

I used this product before styling. This product is used to make the curls pop or to smooth down the edges of the hair in any style. This product reminded me a lot of Cantu Shea Butter, which I love, except it is thicker. I think the thickness stops some shrinkage that usually occurs with natural hair. When I braided my hair and took it down for my braid out I noticed I kept some of my length. However, like Cantu Shea Butter I think it is a better stand alone product.

Curl Hydration Spray:

This product can be used daily to moisturize your hair and scalp, or to refresh your style. I sprayed this product on my hair before taking my braids for the braid-out. I gave my hair a great shine. I still use it everyday on my puff.

Product Review:

Overall, I loved the results of this braid out. There was added length and I had well defined curl over night. Usually when I do a braid out it takes a day or two for it to look as full as I like it and hide all the gaps but I had a full braid out on the first day using these products. These products can be purchased at: http://www.obinaturalhair.com/ or you could win all the products mentioned above by following the giveaway instructions below.

Giveaway Instructions:

1. You must be a subscriber to our YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/naturalnessdotcom.

2. Go to Youtube, rate, and comment on the video below by telling us what you think of the results.

3. Rate and comment on two other naturalnessdotcom videos.

You have until March 1, 2013 at 11:59 pm to enter. The winner will be announced March 2, 2013 on www.natural-ness.com and in the description box of the video below on YouTube.

This video shows how I used the products and the results:

I saw someone with hairstyle similar this on Tumblr so I decided to give it a try myself and I loved the results. I wore this hairdo in three different styles but there is a lot more that can be done with it.

Style #1 – As-is.

Style #2 – Sides clipped back with pompadour.

Style #3 – Sides clipped back with bangs.

This is my favorite two strand twist style to date. I’m sure I will be revisiting this style again in the future.

This weekend I was in a crafty mood so I decided to turn a few t-shirts I had lying around that were too big for me into tote bags. I got this idea from www.squidoo.com. This would make an awesome craft for Halloween. Just take your kids old Halloween t-shirts you lying around and change them into bags for trick-or-treating. I have listed step-by-step instructions on how I did it below.

Step 1 – Turn shirt inside out and use a needle and thread to sew along the hem line. You could use a sewing machine but I’m not good with sewing machines.

Step 2 – Turn shirt right side out and cut sleeves at the hem line or you can use a seam cutter to undo the thread.

Step 3 – Cut along the neckline for the bag opening. I cut at least one inch away from the existing neckline or use a bowl to cut around.

Step 4 – Just so the straps will not be so wide I folded each side of the sleeves in about an inch and sewed it in place. This is an optional step but I just though it gave the bag a better look.

Step 5 – That’s all there  is to it, you now have an instant tote bag.

It took me about an hour and a half to complete all three bags.

I don’t do twist-out often because I could never get them to come out right so I usually turn to braid-outs. I finally figured out what my problem is, I’ve been doing rope twists instead of regular twist. This time I did the right type of twists and it resulted in my best twist-out so far.

Here are my twists in preparation for the twist-out

I let my hair dry on its on, since I twisted my hair in the morning I just put on my natural-ness knit (natural-ness knit hats are available here) hat while I ran my errands for the day.

Here are the final results.

This summer I decided to keep my hair in two-strand twists all summer long. I accomplished my goal and did a different style each time. Check it out!

Style #1

Style #2

Style #3

Style #4

Style #5

Style #6

Style #7

September 19, 2012 marks my 3 year nappiversary. This time 3 years ago my hair was 2 inches long. Now, it is approximately 13 inches long.