RECAP- Events and Styles

August 8, 2014

Hello Readers.. we truly apologize for the late posts but we've had some technical difficulties and we hope to be back on full force pretty soon. 

In the meantime, I wanted to do a brief recap on Ms. Bree's latest styles and the use of new product by Creme of Nature Argan Oil Line.

School started on August 7th, 2014 for our children and Ms. Bree's back to school style was a very simple one.    

If you missed our "Back To School Hairstyle"- You can see it here:

http://caramelcurlz.blogspot.com/2014/08/our-back-to-school-hairstyle.html

After a week of wearing her hair in pony tails and braids, it was time to let her scalp and hair line rest.  It is very important to remember to let the hair breath after a protective style,  the hair CAN suffer from constant protective style.  

Therefore, I unraveled all her braids and pony tails.  The picture below shows the results.  A simple headband to keep her hair away from her face and DONE, she was all ready.  

August 13, 2014

After a few days, it was time to wash and style it again. 

I decided to use one new product: 

Creme of Nature Argan Oil Strength and Shine Leave In Conditioner;

Our Moisturizer remained the same: 

Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer

And the oil we used to do this style:

Black Castor Oil

Ms. Bree wanted some "flowers" in her hair, so I used beads to accessories her style.

As you can see from the collage below, she fell asleep while I was styling her hair.  Which not uncommon, after a good wash and detangling session, she tends to fall asleep during the styling process. 

August 18, 2014

After approximately 12 days, it was time to wash, deep condition and style her hair.  But I decided to let her scalp rest for a few days.  Her hair looked beautiful once I unraveled all the braids, so why not take advantage of that, right?!   

August 30, 2014            September 3, 2014

As some of you may know, Ms. Bree is also a "dancer" and one of the many requirements is to keep her hair neatly gathered and away from her face during practice. 

Since Gymnastic class was canceled this past Saturday, I decided that it was the perfect time to Deep Condition her hair, wash and style.. YES, it is a long process, and it can take approximately 2 to 4 hours.   

And no, I know what some of you may be thinking.. I don't make her sit there for two or more hours at once.   Ms. Bree is only five years old and she is a very high spirited child.  When I deep condition her hair, I make sure I undo the previous styles and I make sure that the hair is also free of knots and tangles, I do this a few days or at least the day before I intend to DC.

I wash her hair, apply the deep conditioner and a plastic cap.  I let her play for 30 to 45 minutes then I rinse the conditioner out and then I start styling her hair.  We take breaks every 60 minutes.  There have been times when she sits and allows me to just finish the entire style by sitting quietly for 90 minutes.  But I always listen to her and her needs. 

I used the following products to style her hair: 

Deep Conditioner: 

Bee Mine Beeutiful Deep Conditioner; 

Shampoo: 

Creme of Nature Argan Oil Moisturizing Shampoo;

Conditioner: 

Herbal Essence Hello Hydration; 

Oil:

Argan Oil, Jobjoba Oil and Coconut Oil Mixture

Moisturizer: 

Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer. 

September 6, 2014

NOW IS TIME TO GET READY FOR SCHOOL PICTURES!! 

Our Style for School Pictures....

      School Picture Day is one of those day I hate and love.  I hate them because as parents, we make sure that our little ones are wearing the perfect outfit and their hair is styled just the right way but more often than not, the results are catastrophic.   Their hair is out of place, the shirts or pants have grass stains because they have been outside playing just before the picture was taken or how about the "ketchup" stains... I remember when my son took his Pre-Kindergartner pictures, he had ketchup stains all over the front of his shirt! oh boy! that was interesting to see..    

      I love picture day because it helps me keep better track of their they change over time.  However, the reality is, school pictures are one of the few pictures that we actually frame and hang for our family and friends to see.  

      After our  first catastrophe,  we made sure he took an extra outfit, got a fresh haircut and we remind him to make sure to wipe his face while he waits in line for his turn.  Let's be honest, these are kids and we never know for sure how the pictures are going to come out until we receive the envelope in his school folder.  

      After waiting approximately two to three weeks, I finally received the photos. I will be honest with all of you, I did "not" wanted to open the envelope because, I was expecting to see my son making "funny faces" or giving a "fake smile" or worst, a stained shirt or dirty shoes! 

     But curiosity won, (curiosity always wins on my end) and thankfully, this year's pictures looked great!  My son didn't make any funny faces, there was no sweat around his face, no chocolate milk mustache, his face was clean, his shirt and pants were still looking good.

         Now, guess my reaction when I opened the envelope containing Ms Bree's photos and I saw the worst smile she has ever given.   Ms Bree has always been my photogenic child, always ready to strike a pose. Ms Bree has always enjoyed taking photos BUT this year, it was her turn to make the "funny face" and give the "fake smile" my son is famous for... I guess she lost the coin toss this year as to who would take the worst pictures.  Nevertheless, she still looked beautiful.  

     For this years's school pictures, I decided to do "Half Cornrows & Two Strand Twists" and used an "old school" hair accessories, "Butterfly Hair Clips", don't they remind you of the 90's??  :)

     My little princess looked beautiful.  I believe this picture really shows how much she has grown in just this past year.  

 "Half Cornrows & Two Strand Twists" 

I used the following products: 

*Bee Mine Curly Butter; and;
* Eco Styler Gel with Olive Oil;
* Goodys elastic bands

This was my first time using Eco Styler Gel with Olive Oil and I have to say I'm very impressed.  Her twists lasted a lot longer and were more defined than previous occasions.  

     Now, I received a lot of questions as to how I do my two strand twists, how do I make them last so long and how do I do undo them. 

    I did a quick video for all of you and I hope you are able to see how I do and undo them.  

   I will try to make a better video next time I do twists. 

PART II

  Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

  Thank you for following our blog! :) 

A Santa for Everyone

Hello dear readers... I know all of you are used to reading my wife's post about hair and this is the first time I contribute to her precious baby and feel honored that she'd asked me to this.  

Christmas is very important to us, especially to my wife.  My wife never celebrated Christmas as a child.  Well, let me rephrase that, her mother did what she thought was right and celebrated Christmas the only way she could due to her lack of funds and stability. 

My wife was told at a very young age that Santa Claus was not real, just like the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.   She was further told that her cousins were receiving gifts, but the person bringing gifts at night was in fact their father, (Elena's uncle).  I'm sure that her mother found it imperative to made this revelation to the children because she had no resources to buy Christmas gifts for them.  

Seeing my wife celebrate Christmas for the last seven years, it has made me realize she is trying her best to give our children the best childhood memories she can which is something she was unable to experience as a child.   

Like any married couple, we discuss everything that involves our children. We came to a decision and put it into to play.  What I admire most about her is her determination to keep my family's traditions alive as well as start our own so that our children may share them with their children one day.

Some have asked- Why do you have a Black Santa?  

The decision to write about this came before Megyn Kelly, a Fox News host stated during her show that "Santa is White".  You can read about it here: Fox News host Megyn Kelly "Santa is white’ comments, calls critics ‘humorless"

This is my memory of days before Christmas.  When I was a child I could not wait for Thanksgiving Dinner to be over with.  Mainly because I knew the very next day it was time to put up our Christmas decorations. 

Every year my father and I would hang a big picture of Santa Claus over our front door.  I am sure some of you will remember and relate to that very notion.  There was a particular year when my father placed a new picture covering the door, well, at least I thought it was new, I didn't say much at that time other than to state the obvious, "that's not Santa Claus!, Santa Claus is white".

As any inquisitive child, I looked closely to the picture and realized it was the very same cover we had used on past years, the difference was, someone had "colored" Santa's face a nice rich coffee brown. 

My father didn't give a long explanation, in fact, he didn't respond to my statement at all. He just granted me a quick glance and continue to decorate.  I was about six or seven years old at that time, and yes, my Wife will probably tell you that is the time when Moses parted the red sea, but don't let her fool you. I can assure you I'm not that old.

Either way, that was quiet some time ago but I can recall this conversation very well.  After my father, sisters and I finished decorating our Christmas tree, it was time for a well deserved cup of hot chocolate.  As we sat drinking our chocolate and watching TV, our parents decided to joined us.  After the TV show ended, my dad asked me, "Bill, tell me what do you think of the black Santa on the door?" I responded: "It's kind of funny because everyone knows Santa is white", my dad continued by asking "Oh, really, is that what you think?"

My father was not upset by any means. He continued to tell me that he had spoken and seen Santa and that he was in fact "black".  He then proceeded to ask, "Bill have you ever seen any white man bring presents over to our house, ever? The only persons you see here are black right?" 

I had to agree to that, during Easters, Birthdays or during any other holidays, the only people that brought us any type of goodies were black.  My father was never mean, that was never his style.  What he did explained to me was that Santa Claus takes on the color of the people he is delivering presents to. (i.e. Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, etc.)  Well, that kind of made perfect sense to me.

For the next few years after we would put out our Santa Clauses that had been "painted" black.  But one year, my father came home with a new box, it had a new Santa in it, and when we opened the box, I could only smile!! The new Santa Claus was black!, not painted by my parents but one that was created to be black and sold at stores! My first thought was "how cool is that!!"  

Now, as a father it is important that my children know that although white Santa Claus is highly advertised. Santa Claus comes in every color, it just depends on who he is delivering presents to.

In our house, I am black, my wife is Hispanic and our children know they are the perfect mix.  They are perfect because they are a combination of mommy and daddy, and they have the best of our two worlds.  A combination of our hair down to every feature on their face. 

As my father instilled in me, just because a black Santa Claus is not highly advertised and not often seen, it doesn’t mean he does not exist.   Our children get to see that fat jolly guy who brings toys to all the good boys and girls as someone who looks like him.   Though my son may not know this now, but one day he will help the jolly fat black guy deliver toys to his very own children.

I believe that having something or someone good that the looks like the children makes it easier for them to relate to and bring a sense of pride and gives them a positive self image of themselves and people who look like them.  After all, different races make up this wonderful world that we live in. 

So, to all, have a Merry Christmas and to all a good night!

Black Friday Sales!!

Hello Ladies: 

It is that time of the year already..... BLACK FRIDAY SALES!! 

And let's be honest, who doesn't like a good sale?  Well, here they are... the sales you were waiting for: 

Beemineproducts.com

*********************************************************************************

Foxymango.com

 

*********************************************************************************

Babybighair.com

*********************************************************************************

Mixedchicks.net

PER MIXEDCHICKS' FB ANNOUNCEMENT:  

"BLACK FRIDAY SALE! On Friday, November 29th, the entire site is 20% off! That means you can stock up on all of your faves from the Adult, Kids and Men's haircare lines including our best-selling Leave-In Conditioner, Deep Conditioner and our newest addition Spring Hair Bands! 

In order to enjoy our 1-day Black Friday sale - you must enter the promo code: BlackFriday before you checkout. This sale is only available on our website MixedChicks.net and will only be offered for 1 DAY - November 29th 2013! "

*********************************************************************************

Blendedbeauty.com

*********************************************************************************

Honeycurls.com

*********************************************************************************

Curlformers.com

*********************************************************************************

Carolsdaughter.com

                         

*********************************************************************************

Shop the Annual Friends & Family Event. 
Enjoy up to 25% off your order. Now through 
December 3, 2013 at 11:59PM PST

*********************************************************************************

3sistersofnature.com

*********************************************************************************

https://www.facebook.com/SouthernHissyFits

 These are regularly priced at $36, on SALE for $18 plus monogram! 

*********************************************************************************