From the category archives:

Challenge Yourself!

Hello September!

by kcurly on September 1, 2009

in Challenge Yourself!,Give-a-ways

Siiigh! Confession time.

Not only did I break my No Heat Challenge, I also broke my No Buy Challenge. Ya’ll can thank ‘didi for telling me about Hairveda’s sale on Almond Glaze, my absolute weakness.  I tried to hold out but ended up buying 5 of them. Oh well, today was supposed to be the end of the challenge so I don’t feel that bad because I almost made it. So the challenge was not a complete loss. I saved some money and showed a little willpower.

In other news, I have been a big slacker this week due to some work related odd hours and a monster headache. I plan on doing something today, probably a DVD due to lack of childcare, and then resume my training tomorrow.  I only have a little over one month left (YIKES) so it’s really time to kick it into gear!

I’ve been getting a lot of emails and comments about my training, so I ‘ll be sure to include more posts about racing and working out.

Sooo…here’s the giveaway I mentioned. I want to share my Almond Glaze, so the twelfth person to email me at kcurly@newlynatural.com will win a 4oz jar of it courtesy of my PJism. Be sure to include “Almond Glaze Giveaway” in the title.

Edit: We have a winner, thanks for the entries!

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Today’s Hair and a broken challenge

by kcurly on August 10, 2009

in Challenge Yourself!,Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (Random Hair Thoughts),Straight Natural Styling

I alluded to the fact that I’ve broken one of my challenges and you can tell by the pictures below which one it is.

I actually have a good reason for this. My challenge originally was going to end next month, but I will be heavy into triathlon training by then, swimming up to 4 times a week. This is the only time I can really take a few days break from it or I’d have to wait until the middle of October. Plus I got my hands on a sample of Aveda Brilliant Anti Humetecant Pomade and I really wanted to see how it worked on my hair straight.

I think it’s about the same length as it was when I BC’d now which is very exciting. Straight hair is seductive, however I hate being afraid of the rain, the shower steam, etc. My hair is still big no matter what, but I don’t need any help.

I also was impressed with my nape. When I was relaxed, it was a chore trying to pin up the bits and pieces of hair that made up my nape and now I can just sweep it up into a pony without a problem. It shows that my hair is meant to be natural and it’s the healthies state for it.

Ok my straightening routine this time around:

  • Shampoo after swimming with Antichlorine shampoo
  • Oil rinse with Red Palm Oil
  • DC with Jessicurl WDT
  • Rinse and rollerset (a pitiful rollerset)  using Aveda Brilliant Damage Control and small amount of coconut oil
  • Flat iron with Aveda Brilliant Pomade (choked full of cones!)
  • Pin curled

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I get better at it everytime, though there is still the paranoia of heat damage. I will probably never be someone who flat irons on the regular because 1) I am lazy and 2) there’s too much worry about not reverting.

{ 11 comments }

Challenge Updates and Today’s Hair

by kcurly on May 26, 2009

in Challenge Yourself!,Organic/Natural Products and Ingredients,Random Hair Pictures,Twists/Twistouts

This came in the mail the other day:

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My KBB order placed a few week ago

This was very good, because I was going through some serious withdrawals. I’m talking about going to do groceries and suddenly ending up in the haircare aisle  without remembering how I got there!

Bunning was fun and I think I will be doing more of it, but I missed my twists! I decided to try and do them as fast as I could right before bed a few days ago.  I was able to do these in about an hour and a half which is very good for me. However, in my rush I did several thing that I’d rather not repeat.

First I made them way too big for my liking. Second, in an effort to make sure they would be nice and smooth I used a lot more product that usual. A lot more=some big greasy twists.

Oh well, they served their purpose. I’m going to try swimming in them tomorrow and just decide from there what to do.

dsc04491

dsc04487

dsc04486Workout related stuff:

  • Twists fit very well under a bike helmet. Trying to get a fro under one is a barrel of fun.
  • Here is what I’m using some of my PJ money on instead of products:
My new baby!

My new baby!

Other PJs out there who are trying to cut back, what are you using your money for?

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A personal challenge–No Heat and *gulp* No Buy

by kcurly on May 11, 2009

in Body and Mind,Challenge Yourself!

Kcurly’s No Heat Challenge

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You might be asking yourself “Kcurly, you’ve only heat straightened your hair on 3-4 occasions since you’ve gone natural. Why have a no heat challenge?”

Several reasons:

  • It’s becoming addictive! I actually had the thought of  “Hmm, maybe I could do this once a month”
  • I keep turning up the knob on my Maxiglide to go just a little bit higher each time I use  it. Heat damage is real, my friends. And though I think my hair is a little bit more resistant to heat than most people, I still am not taking any chances
  • The summer is coming and I live in Humidity Central, USA. It would be pretty useless to spend 3 hours straightening my hair just to end up with a blowout look.
  • I’m going to be swimming this summer a lot and this would get in the way.

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Only One Rule:

- No heat styling including blowdrying, hood dryers, hot combing or flat ironing.

Really this is going to be an easy challenge.

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Kcurly’s  No Buy Challenge

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Now this one is going to be a mother.

I’ve never made it a secret: I am a PJ. I’ve resisted it time and time again only to come crawling back to Curlmart and Sally’s with my shaking hands holding my wallet wide open.

I’ve placed several big order recently (c’mon KBB!!) and I also have a bucket full of supplies. If I am frugal and keep my willpower intact, I can make it until September without buying anything.

Why am I doing this challenge?

  • To prove that I can
  • I sometimes balk over the amount of money I spend on products. Time to prove that I can be frugal. It is very likely that I will  be a stay at home mom again sometime in the next year or two,  and this will be good practice
  • I have a pretty decent stash saved up as it is, I need to shave it down a little
  • I am training for a triathlon and intend to put the money that I normally spend on hair products on equipment

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Here are my rules:

-No buying any products online or in stores

-I will still use homemade treatments, such as caramel, as I would buy the ingredients from the grocery store. This will also not affect my herbal tea rinses and flax seed that I buy from my health food’s store.  The bulk of my money is spent on commercial products.

-This challenge does not include hair accessories, but I am now limiting myself to purchasing one a month

-No buying hair tools or implements (such as Curlformers, combs, etc)

-Since I may be cowashing a lot during the summer, I will allow myself to buy Suave (and only Suave)  should it run out

Don’t worry for those of you who visit me for product reviews. I still have a lot that I’ve not posted yet and I occasionally receive samples from vendors to try out.

Anyone is welcome to join me in either one of these challenges and I will keep ya’ll updated. If you have anything in particular that worries you or that is especially hard, comment or email me and maybe we can all talk it out!

It’s going to be a rough summer!!

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