Keep Your Shine {In Lieu of Tragedy in Our Midst}

Like much if the country I have been in shock at the recent violent events in Boston and now in Texas. There is so much hatred and violence in the world that we have to remember and remind ourselves that there are always more good things and people in the world than evil.

It is in these time that it is difficult to see the light for all the darkness we face. In these cases it is even more important to nurture the light inside yourself. Then you are SURE there is a light in the world. 

Know that one light can shine so much that the darkness recedes from view.

Some pointers for keeping your light bright in the midst of all of the chaos in the world:

1. Limit your exposure to the news stations and people who are consumed with the things that have happened. You don't want to rehearse the evil in the world because it will become your focus and extinguish your light.

2. Pray or meditate more. Going into a quiet place to converse with yourself and your maker (whomever you see that as being) is a great way to set yourself up to be a beacon of light! It will allow you to refresh yourself and face whatever the world throws at you.

3. Surround yourself with and stay in touch with loved ones. This will keep your mind from wondering if something will happen to them, reassure of their safety as well as keep your spirits high! (Especially if you have a family full of jokesters like I do! They are hilarious!)

4. All in all keep your mind stayed on the positives that are happening around you! The sun is still shining (unless its raining and there is even beauty in that). The smile of a child. The laughter of a stranger. We are surrounded by God's grace. Take it in. Be grateful.

~Faye

EboniCurls EBonnet Review! {The Things I Love}

Well, I finally caved and bought an EboniCurls EBonnet!

What the heck is that? You may be asking. As a natural woman who has to sleep, but doesn't want to mess up their do - you may want to keep reading to see just what amazingness this bonnet is!

I first heard about the Ebonnet from Hairscapades last year and was intrigued due to the fierceness of the colors and styles EboniCurls had available. I am a reformed PJ {Product Junkie} and because of this, I was slow to respond....

But then my hair started growing....

The bonnet I had just wasn't cutting it anymore! It was too small and it had none of the double faced thick charmeuse satin poshness that kept coming to mind when I thought about what I'd seen on Shelli's page!

When I looked back and tried to get one, she was sold out! Then when I went back again she was in the process of moving from Etsy to her own page - EboniCurls.com! The page is HAUT!!!!

Anywho, I bought myself and my daughter one and the process was extremely smooth. Eboni was available by IG {Instagram} for a question almost instantly and my processing on her site was quick and easy.

I purchased this one for me and...

Artistic Flower Nights

This one for my daughter!

Royal Nights

It was about $60 for them both with shipping and handling due to the sale! I caught them on sale for 15% off which was a steal because these are not cheap by a long shot! They are usually about $45 a piece. Don't be discouraged though, they are well worth the price! The craftsmanship is impeccable from the materials used to the stitching!

She uses charmeuse satin, which is expensive but your curls will thank you. A tightly woven satin material assists with your hair retaining moisture throughout the night as you twist and turn and your curls rub against it! It does not pull moisture from your hair as a cotton fabric would and its slip allows your hair to move freely within the bonnet. That coupled with the fact that you can get the bonnet in a large style to accommodate your hair and head was a WIN-WIN!

Packaging:
They arrived in a simple mail bag with my address in neat handwriting, but when I opened it I saw this handwritten note! It was simple and addressed me by name, which I found endearing and thoughtful. I hope that she is able to continue this practice as her business grows!

Usage and results:

Second day flat twist and curl (Pictorial Tutorial in previous post) right out of the bonnet!

Pre-Fluff!

Post-Fluff! 

Not bad right? My curls were not flattened at all!

This was a great investment that my daughter and I will love and use for years to come! I'm also going to look into getting a shower cap as my hair has my current shower cap sitting on top of my head on my BIG HAIR days!

From me and mine - GO GET ONE! It is well worth it!

~Faye
That NY Naturalista

Flat Twist Curly Fro! {HOTD}

I saw this wonderful hairstyle on IG and after cutting 4 inches off my mane over the past 2 weeks I figured it was time to go back curly and see how the cut stood up to my curly fro styles!

March 11th Curly Fro Style

I loved this one too but I used too much product and wanted a more simple style with proven results.

Without any more ado - Let's get into this style!

The PPT: {products, process and tools}

The first thing I did was take my rat tail comb, part my hair and scratch my scalp to remove the dry skin and buildup that was percolating up in there. It was a jungle on my scalp in certain areas!

I also trimmed another 1-1.5 inches off of my hair again because I am being aggressive in my relaxer removal. At this point I am ready for a wash and go this summer with a little length to it! My hair grows faster in the spring and summer so I am not concerned with it growing back, I am more concerned with it being even, healthy and eventually relaxer free!

See that snow on my shoulder!? EWWHH!

The PPT! 

Poo: Suave Naturals Almond and Shea Butter Shampoo

• I had some build up and needed to use a sulfate shampoo to clarify my scalp and hair from the build up.
• I section into 4 sections but only clip up three so that I can rotate the clips and have one section free that I am working on it makes it go faster and in the end I usually wind up putting the two back sections together anyway.
• STAPLE PRODUCT

Condish: Aussie Moist Conditioner

• In shower directly after washing for detangling and conditioning my hair from the sulfate shampoo application with my shower comb
• FIRST TIME USING AND I LOVED IT!! 

Deep Condish: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner

• For 45 minutes under the dryer AFTER washing
• FIRST TIME USING AND I AM GOING TO GO HAM THE NEXT TIME I SEE THIS ON SALE!

Pause for the texture shot! See those ends! GRRR!!!

Okay, so after ALL of that, I took a texture shot! I was feeling how my curl pattern showed up! I am relaxer free in the back but the top and front are still straight on the ends unfortunately :(  This meant I had to use perm rods and as you will see... That was something that one piece you see in the picture didn't even want to comply with! Get curly already!

The Process:

• I parted and flat twisted my hair applying a small dollop of the Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in  to each section and distributing it from root to tip with my Denman Brush.
• I had to add more water towards the end as the front got a little dry while I did the back.
• I put in 13 flat twists in total; 7 in the front and 6 in the back.
• FIRST TIME USING THE CANTU!! LOVED IT!! My daughter uses it all the time but our textures are a little different - She's 4A-B with tiny pin curls, I'm 3C-4A with some undefined curls at the top and really tight ones on my hairline front and back.

The morning take down fiasco -

The one flat twist with the most straight hair didn't want to comply with the rodding process! LOL! DOH! *HomerSimpsonVoice* 

This was the way it looked in the end! I am going to say this was a 

RIP-ROARING SUCCESS! 

I hope you Naturalistas out there can use this tutorial! I loved the Pictorial Tutorial I got from Sumetra Reed on IG who inspired this post!

Stay Naturally You!

~Faye

Transitioning Talk {Cut It and It Will Grow}

Me and my shoulder length hair today!

Hey Guys! Okay.... So, if you've been coming along for the ride, you know my hair has been through some trials and tribulations over the past two years that I have been transitioning!

If not, check the Naturalista tab for a refresher on the goings on!

I BC'd before (August 2007) and I didn't want to again, because I didn't like the in-between (ear length)  hair! I relaxed again in 2009 and although I was disgusted with myself, I realized that I didn't need a relaxer to rock straight hair and spaced out my relaxers to the point where I just stopped getting them all together.

I had a strong start to my transition this time, but when it started to get a little cold and school/work started again I didn't want to deal with taking care of my natural tresses properly. (I know, I sucked for that.) So, I went and tried to tex-lax my own hair in September of 2011.

WRONG MOVE! Not only did it not take all the way, where it did take (or straighten my hair) it was uneven and probably damaged as well... I did learn one good thing from this process: DIY chemical processing is not my thing... But give me some scissors! And #BAM it's on!

Anywho, Over the past 18 months I have been nurturing my hair back to health and cutting it myself with the help of Suzy from YouTube (see below) and my 20+ years of going to the Dominican hair stylists in NYC. Overall, I have removed about 5-6 inches over the past year and a half!

Suzy ;)

Before and after Suzy's Tut last summer

Just this week, I just cut off ~3 inches because I allowed someone to straighten my hair a few months ago who did not do a good job and my hair was extremely damaged. I attempted to nurse it back to health and not get it straitened for a while, but when I did again by my regular stylist, my hair was not the same - more specifically, my relaxed ends had seen WAY better days! They were looking see-through and stringy and ending up on the floor of my bathroom too much for my liking.

When it came time to wash my last flat twist out, detangling was a nightmare! I noticed that my hair in the very back had very little relaxer on it, less than an inch and was shorter than the rest of my hair. This made my hair look strange from the back! It was see-through from the back not having any length but the top having length, so I had to do something and quick. 

I went back to good all Suzy from my previous layering post and cut more off the back to get it to be almost even. Then I went in and layered my hair in the front because I noticed that my hair had way more relaxer in the front than in the back or on the top of my head. In order to do that, I had to blow and flat-iron my hair of course but after this, no mas on the heat for at least until May.

Here are the pics:

Before I began the cutting...

The beginning of the process... This time around

My hair at the end of the night....

If you look at the last picture and the first picture you may notice that my hair is a little shorter now than it was when I was done that night. It had to be cut a little more because the problem in the back hadn't been solved and the right side was a little longer than the left.... But I was TIRED! LOL! 

At this point, I just hope that it will grow back healthy and even and I can't wait till wash day to see if my relaxer is all gone! My goal is to be relaxer free by summer!

So good hair goals and good hair maintenance lead to longer healthier hair! I'm learning this now and when you know better, you do better....

 ~Faye

30 Day Work Out Challenge {Operation Get My Body Back}

Okay so I started a challenge to myself about 8 days ago although I had bought these supplies >
about 6 weeks ago, I wasn't sure what to do with them exactly.

Finally I decided, with a little prompting from my little sister who said when I got to Cali she was gonna work me to the bone, that I was going to work on my booty, abs and arms (basically my whole body).

I needed to lose about 10-15 pounds - my weight has been fluctuating from around 160-155 and my goal weight is 145.

I also want to tone and define my abs and my arms. The things I love to wear are no longer fitting me and I DON'T LIKE IT! NOT ONE BIT!







So, I found a few workouts to get my body ready for the coming season....

The summer of my 40th Birthday!

First up is the 30 Day Squat Challenge: I complete the day's crunches when I wake up! This is the best! I know that sounds crazy but I am on day 7 and LORD if my legs don't feel firmer and stronger already!

Excuse the booty shot, but I need the inspiration!

I am also following this blog post:

Work Out

I use this post in tandem with the 30 Day Squat Routine to add some variation as well as a weighted arm workout to tone my arms and add some oomph to my squats!

In addition to all of this I am doing at least 50 crunches a night before bed! I figure I may as well work the entire body out in one shot! 

As far as my diet is concerned, I have been drinking my breakfast at least 5 days out of 7 with green smoothie! 

The basic recipe:

1/2 cup of almond or rice milk

1 cup of frozen chopped pineapple

1 whole banana

1 cup of spinach

I may add a teaspoon of Maca powder, frozen strawberries, mango or blueberries at times and next week I will be adding some acai berry smoothie packs!

I had been trying to stay away from the carbs too tough, but I will admit I dropped the ball and had some cake earlier this week and then I had some fried rice and some French toast today! LOL! Carb HEAVEN! LOLOL!! SAD but true.

In order to make up for it, I got on the elliptical for 45 minutes, while I watched Scandal! 

My philosophy is that I am going to eat what I want, I am just going to work on changing what that is...

Good luck getting ready summer out there guys!

~Faye

WARNING {Keep Your Mouth Off My Life}

I told someone close to me that I was happy and they attempted to pick apart my happiness and bring up the past where I was unhappy and that left me feeling dazed and confused. I brought it up to my SO because I was obviously still thinking about it and he rebuked me immediately saying, "I don't understand why you would let them speak into your life like that..."

I didn't get it at first, "speak into my life!" What?? That's major. That's like blessing or cursing me!


But when he broke it down, it all came down to this - If you are happy and there is no reason for anyone to think otherwise, why would they bring up your past heartbreaks? Why not just be happy for you? He told me that I allowed them to do that because I was upset by it and still thinking about it. He also said that I needed to be careful about who I share things with...

Which reminds me of Jay and Bey being so secretive (although it was obvious...lol) and that led to me thinking about that Jay-Z video where the girls are in the limo telling their friend:

"He's no item! Please don't like him. He don't wife 'em, he one nights 'em!"

Check it out here at 2:07

What kind of friend questions your happiness without any negative information? Is what he wanted to know. Why would I entertain her and not challenge her thinking? Why did I allow her to get into my mind about him and our relationship when she doesn't even know him?

I realize that some people are just not built to be happy for other people. They can only see the negatives in life because that's how they view life. That's fine for them, but I have to make sure that they keep their mouth off my life...

I am left with this thought:

Don't allow people to speak negatively into your life! They may plant seeds that grow and choke your blessings if you're not careful to use your discernment and pull them up! Everybody ain't happy that you are...


~Faye
TNYN

TOD {Turban of the Day}

Its rainy and nasty out and I don't want to mess up my flat-ironed hair just yet, so I am rocking a turban!

Underneath I have my satin scarf covering my pin curls and I used a long wool neck scarf from my coat closet to wrap my head! It was easy and the satin scarf underneath is giving it traction to stay on without any slippage!

Have a great day out there ladies!
~Faye
TNYN

INSTAGRAM!! {Addictive Behavior}

My Turban Head-wrap style!

Okay so I am now on Instagram and I am sooooo open!

I am a visual person and I just love how I can get some real "in - sights" on my family's lives in LA and NY!

I mean FB is cool but so passé! LOLOLOL!

My instagram: ThatNYNaturalista

All of my faves are on there - Shelli from Hairscapades - her instagram is Hairscapades of course as well as Yolanda from etcmag.com which is also her instagram.

I have so many things in the works right now its difficult to keep up with my blogging, but I am going to do my best!

I am meeting with some people today about some video production for my e-book of poetry! Exciting things are on the horizon for me and hopefully for you too!


~Faye
TNYN

1st & 2nd Naturalista Meet Up Pictures! {I'm Late... Forgive Much?}

February 9th That NY Naturalista and Curls with Stella & Dot 

Giveaways sponsored by Curls 

Featuring:

Curls Cashmere Curls Leave-in Conditioner Giveaways

Stella & Dot Stylist Moya Harris 

Sista Tracy of Infinity Salon

Violesia of G'Naturals

Mariah Bradshaw of Trini Naturals on Facebook

When did you transition? Wait - You Big CHOPPED!?

Those locs look real don't they? ... She did them herself! 

...."So how long have you been loc'ing your hair?"

Saundra - the winner of the Valentine's Day On the Spot Up Do
{Before Pic}

Natasha - A beautiful loc'd sister!

Curls Display!

Maria talking about moisture retention

Maria discussing how to tell if your ends need to be clipped

Saundra - the winner of the Valentine's Day On the Spot Up-Do
Sista Tracy of Infiniti Salon
{After Pic} 

Saundra - the winner of the Valentine's Day On the Spot Up Do
{After Pic - Side} 

Saundra - the winner of the Valentine's Day On the Spot Up Do
{After Pic - Side}

Naturalistas posing! See the scarf work? They were working it out in the scarf contest!

Trading Naturalista curl secrets and techniques

Alex and Me, the hostess!

Joseph checking out Lakesha, a contestant in the
On the Spot Up-Do Contest

Get that Up-Do Popping! They had 5 minutes and 10 pins!! 

Lakesha is working that up-do!

Almost done...

Look at that Swoop! POW!

Back shots!

Side view!

Lakesha - the winner of the 1st On the Spot Up-Do Contest!

The First Naturalista Meet-up!

Featuring:

oyin handmade give-aways!

Swag Bags w/full-sized products

Miss Jessie's products provided by The Prep School Negro 

Design Essentials

Billie of Styles by B and Design Essentials Trainer

Aisha Bee of The Bee Hive

The poster! 

Billie of Studio B informing Naturalista's on Design Essentials 

The Naturalista's listening to Aisha Bee of the Beehive

The ladies...

..."I didn't know that..."

"I have questions..."

Hair Discussions

{The Wrap Off} 

{The Wrap Off}

{The Wrap Off}
"Checking my fresh..."

{The Wrap Off}
"Getting this right...."

{The Wrap Off}
POW! The side turban look!

{The Wrap Off}
The June Ambrose Top Knot!

{The Wrap Off}
Wrap Bangs!

{The Wrap Off}
Contestants

{The Wrap Off}
The WINNER!!
Her originality was impressive!

Design Essential Full-sized Giveaways

Miss Jessie's Full-sized Giveaways

oyin handmade samples!