Moisture is Magic for your transitioning hair!!!!!!

Moisture Moisture Moisture.  Yea us transitioners really need moisture.  Moisture helps prevent breakage, moisture allows manageability, moisture promotes growth, moisture aids in elasticity, moisture helps with shine/sheen, and moisture feeds your curls.





Moisture is vital for your overall hair health.  So lets talk about what moisture is and what it is not.


Moisture is:

1. Water
2. The base of all styling
3. Conditioning
4. humectants such as: glycerin, honey, aloe vera, vitamin E, sorbitol, CoQ 10
5. most water based products

Moisture is not:

1. Oils
2. creams
3. heavy
4. waxes
5. alcohols     

Some of us confuse the needs of our hair.  We tend to cake our hair down with oils when it feels dry and brittle.  When in fact all we need to do is add water.  Now I know it may confusing, you may ask well "how do I add water onto my hair when I need to style it and have it not look "afro-y" or puffy?"  well the thing is you may need to increase your washes.  I know in the African American hair community we are used to washing any where from once a week to once a month because we've had to maintain that hairstyle, not wash that relaxer out so fast, or to prevent us from hours of styling to maintain controlling our tresses.  But now that we are tranistioning, part of this journey is to promote hair health so we have to change our way of dealing with our hair.  Increasing your wash days will definitely make a difference for your hair.  It is recommended that you wash your tresses anywhere from everyday to every 4-5 days if you are experiencing extreme dryness,  I am sure if you are a dry haired sufferer and you take heed and wash more often, you will notice your moisture retention increase. In fact I'm willing to bet the farm on it- if I had a farm!

In between washes a spray bottle filled with just water will do just fine or you can add one of the other moisture aids listed in (Moisture is).  All you have to do is allow the water to mist onto your hair if you are afraid that the direct spray will ruin your style (Spray the water into the air above your hair and allow the droplets to fall ever so lightly onto your hair). Do this when you feel your  is drying out too much.

Oil is a great sealant but it cannot and must not be substituted for a moisturizer.  This is because oil repeals water (remember that from chemistry class).  So any kind of moisture that your hair wants to contract, the oil will "push" it away.  So when the moisture that is beneath the oil is all absorbed into your scalp or hair fibers new moisture has no way of entering or penetrating them.  Which is why you may be oiling your hair over and over and the texture is not changing. Again use oil as a protectant.  As if its protecting the water from leaving your hair never use it as a replacement for water.

One last point, and I know we say it over and over and over and over again.  But you have to hydrate from within in order to aid all that you are doing to you hair on the outside. You want to maintain overall good hair health.  Yea moisturizing on the outside will definitely provide a great improvement for your hair but on those days when you forget to moisturize or are just too lazy to do so hydrating from the inside is your back up.  Drinking plenty of water is great for your physical health now you know its also great for your vanity!   

Renewing my mind for P90X!!!

So I am going to restart P90X this Monday, Halloween!!! Now if that ain't a challenge I don't know what is! I have so much confidence in myself that I am up for it.  Usually I would agree that its a set up for failure, but I know how I work and to think  of it as a challenge would help get me through it.  Anyway so restarting....I don't feel the same way I felt the 1st time trying.  I guess the 1st time I was excited, not knowing what the 1st workout was gonna be like.  Actually experiencing this challenge that I watched so many times before on infomerical got me so anticipated for it.  I don't know  but this time was more like I need this workout.  I enjoy doing it,  so I need to use this tool to guide me back to health.  Focusing on the health aspect of it gets my attention a little better than working out to get my body back.  {SN: I'm listening to I heart radio Wgci Chicago, and every song for the last 5 songs has been young money, Drake, Lil Wayne or some combo...crazy. I love it though but crazy} So this month has been Breast Cancer awareness month and my mother has been diagnosed 3x's.  So my health has to be important to me. 

With that said and my trip to FL next summer on my mind, I am back recommitted.  Ready to Keep pushing play and to Bring it! 
I am following the food guide which is something that I didn't do before.  I went grocery shopping already to pick up all the food.  I only was able to go to 2 stores (Aldi and Walmart) to pick up the things that I needed.  And I sub where I either didn't like something or it wasn't available at the stores I was at. (Read ______ for the grocery blog). I plan on following the meal approach bc for how busy my life is continually becoming.  I am also taking a cue from P90X and planning my kids meals a week ahead as well for the days they don't prefer the taste of a particular food that the guide suggests. I am also making a food diary so as to hold myself accountable. As well as blog about my experience.  I hope this time I succeed.  5:00 am is the wake up call.  I seem to do better when I go ahead and get the workout out of the way.  Tentatively I plan on working out , shower, get the kids up for school, and then eat so hopefully I prove to myself i can! Just do my best and forget the rest right?!

day 6- 11 n still goin strong

Monday was day 9, back to coresynergestics, today day 11 was biceps and shoulders .  It was easier today, it could be bc I didn't actually complete the 1st week successfully. I skipped Kempo on day 6 :-( I felt guilty for it though.  BUT I do have a confession I OVER indulged this weekend.  So, my kids were away bc they had a 3 day weekend, u don't even understand I haven't have all my kids gone at the same time in almost 1yr!!! So, needless to say, me and my fiancee' needed some QT.  But he had to work a weekend day --Saturday, so I spent it with my 2 BFF's.  Early afternoon, we ate IHop, shopped (for makeup and other beauty items of course), for lunch I ate chipotle, and for dinner papa johns.   I had a cinnastack (3 pancakes with cinnabonn cinnamon and icing) I also had scrambled eggs and cheese, hash brown  with onions and 2 strips of bacon....yummy yum yum!!!! How much did I actually eat? HALF!!! I was so mad, I wanted to finish all of it.  But as of late my stomach won't allow me to eat alot.  I guess its good though, bc I didn't really plan on eating out allday that day but bc Ididn't have the kids to cook for and I was out the house ALL day, so I did.  At chipotle I had a grilled chicken bowl with everything and once again I ate a little under half this time.  I wasted so much food that day makes me upset thinking about it.  So now we're at dinner and I ordered a chicken spinach alfredo pizza and boneless buffalo wings.  They sent spinach alfredo and bone-in buffalo wings. I was a little pissed that they didn't put the chix on the pizza but it was cool bc of all the other stuff I ate that day.  Of that meal I ate 2 slices of pizza and 2 buffalo wings.  Now comes to Sunday's meal.  LOL.  I offered to take my man out since we both been working so hard (he's doing P90x also).  We went to Applebees.  We ordered an appetizer which consisted of: spinach artichoke dip, buffalo chix (again), potato twist with Queso dip, woton (sp) chicken tacos as a main dish I ordered a fajita chicken wrap and fries he had a hand battered fish sandwich and fries.  We each took a half of the others main dish and split the appetizers.  What I ate? Well we both ate just the appetizers had to take the main dish hm for dinner.  Which was cool bc again that meant I didn't have to cook.
Monday was back to normal I had to cook and all whomp whomp.  O we did incorporate a pre workout supplement into our diet this week called superpump 250.  I will do a post on that after I have taken it for a week or so just so I can honestly tell u my experience with it.  Monday's are typically hard for me just bc its a new work week and u know me not being a morning person and all.  

The start of week 2 has been ok so far.  I am very tired this week.  But it may be bc of that superpump.  Some ppl on youtube says that since it gives u more energy during workouts u tend to push urself harder resulting in more tightness post workout I'm not sure but I do know I am tired.  Day 9 was hard, day 10  was even harder and like I said today seems to be easier.  I had to push through days 9 and 10,  bc it was really hard to motivate myself!!!!. 

All n all I'm still happy I am trying this program my body feels amazing.  O Wow, how can I forget the most exciting part.  Saturday while shopping I picked up a Medium shirt for kicks to try it on and guess what it actually fit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SWEET VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Before p90x I was in a XL shirt (the largest shirt size I have ever worn ever) Goal a loose fitting sized medium shirt tight fitting small sized shirt (ladies u know what I'm talking about). Still trying not to weigh in until day 30.  But I see the difference already. 

So far I am doin more of the dvd, for example, where I wasn't able to do 1 push up I can now do 3-4 without breaking.  Chair dips I started out doing 20 with my legs bent week 2 I can do 25 straight legged.  I graduated from 5lb weights to 10lb weights.  So yea by day 30 I'll be nice and prepared for the 2nd round (which introduces plyometrics so excited yayy).  So for those of u who are also trying P90X keep up the good work feel free to comment and share some of ur experiences with me I would love to hear about it!!!! Until next Post keep pushing play and bring it!!!!!!!!!!   

Remember: Brush your teeth in the shower