Terri's Summer Hair Care Regimen: MOISTURE! MOISTURE!

Day 6 of Mini Twists

Hello Kurlees! Recently, I've been getting a lot of comments and questions about my hair care regimen, so I thought I'd share. I have adopted a special hair care regimen for the summer because as seasons change so do the needs of our tresses. The summer heat can leave our hair dry and fried. To counteract its effects, it is important to keep the hair moisturized from root to tip. Here is a snap shot of what I did last week which is labelled Week 1. In the above photo, I am wearing mini twists which I have pinned up in the back for a classic updo look. Follow me on Instagram (@terrinique) to track my progress and see fun photos of the beautiful Bahamas and natural hair!

Week 1: 


I start the week off with a deep treatment.

Deep Treatment process: 
Spray hair with water
Run fingers through hair to detangle strands
Apply a generous amount of Kurlee Belle's Banana Nut & Avocado Deep Treatment (Concentrate on ends and work way to root)
Massage scalp for 2 to 3 mins
Apply plastic cap
Sit under hooded dryer for 15 to 20 mins

Cleansing Process:
Rinse out Deep Treatment with cool water while massaging scalp (conditioners and treatments should always be rinsed out with cool water to retain nutrients and moisture)
Apply Kurlee Belle Almond and Shea Butter Moisturizing Shampoo
Rub into scalp and detangling strands with fingers
Rinse out shampoo with warm water (warm water helps remove dirt and build up)
Repeat rinse

Conditioning Process:
Apply Kurlee Belle Thirsty Kurls Leave-in Conditioner
Apply leave-in conditioner from root to tip making sure not to clog the scalp
Apply a generous amount and detangle the hair with fingers, denman brush or wide tooth comb
Apply a quarter size amount of Kurlee Belle Tropical Oils Blend to seal in moisture

Styling Process:
Section hair into four sections (2 in front and 2 in back) using butterfly clips
Detangle hair with Denman brush or Goody wide tooth comb
Apply Kurlee Belle's A Kurlee Girl's Dream Kurl Defining Cream to section
Style hair by creating mini twists

Drying Process:
Let hair air dry
Apply satin bonnet cap for short hair tying with a satin scarf and applying a bonnet works best to avoid bends in your twist. Another option would be to create bantu knots for a curly look. Bantu knots take long to dry so, you may need to sit up the dryer before knotting the hair.

After mini twists are dry.
Pin up twists in the back to create a mini twist undo

In addition to my hair care regimen, I am taking biotin capsules (one pill a day with meal). They are made by Nature Made (Liquid Softgel Biotin). Biotin aids in healthy hair, skin and nails.

Additional info: I dry my hair with a soft t-shirt that is 96% cotton, 4% spandex. This reduces friction and frizz.

Daily: Spray hair with bottle water for moisture and oil..Retwist front hair as necessary. The front of my hair is the only part that is not pinned up.

Please let me know if you have any questions. If you would like to join in my hair care regimen, please let me know! It's always fun when naturals do stuff together. 

Mad Hair Monday Model: Lauren of LaCocoBella!

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do and why you started blogging?

Hiii! I’m Lauren and I’m a natural hair blogger. I’m also a child of God and a full-time and freelance graphic designer. I just started blogging this past March. It’s actually a semi-crazy story how my blog came about, I had the idea to blog back in 2008 before it was the “thing” to do but girl, I was too lazy to commit to it. Sad I know lol. I even bought the domain, designed the graphics and everything for it, they just sat on my hard drive for years (while paying to keep the domain name lol).On another note, my mother passed away in 2009 and that shut me off from the world for about a year and a half. I suffered depression and the stress took a toll on my hair to the point where it started to fall out. Taking care of my hair just wasn’t a priority and over time it really set me back on my natural hair journey. By the strength and grace of God, I have overcome that phase of my life and am living again (and growing my hair back lol) :o) Fast forward to 2011, I began watching YouTube natural hair vloggers hardcore and following natural hair blogs and was like, dang, I could have BEEN doing this and sharing all the knowledge I gained over the years. I came across Alex from The Good Hair Blog on YouTube and she really inspired me to just take the plunge (she was also the first blogger to feature me on their site so she holds a special place in my heart lol). I also give major credit to my longtime neighbor and friend, Fleurzty of Texture Playground for encouraging me to just do it, what did I have to lose?! Then in March 2012 I finally launched La Coco Bella and it’s been history ever since lol. I know this is such a saturate niche but my main focus is to share what I’ve been doing to regain the health back to my hair and to grow it as long and HEALTHY as possible. It is also to keep me ACCOUNTABLE of taking care of my hair!! No more being lazy! Oh and of course I suffer from PJS (Product Junkie Syndrome) so I have lots of product reviews! So far, I have seen a huuuuge improvement in my hair :o) It’s amazing what a little effort can do.

How long have you been natural? If all of your life, what kept you from relaxing your hair?

I have been natural for over 7 years. I tried my best to transition for like, 4 months and then gave up and BC’d in 2005 (my sophomore year at Howard U! #shameless shout out lol).  I always wonder how long my hair would be if I really knew what I was doing the first few years of this journey. It’s SO much easier to be natural these days lol.

Do you have a hair care regimen? If so, what is it and what products do you use?

My regimen is a weekly process. Every weekend I will either do an ayurvedic powder treatment or wash with a shampoo bar. I really like Henna Sooq and Bobeam shampoo bars and Hesh Ayurvedic powders. I also do a steam, deep conditioning treatment and/or Greenhouse Effect treatment. My goal is to always do some type of moisturizing and/or strengthening treatment every week. Aubrey Organics White Camellia and Oyin Handmade’s Honey Hemp conditioners are my favs. Also for deep conditioning, I like to get creative with stuff in my kitchen lol I like to play with food :o) Honey, molasses, yogurt, egg, avocado, coconut milk are all amazing for treatments. I will also do a protein treatment once a month or so as well. The Cherry Lola Treatment is a great one. As far as styling, I wear a twist-out almost all the time and a wash-n-go when I want to change it up a bit. I always, always, always seal my ends! My fav product line is Oyin Handmade and Shea Radiance. I get a perfect twist-out with Oyin’s Whipped Pudding EVERY time and use their pomade to seal my ends because it is really thick but light. Shea Radiance’s Hair Butter literally makes my hair feel like butter. I religiously use coconut and Vatika oil when doing a pre-poo treatment or when untwisting my twist-outs to lubricate my hands. These oils are so versatile and cheap! I can’t live without these.

What is your favorite low maintenance natural hair style. 

My fav low maintenance style is an old twist-out lol (if that counts) meaning I don’t re-twist, just throw a scarf over my hair and then just re-fluff in the morning! :o) I guess I can consider a puff low-maintenance because I can just tie a scarf around the slicked back part and make it last over a week. I don’t wear puffs too often at the moment because I had some breakage around my edges and they don’t reach the head band so I end up having to use a lot of gel and tie my scarf super tight to make sure the edges are tamed lol. Once they grow back in all the way I will probably rock puffs more often.

What makes you love your hair?

I love my hair because it is how God designed me and we are perfect in His eyes. It feels so regal, I wear it like a crown. It’s unique to me and identifies me. I don’t know how I was natural my whole life! I love the feeling of being distinctive. It is also fun! You get to play with it, love it, nourish, grow it, lol it’s like a child haha. Natural hair makes women beautiful :o)

Check out Lauren's blog @: www.lacocobella.com
Twitter: @LaCocoBellaBlog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaCocoBellaBlog
Instagram id: @lacocobella

Follow Kurlee Belle's CEO on Instagram: @terrinique

Hair Chalking: Will you try it?

There is a popular trend brewing in Hollywood right now....and it is called Hair Chalking. Tie-dye your tresses, change up the color each day or sport colorful streaks to match your outfit. Don't worry, the color is not permanent and rinses out when you shampoo. Visit your local art store to buy some soft chalk pastels and show your artistic side. WE DOUBLE DARE YOU! 

What do you think of the new trend? Would you try it. 

5 ways to keep your hair moisturized during the summer!

The summer isn't fully here, but the heat sure is. When it comes to natural hair, more heat means less moisture. So it is super important to protect your tresses from being fried. Overexposure to the sun can break down the protein in your hair, leaving it dry and brittle. Here are 5 helpful tips to help combat 90+ degree weather: 

1. Lots of Leave- In Conditioner- leave in conditioners coat and protect the hair giving your hair a boost of nourishment and shine. Fine hair use lightweight conditioners. Thick hair use a creamy rich conditioner. Kurlee Belle's Thirsty Kurls Leave-In conditioner provides lots of slip for de tangling and contains a ton of nutrients for dry damaged hair. 
2. Deep Treatments- Conditioning treatments add protein and nutrients to the hair. To retain moisture balance, aim to deep condition at least once a week or twice a week. Your hair will love the extra TLC and you may see some length retention. Kurlee Belle's Banana Nut & Avocado Deep Treatment is a smooth concoction that strengthens, conditions and enhances growth.
3. Oils- Oils help to lock in moisture by forming a protective layer over the hair shaft. After applying conditioner to wet hair, coat with oil to lock in moisture. Lightly spray the hair with water and apply oil each day. This will do wonders for your tresses. Pay close attention to the ends for length retention. Jojoba, coconut or extra virgin olive oil are my favourite picks. Kurlee Belle Tropical Oils Blend contains a special mix of essential oils to keep hair strong and moisturized. 
4. Cool water- rinsing your hair with cool water closes up the hair cuticle and seals in moisture from conditioning products. You can shampoo with warm water to remove dirt and build up but always rinse out conditioner with cool water. Kurlee Belle's Almond & Shea Butter Moisturizing Shampoo contains the right balance of cleansing and mositurizing agents. 
5. Wet hair before swimming- Dry hair absorbs everything. Ever wonder why your hair expands when it is humid out? It is because it is dry. Before jumping in the pool, completely wet your hair with water to avoid it soaking up unwanted chemicals like chlorine.

Extra tip: If you will  be spending extra time in the sun, invest in a straw hat. It works wonders in protecting your hair from UV rays. 

Follow us on Instagram @terrinique

What would you like to see?

At Kurlee Belle, our main goal is to meet your needs. Without YOU, there would be no need for us to write. Your comments and feedback is very important to us. Please let us know what YOU like about Kurlee Belle and what you would like to see more of.

Hairstyle Tutorials?

Videos?

Fashion- Outfits of the Day?

Natural Hair News? 

Natural Hair Issues?

Hair care tips?

Guest bloggers?

Natural hair photos?

Giveaways?

More natural hair t-shirt desgins?

More t-shirt color or sizes?

Interviews?

Reviews?

What do you want to see from Kurlee Belle?

Mad Hair Monday: Vacation in the SUN!

Hello Kurlees! ! It's Monday again and I hope you guys had as much fun as I did over the weekend. Friday was Labour Day here in the Bahamas so we had a long weekend. For the holiday, I travelled to Long Island, Bahamas to partake in the Long Island Regatta. For those of you that are not familiar with island life, here is a little history on the Bahamas and a regatta: The Bahamas is comprised of 700 islands and cays. If you've ever visited the Bahamas, you've probably visited Nassau which is one of the smaller Bahama Islands and the capitol (Nassau is the city, New Providence is the name of the Island). Regatta's are a series of boat races where sailers from all over the Bahamas compete. Bahamians love regattas because it's a time to enjoy our wonderful sun, sand and sea, drink lots of alcohol and eat great food. Basically, it is one big party!

This particular Regatta held on Long Island, Bahamas is the 2nd biggest regatta in the country. I had a wonderful time hanging on the beach, boating and relaxing in the sun. We stayed at a lovely cottage in Lochabar, Long Island that sat literally on the beach. We had camp fires, went jet skiing, diving for fish, tanning and just having a great time!

Most importantly, I learned something about vacationing with natural hair. The summer is here and I know many of you have caribbean vacations planned so here is a tip if tropical paradise is in your future.

My vacation to the island was not planned, therefore I didn't prep my hair for what was about to happen. Natural hair can be very high maintenance at times. If you're anything like me, I like to keep my natural hair tight even if it means twisting/styling every night. When you're on a vacation the last thing you want to worry about is doing your hair. My suggestion is to get a 'no fuss' style like a braided updo or mini twists. If you have unpredictable hair, a twist out will cause more harm than good when the humidity starts to kick in or your hair is attacked by salt water. I opted for mini twists, they worked like a charm for my day and night looks and fit well under my straw hat. On the first day, the humidity was out of control but my hair survived due to lots of moisture and bobby pins.

Vacation MUST haves:

Bobby pins
Straw hat- to protect hair from sun damage
Spray bottle-filled with bottled water (Aquafina is my choice- less frizz)
Curl cream- for moisture
Gel- for smoothing edges
Satin Bonnet
Oil- to seal in moisture

This is how it all started! 

A guide to Private Islands! 

The view from my room! 

Taking it all in! Look how wonderful God is. 

This is how it all started! Let the fun begin. 

Boating must haves: Water, towel, straw hat! 

Hats will fly must hold on!

Come aboard the party boat Terri! Exchanging passengers and beer mid ocean! 

Gone Bananas! 

Rupert's Legend! 

Ashley and I! The straw hat fits perfectly over my mini twists pin up style! 

Swimming in the Blue Hole with the girls! 

Travis aka Johnny Deep aboard the party boat! 

The crew! 

Jet ski-ing or something like it! Mini twist pinned up! 

Going back home via private plane! 

Follow me on Instagram for more photos from the trip: @terrinique

The Coiffure Project: A collection of portraits celebrating natural hair

The Coiffure Project which is a collection of portraits celebrating natural hair was created by photographer Glenford Nunez. The work came about after Nunez started snapping shots of one of his natural hair-ed staffers. Check out his work here and the article that was featured in the Huffington Post below! One word to describe this body of work: DOPE! 

Read more here...

Follow our CEO on Instagram: @terrinique

Twitter: @Kurleebelle

Subscribe to our blog at the bottom of the page! :)