Mora I. Naturals

So much has happened since my last blog. I think we left off with an entry about my decision to be a wash-n-go natural.

That thought has pretty much gone out the window. HA! I've been wearing braids for the past 4 weeks.

Excuse the cheeiness of the pic.

I plan to continue wearing these until next weekend. After that I'm thinking of wearing my hair straight for the rest of the winter. i dont see myself walking outside during the cooler months with a wet head. Though LA doesnt get nearly as cold as Atlanta, but I know it would still be uncomfortable.

Nothing is definite yet.

What's going on with you?

I've made a decision. I couldn't quite tell where I fit in with the natural world. I've done this before, and this time I'm sticking to it. My hair decisions swinging from a pendulum. Do I do protective styles or wear it out? I was still feeling like if it was straight it might be easier to manage. That thought was very un-settling to me.

Throughout my journey my go-to style was the wash in go. From the beginning I got compliments on my curls. I brushed them off like crumbs in a dust pan. I didn't get it. So I twisted and bantu- knoted, even braided. I had no idea what to do or what it took.

For the life of me I couldn't find a simple routine. Can having natural hair be this much work? If it wasn't for making butters and experimenting on my hair I don't know what I'd do.

Last night I did bantu knots. I was actually proud of myself. It only took 20 mins and I made about 6 - 8 knots. They were not dry when I took them out, so I didnt fluff too much. I headed to the 10 a.m. yoga class at the gum. I missed that. Smh

Anyway after my workout I hit the steam room. It felt so good to be in there. My skin, all over was loving it. When I stepped into the mirror to wash my face I realized my knot out was gone. Leaving a big puff of frizz, but it felt soft.

I decided then and there that I'm a wash n go girl. It does take forever to dry. This length has taken some getting used to. As I type this at 2 a.m. PST my hair is still wet. Oh well, I have great curl definition.

P.S. My momma always told me I had good hair, cause I have African in me. 

Hello Mora I. fam!

I got such good feedback on the last Evolution of a style that I thought I'd show you what you can do with some bantu knots. Comment and enjoy!

Okay so, I've been seriously under the weather for a few days now. I got rained on, while coming back from my Devachan appointment, and I haven't been back to normal sense. Needless to say I didn't get a chance to see how long those cute curls would last because I totally slept on and sweated them out via fever on Saturday. I didn't get a chance to capture a picture of this monstrosity, my bad...

But yeah for whatever reason I thought it would be a good idea to wet the matted mess so I could comb through it and put it in a protective style..I don't know why I did this, the whole wetting my head part was a total mistake. I had SO MUCH product in my head, but I was way too tired and sick ( w/ what turned out to be bronchitis) to give it a good co washing..so I got out prematurely, and tried to do two sad french braids...which then proceeded to take two days to dry..probably because I didn't get the product totally out. Needless to say by monday my hair and I were on the outs. She hated me, and I couldn't figure out what to do with her. So we were at a stand off of sorts.

this continued until Tuesday, when I basically conceded to my hair and was on the verge of wetting my head in desperation again, it was actually after talking to Genoa, who suggested I just spritz my locks with a  little water to rehydrate..yeah I was that out of it... to were I hadn't even considered that lol...I jumped right up and got to town with the rehydration process.

So what I did was took a regular spray bottle, filled it with some distilled water, added a few drops of Mora I's homemade lavender oil shook that up and had my good spritz. I then grabbed a jar of the Mora I. Mango Butter Balm and proceeded to take down my french braids one side at a time.

I didn't use a comb, I really just spritz both sides of each section and smoothed the water down with the palms of my hands. I repeated that step once more and then took a dab of balm and went over the same section to seal in the moisture. I rebraided slowly, never combing through just separating the section that I needed to continue on with the braid.

It took me about 30 or so minutes to complete the look, but once it was done, my hair felt soft and happy!

I pretty much slapped a satin cap back on it and went back to sleep.

I'll added pictures when I have enough energy to find my camera cord..but in the meantime,

I hope this helps some of the fellows sickies with regard to keeping your hair in good shape even when you may not be.

Hello Mora I. fam,

I am admitingly a product junkie. I have been able to curb this some what by purchasing sample sizes or single use packages of products. I still get to try what I want, and I dont have the clutter. Which brings me to this review.

While browsing a grocery store in Little Tokyo last week I came across this face mask. I love fask masks, facials, butters, bars, creams... I digress.

Product Description

Epielle Green Tea and Aloe Facial Essence Mask contains Green Tea, Aloe and essential botanical extract to leave your skin soft and suffle. Your skin will soak up the concentrated extracts in the pure natural cotton mask to hydrate your face after every treatment.

How to use:
1. Use after cleaning & toning.
2. Take out & unfold the mask.
3. Apply the mask on the face. Smooth the mask gently to ensure good contact with the skin.
4. Wear the mask for 20-30 minutes.
5. To remove the mask, peel off slowly from the edges.

The Verdict

It was just wet enough. I was worried about keeping it on for so long, but the time flew by. My skin felt smooth and moisturized. The only problem with a sheet mask is that you neglect your neck, and that area needs love and care just like your face. It did what it claimed to do, but I think I'll stick with cream mask, so that I can get my neck as well.

Last night I was really ambitious. I had two parties to go to. The first was a house warming and the 2nd a birthday party at a club.

I'm always on the lookout for a versatile style that can work in several places. I usually wear my hair out to social events. This time I opted for an up do. The problem was every time I thought I had a hair style I'd see myself from a different angle and dislike it. This resulted in several changes. Enjoy!

Here I had 3 flat twists going across the front and a bun in the back. I wasnt feeling it at all angles, so this turned into...

This was my bun with the textured bang. I kinda liked it, just not from all angles.

Then I twisted the bang and pinned it back. Still wasn't happy.

Top view. I know my hair is super red. YIKES

I finally decided on going with the pomp in the front.

I went to the Devachan Salon in Soho NY today and I LOVED IT!!!!!!

Alright lets back track a little bit...Okay I've been needing to get this hair of mine shaped since forever. I haven't though because I've been SUPER picky about who and what touches my fro. I have very delicate hair (found out today it's actually really fine, I just have a whole lot of it) so I have to be careful. I figure who better to treat my hair with love than me! Right? well in some cases that works but when it comes to a cut not so much. You need outside help...be it a friend or a professional, you need an extra pair of hands. I decided I needed a professional, and not just any professional but one that understands curly hair.

I live in Los Angeles, and heard there was a new Ouidad Salon in Santa Monica. I'd been trying to decide if I was going to make an appointment or not, when Genoa came to the rescue, suggesting I check out youtube to see if anyone (with my hair type) had done a review on Ouidad. I searched and searched but never found a good review..I did however hear alot about the Devachan salon in NY and how they use the Devachan technique of cutting curly hair while it's dry, one curl at a time.

The reviews on Youtube were pretty cool. most folks LOVED the cut, but had some issues with the styling. SInce the cut was all I was really after, I decided to make an appointment with them during my trip to the East Coast.

I made the appointment yesterday, and they told me to come in today with my hair down so they could see my curl pattern...which meant I had to do a wash and go...which was a bit of a problem being as how up until today I HATED the way my hair looked when I attempted a wash and go (probably because I wasn't doing them properly). I freaked out about that for a sec, but then put my big girl draws on and went for it...

this is the wet dog look before the product was applied:

and then once it dried right before my salon debut, this was what my hair looked like:

Now the salon experience was cool from the jump. I walked in and saw curly heads everywhere! (loved that!!) The environment was soothing, the receptionist was pleasant, hell I even got a few compliments before I got started (big shocker for me since I was so not happy about my 2nd attempt at a wash and go). Anywho..

They had me change into a silk robe and checked my bag and jacket for me. :-)

Upon returning to the front I was offered a beverage of my choice (water, tea..me..Lol) I ordered water, and they brought it to me in a champagne flute (NICE!).

A few seconds later my stylist came out. Now I was a little nervous at first because she was an older white lady, and I just knew she had no idea how to deal with my crazy head of curls, but I decided to just let the universe take control of the situation and I went with it.

Maryanne was AWESOME! She sat me down in a styling chair and turned me towards the mirror, she asked a few questions about my curly routine while she walked around and pulled out a couple of curls..then came the scissors, she was good..I could see the shape coming together as she snipped here and there. It was like she was working on a masterpiece.

She did cut quite a bit in my opinion but it was VERY necessary and came out looking WONDERFUL!

So Maryanne clipped my curls and then turned me over to Crystal (an multiracial african american with BEAUTIFUL Curls).

Crystal was VERY cool, she took me over to the washing station ( they have beds instead of chairs YES!!!) She no-poo'd, co-washed and detangled my hair ( with her fingers and ALOT of conditioner). She then styled my hair...in a wash and go style, but she did it totally different then what I'd seen before...she used, set it free, heaven in hair and their arc angel gel. She showed me her technique as she styled me, answered any questions I had and was all around amazing!  She set my hair and then sat me under a dryer for about 20 minutes and then diffused my ends (with a regular diffuser not that devafuser thingy). Once Crystal finished, Maryanne came back to polish off the cut and this is the final result!

My front is a little damaged due to the sun and my constantly stretching it, but the rest of my hair is AMAZING!! I never knew I had curls like this! I mean they are SO shiny and defined in the back and sides, and most of the front.

They told me that my hair leans on the dry side so I have to make sure I moisturize!

Honestly my PJism kicked in as I was leaving, and I spent way too much purchasing the products they used in my hair...I'll definitely keep that to a minimum next time. I was just so excited though! Give me a pass this time! Lol!

All in All I would say the Devachan Salon visit was a TOTAL success! Can't wait to see how pretty the curls are once the front is fully hydrated and the curls grow out a little more! :-D

You can check Devachan out at www.devachansalon.com

They have salons in NY, but there are also salons across the country that have been trained in the Devachan cutting technique. Check them out if you get a chance!

Thanks for reading!

Peace Love and (a Ban on) Hair Grease!!

Okay so I tried the whole blogging thing a few months back, wrote out my whole hair story (up to this point) adding pictures to boot and totally failed when it came to trying to post it. I lost it ALL!. Needless to say I was beyond frustrated. So I kind of gave up for a bit and left it up to Genoa to navigate the ends and outs of the blog and twitter/facebook world. Which looking back now, may not have been the best thing being that it added more on to Genoa's plate and she already had more than enough just dealing with me some days. Gigi, my apology to you for taking so long to realize that.
Last month I was fortunate enough to get a lap top for the 1st time in a LONG time. I initially wanted a Macbook Pro, but after some consideration and research (and talking to my technological genius of a little brother), I got an HP Pavillion. I figured I can upgrade to a Mac when my laptop needs change. Right now I just need Word, Excel, Internet, Itunes and something to hold my massive picture library on. SO the HP Pavilion is perfect for me. I will admit, my little brother was right. I'm falling in love with my computer more and more each day. I've been able to do more exploring of this wonderful thing called the internet, even to the point where I think I'm ready to try this blogging thing again. I'm back in action yall. This is my first contribution to the Mora I Naturals blog site! Thank you in advance to all the followers! :-)

Okay so I think I'll start my hairstory..in parts, lol!

The Beginning
I started out natural as we all do. My parents were natural, it was the end of the 70's early 80's the fro was the way to go still.
I didn't have much hair, but my parents made it work

My Hair was very healthy as a child thanks to my mother’s great care of my hair. She took her time, washing, conditioning, detangling, and using protective styles to get my hair to about arm pit length.

I was a bit of a tom boy growing up..actually no I don't think you can actually categorize me. I'm a girly girl in some respects but a tom boy in others. I'm a chill guys and gals gal! :-)
My mom eventually got frustrated with her taking all of that time doing my hair only to have me run outside to play, climbing in trees, throwing leaves, coming back in the house with a head full of the yard. One day she got fed up and gave me a chop at the age of 5. I was then forced to rock the young afro with them.

Transition #1
My parents separated around my 6th birthday, and my mom moved to Los Angeles, leaving my father behind in New Jersey...the following summer is when my real hair woes began.
I can recall my very first perm, given to me by none other than, wait for it…wait for it…my father. It was my first trip back to NJ after the split. My little brother and I went to serve as flower girl and ring bearer in our Grandparents renewal ceremony. On the day of the celebration, my father became frustrated while trying to comb through my hair and decided to throw a relaxer in there…Damn! Breakage and short straight ends for the next year…I had a lot of braids (A LOT) and got through the perms destruction with my mom’s tender loving care. Unfortunately this was when my mom got remarried, for the wedding she let me talk her into my getting a perm. Here there we went again!
High School
I’m going to fast forward to my high school years, because I continued perming up until my sophomore year. I transitioned by ugh pressing on top of the perm, but stopped and started braiding for the rest of the time. I’d grown the perm out, but the heat damage was taking a toll on my strands. I unknowingly big chopped the day of my prom…went in with my eyes closed trusting the new hairdresser...BIG Mistake…she told me I had damaged ends that needed to be trimmed(which turned into 4 inches gone!) then she pressed the rest of the hair…she totally messed me up.
Back to the braids…I braided off and on my first year in college, my hair grew back to collar bone length
Unfortunately the Atlanta Humidity proved too much for me and I wound up perming my sophomore year in college and continued the practice until Oct 13. 2007. I’d been flirting with going natural for about a year before but never got around to it. It’s was that day in October, after a usual 6 hour morning at the salon, I decided that was the end.
I’ll close today’s post here. I’m getting a little too carried away with it  which means me likey! You’ll definitely be hearing from me again…
Next up: My Transition oh and I promise I'm working on my picture game! Photos to follow ;-)

Kemit and I had a really great brainstorming session today. We took inventory of what we have and also talked about some products we need to develop.

I'm looking for a really good deep conditioner. Kemit wants something that holds in moisture. We need to meet in the middle.

Our desires led us to a massive google search. I happened upon a site that recommended Miracle Whip for a facial as a great exfoliant. I dont have any on hand so I tried apple cider vinegar and olive oil.

Let me begin with, "It works." I poured equal amounts, 1 tbsp of each, into a bowl. Then with a wire whisk, mixed them together. I'll be honest the vinegar stung a bit. My eyes were watering, I was fanning my face. Maybe I need less vinegar? Eventually it stops, and I left it on for 10 minutes. I rinsed it away with a warm towel. My skin glowed. It felt soft and smooth. Next I applied the Mora I. Naturals skin softening balm. It's cocoa butter, mango butter and organic extra virgin coconut oil, and almond oil. I figure that if I seal my hair with oli, why not my face. So far this theory has been working for me.

My skin isn't firm like it was with the pineapple mask but it is smooth. I took a few pics and will post them in my next blog.

Good night

So far we have two products that are ready to go.

One is a body scrub and the other a butter that is great for skin and hair. I prefer to use the butter on my skin, when i did a twist out with it, my hair stretched out a lot and hung down. I prefer my twist outs big and fluffy. They both can be seen here...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoraINaturals

I've been searching online and through several books that we have for a great conditioner. One that provides lots of slip. So far the best slippery deep conditioner can only be made in the kitchen. Here is the recipe!

1/2 avocado
1/4 c molases
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 c conditioner ( any kind of your choice)

I mix mine in a bowl with my hands trying to get the avocado as smooth as possible

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I admit it does look kind of crazy. Green and muddy.

Then with a rat tail comb I go through my hair and apply it from root to end. I concentrate on the ends, as that part of the shaft is oldest and needs to the nourishment.

Put on a plastic cap for at least 20 mins then rinse. Be sure to detangle to get all of the avocado out. This treatment leaves my hair soft and strong.

if you try it let me know your results.