Hair Reviews Archives - Napturale Living

Braids and Thangs

December 7, 2013 By Shannon Barnes Leave a Comment

For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed styling hair. Like most little girls, I initially began practicing on my dolls and then when I was older, I’d practice on my friends and family. Now that I am an adult, I’d like to take my love of hair styling to another level and eventually turn into a passion that I can earn a living from.

I’ve learned quite a bit over the years from my mother, my own trial and error as well as instructional videos I’ve purchased. On my previous Youtube channel, I even posted a few videos showing some of my practice sessions. I’m so thankful for my family for allowing me to use them as my ‘mannequins’ and for being so patient with me.

About three weeks ago, after a long hiatus from hair styling, I was able to style my mom’s hair into micro braids. She found this very pretty hair style on Pinterest and had been begging me for a while to do her hair the same way. I hesitated because one of my last experiences when doing my friend’s hair didn’t go so well and my confidence was shaken. My mom insisted that I keep trying and I’m glad she did.

While the results aren’t perfect, they are definitely better than my last attempts. I still need a lot more practice with sectioning the hair and all good hair braiders know that sectioning the hair can either make or break the style. It can either make the hair appear to be too thin or even too bulky.

As you can see in the pictures below, the top portion to the front of my mom’s head needed a little more attention. Smaller parting would’ve helped create a fuller look in the front especially since she’s starting to thin out a little bit in this area now.

But despite the parting mistakes in the front, she loved the style and I was very pleased to see a big smile on her face.

I can’t wait to share more of my hair stories with you guys and be sure to also follow me on my current Youtube channel where I’ll be posting more videos for your viewing pleasure.

Until next time!!

Be You, Be Free

April 30, 2013 By Shannon Barnes Leave a Comment

Picture is not my own. No copyright infringement intended.

I can certainly attest to the statement above. I have always been really shy and awkward but it wasn’t until I decided to ‘go natural’ that I began to come out of that shell a bit. I think in today’s world it does take a lot of confidence to do something that is different from what is popular or even acceptable. Even more so if those of your own race don’t really embrace that decision as well.

When I initially began allowing my natural texture to grow out there wasn’t this huge phenomenon of natural hair loving Black women parading the streets. It was nothing at all like what we see now in 2013. So at that time it took a lot guts to do something that was different, something that went against the grain so to speak and stick to my decision.

Besides that ‘going natural’ opened up a whole new world of creativity for me. I learned a lot more about how my hair and the proper way to take care of it in order to yield the best results. It gave me a new way to express myself and find out what I liked as well as what I didn’t. In a lot of situations my hair was a conversation piece that allowed me to meet people and share tips on how to care for it and new styles to try.

Now in no way am I saying that ‘going natural’ is the only way to gain a measure of confidence. The point is simply that change is definitely good whether it’s a new hairstyle or new clothes. And when you make that change it’s important to stick to it if it’s making you happy and improving your quality of life. Changes like these can even catapult you into a totally different direction that you may never have thought about before. For me, that extra push was because of my hair.

What about you? Has ‘going natural’ helped you in any positive ways? Was it a positive or negative experience? What other changes have you made that helped increase your confidence?

I’d love to hear from you!

Hands Off!!

April 22, 2013 By Shannon Barnes Leave a Comment

If you guys haven’t already noticed, I really love Pinterest. I could seriously waste half an hour to an hour a day on this site just pinning recipes, DIY projects, hair inspirations and whatever else catches my eye. One of my most favorite things to pin are funny and inspirational quotes because you never know when you’ll need that extra bit of encouragement or that gut-busting laugh to help you get through the rest of the day.One day I happened to come across a pin by a Naturalista by the name of Kelli Benson.

I had to laugh because I have felt this way so many times and I seriously wanted to scream this at the top of my lungs. It’s nice to get compliments on your hair however it is not nice to have people touching it and sometimes ruining your perfectly shaped puff. I don’t know about you, but it’s an art to those things and once you have gotten it the way you want, you don’t want anything ruining that look. Not to mention people’s hands are dirty and most if not all do not take the time to sanitize their dirty mitts before touching your hair.

I’m just saying. This PSA should have been made a long time ago. We should probably run a few commercial slots proclaiming our displeasure with people touching our hair. That was my tiny rant for today. How about you guys? What are your thoughts on people touching your hair? Be sure to comment below and share your thoughts with me.

Love Me!!!!

March 18, 2013 By Shannon Barnes Leave a Comment

That’s what my hair has been screaming to me for over 8 months now. I was so excited to finally go natural again after abusing my hair and scalp for years with chemicals. During that first year and a half I did an excellent job maintaining my hair care routine. But about eight months ago I hit a angry wall of laziness and neglect. Sadly my hair has suffered the consequences. It’s really dry and brittle feeling. It’s extremely tangled and breaking off in some areas but thankfully much of my length has been maintained. Unfortunately it is really uneven and in dire need of attention.Three days ago I made another batch of that awesome Super Moisturizing Shampoo which I will be using as my primary shampoo. I detangled my hair using my fingers and three long hours later my hair was completely detangled and ready to be washed. Before washing my hair, I decided to do a clarifying rinse to clear away all of the dandruff and styling product buildup from my hair and scalp.

Once the clarifying step was complete I began washing my hair with the homemade shampoo. Next I detangled my hair with my new Goody QuikStyle Paddle brush which I love!! I was done detangling my whole head in about twenty minutes and it’s was about 70% dry. After detangling I applied more moisture and shine by using Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Miracle Dry Oil. I actually received this product free from BzzAgent.com and honestly I couldn’t have gotten it at a better time. It left my hair really soft and it smells really good. A more in depth review will be posted on this later.

After completing all of these steps I decided to put two strand twists all over my head for a really awesome twist out. I’m going to try and stretch out this style for a full week. I’ll probably reapply the Miracle Dry Oil as needed to keep up the style and maintain the moisture and softness. Next week I think I’ll actually flat iron my hair for the first time in over a year. Can’t wait to see those results.

The Best Homemade Shampoo Recipe EVER!!

October 20, 2012 By Shannon Barnes Leave a Comment

Well, maybe not the best EVER since it’s really only the first one I’ve ever tried. But it’s definitely one I will do again and again because it really and truly brought my hair back to life. For about eight months my hair and scalp suffered extreme dryness and it seemed as though I would never find a shampoo that would alleviate these issues. I tried many manufactured brands with little or no results. Some even actually made the problem worse. I even considered buying some of the other popular brands that boast that their products are all natural with no added sulfates and any of that other yucky stuff. However, their price tags were well out of my meager budget.So, I decided to continue researching until I found a homemade recipe that used natural ingredients that were affordable and that would give my hair the wake up call that it so desperately needed. And then one day I fell upon a recipe by Youtube beauty Guru, DutchessGabrielle, that brought life back to my dry, lifeless curls. The recipe is for a Black Soap Moisturizing Shampoo in which Ms. Gabrielle used many natural ingredients I already had on hand such as black soap, vegetable glycerin, jojoba oil and rosemary extract. The remaining ingredients I purchased from Coastal Scents at very affordable prices.

What DutchessGabrielle mentions this shampoo does for your hair is right on point. The shampoo smells so very good and really puts me in a good mood. And the combination of ingredients she chose really worked well together and made my curls ‘pop’. No more dryness and breakage. Just soft, manageable curls were all that remained. The peppermint in the shampoo tingled so nicely on my scalp and left it feeling renewed.

I am so thankful I found this recipe and I can’t wait to make another batch. Even my family has fell in love with this shampoo. I hope you guys will try it out as well, as I’m sure you will come to love it just as much as I do.

Braids and Thangs

Be You, Be Free

Hands Off!!

Love Me!!!!

The Best Homemade Shampoo Recipe EVER!!

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