Denman Devotee or Denman Detracter?

I like many naturals have a Denman brush, I also have a shower brush. I recently saw a vlog where someone was experiencing significant hair loss from using the Denman brush. After some thought, I realized I had heard and read similar stories on hair boards and forums. I use my Denman after detangling in the shower with my shower brush so I haven' t had any problems. In the interest of fairness though, all hair is different and I wanted to let new ( and experienced) naturals know that the Denman brush is not a one-size-fits-all miracle tool.

Please voice your opinion. :)

Tomoka's Twists

Here I am modeling a Tomoka's Twist.

I thought it was adorable, but for the more fashion forward she has "classically" beaded ones with matching earrings. The device is actually a covered wire and was designed for loc wearers. I just couldn't resist the urge to have the words GOOD HAIR sticking out of my puff.

Here's the link to her etsy store: Tomoka's Twists
There is a holiday sale starting Friday-FREE SHIPPING!!

First Mobile blog

Good Afternoon! This is our first mobile blog (yeah!) In honor of this occassion I will be posting a link to a free Knaps wallpaper that you can download. Isn't technology wonderful?

Also...we have stickers! Leave a comment with which of our girls from our banner you like and I will send you two stickers of her. Remember to include your email address so we can get your mailing address.

Have a great Knap-py day!

B. Natural Apparel

I recently posted vacation pics on Nappturality and YouTube. I am wearing a really cute shirt I bought from a vendor at Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Festival. I have gotten inquiries about the shirt and so I'm posting a link to her site. She's a girl with Knaps and her T-shirts let you know.

Here's me in my shirt:











Here the link to her site: B. Natural Apparel

Here my vacation slide show:


I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Split Ends

Fortunately I haven't been plagued with split ends since my hair has been natural but the major reason for split ends is dryness. Dryness can come from heat or chemicals. Your ends are susceptible because they are the oldest, most fragile part of your hair and farthest from you natural scalp oils. The cure for split end is a trim, prevention is moisturized hair. If your hair is dry don't just think moisturizing products also remember shampoo and if your area has hard water

Here is link to a trim your hair tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN5Lsa3dw6Y

The year on the pic is wrong, but you can see my ends are healthy! :D

Henna

Henna is known as a natural hair dye with conditioning properties. It comes from a plant and real henna is only red-orange. Other natural hair dyes are marketed with or as henna if it is not red-orange it is not henna or has an additive natural or otherwise to change the color.

There are 2 ways to do henna(IMHO):

The hard way: Buy henna powder, mix with natural additives, let sit overnight, apply to hair

The easy way: Buy LUSH henna bar, grate, add hot water, apply to hair

Most of the things people add to henna are to help the color or prevent dryness. LUSH hennas called CaCas are henna powder mixed into shea and coco butters you can still add things to help the color if you want. Henna also relaxes your curl pattern slightly. I saw no difference in my curl pattern post-henna but individual results vary.

Here's me doing LUSH henna:

Here is IttyBittyButSexy doing traditional henna:

And IttyBittyButSexy using LUSH:

How to stay moist without going broke.

THANKS!!!!!

You all answered with your questions. I'll address them first come first serve so:
1) How to stay moisturized without buying a lot of expensive products?

The best moisturizer is WATER, once you have that you are trying to find a way to keep it in. Oils work well to do this, some oils are better than others. Mineral oil and Petroleum are cheap, cause build up and seal out air not allowing your scalp to breathe. The best oils I have used are all natural, cheap and can best used in your kitchen as well. My favorite is Unrefined Shea Butter ($5.99 @ local beauty supply), Extra Virgin Olive oil ($3.00@grocery store) and coconut oil (this should be unrefined and to but I got the cheap stuff to try first) ($5.50@Walmart) If you mix them together and use just as a hair oil your hair will be moist, they will last cuz you have cooking size containers. If you mix them with aloe vera gel or flax seed gel you get a creamier consistency, if you add enough gel you can create a curl definer.

If you are suffering from dryness you should also consider your shampoo. Buy a Castille soap ($6.99@ Target) and add the same three oils then dilute with water and you have a non-drying shampoo. This is the recipe I use.

Tutorial videos:

Make your own Shampoo


Shealoe : shea butter and aloe

Need tips?

Welcome to Knaps!!

This is the first blog so feel free to respond with ideas for the future.
If you ask me to review a product I will because that an excuse for me to buy it.
I will do my best to answer any questions and if I can't I'll try to find someone who can.





The Transitioners Tip Sheet:

During my transition I combed the web and got a lot of great information from forums, blogs and YouTube but I wanted a transitioning cheat sheet. I wanted all the information without all the searching. I wanted an informative durable list of Knappy basics. There was no such thing, so I created one. It has answers to the FAQs of transitioning and products and ingredients to avoid, as well as, those that are beneficial. I hope this helps people :) I want everyone to have a smooth transition.

Respond if you are interested

Stuff people Want to Know:

How long have you been natural?
About a 18 months (I never did a big chop)

What makes you qualified?
I'll experiment on my own head for your benefit and do the research for you :)

Are you one of these all natural crunchy Africa types?
No, I like natural products cuz they work, if it is "un"natural and it works that's cool too.

What makes your blog different/better?
My partner! She wears her hair straight all the time. We can offer both perspectives. Plus, the Knaps Girls are so cute!