spottieottiedopaliscious

It's finally Spring(!), which means that the DC area temperature is oscillating between 40s and 70s. Even if it's warm during the day, it can get pretty cold in the evenings. With the weather finally nice, I took the opportunity to break out one of my favorite dresses. It's perfect for this type of year because it's a great length to keep me cool, but it's a very thick and sturdy dress that holds up pretty well when it's cold. I paired this navy and white dress with a cheetah print cardigan and cream loafers. The spots on the dress and cardigan connect the two garments, and the shoes pull the entire outfit together. Pics below!

Outfit details:

Dress: LOFT (last season; similar here)// Cardigan: Target (sold out)// Shoes: 6PM.com (sold out, similar here)

Cleansing with Clay

I recently tried bentonite clay in my hair, as a shampoo replacement. Bentonite clay is a mud that draws out impurities (like dirt and bacteria) from the hair. It's a great hair "detox" in the sense that it completely cleanses your hair.

I have a naturally dry scalp, and while I've had luck with Whole Foods 365 herbal mint shampoo, I wanted to see if something else worked better for my scalp. I've used Terressentials, an organic bentonite clay wash, in the past and liked it, but not enough for continued use.

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay was recommended to me, so I decided to give it a try. I mixed equal parts clay, which comes in powder form, with apple cider vinegar to create a wet paste. I wet my hair before applying the mixture, and made sure to get the clay directly on my scalp in addition to my hair. My scalp tends to get particularly dry around my edges, so I was careful to apply a lot of the clay mixture to my hairline. Once my hair was completely covered in clay, I gathered all my hair and sat it on top of my hair in a makeshift bun.

I let it stay in my hair for about 45 minutes or so until it had completely hardened. I then followed up by rinsing the clay out of my hair thoroughly and deep conditioning my hair. I feel like a deep condition following the use of this product is especially important because the clay not only strips your hair of dirt, but also of moisture.

In the end, my hair had a lot of shine and more defined curls and teeny ringlets. My scalp still became pretty dry throughout the week, though I wonder if that might change with continued use. I'll probably use this bentonite clay as a cleanser 1 or 2 times per month to see if my dry scalp woes come to an end.

Have you ever used bentonite clay to cleanse your hair? How was your experience?

Plaid Life

I love the revisiting of the 90s that's been so present in fashion over the past few years now. One of those 90s trends that has made a comeback and is still going strong is plaid. I recently bought this flowy midi skirt from ASOS. It's very lightweight, so best for Spring or Summer. It's been pretty frigid out, so as soon as we had a relatively warm day, I decided to give myself a break from pants (they're the worst!) and show off my new skirt. I wore this to work, so I kept the look pretty simple; I paired the skirt with a chambray shirt and grey flats. The resulting look is fun, comfortable, and perfect for my relatively casual work environment. Outfit deets below...

I call this one "Pompadour Silk in Motion"

Outfit details:

Chambray shirt: F21+ (similar here) // Plaid skirt: ASOS (sold out; similar here) // Grey flats: Aerosoles (sold out)

Crochet

I got crochet braids installed about a week ago. It's a great protective style since my real hair is cornrowed underneath the whole time and the fake hair is crocheted in. It's like a weave with no tracks, which makes for a much more natural look in my opinion. I used about 4 packs of 12-inch Cuban Twist hair (which is basically Havanna hair) in #2 (natural black) and #4 (brown).

First, my hair was cornrowed straight back, as if I were getting a weave installed.

Starting from the bottom, the Cuban Twist hair was crocheted into the cornrow, piece by piece. For a more natural look, a bit of #2 and #4 went into each piece that was crocheted in.

When it was all done, I looked like Diana Ross! I was feeling myself with this big ol' head of hair!

Model chick

But alas, I wanted a tamer look, so next came the curling. I wanted big, soft curls. I used perm rods for long hair (I forgot what size) and big chunks of my hair were wrapped and twisted around the curler, then dipped in boiling hot water to hold the curl. The rolled Cuban Twist hair stayed in the hot water for about 20 seconds, then set for about 5 to 10 minutes. After that time passed, the perm rods were removed, and voila!

To maintain the look, I've been wearing a satin bonnet to bed. The curls have relaxed a lot--all these pictures are from the first day--and it's looking a lot more natural the longer I wear this hairstyle. Shout out to my sister for hookin me up with this fab 'do!

How to Keep Hair Moisturized During Dry Winter Months

The dry air in the winter always does a number on my hair. To combat dry hair, I follow these easy tips to make sure my hair stays moisturized and healthy all winter long!

Water
It starts from the inside: stay hydrated. Hopefully, if you are natural, you are also spraying your hair with water at least once a day, and sealing with an oil or butter as needed. But also remember to drink those 8 glasses of water a day. You'll notice other benefits too, like clearer skin and better digestion.

Oils vs. Creams vs. Butters
In the winter, my hair thrives when I use a thick, heavy butter like castor oil or olive oil to seal in moisture. In the Autumn months, using hair butters like shea or avocado work well for me. In the Spring and Summer, all my hair typically needs is a hair cream. Make note of how your hair feels throughout the year and what products do and don't work. It's a tedious learning process, but very worth it. Now that I know how my hair will respond, I opt for what I know works instead of wasting product on my hair that won't leave it feeling as soft and moisturized.

Protective Styles
The absolute best way to keep your hair moisturized in the winter is to wear protective hair styles. These include twists, braids, or up-dos either with your own hair or with the addition of extensions. Winter is great, fashion-wise: you get to bust out your cute wool coats and chunky knit scarves. But when hair rubs against that type of material, it tends to break. Wearing protective styles does wonders to prevent this breakage from occurring. Just be sure to continue moisturizing with water and sealing with oil just the same.

How will you keep your hair moisturized this winter?

Lately

It has been quite the busy time for me and I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like. In the past month, I've traveled a lot and moved, so things have been hectic! Below are a few pics of what I've been up to. You'll notice I've been doing not a thing to my hair! I'm just sort of letting it be and keeping it moisturized. Protective style coming soon though; stay tuned!

I got a new tattoo, done by Amy Nicholls of Tattooed Heart Studios! It's actually an addition to an existing tatt.

I love theater! This year, I went to see Letters To and From Me by Wild Women Theatre. It was phenomenal!

Sunset at Lake Michigan. It was so beautiful!

Beach house in Ocean Pines, MD.

Flashing that winning smile and wearing a polka dot fatkini from swimsuitsforall.

Not necessarily the best beach book, but definitely good beach beer.

I got taken out by a wave and my hair got SOAKED! Recovered by taking a selfie! :)

Wearing the Nala Midkini, designed by GabiFresh, and showing off my Mama Africa tattoo, done by Dave Wah of Stay Humble Tattoo Company.

Last beach day. I was going to wear my galaxy print bikini top, but the zipper broke :(

Boho Chic

I've been all about comfort lately, especially on the weekend. Most Saturdays have been a combination of running errands, watching shows, seeing friends, cooking, etc. To be comfortable all day, I've been opting for loose, oversized clothing with a boho-chic twist. This boxy crop top & midi skirt is just as comfortable as sweatpants and a t-shirt, probably requires the same amount of effort, yet looks much more polished.

Outfit details:

Boxy crop top: Simply Be // Midi skirt: ASOS (sold out, but very similar here) // Black flats: Hush Puppies (similar here)

Three-Strand Twist-Out

I've been looking to do something new with my hair than my usual twist-out or braid-out. While this doesn't completely deviate from my norm, this three-strand twist-out turned out really nicely and is a good switch from the usual. I essentially followed this video, and did the same moisturizing steps that I normally do to get the perfect twist out. This video explains how to do these twists very succinctly and clearly. The trick is learning how to hold the hair in your fingers so you don't get confused about which strand is supposed to go over next.

I started on dry, stretched hair. I spritzed my hair with just water this time and sealed with a combination of moisturizing hair butters. I did a few more twists than usual: 5 across the front, then three rows of twists for the rest of my hair; the bottom row had 2 twists, the next row had 4, then the top had just 1.

All done!

The next morning, I very carefully untwisted each twist, being sure to separate the three pieces of hair without frizzing my hair. My  hair texture is around 4a/b and this is a close-up of how it looked when I unwound the twists. It looked like spiral curls almost, but fluffier. Looser textures might get a more coiled look. Based on my one experience doing this style, I think if I did them smaller on my 4a/b hair, it would get that coiled look that's in the video.

Freshly untwisted

I undid all of the three-strand twists, then carefully separated each piece of hair to make my hair look fuller.  One thing to note is that you will have shrinkage with this style because the hair gets curlier than it does with a normal twist-out or a braid-out. I'm pretty happy with the turnout of this look and will definitely add it to my rotation of loose styles.

All fluffed out

What do you think of this look? Will you be trying it?

Day 'N' Nite

On Saturday, my plans included running errands, lounging at my boyfriend's place, and seeing a play in the evening. I needed an outfit that would easily transition from day to night, without the risk of looking too dressed up during the day or too casual at night. I opted for a black cold-shoulder dress and paired it with a leopard print belt to cinch in my waist and add a pop of pattern. To tie in the brown in the leopard print belt to the whole outfit, I wore my brown flats, which were great for running around all day. I kept the make-up pretty bare during the day, then simply put on lip gloss in the evening.

Outfit details:

Cold shoulder dress: ASOS (sold out; similar here and here) // Leopard print belt: ASOS (sold out; similar here) // Brown flats: JC Penny

Honey

My hair has been SO unbelievably dry lately. I was in desperate need of a good moisturizing deep conditioner to repair my hair. You will be able to tell when you need a moisturizing deep conditioner; your hair will feel dryer than usual and won't hold onto moisture as easily as it usually does. My normally soft hair felt really brittle which is how I knew my hair was due for a moisturizing deep conditioning. On Wednesday night, after shampooing my hair, I went to reach for my deep conditioner and only then realized I finished up all my moisturizing deep conditioner last week.

With my hair soaking wet, I needed to think fast. I remembered I had some honey in the kitchen and decided to combine it with my conditioner to enhance it. Honey is a great addition to any conditioner. It is a humectant, meaning that it attracts moisture. Honey also softens natural hair and adds shine. I used roughly 2 parts conditioner and 1 part honey.

2/3 conditioner, 1/3 honey

I combined the conditioner and honey by putting both in the palm of one hand, then rubbing my hands together.  I applied the mixture from root to tip, section by section (I typically have 4 sections), while also gently finger detangling my hair, removing shed hair along the way.

Freshly washed hair, with conditioner and honey applied

Since it was a work night, I just left the conditioner in for 30 minutes instead of the usual hour. I put on a plastic cap and warm conditioning cap to allow my hair to quickly soak up the goodness of the honey and conditioner. After rinsing thoroughly, my hair felt and looked great. My curls seemed especially springy, my hair was shiny and most importantly, it was SOFT.

After rinsing out the conditioner; no product on hair.

If you feel your hair is especially dry, try adding honey or any other humectant to your conditioner. Other humectants I favor are glycerin and aloe vera juice. If using a humectant, please be sure to apply an oil or butter to your hair afterwards to lock that moisture in! Surprise, surprise, I used Jamaican Black Castor Oil...

Monochrome

Usually, I'm the queen of color, but I've been really into monochromatic outfits lately. The weather has been pretty warm in the DC area, so white has been go-to for keeping cool in this summer-like heat. I've had these printed pants for awhile, but this striped top is a fairly new addition to my wardrobe. I decided to take a risk (per usual) and pair these two items together. It was definitely eye-catching and had a really chic, summer feel to it. I paired the outfit with my black lace oxfords for the sake of adding some simplicity to the outfit--I felt like the outfit needed a solid color--though in retrospect, sandals would have been a better choice in order to break up all the black and white. I completed the look with a simple red lip, and I undid my twists for a bomb twist-out! Peep the definition! :)

Outfit details:

Striped Top: New Look (sold out; similar here and here) // Aztec Pants: Forever21+ (sold out; similar here) // Lace Oxfords: ASOS (sold out; similar here)