One more week!

On December 31st I will do my next length check along with my January/December 2011 comparison. My hair has come a long way but unfortunately, I have an insane amount of split ends and I'm starting to feel as though my hair is thinning. I have to admit that I have not been keeping up with my regi and vitamins the past month but I have been good to my hair by abstaining from heat and bunning.

Next weekend I plan to wash, treat and cut my hair to have a much healthier start for 2012. As much as I was anxious for APL, I'd rather have thick healthy hair.

Updates next week!!

Candace Blake Shoes

I have always had a love for shoes.  I guess you can say I got it from my momma.  My mother was always on top of her shoe game. 

After graduating from Katharine Gibbs Business School, I was hired to be the receptionist at Nine West's New York showroom.  That is where my love for designing shoes grew.  I was surrounded by designers, salespeople and buyers and I fell in love with the atmosphere. 

In 2004, I started my own women's shoe line with a manufacturer in Brazil.  All of my sketches came to life and were just as I wanted them.  I launched my line in November of 2004 and had a great turn-out. Unfortunately, my manufacturer turned out to be shady and kept all of the money I gave him for my customer's orders.  I lost a lot of money and learned a lot from that experience.  I then turned to Italy.  My new manufacturer there also did a great job in bringing my styles to life.  The shoes I currently have in stock were produced by him and his team.  All of the shoes below can be purchased on my site at http://www.candaceblake.com/.

The problem with me using Italy is the costs for samples, production and retail.  I spent a lot of money on a pair of shoes and had to accommodate sizes 6-11.  On top of that, I had a hard time trying to sell these shoes that retail for $300 and up.  I could not find people who can afford that.  I lowered my prices so that I can get rid of them and start fresh with a cheaper manufacturer.

I am happy that I found someone in China and they are currently working on some samples for my Fall/Winter 2012 line.  I should be getting them back next month.  I cant wait!!  My new line is  full of flirty and unique styles for the bold, fashion forward woman. I am color blocking and mixing all types of materials.  This line is truly sexy and in a class of its own.  I plan to launch this line next summer but will focus on selling wholesale.  This will cut out a lot of the hard work such as finding the customers interested in my style and prices, overhead fees, shipping, etc.

For updates on my line please like my Candace Blake Shoes page on FaceBook and follow me on Twitter at CB Shoes.

I Made APL!!!

I am so excited and amazed that I have finally reached armpit length!  My regi is definetly one that I will stick to.  I have seen great progress from it.  Why switch up now?  Check it out:

Can I reach BSB (below shoulder blade) by the end of the year??  Lets see!

Length Check!! (Another month; another inch)

Am I really seeing this?  It looks as though my hair grew an inch in the last month!!

Ive been keeping up with my regi washing weekly and moisturizing my scalp every other day with wild growth oil with drops of castor oil and rosemary oil in it. I recently added some sulfur 8 to my mixture.  I continue to seal my ends with castor oil and I am consistant with my Nioxin vitamins but lowered my dosage to 1 a day.  Ive also been bunning.  I have no patience for styling especially since Ive been going hard at the gym.

So another inch should bring me to APL!  Im praying that I can grow an inch this month and next bringing me to two inches by December 31.  Fingers crossed!! 

Stay tuned!  : )

Length Check!! (One month progress)

I am so happy to say that my hair grew 3/4 of an inch in the last month.  My hair was braided under a weave the first two weeks and in cornrows under a wig the last two weeks.  I washed bi-weekly and moisturized my scalp every other day with wild growth oil with drops of castor oil and rosemary oil in it.  I also sprayed my hair daily with african pride braid sheen and sealed my ends with castor oil.  I am pretty consistant with my Nioxin vitamins.  I've been taking 2 daily.  I relaxed my hair on September 30th and then did my length check.

I am 2 inches away from APL which is my goal for the end of the year.  I am really aiming for an inch a month.  I will continue with my Nioxin and my wild growth mix regimen.  I bought some Sulfur8 and added a few scoops to my wild growth mix. I will do another length check the end of this month.  Lets hope to see an inch of new growth!

Length Check and New Regimen

Its September 1st and I joined the 2 Inches In 2 Months challenge on LHCF (http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=562979).  This is the perfect time to do a length check and decide on a new regi.  My goal is to be APL (armpit length) by the end of the year.  That means growing and retaining 2 1/2 inches.  I think its possible.

Here are my length pics:

Past my lips.  This is the longest my bangs has ever been!

My left side is almost at 6 inches on the ruler.  Theres some breakage there due to constant flatironing.  I need to stop!

My right side is reaching 5 inches.  Some parts are at 6.  Theres a lot more breakage on this side.

The longest part is past 2 on my shirt. 

My edges are really bad. : (

Im going to say that I am a little past 2 on my shirt.  As you can see, I need growth of 2 1/2 inches for the back to reach APL. 


I believe its duable with the following regimen:


Stay in a weave for the rest of the year.  Take out after my current install and redo around the beginning of November.  Before installing, I will do a deep protein treatment with Aphogee 2 minute Reconstructor. 

I will condition every weekend and shampoo every 2 weeks. I will moisturize my hair daily with olive oil moisturizer and S Curl.  I'll greese my scalp with Wild Growth Oil with a few drops of peppermint and rosemary oil.  Smells bad but will promote growth.  I'll seal my ends of the hair left out with castor oil or vasaline. I really have to limit my heat and figure out another way to keep my left out hair straightened.  

As far as my diet, I am going to continue drinking tons of water.  I'll also watch what I eat and increase my protein.  I just ordered Nioxin Intensive Therapy Recharging Complex from Amazon.com and I hope to see some great progress from it.

 Products I'll use:
Shampoo: Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Creamy Shampoo

Conditioner: Organic Root Stimulator Conditioner, Replenishing, Olive Oil

Deep treatment: Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise Treatment

Moisturizer/Sealant : Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Vasaline, S Curl

Scalp treatment: Wild Growth with drops of rosemary and peppermint oil

Vitamins: Nioxin Intensive Therapy Recharging Complex

Protein Treatment: Aphogee Two Step Protein Treatment



Will post more pics after my next install in November. Hope to see atleast an inch! : )

Diet Challenge of the Week: DRINK LOTS OF COLD WATER

This week I will focus on my water intake in addition to portion control.  This is something that is difficult for me because I not only drink way less than I should but I also find water very boring.  I prefer soda and juice when thirsty.

As you often hear, drinking water is very good for you.  Experts have always recommended drinking atleast 8 cups of water a day to stay well hydrated. Additional benefits of water include: healthy skin, hair and nails, flushed toxins, reduced risk of heart attack, reduced risk of disease and infection, cushioned and lubed joints and muscles, more energy, staying regular, and regulated body temperature.

There are added benefits when you drink cold water. Cold water is not only more refreshing, it is also more easily absorbed into your bloodstream than warm or hot water. Because your body is constantly regulating your temperature, your body uses extra energy to bring cold drinking water up to 98.6 degrees. Your body will burn additional calories just to heat this cold water in your stomach.  How cool is that!

Lets make it a water on the rocks week!  Although we'll be running back and forth to the bathroom, we'll be bettering our bodies in so many ways.

New Weave Installed

Last week I noticed that I had a lot of breakage and that was extremely dissapointing.  I know that it is because I have been using a lot of heat since I am due for a relaxer.  Ive also been lazy when it came to moisturizing my hair. 

I decided to have my sister install a weave and keep it in for atleast 2 months.  By the way, check out her blog and youtube videos at http://www.hairdelacreme.com/.  She has great information on growing and maintaining healthy hair.

My sister braided my hair in sort of an orange peel design.

She left out my edges in case I want to wear ponytails. 

 She then sewed the braids down.

This is the hair that was installed. There was a sale at my beauty supply store.  I bought two packs, one is 14 inces for $59.99 and the other is 12 inches for $49.99.  Duvessa is premium quality Remi hair designed to last longer.  Its tangle free and easy to care for.

After installing the weave, I dyed my hair with a black rinse, blowdried and straightened.  Here is my final result.

I am really loving the straight look.  When I get bored I'll layer the front and curl it.  I'll be sure to post those pics.  Later guys!



Diet challenge of the week: PORTION CONTROL

Portion control helps you to lose weight. When you carefully monitor your portion sizes, you decrease the amount of food that you eat. This makes it easier to burn off those calories through less activity.


This week I will focus on the amount of food I consume.  My biggest problem when it comes to food is overindulging.  Chinese food and pizza are some of the foods I should definetly stay away from because I rarely get that feeling of being full no matter how much I eat. 

I want to train myself to always eat in moderation which includes eating only when hungry and eating a decent amount.  The easiest way for me to accomplish this is by preparing my meals beforehand.  Today I brought some cereal for breakfast which I ate out of an 8 oz coffee cup with non-fat milk.  For lunch I had about 1 1/2 cups of yellow rice and beans and about 4 oz of baked chicken breast. I will most likely have a yogurt for snack and another chicken dish for dinner.  This is pretty much the meal template I'll follow this week.  Lets see if I can see some good results on Sunday.

Hair update (So much happened since January!)

Where do I begin? Ok let me put it like this, I:

1. texlaxed - tried to relax my hair because I could not take it anymore.  My hair was too hard to manage and since I am so picky with hairstyles, my choices were limited with natural hair.  I tried to relax it but I did not leave it in long enough.  I ended up having texlaxed hair, meaning I softened my kinks but kept the texture. I liked it for a while but got tired of the big hair. 

2. hightlighted - As you can see in the pic above, I added some highlights.  The salon was careful about using bleech but ended up leaving the color in my hair so long I might as well used bleech.  I love the highlights! It adds so much pizzazz to my hair.

3. relaxed - As I said, I missed my straight hair.  All I kept picturing was going to the beach or pool and having such a hard time maintaining my hair.  I LOVE my relaxed hair and do not think I will ever go back to natural.  Its just my preference.  Here is a pic of my hair last month:

As far as my regi goes, I no longer have one.  Once I relaxed my hair, I have been washing, co-washing and moisturizing.  I tried a new shampoo and conditioner but I do not like the feel in my hair.  The condition smells very good...very almondy.  The shampoo smells like cologne...a bit strong.

Here are some length pics that were taken about two months ago:

I will treat and install a weave in my hair this weekend.  I'll do the length check before and after I clip my ends.  I'll post those pics along with the pics of the install and some info on the regi I will be using.

See you then! :-)

2011!! Happy New Growth!!

Hey guys!

I straightened my hair last month so that I can post my end of year lenth pic.  As you can see, I am currently neck length.

My goal for this year is to pass necklength, pass shoulder length and move right to armpit length.  I am about 6 inches away from APL.  If I grow and retain atleast 1/2 an inch a month, I will be graduating from APL school in December. 

My regi will remain the same.  I'll be cornrowing my hair and protecting it with weaves and wigs.  I'll wash biweekly and moisturize daily.  I am also keeping up with my hairfinity vitamins.

I currently have an install in.  Im wearing the Bohyme Brazilian Wave, 14 inches.  Very beautiful hair and great for kinky curly naturals.  Im not sure how long I will keep this hair in but I am shooting for atleast 2 months. 

So thats my hair update.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  Grow girls!! Grow!!