After Trim Pics!!

I finally took my butt to the salon to get my much needed trim.  Of course I begged the stylist not to cut off too much.  I figure if I can trim every few months, I can gradually rid my hair of all the bad ends while keeping the good ends healthy.  In the meantime, I'll search and cut any individual strands that are damaged.  Heres my new length:

I LOVE my hightlights but as much as I would like to highlight my new growth, I just cant risk more breakage.  BSL here I come! 

Length Check!! One Year comparison

Below are my length pics from early January 2011 and January 4, 2012.  My hair grew between 5 and 6 inches over the year.  Unfortunately Ive had some breakage from my relaxer and highlights. 

I plan to cut my ends and continue to treat them so that I can reach my 2012 goal of mid-back length.   My next length check will be in April where I hope to reach BSL.  Lets see!  Happy New Growth year!

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!