Best Hairstyles of Oscars 2015

To be honest, I never watch the actual Oscars...I am just not that into it. However, I always watch the preshow for the fashion and slayage.

Lupita Nyong'o

Source: Getty / Jason Merritt

Lupita always makes the TWA looks so classy and elegant. That pearl Calvin Klein dress against her chocolate skin just completed the flawless package.

Zoe Saldana 

Steve Granitz/WireImage

I was loving Zoe's effortless waves. When it comes to hair and makeup, Zoe Saldana is usually a minimalist and it works so well for her. The low messy bun gave me an 'I woke up like this' vibe. 

Scarlett Johansson

Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur

This cut is everything to me! If I had hair that followed directions, I feel like I would try an edgy cut like Scarlett Johnson. At least something tapered... I liked that she wore this edgy cut to the Oscars. Pairing it with a classy emerald dress was risky but worked for me. 

Zendaya Coleman

Source: Getty / Jason Merritt

Zendaya's faux locs were perfect. I have been contemplated doing this exact same protective style. The length, color, and embellishments are all what I had in mind. Now if I could just muster up the patience!

Kelly Osbourne

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Anyone who can be different but still classy on the red carpet got two thumbs up from me. I was a fan of Kelly's pastel purple hair and shaved sides.

Ava DuVernay 

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

DuVernay's locs were styled into a ninja bun. I haven't personally seen someone dress up an ninja bun before so I didn't expect it on the red carpet. Ava DuVernay did the style justice.

Viola Davis

Source: Getty / Jason Merritt

Another beautiful TWA! Im glad Viola's fro survived though. In the last episode of HTGAWM, Annie May's mother went at her hair with a fine tooth comb and all of my body cringed. Anywho...I was so happy to see the fro love on the red carpet!

 Oprah Winfrey

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

I am always a fan of Oprah's curls! She always wears it like a lion's mane and the lustre is on point! Those brown highlights are perfect!

Which look was your favorite from the 2015 Oscars?

365 Days of Fitness: Day 27-46

I am still going strong with the FocusT25 Beachbody program. It is a great part of this 365 day challenge because it is only a 25 minute commitment each day. Don't be fooled by the 25 minutes though, it is hard work! I can already tell that this hard work is going to pay off. Don't forget to follow my journey on my fitness channel: TJauneT_X

Braids and Curls

Yesterday I had all intentions to spend the day doing a braided mohawk for a concert later in the night. I had stretched my hair out using the banding method and I was excited to braid it up. I braided a little section in the front and then got super lazy! I didn't want to do the rest but I still needed a style for the concert! What to do...what to do...

I grabbed my Carol's Daughter Macadamia Heat Protecting Serum and my curling wand and improvised. It took me about 20 mins to put some curls in. My curling wand was set to 325 degrees. I didn't want it too hot for fear of heat damage and I didn't plan on keeping this style for very long. I took about medium sized sections and wrapped them around my curling wand for 8 seconds each.

I loved the results! It was a bonus that my hair smelled so great! I love this Macadamia serum from Carols Daughter. It worked well on my relaxed hair and my natural hair seems to love it too!  I wasn't able to take any pictures right after I was done styling but I did have enough energy after the concert to snap a few pics. After about 4 hours my curls did drop, but I enjoyed the style none the less. My hair responded pretty well to the heat but I can't wait to do a hot oil treatment next wash day to prevent any unnecessary dryness.

Wash Day: Dust/Trim

I could not wait for this past week's wash day! I had used the SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Souffle to try a dry perm rod set and I did not care for this product too much. It left this weird film on my hair along with little white balls of product throughout my strands. My hair was really dry and difficult to manipulate. I am not sure if I used the product incorrectly, but I do know that I didn't even use much of it (as advised by others who have used the product in the past). Needless to say the product went right back to the store...

When my hair was in this dry state I could see that my ends were significantly more dry and brittle than the rest of my hair. I knew that this wash day had to include clarifying this Curling Souffle out and dusting off some of my old ends. I went ahead and clarified with the SheaMoisture JBCO Grow and Restore Shampoo and deep conditioned overnight with the SheaMoisture JBCO Grow and Restore Treatment Mask. After cleansing and conditioning I applied the SheaMoisture JBCO Grown and Restore Leave In Conditioner to small sections and twisted up those sections as smoothly as I could. I absolutely love the products in this line but a full review is coming soon!

I dusted off about 1/4 of an inch off of the ends of each twist with new hair cutting shears. I know that this is not the most traditional way to dust/trim, but it worked for me! There was no noticeable length lost and no raggity ends in sight. This was my first trim since my big chop and I wasn't scurred. I care for healthy ends more than I do length.

It's My Hair Tag!

I am back on YouTube! My most recent upload is the 'It's My Hair Tag!' In this video I answer questions about my hair. 

Like. Comment. and Subscribe! Let me know if you do the tag so I can watch!

Wash Day: Hair Anniversary Gifts and Pampered Wash and Go

This past Saturday was my one year natural hair anniversary!! I treated myself to some new products so that I could have a special wash day. I went to Target and picked up the Camille Rose Naturals Curl Maker and the Kinky Curly Knot Today. I had heard great things about these products and was eager to try them out!

On Sunday I detangled my hair with an oil mixture and but my hair in big twists. I left that on under a plastic cap. After about an hour, I shampooed and conditioned my hair with SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo and Conditioner. I then applied the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Intensive Repair Mask in small sections and detangled thoroughly before twisting the sections. 

I let the mask sit in my hair overnight under a plastic cap and washed it out in the morning. I sprayed the twists with aloe vera juice and then sealed with an oil mixture. I rinsed the oil off and then unraveled a twist.

I applied about a quarter size of the Knot Today to this section and smoothed it into the hair. This product detangled my hair very quickly. It has great slip! I then applied about one pump of the Curl Maker and smoothed the hair some more. The curl maker had even more slip and made my hair feel silky. I made sure to smooth the hair and have it lay the way I wanted it to dry. I repeated this process on all the sections and then air dried. I loved how defined and shiny my curls were! 

When my hair was completely dry I stretched my roots with the blow dryer. I loved how these products made my hair feel! It was a nice treat! My curls were super defined and I absolutely loved how shiny and soft it was. I definitely think these products live up to the hype and I will be sure to review them once I use them some more. 

Have you ever tried these products? How did they work for you?

Soften Your Hard Water: Sprite Showers Shower Filter Review

I am currently at a stage in my hair journey where all my hair wants is moisture moisture moisture!  I have been trying my best to keep my strands moisturized every day but after a while I had been feeling like there wasn't any moisture being retained. I knew I needed to check and see if I had hard water because my hair would sometimes be dry right after washing it in the shower. It sometimes felt like I didn't wash out much product.

Hard water is water that has too many minerals in it, which leaves residue on the hair and skin. Having hard water affects the rinse-ability of product and dirt, so I needed to soften my water to rid of some minerals. I went out to Home Depot and decided to give the Sprite Showers Shower Filter a try. 

The products claims to removes chlorine, dirt, and odor. It is described to have a universal fit and uses the chlorogon filtration method.  It costs $17.98 and is said to last up to 6 months before replacing the filter. The filter was easy to assemble. The unit connects to the base of the shower head and there is a dial to record the month of installation. This will remind you to change out the filter in about six months. 

After running the water under this new filtration system for a while, I performed a hard water tests to see if the system was actually filtering out those hard minerals. I took a sample of faucet water and a sample of filtered shower water and added drops of detergent in them. If the water was hard, then the soap would react with the minerals and fog up the water. However, if the water was filtered, the water would be more clear once the detergent was added. This is exactly what happened! The faucet water was cloudy with soap added and the filtered water was not. 

It looks like this filtration system works out pretty well! I do feel a difference in the softness of my hair on wash days. I do not feel that same film over my hair that I used to feel when using hard water. My hair is much more soft and bouncy after washing.  I am interested to see if this filter will continue to filter out minerals for six months. I will be sure to update you all. 

Do you have hard water? Is it affecting the results of your wash day?