Yes I know it’s been a minute.  Life had taken a upswing in the activity department so I wasn’t able to be online as much.  I started school and a work assignment in the same week so time was kinda constrained for personal endeavours.  At any rate, the work assignment ended so now I’m able to devout more time to my Blogs and CNHE column, which is a good thing since I’m much rather make a living doing what I love.

So anyway, what’s been up with me?  Well, I’m coming to the end of my Co-Wash and Twist/Twist Out Challenge which has been an absolute wonder-filled experience for both me and my hair.  Incidentally, because of the time constraints I was under it turned into a co-wash and wash out challenge which proved to be just as fun because it helped me gain a bit more confidence with wearing my hair uncovered in public which is also a good thing.  As you can see from the above picture my curls and coils are still in full effect and my hair stays full, lush and soft in between co-washes.  I slipped up Monday morning and grabbed the shampoo while I was showering, but not even that stripped the wonderful effects of moisture retention, fullness and softness that co-washing has boosted.  Think I’m gonna stick with that while my hair is short because of how it keeps my curls defined and resisting dryness.  My recommendation to those who have not tried co-washing, do it!  Even on a short term basis.  It doesn’t take two months to see the results and your hair will thank you for it.

I’m still on the Skin Care Challenge track, although not as diligently do to my cramped schedule, but that is due to change now.  Honestly, I have noticed a BIG difference in between my skin’s condition when I was washing every other day and masking once a week and when I was lackadaisically washing and masking whenever I remembered to.  The dry patches on my cheeks are not as dry as they once were but now it seems my entire face “oozes” with oil if I go too far without washing.  The one good thing about my work/school schedule during the challenge was it allowed me to stay hydrated during the day because I stayed with a bottle of SmartWater of Sobe Life Water, so that was a benefit.  But now that I’m home and only attending classes during the week on Monday and Wednesday nights, I haven’t been keeping up with the hydration like I should.  The Lion, who has been trying to step his hydration game up as well, went out and purchased a couple of boxes of the Crystal Light-like water flavour packet thingies which I might start dipping into in order to bring my water intake back to positive levels (I can not stand the “taste” of plain water, ya’ll.  Especially Ohio water.  Ick!) and get back on track.

I took a week or two off due to some “technical difficulties” over at Examiner.com but I’m now back publishing articles on my regular thrice weekly schedule and it feels GREAT!  I want to thank everyone who’s popped over or shared a link to one of the articles and want to ask that you keep up the readership!  The giveaway hasn’t gone so great since there have been absolutely no entries to date.  I plan to bring it to a close tomorrow if no one takes the bait, and that’s cool with me.  At least I got some great products out of the effort.  Future articles that I have planned will touch on the topics of what exactly makes Black hair so political, natural hair in the workplace from the employer’s perspective and shed the spotlight on some little known Columbus natural hair resources like Synergi Salon‘s “Get It Strait” Workshops, Divine Essential hair care line and natural hair stylist, Dairdre Scriven.

What’s coming up on the JB2M horizon?  Well I was invited to be a writer for Going Natural Magazine, and for compensation the lovely Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong has gifted me a copy of her book, “Going Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair“, along with a jar of Silk Shea Aloe Butter and Herbal Natural Styling Gel, all of which I will be reviewing on next week.  I will also be reviewing M. Michele George‘s “The Knotty Truth“ and Chris-Tia Donaldson‘s “Thank God I’m Natural“ very, very soon.  Product-wise, I never received my Aveeno samples but I did pick up two trial size bottles of Avalon Organics Lavender Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner that I want to try on for size and I had a lovely experience with Yonnea’s Natural Beauty‘s Honey Hibiscus Leave N Condish that I want to share.  And last but not least I’ll be featuring the hair journey of Sherita Daniels, the picturesque founder of the Perfectly Pretty Beauty Blog, in the beginning of the week.

So yeah, there’s a lot in store for you all both here and over at the CNHE column so stay tuned and check back in often.

Healthy Hair Wishes!