Tainna in Ottawa

Stronger and more balanced!

So, after pretty much following my fitness regime for about a two weeks, I am starting to feel the results. As you guys know, I am working out on my elliptical and the WII fit.

Yesterday, I was able to complete most of the yoga position on the WII. Let me tell you that, tree, down-ward facing dog and the triangle are now child's play! (though I do swear at the wii fit trainer while I do these exercises!)

Now I am not a seller for WII, but I do recommend it! It really is fun and time seems to fly, but do incorporate another form of fitness ( in my case the elliptical).

So, like i mention, my BMI is 23.6, so I am considered normal, but due to my small body frame, I do carry a lot of rolls.

I am now down to 2 pounds and I am very ecstatic! I am pretty sure I will lose those 2 extra pounds! This is my goal, I know it's not crazy, but I try to set little goals, therefore I will not be disappointed.

Don't worry photos will be coming soon, I just haven't figured out how to take pics that will show my progress without being in a swimsuit!

Alberto VO5 Hot Oil

Yesterday, I decided to change up my hair routine!

I bought Alberto VO5 Hot Oil, and let me say that I truly believe in incorporating this product do my hair regime once in awhile.

So, here is what I did:

Pre-poo:
I damp my hair with lukewarm water, than I applied Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil. (You can use any brand of Castor Oil; I bought this brand at Wal-Mart, but it does the trick and it was cheap!) I really concentrated the oil on my tips, and the core of my hair. I also added some to my roots and I flipped my hair to add some on the base of my head.

Then, I went to fetch my cordless kettle, and heated some water for the Hot OIl. I took one tube and inserted it in a mug of hot water and I let it set there for a minute or two. Now, the tube is HOT, so be careful when applying to your hair. I didn't get burnt, but boy was my scalp hot when I applied it.

So, I rubbed the Hot Oil onto my hair, concentrating again on the shaft and tips.

I could have left it alone, but I decided to wrap a wet hot towel around my head, and went under the hooded dryer for 14 minutes while watching Californication!

Shampoo:
Then, I hit the shower, rinse and applied Neutrogena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo. I notice that my hair has been drier than usual, so I conditioned with Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner.

Deep-Condition:
I deep-conditioned as usual with Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask while concentraing once again on my tips and core.

Then I slap on a shower cap and went under my hooded dryer for 14 minutes. Once that was done, I rinse out my hair, dabbed my hair dry and applied Pantene Pro-V Relaxed & Natural Wrap Styling Lotion all over my hair and combed it through. (With a wide tooth comb)

Setting:
I was very tired (and lazy) so I decided to ditch roller setting and I braided my damp hair instead. I will be posting a video about this very soon.

Results:
My results were phenomenal! I woke up to really soft and moisturized hair! I made my braids quite small, so it has a very natural, afro-ish look that I am loving! My tips, which which have been looking fried since I got my relaxer done on September 5th, are smooth.

Try this method out and see if it works for you! Don't forget to leave comments :)

Hair Journey begins TODAY!

Ladies, if you are tired of paying high prices to obtain long silky (and healthy!) hair, than start this journey with me!

Hi, my name is Tainna, and starting today (actually it has been 4 weeks :P) I am taking control of my own hair!

For the past two years, I was wearing a weave, and before that I would treat my hair as an enemy instead of my most cherish friend.

After, spending two years with an itchy and sometime smelly scalp due to my weaves, I decided to ditch it and free my scalp!

So, what to do now?

Well, my hair was EXTREMELY dry once my extensions were removed. See, how brittle it kind of looks? You might need to click on the image to get a better view, but trust me when I say it was dry and hard.

So I decided that my hair needed some moisture and that I would have to deep condition my hair. I do this every 4 days with : Neutrogena Triple Moisture® Deep Recovery Hair Mask.

Now, this product works for me and it's not expensive and I can find it anywhere! But, once I am done with it (or when I decide to go to Mama Cee's) I am planning on buying a Deep Conditioner from KeraCare (which is a bit pricey, but I hear GREAT stuff from them)

Anyway, the hair mask leaves my hair super soft and moisturized!

Check out one of my hair results after using the product:

Do you see that shine? And it's was super manageable!

Thus, I would highly recommend using this product to get that soft, moisturized feeling!

Coach, and how I love it!

Coach has finally arrived in Ottawa!

Yes, ladies (and gents!) we can finally splurge on the great fashion the store has to offer us.

I bought a bag on tuesday, last week, and I have to say that I do not regret it all.

I bought the: New COACH HERITAGE STRIPE MULTIFUNCTION TOTE









I also noticed that the NEW bags have a new "C". I am not too sure about the new font of the letter, since I very much enjoy the now vintage C. In my opinion, it resembles very much to the CoCo Chanel logo.... So, I do not know... Will it prevent me from buying it? Hell no!


Now, to figure out which wallet to buy... I currently have a Liz Clairborne, but maybe I could save up and get a matching Coach!

Where are the beauty salons in Ottawa?

Excellent question!

I moved to Ottawa last year, and let me tell you, it is HARD to find a new hair salon when you are a black woman.

In fact, it is times like these that I wish I could go "au natural", but honestly the style does not suit me.

So, I have been going to Emerald Beauty, a place one of my friends suggested. Now, I got extensions done at that time by the hair stylist called Merveille (she doesn't speak much English, but she is very sweet!). She does an EXCELLENT job for the price ( I got my old nasty extensions removed, my nasty, smelly hair washed and then got extensions re-installed all for the price of 100$!)

However, I got sick of having extensions, so after much personal debate, I decided to take care of my own hair! Now for a black woman, this can be quite scary!

So, knowing no other places, I decided to go back to Emerald Beauty... BIG MISTAKE!

Merveille, doesn't do the relaxer treatment... It was the owner. And no offense, but she was terrible, terrible!

She wasn't paying attention and  chopped off 3 inches of my hair in front. Again, I NEVER want to cut my hair, so seeing a huge chunk of it fall on the floor, I was on the verge of tears.

Then, she took her time to apply the relaxer and they are some parts of my head that is not properly relaxed... (This again made my want to cry, but out of rage!)

I had to practically beg to get my Roller Set instead of getting blow-dry (Big No-No for me!) and then she applied, I am not kidding you, a handful of DAX on my head. My hair was so greasy, I couldn't wait for the 48 hours that was needed before washing it.

So, after that ordeal, I decided to fire her as my hair-stylist and look into other salons. I still have 6-7 weeks before I will start calling around, but I will keep you posted!

Here is a pic of my nasty greasy hair:

I look like shit, simply because I have no make-up and I was about to jump into the shower.

 
Oh, and it was so greasy that my hair stood up like that... Nasty, eh?