My Hair Story:

So, I have been scoping out a lot of natural hair care websites to find new ways how to tend to my natural locks. I have been natural all of my life but I never knew the right products to use for my hair. I used MANY products throughout my journey with my hair. I used grease, creams, gels, pomades, mists, serums, you name it... All of which made my hair dry and crispy...basically my hair would feel constantly dry. I also had color-treated hair and would get it straightened frequently.

On top of that, I dreamed to have the long, flowing locks of Amel Larrieux. But my hair never grew that way, it would grow out instead of down. Arrggh, the frustration. So instead, I succumbed to getting frequent cuts (usually I had it cut in long layers with a bang) and dye jobs out of boredom. I was ok with the layers because at the time I wanted the round fro look and not so much bulk. Recently, I am feeling the opposite where I kind of miss my big hair.

During my junior year in college, I wanted to get my whole head done in honey brown highlights. Instead, it turned out haystack yellow and it left my hair terribly dry. I absolutely hated it. Panic-stricken, I dyed my bleached strands a light chocolate brown. It wasn’t bad, but I realized I just wanted my natural hair color back. By the time senior rolled around, I told myself that I was going to stop coloring my hair and straighten it less. My routine for many years was a wash maybe twice a week with shampoo, vitapoint crème and the clear ecostyler gel. My hair is dry, so when it got dry, instead of moisturizing, I would think that I needed to wash it. I knew nothing of co-washes back then. I graduated in 2008 and okay guys I got it straightened...and I cut some bangs. But after that I promised to turn a new page. My color started to grow out finally.

It was when I saw the "new" hair coming in that I knew I wanted to nurture it with healthier, better products for my hair. I hadn't realized at the time that the vitapoint crème I was using contained the devil...mineral oil plus other crap. I wanted to give my hair (and body) some natural love ;-) I started to research products that didn’t contain such harmful chemicals. A whole new world began to open up to me in regards to natural care for body and hair.

In May of 2009, I had another urge to cut my hair. I wanted to have it cut in an afro style. Let me say, it was short! I left the salon with my hair to my ears...stretched. Honestly, it took me some time to get used to it. However, I got rid of all the color and heat processed parts of my hair. In the end, I sacrificed length for health. My hair before (stretched) was APL. My curls did look more rejuvenated and alive. After my cut, I started to use more products that were healthier for my hair.

I want to give you guys an inside look of my natural hair journey. And, I also want to listen to your stories because essentially this is OUR journey.

Lots of natural love.

(this is an excerpt from my blog www.kiffecoco.blogspot.com)

Hey Guys,

So, this was my first henna treatment (finally). I had been so hesitant on doing it in the past because I was afraid of the color. But, I finally took the plunge and did it. And I have to say, I absolutely love it. It has left my hair SUPER soft and shiny. And as for the color- my hair has a very slight reddish brown tint in the light-but overall it looks relatively the same color.

 So, ladies go ahead and take the plunge into being a HENNA HEAD! It's worth it!



My Henna Mixture:


1/2 box of Jamila brand Henna

Jasmine Green Tea (or you can use regular green tea)

Honey



I followed Curly Nikki's Henna tutorial! Her website is www.curlynikki.com and you will find it under videos. Check it out.

I bought my Jamila Henna from an Indian shop on E28th Street and Lexington Ave in NYC for $1.99. I haven't had any issues, so far, in regards to the freshness or the quality of the Henna. I am just cheap hehe. However, you can always purchase your henna on this website to guarantee quality henna http://www.mehandi.com/shop/personalstash/
I then followed with an hour deep conditioning treatment with Neutrogena Triple Moisture Hair Mask (ran out of my Aubrey's Honey Suckle Rose). Washed out and did a twist out.

It's extremely, and I do mean extremely, time consuming and kind of messy. You have to pretty much dedicate your evening and next morning to this, if you leave it in overnight. However, this will definitely not be the last time ;-)

Enjoy your henna!!

(this is an excerpt from my blog www.kiffecoco.blogspot.com)

Some springy, new pictures! Sorry guys, I know I haven't updated my site in a minute...I'm running out of space and I really don't want to have to pay for a membership (I'm cheap!) I might have to delete some of my old photos to free up some space.

In any case, check out my blog www.kiffecoco.blogspot.com for more goodies!!!!

Happy Growing!!!

Enjoy these beautiful spring days!

A piece of my hair journey from July through September. I relied mostly on my Hello Hydration which always works great. However, when I went to Montreal earlier this month, I only took with me some shea butter and a spritz bottle of water... what was I thinking?! My hair was in hell with the lack of product in the unexpected high heat and humidity. On top of that craziness, my friend and I stayed in a hostel, in a room of 10 girls with 1 bathroom! So yes, lack of product, lack of beautifying/ sleep time... you can say we roughed it.

Spring hair! Check out my blog for more hair tips and tutorials at www.kiffecoco.com!

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Formed by me and my sister, Ruby Aujol is a jeweled expression of our heritage. We are influenced by the bold elegant style of our mother's African-American culture and the delicate, refined style of our father's Parisian roots. We named the line Ruby Aujol after each of our grandmothers, representing both of our sides, both of our heritages. Raised between France and New York, we are influenced by the different looks and styles we grew up with, and we blend it with a nouveau twist. We seek to unify the bold and the delicate using beautiful materials and thoughtful, unique design.

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