Life has been super busy lately. It can be hard sometimes being a full-time worker and blogging on the side. But to catch everyone up, I’ve been posting more frequently on my YouTube channel. I plan on posting at least one video a week, every Thursday, be on the look out for my new videos! Check it out and tell me what you think! Who is Madame Akay?!
Love you all and thank you for the continued support.
Hey Gems,
If you are new to my blog, I am doing a series where I share all things related to my 4C kinky hair. Every Wednesday I will drop a new post related to my 4C crown, leave a comment below I want this to be interactive! This is now the fourth post in the series and I hope you all have been enjoying this series so far!
I think it’s important to give your natural hair some rest in between styles as well as from your hands. Protective styles are styles that protect the ends of your hair. This helps its health and from breakage. One of the challenges I face is single strand knots, split ends, and breakage. Including a protective style here and there really helps me to keep my hands out of my head. Ladies, protection first!
Below are a couple protective styles that I have either tried or would like to try.
Box Braids
Crown Braid
Faux Locs
Wigs of Life – My go to Protective style
Faux Bun – I nearly put my natural hair into a bun and using Marley hair I create an even bigger bun
Okay this isn’t really a protective style, but one time for the culture! 🇳🇬
More braids, braids come in varying lengths and sizes.
I really enjoy experimenting with protective styles, one of the latest trends is crochet hair which I haven’t gotten into just yet, but it’s definitely on my radar. Hope you enjoyed this post and it gave you inspiration for your next protective style!
Disclaimer: The hair styles featured in this post is not guaranteed to provide hair length retention, glow, and strength.
Hey Gems,
I remember the day I went through with my big chop. My cousin didn’t think I was being serious and she recounted how she cried when she did hers, but I was fearless, she began to snip away till what was left was a teeny tiny afro. I then began to scream on the inside thinking to myself what did I just do to my hair?!? I had to calm myself down and tell myself it’s just hair and it will grow back.
Fast forward, three years in and I’m wondering why my hair isn’t looking long and luscious like the girls on Instagram. I had to remind myself that my hair growth isn’t determined by the other girls on Instagram rather by genetics and maintenance. I wasn’t really showing my hair all the love it needed because in that three years I never even got a trim, rather I would just ‘dust’ my ends. Dusting your ends is a process where you two strand twist your hair and trim off the ends. I should have known dusting my ends would not be enough but it’s what I thought I needed to do at the time. I was so WRONG, like totally wrong! Chai! My hair was almost stagnant at the same length the year after. I decided to do a little more research and I figured I JUST NEEDED TO LOVE MY KINKS! It was such an easy task that I wonder why I was not doing it before.
Fast forward to present day, and I give my natural hair all the tender love and care it needs. I found a beautician that trims her, I found a couple brands that cleanses/moisturizes and I finally found my hair regime. Now, remember I told you all that I never got a trim like ever, well it was very evident in the health of my hair when I sat in my beauticians chair. She told me, “there’s no point in holding on to broken and damaged ends”. (I kind of wish I used that in my past relationship, but that’s another story). She snipped away and the picture below is what my hair looked like before after my silk treatment with a trim.
Before | Silk Press Treatment
After | Silk Press Treatment
It looks so short right, and we all know that natural hair stretches so you can imagine what it looked like when wet. Anywho, watching natural hair Youtubers became my pass time and I started taking notes. I realized that wash day was going to annoy me because it was literally a five step process that could last all day. I told myself it will all be worth it when my hair is at least waist length, right? This journey back isn’t one that will be rushed but rather your hair just wants and needs to be loved and you do that by taking care of her daily. I opt for low maintenance styles such as wearing wigs, braids, crown braid, faux buns anything so I’m not playing in my hair. Ladies, this is key, you don’t want to constantly manipulate your hair it causes damage. I could go on and on but you have to decide on what your journey will be. I decided to change my course and love my crown.
Hope you enjoyed my tell all, and inspires you to take pride in your own crown.
Hi loves!
I wanted to share a couple products that I use to take care of my skin under my makeup. I heard about this brand in February after attending a Galentine event hosted by my friend. She warned us that the products would be expensive, but that did not stop me. Usually, I would have gone straight to test out the products but I wanted to really do some research and see for myself if the products were worth me getting. Hope you all fall in love with this brand as much as I have.
Caudalíe Face Products
This brand was founded in 1993 by Mathilde Thomas and her husband Bertrand in France. The products started appearing in multiple pharmacies and evolved into the company they are today. They are committed to providing their consumers with natural ingredients, meaning no parabens, mineral oils, and animal derived raw material.
Caudalié
I told you all I had to do some intense research to ensure I was not wasting money on a product that did not work. Luckily for me, Sephora was giving away the Vinoperfect Radiance Serum and Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet as a free birthday gift. I seriously thought I hit the jackpot with this one. I finally got to get my hands on this product for free!! FREE! I instantly loved it. I did not get the heavy sticky feel from the moisturizer and the serum, added a touch of moisture after I applied my toner. So I decided that I was going to buy the full-size products, but they were just too expensive. The serum by itself was $79 USD without tax. I was bummed out but I thought to myself, even organic food is not the cheapest but we still purchase it. Long story short, I went to Sephora and saw that the full-sized serum came in a beauty box along with the Glycolic Peel and an overnight renewal cream all for $79 USD! WIN! I also bought the Beauty Elixir as a toner since I was running low on my with hazel toner.
I can honestly say this brand has changed the way that I take care of my skin. It gets the MadameAkay stamp of approval!
Glycolic Acid Skin Benefits
Glycolic Acid is an exfoliator that removes the outer layer of dead skin cells on your skin, bringing fresh new skin to the surface. It can also help lighten discoloration of the skin, acne-prone, and blackhead prone skin.
Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser
I knew I needed to get some sort of cleanser with glycolic acid, but I wasn’t sure what brand would be the most effective. After searching high and low I came across this brand when I was shopping at Urban Outfitters so I said let me give it a shot. Since I started using this product, I have noticed that my areas of discoloration were becoming less and less. I always had tiny pimples on my forehead and I never understood why it would not go away with the use of my clean and clear acne wash. It was honestly the only area on my face that consistently had pimples. I also had stubborn blackheads around my nose which I have noticed has now become drastically less prominent. TIP: Do not use this product every day since it strips the first layer of your skin. Also, make sure to use a moisturizer with SPF to protect your skin during the day.
I love all these new products and I hope you go out and test them out. Sephora gives out samples!! Win, again!
Hey Gems!
This week I’m super excited because I’m taking a much needed vacation. I’m planning on being out of pocket for some time but I will be back.
Thanks for understanding!
Hey Gems!
This past weekend was an interesting one because the prior week, I was in Las Vegas (Don’t worry I’m going to fill you all in on the details of that trip). You would think that I would stay home and not go out but one of the best things was to take photos to help my brother build his portfolio. Here are some of the shots from the shoot. Tell me what you all think!
Jean Shirt: Target
Jeans: UNIQLO
Shoes: Charlotte Russe
Watch: Fossil
I love this one in particular because it shows my nice and friendly side. No, I’m not saying that I’m friendly but it has a warm and inviting feel to it. This pose wasn’t one of those fake laughs to get me to pose. I actually was cracking up because of my bubbly niece.
I absolutely had to include my niece, especially since she was my WCW yesterday. I literally love this girl to pieces. I honestly don’t want her to grow up anymore, I want her to stay this size forever.
Thank you for taking the time out to read this post! Look out for the next post!