Mini Me Protective Styles!!

Ok ladies, I know what you are thinking. What in the world is a "mini me" protective style? Well I'll tell you. It's a protective style for the small natural girls that want to look just like you. It could be your daughter, your niece, your cousin, little sister or anyone that you can practice on for that matter. One thing that I feel is important for us to do as naturals, is to share this gift of knowledge with our younger generation and let them know how important it is to be comfortable in their own skin. Their natural skin. So, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I will be sharing a few pictures of my beautiful mini me's, as well as other mini natural beauties. I hope you enjoy!

 my beautiful daughters and niece.

 My youngest daughter.

 My oldest daughter.

Last three photos are not my own they were found on http://www.natural-hair-care-info.com/updo-hairstyle.html Thanks!

Fall Protective Styling!!

Autumn is here and this is one of my favorite times of the year. The holidays are rolling around, all of the stores are putting up decorations and lets not even talk about the sweet aromas you get while walking down the candle aisles in the stores. But I digress. With all that will be going on in the Fall and Winter months, there is a possibility that you may not focus on your hair as much. But the truth is, you don't have to if you follow one simple step.... Protective Style! Using a protective style allows you to well, protect your hair from breakage and the harsh weather that the upcoming months can bring. Here in my hometown Chicago, the Fall and Winter are extremely harsh and so moisturizing and protective styling are a must if you want to prevent breakage and drying. So my lovely naturals, here are a few examples of some protective styles. I hope you enjoy!!

Thanks for reading! Peace! 

Dinner At the Hoy's!!

Last night was one of the first nights that I got to make one of my favorite dishes.....CHILI!!! I absolutely love chili, but during the summer months in Chicago, chili is a big no no. The weather is much to warm for that. So with the season coming to an end, and Fall being right around the corner, I felt it was a safe dish to make. My family and I are vegetarians so I got a chance to put my own tasty spin on this famous dish. So here is my Hearty Vegetarian Chili recipe:

Ingredients:
1 bag of MorningStar Grillers Crumbles
1 pkg of Lawry's Chili Seasoning Mix
Salt
Pepper
Dry minced Garlic
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Chili Powder
Cumin
Oregno
2 cans of Vegetarian Chili Beans
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Optional)
Sour Cream (Optional)

I like to start by cooking my MorningStar Grillers Crumbles

Next I add my seasonings and Lawry's Chili Seasoning Mix:

Then I add in the 2 cans of Chili beans and 1 can of water:

The finished product is amazing and very tasty! Add your favorite condiments such as cheese, sour cream, crackers, etc.

Happy Eating!!

My Top 5 Staple Natural Hair Products

Today ladies, (and gentlemen), I want to talk to you about a few of my staple hair products that I use for my natural hair. I know when I first decided to go natural, I searched for what other naturals used on their hair just to give me an idea for what was out there and available to me. Of course everyone's hair texture and curl pattern is different so please, find the products that work for you. Also keep in mind that there are so many other great products out there, some I've tried and some I am waiting to try. But here are my five favorites so far.

#1: Beautiful Textures Products: I absolutely love, love, love these products. They provide the type of moisture that my hair has been longing for, for years. I definitely recommend these products to any and everyone that I talk to. Even if they have not gone natural. These products are amazing!

#2: Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise: This product leaves my hair shining and very moisturized. It is enriched with natural herb extracts, vitamins, and egg protein. I can definitely tell the difference in the strength of my hair since I have been using this product. 

#3: Organic Coconut Oil: This product is a must have ladies! I have not had any itching or dandruff since using this product. It smells great, coats my ends very nicely and keeps my moisture in for weeks. I recommend that if you have not tried this product to please give it a chance you will definitely be pleasantly surprised.

#4: Wide Tooth Comb and Denman Brush: These two products are great for detangling natural hair. The wide bristles on the brush and comb help ensure you don't pull out or break off your hair. Great products for everyday use.

#5: Butterfly Clips: Last but not least, my fifth favorite product is butterfly clips. Like the Denman brush and wide tooth comb, butterfly clips help with the detangling process. They hold back your hair in sections as you detangle. I recommend this product to everyone as well. They are definitely a staple in my home.

I hope you guys have enjoyed reading about some of my favorite products and I hope I have helped someone new who may be thinking of going natural. What are some of your favorite products? Do we share some of the same favorites? Let me know. Until next time!

"Wait" Loss for Women!

Ok I know what you guys are thinking, and yes, I meant to spell wait that way! The topic today is weight loss, but I want to talk about what many people focus on while working out, the amount of time we wait before we see results. Now I want to first say that I too have been guilty of standing in the mirror after a day of working out and saying "why am I not thin yet"? But the reality of it ladies, is it's going to take time before we see the results that we want to see. Being healthy should be your motivation and main focus and the rest will take care of itself. So here are just a few tips on how to stay focused on health and not your weight.

 Tip #1: Eat clean! What that means ladies it that you have to eat whole foods with natural fiber, vitamins, protein, etc. Fresh veggies, lean proteins and fruits and legumes are great ways to boost your metabolism and stay healthy.

 Tip #2: Eat several small meals instead of three large meals. To boost your metabolism and to prevent yourself from storing fat, eat every 2-3 hours.

 Tip #3: Exercise at least three days a week if possible. Even if you can just get in a 30minute walk a day, do something to stay active. To make working out more fun try working out with a partner or group of people. My husband is a fitness trainer and we workout together all of the time. Here is a video of us doing our couples workout! I hope you guys enjoy!

For more posts about fitness, health, natural hair or beauty view my other posts here http://kinkystylez.blogspot.com/2012/07/healthy-hair-healthy-eating-healthy-you.html

Ms Natural by Brown Audio

I am a little late but I want to share with you guys an amazing video that I have come across on Youtube through my subscription to MsVaughnTv. She has an amazing Youtube channel and she is one of the people along with her sister MeechyMonroe, that has inspired me to become natural. They talk about fashion, makeup, fitness and of course natural hair! But I digress. So they were both in the video by Brown Audio entitled Ms Natural. I have heard other songs by the dynamic duo, but when I heard this song it spoke to me, being a natural woman that has recently transitioned. The song talks about the importance of being comfortable in your skin and being confident enough to go against "the norm". The video was amazing, showcasing all shades of beautiful brown skinned women with natural hair. The video was shot right here in my home town Chicago! Well you guys I can go on and on about how great and amazing this video and this group is, but I will let you check it out for yourself. So here it is Ms. Natural by Brown Audio

I hope you guys enjoy!!

Healthy Hair + Healthy Eating = Healthy You!!!

Ok naturals, as I promised, this blog will be about more than just natural hair. After all, it is called Natural Hair, Body and Beauty right? So the topic of today will be healthy clean eating. As well all know, what you put into your body is just as important, if not more important, than what you do to the outside of your body. You can wear beautiful clothes, have natural hair, amazing makeup or natural beauty, but none of that would be possible without eating healthy and clean. In order for our natural hair to stay strong and beautiful we must take care of what's going on inside. But don't fear, eating healthy is fun and there are great food choices out there. I, for those of you who don't know, am a vegetarian. When most people hear that, they usually think I only eat salads! Well I assure you that my meal choices are amazing and very tasty! So here is one of my favorite meal choices as a vegetarian.
Couscous Salad Cups

Ingredients

2 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)

1 cup uncooked couscous

1 cup shredded carrot 

1/2 cup chopped green onions 

1/2 cup diced English cucumber

1/2 cup diced plum tomato 

1/2 cup Pomegranate-Orange Dressing

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

8 Boston lettuce leaves 

Preparation

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; cool.

Combine cooled couscous, carrot, and remaining ingredients except lettuce leaves in a large bowl; toss well to combine. Spoon about 2/3 cup couscous mixture into each lettuce leaf.

Happy Eating Naturals!

Summer Heat and Natural Hair

So, Summer is here and the heat is on! One of the great perks of going natural, is being able to do low maintenance, no fuss hair styles in any kind of weather. But that doesn't mean that we don't still have to protect our beautiful hair from the heat of the Sun. Here are a few tips that will help you prepare for your day to day encounter with the elements. 

• Always, ALWAYS, moisturize your hair. It doesn't matter if you just deep conditioned your hair the night before, make sure when you are doing your styling that you use a leave in, and moisturizer on your hair. The leave in will help protect your hair from heat damage from the sun, and the moisturizer will give your hair that hydration that is needs in order to remain healthy and not become brittle and dry. My leave in of choice is Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave- In 

• Use protective styles and/or accessories. A protective style can go a long way and can last for months depending on the style. Micros, Seneglese twists, tuck and rolls, two strand twists, and up do's are all great protective styles that are easy to maintain and will lasts for days, weeks and even months. Some cool accessories to use on a hot Summer's day are silk scarfs, hats or beanies. 

Remember its great to get out and enjoy the sun, but its very important and necessary to protect your beautiful hair from getting heat damage. For more tips and articles about natural hair, beauty and fitness, remember to read my other blog posts. http://kinkystylez.blogspot.com/2012/06/to-chop-or-not-to-chop.html

To Chop or Not to Chop

The big question for many new comers to the natural hair world is whether or not a big chop is needed. Well there are no right or wrong answers to this question. Some choose to big chop because they want to start over from scratch so to speak. While others will transition by cutting the relaxed hair off little by little. This is the route that I chose to go. I continuously cut my relaxed hair off a little at a time until now, after seven months of no relaxer, I have no more relaxed hair in my head. That was a great accomplishment for me. I was so terrified to cut all of my hair off at once, because I thought that my hair grew slow. Boy was I wrong. Every time I cut my hair it seems like it grows back faster and faster. I now know that I could have done the big chop with no problem. A few friends of mine as well as some beautiful women that I subscribe to on Youtube, such as MsVCharles did the big chop and they look absolutely amazing. And to top that off their hair is down their back! Remember no matter what you choose the key to having beautiful, natural hair is to keep it moisturized and healthy.

This is my small puff when I first started in March. As you can see I still have relaxed hair at the tips. 

 This is my puff now. This picture was taken a week ago. No more relaxed ends!!!! And a noticeably bigger puff!

Keeping It All Natural

Hello World! I want to introduce myself and give you an idea of who I am and what this blog will be about. That's right you've guessed it,  Natural Hair, Body and Beauty! I have decided, like so many of my beautiful sistah's out here, to go natural. It has been 3 months since I have started transitioning, and about 7 months with no relaxer or chemicals on my hair at all. So you can imagine I am extremely excited! I will share on here tips about natural hair for women and kids, how to express and love your natural beauty with or without makeup and also how to eat healthy,clean and natural whole foods. I am very happy to be able to share with you my journey as well as hopefully you guys will share with me your journeys as well. I will be having giveaways on here as well as video tutorials of natural hair product reviews, hair tutorials, exercises, and recipes that I am dying to share with you. I hope to hear from you all soon. Remember to stay tuned in because I will have so much to share!
Tiffany Jones Hoy