May Wrap Up | June Plans & Goals • Beautifully Curled

Another month in the books! May has wrapped up, and 2019 ain’t waiting for nobody.

I just want to round up what has happened around here on Beautifully Curled and what our plans are for this month.

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Blog News

I updated the About Us page at the top of the blog. Check it out as I have detailed a very vulnerable fact about the greatest struggle I currently endure on my natural hair journey. Plus I added some fun (and more current) pictures of my daughter and I and have detailed our vision for evolving Beautifully Curled into a natural lifestyle blog.

Our Vision…Evolved

In brief, we want to help inspire black women and girls not only on their natural hair journey but a healthy life journey on a budget. Everything seems so expensive these days from natural hair products to healthy foods to prepare wholesome meals. And let’s not forget the cost of managing a cluttered lifestyle. Time costs too!

For the past couple of years, we have been practicing more of a minimalistic viewpoint about material things by focusing on what items bring joy and peace into our lives and what to let go. Been on that #KonMari kick, and it has been quite a liberating journey. I have enjoyed her book because it is so practical and is something you can start immediately to start improving the vibe of your personal space. This journey for us is very much ongoing and something we want to invite you in to experience and hopefully inspire.

We are very excited about this new direction of Beautifully Curled and plan to jump right into the swing of things over the next few weeks as we settle into our summer schedule.

Earn Money from Blogging? Yes!

A new feature we plan to introduce on Beautifully Curled is Blogging Resources for Newbies.

Starting this month, we want to share our journey on how to earn money blogging as beginners. When Beautifully Curled was over on blogger.com, we were earning chump change here and there for fun. Now, we want to get serious in empowering people on how to monetize on their creativity, talent, and expertise outside of their typical 9 to 5 job.

Niche blogging is very much a big business despite the millions of blogs out there. Your perspective on any given topic is unique. And sis, if it inspires, why hold it to yourself? We get so much information from so many other people (and there’s nothing wrong with that). But, why not spread your wealth of information to help others outside your physical community?

Blogging is an amazing venue to let your perspective, voice, and knowledge be heard by your targeted audience locally and globally. How cool is that!

I am still learning a lot. From creating a new blog the right way (we currently use Bluehost at an amazing deal) to how to organize an editorial calendar to marketing your blog on social media, my brain is like a sponge. In the process, I want to share what I knowledge I have gained in order to inspire other black women AND GIRLS/TEENS to earn money blogging on topics they are most passionate about.

Although video logging and YouTube is the business right now, my daughter and I definitely would like to see more black women and girls adding to the blog space through their creative writing, talent, and skills. I personally would love to see more black mom blogs or black women natural living blogs. The first step to get over is the fear that you won’t add value or that you will not succeed or that no one will listen to you.

This stopped me so many times…the fear that I am too quirky, too introverted, too honest, too off–putting, or too whatever.

At the end of the day, all of that is what adds personality to MY space. I attract who I attract and if I am not your cup a tea then there’s the next person/blog a click away. The point is in this big wide whole, someone will connect with your authentic self. Somebody will relate to your story and appreciate what you have to offer. Someone is seeking for the solution you already have solved.

Therefore, you might as well put yourself out there and lose the fear of discomfort because:

Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

Cross that hurdle and then you will be ready to start in no time.

We can do this. We WILL do this! Stay tuned for details!

Hair Recap

We Came Across This Most Amazing Hair Tool Thus Far

Last month, I took down Z’s last set of box braids and went on a whim to try a new tool to stretch her natural hair.

Y’all…in under 40 minutes, I was done.

It usually takes me about one hour and a half hours to stretch her hair via the tension method due to the high density of her hair and her thick roots.

This Revlon One-Step Styler Brush has game changed our natural hair stretching routine. The styler brush is basically a blow dryer in the form of a paddle brush. Typically, we steer away from those pesky paddle brushes due to hair getting snagged around those beads at the tips of the bristles. However, we experienced very minimal hair caught in the brush after stretching Z’s entire head of hair.

Mind-blown.

I talked more about the styler brush in this post here. A separate product review will be done on the brush this month. Here were the results after the first time:

Blow Out
Before Trim
After Trim

Here’s round two results which came out even better as far as softness goes:

Before (Post Wash)
During
After Blow Drying

In other news, I have trimmed Z’s hair (about an inch) to help improve with detangling. We are going to experiment with trimming on a schedule until the end of the year. She will get a light trim (0.5 inches or less) at the end of the even numbered months. This way, she will still gain length, her hair will thicken more at the ends, and (hopefully) detangling will flow much smoother.

My Hair Happenings (or Not So Much)

As far as my hair goes, tsk, tsk, tsk. It is pitiful y’all.

This month, I am going a four-week hair challenge. I have neglected my hair due to many factors and now it is time for me to get back on track and take responsibility. I have been lazy with my hair the WRONG way. Time to lazy things on out the right way.

Therefore, my hair will undergo operation thickness for the second half of the hair. My hair is definitely at the length I desire but is on the wimpy side when it comes to thickness due to breakage and damage. My daughter took these recent pictures of a chunky flat twist out that was no match for NC humidity:

Check out those grays coming through in the back. I have grays all over. Do I plan to dye my hair?

Naw.

I am going to ride this on to a full head of gray glory. I have been pinning on my Natural Gray Hair board on Pinterest a lot lately for much inspiration. We will see how this process goes.

My Hair Care Plan

Yesterday, to reset things, I gave my hair a good washing, clarification with the Cantu Bentonite Clay Masque, deep conditioning, and trim of about 1-2 inches. I sealed my hair really well using coconut oil and Cantu Leave-In Conditioner before twisting my hair for the week. The plan for the month for my hair is as follow:

Twists all month long. If I need to switch things up, I will throw in my head wraps.
Wash my hair weekly. Even if the twists look good, I will not go beyond one week. I need to practice routine again.
Deep condition bi-weekly and regular condition on the off weeks.
Spritz ends with water every other day.
Cover hair nightly.

Hair Posts Published in May

The following posts were published in cased you missed any one of them:

Fitness

My last fitness update can be read here. But let me tell you.

I. COMPLETELY. FELL. OFF.

No keto…no intermittent fasting…no strength training.

Sounds like I have been physically lazy, right?

Well, yep. Pretty much. Ha! (But my mind has been racing…lol)

I have biked here and there and taken walks with my kids but I have not done anything strenuous in a month and a half.

Current Status

I checked my weight yesterday: 157.8. So yeah, I have gained over the past month. I COULD play the blame game, but really, it would not solve anything. What got me off track was my priority to Beautifully Curled during what free time I had. I have been engulfed in learning the ropes to becoming a better blogger, creating a content schedule, marketing and so forth. This stuff is so exciting to me!

BUT, I still have to balance.

So yeah, I am going to drag myself back to the gym this month, endure a week-long sore fest, and work my way back up. Honestly, I miss working out (a little) through. My knees felt great when I was active.

Now they are getting all creeky again (and carrying around a two year old doesn’t help). Plus the appearance of my diastasis recti is getting a bit out of control (but nutrition is a factor in this as well).

Mindset Check and Actions to Take

I am thankful for knowing just when I need to get back on the bandwagon after falling off. In the past, I would have just felt super defeated and told myself “What’s the point?”

Well, the point is to keep trying again! And that’s what I will do. Besides, Planet Fitness has been happily taking my monthly membership fee with no qualms. I do not like THAT thought even if it is $10/month.

My hubby gifted me a grill for Mother’s Day (I am not the flowers and fancy dinner type of woman) so I cannot wait to reset on Keto and get my meal prep fired up over the summer. Although I have been consuming carbs throughout the latter part of April and all of May, I definitely have not binging on them like I used to. I am so glad for that because I was concerned that I would want to eat every carb in sight if I ever stopped keto. I suspect though that the weight gained is from water retention mainly. We will see what happens over the month when I restart the diet.

Let’s make big moves this month. Definitely subscribe to our blog (and receive a free 4 week hair regimen packet) to stay updated on the many exciting changes and features that will be offered on Beautifully Curled.

May Wrap Up | June Plans & Goals