Today's Date

Thursday, December 13 th, 2018

Absolutely Suzette

Natural Healthy Hair Journey

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Hey, Loves!

In order to have healthy hair, whether you’re relaxed or natural, it’s a journey. If you want to see your hair grow and thrive you have to be willing to pack your bags and take the journey. Now this isn’t an easy-breezy journey. It’s going to take dedication and work.

I’m not trying to discourage you. I just don’t want you to think you can slap some oils on your hair or take a bunch of vitamins and your hair will grow down your back. That’s. Not. Going. To. Happen. Anything worth having you have to work for. And this includes beautiful, healthy hair.

One of the most important things to having healthy hair is building a hair regimen. And to be consistent with the regimen. For instance, every Friday night I wash and deep condition my hair. In the winter months when the air is cold and drying to the hair I’ll do a pre-poo with conditioner and oils. I don’t use heat on my hair, with exception of about 2-3 times a year. I trim my ends 2-3 times a year. Sometimes I get it done professionally and other times I’ll do it myself. And I wear my hair 90% of the time in low manipulation hairstyles like a washing n go, twist out or braid out, to avoid daily tugging and pulling on my hair. This is a very basic regimen that worked for me. I’m sure it will work for you, too.

As mentioned earlier, this is a journey that takes time. And I’m going to be here to help you. Therefore, I will be breaking down this journey in to several post.  So let’s do a quick recap:

  1. This isn’t an overnight journey
  2. Build a hair regimen consisting of:
    1. Weekly washing your hair to clean the scalp of oil and product build-up. It’s difficult for hair to grow through blocked follicles.
    2. Deep condition weekly. This will restore moisture and strength to the hair. **I’ll do a post next week on the difference between moisturizing and protein deep conditioners.
    3. Regular trims to get rid of split ends.
    4. No heat or limited heat. CAUTION- if you’re going to use help use a heat protector!
    5. Low manipulation style to avoid/cut down on hair breakage.

I hope this post was helpfully. I’m not a license hairstylist, however, I’ve grown my hair to mid-back length without the help of one. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. I will try to help you the best I can.

Stay tuned for the the difference between co-washing and shampooing.

Until next time,

Suzette

Summer Smell Goods

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Hey, Loves!

Are you enjoying your summer? I know I am! If any of you follow me on social media you will know this is my favorite season. There are so many things I love about it. One of them is all the beautiful floral scents. As a girlie-girl, I love smelling pretty.  Every summer I like to add new fragrances to my smell goods collection.

This summer I am  soooo out of control! So much so, I begged my hubby to stop me from buying another thing! Of course, he gave me the side eye as if to say, “Yeah, right!” I tried y’all! It’s not my fault these stores know how to seduce me!

Enough of that… Here’s some new scents I’ve added to my collection.

Lavender and Sandlewood by Bath and Body Works – I like this scent because it’s very light and not over powering. The lavender and sandlewood is also very calming. And the body cream is very moisturizing without a greasy after-film on the skin. It melts nicely into the skin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arlesienne by L’Occitane – The scent of roses is a smell I’ve loved since I was a little girl. I can remember as a child walking to school on a spring morning and picking roses from bushes so I could inhale their sweet scent. Now as an adult woman, the scent of roses on my skin make me feel ultra feminine and dainty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a confession… These are not the only smell goods I’ve purchased this summer. I like to keep my post short and sweet, therefore, I didn’t include them. Stay tuned. I’ll post them at another time. 🙂

What are some of your favorite summer smell good? 🙂

Until next time,

Suzette

Natural Hair Anniersary

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Congratulations to me! I’m proud to say that I’ve been natural for 10 years. After getting my first relaxer at the age of 13, I never thought I’d be free from the creamy crack. You see, I believed my hair to be thick, coarse, and unruly. To sum it up… I had nappy hair! Black girls and women have been conditioned to believe this is a bad thing. No way did I want to walk around with a nappy head! Nor did I see anything beautiful about it!

I decided to go natural after reading an article in Essence magazine. I can’t remember the entire content of the article, however, what stood out to me most was how over time relaxers can thin the hair. Unfortunately, the women on my maternal side, as they age have a problem with thinning hair. Genetics is something we cannot manipulate. I had a choice to make. Either continue to have silky, smooth tresses or a visible scalp before my time. Later for that!

After reading the article I was challenged by my friend Kia – who just happened to be a natural with gorgeous locs – to go natural. Kia is my girl and everything, but Lord have mercy that child would taunt me. One minute she’d be encouraging me that I could do it. And then the next, “You’re not ready to go natural.” Now, me being me, I had to show Miss Kia that I meant business. Sooooo, I presented her with the ultimate challenge. 😉 “I tell you what. I’m going to go an entire year without relaxing. If I cave in, I’ll take you to dinner. And if I make it, you’ll take me to dinner.”

Umm…from the title of this post I guess you can tell who won the bet. 🙂  Although I’ve struggled at times with being natural, I have never once regretted my decision.

I was committed to going chemical free, but I hadn’t fully embraced my natural hair. I was still a slave to silky hair blowing in the wind. Weekly appointments at the salon getting my hair flat ironed was my best friend! Well, it was more like that chick you thought was your friend, only to find out she’d been talking about you behind your back. Mmm-hmm, y’all know what I’m saying. I’ll touch on that in another post. It wasn’t until five years after being natural that I began my journey to having healthy hair and fully embracing what God had blessed me with. Yes, my thick, kinky, nappy, hair is a blessing! My favorite Psalm tells me “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” Psalm 139:14.

Here are some pics in my various stages.

 

I’m natural as can be!

Although I was natural for 5 years, my hair was severally heat damaged. So I big chopped in March 2012.

Restored healthy hair! I think this pic was taken late 2016 or early 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re thinking about going natural I would encourage you to do it! And if you stumble along the way, it’s okay. We’ve all been there. 🙂

Stay tuned for how I began my journey in the quest for healthier hair.

Until next time,
Suzette

Journey to Baby, I’m For Real

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Hey, Loves!

I didn’t realize it until a couple months ago that Baby, I’m For Real is my 10th (well..really 11th, but that’s a different post for another time) published work as a romance author! Yay, me!

Reba Harris is the mother of my heroine, Roxanna ‘Roxy’ Harris in The Sweetest Love. Readers were contacting me asking for Reba’s story. Frank Bass is a background character from my debut novel, A Special Summer. He also pops up here and there in other stories. I thought he would some day make one sexy hero.

While writing this particular story I was going through a lot of changes emotionally. I was mourning the loss of a very special friendship. I put my trust where I shouldn’t have. And I was still struggling to shake my former pen name, Victoria Wells. There were so many times when I wanted to give up. Thank God for my literary sisters holding me up, encouraging, and praying for me during such a turbulent time in my writing life.

I took a chance with this story by stepping outside the lines of traditional romance characters. Oh, wait a second, I did it with It’s My Turn, too!  🙂

Reba and Frank aren’t in their late 20’s or early 30’s in hot pursuit of chasing down their happily ever after. They are in their 40’s rediscovering the powerful connection of passion. Neither one of them are looking for love.

In Reba’s case, her first go around with a married man left a lot to be desired. Now wait a minute…before you go jumping on Reba’s case. The eighteen year old didn’t know her older lover was married. Frank is a heartbroken man who’s lost his faith after the death of his child and his wife succumbs to breast cancer. He has no desire to ever love again. But when the two meet there’s a crazy, can’t get you off my mind, kind of attraction.

Writing about older characters again was taking a gamble. Self-doubt weighed heavy on me a few days before the release date. Thank God for my literary sister and twin, Suzette Harrison. She told me, “Twin, it’s going to be alright.” She ain’t neva lie! Within the first week, Baby, I’m For Real made it to #95 in Amazon Best Sellers Rank Top 100 of African American Romance! As an indie author I’ve never achieved that status. God is good!

While I have this opportunity, I’d like to thank all the readers who supported me and asked for Reba’s story. 🙂

Until Next Time,

Suzette

All About Me Goal 5: Adequate Sleep

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Hey all,
With our hectic schedules of juggling work, children, spouses and significant others, so on and so on… Many of us are not getting the sleep we need. Sleep is important when it comes to our physical health, performance and safety.
Getting adequate sleep helps the brain to function at its peak. There are medical studies that have demonstrated people who sleep well at night experience improvement in learning. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to learn. It can be playing the flute, solving math equations, or driving a car, you’ll do well at it!
For all you creative folks, have you ever noticed how productive you are after a good night’s rest?
 
If you’re sleep deprived, studies have also shown you’ll tend to have difficulty with decision-making, solving problems, controlling your emotions, and coping with change. Ever notice how cranky you are when you don’t get enough sleep? I’m so guilty of this.
 
Physical health
I always tell my patients sleep is like a battery. It recharges our bodies and helps with healing.
Many people nowadays are struggling with weight gain. Not getting enough sleep is associated with obesity. Sleep helps to maintain a healthy balance between the hormones ghrelin – which makes you feel hungry, and leptin – which makes you feel full. If you’re only getting four hours of sleep a night your ghrelin levels go up and leptin goes down, making for one hungry you. Being overweight/obese can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
 
Performance and safety
When you’re well rested you’ll function better throughout the day. However, productivity doesn’t come easy, tasks are less likely to be completed, reaction time is slow, and mistakes are made when the body is sleep deprived.
Here’s one bit of information I did not know. If you were to have several nights where you’re not getting adequate sleep, your body could respond as if you haven’t slept for a couple days!
One of the most prevalent culprits of inadequate sleep is the drowsy driver. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 100,000 car accidents each year and 1,500 deaths are a result of being in a sleep deprived state.
As a healthcare professional I recommend that you strive to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep each night. Believe me, I know for some of us this might seem impossible with our hectic schedules. I’m guilty of not always getting enough sleep. And I know better… One of my goals for 2017 is to get adequate rest. I’m working toward this goal by planning out my day, giving myself permission to put things off that can wait until the next day, and bring everything to a halt by 10:00 p.m. Especially during the work week.
If you’re having difficulty sleeping at night, I suggest that you go see your doctor or a doctor specializing in sleep medicine.
 
I hope this post was helpful. 🙂

All About Me Goal 4: Preventative Healthcare

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Hey there! As a nurse practitioner this goal is my life’s mission. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of preventative healthcare. There are healthy tips we all can do to keep our bodies in shape, along with periodic medical screenings. The beauty of participating in this goal is that it can help to prevent disease and detect an issue before becoming sick. You’ll also have the benefit of prolonging your life or receiving early treatment if an illness is discovered. Here is a list of tips and health screenings:

  • eat healthy to prevent heart disease and diabetes
  • exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight
  • don’t smoke or quit to prevent lung diseases such as cancer, emphysema, COPD
  • limit alcohol intake to prevent liver disease
  • wear seat belts
  • get proper amount of sleep
  • use sunscreen if skin is going to be expose to the sun for long periods of time
  • ladies make sure daily moisturizer has SPF in it
  • gynecology appointment yearly after becoming sexual active
  • dental cleaning and exam every six months
  • skin cancer check yearly if you’re over 40
  • blood pressure check yearly
  • cholesterol screening over 50
  • mammogram over 40; younger if a close relative had breast cancer
  • colon cancer screening over 50; colonoscopy can detect precancerous polyps thus preventing cancer with there removal
  • pap test should start once a woman becomes sexually active; usually done yearly
  • bone scan in women over 65 and men over 70 to check for osteoporosis
  • depression screening
  • diabetes screening at age 45; diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, heart disease and limb amputation
  • immunizations – hepatitis a and b, shingles, tetanus and pneumococcal are few adult immunizations
  • flu vaccine yearly for everyone over 6 months old

Please don’t let this list overwhelm you. Trust me, it’s not as scary as it seems. I would encourage you to see your family doctor, gynecologist and dentist once a year. I hope this post was a help.

Until next time,

Suzette

How to get FREE department store makeup

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Hey loves,

This post is going to be short and sweet. 🙂 If you’re like me and love makeup, but sometimes agonize over the cost, I have a little secret for you. Well, not exactly a secret… High end cosmetic companies such as Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique at least three to four times – usually with each season – do a multi gift giveaway. However, the consumer must spend a certain amount to be eligible for the gift.

Once you become a customer of one of these companies you’re added to their mailing list. With each promotional deal you’ll get a post card detailing the gift. If it’s something I must have – which, I usually don’t – I hightail it to Macy’s. Oftentimes, I’m halfway through a foundation or concealer. Sure, I can wait to replace. But why wait when I can add to my beauty collection. 🙂

Clinique is currently having a promotional giveaway. With the purchase of the beyond perfecting foundation + concealer, I received this 7 piece gift. Ladies, this was a good one! And guys, this would make a wonderful Mother’s Day, birthday, or graduation present. Let me tell y’all something… These products are perfect for traveling or trying out products before committing to purchasing them.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope this post was useful.

Until next time,

Suzette

 

 

 

 

All About Me Goal 3: Portion Size

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Are y’all ready for goal number three? This month the focus is on portion size. Now portion size doesn’t necessarily mean to eat tiny bits of food. Just because you eat a small amount of something doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing your body good.

Portion size has to do with eating a healthy meal and not going overboard. I know you’ve heard the expression ‘too much of a good thing isn’t always good’ or something like that. This is true with eating healthy. You can consume too much food at a sitting which could be a bad thing. The first thing that comes to mind for me is indigestion. This simply happens because your stomach is filled to capacity from eating too much. Certain foods might also cause discomfort. Also calories can be consumed in excess making weight loss that much more difficult.

Here’s an easy way to keep your portion sizes in check. Instead of eating meals off of a large plate try using a smaller plate. An 8 inch plate is an ideal size. With any meal, half of it should be fruits and/or vegetables, a quarter should be lean protein and the remaining quarter a starch. Keep in mind that your fruit and vegetable portions should not be starchy. Bananas, plantains, legumes, yams, corn and winter squash are a few examples.

If you’re working towards losing weight or desiring to eat healthier, assess  the size of your plate, what you’re putting on your plate, and if you’re going back for seconds.

If it’s weight you’re trying to lose and you’re anxious over not getting enough to eat, here’s one trick you can try. Drink a full 8 ounce glass of water before each meal. This will help you to to feel full and to decrease your chances of over eating. If the hunger pangs are still nipping at you after you’ve eaten an 8 inch plate balanced meal, I would suggest eating a tad bit more vegetables, which are lower in calories. Remember to avoid the starchy ones.

Whatever you do, if you fall off the portion size wagon, don’t beat yourself up. You can always climb back on and start again!

I hope this was helpful. Don’t be shy, share any tricks or tips on how you’ve mastered the art of portion size.

Until next time,
Suzette

All About Me Goal 2: Forgiveness

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Are y’all ready for goal 2 on our All About Me Journey to A Healthy Lifestyle?

I don’t know about you, but this next goal for me is like pulling out my own teeth! To forgive someone who has offended or hurt us can be a difficult undertaking. If you’re like me, when you’ve been hurt by someone you care deeply about, forgiveness seems as unattainable as swimming the Atlantic ocean nonstop. Now, this is not to say that we are not capable of forgiveness, because with God’s help we are. But it definitely is a journey we must be willing to take.

What I’ve learned about forgiveness is that it doesn’t mean that the offense was okay, nor does it mean that the person has to remain in your life. Forgiveness is to help you let go of the pain.

I know everyone has heard that forgiveness isn’t necessarily for the other person, but something we do to free ourselves. Continuing to dwell on unpleasant experiences can physically and emotionally make us sick. It’s just not worth it. Most times the person you’re angry with ain’t thinking about you, ain’t gonna think about, and don’t care to think nothing about you. You got it?

Usually anger and unforgiveness are a tag team. As a medical professional, I can tell you that being in a perpetual state of anger can lead to stress, high blood pressure, headaches, heart palpitations, and acid reflux. See where I’m going with this? Having an unforgiving heart can literally break your body down. Don’t do that to yourself. Let it go and forgive.

And if you’re a Christian as I am, it’s what’s required of us. Every time I struggle with forgiveness I’m reminded of Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” And Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” God’s viewpoint, whether we like it or not, is crystal clear on the subject.

I’m far from perfect and fall short every day. However, my heart’s desire is to be pleasing in the sight of my God who loved me enough to send his son to die for my sins. I know in order to please Him, I must forgive.

Everything I’ve written I believe to be the truth. Yet, as a woman of flesh, I constantly struggle with this concept. To get through the struggle I pray and talk to someone I trust with my innermost thoughts. Many times I’ve been able to let go of the hurt and move on to a path of forgiveness after processing my feeling with my pastor. Having a spiritual shepherd is a blessing. I would encourage anyone to seek godly counsel to deal with this issue. Yes, it’s hard to forgive, but not impossible with God’s help.

I hope this post was helpful. And please feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts concerning forgiveness.

Until Next Time,

Suzette

5 Steps to Moisturized Winter Hair

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Hello!

The cold winter temps can be drying not only to our skin, but our hair as well. Especially us naturally curly girls. By nature, most curly girls have dry tresses year round. Now imagine how parched hair can become coupled  with chilly temps dropping down to fifteen degrees with a  windchill of minus zero! The combination of these two can make for brittle hair that’s easily prone to breakage.

Here are my 5 steps to keeping Old Man Winter from dehydrating my curls. 

Step 1: Pre-poo

I pre-poo with a conditioner and oil mix. You don’t have to get all fancy using an expensive conditioner. I’ve been loving Triple Nutrition by Garnier Fructis. The huge bottle in the pic was just under six bucks at BJ’s wholesale. I mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of grape seed oil, and a few drops of lavender and rosemary essential oils. Make sure to mix all the ingredients until everything is well blended. Before applying I spritz my hair with warm water to help with opening up my hair’s cuticles. I’m always careful to concentrate the pre-poo on my ends because this is the oldest part of my hair, making it the most fragile. Next I put on a plastic cap before tying on a scarf. This helps my body temperature to further open up my cuticles to get all this goodness to penetrate my parched strands.

Step 2: Cowash

I cowash my hair  with Fig Cleansing Conditioner by Wen instead of shampooing . Any cleansing conditioner can be used to clean the scalp and hair. I particularly love Wen because it’s really moisturizing. When the hair is moisturized the natural curl pattern will be enhanced and less frizzy. **Shampoo with sulfates can be drying to the hair and scalp.

Step 3: Deep Condition

Deep Conditioning is a very important step. Although I cowash, my hair needs extra pampering. I’ve been absolutely loving the Triple Moisture Rich Cream Conditioner and Mask. Because I’ve been layering moisture upon moisture, I leave this on for a max of 10 minutes.

Step 4: Leave-In Moisturizer

Using a leave-in moisturizer after I’ve cleansed and deep conditioned is the foundation for locking in the moisture my hair will need until next wash day. I’ve tried other leave-ins, but I keep coming back home to Camille Rose Naturals moisture milk.

Step 5: Moisturizing Styler

My final step is using a moisturizing styler to style my curls. Again, I’ve tried straying away to use other stylers only to be disappointed. Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jae Butter is full of natural ingredients that’s always kind to my curly textured hair. And I love, love, love the Aloe Eco styler gel for added curl definition. This gel doesn’t have drying alcohols.

I hope these steps have been helpful. Remember to always sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase and/or wrap your hair in a satin or silk scarf to prevent dryness.

Share your tips on how you keep your tresses protected from Old Man Winter. 🙂

Until next time,

Suzette

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