Coco curls product review

So I have been following @coco_curls on twitter and heard about it for some time and the other day I was finally able to meet the woman behind the product.

My home girl and co-worker, April B, is going to co-host the next coco curls event and Ms. Coco curls herself stopped by the salon to drop off product so she can get familiar with it. Having wanted to try it myself I was excited.

This product had me dumbfounded. I have been natural pretty much all my life and have never found a product I didn't need to base with an oil. It was extremely moisturizing all by it's self. As per instruction I used it on wet hair which I usually don't do. I chose to do a two strand bantu knot out. It was shinning and soft to the touch but still had a firm hold. So needless to say I'm hooked.

My next challenge will be to try it on damp hair for the times when I can't air dry because my dryer time was 2hrs and 20 min.


At $14.99 this product is well worth a try.

And it was truly a pleasure meeting Mrs. Jeannell Darden.

Special thanks to April B as well for letting me dip my fingers in her product!

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Life Long Journey

I once had to do an interview of a professional woman who was recieving a Woman of Distinction Award. This was years ago, but she said something to me that stuck with me, she said success was life long journey. We are always fighting through life to be successful and sometimes when we go through things in life we feel as if we failed.. Knowing that the journey to success is never ending, we can take all our loses and trials as learning experiences and continue striving for success.

New Years Eve was one of those hard times for me. Those of you who know me personally know how much my dog means to me. She suffered from a herniated disk which paralysed her hind legs. Her vet bill was very expensive and because her chances of a full recovery were less than 50% I was unable to get assistance. Putting her down was not an option so I asked the vet if there was a program that would pay for her surgery even if I had to give her up and she told me about Husky House. If you would like to donate to help pay for her vet bill you can go to huskyhouse.org. Her name is Nyla.

I could have easily let that be the last straw to discourage me from my goals, but like the quote goes success is a life long journey. Now I am focused and even more determined to keep going. Stay tuned beecause I mean business lol. There are a lot of things in the line up for The City Shoot and I would love for you guys to be a part of this journey.

I just wanna say thank you to everyone who has been there for me through good and bad times. This is the year to press through it all and I look forward to what is to come. :-)

First Magazine Shoot!!!

I dont know how many of you have heard of skorch magazine, but you should definately check them out at http://www.skorchmag.com/. They have made some changes but the magazine portion of their site is still there.


This was a crazy good experience. We shot in Gwinett County in GA right by the water and it was beautiful. When I found out the shoot was for a magazine the butterflies began lol. I respect my work and love what I do, but the more broad the audience the more nervous I get wondering if people will like what I've done. Yes I have been in this business on the professional side for almost 8 years, but I have not learned even a 3rd of the tricks and secrets. I am proud to be a student of those ahead of me and still proud of where I am now.


This wasn't as long of a shoot as the Jacksonville Beach one because we were able to meet the models way ahead of time :-). We started around 9am, to give 2 of the models time to rest because they had to fly in, and we finished up just after 6pm lol. Just enough time to beat the sun going down!

This was such an amazing experience and I was so excited the mag LOVED our photos and The City Shoot was on the map and we are not stoping :-). The best is yet to come and I feel so blessed to have even made it this far.

Here are a few pics from the shoot but please stop by the website below to see the full spread. Its the April 2010 issue and the Tribal Beauty and Lovely Bride section.

http://skorchmagazine.com/magazine-archive

And here are some sample pictures

Jacksonville beach Florida

The digital photo world can be a little overwhelming. Time passes by and you tend to accumulate a large number of photos. I am so guilty of this, but bare with me and I will organize them so they will not have gone to waste.

I love to travel, and I was given the opportunity to go to Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It was truly a wonderful experience. The shoot was for a boutique's website. We met the models one day and put their looks together and the next day it was work work work. The time just flew by but boy did we feel it the next day lol. I think this was the first experience to make me consider doing photoshoot hair. It was such a learning experience and isn't as easy as it appears but I'm growing and getting better. The sky is the limit right :-).

Here are a few pictures from the shoot. I hope you like and feel free to comment!

My work on TV ...I can dig it lol :-)

I'm so excited! Two nights ago I got a text message from a client around 11pm which said please please call me as soon as you can.  So of course I thought somethng happened and called immediately.  Well it was news but it was GREAT news lol.  She was offered the opportunity to be one of the sunbeams on the tv show The Game which is taping in Atlanta.  The next morning I was up extra early to style her hair. I can not wait to see my work on TV lol. I have seen my work on stage before but television reaches so many eyes.

I am extremely honored to be appretiated enough for her to make sure I did her hair and not the onset stylist. To top things off, I will be in attendence for the next taping to make sure her tresses and anyone else who needs some assistance.  Let the games begin :-)

Nothing but God.

Much love to Renee P.

Product Love

Ok...of course being a hair stylist there is a natural facination with hair products and tools.  I absolutely love to share when I find a great product or tool.  You know what that means right? I will share with you.

I LOVE the versatility of my hair. Sometimes I wear it in its natural state and let the curls do their thing.  When I do I dont like a lot of product causing my curls to be hard and stiff.  My best friend in this case is a Leave-in conditioner.  On curly days my favorite(after many trials lol), is Mixed chicks.  It leaves my curls touchable but defined.  Now one thing you don't want to forget is everyone is different.  Just because a product works for one does not mean it will work for everyone.  I know it can get annoying but please try to have patience in due time you will find the product you will fall in love with.

TIP: if there is a product you really want to try but can not afford to waste money on just incase, write the company and see if they will send you a sample.  Its worth a shot.

Now on my pess days I use a Brazilian product called Nunaat chocolate special leave-in.  It is light as well but has that extra moisture I need after wearing my hair naturally curly for a while.

TIP: start of with a little product.  Never start off with a lot of product because it may give you a wrong impression on a great product.  Sometimes we can really over do it with the products and wonder why it doesn't have the effect we disire. Remember its easier to add than to subtract when it comes to products.

So Blessed

Friday I had one of my regular clients for a shampoo and style. she just happened to be a weave client who had just taken an acting class with Tasha Smith.  Now I loved the movie Why Did I Get Married, and spent a lot of the movie complimenting the hair stylist who did Tasha Smith's hair.  I cant help it and if you have ever watched a film or TV with me you know the hair always stands out. Well while my client was taking her class she was complimented on her hair by members of the class as well as Ms. Tasha Smith.  Anyone who knows me can say I am not the star struck type but that compliment really stood out. Here I was giving respect to another stylist and recieved that same respect from someone who wore such a beautiful style.  That makes me feel great I have to be honest. 

Then there are the little things like a client saying I make them feel beautiful when the step out my chair.  There is no better feeling for me than to know my work can boost the confidence or even self esteem.  I wouldnt change it for the world.

Much love to everyone who has allowed me to express myself through my art.  I never take for granted the level of trust and respect it takes for you to trust me with your hair.