Hair Hope Growth Oil

An In-depth Review

Hey Naturalistas! Recently, I received some goodies in the mail, from a company called Hair Hope Growth Oil. I am always very picky about what I put on my hair, and in my body, so I had to do a little research on the oils, their ingredients, and the effect on our hair. 

The website lists that. . .

Hair Hope Helps to:

Get rid of split ends by acting as a sealant to seal moisture into each strand of hair

Promotes Growth 

Conditions and softens hair

Relieves dry, itchy, flaky scalp

Helps prevent frizz

There are two different oil formulas offered- Regular, and Dry Itchy Scalp. 

The ingredients are all natural, and clearly listed on the front on the bottle. 

Regular Formula: Castor Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil

Dry Itchy Scalp Formula: Castor Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Rosemary Oil, Tea Tree Oil

These oils all have great capabilities-

Avocado Oil is light weight and easily absorbed into the hair and scalp, and also contains nutrients that are beneficial for hair growth.

Coconut Oil (Which we ALL love), reduces breakage, helps alleviate dry scalp and dandruff, seals in moisture, softens and conditions hair, and adds shine. 

 

Castor Oil stimulates hair growth and has helped many people grow back lost or thinning hair.

Tea Tree Oil helps treat scalp issues such as dandruff and irritation.

So when you put these oils together you should have one powerful hair cocktail.

First Impressions

 

Appearance: The oils come in 4oz plastic bottles with a nice label that includes the name, formula type and ingredients. The top has an opening piece that you raise to control the flow of the oil.

Texture and smell: 

These Oils have a very light and sweet aroma in addition to natural scents combined oils, it's not over powering at all. The oils are well blended, and the feel of the oils are slightly denser than melted coconut oil, but they're not greasy or sticky.

Hair Response: 

The first time I used the oil (regular formula) was on my wash day. I thoroughly shampooed and conditioned my hair, then added the growth oil as my leave-in (a little goes a long way) on soaking wet hair, I added a small amount of Eco-styler and this was the result

 My hair stayed shiny, and moisturized the ENTIRE day. I was excited, so far so good!

The next style I used the oil (dry itchy scalp formula), for was to straighten my hair- now I hadn't straightened my hair since I went natural, so you know I had to be feelin' it to use it as my ONLY leave-in/ protectant/ sealer etc. I applied the oil to my clean wet hair, then proceeded to blow dry and flat iron my hair at 390 degrees. My hair turned out so silky, shiny and gorgeous, I just had to take a million hair selfies.

(P.S. Look at that length, shrinkage is REAL.) I re-applied the oil (itchy scalp formula daily for the duration of my hair being straight, and my hair stayed smooth with no irritation or frizz for the entire duration of the style. I usually have issues with my scalp itching and have to wash every 3 days, but it did not bother me and I've been wearing my hair straight for a whole week now. 

Cost: The cost is 6.99 for the regular formula, and 7.99 for the dry itchy scalp formula. 

Closing Thoughts

As far as what the name suggests, I do not yet know the growth effects of these oils, as I have not been using them long enough to see a difference in length. What I can tell you, is that I've noticed an overall difference in the health of my scalp, and the appearance of my hair. I love this stuff and I haven't stopped using it since I started. So if your are looking for a good hair oil cocktail, and to support small black business, check out Maya Jude's Hair Hope Growth Oil, you'll be glad you did.

Here is a link to her website: http://www.hairhopegrowthoil.com/

Kisses to my kinky chicks!

    GirlwithKinks

For the record: This is not a paid review.   

 

Bantu Knots on Straight Hair

How to Bantu Knot (Dry) Straight Hair




Gorgeous soft curls from an easy Bantu Knot Out on my short natural hair. **Show some love,subscribe to GirlwithKinks, you'll be glad you did.**

Do NOT use a water based moisturizer or your hair WILL become frizzy. Oils and butters only for this style.

This hair style was the bomb, when I tell you I was feelin' myself, in my Future voice "you OENO it". This bantu knot out was so on point. I hope you love it as much as I did.

The video to the Blowout is here: http://youtu.be/yW8c8craoEM

I also did this Bantu Knot style on WET hair, check that video out here:Wet Bantu Knots

I stretched my hair by using my blowout method, you can wear the blowout as a style on its own!

The method I used for the Bantu Knots caters to ladies with Short Natural Hair, I made smaller bantu knots and secured them with bobi pins.

Let me know if you have any questions, I do my best to answer all of them.

Thumbs up if you liked my "Beat" face, let me know if yall want a tutorial!


The products I used were grapeseed oil, African Shea Butter, and Tressemme's thermal spray (heat protectant)

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Music:
"beeKoo mix"
by Lasswell
2007 - Licensed under
Creative Commons
http://ccmixter.org/files/lazztunes07/12238

Bantu Knot Tutorial on Wet Natural Hair

How to Bantu Knot Wet Natural Hair




Quick how-to Bantu Knots on Wet Natural Hair by GirlwithKinks!
This style is not too difficult and it yields beautiful results for us naturally curly girls! If you are looking for a fluffy, soft romantic curl for your natural hair, then this is the hairstyle for you.

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New videos every Tuesday and (maybe) Thursday!

Bantu Knots can be work as a style or if you prefer to do a Bantu knot out, you will have soft luscious curls for days!

My recommended product for this style is a creamy shea butter, or the shea moisture line curl enhancing smoothie. The less product you use the faster your hair will dry!


If  you like my make up let me know, I will do a tutorial on the look.

Cheetah Pants- Forever 21+ $8
Tanktop- Forever 21+ $3
Shoes- Torrid $5 BUCKS!!!
Black Waistbelt- Torrid $3
Gold Earrings- Target $7
Rosette Sweater- Burlington Coat Factory

This entire look was under 50 dollars, and for big girl clothes, that is a steal. I clearance shop y'all, and I love it. Comment if you would like to see more style videos!

Follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/girlwithkinks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlwithkinks

Song: Brass Beat
Artist: Blake Teres
Courtesy of C.C. Mixter
Free For Commercial Use w/ Attribution
http://ccmixter.org/files/blakeht/31638

How to get the Perfect Blow Out on Short Natural Hair

Quick and Easy Blow Out




This is the Method I use to blow out my short natural hair. The perfection of this Blow Out is the simplicity of the method; it yields beautiful results. This blowout can be worn as a style, or used to aid in other natural hairstyles, such as Flat twists, Bantu knots, and Twist Outs.

Sorry if I sound boring yall, this was a late night (3-5am) video, but I still got the point across. :)

My hair was damp, and I sealed it with grapeseed oil, sectioned, applied heat protectant, then blew dry my hair on medium-high heat. I don't have any heat damage, and I have done this method many times.

Check out my Bantu Knot tutorial on Stretched hair to see how I styled this blowout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srtQIvfqIus&list=UUOelRjt4n8Ci2mXkQTELFwQ&feature=share

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlwithkinks

Music:
"Act Cool ( Roman Holiday )"
by Loveshadow

2008 - Licensed under
Creative Commons
Attribution
http://ccmixter.org/files/Loveshadow/14782

How to Flat Twist Short Natural Hair

Easy Flat Twist Out Tutorial




This is a quick easy tutorial for Short Natural Hair it will give you a  Gorgeous Flat Twist Out
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Easy Flat Twist Out Tutorial on Short to Medium length natural Hair.

This Flat Twist Out was quick and easy to do. I used the Shea Moisture Curl enhancing smoothie and Curling Gel Souffle to twist my hair. I recommend you use one or the other because both products are very heavy and need to be used sparingly or your hair may come out too greasy!

I loved this hair style so much and I think I will be doing Flat Twist Outs way more often! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, if you have any questions or thoughts, sound off below in the comment section.

Items need for this style:

Finetooth comb, Hairbrush, Clips/hairties, curly pudding/gel, pick/widetooth comb.

Let me know what other videos you want to see! Sound off!

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Music:
Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) (ft. Airtone)
Artist: J.Lang
Courtesy of C.C. Mixter
Free For Commercial Use w/ Attribution
http://ccmixter.org/files/djlang59/37792

Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting

Easy Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting

Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting

This is frosting is so easy to make, and delicious too. Let's get started.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Cake

• 3 Cups of Powdered Sugar (confectioners)
• 1 Cup of Unsalted Butter (2 Sticks), softened
• 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons of Strawberry puree (get the recipe here)
• 2 Pinches of salt (to taste)

Directions: Cream together the sugar and butter with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes on medium. Add the Vanilla Extract and Strawberry puree and beat for another minute and a half. That's it, you're done! If the frosting is too runny slowly, add more powder sugar to thicken, or refrigerate for an hour. 

Get this Home Made Strawberry Cake Recipe Here.

Home Made Strawberry Cake (Without Gelatin)

Fresh Strawberry Cake (Without Jello)

Home Made Strawberry Cake (without gelatin)

I love me some strawberry cake y'all, but I grew tired of the same old boxed cake, so I decided to make my own version of this delicious treat. The best part about making this cake, is that most people have these ingredients at home already! The cake is made with all natural ingredients, no artificial coloring, or preservatives, most importantly it's quick, tasty, and easy.




If you are like me you want to get started on this right away, so the first thing you need to do is take out the items that need to be room temperature. I'm telling you this first so you can multitask! 2 Sticks of Butter (16 Tbsp), 4 eggs, 1/4 cup of cream, 6-8 cups of over ripe strawberries whole (about 24oz). Okay Go!

First you will need to make the strawberry puree (or you can buy it, I won't judge).

Strawberry Puree Ingredients (Yields about 3 cups)

• 8 Cups of whole ripe strawberries (organic strawberries taste sweeter) 
• 2 Tablespoons of Pure Cane Sugar

Directions: Rough chop the Strawberries then place in a bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and coat the chopped strawberries completely.












Let the coated strawberries sit out (covered) for at least and hour (the longer the better), until you see a juicy glaze and the strawberries have softened.

Pour the the entire contents of the bowl, including the juices, into a blender and run until strawberries become liquid (try not to over blend). If you don't have a blender you can mash with a spoon/masher in the bowl. Pour the puree back into the bowl and set aside for later. You will only need 11/2 cups of puree for the cake. I reserved the rest for frosting and decorations.

Home Made Strawberry Cake

Cake Ingredients 

Wet:

• 1(1/2) cups of Strawberry Puree
• 1/4 Cup of Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream
• 4 whole large eggs
• 2 Tablespoons of Vanilla Extract

Dry:

Sift Flour

• 2(1/4) Cups of All Purpose Flour ( or Cake Flour), sifted
• 1(3/4)-2 Cups of Sugar
• 4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Cup of Butter (unsalted, 16 Tbs)

Directions:

Whisk wet ingredients

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all of the wet ingredients (Strawberry Puree, Cream, Eggs, Vanilla) into a bowl and whisk together (w/whisk or fork).

Separately, combine all the dry ingredients (hold the butter) into bowl of stand mixer or large bowl. With a hand/stand mixer beat together ingredients on low and add butter until the dry mix resembles moist crumbs.



Pour wet mixture into the dry mixture and beat on medium-low for about 2 minuets scraping the corners of the bowl with a spoon/rubber spatula as you go along. Beat until the batter has a thick creamy consistency. The batter will be a little more dense than you are used to if you make boxed cake often.

Use butter to coat your cake pan(s), then flour the pan(s) lightly. Tap the pan to rid excess flour.

Pour batter into cake pan(s), fill to about half way, and smooth.


 I used two 9-in round pans which took about 35 minuets to cook (I cooked them simultaneously on the middle rack of a gas oven). I have also made a 10-in bundt cake from this recipe, which took 48 minuets to cook.  Stick a toothpick in to check for doneness, the toothpick should come out clean.

After the cake is finished, let it cool in the pan for 15-20 minuets. Then flip the cake(s) onto a cooling rack and let cool until all warmth has left the cake. If you don't have a cooling rack you can use a plate, but if the cake is really warm, the bottom will stick to the plate when you try to move the cake. Cover the cake and store in the refrigerator to prep for decorating.


Dust with powder sugar or Frost and Enjoy! Get the recipe for the Strawberry Butter-cream Frosting Here.

Short Natural Hairstyles: Finger Coils

How to do a Finger Coil Out

Short Natural Hairstyles

**This is a short easy tutorial for a Fab Finger Coils**
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This style lasted me over a week! For nighttime maintenance I just slept with my satin bonnet. I fluffed and sealed my hair with grapeseed oil everyday while I was wearing the style. 
I love the poppin' curls that finger coil outs give me, this is one of my favorite easy go-to styles for my short natural hair. Finger coils are easy to do, because you are essentially twirling your hair around your finger. You can size your finger coils as large or as small as your hair allows. Thanks for watching!

I used Taliah Wajiid's Curly curl cream to hold the coils and grapeseed oil was used during the coilout portion of the hairstyle. 

Items need for this style:

Finetooth comb, Hairbrush, Clips/hairties, curly pudding/gel, pick/widetooth comb.

Let me know what other videos you want to see! Sound off!

Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/girlwi...

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gi...

Music:
Rich (ft. Adisa McKenzie)
Artist: Alex Beroza
Courtesy of C.C. Mixter
Free For Commercial Use w/ Attribution 

Fab High Bun Tutorial

Short Natural Hairstyles

Faux Fab Bun
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I have been waiting so long for the opportunity to reuse the Marley Braiding hair I had leftover from my twists. This hair is similar to most kinky curly textured natural hair, and can be used in many different ways. This bun was so easy to do, but fabulous to look at. I was really feeling myself.


With short curly hair, your hair must be stretched to achieved a "laid" sleek look. Because my hair is too short to put into one neat ponytail, I use a method of several pony tails to stretch my hair and combine them to look like one. My hair was neat, and I received many of compliments on this chic style. This hairstyle can be formal, corporate, casual basically limitless,  so I hope you all enjoy.


Products used: Coconut Oil, Grapeseed Oil


Styling Tools: Hair Ties, Rubberbands, Comb, Brush, Marley Braiding Hair






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GIVEAWAY

Natural Hair Giveaway

Free Stuff

Who doesn't love free stuff right? Check out my tips for dandruff in this video  and watch until the end for an awesome giveaway, filled with a few staples in my hair care regime. 

---- TWO WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM--------

Natural Hair and Dandruff Kit Includes:

-Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner

-Grapeseed Oil 

-Apple Cider Vinegar

-Coconut Oil

-Spray Bottle

-Shower Cap

-SURPRISE GIFT(S)

GIVEAWAY ENTRY DETAILS:

To enter the GIVEAWAY you will need to. . .

1. Subscribe to my channel RIGHT AWAY.

2. Like/Rate this Video.

3. Comment: "ENTER ME", Your Instagram name & what type of hair video you'd like to see next!

4.Like Girl with Kinks page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlwithkinks 

5.Share this Video on Facebook.

6.Follow me on Instagram: @GIRLWITHKINKS http://instagram.com/girlwithkinks

The Deadline for entry is March 6, 2014 BEFORE midnight.

Winners will be announced March 7th via the Girl with Kinks Facebook page.

This Giveaway is NOT sponsored, all products were purchased by me.

In this Video I talk about my quick fixes for dandruff and dry Scalp. I use a a few different easy and cheap methods to prevent my troublesome dandruff.

Thanks for all the Support. Muah!

Rockin' with the Robinsons

This is How we do it!

My husband and I bought Ayden a new drum set, and we thought, “why don’t we have a jam session” so we did and this was the result. We had so much fun, and if this brightens your day like it does mine, then pass it along! 

Wash 'N' Go Renewed

Natural Hair Tutorial

Hey my girls with kinks, I have another natural hair vid up on my channel on how to refresh your wash and go hair. If you haven't already, subscribe to me on YouTube for vlogs on my 365 Journey and natural hair tutorials; I'll love you for it! www.youtube.com/girlwithkinks .

Muah!

     <3GirlwithKinks

Two Strand Twist

This is my first tutorial I have uploaded to youtube on natural hair. I hope you all like it!

The Struggle

 Day Two

As the title suggests, I’m struggling y’all. I am struggling with laziness due in part to a lack of energy. I missed breakfast today which is always bad because I know my body will be sluggish the rest of the day. Plus I've been on my tablet and computer since I woke up this morning.


You know, it's so easy to get lost in the internet and technology for hours. I work mostly from home and I am constantly checking emails and taking calls, all while taking care of my Ayden; some days we don’t even go outside and play, which makes me sad for him, because it’s not fair for him to breath recycled air all day. Therefore I am adding a challenge for myself- stay electronic free for at least two hours a day; and no, sleeping doesn't count. At first I said 3 hours no tech, and then I remembered my lesson from yesterday on setting unrealistic expectations, and I’m not going to set myself up for that one. I feel like over time, I will be able to expand no tech time from 2 hours to the majority of my day.


I just need to find balance between dedicating times to work, eat, play, etc.; that balance is hard to find when you are a care taker/ wife/mom and you assume so many roles and responsibilities. Daily I am an assistant, maid, accountant, cook, therapist, and wife- all in addition to running my own event planning company. It’s exhausting, but I don’t want to whine, I love my life, I just need to find my system and get it working. I’ll get there, one step at a time.

KNOW DAT.

I was watching Dr. Oz today (with his handsome Turkish self, I’m weird) and he was talking about taking certain foods out of your diet- blah, blah, blah. I’m sure you can read my lack of enthusiasm when it comes to this topic.

I told myself that I would remove all dairy, sugar, wheat from my diet. This would be like, a major transition from my normal eating habits, my diet isn’t limited to these categories, but they are present in almost every meal. I have done this once before for my wedding last year, and I lost 30 pounds while doing it, but I was miserable, cranky, and stressed. I need to find a way to approach this without feeling like I am giving up enjoying my food. I am going to go back to the drawing board and think of some recipes that closely follow this line of discipline; the keyword being closely. I gained back most of the weight I lost for the wedding because I was tired of eating grass (salad) every day, and became bored with my “healthy” eating routine. I am going to get more creative, and try harder this time, because I want a lifestyle change, not a temporary one. If any of you have suggestions for me, please share. When I come up with a meal plan, you all will be the first to know.

On the menu for tonight:

 Salad & Pizza of the healthier variety: Chicken and fire roasted tomatoes atop a green pesto sauce, with a homemade thin crust. Yum.


Recipe will be on the blog tonight or tomorrow.

Natural hair tutorial also coming your way in the next day or so.

Have an awesome day and look up at the sky, even if only for a minute; it will remind you of how beautiful our world is.

                 


<3 Girlwithkinks

Quick One Pot Meals

                          30 Minuet Tortilla soup

Easy and Delicious

Looking for dinner tonight? I love this tortilla soup recipe because it requires ONE pot, little prep, and you can just throw things in as you go. Easy peasy. It is perfect for a quick tasty inexpensive meal. I found all these ingredients at my local HEB, but I’m sure they can be found at any supermarket. This recipe serves 8- 10 people, if you want less you can half it or freeze the leftovers. Feel free to pin this on Pinterest!

Soup Ingredients List

· 1.5 Pounds of lean ground turkey (cooked)

· 3 Tbs Ground Cumin (gives meat that taco taste)

· Salt (meat)

· Pepper (meat)

· 1 small onion (diced)

· 2 fresh bunches of cilantro (chopped)        

· 2 cups of frozen corn

· 3 cups of chicken broth

· 1 Jar of tortilla soup base (I used Cookwell & Company Hatch Verde Tortilla base 32oz)

· 1 block of Velveeta cheese halved

· 28oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes w/green chilies

· (2) 15oz cans of black beans

Top with:

· Crushed tortilla chips

· Mexican blend cheese

· Sour cream

· Avocado slices

Instructions:

1. Cut up onion, cilantro, and Velveeta (into cubes), and set aside for later.

2. Over medium high heat, put lean ground turkey cumin into a large sauce pot. Season ground turkey with salt and pepper to taste (I used 1.5 Tbs of salt and 1 Tbs of pepper). It seems like a lot but you will not be adding any more seasoning to the soup, only ingredients. Stir until browned. Do not drain (you can if you want).

3. Add in, soup base, chicken broth, onion, and Velveeta cubes to the large sauce pot, let cook until Velveeta is melted stirring occasionally.

4. Once Velveeta is melted add Rotel, black beans, frozen corn, cilantro, and simmer over medium low heat for about 10 minutes.

5. Serve with cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, and avocado.

6. Enjoy!

I'm not awesome at writing recipe instructions, so if any of this seems unclear, leave me a comment below!

Unsuccessful attempts.

Day One

So today, I didn't get half of what I wanted to get done, but that’s life- right? Last night I told myself, “I’m gonna wake early tomorrow, go outside, and jog. Next I’m going to thoroughly clean my entire house, make a natural hair tutorial vid, and then I’m going to cook dinner EARLY, pray, meditate, bathe, sleep.” None of which happened, at least not how I wanted it to.

I did manage to wash most of the laundry, go grocery shopping, make some delicious tortilla soup (a recipe I will share with you in a separate post), and get my restroom REALLY clean with the help of my Hubbs. But enough of me listing my many achievements, my takeaway from today is a lesson that has come to me many times before, and that lesson is. . . don’t make unrealistic expectations for yourself. Plan for a reasonable workload and execute those tasks to the best of your ability. I was so focused trying to do so many things, that I only made a small impact on my overall goal, which was upsetting, but I have calmed down and I am ready for tomorrow. One step at a time Morgan, breathe, breathe. Not a whole lot to report today. I feel exhausted.

Oh I also did manage to be more thoughtful of my husband today; I gave him many kisses, and just did things that I knew he wanted without saying. It made me feel good to see the happiness that my actions brought him. It’s the little things you know? Love Better

I have a confession to make.

Yesterday I kinda ate more “freely” as a sort of farewell or going away party to my bad eating habits. Courtney, Ayden and I had a lovely dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse, and we ate till we were stuffed. It was glorious!

Moment over.

Back to eating well.

Speaking of eating well here is a pic of that yummy tortilla soup I cooked tonight. It took me less than  30 minuets to make. (Be Jelly)

YUM!



I want to leave you with a task for today and every day on. You know that awkward moment when you meet eyes with someone you don’t know- smile at them, because you never know what your acknowledgment of their existence can do for their life, and yours.



<3 GirlwithKinks

Eat Well. Pray Often. Love Better.

A 365 Day challenge for GirlwithKinks

I was feeling very alive when I woke up yesterday. Since last year, and maybe before then, I have been seeing and feeling signs of change. I have been unhappy with myself as a person for a while now; it’s like one day I woke up and let all the negative in life get to me. By allowing that to happen, I became difficult, my attitude anyway. No matter what the people I loved did for me, I never allowed myself to be happy, why was that? And people know when you are being “fake” with them, but it was like, I’m not trying to be fake on purpose, I couldn't help it, I couldn't let my guard down. So in taking time to reevaluate, I forced myself to have an intervention with myself, (crazy I know). Now, this was a gradual intervention, not really thought out in a day, and I did my best to focus on bettering MYSELF. I want to emphasize the word MYSELF, because too often when people are hurting, we try to blame others for that hurt without first looking at the source (yourself); I’m not saying there aren't people that intentionally try to hurt us, but I am saying if you are feeling unhappy in your daily life, look to yourself first.

I realized my optimistic personality started to change when I started seeing the negative side of EVERYTHING, I mean even petty things. My loving husband dealt with the brunt of my frustration with life, we had personal issues in the past we had overcome, but I tried to make him overcompensate for my pain, and that wasn't fair. I allowed myself to loathe people that I felt wronged me, it’s like I hated them so much I couldn't let go; seeing the name of the person(s) I disliked, made my skin crawl(yea it got that bad), and still (kinda) does. Anyways you get the point; a lot of hate clouded my vision and my heart. This all came at the most “inconvenient” time because I was a new mother. I was supposed to be all- “one with the wind” and everything was supposed to be magical and new, but it wasn't. I was angry, paranoid, my relationship was failing, and I gained over 100 pounds. 

Post baby and tired

Young and fresh

I'm still cute though. . .

This went on from 2011 to mid-2013; in that time period I was hospitalized (chronic anemia), started going to different churches, actively tried to seek friends, then isolated myself from pretty much everyone, watched A LOT of reality TV (real housewives, love and hip-hop anyone?), and stayed home almost every day. There was this void sucking the life out of me. This past year I got tired of feeling shitty about myself and decided to TRY. I never thought that just trying could be so hard, but I wanted better for my son, my husband,and most importantly myself. How could I love others if I didn't love me first? Trying consisted of being thoughtful of my husband’s needs, working out, kissing & hugging more, communicating effectively, cleaning & cooking more, taking my child outside to play, & not engaging in unnecessary conflicts. These may sound like small things, but they were big steps for me that I am still trying to master. By taking these actions positive results happened, so even though I didn't fully believe in what I was doing the positivity from my actions spilled into my thoughts. My relationship was thriving and then came wedding bells. . .

Courtney and I were married in September 2013 and that was the happiest day of my life . . . so far anyway. The day before our outdoor wedding, there was hurricane like winds and flooding; Courtney was supposed to sleep apart from me, but the thought of not having him next to me that night terrified me. I needed him, and that night I realized I always will. There is a comfort that comes with his presence that I've never felt with anyone else.

I've said all that to say, this shift in thinking has brought me to a “challenge” I have prepared for myself. I was feeling all “eat, pray, love” if you will, yesterday and that inspired me to get active in my blog and share this journey with you. I wrote the phrase Eat, Pray, Love and I felt it was too cliché of a motto so I added a few words to give it more meaning to the goal I am trying to achieve.

Eat Well. Pray Often. Love Better

The 365 day challenge I have set out for myself is to eat well, and when I say that I don’t mean a salad every day, I aim to cook something new, delicious, and nourishing at least 4 days out of the week and make dinner time an experience for my family and I. This will help improve my overall health and fitness.

I will pray and meditate every day for at least 30 minutes to develop spiritual closeness with God and my higher self. I feel this will help me better understand my life’s direction and improve my control of my emotions.

To love better to me, will be living to serve others; this can be applied in many ways. I also want to love myself better by working out EVERYDAY to become a healthier me.

This is not a weight loss journey; this is me trying to find myself, my faith, and be a better person to others, and I will be blogging to you every step of the way.

I will still post hair and make-up tutorials for you naturals out there. ;-)

I will leave you with the words that first came to mind when I this feeling fell upon my heart.


Journey; life change; improve; love; try harder; be myself; find my faith; closer to God; read; understand; grow; develop; conquer fear; be unashamed; do not judge; inspire; commit.

                                                 <3 GirlwithKinks

What up people?

My name is Morgan, and I will do my best not to sound dry, but we just met and I don’t really know you yet. I've been sitting in front of my computer all day trying to figure out a way to introduce myself. These types of things, (blogs, public exposure), make me nervous ya’ know. You never know how people will receive you, so be nice to me now.

This is me (Selfie)

Let’s start with the negative shall we, (Insert melancholy violin music here) I am a flawed individual. I get jealous, I dislike my body most of the time, I overuse commas, struggle to project myself a certain way- because I care what people think of me, I can be judgmental, stubborn, brutally honest, grudgey, and make up my own words. I could go on about my short comings (enough with the self-loathing), but then, you would think I was a depressed lonely fatty with a bad understanding of English grammar rules. On a lighter note, I am also very goofy, and not afraid to laugh at myself. My life’s not all bad; it’s not even mostly bad. I am 20 years old. I have a wonderful husband named Courtney; that works hard to love and provide for me so I can sit here and write a blog, and, a two year old son named Ayden, that keeps me humble and fills me with joy, but I will do my best not to rub my “perfect family” in your face.(sarcasm) 

My Courtney

My Boys
They give me life

I know you’re probably wondering how the blog came about, well here goes . . .


I am a black woman (obviously), that has had relaxed hair for over half of my life. Once my naturally thick and curly hair became too “tough & timely” to manage, (around 7 years old), my mother put a relaxer, (straight perm), on my hair. I hated getting relaxers, but from my limited understanding, relaxers were the key to me having “beautiful hair” and as a girl, I was taught that my beauty was largely defined by my hair. I never thought my hair was prettier with a relaxer, but I did buy into the hype that it was more manageable. I wore hair weaves often, but I always felt like I was wearing a hat; a hat that would be embarrassing if it flew off. I justified wearing hair weave by convincing myself that my hair could never look this glamorous naturally. It wasn't until I moved away from home and was able to make decisions without parental influence, that I was able to decide I wanted to go natural. My then boyfriend now husband already had dreadlocks so he was very supportive of my decision. On my 19th birthday, I asked Courtney (husband), to cut my hair down to an inch with clippers; I felt liberated! My family thought I was going crazy, 

and was sure my world was going to fall apart by taking this step. Seeing their reaction didn't hurt me, but it did motivate me, all of our hair was naturally curly yet they were so unwilling to see it in its’ natural state. That is when I decided to start a natural hair care blog.

Before BC (weavalicious)

After BC (wink)

GirlwithKinks was supposed to be a blog about natural kinky/curly/coily hair. I wanted to inspire women to see their natural hair for the beauty it possessed, by being an example of a stylish natural. In the past few weeks I have been re-evaluating my life, my religion, my health, and I felt like I could do more-for myself as well as others by sharing my personal moments in life, good or bad, which is why I wanted to establish GirlwithKinks as a life journal. I will be sharing all of me- with you, (lucky). Tomorrow I am going to share an important post so I hope you stay tuned.

                              <3GirlwithKinks