Friday, March 30, 2012

Time for Straight Hair?

So Spring is here and you don't have to worry about humidity that comes with the summer.  You don't have to worry about possible damage when you have to go outside in the cold immediately after styling like you do in the winter. 

Straightening your own hair not only saves you money but it's easier than you think. How do I straighted my hair?

Well, after shampooing and conditioning, I separate my hair into four sections add oil to my hair. Any kind will do as long it conditions your hair. I prefer to use Moroccan oil for this style.


$40
I've also used the Khoret Amen hair oil in the past as a cheaper alternative.  Any oil would do.

Then, I proceed to blow my hair out with a blow dryer that has a comb.  If your blow dryer doesn't have a comb, then you can use your detangling brush as you blow dry. For some, this is a better option because it causes less hair breakage.
Even though Springtime is the best time to wear your hair straight, it is still very important to keep your hair protected.  Make sure that you use a heat protectant.

Silk Elements Megasilk Olive Heat Protection Spray

$4.99

This is the heat protectant that I use. It works. Point blank.  I don't straighten my hair too often but I've never burnt my hair and my natural curls have returned immediately after a wash.  Just spray it on each detangled strand right before applying heat with your favorite flat iron.

The Original InStyler Rotating Hot Iron Hair Straightener
$93
The Instyler not only straightens my hair but the polishing technique also prevents heat damage. The cylinder spins as it glides down your hair. Now, the Instyler even comes in smaller sizes.  It also does the same thing as a curling iron so you can straighten and style your hair at the same time. Hey, it works.  It's great to use a flat iron that is designed to protect your hair from heat damage.  I know in the past; it is believed that the hotter it is, the better the results. Not true.  Your flat iron does not need to be super hot. Whatever you do, PLEASE do not use a hot comb.


Thursday, March 29, 2012

Happy Hair Day!

The family and I decided to take a trip to Indianapolis for Family Day yesterday.  My curls were defined and looked very healthy.  It was my Fiance's idea to go shopping there for our much anticipated trip to the Bahamas next month.  According to him, Indianapolis has much better shopping options.  He knows that I'm trying to step up my fashion game. While there, we ate locally at places like King Ribs and Shrimp Hut.  At King Ribs, I had the hot barbecue chicken (We don't mess with that swine, lol) on a bun and the sauce was sweet with a nice kick to it.  I had catfish nuggets for the first time at Shrimp Hut.  Those were pretty good but, of course, my fried catfish fillets are much better...
As far as shopping goes, we visited three malls including the Fashion Mall, Lafayette Square Mall, and Washington Square Mall and we walked down the Broad Ripple strip.  Broad Ripple was pretty artsy and had unique restaurants.  The only shirt I tried on while at Broad Ripple didn't quite fit right.  I did find a dress and a shirt (pics to come later) and got my daughter a few dresses.  My Fiance got his usual polo shirt and shorts.  If I had to call Indianapolis anything, it would be ghetto fabulous even though I was only there for a day.  After all the places we went, the one place that stood out the most was Lafayette Square Mall.  I've seen malls that cater to black people before but I've never seen one that was so blatantly exploitative.  Call me a country girl but there was no major retailer in the entire mall. There was no Macy's, Sears, or Kay Jewelry's.  There was an empty store where JcPenney's used to be.  Instead, there were stores like Man Alive, Rainbow, and something called 5th Avenue Jewelry's that sold fake gold chains.  After I gave my Fiance a couple of "Where the hell did you take me?" looks, we found a diamond in the rough.
We walked into a store called Oil Palace and they had Carols Daughter products. Not only that, they had the Khoret Amen oil and smoothie. I was so excited; I bought all the Khoret Amen products they had!. That made my day.  Remember, in my last post, I discussed how I still had a little bit of the Khoret Amen oil left that I was trying to preserve.  Looks like I don't have to do that anymore.  I'm going to have to bring back the hot oil treatments! I was too happy to find those products and I'm even smiling now thinking about it.
On top of that, Lisa must have came across my blog because, according to the website, there's a new oil fusion value set for $25 that includes the Khoret Amen oil and smoothie.


I am very very happy.  The oil in the set is only 2oz, though, compared to 8oz original bottle that I used to get. I'm just happy that they brought the product back.  Because of that, I had a very Happy Hair Day. :)

Monday, March 26, 2012

My Hair Care Regimen

Hopefully, posting what products I use will help someone discover what works for their hair.  I'm just going to outline what products I use and how.

Carol's Daughter Tui Moisturizing Sulfate-Free Shampoo

$13

Before this, I was using the Khoret Amen shampoo, smoothie, and oil before Carols Daughter discontinued it. I loved the smell and this is the product that really conditioned my hair and made it grow.  When I used it, I always received compliments on how good it smelt. So now I use the Tui products and it produces similar results.  The scent is much lighter but it conditions my hair adequately.  I still have a little bit of the Khoret Amen oil left. I used it before as a hot oil treatment. I would apply it to dry hair and sit under the dryer for 15 minutes right before shampooing. It worked great and would really make my scalp tingle which I associate with hair growth. I haven't done hot oil treatments since they discontinued the product because I'm trying to make it last as long as possible but every now and then, I will use it to re-moisturize my hair while wearing a twist out. Once I finally use that up, I'll probably try the Carol's Daughter Tui Moisturizing Hair Oil and I may or may not go back to hot oil treatments.  But, Lisa, if you happen, by chance, ever come across this blog, then please bring back the Khoret Amen products.
$20
After shampooing, I apply a generous amount of the smoothie.  It works great for detangling.  I use my handy dandy detangling brush after applying this product from root to end.

Around $5
This is not the exact brush that I use but it is very similar. Mine is a little bigger (the bigger the better) and square but any brush that has the little balls on the end will do the trick. This combined with the heat of the shower really softens my hair. I usually will leave the smoothie on for 5 to 10 mins while I shave or something and then rinse it out. Every now and then, I will apply a plastic shower cap and leave it on for an hour or two for deep conditioning.

Motions Foaming Wrap Lotion (box of24)


$4.49
My signature style is a twist out. I normally will wear my hair in two-strand twists for bout a week and then wear it in a twist out for another week (to get two styles out of one). I use the wrapped lotion to re wet my hair while twisting it. Any wrapping lotion will work but I prefer it to be foam.

Carol's Daughter Hair Balm (4 oz)


$12
This product is applied right after the wrapping lotion.  It really makes my hair look shiny and conditioned.  I smooth the product through my hair with a fine tooth comb before twisting. Technique is just as important as finding the right kind of product. After twisting, I just let my hair air dry.


Jamila Henna Powder 3.5oz (100g)

$4
I just recently added this to my hair care regimen. I've only done two henna treatments so I'm still very much a novice.  I mainly use this for deep conditioning and I love the red tint that it puts on my hair. I will probably do a treatment at least once a month. For more info on how to use henna, please check out my previous post entitled The Long Awaited BAQ Jamila Review.

Carols Daughter products can be purchased at carolsdaughter.com, Sephora, and select hair salons. I get my Jamila henna from Amazon.

So this is my natural hair care regimen. When I first went natural, I wish that someone would have given me some kind of instruction on which hair products AND utensils to use so hopefully this will some fellows naturals out there. Thanks for checking out my blog!





Saturday, March 24, 2012

Kinky Curly Product Review

I've been searching for a great wash and go product since my hair has grown out.  I haven't really done wash and gos since my teeny weeny afro days because I had no other choice.  As soon as my hair became long enough, I started wearing my hair in either twist outs or a blown out afro.  After being natural for six years now, my hair is extremely thick and long when stretched so I have been waiting for the perfect wash and go.  Now, it takes me approximately 3 to 4 hours to two-strand twist my hair and as a working mom of a busy body toddler, I don't really have the time.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :). 
I tried the Kinky Curly hair products a little over a year ago hoping that it would evenly define my curls.  My hair usually has several different textures going on(fuzzy in the back, curly on top, shrunken on the side) and that's why my twist out is my signature style.  So this is my experience using the Kinky Curly hair products.

I purchased the following products at Whole Foods (you can also purchase the products at Target):

COME CLEAN SHAMPOO - 8 OZ.

$20
It's expensive, I know, but you can order it online for a much cheaper price.

Kinky Curly Knot Today Conditioner-8 oz. (Pack of 3)

$12

Kinky Curly Curling Custard 16 oz

$30.00

Yes, I got the big bottle thinking that I would need alot for my thick hair.

Washing my hair with the COME CLEAN SHAMPOO - 8 OZ. produced fair results. It adequately washed my hair and scalp which is what I need after all the product I put in my hair. Definitely not worth the $20, though. This was the only Kinky Curly product that I used entirely.

After shampooing, I applied a very generous amount of the Kinky Curly Knot Today Conditioner-8 oz. (Pack of 3).  I detangled each section of my hair with my detangling brush which seemed like a mistake because, even with my hair dripping wet, it made my hair very thick and puffy.   It doesn't work well as a conditioner at all.

Then, I applied the Kinky Curly Curling Custard 16 oz last.  I smoothed it through my hair from root to ends. A little seemed to go a long way.  I was apprehensive to add too much because I didn't want any flakes.  Once my hair dried, there was definitely no flakes but my hair looked like a clumpy hot mess.  I had horrible shrinkage and parts of my hair were more shrunken than others.  So, okay, it was my first time using the product. I thought that maybe I didn't apply enough of the Curling Custard.  So, I tried it again two weeks later but this time, I applied very generous amounts of the Curling Custard.  What were the results?  They were the same as before. It was a hot clumpy mess again and right before Valentine's Day. I was so disappointed that I actually took my butt to the hair salon the next day and had my hair flat ironed. I had to have everything together for Valentines Day.

This is what Kinky Curly pushed me too.

It was a nice change and my pooh bear ended up proposing that night!. But after a couple days, the straight hair became boring so it was back to my beautiful natural hair.   Since then, I have not tried a wash and go. I have yet to find the right product for that style.  I sometimes used the Kinky Curly Knot Today Conditioner-8 oz. (Pack of 3) to detangle my daughter's hair but the Suave Detangler for kids works better and it only costs $1.99.   This product is way too expensive not to work.  I still have a jar of the curling custard 16 oz and it's almost full.  $30 wasted. I even tried to give it to my mom because she has softer hair than I do and she left it behind.  I believe that Kinky Curly products and probably even most of the wash and go products out there are for people who have the fine curls like this:




And not for hair like this:



But you never know what product will work until you try it.  To find a product that works as a wash and go for my hair is going to be my quest for 2012.  The next product I will try is the Ecoco Eco Styler Krystal Styling Gel, 16 Ounce (Pack of 3) next. Hey, this time I'm only out 3 bucks if it doesn't work.


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Long Awaited BAQ Jamila Henna Review

I know that you guys (my very many followers) have been waiting for me to give a review of BAQ Jamila Henna Powder 3.5oz (100g). BAQ stands for Body Art Quality which is supposed to be the best.


First, I ordered two boxes off of Amazon.com.  Cost was around $8 so it's very affordable.  I have very thick hair but one 100g box was more than enough for me.  Technically, you're supposed to let the henna sit overnight for ultimate dye release but I didn't add in time for this part nor did I have the patience  Basically, what I ended up doing was boiling 3 packs of green tea, added it the henna as I stirred, and let it sit for about 10 minutes while I shampooed and detangled my hair in the shower.

This method is not recommended and I will definitely be letting it sit overnight next time I henna. I am quite nervous about letting it sit because after a while, henna does tend to become cakey. I don't know how you're supposed to apply it when it's like that but I guess I will find out next time. Even though, I didn't do it this time around, I could still tell that there was some dye release because the henna was looking a little orange brown instead of green.
I didn't add the honey or apple cider with this application like I did with the Rainbow Research Henna.  All that was added was the 3 packs of green tea. I separated my hair in 8 sections and applied the henna from roots to end.  Next time, I'll have to do even smaller sections because I don't feel like the henna was evenly distributed with just 8 sections. 
After application, I tied a grocery bag (shower caps are too small for my thick hair) around my head.  Instead of just leaving it in for 70 minutes, this time I left the henna in overnight.  I covered my pillow with towel just in case but I had no leakage.
The next morning, I spent approximately an hour washing the henna out of my hair. While wet, my hair felt conditioned and easy to comb through.  My gray hairs are more red than orange and you can really see the red tint when it's sunny.  I like the color. I received much better results with this henna.  Also, before I started using henna, I had a dandruff problem and henna has seemed to drastically reduce it so that's a plus.
However, there is one con.  After washing the henna out, I immediately styled my hair in a two-strand twist.  I waited a week and untwisted my hair so that I could wear it in a twist out. I noticed that my hair was pretty dry and my twist out barely lasted a week.  When you henna, I would suggest that you really keep your hair conditioned.  I like the color so I'm going to keep on doing it but I'm going to at least give it a month before I henna the next time.

Twist out after henna



You can see the red better when I'm outside in the sun.

BAQ Jamila Henna Powder 3.5oz (100g) is definitely the henna that I will be using from now on and I'll be sure to let y'all know the results when I become a more experienced henna head.