Product Review: Curls (for Target) Creamy Curl Cleanser

Impulsive me.  Took the crochet braids out last nite because I really missed my hair.  And now... I'm ready to put them back in, lol.  My main reason for doing it was because the humidity was driving me crazy but now the weather's starting to change since fall is right around the corner (gasp!)  I loved how big my hair was and I know this style wouldn't work in the winter because I need something that can fit under a hat.  This is probably my last opportunity to do it again until next spring. :(  So even though my hair is out now by the end of the week it may be braided again.

But while removing the crochet braids I managed to try out a new product. Yay! I think that's why I was so antsy to take them out.  I have a bunch of new products to try but just couldn't.  They were just there... in my drawer, taunting me.

Now as you may know I decided to follow a no-poo regimen when I became natural.  That means I do not shampoo my hair, strictly conditioner washes (co-washes.)  Shampoo can be very drying to hair particularly because of the sulfates in it.  Sulfates are the ingredients that cause that lovely lather that you get as while washing your hair.  Lather is always what made me think I was getting the job done and my hair was really clean.  Although I only co-wash my hair hadn't been washed in 3 weeks and I did continue to moisturize so I could only imagine the buildup. Eww. No way I didn't think conditioner would be enough to rid 3 weeks worth of crap.  Aside from a really great deep conditioning I needed to make sure that I cleaned my hair and scalp.  So off to Target I went.  I actually went there for a completely different reason but you know how that goes.  I couldn't find my fave brand's shampoo (Shea Moisture) but they did have Miss Jessie's and Curls for Target.  Cool. Which one to choose? Miss Jessie's tends to have high prices while the Curls is more in my price range.  So I went with Curls which was only $10.  I later discovered that the Miss Jessie's is only $14 so maybe next time.

This is Curls Creamy Curl Cleanser.  Free of parabens and sulfates, which should mean no dry brittle hair for me.  Now it smells awesome.  Kinda like cake.  A lot of my products smell like cake some to think of it.  Not a complaint just an observation.

I didn't pre-poo this time, just went straight to sectioning my hair, and shampooing.  I really did expect the worst.  Maybe some tears shed, tons of hair loss.  Nope, not this time.  Although there was no real lather, I could see that was hair was cleaned properly.  Especially as I rinsed it out (again eww but my hair was dirty) No more itching.  No dry scalp or flakes.  The one thing that made me feel like this was something I want to use more often was the fact that I could get my fingers through my hair without a problem.  Had I decided to try that with any of my old shampoos, a good chunk of my hair would come out in my hand.

Whether natural or relaxed, kinky or curly, I think this is an awesome shampoo.  Clean hair without it feeling stripped.  I'm thinking I'm going to start shampooing once a month because I really liked the way my hair felt yesterday.

My Verdict: 4/5 (it gets a 4 because this is my first foray into sulfate-free shampoos so as I explore them I may find that 5 star product and I don't wanna be so quick to consider this the BEST)

Camera Shy

Decided to have a little fun with my camera today, it's been a while.  Plus you can see how the hair's holding up.

 

 

 

It was a wet, dreary day out here in New York but I'm not ready to part with my summer clothes just yet so I threw on my favorite summer dress with a denim shirt, some tights, & military boots.  I really like the look of this feminine ruffle, floral dress with rugged boots.

The hair's still pretty good to me, I should be able to push it til after Labor Day without looking a hot mess.

Let me know if you disagree or think I'm good to go.

Crochet Braid update

I haven't posted anything in a little while but with these crochet braids in, there's nothing to really write about.  No product to review, no hairstyles to try out.  Plus I've been a little blehhh lately so there's a definite lack of motivation.  Tomorrow makes 2 weeks since I've had this protective style and I have only one complaint.  I miss my hair.  I can't see it and for some reason I really miss it.  However the pros to this style: I wake up, shake and go.  There's easy access to my hair so I can oil my scalp,  moisturize and seal my ends which are tucked under the hair.  As long as I take care of the hair and make sure to put it up in a scarf each night I should be fine for another two weeks.  Well maybe.  The kinky hair that I used is starting to straigten and I cannot understand why.  I liked using it because the look of different textures made it look better in my opinion but now that this hair is not cooperating it's starting to look a little off.  I've got a friend's birthday celelbration so I'll make sure to take pics and you can be the guys of how bad or good it looks.

Til then...

Crochet Braid Photo Gallery

Here's a photo gallery of everything I used to do my crochet braids.

Cornrow your hair

I did mine straight back but you can braid in whatever pattern you want.  Next time I'll probably go at an angle so I can have a side part

Back view

Halfway thru

"Aerial" view

As I got to the top I started hooking the hair in closer together.  As I learned from the tutorial the hair in the back will get covered so they don't need to be very close together

Side view

All Done!

and proud of myself :)

I used 2 different types of hair because I liked the look that it gave, some looser curls and other tighter coils.  Because many of us naturals know that we have a few different textures to our hair

The 1st kind of hair I used

This is how the hair comes I separated each piece into 2 (sometimes 3)

This was the 2nd type of hair that I used.  Much closer to my actual hair type

Latch Hook

And this is key for doing crochet braids.  Slide it through your braid, attach the hair and pull it through then double knot and you're done

I Did It... And I Love Them

Just wanted to show the crochet braids I did on Thursday.  Gotta admit, I'm feeling myself a lil bit, lol.  Lately I'm all about big hair but this is a lot!  It's a little intimidating and I don't quite know how to tame it for an interview I have this week but there's time to work on that.  I dunno about this look during the colder months something about it screams "summer hair."  Hopefully it will last me until Labor Day weekend if not that's okay.  It only cost about $20 and a couple hours to do so I can't complain.

All Done! The end result!!

A night out in the city with my buddy Pop!

Herbal Essences Conditioning Chart

Here's a chart I found on the Herbal Essences website that puts its products in order of most conditioning to least.

Now personally I find HETT more moisturizing than HEHH was but that's my opinion.

Product Review: Herbal Essences Totally Twisted (HETT)

It's wash day!! And of course I have another conditioner to try.

Now I was definitely on the fence because I know that HE Hello Hydration didn't impress me at all until I added honey and oil to it.  You can check out that review here.  Let's start with the smell.  It was a little too much for me as soon as I opened the bottle but it wasn't something that lingered after I washed my hair so I was okay with it.  As for washing, seriously! This ish right here...!  My fingers and comb slid right through.  I'm pretty sure my detangling time was reduced because of the slip, which equals cool points in my book.  I rinsed my hair out and it felt unbelievably soft.  I was convinced that I still had conditioner in my hair but nope.  I hopped out the shower and smiled because that was probably the most enjoyable washing experience I've had.  There was no harsh tugging and pulling, no dry hair after it was rinsed out and I managed to be in and out of the shower in less than 45 mins.

The biggest turn-off to being natural is how time consuming it can be, but my opinion may be changing.  If you use the right method best for your hair then it'll take barely anytime at all.  Now I may be singing a different tune when my hair grows out but I'll deal with that when it comes.

It's great that I don't have to add anything to improve it because it works so well on its own.  Now if only I could find a bigger bottle because I'm gonna go through a lot of it now that it's my new top cowash conditioner.

My verdict: 5/5

I'm probably gonna boost the Suave Almond and Shea Butter conditioner I tried the other day by adding honey and olive oil and use that as a deep conditioner since I don't wanna use the Miss Jessie's all the time and the SM Masque as a DC was a flop.

Hair Rant!

Sunday was supposed to have been crochet braid day. I was super excited and ready to get started EXCEPT I couldn't find the hair I wanted to use anywhere.  For some reason all the BSS that I go to only have straight bulk hair which is NOT what I'm looking for.  I'm gonna hit up a few more today and if I can't find it, I guess my only choice is to order it online.  Ugh stupid shipping fees.  Hopefully I'll be able to get it done sometime this week because I'm going to Charlotte to see my favorite <3 next week and didn't wanna be bothered with my hair.

Stay tuned, the crochet braids will be coming... I just don't know when :\

Sunday Randomness

I went to a John Legend out at a park in Coney Island and I just really liked my hair for some reason so I'm sharing :)

Also I finally finished my SM Moisture Mist but when I went to Target to buy another they were sold out :( So I picked up some Curls Lavish Curls Moisturizer.  We'll see how it goes but it has some stiff competiton in the Moisture Mist.

Use Protection

Not only when it comes to your sexual heath but with your hair as well.  As you may have read I'm about to go into protective style mode.

Protective styles can be a variety of things.  Keeping your hair in twists or braids (with or without extensions); wigs, weaves or caps, even something as simple as pulling your hair back into a bun.  It keeps your hair, particularly your ends, away from the harsh weather and even fabrics that it can come into contact with.  I'm a huge scarf lover and I know my ends constantly rubbing against them will lead to nothing but dryness and split ends.

Now sometimes a protective style can be more harmful then helpful.  Don't forget to moisturize as well as you can and make sure if your hair's braided, it's not too tight.  Now if you have a cap sewn onto your head it's a little harder to access your scalp.  Trust me, I know.  It was the longest, most miserable 3 weeks but I loved the style.

If you have limited access to your scalp, I wouldn't leave the style in for more than 3-5 weeks but that's just me.  Some styles give you the chance to clean your scalp like twists; in that case you can use a braid spray (which never worked for me,) cotton ball soaked in witch hazel or an applicator bottle filled with diluted shampoo.

I'm a little tired of the heat and humidity and what it's doing to my poor Fro so I'm trying my hand at crochet braids.  I found a pretty simple tutorial from VirtuousLadyAmber.

I could've done kinky twists again but I wanted something new.  I'm sure they'll be back though since I plan to protective style 3, maybe 4 times a year.

Wish me luck, I'll make sure I put some pics up when I get it done.

Weekend Plans

It's the weekend!!! And it's also time for me to do my hair.  Just recently I found an Indian store in my area and bought some henna because I am determined to get rid of my gray hairs.  Plus it's supposed to be a pretty good strengthening treatment so it can't hurt to try.  My biggest problem is that I heard it's can be very drying so I'm gonna be in need of a really good DC afterwards.  So late, last night after an amazing John Legend concert out in Brooklyn I decided to whip up a henna gloss instead of a straight treatment and have it ready for today.

What's a henna gloss and henna treatment, you ask?

Henna gloss is a mix of henna and conditioner which is supposedly not as drying as a regular henna treatment.  A henna treatment from what I've seen usually contains come sort of acidic base like lemon juice or green tea (which is usually the culprit for the dryness)  There are so many variations for henna mixtures; some people use coconut milk, orange juice, chamomile tea, or simply water.  The color deposit is supposed to be stronger with henna treatment but I've seen videos where a henna gloss has yielded some pretty good color.  I don't expect my hair color to change because my nautral hair color is pretty dark.

I decided to follow the Moptop Maven's YouTube video with some slight variation in conditioner and oil. I mixed a box of Jamila henna (100g), hot water, approx a tablespoon of honey and as much conditioner (Trader Joe's Nourish) as needed til it was mixed into a yogurt consistency.  I've read that henna doesn't react well with metal so I used a plastic bowl and plastic spoon to combine everything.  When you start the mixture is a green color with a smell that reminds me of dried out ,cut grass.  I then covered the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside so the dye could release.  This morning I checked on the mix and it went from green to brown. Dye released, yes!  Now that the dye has released I'm gonna add some grapeseed oil to the mix.

Now the plan was to try it out this weekend but I'm going into protective style mode (my next post will be all about that) on Sunday. My grays will be hidden for at least 3 weeks.

I'll just wash this weekend with a new conditioner and work on a review instead.  This means my henna mix is going into the freezer and I will try again another time. Oh well.

Let's Talk: Argan Oil

Argan Oil seems to be the new "it" hair product.  Companies have gone from using olive oil in their products to shea butter and now some are making the shift to argan oil.  But what is it?  Argan oil comes from the argan tree which is native to Morocco.  Aside from cooking, it can be used for skin and hair.  When used for hair, it claims to increase shine, reduce frizz and yield soft, smooth hair.  It seems to be the new "miracle" oil  that can add moisture and body to dry, damaged, lifeless hair.

The most popular product containing argan oil is Moroccanoil which is pretty pricey; I haven't seen it sold for anything less than $30 a bottle.

I did, however, manage to find a cheaper oil treatment that claims to works as well as Moroccanoil at Sally's for only $10. Josie Maran also has an entire line made with argan oil, from hair serums to lip gloss.

Creme of Nature has introduced a new product line that includes the popular oil.

Now I haven't tried any of them myself but of course it's on my list.  It probably won't be the Morrocanoil unless they have a smaller more affordable bottle.  I may go for the Josie Maran brand because I found a bottle more in my price range

Have you tried argan oil and if so, what do you think about it?

 

**UPDATE**  I won a Creme of Nature Shine Pack through a twitter contest so here's my opportunity to review their new line and give my two cents!!  Also I just realized my Shea Moisture DT Masque has argan oil in addition to shea butter and while I do love it as a leave-in I won't go so far as to say that I love argan oil because I haven't tried it on it's own yet.

Missed My Target

Shoes & Boots by Dolce Vita

 

From a tip I got by reading nitro:licious, I learned that Dolce Vita was releasing a "for Target" line.  So of course I ran over to my local Target to see what I could find, only to find NOTHING.*  It's not really that I wanted to buy of them but I wanted to know what the quality was like.  Especially those studded oxfords that I have my eye on. Usually I know about all the designer release dates way ahead of time. If I wanna try and get something my chances are pretty good but Dolce Vita snuck its way onto the shelves and into someone's shopping bag without me knowing. Of course I had to walk out of the store with something so I wouldn't feel like the trip was a waste (BAD HABIT) so I picked up a storage bin, a pillow and wait for it... more conditioners.  This time I'm trying out HE Totally Twisted since it was on sale and Suave Rosemary Mint conditioner.  I'm on a quest to find quality cheapie conditioners that can be found at just about any drugstore.  I'm sure once I finish ransacking those aisles I'll move on to the beauty supply stores, online world and eventually the pricey stuff.

* Just read on Refinery29 that stores are supposed to be releasing Dolce Vita for Target on August 22.  So maybe the shelves will be restocked once that date approaches.

Product Review: Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque (Part 2)

So a little while back I tried out Shea Moisture's deep treatment masque as a deep conditioner and well let's just say I wasn't sold.  Aside from the smell it didn't do too much for me.  The label claims that aside from a DC it can be used as a leave-in "as a frizz-free moisturizing styling cream."  Since it didn't impress me as the deep conditioner I intended it to be and there's no way I was just gonna toss or trade it unless I was absolutely sure it didn't work, I decided to try it as a leave-in yesterday.  BINGO! That's better. I kinda had such faith in Shea Moisture that I couldn't believe that one of their products wasn't for me.  You would think they're paying me but honestly I like it that much.  My hair feels well moisturized without feeling greasy.  Usually I'll twist my hair with SM Coconut-Hibiscus Smoothie and shealoe but this time, no need for the shealoe.  If I can use less products and reduce build-up, I'm with it.  As I write this my hair's twisted with just this Masque a little ORS Lock and Twist Gel (which I have a AGrlCanMac and Mahogany Knots to thank because so far, great hold, no flakes) and sealed with JBCO.

It feels great right now but we'll see how it turns out and hopefully get some pics in because I've been slacking in that department.