My hair today May 2nd

Put some Karen's Body Beautiful Butter Love (in Lavender Vanilla, yummy!) throughout and pulled it out a bit with my hands. Then pulled the sides back with side combs and smoothed them with Jane Carter's Nourish & Shine and some Eco Styler gel on the edges. Topped it off with some SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Elixir.

My Flexi-Rod Experience & Results: Take 1

Before washing out the SheaMoisture Souffle yesterday (see my last post), I decided that I wanted to try flexi-rods. So I dressed my son and let him scooter to the beauty supply store with me :) I really want to buy some Curlformers, but I can't drive myself to spend $60 on them with shipping. I saw on YT and read reviews that flexi-rods produced the same/similar results, so I decided to give them a whirl. The prob with buying curlers is you never know how many packs to buy. I decided to go with 4 packs of the short orange ones (5/8" wide) and 1 pack of the short grey ones (11/16" wide) for the front since I didn't plan on doing small sections. The brand is Diane and they were $2.99/pack of 6, so that ran me about $15, not bad.

When I got home, I washed my hair with the SM African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo (had to get that sticky souffle out), then the SM Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo (my absolute favorite!!), then conditioned with the SM Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner. I decided since I was doing a roller set I would use light styling products to let it air-dry faster. So for each section of hair, I spritzed some water, then put some Jane Carter Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner and her Wrap & Roll setting lotion and combed it through end to root with a small tooth comb. I really had no curling method, I was just made sure to smooth the ends of my hair on the rod, then I twirled the curler and bent each side to keep it put. I didn't go in a uniform direction or anything, I just did it. I swear, these chicks on YT make it look so easy! It wasn't hard per se, but it was a little tricky at times, especially since my hair isn't long so by the time I got into a groove, I was at the end, lol! I used the orange ones on the back and sides and the grey ones in the first two rows in the front. I was left with about 3 or 4 orange curlers, so I used about 27. Not bad, better than not having enough. I let it air dry the rest of the afternoon and night. Slept with my bonnet as usual. I have to say, it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. Though I did end up with a headache in the middle of the night that I'm blaming on them :P

This morning I took them out and the results were good. Not exactly the smoothest, especially at the roots, but I think that's because it was my first attempt. I also didn't do it to achieve a smooth look, just some curls. I think I'll try the little papers with them the next time. 

The curls are tight and the only way not to look like a grandmother in my opinion was to do the mohawk look with the sides pinned back. That seems to be my go-to hairstyle since my hair is in that in-between length. This time I used hair pins instead of side combs. I separated each curl in 3 before doing that and used an afro pick to fluff the roots a bit. I sprayed some SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Elixir (LOVE!) throughout, put some Karen's Body Beautiful Hair Growth Serum on my edges and Jane Carter Nourish & Shine on my sides to smooth it a bit. Nothing with water to ruin my hard work! I ended up using Ecostyler Olive Oil Gel on my edges last minute to smooth them down as well. It looks cute...something I don't necessarily strive for, haha. I look like Little Bo Peep or something, lmao! As the week progresses, I'll pull it out more and mess it up a bit to create some volume and oomph.  

Shirley Temple or Little Bo Peep?

Close up, sides pulled back

Bang area needs to be fluffed more

 

Natural Hair Update (1 YEAR!) and My First Flat-Iron Experience- THUMBS UP!

It's been a full year since I cut off my locs and I decided to flat iron my hair for the occasion. Okay, no I'm lying, it was only while I was doing it that I came to that revelation. But what good timing! I must say, it has grown a lot in the year. The initial cut, the front of my hair was longer than the rest, so I kind of had a bang. 

Fresh from the hairdresser after taking out my locs. A coil-out.

Twist-out with a pompadour effect

A wash-n-go

Flat twist-out.

Since maybe last September, I've been gradually evening it out to make my hair all one length.  I would trim pretty much every time I washed it while protective styling.
This is what it looked like in Trinidad in February and in NYC in March:

Hair is taking a more rounded shape. Check out my tan lines! :)

I have wanted to flat iron my hair for a while and started buying certain hair products and even a flat iron since last summer, but then I decided to just leave it and have fun. Then I started protective styling in September, so the idea went on the back-burner. Now that it's Spring and the dew-point is low, I decided to give it a whirl. Plus, 1/2 a year of wigging it was enough.

My hair was already in about five cornrows going back since that was my normal wig wearing mode. So I just undid one by one, dampened my hair with water from a spray bottle, then applied:

- mark Salon Straight Smoothing Balm with Invigorating Orange ($6). This stuff smells so good! It's also a pretty light consistency and not heavy at all. I put enough so that it spread evenly along the section of hair I was working with. It has silicones in it, but I think that's needed when applying heat. Unfortunately when I was going to link it here for you, I realized it's no longer on the website for sale! How disappointing! Here is the line though, mark Salon Straight. Looks like they may be phasing it out, I have to look into that. Great, now I have to find a replacement when this is done now. Maybe I will try Carol's Daughter's heat line, though a little pricey.

- next was Aussie's Heat Protecting Shine Spray ($4). I spritzed it along the hair shaft and combed from end to root.

The last row!

I then blow dried the piece of hair to loosen my curl before flat ironing. I only had it on the medium setting because I didn't want to over-do the heat in my hair since I would be flat ironing after. My blow dryer cannot add a comb attachment unfortunately, so I have to work with an actual wide-tooth comb, then a Goody brush with white plastic teeth, similar to the infamous Denman with the rubber base.

This is the same piece blow dried

Once it was to my liking, I then re-applied both products, but then added some Oyin Burnt Sugar Humectant Pomade ($12, but I have a trial size). I'm only realizing the "humectant" part of the description now as I'm typing this. Perfect! I wanted to use a grease based product because adding something with water would only defeat the purpose of just blow drying it. The humectant properties act as a combat against humidity, which is a plus for natural hair that is flat-ironed. I combed once again, then used my Remington S5500 Anti-Static 1-inch Ceramic Hair Straightener that I bought from Amazon last summer for $18.26 :D It has a very helpful digital display with the temperature which is great because you can clearly see how much heat you're applying. I had the setting to what it was when I turned it on, which is probably the default, 370 degrees. I ran it across the hair shaft about 3 times, slightly bending each time. I remember back in the day those Gold n Hot flat irons, you were pretty much frying your hair with no idea how hot the plates got! And I used to do it without thinking twice on relaxed hair (which is already fried), and now with natural hair, I was so nervous and mindful about heat damage...go figure! 

My straightening trio :D

The end-result was great, not greasy like I was kind of afraid of. I also managed to achieve my desired result without pricey products and tools. I'm always one to try "cheap" before splurging. I actually wasn't expecting my hair to come out so straight! Which I guess was messing with me psychologically because I then wanted to add some body, my hair is naturally thin and it's more noticeable when straight, so I decided to bantu knot it, which is something I do when doing regular twist-outs anyway. It also helps to keep your hair neat and out of the way while sleeping. I had to keep them secure with hair pins this time though since my hair was so straight. I tied on my hair net to keep it in place, then my satin bonnet to keep my hair from rubbing on my pillow case.

All done, before Bantu Knots

Knots

In the morning I undid each knot to find the cutest curl! 

 
A little Shirley Temple and such a change from my big hair of wigs, but it was cute! Then I was like, "It doesn't even look like I straightened it, why did I knot it!?" But I didn't have much time to fuss around with it, so I separated them a little, pinned back one side and was out the door. It held up well all day, the dew point was only about 30. This is the perfect time to try out these kinds of hairstyles, when the dew point is below 50. In the summer, the dew points go up and your hair curls up, which is great if that's what you want :D It's supposed to rain tomorrow, pray for me :|

In the a.m after separating the curls and pinning one side

At the end of the day, it dropped and filled out a little. Plus I played with it during the day.

Tonight I won't do the bantu knots and the rest of the week I'm going to keep fluffing and letting it do its own thing. If it gets limp, I'm going to knot it again, maybe not as tight. I'll try to put up a pic everyday. 

I don't think straightening is something I'll be doing often as I've heard of ladies losing their curl pattern because of straightening too much. Uhh, no thanks! ;)

HAIR: Two New Protective Style Videos Uploaded!

First up, and long overdue, my videos on Beshe Drew lace front wig purchased from Elevate Styles. Had to do that in 3 parts:
Part 1
Part 2
3 weeks later and pics

I blogged about her below, check it out here.

NEW WIG ALERT!!
Second is FreeTress Equal Lynn (lace front) purchased locally at New York Hair & Wig Factory in Brooklyn, NY. She wasn't on my original wishlist, but I saw her online the night before and liked how she looked in person and had to have her. Plus $29.99 was a steal, and he threw in a free wig cap, ha!

Check out the vid on her here.

I referenced Elevate Styles in the links above, but both wigs are available at most online wig retailers.

Beshe Drew Lace Front Wig Review and My Hair Today- Quasi-Pompadour

Yes, my eyebrows are jacked up. I'm growing them out :)

Been rocking my Beshe Drew synthetic lace front since last week. Love her! A lot of natural hair ladies have been rocking her for the last two years, so I'm a bit late, but hey. I got her from Elevate Styles when they had a free shipping promo a couple weeks ago. She was $35. I ordered her a Friday afternoon and got her Monday, so they have fast shipping...LOOOOVE ITTTT!  I got her in a #2 because they didn't have 1b at the time (and yes, I needed her right then!) I was a little worried about that since I've only ever did 1, 1b or a 1b mix with red in my weaves or wigs in the past. I didn't want it to look too "dusty" if you know what I mean. But the color is great! She has two combs to the front near the temple, one in the back and an adjustable strap. She definitely has about three curl patterns in her like other ladies have been saying. More of a wave to the front, afro to the back, and a loose spiral curl at the nape of the neck. Some ladies like that, some don't. I like it because she looks more natural to me that way. My real hair has at least two different curl patterns. Drew is cut in a great style, long on the sides, then angled going up to the back. This is my first lace front and the lace is a bit scratchy, but I have nothing to compare it to.

My Method
I followed Dezi1016's YouTube tutorial on how to cut the lace off without the wig head. I have one, but using the pins and all that made it seem more intense and scary to me. Her method, you just use a paper towel, fold it and put it along the hairline so you can see exactly where you're cutting. Holding it that way also just made it easier for me to cut. I didn't do a straight cut, I sort of zig zagged a bit (BridezillaMartina, mentioned below, recommended that). I rocked Drew just like that for a couple days and I was definitely self-conscious wearing her because I felt it screamed "LACE FRONT!", and was even considering pulling out some of my real hair along the front and sides like I was doing for the 1/2 wigs. But I figured that was defeating the purpose of a lace front. I was getting frantic! So I stopped being lazy and followed BridezillaMartina's YouTube tutorials (which I marked as favs well before buying the wig) on how to make the hairline realistic. Here's Part 1 and Part 2, take a look, she's fab.  I have a full protective style this way. THUMBS UP! Her tutorials involve tweezing the hairline and cutting/shearing in baby hairs. This wig claims to have a natural hairline, whatever that means, but it still needed some tweaking. I used a product recommended by muffinismylovers years ago to smooth down your edges and baby hairs and it works wonders for me. I use it to lay down my own edges, then the baby hair on the wig. It's called, ummm, I forgot, but when I remember I'll put that up. Before I did BridezillaMartina's method, the front of the wig would recede a bit and show my natural hair, which irked me, so I considered buying Wig It's Gripper, which isn't a glue, but just as sticky, so I was a little skeptical about that and figured I'd only use it as a last resort. Thank goodness I didn't have to get to that. I stopped wearing the combs to the front because I felt that pulled the wig forward, which is not cool, so I started putting two bobby pins at the sides instead for security. I bought a beige wig cap at first, that was too light, then I bought a dark brown which was better. Weird since I figured the beige would work more since the skin when we part is always lighter than our face. The dark brown is darker than me. Oh well, doesn't matter because yesterday I stopped wearing a wig cap underneath altogether. I know that protects the wig and your hair, but they were giving me headaches because they're so tight! I mean I have a small head, what do ladies with bigger heads do?? Today I forgot to put the bobby pins on the sides so I had a mild panic attack about that when I realized...then another one when I realized I didn't have my backup bobby pins in my handbag. But it's going good so far. If you see me in the street today with my wig hanging off my head, let me know please ;)

Btw, our pc died at home, so I haven't been able to upload the vids I did on her last week :( Hopefully we get it fixed soon! In the meantime, here are some more pics of today's style:

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT&T

I bought 2 more wigs from my list!

Okay, I'm going to stop with the curly for now and start with maybe longer wavy ones. I think 4 is enough for now. Actually no, I tried on Nia Girl and my cousin almost fainted when I put it on she liked it so much, so I'm thinking about her.

**Update, I bought the infamous Beshe Drew wig since writing this post**

Okay, so Amerie is short, tight curls, 1b/33, La Efrah is fro'ish and 1b, and:


FreeTress Monroe Girl Full Cap (refer to my first wig post)
Bought her in 1b at my local beauty supply store about two weeks ago, Sam's, for $21.99. She comes with two combs, one in the front, one in the back and an adjustable strap.
She doesn't have a cap and seems kind of sparse, but that could be because she's on the white styrofoam wig head and it shows up more. She definitely cannot blend with my natural hair because it's a thinner hair fiber and looser curl, so I'll be rocking her as a full-cap. I bought some wig control spray last Tuesday to give her a little more control. I may trim the bangs, we'll see.


Vanessa La Apple Express Weave (aka 1/2 wig)
I had read when I was compiling my list that this was a fav of natural hair ladies, so I've been on the look-out since she wasn't available at the place where I got both Amerie and La Efrah. When doing a search on her I saw that my girl LolaKinkz did a YT review on her about a year ago and it looked great. I found her while checking out hair places on Flatbush with my cousin two Saturdays ago. I didn't plan on buying a wig, but she was right there and they only had one 1b...I took it as a sign. Got her at Wig Club for $24. No other place I checked on Flatbush, about 3 others, carried Vanessa brand wigs, they all had FreeTress like it was going out of style though, geez. Wig Club will be my new place to buy Vanessa wigs if my original place doesn't have a unit I want.

I did a YT video on La Apple, check it out here

My hair Wed. Oct. 5 2011

Loving this hair!! It's BIIIG and exactly how I want my own hair to be. This hair is super light (as in not heavy) and it was a windy day at times here in NYC yesterday and I often felt like my hair was becoming a hot mess, but every time I checked in the mirror with one eye open, it was all good. Blending of my hair in this style is a little harder since the wig hair is going forward on top of it. For some reason I feel it's easier to blend backwards than forwards. Certain parts of the wig are super shiny and defined and others are less shiny and more 'fro, that's the part that blends the best with my hair. Also, I pulled out my own hair too much and it lost the twist-out form. I may try wetting my own hair tomorrow and putting some gel to see how that works, my hair always looks more shiny in wash-n-go form. The only thing I fear with that and trying to blend is the shrinkage. We'll see.


I did a quick YouTube video on yesterday's style, take a look here

Let's talk SheaMoisture

I took advantage of the Walgreens BOGO 1/2 off SheaMoisture sale a couple weeks ago and got my order last Tuesday. So this past Saturday, I had a date with SM products. I've owned a few of their products since April when I cut my locs, but never really did an actual review. Many other bloggers have been speaking about their products since last year, so I'm late, but here's my take.

I own and love their Raw Shea Moisture Retention shampoo, it leaves my hair feeling so soft. But I decided to use their African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo this time because my scalp felt itchy...and plus I had just bought it from Target last week with the $1 off coupon :D This line smells so good, the plantain in it gives it a banana scent. It definitely left my hair squeaky feeling, so much so that I actually was afraid it would get tangled! I'm not complaining though seeing as this is what clarifying and deep cleaning shampoos are supposed to do.

I took out the excess water from my hair and applied their Raw Shea Deep Treatment Masque (new purchase) and sat under my hair steamer for about 30 mins. A lot of naturals rave about this masque, and rightly so, it feels great in the hair. Good slip and I was able to detangle well with it. This particular line has a very strong scent because of the frankincense & myrrh so it should not be compared with their Coconut & Hibiscus line...or any of the others actually. When I rinsed, I then applied their Raw Shea Restorative Conditioner (new purchase) and rinsed out. This also felt nice on the hair and I was able to detangle with no problems. My hair was soft and manageable after. Sidenote: I love the pump on their conditioners. Makes it so much easier.

I then used the ABS Dandruff & Dry Scalp Elixir on my, you guessed it, scalp. I've had this for a while now and like it. It instantly relieves itchiness for me.
As a leave-in, I used their Yucca & Aloe Thickening Growth Milk and worked it into my hair. I LOVE the smell of this!! I'm still trying to figure out if it makes my hair thicker though, all I know is my hair feels nice and smooth once applied.

As a styler I used their Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie and also worked it in by finger combing. Then I put their Hold & Shine mist in and finished with their Raw Shea Reconstructive Elixir. This Elixir is a new purchase for me after only using my cousin's once the week before. It's great!! It gives my hair the best shine and sometimes I want shine from a spray bottle rather than a squeeze bottle, especially for wash-n-go's where I don't necessarily want to mess up my curls ;) 

I let my hair air dry instead of diffusing it since I wasn't in a rush and the outcome was shiny, healthy looking hair. Thumbs up!

I must say, I was a little afraid that I would have too many fragrances in my hair since each of their lines have such strong, distinct scents. But they worked well together and even now it still smells great.

Here is whether I plan on repurchasing or not:

Raw Shea Butter Line
Moisture Retention shampoo- LOVE, repurchase.
Restorative Conditioner (new)- Not sure yet if it needs to be a repurchase since a lot of cheap drugstore conditioners also produce the same soft hair.
Deep Treatment Masque (new)- Repurchase.
Reconstructive Elixir (new)- LOVE, repurchase.

I have the complete line.

Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Line
Curl & Shine Shampoo- I have a trial size, it's good, but doesn't need to be a repurchase.
Curl Enhancing Smoothie- Repurchase, good for twist-outs and wng's.
Hold & Shine Mist- I like, but I'm thinking it's more because I love the smell and not because it's doing anything extraordinary. It's a good curl reviver, but so are a lot of other products.

I don't have the Curl & Style Milk, but will get it sometime. I keep meaning to. The Souffle is still not available in New York City, but when it is, I plan to get it.

African Black Soap Line
Deep Cleansing Shampoo (new)- I'm not sure if I need to repurchase this since I can get lower costing "clarifying" shampoos that leave my hair feeling the same squeaky way.
Purification Masque (new)- Got it yesterday so I haven't tried it yet. But I have heard it's great for co-washing.
Dandruff and Dry Scalp Elixir- I'll keep buying this one.

I don't have the conditioner, not sure if I need to try it.

Yucca & Baobab Line
Volumizing Conditioner- Doesn't have to be a repurchase.
Thickening Growth Milk- Not sure if this will be a repurchase, the bottle is kind of small and I'm not sure it's any better than other hair milks. It does have biotin though...let's just say I'm on the fence about it being a repurchase or not.
Anti-Breakage Masque- Good, but doesn't have to be a repurchase.

Don't have the shampoo, not in a big rush to get it.

The summary: Because they don't really have instructions/directions on their labels, some people are left confused, but I think it's because they're basically saying, "Use it how you want!" A little direction can't hurt though, I mean the most basic of products have instructions on how to use it.  I also think the bottles of their milks in the line should be the same size as the shampoos and conditioners especially since they are the same price (for less). Other than the "likes" I've spoken about above and below, I also like that their products are rich and thick and not watered down like some products can be.  
All in all, SheaMoisture is a good quality, natural hair line that is not costly and is readily available at Target, Walgreens and Duane Reade. Something I value because I hate paying for shipping :D When I'm done using up all the other products I've bought and been experimenting with since April, SM will definitely be a staple for me. I've mentioned it before, I don't need to spend $20-$30 on a deep treatment if I don't have to ;)

I Got My Curly Girl Collective Twitter Prize!

Got it last week

I wrote about this event back in May here.

In the prize pack:

Mixed Chicks, all full sizes,
gentle clarifying SHAMPOO (10oz / 300ml)
"MIXED CHICKS shampoo gets straight, wavy and curly hair squeaky clean.
KEY INGREDIENTS: borage seed, avocado oil, & panthenol for healing and luster"

detangling DEEP conditioner (8 oz / 236ml) 
"Nourish, detangle, and restore curly, tightly curled or straight hair with MIXED CHICKS exclusive conditioning blend which penetrates and reconstructs damaged areas, transforming style-stubborn-locks into resilient, easy to maintain tresses.
KEY INGREDIENT: safflower seed oil"

LEAVE-IN conditioner (10oz / 300ml)
"USE THIS TO: TAME FRIZZ and DEFINE CURLS on many hair textures & weaves (synthetic or human)."

gloss and shining HAIR SILK
"USE THIS TO:
add a POLISHED texture
help color treated hair look vibrant
works for curls or straight looks"

Pura Body Naturals
Sapote Hair Lotion Sample in Tahitian Vanilla, 2oz
"Make dry brittle hair a thing of the past.  Sapote Hair Lotion is an excellent leave-in conditioner that promotes moisture retention and softness for dry lifeless hair."

Cupuacu Hair Butter Sample, 1oz
"A rich creamy blend of natural butters and oils to combat dry, brittle hair.  Cupuacu is well known for its high fatty acid content which benefits dry, damaged hair while protecting moisture and leaving hair soft and silky."

Ododo Originals Beaded Hair Flower
It looks like I have the Golden Belle one, which can be purchased at their Etsy Store. It is absolutely GORGEOUS!
"Golden Belle - Beaded Floral Hair Clip or Brooch
A shimmery muted gold that can go from night to day. The faceted surface of the beads give the illusion a sparkling colored stones.
Constructed with gold wire and held in place by a duckbill hair clip."

What a great prize pack, I can't wait to use my products and wear my clip! Thank-you Curly Girl Collective!!

SheaMoisture gel on the way @ Target this Sunday Aug. 28th!

I am such a gel freak since the wash-n-go style seems to be my style of choice with my length of hair. It's quick and it's easy. That being said, I'm still on the lookout for a cheaper Kinky Curly Curling Custard (KCCC) alternative. I love how it defines each coil and I get multiple day hair with it. I like Queen Helene's Curl Shaping Creme and it's the closest I've found so far (see my past review). Imagine my excitement when I found out that SheaMoisture will be debuting their Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Gel Soufflé with Agave Nectar & Flax Seed Oil this Sunday at Target. I like SM products because they're natural, smell great, work for my hair and they're readily available at Target, Duane Reade and Walgreens for only $9.99 each. Let's look at the two main ingredients, Agave Nectar is also in the QH creme and helps with moisture and curl defining, and Flax Seed Oil (aka Linseed Oil) is helpful not only for heart disease and high cholesterol, but for the hair as well as it penetrates the shaft inside and out and promotes healthy hair growth (YAY!) The Omega-3 fatty acids is the "super-ingredient" in this oil and a lot of other products or vitamins you may have come across. You can't go wrong.

Here's a sneak peek from the SM FB page:

I don't want to sound like an obsessive hair product psycho, but it does look like KCCC :$

They say that it's "A curl gel like no other out there -- it defines curls with agave nectar, sugar cane extract and pectin, not plasticized chemicals such as PVC and polymers that can buildup up in hair, as well as cause dryness and damage! And, it's all-natural!"

Queen Helene's Royal Curl, Curl Shaping Creme- The First Try

So I've been hearing about this product since May on naturallycurly.com (my daily haunt!) and how great it is and even better than KCCC for a wng, etc. It took a while for it to get to my Whole Foods compared to people in the midwest and other states, so I basically forgot about it after checking a couple times. Then one day earlier this month I popped in WF and it was there. I got as far as the line with it and decided to stop my pj'ism. I was so proud of myself :D Even though I was looking for a KCCC replacement since it's not exactly kind to the pockets being $17 for 8oz., I held off because I still had 1/2 jar left and other stylers/gels I wanted to play around and compare it with first. I've tried Eco Styler gel, Herbal Essences, Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream, Curl Junkie, etc. After trying many styler/li combo's, they all gave me the same results as each other, more of an afro-curl when dry, more poufy, which I like, but nothing gave me the curl definition that the custard does, which is a defined corkscrew, a look I sometimes also want. So I finally caved yesterday and bought QH's creme at Whole Foods for $7.95 (15oz) because my custard jar is getting down there! Of course I couldn't wait to try it out so yesterday evening I did a wng using:


Shampoo- Garnier Fructis Pure Clean (has sulfates, but I've been using 'cones, so I wanted to get rid of them)
Then I used some of the plant poo mixed with Giovanni 50:50 Shampoo for extra clean :D
Condish- Garnier Fructis Color Shield
LI- KCKT, then combed through to get rid of any knots
Then applied the cream in sections on soaking wet hair, shingling it (pulling it through with my fingers and shaping the curl), spritzing with water first
Sealed with KBB's hair oil

Here's the blurb from their website:

"In a hive, there’s only one queen whose diet is only Royal Jelly, a nutrient packed super-food with 17 amino acids, vitamins A, C, D, K and multiple B-vitamins. We use the Queen Bee’s Royal Jelly in Curl Shaping Créme to naturally tame frizz, define curls and smooth waves with silky hold. Pure Aloe Vera Gel and Agave Nectar quench your hair’s thirst without the grease, while powerful Green Tea antioxidants and intense moisturizers defend against damaging heat and humidity. 

All natural: No harsh, or drying chemicals like alcohol, sulfates, petrolatum, parabens or phthalates." 


Applying it was smooth as it really is like a jelly, and it's very light. Once fully applied, there wasn't a lot of white product on my hair like I usually get when I do KCKT and KCCC, which is great because I can't leave the house with my hair that way. With the creme, you can totally leave the house with your hair wet and not get any stares. I still diffused a bit to help it dry faster, not fully, and it really looked great! With KC, I get a tight coil that springs right up, which I love and absolutely no frizz. With QH, it was a looser curl, almost a wave. So it did lengthen my curl as they claim on the jar. Not much frizz. 

When my hair was dry, there was shrinkage, but it was shiny and I didn't have to wipe my nape and hairline off to remove any sticky residue (like with the custard). It was a little crunchy, but no more than when I use any other gel. 

I love that it's all natural and doesn't have any harsh chemicals in it. The smell is nice and fresh like any regular mainstream hair product. The custard smells like marshmallow, which I ADORE! The true test will be seeing how many days I get out of this one wng. With KC, it can literally last about 5 days with me just steaming it in the shower and spritzing with water before I leave, no re-applying of any product. QH claims this will combat humidity and heat, which I find interesting since glycerin is the second ingredient...but we'll see since NYC has been all of the above! :/


I slept with my sleep cap last night as usual and when I woke up this morning, yes it looked jacked up, but with the KCCC, all I have to do is my steam/spritz routine and tousle a little and it's all good. We'll see.

UPDATE:
It didn't give me as many days at KCCC, but that doesn't really matter since it's cheaper and in a bigger jar, so I can afford to re-do it ;)

Kinky Curly Hair Products

So I revisited Kinky Curly over the weekend because I knew I was going out to a day party (outside) on Sunday and needed a hairstyle that wouldn't look like a mop with the humidity and whatnot. The first and last time I used KC Curling Custard (KCCC) was when I first cut off my locs. Loved it then, but never used it since I got my haircut because I was so busy experimenting with a bunch of other products. Man, this stuff is the best, my hair looked so nice. It really is the only product that gives such well defined curls and great shine. It also works on very coarse hair. And it's all natural. The only "prob" is it's not the cheapest at $17.99 a jar (small 8oz one). The good thing is it's available at Target, so it's easily accessible, and for a dollar cheaper.  The next time I'm probably going to invest in the big 16oz jar @ $30 (not at Target, but Ricky's NYC has it). I know, but it doesn't contain glycerin therefore it's great for the summer for wash-n-go's (wng's) when the dewpoint could get a bit nuts. All the other gels I own have glycerin pretty high up in the ingredients list. Another great glycerin-free gel apparently, I've never tried it, is Curl Junkie's Curl Queen.

My Weekend Hair Regimen:
KC Come Clean shampoo, really leaves hair feeling clean
Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle deep conditioner (has a 'cone, but I love it)
KC Knot Today detangler/leave-in, great detangler, I even use it on my son
KC Curling Custard (smells like marshmallows btw), it feels sticky when applying, but dries great if you don't overdo it.

Both the leave-in (LI) and Curling Custard were on Essence Mag's Beauty Best Sellers List for 2008.

It's been said that KC does not "play well" with other products, meaning it could leave the hair white, etc. So I just use the whole line together. You can also get a few days with this regimen without having to wash and re-do everyday. The first couple days I just fixed my hair with my fingers and I did it Saturday night. Yesterday and today were the only days I had to spray a bit of water and put in KC Spiral Spritz. It's pretty fuzzy now and I'll probably re-wash tonight. I notice their Gloss Pomade is apparently good for 2nd day hair, maybe I'll try it one day. **update, the custard works well with Oyin's Hair Dew under it**

Shop Kinky Curly

Here is my hair the next day at the party, sorry it's not a close-up (or cropped!), I have to start taking those to put on my blog :D

Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Shampoo & Repairing Hair Mask- First Impression

Heyyyy, so I got samples of the above at the natural hair meet-up last Friday and used them both Saturday morning. When I first saw that the line was coming out, I was interested because anything "repairing", I want a part of, my hair is a bit damaged because I picked out my locs and didn't do a "big chop" at the new growth. I plan on trimming the damage as I go along. I absolutely love the smell of this line ever since I first smelled it when it debuted on May 9th (ummm, I just happened to be on my way to Target when I passed by the Carol's Daughter store, I swear). Anywho, the shampoo went on nicely (it's sulfate-free by the way) and made my hair soft where I was actually able to detangle with it. I put the mask on and a plastic cap for about 1/2 hour and when I washed it out, my hair didn't feel soft, it had that squeaky feel to it where you feel like if you pass a comb through it, it will break off...so I put some Oyin Handmade's Honey Hemp Conditioner in and washed it out and it was all good.  The sweet Monoi smell was gone though. Not sure if I'm a fan of that Honey Hemp orange peel smell, but let's leave that for another post, lol. I'm wondering if I used the mask too sparingly seeing as it was a trial size and maybe that's why my hair didn't feel moisturized? Not sure, but I'm going to use it up and give my final verdict when I do ;) I wish I got a sample of the conditioner, I love conditioners :)

The 8.5oz Repairing Shampoo is $18, $16.20 if you're a Carol's Daughter member, which I am because the membership was $5 at the time :D (10% discount).
The 8.5 oz Repairing Conditioner is $20, $18 for members
and
the 7 oz Repairing Hair Mask is $29, $26.10 for members

My hairstyle:
After I applied the Honey Hemp condish, I passed some Karen's Body Beautiful Heavenly Jojoba Hair Oil throughout my hair. Then I used some Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie (great natural-ingredient line and everything is $9.99 at Target) and Eco Styler Blue gel (Stockngo is the BOMB btw!) and did a two-strand flat twist on my wet hair and took it out the next day to go to another natural hair meet-up that I will post about later. My hair looked great I must say. I'm really digging the flat twist method more than the individual ones. There are less gaps and it looks more cohesive, which is ideal for my hair length right now. Chunky twist-outs look better when your hair is longer in my opinion.

How to do a two-strand flat twist-out you ask? I can't remember, but I think I got the idea from PrettyDimples01 on YouTube, I love her vids, check it out. I am entertaining the thought of starting my own vids, but I'm not sure, I feel like there are enough natural hair chica's doing hair videos, lol.