Twisted Fro/Night Hair

Last Thursday I twisted my hair using a mixture of water and TRESemme Naturals conditioner.  I had my hair twisted from Thursday until Sunday and during that time it got pretty frizzy.  So instead of trying to preserve the definition of the twists, I just picked it out...

My previous night routine involved too much handling with a comb, so I decided my next go at a night routine would be done while my hair was stretched.  So Sunday night (last night) I did some sloppy two strand flat twists after applying castor oil and my homemade shea butter.  No comb involved.  This morning my hair was a little wild so I just threw it in a puff.

Product Review: Proclaim Argan Oil Intense Hydrating Mask

Besides the butterfly clips and disappointing Beautiful Textures Styling Custard I purchased from Sally Beauty, I also got this Proclaim Argan Oil Intense Hydrating Masque sample.  It was a little less than $2, and this 1oz sample contained more product than I expected.  I probably should have done this review the same day I did it so that I could do a more accurate review, but I'll tell you what I recall about it.

First of all, it was very thick.  I had to squeeze hard to get it all out of the package.  I like thick products so that was a plus for me.  The smell was almost neutral.  It definitely has a smell, its not bad or overpowering, but it wasn't a smell that I could fall in love with.  I put it on my hair and it provided little to no slip, which was fine for me because I had no intentions of detangling with it.  After applying it, I sat under the dryer with a plastic baggy for 15 minutes.  My results were neutral.  My hair wasn't softer or more moisturized than normal. The masque didn't harm my hair in anyway, but it also didn't do anything especially beneficial.

This was a DC on my list to consider, but after using it, I think it's safe to say that this won't be my choice.  I'm sure it takes more than one usage to know if the product is effective or not, but I think I know all I need to know.  Not that I didn't like it, but it just didn't wow me enough to get a whole jar of it.  I like that this comes in a sample size so I'll buy that instead if I ever want to use it again.  As far as recommendations, I would recommend it.  I liked it, but I didn't love it. 

Top 4 Signs You May Be a Product Junkie

This is all I need minus my spray bottle and shea butter.

1. You always jump at the opportunity to buy products on sale, even when you don't need them.

How many times have you been fooled by "buy one, get one" or "free with a purchase of..."  If you find yourself running to Target or Walgreens whenever Shea Moisture is on sale (which happens quite often) you may be a product junkie.  It's not unusual to wait for something to go on sale to buy it, or taking advantage of the sale because you've run out.  However, buying products just because of the sale is pushing it.  Do you realize that by stocking up on products you don't really need during sale time isn't a sale at all?

2.  Your stash of products looks like an aisle of a beauty supply store.

Now this is a true sign of a product junkie.  If you have so many products at your house that you don't even remember what you have, you may be a PJ.  Now that you've gotten all your items for sale and experimented with products you've heard about through the grapevine what are you going to do with them?  You can only use one product at a time.  The picture above is of all the products I use.  They take care of my entire regimen.  There's only 13 products there including all my oils (minus 2 things so its really 15).  I challenge you to keep your stash to 15 products or less (this is actually a pretty big stash).  Can you do it?

3.  You are subscribed to a natural hair subscription service.

When you are first starting out in the natural world, subscribing to things like CurlBox and CurlKit can be very helpful in finding products to use.  But if you are a vet when it comes to knowing what products work for your hair, and you still waste $20 per month on these subscriptions, you may have a problem.  Let's think about it...These subscriptions come every month, so that's about $240/year alone in hair products (not counting the money you'll probably spent on products aside from the subscription).  You can unsubscribe whenever you want, but the the anticipation of what's to come in the next order keeps you hanging on.  So then you get your order in the mail, but do you go through all those products before the month is up? No, you get the next order, and then those products sit around you house with last month's products, and so on.  The cycle never ends.

4.  You are always in search of the "perfect" product.

It's good to do research to try and find the right product for you, but at some point you need to reach satisfaction.  For starters, perfect does not exist in this imperfect world, so you already need to lower your standards.  If you find something that is good, be content with it.  Going into PJ mode to find something great will lead you down a rode of wasted money.

Hair of the Day: Soft Twists!

Butterfly Clips from Sally....Amazing!

I've figured it out! The recipe to soft hair!! Okay so its not that exciting, but I used a mixture of water and TRESemme naturals conditioner to detangle and twsit my hair.  It's so soft and shiny! I think I'll leave non leave in conditioner in my hair more often...

Easter Hair: Finger Coil Out Disaster!

Easter 2013 wash-n-go

While everyone else was having fun showing off their Easter clothes and hair styles, I was having a fit over mine.  It was so bad I only got one decent picture! My outfit was fine, but my hair gave me so much trouble that I just felt defeated overall.  It started the night before Easter...

Hated it!

 I picked up the Beautiful Textures Styling Custard from Sally earlier that day, and I couldn't wait to use it!  I already knew I wanted to do finger coils so I figured this would be the perfect product.  Its like a mixture of a gel and a cream.  Just what I was looking for.  So later that night I to finger coiled my hair using the styling custard.  It gave my hair amazing slip which is great for coiling the hair around my finger.  I was a little skeptical about the gel still showing in my hair because the jar clearly says "non-flaking".  With a little time however, the gel was gone and I was left with sleek coils.  I timed my self doing them, and I kid you not, it only took me a total of 48 minutes!

The next day, Easter, I proceeded to take the coils apart to rock the coil out. I knew that the definition of the coil out would be something different than I was used to, but I was ready to make it work.  To my dismay, it wasn't the definition I had to worry about.  It was the product I used! The Beautiful Textures Styling Custard was a complete fail!  Never have I ever had a product flake up on me the way this did! It looked like someone sprinkled salt all over my head.  It was so bad, I ended up having to co-wash.  Just when I thought it was over, the custard wouldn't wash out!  It took me 3 times to get it all out and even after that, there was a little left.  I am so disappointed by this product, especially since it says "non-flaking" on the jar.  I ended up wearing a plain wash and go to church.  I won't be using this product again or doing finger coils for a while after this experience...

Discovering Sally...

My first Sally purchases!

Silly me, I didn't realize the amazing beauty supply store that existed right around the corner from my house!  I've always heard of women shopping at Sally's and how much they love it, but I assumed that like most nice stores, there couldn't be one in my neighborhood...But there she was! Sitting in the corner of a small plaza, Sally Beauty Supply was calling my name!  I absolutely loved it!! Everything I researched using their online store, was right there in my face.  It was very clean, organized, and run by black women (one had locs)! I was so happy to be there and I'm sure I'll become a beauty club member for future purchases. I can't believe I've been missing out all this time!  I'll do product reviews of what I got in posts to come... 

Castor Oil Challenge Update: Day 34

It's currently the end of week five of the Spring Castor Oil challenge, so its time I post my length check.  The challenge started when I was 8 months natural and from then to now, when trying to decide if the castor oil was working, I first thought "no not anything out of the ordinary".  However, when I compare my length checks from 5-8months, I obviously had very little growth if any.  Mind you I had a trim on my 6 month nappiversary, and a protective style during the 7th month.  At any rate, I retract my initial reaction of "I didn't witness any extra growth outside of my normal growth rate".  Since I really haven't seen any difference in growth for the past few months until now, the castor oil has clearly proven to be very effective.  Can't wait for next months results!