Hair Goodies

As I was browsing the #hairlista tag page on Instagram somebody posted a picture of a new Creme of Nature Argan Oil product. I went over to their website to see what it was about. Which was the Argan Oil Perfect 7 Leave-In. But while on the website something else caught my eye.

$13.99

Yes, ladies, that is 100% Pure Argan Oil. Not an Argan Oil infused product but 100% Pure Argan Oil. So I snatched it up from a local beauty supply store. I have been wanting to try Pure Argan Oil for sometime now but the price has been pretty high for the ones that I have seen. This oil can be used on the hair, scalp, and body. It comes in a 1 fl oz bottle w/ a medicine dropper and has zero fillers, mineral oil, parabans, and sulfates. It smells like the other CON Argan Oil products and says so right on the box. I can't wait to see how my hair reacts to it. 

First Wash after Highlights

Note: I had two rambling posts about this but I took them down. lol

I was trying to hold out on washing my hair until Sunday but they didn't happen. I was experiencing breakage. Long pieces and short pieces of hair was on my shirt and I was freaking out. I don't want to deal with a setback because I colored my hair. No amount of moisturizing seemed to be helping. The part that gets me is that my hair felt soft. How is that possible. Soft hair but breakage; weird combo. I had to nip that in the bud with the quickness. So I co-washed my hair last night and I am so happy I did. I washed twice with Shi-Naturals No-Poo Co-wash conditioner. Followed by Curls Unleashed No Restrictions conditioner. My hair was feeling so much better by this point. Then I deep conditioned with the last of my Shi-Naturals Moisture Balance/Protein Balance deep conditioner mix. My hair is thanking me. As much as I love my straight hair, I don't think that my hair likes being straight or more so the dryness that seems to come along with it. Which is why I use heat very sparingly. Now I'm not experiencing any breakage even while detangling. I am officially happy again. lol

1 year growth comparison

I was looking through some pictures pictures while transferring them to my flash drive. While doing so, I realized that I had pictures from March of last year. I loved seeing the progress my hair made. Now the pictures aren't at the same level and I have on 2 different shirts but you all get the idea. Once I find the t-shirt from the first picture, I'll take another one and update the post.

3/2012

3/2013

Product Comebacks

Ever have a "why did I stop using this product" moment? I am this moment yet again. The first was with the Shi-Naturals Creamy Leave-in. For reasons I can't remember but more than likely due to that damn product junkie syndrome, I stopped using it. Then sometime last year, I picked it up again and haven't looked back. It is my Holy Grail moisturizer. Now the Shi-Naturals Moisture and Protein Balance Leave-ins have been revisited.

Protein/Moisture

I originally bought these back in 2011 to keep my hair moisturized during my 2 stint with sew-ins. I lasted 6 weeks with that sew-in. So these got pushed to the side and I didn't look back. I decided to use it to moisten my hair again after letting my hair dry a little more than I wanted to before detangling it. I loved it. Paired with my usual detangling products my hair had a bit more slip. I've been alternating using them to moisturize my nape, hairline, and edges. Again, I am loving it. 

This is a liquid leave-in but it has a nice thick consistency but it goes on really nice, doesn't weigh the hair done at all, and moisturizes nicely.

Ingredients:

Moisture Balance:

(Organic Aloe) Juice, (Organic Lavender) Distillate, Anthemis nobilis (Organic Roman Chamomile) Distillate, Cetearyl Alcohol, (Castor Seed) Oil,(Panthenol Vitamin B5), Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Seed Oil,(Organic Black Willow Bark) Extract, xanthan gum, natural preservative

pH: 4.0 - 6.0

Protein Balance:

Organic Aloe Juice, Organic Lavender Distillate, Organic Roman Chamomile Distillate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Castor Seed Oil, Organic Green Tea Extract, Organic Nettle Leaf Extract, Organic Chickweed) Extract, Organic Slippery Elm) Extract, Organic Milk Thistle Extract, Organic Marshmallow Root Extract, Organic Oatstraw Extract, Blue Green Algae, Hydrolized Wheat, Panthenol Vitamin B5), Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Organic Black Willow Bark Extract, (Vitamin E), xanthan gum, natural preservative

pH: 4.0 - 6.0

What are the products that you have pushed to the side but have rediscovered?

New Hair Color!

I went to the shop this morning and got my hair highlighted! I'm kinda digging it. It's not super bright at all just really subtle. Which is what I was going for. The pictures don't do it justice.

Color: Bright Auburn by Shea Moisture Hair Color System

Fab Finds

I was in Kohl's today looking for a pair of shoes. Once I found what I was looking for I started browsing around the store. As I searched through the Home Decor section I came across this cute little picture. Being on a hair journey you know this spoke to me. lol It's on sale for $12.49. It took everything in me to not buy it.

Color Upkeep

The day is approaching quickly. I will FINALLY get my hair highlighted with the Bright Auburn Color from Shea Moisture's New Hair Color System. Reluctantly, my lovely cousin/beautician will use it for me. As I stated in an earlier post, I have had my hair highlighted in the past, way before my hair journey. I can't remember too much about what the state of my hair was like back then. I just remember her telling me my hair needed moisture. I went years without highlighting my hair again. Now that I am more educated on how to take care of my hair and after much back and forth about doing this, I am finally going to go ahead and do it. So here are a few things that I plan on doing to keep my hair on my head. If I can handle it and if I can find the color again I'll retouch in August before my birthday. To prep my hair I will deep condition with the Mocha Silk Infusion a few days before so my hair can have some protein into then leave it alone until Saturday. I did this last week in hopes that I could get into the shop this past weekend but no such luck.

So here we go:

1. Keeping up with my protein. Color, just like relaxers, break down the protein bonds in our hair. I will be using the Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor weekly. When I don't feel like using that I will use the Mocha Silk Infusion from Silk Dreams and the Protein Balance Deep Conditioner from Shi-Naturals to keep some protein in my hair.

2. Keep up with deep conditioning my hair. I'll continue to dc 2 times a week alternating between moisture and protein.

3. Moisturize and seal twice a day.

4. Continue to lay off the heat as much as possible.

In other words keeping the moisture/protein balance in my hair is key. Look out for pictures next week. I'll be taking them myself and hopefully they will turn out good. If you have some other suggestions for me feel free to leave them in the comment section.

What I miss about bone straight hair

Yes, sometimes I really miss having bone straight hair. What don't miss though is the feeling of having to get a touch-up every 4 weeks. Yikes! Anyway, here a few things I miss about it.

Note: I won't be going back to it.

1. Having my hair all one texture - Even though I have found a technique to making detangling easier for me I miss the ease of just combing my hair and going on about my business.
2. Quicker wash days - I miss being able to wash my hair going back in one direction and wash it. That made wash days go by so much faster. With me dealing with new growth from stretching, texlaxed hair, and bone straight ends washing my hair like I use to is a no-no. Tangles galore. And I use up all the hot water. smh
3. Ease of styling- Throwing my hair in ponytail and blow drying and flat ironing were so much easier.

Although I miss some things about bone straight hair, I love the texture of my new growth and texlaxed hair much more. I am willing to put up with longer wash days and styling challenges to get the healthier longer hair that I want.

Bonus Post:

I am not one to get bent out of shape over frivolous stuff but this picture rubbed me the wrong way when I saw it posted a few times on Instagram. The fact that people still believe this is true is something else. lol

Video Feature

I have been subbed to Sharmaine369 for awhile now. I have always loved her hair. She is always rocking  the cutest low maintenance styles and always has great  information. After watching her newest video I think I fell in love all over again. lol She's 11 months post and had her hair blown out. Can you say gorgeous? lol Check out the video below.

New Hair Goodies

 I am a certified  deep conditioner junkie. You all already know how much I enjoy using Silk Dreams conditioners. After reading so many great reviews about the Avocado Pudding Silky Conditioning Cream on Hairlista and a couple of blogs I had to give this a try. Although I did put off trying for awhile. Latasia's review on her blog is what help push me to finally putting in a order for it. I'm starting to get a little low on my Silk Dreams conditioners and I added it to my list. My order finally came today.  I believe it took about a week to process. I got my shipping confirmation this past Friday and my package was here on Monday. Do you see how nice and creamy the consistency is? Love it. I wish I could tell you what it smells like but I am battling cold and sinus issues so my sense of smell is just about nonexistent at the moment. When I do my review hopefully I can add that tidbit in.

Description from the website:

This anytime conditioning cream has rich avocado butter and silky avocado oil to impart a light, silky, dreamy feel and smoothness to your hair topped off with beautiful, lustrous shine. Avocado Pudding is suitable for all hair types, especially hair with multiple textures due to stretching relaxers or transitioning. For extra detangling, follow directions below and then apply another quick layer over top of hair and rinse.

Usage:

For light conditioning, apply and leave on 5 minutes. For more intense conditioning, leave on 10-20 minutes. Be sure and apply product to new growth, as well as processed hair. This may require using your fingers to separate hair so that you can apply product directly on to new growth.

Ingredients:

Water, Stearalkonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Persea gratissima (Avocado) Butter, Persea gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Germall Plus, Fragrance

I will be getting my hair highlighted this weekend. So I won't be using this until the first wash after that. I can't wait to use it. Review coming soon.

Let's Talk!

I've been asking myself this question for a little while now. Do you think us hair journey ladies do too much to achieve our length goals? Do we want reach SL, APL, BSL, etc so bad that we will try anything to get there? When I first started my hair journey, in my opinion, one of the most popular questions was "how do I get my hair to grow faster?" Growth potions, cooch cream, the Inversion Method, vitamins, and Mineral Rich, and countless other products are out there claiming to increase our growth rate. Towards the beginning of my hair journey I tried two different growth potions. I don't know if they helped me or not because I didn't use them consistently. I am not bashing these products and those that choose to try them. Now I have come to a point in my journey that I just want to enjoy the ride. I've obsessed over length before and it was not fun and an unnecessary stressor.

So I pose the question again. Do we do too much too achieve length? Should we just enjoy the journey and celebrate meeting goals as they come?

Wash Day Chronicles: 3/14/13 and 3/16/13

I washed my hair on Thursday, a day early, because I wanted to try my hand at a twist-out again, bad idea. I wanted my hair to have a good amount of time to air dry completely. My hair had a nice chocolate spa day, as I like to call it. I shampooed once with the Cocoa and Rhassoul Clay bar followed by one wash with the Chocolat shampoo from Carol's Daughter. I conditioned with the Chocolat conditioner. Then I deep conditioned with the Chocolate Bliss deep conditioner for 30 minutes under the dryer. I have used these combination of products once before and my hair came so nice and soft. But I think that adding the Cocoa and Rhassoul Clay Bar into the mix wasn't the best. Although my hair was soft it wasn't the softness I received during the last chocolate spa day. I'll continue with using the clay bar by itself. Now on to the twist-out. It was an absolute fail. A complete hot mess. Won't be doing one of those again for awhile. I didn't take a picture. It wasn't worthy of one. lol I ended up spraying my ends with the Shi-Naturals Moisture Balance Leave-in and putting it in a bun. I wasn't pleased with the state of my hair that I decided to co-rinse my hair again this morning. Using the products picture below.

Used the No-Poo first followed by the Proclaim Olive Glossing conditioner. I didn't deep condition with this wash. I didn't feel the need to. Let my hair air dry for a little bit then detangled with the TreSemme Naturals and the Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum. How did I forget the Kurl Pop from Shi-Naturals? lol I put that on my edges and put on a scarf. I'm now letting my hair air dry. It's nice and fluffy the way I like it.

Moral of the story: Twist-outs are not my thing. Maybe it'll be better when I am fully texlaxed.

RANDOMNESS

1. I am 7 weeks into what was going to be a 18 week stretch. But as it turns out it will be a 22 week stretch. July is family reunion month for me and I don't want to texlax before then. I have never attempted to stretch that long without a sew-in before. As long I continue with my wash technique and stay consistent with my regimen it think it will be a successful stretch.

2. I recorded a video that I want to post just on the blog but that is proving challenging. If you have any tips please let me know.

3. I am still going to color my hair, well highlighting is more accurate. My appointment is set for next week.

4. I am failing at getting my 3 days of exercise in for the March goals. Just pure laziness.

5. If I had to choose something for March favorites right now the Cocoa and Rhassoul Clay Bar would be at the top of the list.

6. On the "new products to try list" is the Silk Dreams Avocado Pudding Silky Conditioning Cream. Can't wait to give it a try! I've heard great things from my fellow Hairlista Sistas.

Buns and Breakage

I'm an avid bunner/ponytail wearer. I plan to continue to do so until my hair reaches my goal of BSL. With that can come some adverse effects. Such as breakage along the hairline,edges, and nape. Also if you don't move the position of your bun/ponytail can cause some breakage and weakness in that particular spot. I had to learn that the hard way back in the day. Now I have been able to, so far, bun my hair successfully. Using a couple of simple tips.

1. Moisture, Moisturize, Moisturize
I keep my nape, edges, and hairline thoroughly moisturized. I moisturize and seal those areas twice a day. Doing so aides at keeping breakage away. I use 2 different moisturizers. The first is my ultimate fav, the Shi-Naturals Creamy Leave-In w/ the chocolate scent. This leave-in is very light and doesn't weigh my hair down but it moisturizes like nobody's business. lol The second is Bee Mine's Deja's Hair Milk. I really like this moisturizer. I have had  it for awhile and I use it to help me stretch out the Creamy Leave-In. I also make sure that I do not neglect those ends. I M&S those as well. I use the Kurl Pop from Shi-Naturals when I lay my edges down when I air dry and I also use it throughout the week when I notice my edges are getting a bit puffy. It definitely adds some great moisture to my edges. I have noticed that my hair seems to be loving products that have aloe vera in it.

2. Move that bun around
I make sure that I am switching the position of my buns frequently. I wear them in the middle of my head, the lower right, the lower left, bottom middle area, etc. I don't want to cause my hair to tangle and mat from leaving it in the same spot day after day. I also don't sleep in my buns. Usually when I get home I am letting my hair down to give it a breather. If I don't have any place to be I won't touch my hair at all.

3. Deep Condition
This step was brought to my attention by LaToya in the comments section. I can't believe that I forgot about this and it can fall under tip number one. Make sure that you pay special attention to those areas when you deep condition. I always make sure that I am applying the deep conditioner generously and I sit under the dryer for 30 minutes.

I hope that these tips were helpful. If you have anything to add to them feel free to leave them in the comment section. I love reading about other techniques that I can possibly add to my regimen.

Hair Wishlist

Being on a hair journey, you frequent different blogs, you tube channels, and sites like KISS and Hairlista. Doing so you come across so many different products and tools that you just have to try. I have gotten that bug many times over. Here is my current wishlist. This list is subject to change, mostly add-ons, at anytime. lol

1. Secura S-192 Hair and Facial Steamer 79.99 on Amazon
I have heard nothing but great things about the benefits of steaming. So much that I want one of my own. The one that I have seen the most is the Huetiful Hair Steamer. But it costs a bit much. After seeing Jeni's review on her Just Grow Already blog, I was happy to see there was a more affordable choice out there.



2. Sprushes
These are so cute. lol I don't self relax or self color my hair. Which is what the main usage of these lovely items are. I would use them to apply my deep conditioners. Probably the turquoise one.


3. Seamless comb
EbonyCPrincess and a few other bloggers and YouTubers have reviewed seamless combs. They have been charged with helping to reduce breakage and aide in smoothing the hair. They do this because there are no seams to snag and pull the hair out. I am all for leaving as much hair on my head as possible. lol


These are my top three. What are your's?

Science of Black Hair You Tube Channel

I have been wanting to buy the Science of Black Hair book for quite sometime now and I haven't gotten around to it to just yet. I "liked" their page on Facebook and check out the blog every so often. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Audrey started a You Tube channel. I immediately went to watch the first video and  subbed right away. As of this post, she has two videos uploaded. The intro video is below. If you haven't seen it yet, please watch and even subscribe. I think she is going to offer some great videos.

Cocoa and Rhassoul Clay Bar Initial Reaction

A few posts ago, I introduced you all the Beam Products by Laquita. I bought the Cocoa and Rhassoul Clay Bar. Here is my review for using it on my face and hair.

Face
I've been using it on my face twice a week since I got in the mail. I cut into smaller chunks in order to preserve it. Let me tell you, this bar is wonderful. My face feels really clean and soft after using it. One of the benefits of rhassoul clay is that it gets rid of dead skin. I'm usually having to exfoliate my face twice a week. A few days afterwards I can feel how crummy my face is. But by the looks of it once a week will be enough for me now. I can't wait to see how my face improves over time from using this. I have been using Shea Moisture's Black Soap bar on my face and all though it does leave my face feeling  very clean, the Cocoa and Rhassoul bar has it BEAT. It's the only thing that I will touch my face again.

Hair

I have been wanting to find a replacement clarifying shampoo. I was liking and only using the ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo until the last time I used it in January. My new growth wasn't feeling it very much. As soon I started shampooing, I felt my new growth start to tangle. I decided then that this wasn't going to work for me anymore. So I have been in the market for a new clarifyier but haven't been actively looking. After ordering the clay bar, the owner let me know to use it once or twice a month as a clarifying shampoo. I used it yesterday to clarify my hair for the first time over a month. OMG I AM IN LOVE. lol My hair was extremely clean but not stripped. I felt my roots (which is mostly texlaxed hair) soften up and it didn't tangle at all. Even though I've only used it once I am officially saying that I will be using this to clarify my hair from here on out. I might even use it twice a month. That's how good this bar is. My hair has never felt so soft after clarifying my hair. I had some serious hand-in-hair syndrome going on. lol 

I definitely recommend this product. It's multi-purposed and works absolutely fabulously.

Wash Day Chronicles

1. Shampooed with Shi-Naturals Coconut Creme Shampoo. 
2. I wanted to add a little bit of protein to my hair so I used Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor conditioner for a few minutes
3. I t-shirt dried for about 15 minutes to get a good amount of the water out of my hair.
4. Deep conditioned with Shi-Naturals Olive and Almond Oil Softening conditioner from the Shi-Smooth Transition Kit. I sat under the dryer for about 20 minutes. Wish I had steamer.
5. T-shirt again for about 35 minutes
6. I  sectioned my hair into fours applied TreSemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture conditioner and Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum and proceeded to detangle.
7. Applied Shi-Naturals Kurl Pop to my edges. Put on my scarf to lay my edges down.
8. Air dried with a little bit of Silk Dreams Mocha Silk Infusion on the length of my hair.

I love my air dried results. My hair dries nice and fluffy. My roots seemed a little bit dry so I moisturized it with Shi-Naturals Shi-Smooth Transition Stretch It Creme. My new growth stays moisturized for a couple of  days after using it.

Some of the wash day products. I decided to use the Olive and Almond Oil conditioner instead of the Coconut Creme.

Some Hairspiration

I have seen a few of Reniece's videos before and fell in love with the health of her hair, both relaxed and natural. Imagine my surprise when I saw she uploaded a new video, something she rarely does. This video is great inspiration for those of us on the road to achieving health hair. Please check it out.

Bobeam Products by Laquita

The ladies on Hairlista have contributed to my product junkiness. lol While browsing the comments on the Deep Conditioning challenge page a couple of weeks ago a few of the ladies were talking about shampoo bars from a company called Bobeam on Etsy. I tried to find the page on Etsy but couldn't find it so I left it alone. I saw a video that one of the ladies did talking about the shampoo bars. The one that caught my eye was the Cocoa & Rhassoul Clay Shampoo Bar. Bobeam specializes in "shampoo bars made with all naturals ingredients and they can be used on all hair types, including locs. The shampoo bars contain no SLS or SLES, detergents, surfactants, or sulfates."  Please check out her Etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BobeamProducts She a really nice variety of shampoo bars. 

When I finally found the page I didn't see the C&RCB. So this past Wednesday, I went back to the page and there it was. I had to put in a order for 2 bars and I received my shipment confirmation the same day. Although this a shampoo bar it also be use on your body. I will be using it both ways. Here is the info from the website;

About Cocoa & Rhassoul Clay Bars

These mouth-watering 'scented' chocolate ( they are made with actual chocolate!) and Rhassoul clay bars are great treats for you hair and body. They will give your hair a fresh, clean start removing build-up and toxins while tantalizing your senses with the aroma of rich, deep chocolate.

Benefits of the ingredients:

Cocoa Butter - Processed from cocoa beans - high in Vitamin E, softens and hydrates.

Cocoa Powder - Processed from cocoa beans. Contains minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium. Antioxidant and humectant - retains moisture.

Rhassoul Clay - Contains a high percentage of silica, magnesium, potassium and calcium. It reduce dryness and flakiness, removes surface oil and dead skin, and is a great deep conditioner.

Natural Chocolate Scent
Ingredients: Water, Gum Arabic, Natural Favors, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate.

I remember reading on a few of the hair blogs and seeing on a few videos that some clays aren't that great for relaxed hair. I emailed the owner, LaQuita, about this. She said that the bar is fine for relaxed. She let me know that she has relaxed and transitioning customers who love her products and that she tested out some of the products on her niece's relaxed hair. That put my mind at ease. She also recommended that I use it one to two times a month when I clarify. This product came right on time because I have been wanting to find something natural to clarify my hair with. I will use this on my shampoo wash day next week since I haven't clarified my hair since January. An initial reaction post will come shortly after the first use. 

MARCH 2013 GOALS

I can't believe that we are officially 3 months into 2013. It's time for me to set my goals for the month. I bought Jeni's from the Just Grow Already blog's hair journal when she announced that it was available. I am really loving having a spot to put all of hair info into. For Jan and Feb, I have been writing my goals in there. I'm going to start posting my goals on here as well.

1. Stay consistent with my regimen
2. Drink 4 bottles of water daily
3. Exercise at least 3 days a week
4. Drink at least 3 glasses of carrot juice a week.

Let's see if I can keep this up for the month.