Happy Endings November 16, 2009

Back to the tried and true this week. I was admittedly happier than usual because of the new cut, anxious to see how it’d turn out once all was washed/styled & done. Re-introduced back into my routine, courtesy of freshly trimmed ends, was my Denman brush! Detangling hasn’t really been too much of a bother using other tools in the interim, although it was at times a bit tedious, taking care not to rip the knots out of my hair which soon formed at the ends. No more snip snipping for a while though…here’s hoping!

Nothing fancy this week—>prepoo’d with Vo5’s Moisture Milks condish, applied Naked Naturals Shea Butter & Avocado Smoothing Shampoo, DC’d to finish off JessiCurl’s Weekly Deep Conditioner. I did manage a good three servings from the jar (which I believe is 8oz). Granted, I’m one of the heavy handed conditioner appliers.  Frankly, my hair does better when applying a good coating of condish, particularly if it’s on the thicker side. With a thinner condish…(thinner for me would be Oyin’s Honey Hemp) it’s much easier to use more sparingly. When using AOHR, the end result is a white coating well throughout my hair…the same went for the Jessicurl. Made sure to apply a good coating throughout the hair, twisted to about 15 or so twists. DC’d for two hours this week (an hr. of that was under a heating cap).

After cold rinsing, dug up the remainder of my lasting KCKT and Donna Marie’s Lock & Load Twist Pudding.

*edit- Honestly, skeptical about using the Donna Marie’s Pudding this week. Whaaaa!! Purchased during the last haul a couple wks back, and realized a few things: the color was different, smell changed & the consistency was not as I remembered.  Skeptical…and curious because my enduring love for this product was in jeopardy.  Read about the lurv here. Here goes—>

Applied KCKT under the Lock & Twist Pudding, air dried and topped off with KBB’s Hair Cream for added shine and to seal ends.  Change of nightime routine! Before donning the satin bonnet, placed a conditioning cap over the dry twists to seal in moisture overnight.  Been doing this for the past month or so and have noticed  a HUGE differnce in how the hair retains moisture. It’s a baggying of sorts, but less so because I do not apply a leave-in or spritz. My goal is to help retain the moisture already in the hair, hopefully to last until mid-week before it’s time to remoisturize. After, donned the satin bonnet as usual, woke up the next morning and fluffed out the twists.

Thankfully, results from the *new Pudding produced no noticeable difference from the last batch tried several months ago.  A bit of frizz from over manipulating first day hair, but other than my own over anxious fingers, hair was singing all the way to work! My ends are looking better than they’ve been for some time, and the layers from last week’s cut are letting the undone twists fall better into place.  This coming week will be a return to protective styling.  Visiting the folks for the holidays, and I’m a no fuss gal whenever I visit the fam…a.k.a, I sit on the sofa and watch Food Network all day;-)!

Here Comes the Sun + Old Favorite[s] July 27, 2009

It’s towards the end of July,  Summer has hurriedly reached it’s halfway mark…and somehow…someway, I still find myself baffled each time I take down my twists after a wash+condition+style cycle.  I’d want to hearken this all to a ‘glutton for punishment’ mindset…me knowing & listening to the humidity forecast before applying my first styling product, yet still floored when ‘poof’ is the only scenario starring me in face.

Alas, this morning I took the final hint, and realized if first day hair comes out looking like five day old hair…it’s still alright.  The blazing sun/heat yesterday tore through my twists to dry them in air fashion, but…maybe a bit too well.  My strands were endlessly parched after taking down in the a.m., leaving me weary of adding any kind of butter/moisturizer/curl cream.

Finally getting down to the bare bones of my sample poo bar from Chagrin Valley.  My Tea Tree and Neem bar has lasted well over four washes…a plus considering the intial size of the bar and the scope of my hair. Washed with the bar this week, but also decided to use up the palm-ful of Oyin’s Honey Wash leftover from many moons ago.  LUV this stuff for softening & cleansing my hair the only way curly/coily hair should be cleansed…gently/nourishing.  All good stuff.

AOHR, the only conditioner left in sight after the past few weeks of using up the goods.  Detangled, smoothed on condish in sections…twisted, and DC’d for a couple hours while I exited to the laundromat.  Multitasking is the only way I know how to do Sundays, and thankfully my hair was treated to a much deserved DC after nixing on it last week.  Before rinsing, applied old fav ACV to my scalp a ( added Hairveda’s CoCosta Oil), massaged in the scalp…cold rinsed and dug deep to find my old bottle of KCKT.

Applied KCKT, under Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding.  After the twists were fully dry,  the ends were a bit dry/under-moisturized, sealed with Afroveda’s  Ginger Almond Twist Butter.  The ‘do’ this morning  was less moisturized than what I’d been used to after using the KCKT + Donna Marie Combo.  HUMIDITY!!

How does one argue with your hair… to lay right, suck in that moisture…but not too much! Stay low…avoid the frizz, play nice with the other coils.  I can’t…and as I type…my place has  suspicously reached Sauna like temperatures.  Here’s to whatever tomorrow will bring;-)!

 

Edit:  After perusing some old posts, I did notice the same problem after using  KCKT + the lock twist pudding.  A combo of excessive humdidty with these two probably…not a good thing?!  

Poo Bar June 22, 2009

Lately I’ve been on a quiet budget of sorts. Trying my best to conserve any extra $$ because, honestly it just seems like a really cool plan. To have some extra loot in the bank or under the mattress is always a nice comfort. As a result, I’ve been happily delving into my PJ stash, repurposing old goodies and trying out new ones that were on my ‘mean to but never got around to’ list.

So this week I scanned my PJ area, noticed a full jar of Lustrasilk’s Shea-Butter and Mango conditioner/styling crème and went to work. These days I just can’t seem to help myself with the pre-pooing…so I started within those lines using Suave’s Coconut conditioner. To that, I added a couple squirts of Hairveda’s CoCasta Shikakai Oil, twisted into large twists and added a bit more of the CoCasta to my scalp. Massaged the pre-poo, then left on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing. Nixed on the ACV this week as well as a co-wash and happily sampled a poo bar from the Chagrin Valley collection of soaps. My bar of choice was their Neem & Tea Tree body/shampoo bar, which I lathered onto my hair, then applied directly to my scalp. Plenty of lather with this bar, so I was easily able to work up the suds and feel as if my hair got a good cleanse. It’s surprisingly non-stripping, but even BETTER…moisturizing! My hair felt cleansed and fairly soft.

Ingredients:

Saponified oils of an elder flower, calendula, dandelion, and comfrey infused sunflower, neem, and rice bran blend, coconut, palm, castor bean, jojoba, palm kernel, and wheat germ; filtered rainwater; organic aloe vera; essential oils tea tree, lavender, thyme, and peppermint; vitamin E oil; and rosemary oil extract.

The Goods:

Enhanced with jojoba and wheat germ oils, this bar will soothe and moisturize your skin, and add body and vitality to your hair. The liquid oils have been infused with the anti-inflammatory botanicals of elder and calendula flowers, which have been used topically to heal rashes and to help soften and soothe dry, irritated skin and scalp. It leaves your skin and hair clean and soft.

The sample bar ran me a mere $2.60, and will thankfully last a good while. DC this week was the tried and true LustraSilk Shea Butter Cholesterol. To be honest I can’t figure out if its works best as a DC, curl crème or a leave in…?! While searching the label I found no answers, so just went ahead and twisted, detangled and worked my way into a conditioning cap for 45 minutes before my final rinse. Styling this week with old time fav KCKT under Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding. Twisted into larger twists this week to cut back on time…untwisted this morning to dry hair, but instantly began the battle against humidity. It’s been typically warm and humid some mornings over the past couple weeks, and my hair doubled in size as soon as I began to unravel each twist.

 

Alright, so bottom line…I’m choosing to embrace the added poof! This past Sunday was the official first day of Summer and I think it’s also time to change the expectation of my hair during the warmer months. Volume as an added bonus to curly/afro textured hair adds a great softer look, which if worked/pinned/styled right can look effortless/glam/wonderful!  So with no qualms over the added height of hair, I added a smidgen of KBB hair butter and let the rest be.

Frizzness May 12, 2009

My laptop is playing nice again..even though I’ve still got fingers crossed! I dropped a but load of money to get it fixed so I’m just a tad nervous these days as I type…lol!

But I have to admit, it’s been frustrating, not only with my PC sickness but with my hair as well.  I went off course this past week, choosing to wash and style my hair on Friday as opposed to Sunday which threw a couple of things out of whack.  I had an event to look snazzy for and wanted the do to look just right…which it absolutely did! I pre-pooed with AOWC mixed with water, washed with Alaffia’s Neem Shampoo (added oils yet again), DC’d with AOHR, cold rinsed then styled with KCKT under Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding.  I’d started the whole process around…6:30′ish Thursday evening and finished by 12am.    I’d finished twisting by 9:30-10 and immediately began drying with my soft bonnet under the lowest setting.  Ironically, with all that drying time, my hair was STILL not dry by morning.

Yah…frustrating was the word of the week, waking up in the a.m. to damp twists knowing I had an event to attend that evening. So, frizz was sort of inevitable with damp twists…I did try my best not to manipulate it too much…after sealing each twist with Afroveda’s Hemp Butter I carefully let each go to do whatever.  Before leaving the house, I applied my trusty KBB hair cream for shine and ceased upon the ‘ol HIFS.

My hair did withstand the test of a normal work day, and I attended the event happy and confident in my hair….ehhhh, but I knew I’d be in for something lacking in the coming week.  The Process was a good one…but I was definitely hasty in applying product…a.k.a…I overapplied KCKT along with the Pudding.  The end result next day was over-moisturized strands that did not turn soft…instead turned a bit brittle and lacked my normal shine.

Today’s Tuesday and I’m nowhere near ready or willing to start down the lane of wash, style etc., which is unfortunate because what my hair needs right now is a good clarifying rinse ( I sorely miss my ACV), a good DC (under my heating cap) and styling minus the rush.  I’ve made the mistake of over-moisturizing before, and already know how to reduce frizz when drying hair so in essence I brought this on myself…lol! Monday was headband day…today was headband + pinup…

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,…..Bun, Bun…BUN!

 

Upcoming Posts:

• *Anita Grant (longest story ever told)
• Hairveda
• Oyin Handmade
• Chagrin Valley Soaps
• Savor
• KBB
• Zaja Naturals
• Darcy’s Botanicals

(and a bit more that my PJ brain can’t recall at the moment, shame;-)!

The Process April 27, 2009

It’s a Bee-U-tiFull day outside! In fact, this entire weekend was amazingly nice…for April at least.  I’m talking about 90 degree weather! It was a much welcomed change…but eh, only for a bit.  Definitely forgot about the dreaded ‘H’ word…Humidity!  Well throughout yesterday I was muddling about as if that strange funk in the air wouldn’t affect the outcome of my hair. Well…this morning after taking apart my twists I quickly remembered.

The plan was to wash, DC and style as usual.  Cleansed my scalp with Alaffia’s Neem Shampoo, then washed my hair with Oyin’s Honey Wash…followed up with my tried and true Curl Junkie, Curl Rehab for a DC.  I left the DC in after detangling for a good hour because I’d failed to DC last week and my hair was excessively parched.  After rinsing the condish I applied KCKT and followed up with Donna Marie’s CoCo Curling Butter. 

I clipped the roots to hold the frizz down, sat under my bonnet for an hour 1/2 -2 hours, woke up this morning, applied Afroveda’s Hemp Lock & Twist butter to seal ends and began untwisting for the beginning of the work week.  After untwisting I did add a smidge of KBB hair cream…it adds a softness to my hair that generally lasts a good two days AND…the smell is lovely (lavendar vanilla)!

Alright, so I’m untwisting…and I’m shaking and separating my hair as usual.  Once the twists are out, I hang my head upside down, give a good shake back and forth…then up and down to have much of the do fall into place and fill in those pesky gaps.   I shook…I shaked…I looked in the mirror and found my problem.  ~Frizz~!!  And I’m not talking..your general, run of the mill, slap some creme on and go bout the biz frizz…I mean, looking like five day old hair type frizz!

So in my haste to get out the door and make it to work on time…I slathered as much hair creme as my hair could stand, put on a head band and walked out the door.  My theory:

•  Humidity.  It was darn near 90 degrees when I started and ended my wash/styling session.
•  Donna Marie’s CoCo curling creme.  This was the first time using, and while applying I did not have good hair vibes.  My hands formed an odd white, pasty consistency that dried on some parts of my hair.  I’d call it residue of some kind, not sure.

 

But all in all, it could’ve been worse! These days, as long as my scalp is clean, hair is clean, I could always worry about the styling essentials later.  What’s frustrating is knowing the amount of time that went into what I saw before me this morning! To be honest I’m not even sure I’d want to revisit the CoCo Creme by Donna Marie anytime soon.  The Lock & Twist works like a charm, and I automatically assumed this would as well. Ha!

Will I try it again….Hmmm.  My next game plan could be to try a different leave-in and maybe avoid using it in high humid weather.  TBD!

The Process March 9, 2009

This week I wasn’t expecting to experiment too much with anything extra ordinary, pretty much wanted to try my hand at consistency…see if I had what it took not to open that new jar of buttercreme.  Overall I did good! I pre-pooed with some leftover conditioner I’d wanted to finish for a while, and went a head and mixed my ACV rinse.  Still adding the Khoret Amen oil, but also mixing in some vitamin E oil I’d found underneath my mound of bottles.  I’d purchased the vitamin E oil at the beginning of this year and seriously forgot I’d had it! My scalp towards the end of the week was beginning to act up again…a fault of mine because I’d forgotten to moisturize regularly with my coconut oil…and I was undoubtedly stressed at work.  Stress is always a huge factor, relative to the health of my scalp, something I’ve tried to keep a handle on but failed miserably this week. 

So added to my mix went the Vitamin E oil, which if what ‘they’ say is true, will help to stimulate my scalp, improving blood circulation.  To help the process along I massaged my scalp while the ACV rinse was in my hair for a good five minutes, making sure to move in circular motions…basically just enjoying the experience! A scalp massage is a fantastic stress reliever btw! 

After rinsing the ACV, I followed with a final wash of  Oyin’s Honey Wash.  A palmful was all I needed to distribute evenly and work up a good lather. I spot checked the crown of my head for that stripped, overly clean feeling and happily found zilch! I picked up on this habit late last year as a way to distinguish which washes/rinses/conditioners were doing the best job at cleansing/conditioning my hair.  I simply create a part down the center of my hair, stopping midway and sort of inspect for buildup, moisture etc. This week I had zero buildup, and found that my hair was shinny and well moisturized. 

Spot checks also help me in figuring out exactly which conditioner or DC to use for that week.  Usually I can figure it out the day before I wash, sort of just by keeping tab on how my hair progressed for the week, and yesterday I found love again in Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose.  This was only my second time using this conditioner, and I’ll be honest it was sort of on a last/ second chance trial basis.  The first time I used this about a month ago after hearing rave reviews from the blog community,  I’d finally buckled and purchased while at the Vitamin shop (where it’s considerably cheaper than at other distributors btw!), came home…DC’d and was left very unimpressed.  At the time I couldn’t figure out why my hair didn’t react well to all the great and natural ingredients found in the conditioner, I just decided to move on.  And yet I still had more than half a bottle left, so I opted for a second chance, and was blown away by how great it worked!

I guess it’s a go-figure type thing….? What could I have done differently this time around…I’m not entirely sure…I detangled my ends with a wide toothed comb, applied the AOHR, then ran my denman through to further detangle.  I donned my conditioning cap and sat with it for 30 min before rinsing, and was surprised at how well my hair came together…and by this I mean I had virtually no frizz and my curls behaved by curling!  They honestly seemed to enjoy the combo of ACV + Honey Wash + AOHR. 

To style I applied KCKT followed by Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding.  This morning I wore my twists to work for the first time in a long time because I was a tad bit tired to unravel them.  Losing that hour of sleep is not pleasant! But again, my hair has tons of  shine and is moving beautifully…honestly I couldn’t find a better product to twist my hair! It’s easy to apply, and to apply you need very little.

 

On a side note, my internet is down this week….Arrggh! And I’m lagging behind on some product reviews I need to push out the door…some uppers and some downers I found while reviewing my old stash of things, so hopefully I can bang those out in a few days. 

 

Countdown to Spring: 11 Days

The Process Saponified March 2, 2009

The results of my wash and twist session this week are still TBD because my hair is currently still slightly damp and in twists;-). It was a long weekend and I ended up waiting until the last minute to do my thing, but I still managed to pat myself on the back simply because I washed and twisted in record time this week!! Those who’ve ever had to sit/stand in front of a mirror with the daunting task of twisting for 2-3 hours knows of the burden I speak.  I clocked in at 1 hour 15 min this week, just in time to sneak in a snack before heading to bed.

I pre-pooed this week with some leftover Millcreek Jojoba conditioner I’d wanted to finish for some time, then followed with my ACV rinse.  I’m continuing to add my Khoret Amen Oil from Carol’s Daughter to the ACV because it seems to be a win win, cuts back on the vinegar smell and the natural oils are always an added benefit.  

I nixed on the co-wash this week and opted for a honey wash, courtesy of Oyin Handmade.  I picked up a bottle while at one of their distributors here in BK and loved the ingredients, the fact that it doubles as a body wash…and the smell is yummy!  It’s a ‘wash,’ but not a shampoo, it has no harsh chemicals, sulfates or cones, but delivered amazingly well! Honey is of course it’s main ingredient, along with organic aloe vera gel, jojoba oil, walnut oil, glycerin extract, grapefruit seed & green tea extract. All the goodness is saponified with castile soap making the consistency creamy and almost silky once applied to the hair.  It suds up almost immediately and is quite easy to apply.  I hardly used more than a small palm full to get the job done which is an immediate added bonus.  I picked up an 8oz bottle for ten bucks and have no regrets! I haven’t used a hair wash/shampoo since last year when I stopped using shampoos with harsh detergents, but this was a surprise treat nonetheless.  After rinsing the honey wash, my hair felt ridiculously soft and conditioned.  I was honestly a bit taken aback at how pliable my hair became.  My curls were well moisturized which meant they were well defined and separating on their own before detangling.  It’s never an option for me not to DC or semi DC, but the way my hair was feeling after using the honey wash, I was seriously considering. 

But I had yet to detangle, so I added my Curl Rehab DC and detangled into small sections, sat under a conditioning cap for 25 min, rinsed with cold water then applied KCKT & began twisting in sub-sections, this week trying Afroveda’s Curly Custard.  It’s aloe based mixed with jojoba, coconut and lemon oils, shea butter and other essential oil blends.  My hair is still in twists so I can’t gage on the day after moisture factor, but when I was applying I had good vibes.  It went on smooth, and moisturized well enough. I’ll take the twists out tomorrow for a better review.

Overall my favorite find this week is hands down the Oyin Honey Wash! I’d even venture to day it’s more like a hair wash AND conditioner in one, so in the summer for quick & easy wash and go styles this would work fantastically well!

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! And if you’re along the east coast buried under several inches of snow….we’re almost there;-).

Encore February 23, 2009

Is it spring yet? Three more weeks doesn’t seem too long to wait…does it?  I don’t know, I’ve been missing a lot of things lately.  One being my easy and quick wash and go’s.  Yesterday I had my plate full with things do to but not enough time! Washing my hair came first in the morning, but for some reason the morning just got away from me.  Before I knew it, I was still twisting my hair by 2 in the pm! And the one thing I do hate is rushing when I’m doing my hair…basically if I rush I’m stuck with crummy results for a full 5-7 days…never a good look.  By the time my day was done I was tired and grumbling because Monday was starring me in the face….my weekend was again over.

Not sure what took so long this week.  I opted for a Bentonite treatment which might’ve done me in, but I was planning on it all week and my scalp and hair were quite thankful in the long run! Instead of mixing the clay with water, I followed the directions on the label and mixed with ACV, ironically enough to save on time, and also added a couple TBSP’s of agave nectar. 

My previous go at bentonite was a mix of honey and water, but I didn’t have the heart to finish what I had left of my honey stash on my hair, so I used some agave I’d purchased from Trader Joe’s.  Agave is comparable to honey in that it too is a natural additive/emollient and can be used as an alternative sweetener.  Agave is naturally organic, has a lighter viscosity texture than honey, which makes it easier to pour and mix…AND, it has a much longer shelf life than honey so it won’t crystallize and harden like it’s fellow cousin.  There was a thread not too far back on naturallycurly.com on where to find the sweetener, apparently some local markets aren’t readily stocking. It’s still a relatively new product, only first introduced in the early ’90’s, but periodically I’ve been able to spot check a few in my local markets.  If you can’t find it in your local grocer I’d suggest asking the head honcho in charge or ordering online if it’s worth your while:-).

After sitting with the mix for 25, I was ready to rinse with my new co-wash, Giovanni’s Tea Tree Conditioner.  I applied conditioner while in the shower and let it meander for about 2-3 minutes before rinsing to get the full tingle effect. I luv this stuff! After fully rinsing the clay, my scalp had a fresher than before feel that is the absolute best!

But that was it, I didn’t DC this week due to lack of time and the bentonite really did do a good job in softening my hair.  I followed up with KCKT and detangled my hair in small sections.  To style I applied Afroveda’s Shea Amla Whipped Butter Creme.  My package arrived on Saturday, perfect timing to feed the PJ in me.  My goodies were perfectly wrapped and the sample sizes are more than generous amounts!

The butter creme has a light fluffy texture, which is a wonder because the natural base is shea.  Most products I use with shea as a base I’ve learned to apply in small amounts first, then add more only if necessary…my hair adores moisture, but too much always merits a do-over because my hair is over saturated with product and my texture remains hard and sometimes brittle to the touch.

Took the twists out this morning and was pretty happy with the results.  It’s first day hair, so it’s shrunken and my curls are a tad more compact, but I’m feeling a BIG HAIR week coming on, so either tonight or in the a.m., I’m going to tease fluff  and separate the do;-)

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!