Et Voila! February 2, 2009

Took the twists out this morning and was doing a mini-two step in my bathroom mirror! The results from my DC + the ACV rinse seemed to be really compatible with my hair, leaving my scalp clean and my hair soft and light, au revoir to product buildup!

I’m rockin a twist out this morning and for the rest of the week as usual, but the only thing I did do differently was not separate my twists once I undid them.  Normally I separate to add volume, but my hair had a different kind of bounce to it that I ended up loving the natural finished product! My hair had a different movement and shine to it, something I didn’t typically get after going through my previous routines. 

Before untwisting though I did make sure to apply my unrefined shea butter to the hair…something I usually do directly after twisting my hair fresh to seal in the moisture, but I simply forgot.  Nonetheless, my hair remains soft and looks far from dry and dull!

As the week goes on I expect to start separating the twists, just for the sake of achieving a different look here and there, but honestly it’s really gratifying to find something natural that works this well…

Giovanni Direct Leave-In January 8, 2009

When it comes to curly hair there are indeed three elements or products typically necessary to acheive any respective look. 

1. A nourishing PH balanced conditioner

2. A moisturizing leave in conditioner

3. A versatile styling product.

All three are important, and for some curlyheads/naturals one more so than the other.  I find that my emphasis lately has been primarily with finding a solid leave in conditioner to set up my styling process.  Several folks on the haircare boards have suggested the uber popular (organic) Giovanni Direct Leave-in conditioner!

I have to admit though, I tried this on a reallllly lazy day of not really feeling what I refer to as ‘the process’.  A couple weeks back I set aside an afternoon to style my hair for work the next morning and all I remember was bitching and moaning in front of my mirror.  I was a bit out of sorts I guess you could say, even though I was trying a new product…something that usually leaves me excited with anticipation!

I ended up using the leave-in after a light conditioning and twisting it onto slightly damp hair.  I made several medium-large size twists after detangling with a wide tooth comb. I pincurled the ends with bobby pins, let it air dry for a bit and went to bed peeved.

Unraveling my hair the next morning was….well it wasn’t altogether horrible.  After unraveling the twists, I noticed most if not all were a bit frizzy and not relatively moisturized.  I ended up pinning the hair up with half a dozen pins, smoothing the front with gel and utilizing one of my hair bands.  This was pretty much the look for a good half week before I sucked it up and started ‘the process’ over again.

I say all that to say, I like the product…lol! Irony I know, but the error does fall on me this time.  Going over my usual steps I could’ve predicted what the end result would be.  First, I failed to condition properly (my minimum condi.time is 30min.),  + my hair turns out best when I section it into into smaller twists while adding the right amount of product, and last but not least….I desperately needed a trim!! When my hair is in dire need of a trim it has a distinct way of letting me know….basically by not behaving. 

This leave in is also quite light, letting me know that because of the density of my hair I should layer it with something else.  Instincts tell me if I add more to compensate for the amount of hair I have, my hair will feel overly saturated.  The ingredients are fabulous though!!  It’s an organic product, a factor I’ve been trying to add into my decision making these days.

I guess the jury is still out on this one though.  I clipped my ends last week so I’m pretty positive I could get different results the next go round.  So it’s a keeper for now.