Love Your Curls

Dove in an unexpected way, really knocked it out of the park with their newest commercial.  The campaign aims to promote hair love in curly haired girls. The campaign hit home for me because growing up, I really hated my hair. I hated my kinks and coils and longed for straight hair. Sadly, this hair hate still exists today, despite big strides in the natural hair community. I wish there were commercials like the feel good one Dove promotes when I was going through my growing pains. I'm sure after seeing it, I would have had more of an appreciation for my coily mane. Peep the commercial below, and let me know what you think of it in the comments below. 

Hair Holy Grail

Once in a lifetime (if we're lucky) we stumble upon that magic product that makes you buckle in the knees every time you use it.  I can now declare that I have found such a product.

I've been using this product for a few months now, just to be certain that it wasn't a one trick pony. Guys, it's the "bomb diggity". Every hairlista knows the importance of regular deep conditioning.  Not only does it promotes hair growth, restores elasticity to the hair making it more manageable, repairs damage done as a result of harsh manipulation but also aids in easier detangling. I'm most excited about the easier detangling. Those of you who are familiar with my hair journey, know my perils when it comes to detangling. It is so time consuming and my hair can be pretty stubborn when it is ready. There are days when I just want to cut it all off because of how frustrating it can become.

Enough talk, here is the magnificent product that has me wilding out. 

I'm not jiving guys! This stuff really works! I became familiar with this hair orgasmic recipe through popular YouTube Vlogger and Natural Hair Guru, Naptural85.  After seeing her amazing results, I decided to give it a try and input a few extras. The original mix called for plain greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar and lavender essential oil. I added peppermint and rosemary essential oil to the mix and the result was a divine concoction that had my stubborn tangles slipping around each other.  I went from taking forever to detangle to barely any time at all. The tangles literally just melted away as I worked the product in. I tested the mixture by working it on over a generous amount of coconut oil on  dry, days old,  twist out. After I washed it out, I followed up with a moisturizing conditioner (the mixture is protein laden) to provide balance. My hair felt amazing! I use this mixture once a month as recommended for all protein heavy treatments.  I strongly recommend it for all hair types. Go ahead give it a try, you won't regret it. 

Here's the video of Naptural85's  original recipe.

Hair Coloring

I've been natural for three and a half years. Although i'm thrilled with the overall health and length of my hair, I have a slight problem. Slowly, but surely, there are a few grey hairs that are getting on my last nerve. Currently, I mask my greys by strategically parting my hair to cover them and another way that is too embarrassing to say. Right now, I have an incredible itch to color my hair so that I could take care of my greys in a more lasting way.  I'm hesitant as to what system I want to use because I don't want my years of good hair health to go down the drain by using a coloring system that could potentially damage my hair. I've done some research and concluded that I need a system that is ammonia and peroxide free. I came across Naturtint and Herbatint.

Both products claim: 

• NO MORE AMMONIA
• NO MORE SMELL
• NO MORE PERFUME
• NO MORE ALCOHOL
• NO MORE PARABENS
• LESS PEROXIDE WITH A NATURAL RESULT
• 100% GREY COVER 

I'M SCARED YOU'LL! I don't want to cause damage to my hair or alter my texture in any way but i'm tired of these greys. Have any of you used the products mentioned before or know of safer alternatives that can color my greys in a timely and healthy way? Looking forward to your recommendations.

Natural Hair - Relaxed Mentality

I recently went to a natural hair meet up and was immediately overjoyed by the amount of newly naturals present. They were all so young and free and bursting with excitement about their journey.

As the event progressed and I listened to the questions asked and statements made, a very unsettling question popped into my mind.

Has having natural hair become a fad? *A fad can be described as something that gains popularity very quickly but only lasts for a short period of time*.

Over the last two years, in my hometown, the natural hair movement has really taken off. In previous time, there were a few naturals and even fewer natural hair products on the local market. As it currently stands, more beauty supply stores are carrying natural hair products, more local social media support groups are being established and natural hair events are becoming the norm.

With natural hair now "fashionable" for Afro textured women, are we approaching it from the point of getting to know and appreciate our hair or more from the point of this is what is wearing now? 

I call the latter, "RHM" short for relaxed hair mentality. 

If you fall into any of the categories below, it's quite possible you may have "RHM".

1. You're obsessed with slicking your hair down. 

2. You still try to comb your hair with a fine teeth comb.

3. You can't live without your flat iron.

4. You try to wear styles you wore when you were relaxed. 

5. You refer to hair as being "good hair" or "bad hair". 

6. You idolize those with looser curl patterns.

7. You are a product junkie always on the hunt for that magic potion that will make your hair grow longer and faster. 

8. You'll try anything and pay any amount if it promises to give you longer hair.

Word of advice to all the new natural hair ladies out there: take the time to learn your hair and love it just as it grows out of your scalp. 

Thank God I'm Natural

The natural hair community has been a buzz about the T.G.I.N natural hair product line. So, like a good product junkie, I decided to try it out for myself. I visited the company's website and was elated that they sold a sample pack of their goodies.

The Sample Pack includes 2 oz sizes of the following products: Sulfate Free Shampoo, Triple Moisture Rich Conditioner, Honey Miracle Hair Mask and the Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer.

Sulfate Free Shampoo

Product Claims:      Cleans hair, gently and effectively Sulfate free formula Does not contain harsh detergents that strip the hair of its natural oils Smoothes the cuticle surface Leaves hair feeling soft and smooth Infused with Pro Vitamin B5 for reduced breakage and increased moisture No parabens, sulfates, petrolatum, lanolin, artificial colors, or animal testing. ***My Experience*** Most shampoos leave your hair with that striped feeling. But this one left my hair clean and moisturised. One big surprise for me was the large amount of lather the shampoo had. I was expecting little to no lather because of the sulfate free claims.  Triple Moisture Rich Conditioner Product Claims: Leaves hair feeling soft, smooth and manageable with every use Replenishes hair’s natural oils Penetrates hair’s cuticle to allow for thorough conditioning Helps prevent split ends and reduce breakage Promotes healthy hair growth No parabens, sulfates, petrolatum, lanolin, artificial colors, or animal testing. ***My Experience*** I loved the smell of the conditioner. As soon as I put it on my hair, it began the task of making my strands soft and easier to manipulate. Honey Miracle Hair Mask Product Claims: • Restores life to dry, damaged, or color treated hair  • Improves shine and manageability  • Locks in moisture and repairs damage  • Reduces shedding and breakage ***My Experience*** Because of the length and thickness of my hair, the sample provided of this product was barely enough to coat one quarter of my head of hair. I felt that my strands were not saturated enough to see any affects of the product. I was very disappointed with the barely 1oz amount of product that was sent in the container.  I guess I'll have to purchase the full size of this product to give a better review. Butter Cream Daily Moisturiser Product Claims: Hydrates dry curls and coils Improves manageability Reduces frizz and fly aways Promotes healthy hair growth, shine, and softness May also be used as a setting cream for two strand twists and twist-outs No parabens, sulfates, petrolatum, lanolin, artificial colors, or animal testing. ***My Experience***                                                                                                                                              I loved the texture of the butter cream. It wasn't heavy or too light. The smell is amazing and I loved how moisturised my hair felt when I put it on. However, my hair felt slightly sticky to the touch (but that could be a combination of the butter cream and the twist and define butter I used to seal my hair). When I took down my twists, there was a soft definition to it which I liked. ***Overall Conclusion***                                                                                                                                                     I would give the entire collection 3.5 stars out of 5.  Although the collection was nice, nothing was quite out of the ordinary for me. It performed the same as most of the regular products on the market. I was satisfied but not blown away.  The list of ingredients in the products were all healthy top shelf items that you would want in a quality natural hair product. I liked the fact that the first ingredient listed in each of the products was water.  From the entire collection, I would probably repurchase the full size container of the butter cream daily moisturiser.

My 2013 Buns

Buns are my go to protective style for my 4c natural hair. Below is a pictorial review of the many buns I wore my hair in last year.

Summer Protective Style

In order to protect my natural hair from the sun and humidity this summer, I had some marley braids installed. 

Type of hair used: Beauti Collection Marley Braid #2

***Bonus: this style allows me some down time from having to fix my hair daily and length retention. 

Twisted

On my natural hair journey, I've attempted many twist outs but never quite achieved "the look". Yesterday, I decided to give it a go again and was pretty happy with the final results.  My hair was two strand twisted for a week before I took them down. The products I used to twist my hair are Qhemet Biologics  Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee  and Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter pictured below along with the Castor & Moringa Softening Serum . The results; soft, defined, touchable twists. 

The Results

Another way I styled my twist-out