Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Product Review: SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie


     When I first decided I was going natural I ran across this product in my local drugstore and from then on we were connected at the hip. This product states it conditions, restores moisture, adds body and shine, enhances curls, minimizes frizz and provides curl control for thick curly hair. It has a coconut scent and you know I love coconut. This smoothie has a light whipped texture and is very creamy. I have used it as a moisturizer and I have mixed it with Ecostyler Gel to style my twistouts......all with pretty good results. With that being said beware of using to much, there is a possibility of fuzz balls, so use the minimum. Overall I enjoyed the product and have turned my mother onto it  and its her all time favorite. I purchased a 12 oz jar at Walgreens for $9.99.

Ingedients: Deionized Water , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil , Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado) , Vegetable Glycerin , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract , Silk Protein , Ammonium Salt , Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem) , Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil (Carrot) , Sorbitol Esters , Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5) , Caprylyl Glycol , Essential Oil Blend , Tocopherol (Vitamin E)





Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Product Review: Pantene Truly Naturals

                       

     So I just had to try the new Pantene line for us naturals, it was calling my name. I purchased the Defining Curls Styling Custard and the Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser @ Walmart for $4.97 a piece. I first washed my hair with the co-washing cleanser and it cleaned my hair very well. It didn't strip my hair and my hair was soft to the touch; I finger detangled in the shower and it gave good slip. While damp, I applied the custard and it did make my curls pop, in fact my mother said "your hair looks so curly." The scent for the shampoo smelled just as the other Pantene shampoos and had a creamy texture. The custard has a custard, non tacky texture and it is scented with fragrance which was a tad bit over powering for me, I applied it at night and smelled it all night.

Co-Wash Ingredients: Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetyl Alcohol, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Fragrance, Benzyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

Custard Ingredients: Water, Dimethicone, Sorbitol, Aminomethyl Propanol, Carbomer, VA/Crotonates Copolymer, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance, DMDM Hydantoin, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil

Monday, January 28, 2013

Product Review: U R Curly Product Line



U R Curly Soya Shampoo           $6.99
      This product states it will clean and moisturize hair leaving it smooth and soft to touch; it soothes the scalp, reduce breakage, nourish damaged hair and promote growth. It created a good lather and got my hair clean with out a doubt, however it had a medicine like scent to me that I wasn't to fond off.

Ingredients: Artesian Water, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Taurate, PEG 150 Distearate, Polyquat 10, Menthol, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Polysorbate 20, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Fragrance, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinine

U R Curly Quinoa Conditioner    $6.99
      This product states it will moisturize and detangle, leaving hair shiny and soft; it reduces breakage, nourish damage and promote hair growth. It had a creamy texture and I liked the way my hair felt soft after using, however this was had the medicine scent as well.

Ingredients: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Peg-40 Hydrogenated, Castor Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Hydrolyzed Quinoa, Glycerin, Polyquaternium-10, DMDM Hydantoin, Menthol, Leaf Oil, Crambe, Abyssinica Seed Oil (Abyssinian Oil), Fragrance, Aloe, Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), Flower/Leaf/Stern Extract, lodopropynl Butylcarbarrate


U R Curly Loose Curl Enhancer  $6.99 &  U R Curly Tight Curl Enhancer    $6.99
     These products state that they revitalize and stimulate curls, controlling frizz, leaving hair sift and shiny.They have a non-greasy, jelly like texture; I can't really describe the scent however it wasn't like the medicine scent of the shampoo and conditioner. They are applied to clean damp hair and they just didn't do much for my hair; I am a twist out type of girl, so the wash and go I was attempting with these.....I didn't like.

Loose Curl Ingredients: Artesian Water, Glycerin, PPG-5 Ceteth-20, Polysorbate 20, VP/Dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate Copolymer Carbomer, Triethanolamine, DMDM Hydantoin, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG Silanetriol, Fragrance, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil (Abyssinian Oil), Aloe Extract, Honey Extract, IodopropynylButylcarbamate

Tight Curl Ingredients: Artesian Water, Glycerin, PPG-5 Ceteth-20, Polysorbate 20, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG Silanetriol, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil (Abyssinian Oil), Panthenol (Provitamin B5), Echinaecea Extract, IodopropynylButylcarbamate



All these products are free of alcohols, parabens, sulfates, and dyes.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Product Review: Suave Almond & Shea Butter Moisturizing Conditioner


   

     Suave Professionals Almond & Shea Butter Moisturizing Conditioner promises to replenish and leave hair well nourished and beautiful. I ran out of my HE Totally Twisted Conditioner and decided to try something new and I loved it! It smelled liked almonds, which was lovely. It had a creamy texture and my hair felt so soft and I got pretty good slip form it. This will definitely be something I can see myself continuing to use, this will be my go to for co-washes. For a 12.6 oz bottle I purchased from Walmart for like $2.99.



Ingredients: Water (Aqua) , Cetearyl Alcohol , Dimethicone , Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond) , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice , Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil (Lemongrass) , Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil , Chamomilla Recutita Flower , Leaf Extract , Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Extract (Lavender) , Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba) , Behentrimonium Chloride , Fragrance , Dipropylene Glycol , Lactic Acid , Potassium Chloride , Amodimethicone , Disodium EDTA , DMDM Hydantoin , PEG-150 Distearate , PEG-7 Propylheptyl Ether , Cetrimonium Chloride , Methylchloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Hair Haul!


Walmart
     Pantene Pro-V for Naturals Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser    $4.97
     Pantene Pro-V for Naturals Defining Curls Styling Custard       $4.97
     Suave Professionals Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner       $2.99

SalonCentric
     Mizani Intense Moisture & Softness Set                                  $16.00
          Moisturfusion Milk Bath 8.5 oz
          Moisturfusion Silk Cream Conditioner 8.5 oz
          D'Tangle Moisturizing Leave-In Milk 8.5 oz

Walgreens
     Dark and Lovely Au Naturale 10-in-1 Styles Gelee 5.3 oz         $9.99
     Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Curl Defing Creme Glaze 14.4 oz $9.99
     Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Coil Moisturizing Souffle 14.4 oz  $9.99

I know a product junkie at its finest..........Reviews to come!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

What in the porosity?


     Porosity is the hairs ability or inability to absorb water. Although all hair is porous it is the level of porosity that varies. Hair with low porosity does not absorb moisture well and tends to resists chemical treatments. Black hair tens to be more porous than other hair types. Hair with high porosity absorbs water well when wet and looses moisture even more when it dries. A hair's pH and porosity as related: low pH products and styling treatments reduce hair's porosity causing tightening of the cuticle, high pH products increase the porosity by swelling the cuticle. High porosity is caused by heat-styling, sun, chemicals (relaxer/ color), and shampoos that strip. The more damage the greater the porosity...the more moisture it absorbs. It tends to be difficult to keep porous hair moisturized....a weekly ACV rinse, low pH shampoo, or neutralizing shampoo can help correct this problem. 
     How do you check for porosity? While hair is freshly cleaned and dried, grasp a clump of hair between you thumb and index finger and slide along from tips to root. If you feel bumps....your hair is slightly porous. Another way of testing is by plucking a clean strand of hair from your head and gently laying it in a glass of room temperature tap water. If it starts to sink right away it is very porous. The faster it sinks the higher the porosity.

Information attained from Davis-Sivasothy, Audrey. The Science of Black Hair. April 2011. e-book.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Product Review: Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Moisturizing Twist & Lock Gel


     I decided to give this product a try since I absolutely love the Cantu Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream. I purchased it at my local CVS for $9.29. First it smells like coconut and I love the smell of coconut. It has a lightweight jelly like texture and it is non-greasy. I used this product to retwist my twistout all last week and I was impressed. In fact my little sister asked me "what did you do, that's the best your hair has ever looked." Resisting the urge to slap her.... I did enjoy the results, it did not weigh my hair down, it was soft and it was very defined. On day 5 of using it daily I did see some flaking, but hey I used it every night. Will I use this product again of course this is going to be my staple when it comes to retwisting my twist outs at night. I love this product just as I did the Leave In Repair Cream.

Ingredients:Water (Aqua) , PVP , Fragrance , Polyquaternium 37 , Cocos Nucifera Extract (Coconut) , Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea) , Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond) , Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado) , Simmondsia Chinensis Oil (Jojoba) , Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive) , Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter , Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil (Argan) , Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem) , Daucus Carota Seed Oil (Carrot) , Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Honeysuckle) , Laminara Cloustoni Extract (Sea Kelp) , Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract , Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil (Macadamia) , Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract (Grape) , Urtica Dioica Extract (Nettle) , Silk Amino Acids , Hydrolyzed Silk , Phenoxyethanol , Ethylhexylglycerin

Monday, January 14, 2013

Revealing My January Curlkit!


     This month's kit was bulging more than last months kit, I think they just might have to invest in a larger box to fit all the goodies. This months kit included.....

     CurlLife (Curlkit Magazine)
     Ampro Pro Styl Olive Oil Gel (2 oz sample)
     Annie Rubber Cushion Brush (generic to the Denman)
     As I Am Naturally Coconut CoWash (full size)
     Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Deep Conditioner (0.5 oz sample)
     Coco & Cream Raspberry Rice Pudding Shampoo Bar
     Keratin Maintenance Replenish Masque (1.75 fl oz sample)
     Koils by Nature Ultra-Moisturizing CocoAloe Deep Conditioner (2 oz sample)
     Lustrasilk Moisture Max Keratin Amino Acid Leave-In Creme Conditioner (1.75 fl oz sample)
     Pooka Pure and Simple Pomegranate Kiwi Sugar Body Polish (2 oz sample)
     
     
     
     

Sunday, January 6, 2013

My 1st Haul!!!!

      So I made a few stops today including CVS Pharmacy & Dollar Deals and ohhh what fun. I picked up a couple items by Cantu that I wanted to try as well as some hair accessories from scunci.


Dollar Deals
   8 pack of (Basic Solutions) Black Headwraps  $1.00
   8 pack of (Basic Solutions) Multi-Colored Headwraps $1.00

CVS Pharmacy
   21 pcs of (Scunci) Evolution Black Hair Ties $3.39
   8 pc Bogo (Scunci) No Slip Grip Headwraps $5.79
   Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Twist & Lock Gel $9.29
   Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Shine & Hold Mist $8.29
   
     In addition my nieces drug me into Forever21 & Rue21 and I found plenty of cute earrings to add pizazz to my TWA.

   @Rue 21 the accessories were BOGO so they ranged from $3.50 to $6.99.
   @Forever21 they $3.80 and $4.80.

I am definitely glad I went and can't wait to experiment and accessorize!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Product Review: Design Essentials Natural Curl Stretching Cream


     Design Essentials Natural Curl Stretching Cream is a moisturizing cream that claims to smooth and condition hair, while creating frizz controlled curls. I applied this product to clean wet hair and did a twist out ....I was impressed with the results, I ended up with a very defined, moisturized & stretched twist out; to my surprise.  It did give a nice hold, however it was soft. It smells like the cake batter bowl my brother and I used to fight for when we were younger (okay we still fight for). I definitely enjoyed this product. I purchased a 16 oz jar for $38.99 (I know ouch). This product is petroleum free, mineral oil free, parafin free, paraben free, silicone free, paraben free, and fragrance free. I plan on continuing to use this product and definitely plan on making it last. 


Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Prunus Amygdalus (and) Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Sweet Almond Butter),Glycerin, Canola Oil (and) Glycine Soja (Soybean) Germ Extract (and) Zea Mays (Corn) Starch (and) Silica, Olea Europea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate, Acetylated Lanolin, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Coco Glucoside (and) Glyceryl Monooleate, PEG-8 Dilaurate, Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Potassium Sorbate (and) Hexylene Glycol, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Ceteareth-20, Stearyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Sodium Borate, Carbomer, Panthenol, PVP/VA Copolymer, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), EDTA Disodium, BHT, Caramel, Silk Amino Acid

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Product Review: RA Cosmetics 100% Pure Shea Butter 100% Mango Scent


     While visiting Jacksonville this past weekend I decided to stop by BeautyMax just see what new products I can check out. Being that I love butters and creams, I picked up RA's 100% Shea Butter in mango scent. It claims to be nature's gift to you hair and skin. I absolutely love the scent and has the firm texture of butter, but melts in you hands. I have used it to seal my ends in a twist-out, in addition to take down a twist out and I like it. It was at a very reasonable price of $5.99 for a 4 oz jar. I honestly say I would  definitely purchased this product again. It is a natural girls dream, it is 100% natural and can used on both hair and skin.

Ingredients: 100% Shea butter with 100% Mango Scent.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Product Review: Ampro Prostyl Olive Oil Gel


     Ampro Pro Styl Olive Oil Gel claims to provide a firm non-greasy hold, while moisturizing hair with Olive Oil and does not flake; in addition it claims to good for natural hair. I first received this product as a sample in a Curlkit (Thanks Curlkit!) earlier last year. It does smell like Olive Oil and has a jelly texture. I have used it to lay down my edges and when I put my hair in a high puff. It does provide a good hold  and it doesn't make my hair rock hard. I will continue to use this product (one of my staple gels), in fact I purchased a 10 oz jar from my local beauty supply for $2.99. Also, as a bonus it contains no alcohols or parabens.

Ingredients: Artesian Water, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, VP/VA Copolymer, PPG-5 Celeth-20, DMDM Hydanloin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Hydrolized Soy Protein, Yellow 5, Blue 1