April 2014

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Product Review: Hairveda SitriNillah (The Deep Conditioner Files #4)

Price: $18 for 16 oz.

Ingredients: Water, Coconut oil, Castor Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Steryl Alcohol, Stearakloniun Chloride, Dimethyl Stearamine, Orange oil, Orange Extract, Vanilla Extract, Lactic Acid, Germall Plus, Fragrance.

Promise: From the website - SitriNillah is perfect for conditioning and softening your hair after a relaxer or protein treatment. Our ingredients are perfectly infused to bring the life back to your hair. Nourishing Orange oil penetrates deep down to treat lifeless and brittle hair. Orange peel, used for centuries in Ayurveda hair and skin remedies is known for enhancing the hair's supple nature.

Scent: Like citrusy orange cream and baby

Consistency: Heavy face cream

Results: I tried this three different ways. The first time, I tried it as an overnight deep conditioner before my shampoo (my favorite way to deep condition). Then, I tried it under my Hot Heads Heat cap after using shampoo. Then, I tried it under a heat cap for 20 minutes after chelating. No matter which of the three I tried, the result was just ok. I couldn’t get it to moisturize my hair enough, although it worked best under the heat cap. For the Hot Heads and the overnight, the conditioner just sat on top of my hair. I think, for my hair, this really needs a lot of heat to penetrate my strands, so the Hot Heads cap wasn’t sufficient and the overnight did basically nothing at all. This may work better for normal to high porosity hair. I remember this making my hair feel good just after I big chopped, when my porosity was probably a little higher.

Love it, Like it or Leave It: Leave It. For my lifestyle, I need a deep conditioner that I can do overnight or under a heat cap. Plus, this just didn’t wow me anymore.

coconut , deep condition , hairveda , leave it , product junkie , product review

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Clarifying vs. Chelating

Hey, beautiful people! In my search for cleansers, I forgot about something pretty important and I wasn’t reminded of it until recently by a fellow forum member -- clarifying and chelating.

Clarifying is a deep clean where you are removing buildup from the surface of the hair, including dirt, oil, gel and silicones. Think of it as a very intense shampooing. You should do this if it feels like your staple products have stopped working. You may also want to clarify if you are trying out new products, so you can see how it works without the benefit of residue from your prior products. Some people clarify on a schedule, like once a month, but I personally just clarify when my hair needs it (i.e., my products aren’t working, my hair feels gross or I know I used a lot of gel or other product in my last style). Good clarifiers include:

Sulfate shampoo (not an option for me)
“Clarifying” shampoo (these use ingredients that are just as strong as sulfates)
African Black Soap (my preferred clarifier)
Apple Cider Vinegar (my alternate)
Baking soda
Aritha ayurvedic powder
Bentonite clay

Chelating is not the same. Chelating goes one step further than clarifying to remove metals and minerals from the hair. You should do this periodically if you have hard water to remove the mineral deposits, like magnesium and calcium, or if you are a swimmer to remove the chlorine. Don’t chelate if you don’t have to because it is guaranteed to strip your hair. You can find out more about hard water on the U.S. Geological Survey website and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. A good way to determine if you have hard water is to check here where some counties post their annual drinking water quality reports online. You can also buy test trips at your local home improvement store. Good chelators include:

"Chelating" or “Swimmer’s" shampoo
Citric Acid a/k/a sour salt
Phytic Acid
Shampoo containing EDTA

I checked my county’s quality report, which said that my area has moderately hard water. I then bought some teststrips online, and I actually have very hard water. Thankfully, I already deviated from my no-buy to purchase Aubrey Organics Swimmer’s Shampoo because it was on clearance (they are discontinuing the old label) and I know my son and I will be swimming this summer, so I will probably use that this weekend.

It probably goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. After clarifying or chelating, be sure to condition your hair so that it is not left in the stripped state.

Do you clarify or chelate? How often?

cleanser , healthy hair journey , shampoo

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Updates 4-13-14 and The Rinse Out Conditioner Hunt

Hey, beautiful people! Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while, but I promise I have a good reason. I’m pregnant! Yup. The end of my first trimester was pretty rough, including a trip to the ER, so I didn’t really have energy to do much, including post. I hope to get back to posting more frequently now.

Aside from my big announcement, there isn’t much going on with me. As you can probably tell from my posts, my goal right now in my natural hair journey is really figuring out what products work for my hair, so I’m still doing that by working through my toolbox essentials. I’ve investigated what properties work for me in cleansers and moisturizers, and I think I’ve nailed both of those. I even have staples and some backups. I just have one more post for cleansers that I want to do on clarifying vs. chelating to make sure I understand the difference between the two. Next, I’m looking at rinse out conditioners.

I’m a Youtube-a-holic and a LHCF-a-holic, and I’ve noticed that people with long hair don’t necessarily use all-natural products. However, I’m still very conscious of what I put on my body, especially since I’m now carrying a little one. I thought the best place to branch out into more "non-natural" commercial products would be with my rinse out conditioners. There a few reasons why. First, I run through them like water, so an inexpensive one would be great. Second, I don’t leave it on my hair for long, so I’m less worried about the ingredients, though I’m still cautious. Therefore, I’m going to take a few posts and investigate some of the more suspect ingredients in commercial rinse out conditioners.

Do you use products that are not all natural? If so, which ones?

cleanser , conditioner , healthy hair journey , moisturizing , regimen