September 2015

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Product Review: Curl Junkie Hibiscus & Banana Deep Fix Moisturizing Conditioner (The Deep Conditioner Files #15)

Ingredients: Distilled Water infused with Hibiscus Petals, Aloe VeraLeaf Juice, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Honey, Shea Butter Fruit, Panthenol, Banana Fruit Extract, Hydrolyzed Oat Flour, Plantain Leaf Extract, Olive Oil, Astrocaryum Murumuru Butter, Sunflower Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Macadamia Nut Seed Oil, Cupuaçu Seed Butter, Orange Peel Wax, PEG -7 Olivate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Vegetable Glycerin, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA , Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate

Promise: From website “There is a reason this is our #1 best seller! Revitalize your hair with the moisturizing and hydrating properties of the anti-oxidant rich Hibiscus flower and Brazilian Cupuacu and Murumuru butters. This conditioner can be used daily, weekly, as an instant hydrating conditioner, deep conditioner, or as a leave-in. It provides penetrating moisture to all hair types without being too heavy. This honey rich conditioner, detangles the hair and helps hair ‘clump’ together to form better curls. 97% natural/naturally derived ingredients.”

Scent: Strongly like bananas

Consistency: Very thick

Results: This was a favorite when I was a newly natural and my hair was shorter. It leaves my hair moisturized, soft and strong. Unfortunately, now that my hair is longer (bra-strap length stretched) and thicker, it takes too much of this product to cover my head. I used up half a jar in one application. That is $10 per use, which is too much for me. If I find this one super sale, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it because the ingredients are good and it does great things for my hair, but I can’t make it a staple.

Love it, Like it or Leave It: Like It

Curl Junkie , deep condition , gel , leave-in , like it , love it , low porosity , product junkie , product review

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Wash Day 09-27-2015 - Camille Rose Curl Maker Wash N Go

Hey, beautiful people! Today I decided to try a new gel for my wash n go.

First, I did a deep condition overnight with Hydratherma Naturals Amino Plus Protein Deep Conditioner. This was my first time trying out this deep conditioner. I like it. It clearly gave my hair a protein boost, but it was mild enough that I could still use it overnight. As a random bonus, the smell reminds me of juicy fruit.

This morning, I washed my hair with Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo. Then, I used Aussie Smooth to detangle and put moisture back in my hair.

To style, I applied product to 8 sections using a rake through method. On each section, I used Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion, followed by Curl Junkie Coffee-Coco Curl Cream, followed by my oil mix, followed by Camille Rose Curl Maker gel. I applied the gel very liberally. This gel reminds me of Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic by ALOT. It rakes through the same. It curls my hair the same, and it dries the same. My hair is soft, yet my curls are still defined. This is a win!

After my hair was about 80% dry (it's still damp), I trimmed a few stands that hung lower in the front than the rest of my hair. It made a stark difference. I really need to go see a professional to get a shape-up.

Total styling time - 1 hour
Total drying time - over 12 hours

aubrey organics , Aussie , camille rose , camille rose review , gel , Hydratherma , Uncle Funky's Daughter , wash day , wash n go , wash n go challenge

Wash Day 09-12-2015 - DevaCurl: The Final Trial

Hey, beautiful people! I realized that I did not post the summary of my last wash day. First, I did a deep condition overnight with Aubrey Organics Island Replenishing Conditioner. Then, I decided to get one last use out of my DevaCurl products.

I washed my hair with the DevaCurl No Poo. Then I finished detangling my hair with the One Condition. As before, I really like these products. I don't see myself re-purchasing these, unless they are on super sale or in a pinch because they are expensive and the smell is a turnoff for me. However, they work very well on my hair, so I can't completely discount them.

Finally, to give my hair a rest, I decided to braid it up. I put my hair in about 14 braids using DevaCurl Styling Cream, Curl Junkie Coffee-Coco Curl Cream and my oil mix. I left the braids in for about a week before I took them out. My braid out was so soft and defined. It also had a nice sheen.

braid out , braidout , Curl Junkie , devacurl , leave-in , like it , styling techniques

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Wash Day 09-04-2015 (DevaCurl Take 2)

Hey, beautiful people! I decided to give DevaCurl another try this weekend because I really liked the NoPoo and One Condition, and I suspected that I could like the Styling Cream as well.

First, I did a deep condition overnight with Aubrey Organics Island Replenishing Conditioner. I previously did a review of this product. This is still one of my favorites, even though they have changed the formula somewhat. I ran out of the old formula while I was applying it, so I finished my hair off with the new formula. So far, so good. My hair felt soft, supple and strong when I rinsed out the conditioner the next morning.

Next, I washed my hair with the DevaCurl No Poo. Just like before, this felt wonderful on my hair and I was even able to detangle with it, though the scent gets to me. As I may have mentioned before, I am sensitive to strong scents.

Then I finished detangling my hair with the One Condition. This is also great. It left my hair soft, and made it easy to detangle. The scent on this is also a little easier to handle than the No Poo.

Finally, I did a wash n go with the DevaCurl Styling Cream, my oil mix and my tried-and-true Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic. My wash n go had great curl definition! It was also soft, and the shrinkage was not as severe, though there was significant shrinkage. This product would be great for people who love big wash n gos. My only complaint, if I can call it one, is that my hair still was not dry after 12 hours.

Based on this wash day, I learned two things: (1) the DevaCurl gel is probably what caused the flakes in my hair last week; and (2) a little bit of the styling cream goes a long way. I don't have to use as much styling cream as I do with leave-ins. In fact, in the one quadrant of my hair where I went overboard with the styling cream, it flaked. This was the only area that flaked.

Total styling time: 20 minutes
Total drying time: over 12 hours