SilkenDove: wash day

Showing posts with label wash day. Show all posts

Sunday, December 24, 2017

2017-12-24 Wash Day: As I Am Curling Jelly & New Wash N' Go Technique

Hello Beautiful People! I'm so excited! I got a good wash n' go by doing something I didn't think would work, while trying to use up products.

I started with deep conditioning with Mielle Organics Babassu Oil and Mint Deep Conditioner. This deep conditioner has been a life saver and has reached holy grail status because I lose less hair on wash day, and my hair is noticeably thicker and stronger.

My hair didn't really need a wash, so I just rinsed out the deep conditioner while detangling my hair. Next, because I wash my hair in four sections, that is how I applied my products. I used Oyin Hair Dew as my leave-in, followed by Camille Rose Cocoa Nibs and Honey Ultimate Growth Serum, then DevaCurl Supercream. To style, I raked gobs of As I Am Curling Jelly through a section, then very loosely twisted and put a white curling rod on it. Then I moved on to the next section. My hair is low porosity and takes literally days to dry, so I wasn't worried about this turning into a twistout. The only reason I twisted is because the As I Am Curling Jelly gives me no hold, and I watched this woman on YouTube twist her hair temporarily to get length and clumping.

After about an hour in the twists, I took them out to let my curls dry. My hair is the most defined it has been in awhile!! (I've been struggling with lots of frizz.) This is particularly impressive given the gel I used. I still have super shrinkage because As I Am Curling Jelly has no weight, but I'm ok with that. Shrinkage makes it look like my low-medium density hair has more volume.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

2017-09-24 Wash Day: Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip and Mielle Organics Honey & Ginger Styling Gel

Hey, beautiful people! I'm on a wash n' go streak at the moment, so I did another one. This time, I started with a deep condition with Mielle Organics Mint Babassu Deep Conditioner overnight. I love this deep conditioner.

The next day, I cleansed with Camille Rose Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse, then I detangled with Garnier Whole Blends Conditioner. I used the Garnier Whole Blends Hydrating (Coconut Water and Vanilla Milk) Conditioner this time because I realized the Replenishing (Olive Oil) Conditioner has mineral oil in it that made my shower slimy. The Hydrating Conditioner made my scalp itch, but less so than the Honey Conditioner.

When I got out the shower, I first used the Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip. This was my second time using this leave-in for a wash n' go. It has amazing slip, but I don't think I will use it again as my sole leave-in because it doesn't seem to keep my hair moisturized, for the reasons I will mention below.

Finally, I raked the Mielle Organics Honey & Ginger Styling Gel through my hair. On the right side of my hair, I just used my fingers to rake. On the left side, I first used my fingers, then I used my Tangle Wrangler. I can never get a Denman brush through my hair and the tangle wrangler works for me the same way other people use a Denman. However, instead of clumping my curls, the tangle wrangler separated them. In looking at some Youtube videos, it may be that my technique was wrong. I used the brush on the full length of my hair, instead of just the ends. I will try this again to see.

As you may recall, when I used the Mielle Organics gel for my wash n' go before, it flaked. I assumed that was because I used it in connection with the curl cream. I was wrong. It flaked again this time, though a little less than when I used the curl cream. I've also learned that some other ladies have had this flaking issue as well.

Overall, this wash n' go for my hair. In addition to the flaking, my hair was so dry by the second day that I had to promptly wash it out. I think the dryness was the Soultanicals because (1) my hair was not dry when I did the Mielle Organics curl cream/gel combo; and (2) this is the second wash n' go using Soultanicals where my hair was desert dry.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

2017-09-16 Wash Day: Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel Wash n Go

Hey, beautiful people! This weekend I was in the mood to do a wash n' go with a product that has been in my stash for awhile but unopened.

First, I deep conditioned my hair overnight with the Shea Moisture Superfruit 10-in-1 Renewal System Hair Mask. This conditioner is just ok. My hair has never been a big Shea Moisture fan, and this was no exception. Additionally, I've found that my hair needs at least a little protein each deep conditioning to stay strong, likely because it is fine in coarseness. When I don't have protein in my deep conditioner, I see more hair in the shower and more breakage during styling.

Next, I washed my hair with the Camille Rose Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse. I have always thought of this as a shampoo until someone corrected me, and told me that it is a cross between a shampoo and a co-wash as a "rinse."

Then, I used Garnier Whole Blends Replenishing Conditioner (Olive Oil) to detangle my hair. This performed better than the Honey Treasures (which made my scalp itch). I had no itching with this one, so I tossed the Honey Treasures.

Next, I used As I Am Leave-in Conditioner on one quadrant of my hair before I ran out, and Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip for the rest. I love the As I Am leave-in, and I think I like the Soultanicals too, but I want to use it a few more times to be sure.

Finally, I raked and shingled Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel. I was not going to try this gel because I hated a different Aunt Jackie's product in the past, but the thought of flaxseed swayed me and I am glad it did. This gel reminds me of Wetline Extreme Gel, but it may be easier to spread. It gives my hair similar definition and sheen. However, by day two of this wash n' go, my hair was dry and crispy.

ETA 10/1/2017: The dryness may be from the Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

2017-09-05 Wash Day: As I Am Wash N Go

Hey, beautiful people! I was not loving my Mane Choice wash n go because of the flakes it gave me, so I decided to wash my hair and try again. This time, I did a deep condition overnight with Mielle Organics Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner. I like this deep conditioner because it leaves my hair nice and strong, while still somewhat moisturized.

Next, I used the Garnier Fructis Whole Blends Repairing Conditioner Honey Treasures. I had a better experience with this than the first time I used it, but it is still not a favorite. It still had no slip. I also notice that I'm using about a third of a bottle each time I wash my hair.

To style my hair, I first used the As I Am Leave-in Conditioner. I really like this leave-in and plan to repurchase it. Finally, I ended up using two gels for my wash n' go. First, I applied the As I Am Curling Jelly, which has incredible slip and clumps my curls. I have used this in the past with ok results. However, this time, I thought it was going to be too light for the defined look I was going for because it is almost like a liquid gel. It is even thinner than my "snot" like gels (Camille Rose Curl

Maker and Uncle Funky's Daughter).

Because I knew the Curling Jelly was going to be too light, I layered on the As I Am Coil Defining Jelly. This is much thicker, like strawberry jam and is similar in texture to Wetline Extreme Gel or

Eco Styler gel, but without the same hold.

When my hair dried the next day, it was soft, moisturized and fluffy. Also, there were no flakes, which was nice. However, I also had a lot of frizz, without much definition. I essentially skipped right over first and second day hair to third/fourth day. I also had to pull on my hair quite a bit to shape it because it kept shrinking up.

I don't think I would purchase the As I Am Coil Defining Jelly again, but I might pair the Curling Jelly with another gel to see how that goes.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

2017-09-03 Wash Day: Mane Choice Crystal Orchid Biotin Infused Styling Gel

Hey, beautiful people! I have been on the move, traveling for work and for fun. So I have not had a chance to post in awhile. I'm taking advantage of the long weekend, however, to post another wash

day.

Yesterday, I did a deep condition overnight with Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex 10-in-1 Renewal System Hair Masque. This was the second time I used this mask, and I'm not a huge fan. It is not a bad deep conditioner. I just have deep conditioners that I love better.

In the morning, I washed my hair with Camille Rose's Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse, then detangled with Garnier Fructis Whole Blends Honey Treasures Repairing Conditioner. This conditioner was just ok, and comes nowhere close to performing like my favorite conditioner (Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner). It was too thick, and did not help much with detangling. It is also possible that it made my scalp itchy temporarily.

When I got out the shower, I used As I Am Naturally's Leave-in Conditioner, which I still love for its slip and ability to absorb into my hair. Then, I did a wash n' go with the Mane Choice Crystal Orchid Biotin Infused Styling Gel. This gel's performance reminds me a lot of Wetline Extreme Gel in terms of the hold and definition on the first day, but that is where the similarities end. It has more slip; however, the next day, I got a ton of white flakes. I heard from other reviews that this gel flakes, so I wasn't that surprised to see it. I just assumed that using a lighter leave-in, like As I Am, would minimize the chance of that happening. I was wrong.

After my hair dried for a day, I cut my hair from shoulder length to what I thought was chin length. I was wrong about this too. My hair continued to dry throughout the second day, and is now ear length curly. When stretched, this takes me from waist length in the back to about bra strap length. I cut my hair because it was starting to get too heavy, was growing uneven and was harder to take care of. Plus, the shorter length frames my face better, and I still have enough hair to throw it into a ponytail.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Wash Day 07-12-2017 - Mielle Organics and Wetline Extreme Gel

Hello Beautiful People,

This post is a little overdue because I washed my hair during the week, but I did not have time to style it. I have been in a wash n' go mood lately, so I decided to do one this week.

I started first with the Camille Rose Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse shampoo, which is a favorite of mine right now. Next, I used the Shea Moisture Low Porosity Conditioner, which I bought before Shea Moisture-gate. This conditioner works ok, but it doesn't have the most slip.

After getting out of the shower, I used my Mielle Organics Avocado Hair Milk, which is becoming a fast favorite and reminds me a lot of Oyin Hair Dew. Then I used the rake and smooth method with Wetline Extreme Gel to style my wash n' go. For those who are new or not familiar with the rake and smooth method, I first sectioned my hair into about 8 sections, raking gel first through with extra emphasis on my roots and ends, and then smoothing the gel covered section by holding the section into my hand like a sandwich and pulling my hand down the section. When I was done, I used hairpins to pin the top and front edges of my hair, which are a different texture from the majority of my hair. When I was done, I put my hair in a microfiber hair towel for 30 minutes to speed up the drying process.

This was the most defined wash n' go that I have had in awhile! My curls were clumped and easily seen. It also lasted for four days, which is the longest I have had a wash n' go. It likely would have lasted longer, but I wanted a different style today.

The only downside is that it took two days for my hair to dry.

Total styling time = 40 minutes

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Wash Day 7-4-2017: Cream of Nature Argan Oil Wash N' Go

Hello, beautiful people! Happy 4th of July!

Since I had an extra day for any mishaps, I decided to try some Cream of Nature Argan Oil products that I received for free through a Naturally Curly giveaway. Overall, I can't say that I am in love, but one of the products pleasantly surprised me.

I started off my wash day with the Cream of Nature Argan Oil Pure-licious Co-wash. This is not the first time I have tried this product. I didn't like it the first time I tried it but, again, it was free; so, I tried it again. Just as before, the Cream of Nature Argan Oil fragrance is overpowering. It is so strong that it makes me wonder what the fragrance is covering up. Even aside from the smell, my hair did not feel clean after using this product, so I will definitely use shampoo for my next wash. As the one positive of the co-wash, it did leave my hair feeling moisturized.

After I finished co-washing my hair, I left it dripping wet, rather than using a towel because I knew I would not be using a leave-in and would need some moisture in my hair for the next steps. Next, I added the Cream of Nature Pudding Perfection Curl Enhancing Cream. At first, I used just a little bit on each section, and decided it would not be enough to do my wash n' go, so I added the Cream of Nature Argan Oil Twirling Custard Curl Defining Jelly. The custard did literally nothing to my hair, so I added Eco Styler Clear Gel to avoid ending up with a disaster.

When I got close to the finishing half of my hair, I had a revelation, however. While I was using small sections for my rake & smooth method, I was not using enough of the Cream of Nature Pudding Perfection Curl Enhancing Cream on each section. When I added more, my curls popped and clumped. It was surprisingly incredible. Thus, I finished off my hair using just the Cream of Nature Pudding and the Eco Styler Clear Gel.

My curls are defined and elongated. The only problem is that I currently have a headache from the Cream of Nature Argan Oil fragrance. I am a little sad because of how well the pudding ultimately did. I may try the pudding again and see if the fragrance is lessened by this being the only Cream of Nature Product I use.

In the picture, the pudding-only side is on the right, and the pudding-custard side is on the left.

Total Wash & Style Time: 40 minutes

NOTE 7/8/17: I wore this wash n' go for three days. On the second day, I had two people still comment that they loved my "perfume." I wasn't wearing any perfume.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Wash Day 06-16-2017: Mielle Organics Brazilian Curl Cream and Honey & Ginger Gel

Hey, beautiful people! In one of my more recent posts, I talked about trying Mielle Organics products, and how much I liked them. At the time, I didn't have the Brazilian Curly Cocktail Curl Cream or the Honey & Ginger Styling Gel, but I wanted to try them.

This wash day, I did a deep condition overnight with Silk Dreams Haircare Vanilla Silk Cream Moisture Dream. Since I washed my hair earlier this week with shampoo, I didn't shampoo again, except for the back right quadrant of my hair (don't ask). For the rest of my hair, I skipped right to the conditioner, and used that to "co-wash" my scalp. This time, I used the Beauty 360 Deeper Moisture Conditioner for Dry and Damaged Hair. It is supposed to be the CVS generic brand of the TRESemme Moisture Rich Conditioner. Normally, I would not have purchased this because Dimethicone was the sixth ingredient, but I decided to give it a shot because it was so cheap. It was ok, but I am still not a fan of regular Dimethicone for the reasons I described in this post. I prefer -cones that are water soluble, evaporate or are build-up resistant.

After washing my hair, I applied Mielle Organics Brazilian Curl Cream and the Honey & Ginger Styling Gel to my hair in 12 sections (3 sections per quadrant). I didn't need to use a ton of gel, but I did have to use quite a bit of the curl cream. Ultimately, my hair was ultra-defined while still wet, and kept a lot of that definition when it dried. While there was a slight crunch as my hair dried, the crunch left pretty quickly when I touched my hair, and my hair became super soft. As an added bonus, my hair smelled like delicious herbal tea.

Overall, I like the curl cream and gel as a first impression. I only had three issues: (1) my ends are frizzy, which may not be the gel's fault; (2) the roots of my hair were still wet over 24 hours later, which tends to happen to my low porosity hair with heavy products; and (3) this combo flakes.

Total Styling Time: ~35 minutes

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Wash Day 02-18-2017 - As I Am Leave-in Conditioner

Hey beautiful people! Today was a rare, warm day in Michigan winter, so I decided to do a wash n go. Prior to today, I left the Silk Dreams Vanilla Silk deep conditioner on my hair for a couple days.

I started today with the Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Cleansing Conditioner. I have used this for a few washes, and I still like it. Next, I used the HerbalEssences Wild Naturals Turkish Fig (with Cassia), which I let sit on my hair while I showered. This is a good conditioner for detangling. It has great slip, but it still doesn’t beat my Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship as my favorite.

When I got out the shower, I put As I Am Leave-in Conditioner, Camille Rose Cocoa Nibs and Honey Ultimate Growth Serum, and Uncle Funky’s Daughter's Curly Magic gel. Then I wrapped my hair in a microfiber towel to suck up some of the moisture while I did my makeup and got dressed. This sped up my dry time immensely. My hair was not dripping when I took off the towel, and it was 75% dry about 4 hours later (the picture below).

The As I Am Leave-in was the star of this wash day. As a low porosity girl, it is rare that I put a leave-in conditioner on head and have it absorb immediately without making my hair white. When I put the As I Am on my hair, there were very minimal white spots. If it performs the same in later wash days, it may become a favorite.

Total Wash & Style Time - 27 minutes

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Wash Day 02-04-2017

Hey, beautiful people! I have been lazy, but it is time for me to get back to posting my wash days. I noticed recently that my hair is getting a little thinner. I suspect it is because I haven’t been regularly deep conditioning like I used to, but the only way to tell for sure is to start tracking it.

To start off this wash day, I used the Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Cleansing Conditioner. This was a birthday gift from a good friend, who knows I have a love for certain hair products (thanks, Margeaux!). As a first impression, this is great at detangling. I couldn’t really tell if it cleansed my hair because my hair wasn’t that dirty, but I am going to try it a few times in a row to see if I get buildup. The only downside to this conditioner was the smell. I am sensitive to certain smells, and this one has a very perfumed scent.

Next, because I didn’t do an overnight deep condition, I used an old favorite – Hairveda’s Acai Berry Phytokeratin Hair Reconstructer. This product only needs a few minutes to work and it gives my hair a lot of strength. It takes me right up to the line of protein overload without getting there, so I don’t need to follow it up with another deep conditioner.

Once I got out the shower, I used As I Am’s Leave-in Conditioner, which is great. Then, I layered on Camille Rose’s Coca Nibs and Honey Growth Serum, which is my favorite mixed oil product. Finally, I used the Eco Styler Coconut Gel. I don’t know how I feel about this gel yet, but it may have the best smell of all the Eco Styler gels.

To style, I did a top knot bun. First, I put the top half of my hair in a ponytail, and did a loose two-strand twist bun. Then, I took the back half of my hair and draped it over the first. This two-step process makes the front look cleaner, and creates a fuller bun for me. Next time I do this, I’ll take pictures because it is hard to describe.

Total Wash Day Time: 56 minutes

Saturday, August 27, 2016

8-27-2016 Wash Day (Wetline Take 2)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

08-21-2016 Wash Day (Wetline Extreme Gel)

Hey, beautiful people! I am really late in posting about my last wash day, but I still wanted to post so that I remember what I did.

Yet again, I forgot to do my deep conditioner overnight, so I decided to do a clay wash this time. I washed my hair with Naturalicious Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment. In full disclaimer, I know the owner of the company and I got this bottle for free when I attended one of her events. That being said, it doesn't affect the way I review the product. This was the second time I tried out this product. The first time, I purchased the clay wash years ago and I had a hard time maneuvering the product while trying to wash my hair in the shower because it is somewhat runny. This time, I figured it out and I really liked the way it made my hair feel, especially since I didn't deep condition. My hair felt cleansed, but not stripped, and it was buttery soft.

When I got out the shower, I put Oyin Hair Dew on my hair as my leave-in. Then, I used Wetline Extreme Gel to do my wash n' go. As this is a thicker gel, like Eco Styler, I used the shingle method. Then, I put my hair up in a turbie twist to absorb some of the excess water and speed up the drying process, while I got dressed. Finally, I put a couple hair pins at my crown and just let it hang while I went about my day.

I loved my results! The wetline reminds me of my pink eco styler, but with a stronger hold; and reminds me of the krystal eco styler hold but without the flakes. It's the best of both worlds. The only problem is that it still takes forever to dry because it is so thick. It took about 2 days. I'm going to see if I can get it down to 1 by using less gel. If so, this may be right up there with my Camille Rose Curl Maker and Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic.

Total Wash & Styling Time - 25 minutes

The picture on the left is wet hair.

The picture on the right is day 2 of my wash n' go, after it dried.

Monday, July 4, 2016

07-04-2016 Wash Day - Quick High Bun

Hey, beautiful people! Because it is a holiday and I was feeling lazy, I wasn't really in the mood to wash my hair, but I had to because I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning at a waterpark full of chlorine.

First, the moment I got home on Saturday, I put Silk Dreams Mocha Silk Infusion on my hair to deep condition. I meant to wash my hair that night, but it didn't happen on Saturday or Sunday, so the deep conditioner was in my hair for a day and a half. This is a good protein deep conditioner, but it is on the border of almost being too much protein for my strands. I like some of the other Silk Dreams conditioners better, like the Silk Dreams Vanilla Silk Moisture Dream deep conditioner.

This morning, I washed my hair with Aubrey Organics Swimmer's Shampoo. This is still my favorite swimmer shampoo because it is both chelating and clarifying. Next, I tried the Herbal Essence The Sleeker The Butter Smoothing Conditioner on one section of my hair, but this did not work well for me. It had little slip on my hair and did not soften my hair at all. This surprised me because it worked well for my daughter's hair. It gave it slip and made it incredibly soft. However, I'm pretty sure her hair is closer to high porosity than mine.

Because the conditioner did not work, I finished off the other three sections with Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner, my holy grail conditioner. When I got out of the shower, I put Oyin Hair Dew and my oil mix on my hair, then I put my hair in a high bun with Eco Styler Krystal gel. It will probably stay wet for a few days in the middle.

Total Styling time - 20 minutes

Sunday, June 26, 2016

06-26-2016 Wash Day - Eco Styler Krystal Gel Wash 'N Go

Hey, beautiful people! I am in the process of wrapping up the last of my reviews from my braiding challenge, and then I will post the recap.

Summer is back, and so are my wash 'n gos. Today, because it was going to be over 90 degrees, I decided it would be a good day to re-try doing an Eco Styler wash n' go.

First, I accidentally deep conditioned my hair for two days using the Silk Dreams Mocha Silk Infusion (I'll do a review later). Then, I washed my hair with Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo, and conditioned/detangled with Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner. When I got out the shower, I decided to do something different from my normal practice because of how thick Eco Styler is.

When I got out the shower, I left my hair dripping wet. I did not towel dry at all. Next, I applied my Oyin Hair Dew and Eco Styler Krystal Gel in 4 sections on the left side, and 6 sections on the right side. However, instead of raking the gel through my hair like last time, I decided to shingle because of the thickness of Eco Styler. I also used literally gobs of gel to the point that I thought it would all still be stuck together when it dried. Afterward, I sat outside in 91 degree weather to jump start the drying process, and lightly shook my head periodically to loosen the curls.

My wash n' go was wonderful! I had great definition, shine and hang time, though I had less volume. This is a great wash n' go for when I want a more "tamed" style. It also dawned on me today that I have reached my curly length hair goal (shoulder-length curly), though I have decided to keep growing my hair for now.

Total wash & style time - 41 mins (24 mins spent on shingling).

I don't post videos on YouTube, so here is a video of someone else doing the shingling method, though I applied about double the gel.

Post Edited 7/3/16 - My hair was still wet on Tuesday (3 days later). Also, because I used so much gel, I got goop under my fingernails when I touched my scalp, and I also got white residue on my edges. It finally fully dried Wednesday (day 4), but it was time to put it up. Thus, I do not think Eco Styler gel is right for me as a wash n go gel.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Wash Day 06-19-2016 (Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil line)

Hey, beautiful people! It's summer, so I am going to try my best to do recaps of my wash days again. My sister is visiting for a couple weeks, and she brought products from Shea Moisture's Jamaican Black Castor Oil line with her, so I decided to try them. I previously reviewed the edge treatment here.

For this wash day, I forgot to deep condition beforehand again; so, my wash day just started off with a shampoo. I washed my hair in four sections, shampooing and then detangling each section with conditioner. I used the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow and Restore Shampoo and my Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner. The shampoo was not bad and not good, just ok. It did not leave my hair feeling stripped, but I didn't necessarily feel like my hair was clean either. Also, my eyes itched a little while I was washing my hair, but I can't say for certain that it was the shampoo that did it. I would need to try it gain to be certain, and I don't think I'm going to try it again.

After my shampoo and condition, I dried my hair lightly with a regular towel. Yes, I know this is a no-no in the curly girl bible, but I just scrunched my hair, making sure I didn't rough up my cuticles. Next, I put in the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen Grow & Restore Leave-In Conditioner. This leave-in conditioner is surprisingly light, especially because it is in a jar. It is the consistency of a very thin lotion. Because it is so light, I was worried that it would not be enough, so I also used Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter. Then, I put my damp hair in two cornrows to dry.

Total wash and styling time: ~30 minutes

Monday, June 6, 2016

Hair Tool Review: Straightening Brush (Straightening Attempt #2)

Hey, beautiful people! I have been saying for awhile that I would try straightening my hair again after my last epic fail. If you are as hair obsessed as I am, then you have probably noticed that the new thing on the market is straightening brushes. They range in price from $30 to $99. I saw one on Groupon, and decided to try it. I figured, at $26, I could trash it if I hated it.

To start off, I washed my hair with Carol’s Daughter BlackVanilla Shampoo, and conditioned with Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner. Next, I used Oyin Hair Dew as my leave-in. Finally, because I am in the middle of a battle of the butters, I used Camille Rose Coconut Water Style Setter on the left side of my hair and Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter on the right. I braided up my hair in two cornrows and let it sit all day Saturday and Sunday to dry.

On Sunday night, I detangled my hair section by section with a wide tooth comb first, and then with my large square paddle brush. As I have learned from others, detangling is crucial. For my heat protectants, I used Carol’s Daughter Chocolat Blow Dry Cream and It’s A 10 Leave-in. Then, I used the straightening brush, running it slowly down each section, and holding the ends taunt until the brush reached near the end. I started using the straightener at 210 degrees Celsius (410 Fahrenheit), and then decreased to 200 degrees (392 Fahrenheit) when I realized that I got the same results.

Overall, I love the ease of using this tool. It is as easy as brushing your hair, and I got my whole head done (including thorough detangling) in an hour and a half! It did not get my hair silk press swinging straight, but it did get it very straight with just a little bit of texture, and it is incredibly soft. Some people are able to get the same results from a blow dryer, but I never have because I am blow dryer challenged. So, this is a win for me.

The only downside to this tool for me was the cheap nature of the materials. It took about 4 tries for me to get it to turn on. Then, when I did, it kept turning itself off periodically. Also, one of the brush sticks and 11 of the little red nubs fell off as I was straightening my hair. One of the nubs even fell down the back of my shirt (not pleasant). I also didn't realize that the degrees would be in Celsius when I purchased this.

I do plan to do this again, but I may buy a new straightening brush before I do. Some of the ladies on Long Hair Care Forum have gotten good results from this one.

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Blog Post Addition (6/19/2016) - For those of you that asked, I ultimately purchased the Acevivi Hair Straightener Brush because it does not have nubs. When I try it out, I will post a review. Also, in case you are wondering, yes, my curls came back when I washed my hair.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Wash Day 05-29-2016 (Mop Top Citrus Kumquat Curly Hair Custard Wash N Go)

Hey, beautiful people! Given the long weekend and the fact that summer has finally come to Michigan, I decided to do a wash n’ go with a product that has been sitting in my product stash for most of the winter – Mop Top’s Curly Hair Custard.

I forgot to do an overnight deep conditioner, and I didn’t have time to hop in and out of the shower; so, there was no deep conditioner this week. First, I washed my hair with Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo. This shampoo continues to be a favorite of mine. It cleans my hair without stripping it, as long as I don’t use too much.

Next, I conditioned and detangled my hair with Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner. It is not often that I call something a holy grail product, but this one is one.

Finally, I used Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion as my leave-in (another holy grail product), and put the Mop Top Curly Hair Custard on top. The Mop Top went in easily. It has a lot of slip and a little goes a long way. In that regard, it reminds me of Kinky Curly’s Curling Custard. It doesn’t leave my hands with the same sticky feeling as the Kinky Curl; however, maybe it should. Apparently, Mop Top has little hold, which is not good given that at least 4 of the top 5 ingredients are humectants (aloe vera, glycerin, honey and pectin). When my hair dried, it frizzed, shrunk significantly and uneven, and took flight. In short, I looked a hot mess. To make matters worse, this stuff flakes horribly. I was wearing a black shirt, and it looked it snowed on my shoulders. The next day, my hair looked even worse.

I do not plan to use this product again.

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

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

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Wash Day 08-29-2015 (Deva Curl)

Hey beautiful people! This week, I finally used up the DevaCurl Must-Have Curl Kit, which I won as a prize from a contest (yay for free stuff).

I did a deep condition overnight with Curl Junkie Hibiscus Banana Deep Fix Conditioner. I like this conditioner, but it isn't cost effective for me anymore. With my current hair length and thick density, I used half a jar in one wash. That is $10 per wash.

In the morning, I started off with the DevaCurl No Poo. This has great slip, and my hair felt clean. The only thing I did not like is the smell. It is strong perfume like. Next, I used the One Condition. This also had great slip, and the smell reminded me of a baby. I just didn't understand why the bottle was so small. It's conditioner.

For styling, I used the Deva Styling Cream and the Deva Ultra Defining Gel on my right side. For some reason the styling cream I received has a tiny pump spout, instead of the normal pump. I had to push the pump about 12 times just to get enough to cover a small area of my hair. When I spread it on my hair, it felt a little like water, so I knew it wasn't going to do much for me. For my left side, I didn't want to risk tangles, so I used a heavier leave-in conditioner under the Ultra Defining Gel -- Curl Junkie's Coffee-Coco Curl Cream.

After 12 hours, my hair is about 90% dry on the right side and 70% dry on the left. I'm actually a little surprised. The DevaCurl styling cream left my hair softer than I thought, but there is not much definition. My hair dried shrunken and frizzy. I am also getting white flakes on my clothes now that it has dried.

Total styling time: ~30 minutes