Saturday, May 24, 2014
Product Review: My Honey Child Coconut Hair Milk
Price: $18 for 8 oz.
Promise: From
the bottle - The Coconut Hair Milk is a non-greasy, ultra-light, versatile milk
that eliminates frizz while it conditions and hydrates. Can be used daily without build-up to add definition
and texture and provide a flexible hold for any style. Provides a healthy looking sheen.
Scent: Coconut,
but not overpowering.
Consistency: Light lotion, like a slightly lighter version of Oyin Hair Dew
Results: I was
a little hesitant to try this because my hair doesn’t love coconut oil, but I
was pleasantly surprised. This
moisturized my hair and gave it a nice sheen.
My hair loved this, even in the winter time, despite the glycerin. It doesn’t
replace my Purabody moisturizers,
but it is a great alternative.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Product Review: Hairveda Acai Berry Phyto Conditioner
Price: $12 for
16 oz.
Scent: Strong
berry scent, but not overpowering
Consistency: Like
wet lotion
Results: I used this both as an overnight deep conditioner and as a rinse out conditioner. I loved it both ways. In both circumstances, it leaves my hair feeling strong, yet moisturized. Plus, it has great slip for detangling, so I think I prefer it as a rinse out conditioner.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Product Review: Hairveda Amla Cream Rinse
Price: $11.99
for 16 oz.
Scent: Lemon
Pledge.
Consistency: Like
gel
Results: This
did not feel like it cleansed my hair at all, which isn’t that surprising
because it doesn’t have strong cleansers.
This was not for me
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Product Review: Hairveda Red Tea Conditioner
Price: $12 for
16 oz. or $45 for 64 oz.
Scent: No
real scent. Maybe orange sherbet, but
very light.
Consistency: Very
thick, though it reminded me of a creamy orange sherbet. You see I had to abuse the bottle to get it
out.
Results: I
used this as a rinse out conditioner and I loved it! It gave my hair so much slip, along with my
shower. Use with caution. My husband actually hated using the shower
after me if I used this because it made him slip and slide all over.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Product Review: Hairveda SitriNillah (The Deep Conditioner Files #4)
Price: $18
for 16 oz.
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.
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.
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.
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