Saturday, February 22, 2014
Product Review: She Scent It Banana Brulee Moisturizing Deep Conditioner (The Deep Conditioner Files #3)
Price:
$12.50 for 9 oz.Scent: Like floral soap mixed with chamomile tea
Consistency: Light
and creamy, like body lotion.
Results: I
liked this conditioner. My hair felt
moisturized and strong after using it.
Plus, the scent is lighter than the Moisture Riche deep conditioner that
I previously reviewed; however, it is still not a scent that I would want to
have on my head for long periods of time.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Cleansing Agents Part 2
Hey, HHJs! In my last post, I talked about the three types of surfactants usually used in
cleansers: anionic surfactants (negative
charge), zwitterionic / amphoteric surfactants (hybrid charge), and nonionic
surfactants (no charge).
This post is about some of the cleansing agents in these
three categories to look for. Based on
what I’ve read, here is a list of some cleansing agents to look for in a
cleansing conditioner or a shampoo:
Anionic surfactant-based products include:
- Castile Soap
- African Black Soap
- Sodium lauryl sulfate aka Sodium dodecyl sulfate / SLS (harsh)
- Sodium lauryl ether sulfate aka Sodium laureth sulfate (less harsh than SLS)
- Ammonium lauryl sulfate (harsh)
- Ammonium laureth sulfate (less harsh than ALS)
- Sodium olefin sulfonate (used in Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo and Kinky Curly Come Clean, can be as harsh as SLS)
- Sodium cocoyl sulfate (very similar in structure to SLS)
- Sodium cocoyl isethionate (used in Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo and Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream)
- Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate aka docusate sodium
Zwitterionic / Amphoteric surfactant-based products include:
- Cocamidopropyl betaine aka cocobetaine or cocabetaine (used in Burts Bees Baby Shampoo and Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream)
- Sodium lauroamphoacetate (used in Ouidad Curl Co-wash)
Nonionic surfactant-based products:
- Decyl glucoside (used in Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo and Burts Bees Baby Shampoo)
- PEG-40 Castor Oil (used in As I Am Co-wash and Hairveda Amala Cream Rinse)
- Cetearyl alcohol aka Cetostearyl alcohol and cetylstearyl alcohol (it has minimal cleansing power, so it is more of a conditioner than a cleanser)
Some cleansing products may also contain citrus fruits, such as lemon or orange extract, or contain apple cider vinegar, which break up oil. Also, some cleansing products may contain plant-based ingredients that are high in saponins. For example, SheScentIt’s Blueberry Co-wash Conditioner contains yucca root. Wikipedia has a long list of plant-based soap substitutes, which can be found here. I know that yucca root is a surfactant, but I’m not sure what kind. I’ve seen some articles refer to it as anionic and some refer to it as non-ionic.
Finally, some cleansing conditioners may contain clays that
have cleansing properties, such as kaolin, bentonite, rhassoul (also called ghassoul),
or green clay. While it is not marketed
as a cleansing conditioner, I’ve found that Shea Moisture’s Purification Mask feels
like it cleanses my hair. It contains
both African black soap and kaolin clay.
Based on personal experience, I can’t use shampoos
containing sodium laurel sulfate, olefin sulfate or sodium lauroamphoacetate. These cleansers are too harsh for my hair, so
I avoid them. Thus far, my hair seems to
like sodium cocoyl isethionate; cocamidopropyl betaine; decyl glucoside; and PEG-40
castor oil, which are all mild cleansers.
If you can’t figure out the cleansers in your product, look
for the INCI name, which may give you a clue.
SwiftCraftMonkey also has a wonderful chart of surfactants and a 17-page document walking through some of the key ones.
What are some of your favorite surfactants for cleansing
your hair?
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Cleansing Agents In Shampoos And Cleansing Conditioners
Hey fellow HHJs! I
recently finished up all of the shampoo that I have in my stash, but I still
have a number of cleansing conditioners.
Since I’m on a no buy challenge,
my dilemma has been whether to borrow some of my hubby’s stripping shampoo or
just stick to these cleansing conditioners.
My concern with cleansing conditioner has always been whether it would
be cleansing enough. I have always loved
the As I Am Coconut Co-wash, which feels like it cleanses. I also tried the Ouidad Curl Co-wash, which
was a little too stripping for my hair.
However, I've heard rumors that some of the other co-washes are
basically the same as regular conditioner.
So, I decided to do a little research to figure out what makes a
cleansing conditioner different from a regular, rinse out conditioner. To avoid making the post on my research too
long, I’m going to break it out into two parts.
This part will talk foundation for what makes a great cleanser. The second part will talk about specific
cleansing ingredients to look for.
First off, let’s start with two basic concepts. The purpose of a shampoo is to cleanse, which
includes binding to dirt and oil to remove it.
The purpose of a rinse out conditioner is to balance ph levels and coat
the hair cuticles to make it easier to detangle the hair. In other words, while shampoo binds to oil,
conditioner binds to hair. I assume that
the goal of an effective co-wash / cleansing conditioner is be a hybrid of the
two. With that in mind, I’m not as
concerned with the conditioning portion of a cleansing conditioner, as I am
about the cleansing portion.
In terms of cleansers, the active ingredient for removing
dirt and oil from the hair is a surfactant.
Surfactants are great for two reasons.
First, they are great because they have two parts, one part that is water
loving (hydrophilic) and one part that loves fat (lipophilic) and fears water (hydrophobic). The fat-loving part is what binds to oil to
remove it. If you really want to know
more about the structure of surfactants, the Natural Haven has two really great
articles on this (here and here),
so I’m not going to get more complex than that.
The important thing to know, for purposes of finding a proper cleanser,
is that surfactants bind to oil and carry it away.
The second reason that surfactants are great is that many of
them have a negative charge, which means that hair strands repel them,
rather than holding on to them, because hair also has a slightly negative
charge. Remember that old saying that
opposites attract? It applies to hair
too.
Thus, there are three types of surfactants usually used in
cleansers: anionic surfactants (negative
charge), zwitterionic / amphoteric surfactants (hybrid charge), and nonionic
surfactants (no charge). The stronger
the negative charge, the better for cleansing hair. Thus, anionic surfactants are the strongest
cleansers, followed by zwitterionic, and then nonionic. Positively charged (cationic) surfactants are
almost never used as cleansers because they bind to the hair, rather than being
repelled. Have you guessed yet what kind
of surfactant the conditioning agent BTMS contains?
HAPPY CLEANSING!!
Saturday, February 1, 2014
The LOC Method and Low Porosity Hair
Hey, HHJs! One
technique frequently talked about in the natural hair community is the LOC
method. For those, who don’t know what
the LOC method is, it is a method of moisturizing and sealing hair. In short, you layer products as follows:
- Liquid (water or water-based liquid)
- Oil, water-less butter, or pomade
- Cream, wax or other emulsified product (liquid and oil suspended together with an emulsifier)
If you think about oil and water normally, oil sits on top
of the water, which is why oil makes a great sealant. Thus, it makes sense that you should layer
oil on top of water to minimize the amount of water being lost to the air (I previously
talked about water loss in my deciphering glycerin post). The cream adds an extra, safeguard layer
of moisture and sealing.
Some HHJs I know have changed the steps to better suit their
hair, such as doing LCO or LOCO. If you
are not using an oil that penetrates the hair strand, like avocado or olive oil, it may be better to use
LCO so that the oil is not blocking the moisture in the cream from getting to the hair.
If you are high porosity, then layering is particularly important
because water evaporates easily from your strands. However, for low porosity ladies, like me, you
may want to combine or eliminate steps. You may also
wish to combine or eliminate steps if, like me, you have fine strands that are easily
weighed down. As I have mentioned in
other posts, I don’t really use straight oil because my low porosity, fine
strands don’t need or like it. One of
the benefits of low porosity hair is that, once water is in the hair, it stays
in fairly well because of the tight cuticles.
The trick is getting water in.
Thus, rather than using straight oil, I combine the L and O steps, using
an oil and water mix made with hair-penetrating oils. Then, I layer on
my cream, which is usually one of the Purabody moisturizers or Oyin Hair Dew. I personally avoid
emulsifying wax because my hair doesn't like it.
Here are rough estimates of my oil/water spritz. I use a 4 oz spray bottle, add the following,
and then fill it to the top with water:
- 1.5 teaspoons of Oil (I usually use a mix of Castor Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Avocado Oil; but, sometimes, I use olive oil or double-up on avocado oil. It is important for my main oil to be one that can penetrate the hair strand.)
- 5 drops of Rosemary essential oil
- 10-15 drops of Peppermint essential oil
- 10-15 drops of Lavender Tea Tree essential oil
- In the summer, 1-2 teaspoons of glycerin
What is your experience with the LOC method? Do you use it? If so, how?
HAPPY MOISTURIZING & SEALING!!!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
The Healthy Hair Product Toolbox
Hey, HHJs! For those
just starting off on their natural hair journey, I thought it might be helpful
to list some of the key items needed for your healthy hair product toolbox. To get more details on specific products that
I use in each category, visit my Favorite Products page or my Amazon store. In full disclaimer, Amazon does pay me a
commission on items purchased from my Amazon store.
- Shampoo or Cleanser - You need something that will bind to oil, dirt and product buildup to remove it from your hair. If you are low porosity, like me, then simply conditioner washing will not always be enough. You need something with cleansing agents in it. I've been working on a cleansing agent post for about a month now, so it should be up soon.
- Rinse Out / Instant Conditioner - The purpose of a rinse out conditioner is to balance ph levels and coat the hair cuticles to make it easier to detangle the hair. In other words, while shampoo binds to oil and dirt, conditioner binds to hair (adsorbs to hair).
- Deep Conditioner - These are particularly important if your hair is damaged, needs an intense moisture boost, or needs a protein boost. Deep conditioners are left on the hair for awhile to give them time to penetrate the hair. There are three types of deep conditioners (moisturizing, protein and hybrids). I've already covered protein conditioners in a prior post. Because I have low porosity and fine strands, I personally prefer hybrids containing light proteins.
- Leave-in Conditioner - These are lighter conditioners that are mild enough that they can be left on the hair long term. Some instant conditioners can double as leave-ins, but some have ingredients that can irritate the scalp with time.
- Moisturizer - I already have a post on finding a great moisturizer. Water is the best moisturizer, so any “moisturizing” product should have water as the first or second ingredient. Some leave-in conditioners can double as moisturizers.
- Sealant - This would be an oil or butter based product. I don’t usually use a straight oil or butter to seal water into my hair as it is less necessary for low porosity ladies. Instead, I use a cream or lotion, which is a mixture of water and oil/butter held together by an emulsifier like BTMS.
What is in
your toolbox?
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Product Review: She Scent It Riche Moisture Mask (The Deep Conditioner Files #2)
Price: $12.50 for 9 oz.
Promise: From the website - "This creamy conditioner nourishes hair that is dry and frizzy. A rich formula loaded with vitamins A, D, E lecithin and amino acids (from Avocados). A special blend of conditioning agents, moisturizers and oils work to soften, detangle and add shine to hair. Sapote oil nourishes the scalp, combats dryness & helps retain moisture. Leaves hair silky soft and healthy."
Scent: Like strong floral perfume
Consistency: Very thin and light. While it is white in color, it is translucent because of how thin it is.
Consistency: Very thin and light. While it is white in color, it is translucent because of how thin it is.
Results: I first tried to use this as a deep conditioner under a heat cap. Unfortunately, I think that after almost a decade of use, my heat cap finally died. It stopped giving off heat during my deep conditioning session. Even
without heat, this conditioner had some slip when I rinsed it out and some
moisture. I was even able to detangle with it a little. Next, I tried it a second time as a deep conditioner overnight. Again, it gave my hair some moisture. Overall, if you don't mind the scent, this is an ok deep conditioner. It provides moisture and slip, though I have gotten better moisture from other deep conditioners.
Love it, Like it or Leave It: Leave it. I am sensitive to strong fragrances, and this one was too much for me.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Natural Hairstyling Class
Hey, HHJs!! One of the biggest struggles for me has been figuring out new styles for my hair. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos and reading a lot of blogs. But I finally decided to take it a step further. I attended a Natural Hairstyling class at Everette's Natural Beauty School with an area Meetup group for naturals. In the class, I learned how to perfect my technique for doing twists and I learned how to do comb twists, among other things. I even got a certificate at the end. It was a great experience!
If you too are looking for ideas on how to style your hair and Youtube isn't enough, look to see if there is a natural hair beauty school in your area that holds classes. In the alternative, maybe there is someone on Craiglist willing to teach you techniques for a small fee.
Even after attending the class, I'm always on the hunt for new style inspiration. What new styles are you trying on your natural hair journey?
HAPPY STYLING!
If you too are looking for ideas on how to style your hair and Youtube isn't enough, look to see if there is a natural hair beauty school in your area that holds classes. In the alternative, maybe there is someone on Craiglist willing to teach you techniques for a small fee.
Even after attending the class, I'm always on the hunt for new style inspiration. What new styles are you trying on your natural hair journey?
HAPPY STYLING!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
