Hey beautiful people!  I have been trying to keep my product junkism at bay, and I have been doing a pretty good job at it.  However, courtesy of a tip on Long Hair Care Forum, I got wind of a clearance sale on Mielle Organics products, and picked up a few items.  Here are my thoughts:

Detangling Co-wash - 8 oz. ($11.99):  This co-wash is more of a conditioner than cleanser.  It has amazing slip and did a great job detangling my hair, but it didn’t clean it.  My hair felt coated before I used it, and it still felt coated after using it.  As a low porosity girl, I need a real cleanser.

White Peony Ultra Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner - 8 oz. ($12.99):  As the name suggests, this product is moisturizing.  It is also light-weight, which is good for low porosity hair.  I just like my homemade spritz better, and it is cheaper.  Also, the spray nozzle on this product bothers me.  It comes out as a stream, rather than distributing across my hair.  I actually ended up transferring it to another bottle to make it easier to use.  However, in looking at the Mielle Organics website, it looks like they have changed the top to a spray pump, so that should fix this problem.

Avocado Moisturizing Hair Milk - 8 oz. ($12.99):  This is very moisturizing, and is probably my favorite product in the line.  My hair felt so soft after I used this.  Unfortunately, it doesn't absorb into my hair right away when I first put it on, but few things do.  The other downside I notice is that it clumps when I mixed it with EcoStyler gel in my hands, which is what I usually use to bun my hair.  Nevertheless, because of how wonderfully moisturized it makes my hair feel, I would repurchase this product.

Mint Almond Oil - 8 oz. ($12.99):  This is a very nice oil, and my second favorite product in the line.  It is lightweight enough for my low porosity strands, and the peppermint smell is heavenly.  The oil essentially has three main ingredients -- Sweet Almond Oil, Soybean Oil and Peppermint Oil, so you could make it yourself if you consider yourself a mixtress.  I would definitely purchase it again at the $7 price point I purchased it for, but it is not a repurchase for me at the regular price.  That being said, this isn't overpriced.  Peppermint oil is expensive.  I have seen a 4 oz. jar sell for $11.  It's just that I already have a bottle of peppermint oil that I haven't been able to use up in the past 5 years, and I typically buy a 32 oz bottle of avocado oil (my favorite straight oil) for about $15.  I do thank this product, however, for teaching me that I can add more peppermint oil to my other products without irritating my scalp.

Honey Ginger Edge Gel - 4 oz. ($12.99):   While I had high hopes, this edge gel suffered the same fate as many others.  It initially slicked down my edges, but that did not last long.  Thus far, it still remains that Eco Styler is one of the few things capable of slicking my edges long term.

I still want to try the Brazilian Curl Cream and the Honey & Ginger Styling Gel.  I guess I will just have to wait for another great sale.

Do you like this line?  What products do you use from it?

Hey, beautiful people!  As you may have heard, Eco Styler recently came out with two new styling gels.  One is the coconut gel.  The other is the black castor oil and flaxseed gel.  I recently purchased the coconut gel in my beauty supply, and I have tried it on a variety of styles to see how it works on my hair in comparison to some of the others.

Overall, this gel seems to mix well with my other products, particularly the As I Am Leave-In Conditioner.  However, despite the level 10 hold stated on the Coconut Gel jar, it seems to have a lighter hold that is more similar to the pink gel (pink is a level 8).  Because of the lighter hold, my hair has remained soft, but I have had some styling issues.  For example, with my bun, the gel did not smooth down flyaways. 

With my wash n’ go, my first day hair was just ok.  The coconut gel did not give me the same definition as the Krystal or Argan Oil Eco Styler gels, likely because of the lighter hold.  Also, the hold I did get was completely gone by the second day, and my hair looked pretty terrible by the end of the day (see picture).

In short, I would not add this to my list of favorite Eco Styler gels, and I probably wouldn’t repurchase it because I like other Eco Styler gels better, but I don’t hate it enough to throw out my current jar.  I will not do a wash and go with it again, but I will use it for messy buns.

Have you tried it?  What are your thoughts?

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.

Hey, beautiful people.  Happy New Year!!!  Like many others, I am happy to see the end of 2016.  It just was not one of my favorite years.

For many, the new year brings a time for resolutions.  It may be a distinction without a different, but I have always disliked the term “resolutions” because it feels like a setup for failure.  I prefer goals, and I like to start the ball rolling before the new year.  Here are 5 goals that I low key started in December that I plan to continue:

1.   Drink at least 80 oz of water per day.  I have found that my whole body does better when I drink a good amount of water throughout the day.  From what I have read, studies have moved away from drinking 8 glasses of water to drinking half your body weight.  For me, I wanted to up that a little bit.  My plan is to drink 12-20 oz of water first thing in the morning, and then two 32 oz – 1 liter (33.81 oz) bottles of water during the day.  I have two plastic mason jars that are 32 oz. each.  I also have a bunch of old soda stream 1L bottles that I can no longer use because my soda stream broke (tear).  To help keep me motivated, I have joined a “Drink Your Water” challenge, with daily check-ins, and I am using the water tracker in my Fitbit app.

2.   Have 7 good, quick styles that work on my fine hair, and a regimen that incorporates more protein.  As you may remember from some of my other posts, my hair is low porosity, fine, high density, and a 4A/4B mix.  In the past, I have been very focused on taking care of my hair based on it being low porosity, and spent little time researching how to make my fine strands look best.  For example, individual mini twists tend to look very sad when I try to use them as a style, and tend to break my hair when I take them out.  My hair seems to do better with low manipulation, “big” styles, like 2 cornrows, buns and wash n’ gos, and I am a lazy natural, so I need quick styles.  I plan to play around with styles in 2017 to give myself some more versatile looks (more on this throughout the year).  I also haven’t been using as much protein as I should, and I have seen more breakage as a result. 

3.   Create mini makeup challenges every 1-2 months until I can do a full face.  Growing up and even now, I have not been very big on makeup or beauty upkeep in general.  Most days, you are lucky if you see me in lipstick.  I’ll also admit there have been some days that my eyebrows needed serious help.  At the end of last year, I put myself on an informal challenge, forcing myself to fill in my eyebrows every day for two weeks.  I was proud of myself because I stuck to it too.  One day, I even had to stop at the drugstore on the way to work because I forgot to do my brows before I left the house.  It worked out well because I saw marked improvement in my eyebrow shape, and I learned a few tricks through Youtube.  Youtube also inspired me to go a little crazy buying makeup products on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and I bought a few makeup organizers.  With all the new stuff I bought, I want to extend my informal challenge to other makeup areas over the course of 2017.  I may stay in the eye area for now, and work on eye shadow.  I have always wanted to learn smoky eye and cat eye.

4.   Exercise for 30 minutes at least 1 time a week.  This may sound like a bare minimum, but I like to set goals that are measurable and achievable.  Typically, I say that I am going to work out every day or 3 times per week, fail miserably and stop working out altogether.  This time, I am starting with 1 day and we will see how it goes.  I have no excuse for not getting in 1 day because I have 7 days and multiple options.  If I am traveling that week, the Sworkit app on my phone is awesome for squeezing in a workout.  If I am feeling ambitious, there is a gym less than 10 minutes from my house and I can text a friend to meet me.  If I want to do something fun, there is a community center that is about 20 minutes away that has drop in classes and, in the summer, there is outdoor Zumba.

5.   Read a book every two months, alternating between one self-improvement book and one “just for fun” book.  I love reading.  I just did not do much of it in 2016.  I have a Goodreads account and set a goal for myself of 6 books in 2016, but I only finished 5.  I also haven’t been to my one of my book clubs in about a year (I'm in two), and I miss it.  In 2017, I’m going to do better because it speaks to how many other things took priority over what I did for myself last year. 

What are your goals for 2017?  Make them measureable and achievable!