- Oyin Handmade Hair Dew

- Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment
- My Honey Child Olive You Deep Conditioner
- As I Am Coconut CoWash Cleansing Conditioner
- Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion (2)

Pura Body Naturals - $40.05 ($30 + $10.05 shipping)

- Murumuru Moisture Milk (2)

- Sapote Hair Lotion (2)

She Scent It - $42.75 ($33.60 + $9.15 shipping)

- Blueberry Co-wash conditioner

- Banana Brulee Moisturizing Deep Conditioner

- Coco Cream Leave-in Conditioner

- Riche Moisture Masque

While I don't regret any of my purchases, I went a little overboard.  These purchases take my product stash count up to 52 products and samples, though I am near the end of a number of products.   As a result, with the exception of a rollersetting product, I'm putting myself on a no-buy while I enjoy my stash.  Until I get down to 25 products or to Mother's Day (whichever is earlier), I will not be able to buy anything unless it is either the replenishment of a necessary staple (i.e., I need a cleanser and have none) or the product is on sale by at least 33% including shipping.  Anytime I get the urge, I'll look at this post.

On the upside, I won't need to buy any deep conditioners this year because I have 12 in my stash :)

What did you buy this year and what did it cost you?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Hey, fellow HHJS!  In preparation for Black Friday, I have been narrowing down my purchase list.  I really wanted to purchase just one Pura Body moisturizer because I have too many products.  I wanted either the MuruMuru Moisture Milk or the Sapote Hair Lotion but I was having a hard time figuring out which one. Initially, I loved the MuruMuru because I tried it first.  Then, I tried out the Sapote over a long trip to Atlanta, and I was confused again.  To help me out, this week I used them both consistently.  I wore the MuruMuru on the left side of my head, and the Sapote on the right.  I also compared ingredients and pricing.

Price: They are both $15 for an 8 oz. bottle

Promise:  The website indicates that both can be used as a leave-in or daily moisturizer, creating soft, manageable hair.  However, only the MuruMuru indicates that it can work as a detangler.  The Sapote Lotion indicates that it can be used as a body lotion.

Scent:  I bought both in the Tahitian Vanilla scent, and the smell is heavenly.  They both have a warm vanilla scent, but then there is another light undertone to each one.  The Sapote smells like chocolatey vanilla, which makes sense because of the cupuacu butter.  The MuruMuru has a faint citrus to the vanilla.

Results:    Neither worked great for me as a leave-in.  I use my leave-in to do any remaining detangling and neither product is a great detangler, though the MuruMuru was slightly better at detangling.  As a daily moisturizer, my hair loved both of them and I had a hard time saying, which one was better.  I even had my hubby feel each side, and he said that the MuruMuru may make my hair a little more soft, but not by much.  I thought that the Sapote made my hair a little softer, but I also thought that it wasn't by much.  Both are great moisturizers.

Outcome:  If I had to choose, I guess I would pick the Sapote, but not by much of a preference.  Ultimately, I like them both  and I am buying them both on Black Friday if they are available.

Hey fellow HHJs (healthy hair journeyers)!  I am sorry the frequency of my postings have been a bit unpredictable lately.  I have been travelling a lot.  Over the past two weeks, I’ve only spent four nights in my own bed.  I’m so happy to finally be back home again.

As I indicated in a prior post, Behentrimonium Methosulfate appears to be a good ingredient for my leave-in conditioners and moisturizers, so I decided to do a little research. 

For any vegetarians, don’t worry.  Behentrimonium Methosulfate is derived from colza oil that is taken from the European colza plant, which is often confused with the plant used for rapeseed oil (aka Canadian oil or canola oil) because they are in the same plant family. 

Despite its oil origin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate is water soluble.  Also, although it is technically a sulfate, it is not a cleansing (aka hair stripping) sulfate.  Not all sulfates are bad.  Without getting too technical, a “sulfate” just means something is a salt of sulfuric acid.

Behentrimonium Methosulfate is usually used as an emulsifying conditioner.  It is a great conditioner because of its ability to bind to the surface of your hair and coat it, though not in a bad way.  This reduces friction, which can cause damage to the hair strand.  It also reduces static.  In my products, it is usually paired with cetearyl alcohol, but sometimes it is paired with cetyl alcohol and butylene glycol (a humectant).  For simplicity, I’m just going to call the combinations BTMS, which is how they are usually identified.  The “BTMS” is frequently followed by a number to indicate how much BTMS is actually in the combination (ex: BTMS-50 is 50% Behentrimonium Methosulfate).  The cetaryl or cetyl alcohol assists in keeping the BTMS on your hair.  Swift Craft Monkey has a great article on how this works - http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.ca/2010/05/chemistry-of-your-hair-adsorbing-and.html. 

As an emulsifier, BTMS is usually used to help keep a mix of oil and water (an emulsion) together.  Thus, you will usually see it in creams or lotions, which makes it great for my hair.  BTMS is also a favorite ingredient for baby products because it is extremely mild, so it is also safe to leave on your skin.  I even found an article that went so far as to call it “the mildest conditioning and detangling ingredient available.”

If you want to know of other products that contain BTMS, Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database has a list - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/700658/BEHENTRIMONIUM_METHOSULFATE/ (click products).  I discovered at least one new product from this list that I think I now want to try -- Alba Botanica Leave-in Conditioner.  Has anybody tried this?

Price:  $14 for a 8 oz. jar

Promise:  From the back of the jar -- "Cupuacu and chocolate to nourish and condition dry brittle hair." ;  From the website -- "Chocolate goodness for your hair.  Great boost of vitamins and minerals for soft, nourished hair."

Consistency:  Like thin pudding or thin cake batter

Scent:  Delicious brownie batter.  I have this urge to eat it every time I put it on my hair.  (I don't, of course.)

Results:   I tried it both as an overnight deep conditioner and as a deep conditioner under a heat cap.  My hair liked it both ways.  It leaves my hair feeling strong without a protein overload.  It does not give my hair with a lot of slip, but I do not really expect that from my deep conditioners.  My hair did feel somewhat moisturized, but I noticed the strength more than the moisture.  Also, a little goes a long way.  I've used it 3 times already and I can probably get 1 more use out of the jar.  The only thing that made me a little cautious was that I didn't recognize the ingredient Imidazolium Quat.  I did a little digging and, at first, I couldn't find any information.  Then, I learned from an MSDS sheet that another name for Imidazolium Quat is Quaternium-87, which is a mild conditioner with no build-up effect, so I am ok with it. 

Love it, Like it or Dump it:  Like it.