Friday, November 28, 2014

2014 Black Friday Aftermath


Hey, beautiful people!  Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.  I hung out with my close family, including my newest addition, and probably ate way too much.  I also stayed up a little later to finish off my Black Friday shopping online.  In addition to my prior Curlmart purchase and my Jane Carter purchase, here are the other things I bought to stock up for next year:

Curlmart - $74.46 ($69.46 + $5 shipping)
- Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Twisting Butter
- Oyin Handmade Hair Dew x 3
- Curl Junkie Repair Me! Reconstructive Hair Treatment

Bonbons Cheveux Boutique - $36.70 ($32 + $4.70 shipping)
- Satin Scrunchies x 4
- Elastic Satin Bonnet

HairVeda - $60.15 ($53.20 + $6.95 shipping)
- Whipped Creme Hair Moisturizer
- Whipped Clouds
- Red Satin Tea Moisturizer
- Acai Phyto Berry Conditioner x 4
- Red Tea Hair Ends Serum (free gift with purchase)

Oyin Handmade - $43.48 (free shipping)
- Whipped Shea in Rich Almond Scent x 2
- Snack Pack for Body

The Obsessed Crocheter - $44.63 (free shipping)
- Satin Lined Chunky Basket Weave Beanie

Overall, I was more behaved than last year.  I spent less this Black Friday.  Also, my hair product purchases were all staples, except for the moisturizers I purchased from Hairveda.  The PJ in me wouldn't let me just buy staples.  With the new satin bonnet and beanie, I should be all set for the harsh Michigan winters for years to come, which should make next year's list even smaller.

 What did you buy?  Did you do better, worse or the same as last year?
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Finalizing The Black Friday Shopping List


Hey, beautiful people!  As I mentioned in a previous post, I started my black friday shopping early this year.  Thus far, I did a mini shopping spree at Curlmart and then picked up a couple jars of my favorite twist defining cream during the Jane Carter 40% off sale that I mentioned on Twitter.  I also just bought a satin lined beanie because winter came a little early this year, and I haven't been able to find my satin lined hooded scarf since the move.  I'll do a review of the beanie once it arrives and I've had a chance to wear it.


Now, I'm trying to narrow down on what is left for my list without going overboard.  The list has changed several times, so here is my current plan:
- Oyin Hair Dew (1 liter)
- Oyin Whipped Shea (rich almond scent)
- Oyin body snack pack
- Hairveda Acai Berry Phyto Conditioner
- Satin elastic bonnet
- Satin scrunchies

I took Purabody off my list only because I'm trying to shrink my list of staples, and I want to see if I can stick to just Oyin.  I'm really hoping that Oyin has a Black Friday sale, but I haven't heard anything so far.  If they don't have a sale, my list may change yet again...

For those of you still formulating your hair shopping lists, here are a few websites that have catalogued the sales:

Yes, I am an enabler.  

Happy Shopping!!!
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Monday, November 24, 2014

Updates 11-24-2014: New Baby And New Styles



Hey beautiful people!  If you don't follow me on Instagram, you may not know that my baby is here!  The newest naturalista to the family.

Life has been kind of a whirlwind since she got here.  Each day, I look up at around 3 p.m. and wonder where the day went.   Needless to say, I haven't had much time for my hair.  In a previous post, I mentioned that I was going to try to do spring twists.  I bought Nafy Collection Nubian Twist hair for the style, but it was an epic fail.  The hair was too silky and kept sliding while I twisted.  Plus, the twists that I did get in did not have much "spring" to them.  They just sort of hung.  I tried twisting in both directions and got the same result.  About 3 twists in, I gave up.  Thankfully, my sister was here and she helped me put in two strand twists without synthetic hair.  

This style was a lifesaver!  I was able to put my hair up and not worry about it.  I just spritzed it with my oil/water mix and sealed with Oyin Hair Dew to keep it moisturized.  The style lasted about 3 weeks.  Now that the twists are out, I am back to bunning and, occasionally, my tried and true two crown braids.

(The top pics are the twists right before I took them out, 
the bottom is after I removed them.  Shrinkage is a trip.)

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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Ingredient Investigation: Limonene



Hey, beautiful people!  As I mentioned in a previous post, I picked up some As I Am products during an early sale.  While looking through the ingredients, I noticed that a lot of them have Limonene listed as the last ingredient, which I assumed was a preservative.  However, I decided to dig a little deeper.

Limonene is made from citrus fruits (d-limonene), pine trees and certain mint plants (l-limonene).  For cosmetic purposes, it is usually used as a fragrance.  It is also used in medicines, botanical insecticides, household and other cleaners as a solvent, and water-free hand cleansers. 

In terms of risk, while some research indicates that limonene can be used to treat cancer, other research indicates that it could promote the growth of tumors.  The biggest issue, however, is that limonene can be a contact allergen.  In other words, it can cause skin irritation or respiratory irritation in some people.  Additionally, it can enhance side effects of other skin irritants, such as alcohol.  As a result of the limonene’s irritant aspects, the European Union has put certain restrictions on its use in cosmetics.  It is one of the contact allergens found in fragrances that must be listed if it exceeds 0.001% in leave-in products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.  However, just because limonene is listed in an ingredient list, doesn’t mean it meets this threshold amount.  Some consumer-conscious companies list it as an ingredient to notify their customers that they may have a potential allergic reaction.  Additionally, just because a product doesn’t list limonene doesn't mean that the product doesn’t contain limonene, especially if there is a generic reference to “fragrance” and the product has a lemon or orange scent.

Based on what I’ve read, I’m fine with using products with limonene because I don’t seem to have an allergic reaction to it.  I use a lot of products with lemon or orange oil, which are high in limonene, and I haven’t had an issue.  I’ve also used As I Am products without issue.

As a final note, limonene should not be confused with Lemonene (also known as Biphenyl), which comes from coal tar, crude oil, and natural gas, and is used as a preservative to preserve citrus fruits during transport.  Lemonene is mildly toxic. 
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Saturday, November 1, 2014

Product Review: Silk Dreams Chocolate Bliss (The Deep Conditioner Files #9)



Price:  $12 for 8 oz. OR $18 for 16 oz.

Ingredients:   Water, Coconut Cream, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Coconut Oil, Agave Nectar, Aloe Vera Juice, Almond Oil,  Cacao Powder, Citric Acid, Germall Plus, Fragrance, Chamomile Extract

Promise:  From the jar -- Chocolate Bliss is decadent and indulgent and guilt free.  The Spa Silk line is all about treating yourself and taking time for you, so indulge in a little chocolate bliss.;  From the website -- When asked by a fellow hair board diva to describe Chocolate Bliss, this was my response: It is almost as moisturizing as Vanilla Silk, but with no protein. It's not a treatment like Vanilla Silk, so it can be used more often without worry of over-moisturizing.

Scent:  Strong Chocolate

Consistency:  Thick chocolate pudding

Results:   I really wanted to like this product because I love the Vanilla Silk Deep Conditioner and I love the company.  Silk Dreams makes reasonably priced, quality products (despite the name similarity, there is no relation).  Unfortunately, this product just did not work for me.  I tried it two ways.  First, I tried it using my normal routine (overnight pre-poo).  This did not work.  There was a film on my hair when I rinsed it out, and my hair felt dry and hard.  Thinking that perhaps the film might be because of something else, the next time, I washed my hair with diluted African Black Soap first, then I put this conditioner on and left it for 24 hours.  It never really sunk into my hair.  Also, my hair still had a slight film on it when I rinsed the conditioner off.  Plus, my hair was still hard and dry (i.e., not moisturized).  I think this is just too thick and heavy for my low porosity strands.  It could also be the coconut oil, which is in the first five ingredients and has never worked all that great on my hair.

Love it, Like it or Leave It:  Leave It
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