Hey, beautiful people!  With Michigan winter fully in gear, I put my wash n' go challenge on hold and put my hair into hiding, typically in braids.  I tried twists, and they just don't give my hair the same definition.  Also, I have to be careful because my is also fine, so it break easily with too much tension.


Right now, my regimen is to:
1.  Deep condition my hair overnight
2.  Shampoo as needed
3.  Detangle with rinse-out conditioner
4.  Add leave-in conditioner, light oil and styling cream
5.  Braid my hair



During the week, I typically keep my hair in two crown braids, with the last inch of hair at the nape of my neck cornrowed in a separate braid.  I intend to test out a number of the twist creams in my hair to determine which ones leave my hair with the most moisture, sheen and definition.

Hey, beautiful people!  It's that time of year again for my favorites list.  I already did my favorite deep conditioners and wash n' go gels at the end of those challenges, but I'll re-post them again.  I'm listing my product categories in the order that I use them and in order of preference.  I am posting the regular prices for these products, but I typically buy my products on sale (20-40% off).

Deep Conditioners:
Shampoos:
Conditioners:

• Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner - Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Wheat Germ Butter, Avocado Oil, Polyquaternium 7, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, Germall Plus, Fragrance

• Mocha Silk Hair Milk - Water, Coconut Milk, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Palm Kernel Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Cocoa Butter, Avocado Oil, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Quaternium-79 Hydrolyzed Silk Protein, Polyquaternium-7, Panthenol, Germall Plus, Fragrance

1. Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic
2. Camille Rose Curl Maker
3. As I Am Curling Jelly
4. Kinky Curly Curling Custard

• Kinky Curly Curling Custard diluted with water
• Mop Top Curly Hair Custard
• Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel
• Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curl Gel

• Low manipulation refers to styles that require minimum styling, and require little maintenance during the week.  Low maintenance styles tend to be "set it and forget it" styles.  This would include wash n gos, certain updos, and bunning.  Braid outs/twist outs are only low manipulation if you don't have to frequently re-braid/twist.


• Protective styling refers to styles that hide your hair, particularly your ends, to protect it from the elements.  This would include updos, bunning, braids, twists.  It would also include wigs.

For some people, especially those with fine hair, like me, low manipulation styles may be better than protective styles because frequent manipulation of the hair can lead to breakage.  On the other hand, for some, protective styles are better because their ends are easily damaged.

•  Ajani Growth and Shine Balm ($12)
• Caramel Cowash ($14)
• Cocoa Nibs & Honey - Ultimate Growth Serum ($16)
• Coconut Water "Style Setter" ($15)
• Coconut Water Leave-In Treatment ($14)
• Coconut Water Penetrating Hair Treatment ($20)
• Nourishing Cream Cleanser ($11)
• Nourishing Cream Hair Bath ($16)
• Nourishing Cream Leave In ($13)
• Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse ($11)

• Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Twisting Butter ($16.50)
• Camille Rose Naturals Aloe Whipped Butter Gel ($15.50 x 2)
• As I Am Curling Jelly Coil & Curl Definer ($12.50)
• Eco Styler Pink Styling Gel Tube ($1.99)
• Kinky Curly Curl Custard Gel ($17.99)
• Oyin Handmade Hair Dew ($13.50)
• Ori Essentials Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner ($11.99)

Hey, beautiful people!  As you may remember from a post over a year and a half ago, I wanted to try out a ton of deep conditioners to find out which ones best worked for my hair.  Over that time, I tried a lot, and posted 16 reviews as part of my search.  I learned that my hair loves a moisturizing deep conditioner that also has a light protein.  This is probably because my hair is fine, which means it needs protein.  However, my hair is also low porosity, which means that it can't take a lot of protein.  I also prefer a little slip in case I want to detangle without a rinse out conditioner.  

• 6 deep conditioners
• 2 shampoos / cleansers
• 7 rinse out conditioners
• 9 leave-ins / moisturizers 
• 3 gels
• 5 other stylers
• 1 oils (I run through oils slowly)

Hey, beautiful people!  I decided to give DevaCurl another try this weekend because I really liked the NoPoo and One Condition, and I suspected that I could like the Styling Cream as well.

First, I did a deep condition overnight with Aubrey Organics Island Replenishing Conditioner.  I previously did a review of this product.  This is still one of my favorites, even though they have changed the formula somewhat.  I ran out of the old formula while I was applying it, so I finished my hair off with the new formula.  So far, so good.  My hair felt soft, supple and strong when I rinsed out the conditioner the next morning.

Next, I washed my hair with the DevaCurl No Poo.  Just like before, this felt wonderful on my hair and I was even able to detangle with it, though the scent gets to me.  As I may have mentioned before, I am sensitive to strong scents.

Then I finished detangling my hair with the One Condition.  This is also great.  It left my hair soft, and made it easy to detangle.  The scent on this is also a little easier to handle than the No Poo.

Finally, I did a wash n go with the DevaCurl Styling Cream, my oil mix and my tried-and-true Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic.  My wash n go had great curl definition!  It was also soft, and the shrinkage was not as severe, though there was significant shrinkage.   This product would be great for people who love big wash n gos. My only complaint, if I can call it one, is that my hair still was not dry after 12 hours.

Based on this wash day, I learned two things:  (1) the DevaCurl gel is probably what caused the flakes in my hair last week; and (2) a little bit of the styling cream goes a long way.  I don't have to use as much styling cream as I do with leave-ins.  In fact, in the one quadrant of my hair where I went overboard with the styling cream, it flaked.  This was the only area that flaked.

Total styling time:  20 minutes
Total drying time:  over 12 hours

Hey beautiful people!  This week, I finally used up the DevaCurl Must-Have Curl Kit, which I won as a prize from a contest (yay for free stuff).

I did a deep condition overnight with Curl Junkie Hibiscus Banana Deep Fix Conditioner.  I like this conditioner, but it isn't cost effective for me anymore.  With my current hair length and thick density, I used half a jar in one wash.  That is $10 per wash.

In the morning, I started off with the DevaCurl No Poo.  This has great slip, and my hair felt clean.  The only thing I did not like is the smell.  It is strong perfume like.  Next, I used the One Condition.  This also had great slip, and the smell reminded me of a baby.  I just didn't understand why the bottle was so small.  It's conditioner.

For styling, I used the Deva Styling Cream and the Deva Ultra Defining Gel on my right side.  For some reason the styling cream I received has a tiny pump spout, instead of the normal pump.  I had to push the pump about 12 times just to get enough to cover a small area of my hair.  When I spread it on my hair, it felt a little like water, so I knew it wasn't going to do much for me.  For my left side, I didn't want to risk tangles, so I used a heavier leave-in conditioner under the Ultra Defining Gel -- Curl Junkie's Coffee-Coco Curl Cream.

After 12 hours, my hair is about 90% dry on the right side and 70% dry on the left.  I'm actually a little surprised.  The DevaCurl styling cream left my hair softer than I thought, but there is not much definition.  My hair dried shrunken and frizzy.  I am also getting white flakes on my clothes now that it has dried.

Total styling time:  ~30 minutes

1. Pink Eco Styler Gel ($6 / 32 oz)- This is not marketed as an edge control, but it had the most long-lasting hold by far, and it it the cheapest.  I just have to use ALOT.  Also, I have to tie down my edges after I apply it, to let it dry.  Because it takes my hair awhile to dry, even if I apply the gel on dry hair, the results are not instantaneous.


2. Cream of Nature Perfect Edges ($4.50 / 2.25) - This is my favorite "edge control".  It gave me both high shine and hold.  It also spreads easily, and it actually smells a little like argan oil.  It just didn't give me all day hold. As the day went on, my edges started to puff up.  For people avoiding parabens, do not purchase this one. It has 2 - methylparaben and ethylparaben. 


3. Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Edge Control Smoother ($8 / 2 oz) - This is my second favorite "edge control" product.  It performed very similar to the Cream of Nature, including the fact that it also gave me great shine.  It also smells deliciously like vanilla. However, like the Cream of Nature, it also didn't give me long lasting hold. Unlike Cream of Nature, it does not have any parabens. I really like the ingredients in this product.


4. Oyin Burnt Sugar Pomade ($14 / 4 oz) - I use this as a second day product after using gel on the first day.  I typical spritz my hair with a little water, then smooth on the pomade and tie down my hair with a scarf. After about 30 minutes, my hair usually good to go with a nice sheen and it is soft.  Do not expect this to last longer than a couple hours though.  The pomade has amazing ingredients.  I prefer the Burnt Sugar Pomade to the Sugar Berries Pomade based on smell alone. They perform and cost the same. The Burnt Sugar smells like cookies.  The sugar berries smells like plants to me.  This is on the higher side of price per ounce, but a little goes  along way.  I've had the same jar for at least a year.


5. Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore ($10 / 4 oz) - While the jar says that it smooths, this is more of a treatment, than an edge control.  The protein seems to strengthen my edges, and this product keeps my hair soft with a nice sheen.  When I'm stressed, my temples thin, so this is a keeper, just not as an edge control.  The only thing I don't like about this is that it seems to leave some residue on my hair after a few days of use.


6. Gorilla Snot Gel (Punk) ($6.59 / 11.9 oz) - Someone suggested this gel because it is kind of like glue.  It did work on my edges to a certain extent, but it worked pretty much like Eco Styler Gel and it didn't last as long, even though I put a ton on. 


7. Curls Control Paste ($8 / 4 oz) - I was actually surprised that this did not work for me. It was my favorite product while I was transitioning because it smoothed my edges.  However, when I tried it as part of this experiment, while it smoothed my edges, the smooth edges did not last long.  It also left a white residue.  I tried it on both "dirty" hair and freshly washed hair.  It gave me the same white residue each time.


8. ORS Olive Oil Edge Control ($5 / 2.25 oz) - This simply did not spread easily on my hair, so it was not effective.


9. Smooth 'N Shine Edge Smoothing Pomade ($2.59 / 2 oz) - This performs similarly to the ORS Edge Control. 


10. Got2B Glued Spiking Glue ($6.50 / 6 oz) - I only tried this because someone suggested it.  It did not give me hold, but it did leave a sticky film on my hair.  No bueno.

Total wash to style time: ~50 minutes.

Hey, beautiful people!  For this wash day, I did a couple experiments.  The first was unintentional.  As usual, I did an overnight deep conditioner first.  I had just enough Hairveda Acai Phyto Berry Conditioner in the bottle for one side of my hair.  I wasn't ready to open up another bottle; so, on the other side of my hair, I used another favorite light protein deep conditioner - Aubrey Organics Island Naturals Replenishing Conditioner.  These are both awesome conditioners for my hair.  The Hairveda was easier to apply because it glides better on my strands.  However, the Aubrey Organics left my hair softer when I washed the conditioners out of my hair the next day.

Next, after I rinsed out the conditioners, I went straight into styling.  After my successful wash n go last week, I wanted to see if I could duplicate the results with another favorite leave-in conditioner -- Koils by Nature Leave-In.  After applying the leave-in, I applied my oil mix and applied Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic for my wash n go.  So far, so good.  My hair seems a little bit shinier and it dried a little faster; but, other than that, it looks pretty much the same.  It did flake a little, but it was barely noticeable. 

Wash and style time - 35 minutes, including periodic pauses to entertain the baby, who was watching me apply products

Dry time - ~6 hours for the front, and the back is still damp.

The top is a picture of wet hair, and the bottom is dry