SilkenDove: As I Am review

Showing posts with label As I Am review. Show all posts

Saturday, September 16, 2017

2017-09-16 Wash Day: Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel Wash n Go

Hey, beautiful people! This weekend I was in the mood to do a wash n' go with a product that has been in my stash for awhile but unopened.

First, I deep conditioned my hair overnight with the Shea Moisture Superfruit 10-in-1 Renewal System Hair Mask. This conditioner is just ok. My hair has never been a big Shea Moisture fan, and this was no exception. Additionally, I've found that my hair needs at least a little protein each deep conditioning to stay strong, likely because it is fine in coarseness. When I don't have protein in my deep conditioner, I see more hair in the shower and more breakage during styling.

Next, I washed my hair with the Camille Rose Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse. I have always thought of this as a shampoo until someone corrected me, and told me that it is a cross between a shampoo and a co-wash as a "rinse."

Then, I used Garnier Whole Blends Replenishing Conditioner (Olive Oil) to detangle my hair. This performed better than the Honey Treasures (which made my scalp itch). I had no itching with this one, so I tossed the Honey Treasures.

Next, I used As I Am Leave-in Conditioner on one quadrant of my hair before I ran out, and Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip for the rest. I love the As I Am leave-in, and I think I like the Soultanicals too, but I want to use it a few more times to be sure.

Finally, I raked and shingled Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel. I was not going to try this gel because I hated a different Aunt Jackie's product in the past, but the thought of flaxseed swayed me and I am glad it did. This gel reminds me of Wetline Extreme Gel, but it may be easier to spread. It gives my hair similar definition and sheen. However, by day two of this wash n' go, my hair was dry and crispy.

ETA 10/1/2017: The dryness may be from the Soultanicals Mango Dip Detangling Slip.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

My Top 6 Favorite Brands

Hello, beautiful people! After my last post on my top products, I felt like I did not do justice to some really incredible brands, so this post is focused on products that I like from some of my favorite brands, even though I don't buy them all the time. My favorite products are asterisked.

As I Am Naturally
- Coconut Co-wash*
- DoubleButter Cream Rick Daily Moisturizer*
- Leave-in Conditioner*
- Curling Jelly
- Twist Defining Cream

Camille Rose Naturals
- Curl Maker Gel*
- Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse*
- Cocoa Nibs & Honey Ultimate Growth Serum*
- Aloe Whipped Butter Gel
- Carmel Cowash
- Almond Jai Twisting Butter
- Coconut Water Penetrating Hair Treatment
- Coconut Water Style Setter
- Camille Rose Curl Love Moisture Milk

Curl Junkie
- Repair Me! Reconstructive Hair Treatment*
- Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion*
- Hibiscus & Banana Deep Fix Moisturizing Conditioner
- Coffee-Coco Curl Cream
- Daily Fix Cleansing Hair Conditioner

Mielle Organics
- Moisturizing Avocado Hair Milk*
- Babassu Oil Mint Deep Conditioner*
- Mint Avocado Oil
- Honey & Ginger Styling Gel
- White Peony Ultra-Moisturizing Leave-in Conditioner
- Babassu Oil Conditioning Sulfate Free Shampoo

Silk Dreams Haircare
- Vanilla Silk Cream Moisture Dream (Deep Conditioner)*
- Silk Dreams Shea What Therapeutic Conditioning Masque*
- Almond Buttercream*
- Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner*
- Who's That Curl? Buttersilk Balm
- Mocha Silk Hair Milk
- Mocha Silk Infusion (Deep Conditioner)

Uncle Funky's Daughter
- Curly Magic Curl Stimulator Gel*
- Extra Butter Brilliant Shine Cream*
- Rich & Funky Moisturizing Cleanser
- Midnight Train Leave-in Conditioner
- Supercurl Miracle Moisturizing Creme (needs to be paired with something else)

Thursday, September 7, 2017

2017-09-05 Wash Day: As I Am Wash N Go

Hey, beautiful people! I was not loving my Mane Choice wash n go because of the flakes it gave me, so I decided to wash my hair and try again. This time, I did a deep condition overnight with Mielle Organics Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner. I like this deep conditioner because it leaves my hair nice and strong, while still somewhat moisturized.

Next, I used the Garnier Fructis Whole Blends Repairing Conditioner Honey Treasures. I had a better experience with this than the first time I used it, but it is still not a favorite. It still had no slip. I also notice that I'm using about a third of a bottle each time I wash my hair.

To style my hair, I first used the As I Am Leave-in Conditioner. I really like this leave-in and plan to repurchase it. Finally, I ended up using two gels for my wash n' go. First, I applied the As I Am Curling Jelly, which has incredible slip and clumps my curls. I have used this in the past with ok results. However, this time, I thought it was going to be too light for the defined look I was going for because it is almost like a liquid gel. It is even thinner than my "snot" like gels (Camille Rose Curl

Maker and Uncle Funky's Daughter).

Because I knew the Curling Jelly was going to be too light, I layered on the As I Am Coil Defining Jelly. This is much thicker, like strawberry jam and is similar in texture to Wetline Extreme Gel or

Eco Styler gel, but without the same hold.

When my hair dried the next day, it was soft, moisturized and fluffy. Also, there were no flakes, which was nice. However, I also had a lot of frizz, without much definition. I essentially skipped right over first and second day hair to third/fourth day. I also had to pull on my hair quite a bit to shape it because it kept shrinking up.

I don't think I would purchase the As I Am Coil Defining Jelly again, but I might pair the Curling Jelly with another gel to see how that goes.

Monday, September 4, 2017

2017 Mid-Year Favorites

Hello Beautiful People! I have always wondered why Favorites lists tend to only come out on blogs at the end of the year, after all of the Black Friday sales are done. I am also trying to minimize and focus the number of product brands that I purchase from because my product stash is a little bigger than I would like it to be (currently 46 products, not including my daughter's products). Thus, I challenged myself in this list to only identify my top two products in each category right now. As natural haircare has evolved, every product on this list, except one, is available in brick and mortar stores.

Favorite Overall Brand
- Camille Rose Naturals
- Mielle Organics

Favorite Multi-Use Products
- Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream (leave-in, wash n' go definer, twist/braid cream)
- Oyin Hair Dew (leave-in & moisturizer)

Moisturizing, Light Protein Deep Conditioners
- Silk Dreams Vanilla Silk Moisture Dream
- Curl Junkie Repair Me! Reconstructive Hair Treatment (this is a strong protein for some)

Cleansers
- Camille Rose Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse
- Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Sulfate-free Shampoo

Rinse Out Conditioners
- Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner
- Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge

Leave-in Conditioners
- As I Am Naturally Leave-in Conditioner
- Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion

Moisturizers
- Oyin Hair Dew
- Mielle Organics Moisturizing Avocado Hair Milk

Wash n Go Gels
- Wetline Extreme Gel (ulta defined wash n go)
- Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic Curl Stimulator (fluffy wash n go)

Braid & Twist Creams
- Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream
- Camille Rose Aloe Whipped Butter Gel

Heat Stylers
- Carol’s Daughters Chocolat Blow Dry Cream
- It's A 10 Leave-in Conditioner

Oil Pre-mixes
- Camille Rose Cocoa Nibs & Honey Ultimate Growth Serum
- Mielle Organics Mint Almond Oil

Pure Oils
- Essential Depot Avocado Oil
- Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil

I'll check back in March 2018 to see if/how this list has changed.

What are some of your favorites?

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Power Product Line Review: As I Am Naturally

Hey, beautiful people! As I mentioned in my prior post, I purchased the As I Am Coils & Curls Care Package. Recently, I decided to have an As I Am wash day to try out the products. Since, As I Am has been around a long time and I know a lot of people have reviewed it, I’m not going to do an in-depth review of each product, just the highlights.

As I Am Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner: If you have been following me for awhile, then you should know by now that my usual routine is to deep condition overnight first. The conditioner itself is light like cake batter, and it allowed me to detangle some, but it left my hands feeling a little weird. As for results, this deep conditioner was nothing to write home about. I felt like it didn’t do anything to moisturize my hair, despite the name. A couple days later, I tried using this in the shower as a regular conditioner, and it didn’t do anything that way either. I would not repurchase this product.

As I Am Coconut Cowash: Next to the SheScentIt Blueberry Cowash, this is my favorite co-wash. It cleanses while moisturizing. In the past, when I’ve had a deep conditioner that left my hair dry, but I still needed to cleanse, I’ve used this and it brought my hair right back. This wash day was no different. I love this stuff! I’m not currently purchasing any more cowashes because I want to see if I actually need them. Otherwise, I would repurchase this in a heartbeat.

As I Am Leave-in Conditioner: This was surprising. Of the As I Am products I tried for the first time on my wash day, this was my second favorite. It was creamy and has great slip. It reminded me a little of Curl Junkie’s Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion in terms of texture and the effect it had on my hair. I may repurchase this at some point in the future.

As I Am Curling Jelly: This was my favorite of the As I Am products I tried for the first time on my wash day. It had great slip, so it was easy to rake it through my hair. It also helped define my curls while damp. The Jelly reminded me a lot of the way Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic (original formula) work on my hair. The only issue I had was when it dried. For some reason, my curls stretched. It could be because I had to diffuse my hair to go outside. This was the first time I ever diffused my hair. I’m going to try using this on another wash day and do another review.

As I Am Double Butter Cream Rich Daily Moisturizer: In the days following my wash day, I tried to use the double butter cream to moisturize my hair. It didn’t work. This product is much thinner than I thought it would be given that you normally see it in a jar. The top 6 ingredients are: Water infused with extracts, Shea Butter, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Cocoa Seed Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, and Emulsifying Wax NF. However, even though water is the first ingredient, this had more of a sealing effect on my hair than a moisturizing one. I also think that my hair doesn’t like Emulsifying Wax. The remaining ingredients also made me dislike this product. Given the price of a regular sized jar of the double butter cream, I was surprised to see hydrogenated vegetable oil in the list of ingredients at all, and definitely surprised to see it as the third ingredient. While I’m sure it works perfectly fine as a sealant simply because it is an oil, I haven’t heard of any great benefits that it has. The cream also has lanolin and some other ingredients that are not so great for my hair. There are a ton of good oils in this product, but they are further down the ingredient list and likely in low concentrations. I won’t be repurchasing this product.

In short, I like the co-wash, leave-in and gel. I would leave the rest.

Have you used As I Am products? What did you think?