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?

Hey. beautiful people!  It has been awhile since I did a wash day post.  However, the weather was really warm here in Michigan, and I had a natural hair event to go to that evening, so I decided to break out the wash n' go.

First, I did a deep condition overnight with Camille Rose Coconut Water Penetrating Hair Treatment.  I have liked this product more than I ever thought I would, but more on that in other post.  The next morning, I put Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo in my hair.  This is definitely one of my favorite shampoos.  It smells amazing, and my hair does not dry out.  Next, I used Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship.  This conditioner is a holy grail for certain.

Finally, I did a wash n' go with Jane Carter's Curl Defining Cream.  I love this cream.  It may be the most versatile product I own.  I have used it for braids, twists, braidouts, and twistouts, and it has not failed me yet.  I also used it once for a wash n' go when my hair was shorter, and it worked well then.  So, I decided to give it another try.  The result was big, fluffy hair, but in a good way.  I think I still prefer my gels for wash n' gos, but this is a good alternative.  Plus, unlike gel, the next day, I was able to just braid my hair up for work.

Have you ever used this product for a wash n go?  What are your thoughts?

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:

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.

Hey, beautiful people!  My hair has been in desperate need of a trim for a couple weeks now, so I decided to take advantage of the long holiday to finally do it.  There are a number of ways to trim, all involving the use of small sections.  I decided to trim my hair in its curly state in sections small enough for my extra wide Curlformers.  That way, I could trim and style all at the same time.  This was also a great time for me to try out the It's A 10 Miracle Leave-in that I have heard so much about.

Here is what I did:
(1) Deep conditioned overnight with Silk Dreams Vanilla Silk
(2) Washed hair with Dr. Woods Pure Black Soap
(3) Conditioned / detangled with Hairveda Moist Condition Pro

Because I wanted to test out how well the It's A 10 worked, I used just It's A 10 on the left side of my hair and It's A 10 plus Carol's Daughter Chocolat Smoothing Blow Dry Cream on the right side.

Before putting a curlformer on a section of hair, I would put on my leave-in(s), comb it through, and then stretched my hair  between two fingers to trim off the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch.  I was ok with trimming off this much because I haven't trimmed my hair since my big chop.  My goal was not to make my hair even.  I just wanted to get rid of the ends.  It took about an hour to put in my Curlformers because of the added trim step.  After putting in my Curlformers, I sat under the dryer for an hour, in my favorite dryer pose, until all of the curls were dry.

After taking out the Curlformers, my hair was was amazingly soft on both sides, but the curls had almost no hold.  The side with just It's A 10 had a little curl, but was mainly just poofy.  The It's A 10 + Carol's Daughter side held the curl for a about an hour or so before puffing up.  By the end of the day, all I had was a curly fro.  It was potentially cute, but not the look I was going for at the time.

I think this was the first time I've had my Curlformer set poof out.  Even my set with Oyin Hair Dew didn't poof out.  Next time, I think I want to try a mousse/wrap lotion for a firmer hold.

What do you use for your sets?