Friday, December 5, 2014
Head-to-Head: Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream vs As I Am Twist Defining Cream
Price: As I Am wins, but not by much. These are both on the pricey side, but Jane
Carter is more expensive without a sale.
Jane Carter is $34 for 16 ounces, while As I Am is $22. However, for the past two years, Jane Carter has
been 40% off during their Black Friday sale or 30% the days after, bringing the
price down. Tomorrow, they are having a 50% off sale for 4 hours. Other retailers sometimes follow suit. For example, as of this post's publication, Jane Carter is on Amazon for $23.50. Of course, retailers that
sell As I Am have sales too, but I haven’t seen one with that high of a
percentage.
Consistency: Jane Carter wins for me. Jane Carter is a creamy consistency, like a
heavy lotion. As I Am is more
jelly-like. Imagine if you mixed cream
with a thick gel, like Eco Styler. As I
Am is also sticky and leaves a weird residue on my hands. The stickiness is odd because it has little
hold.
Ingredients: Jane Carter wins this one for me too. Both have infused water as the first ingredient. Looking past the water, the next 5 key ingredients
on my Jane Carter jar are Shea Butter, Jojoba Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Vitamin E
and Glycerin (in that order). The ingredients on the website are different. In As I Am, the next 7 key ingredients after infused water are Glycerin, Acetamide MEA, Sunflower Seed Oil, Castor Seed Oil,
Triethanolamine, Coconut Oil and Shea Butter (in that order).
Depending on how your hair reacts to Glycerin and the weather,
Jane Carter may be better because glycerin is lower on the ingredient list meaning there is a lower concentration of it. Acetaminde
MEA is also a humectant. Michigan winters can be very drying, so Jane
Carter is the better pick for me for year-round use for this reason alone. The fact that As I Am has two amines (Acetamide
MEA and Triethanolamine) also makes me a little uneasy because they can be
cancer-forming when mixed with other products, like DMDM Hydantoin.
Styling: This is another Jane Carter win, but not by
much. I’ve tried both for twists (flat
twists & box twists) and wash n’ gos, and they both work for both. Both leave my hair soft and get the job
done. However, with As I Am, the biggest
issue for me is the weird sticky feeling it leaves on my hands while styling
and the coating it leaves on my hair. Also,
if I use too much As I Am, then residue shows up in my hair. This might be ok if As I Am actually had some
hold to it, but it doesn’t. Also, I find
that my hair stays a moisturized just a little longer with the Jane Carter.
Final Ruling: In a head to head comparison, Jane Carter’s
Curl Defining Cream is my preference, but not because As I Am’s Twist Defining Cream
is a bad product. I just like Jane
Carter’s cream better for my hair.
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
What did you buy? Did you do better, worse or the same as last year?
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:
- Confessions of a Blog Vixen (My Go-to Site for Sale Listings)
- Long Hair Care Forum (My Second Favorite)
- Black Girl Long Hair
Yes, I am an enabler.
Happy Shopping!!!
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.)
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.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Product Review: Silk Dreams Chocolate Bliss (The Deep Conditioner Files #9)
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.Wednesday, October 22, 2014
11 Essential Tools For Your Hair Toolbox Part 2
As promised, here is part 2 of my essential tools list:
- Spray Bottle - I have several of different sizes and misting capabilities, but you probably only need 1-2 spray bottles. I use them mainly for my oil/water mix and just plain water.
- Trimming shears - You should have a pair of hair shears to get rid of split ends and single strand knots, even if you don’t trim your hair regularly. I have a pair of Conair shears that I love. Do not use these shears for anything but your hair, and replace them as soon as they start to become dull.
- Disposable Shower Caps or Plastic Shopping Bags - If you deep condition, which you should, or if you do the green house method, then plastic caps or shopping bags are essential. Personally, shower caps are so cheap that I just buy them. I do re-use each one a few times before throwing it away.
- Mircofiber Towel or T-shirts - If you haven’t heard by now, let me be the first to tell you that you should not be using regular towels to dry your hair. Regular towels rough up your strands and create frizz. Use a microfiber towel or old T-shirts. I do both. The microfiber towel does a better job of jump starting the drying process for my low porosity hair, but the T-shirt works well too.
- Satin Hair Coverings - I have satin straight scarves, a large satin hooded scarf, a satin wrap to keep my buns neat for days, satin pillowcases, and a satin bonnet. You do not need all of these things, but you do need at least one method of protecting your strands while you sleep. My large stain hooded scarf is my favorite, but it sometimes slides, so I always sleep with a satin pillowcase. Do not go cheap on your hair covering or you might as well not bother. Most of the generic beauty supply scarves are not enough to keep cotton from sucking the moisture out of your hair. If you can see through it or your fingers catch on the fabric, it won’t cut it. Wait for a good Black Friday sale, and get a double-lined satin/charmeuse scarf. I haven’t purchased any of her products due to price, but Eboni of EboniCurls has a good Youtube video on this. As I mentioned in my last Black Friday haul, I purchased my hair bonnet from BonBons Cheveux Boutique. I purchased my roomy hooded scarf from Crystal's Coifs, but it appears that it is no longer in business. Most of my pillowcases are the Betty Dain brand, which is reasonably priced.
What are some of your essential hair tools? Let me know if you think I missed something!
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