Monday, September 21, 2009

Another sample. Mixed Chicks, again...

I got a sample of mixed chicks over 6 months ago from a little boutique near my house that sells all sorts of cool stuff. Unfortunately, I only got one little bubble each of the shampoo, conditioner and leave in. With such a small quantity I was unimpressed with what it did for my hair. It smelled great but did not give me notable results.

This past weekend however, I was at an outdoor festival and saw a woman with tight curls "similar" to mine, that seemed VERY defined and shiny. So I complimented her and asked what products she used. Mixed chicks (!) with IC gel layered over it. I thought to myself, "ahhh of course. Gel on top of it. Perhaps therein lies the magic". I found a salon near my job that carries Mixed Chicks (I won't mention their name because they do not do "my type of hair" even thought they sell Mixed Chicks products) and held the small $20 bottle of conditioner in my shaking hand. The sympathetic natural haired black woman behind the counter asked if I had tried their product before.

I told her my saga and she said "well- you could buy that $20 bottle, OR you could try another sample."

"You have samples?!" I almost squealed.

She turned to the low shelves behind her and murmured "Yeah, girl your hair is just going to drink this stuff up- let me see how much I can give you."

I ended up leaving with a small bag containing 4 bubbles each of the shampoo, conditioner and leave in.

So I gave it another shot. I actually shampooed, which I seldom do, just so as not to have any other variables to consider if my results were bad.

I then used two bubbles of conditioner, which did not seem like quite enough to give me good detangling slip factor.

Then I used a bubble of leave-in all over, and distributed another bubble section by section just before applying the IC gel in the same manner.

Results: My hair is NOT like that girl's hair- lol. After worrying about the possibility that the white coating would not dry clear, it did, and it did define my curls. It was almost as if I had shingled my hair. It lasted 3 days and felt moisturised and only moderately crunchy. My curls don't form ringlets. They are more free form, kinky and prone to frizz. My hair is also very thick and fine, so I still had a full head of tight slightly fuzzy curls.

I must admit though. I really did like the leave in conditioner and am contemplating splurging on the big $50 bottle for the winter. A nice, creamy, heavy leave-in conditioner is hard to come by. I have tried using several different regular conditioners as leave-ins, including Yes to Carrots, and it's not quite the same after a day or two of re-application. I really like Paul Mitchel's Leave in called "The Conditioner" though.

I used that and some of a HUGE 32 oz. tub of Pink Eco styler gel I scored for under $4 and created an impressive streached fro this weekend.

My "bang" is back. More on the trim later!

15 comments:

  1. I love your hair!!!!! Great blog too. I don't see many girls with my hair texture in the blogsphere so I'm thankful for your blog. Question: I was wondering how do u stretch your hair?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for reading and commenting Keimei!
    I'm just getting started here so I really appreciate it :-)

    I stretch my hair in two ways. The quick way is with a burst of heat from a small blow dryer. When my hair is dry I grab a clump of hair at the ends without separating the curls, pull it taught and direct the heat at the roots and middle of the hair for like 5-10 seconds to set it. The other way is to grab a clump from the ends and rotate it to twist the roots and middle tight (like a bantu knot with the ends out), pin it and let it stay for about 30 min then let it down. This also works when the hair is still slightly damp.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hey girl. i have a bottle of the leave in conditioner if you want it. i'm not a fan of their stuff:( try EO. they have an organic leave in conditioner (lavender) that I really like.
    Z

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Zody! I'm checking out the website now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh my God I finally found someone with my hair hair type, even though I have seen many 3c, 4a mix, no one actually have quite tight coils with mix of frizz like this.
    I have saved your blog link.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful hair. I am transitioning and going to try mixed chicks. My hair is looking type 4 ish so far.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Nisus your hair is gorgeous you have my goal hair! I have 4a hair type. I was just wondering what hair type do you have?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think my hair is 3c AND 4a lol. 3c in front, 4a in the middle/back and a general combo everywhere else. I don't have spirals (until some of the very ends), but the size of the clumps/coils that form are a little smaller than a pencil in most places. Mixed chicks alone is like a decent leave in conditioner. I don't think it will "define" 4a hair, but try it on your own coils and see what you think. It worked really well on that girls spirally hair.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just discovered your blog and I'm obsessed. My hair is a 3c/4a mix and I went out today and bought the CON lemongrass leave in, GVR The Conditioner , and coconut hair milk...can't wait to try them out!! I love Eco Styler, but I can't find pink. I use clear, what do your think are the differences?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Pretty!I need to get some eco styler!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Let my journey begin! Kudos to all of you and your blogs on natural hair care and maintenance! I don't know what I'd do without all this helpful information on products and styles from synthetic braids to natural twists and braids, twists outs, etc. I hadn't seen my natural hair in over 30 years! It has taken me 51 years to liberate myself and now I'm taking the transitional plunge - I snatched off the wigs, cut out the perm, chopped my hair down to 1 inch, went to the braiding studio and got started with spring twists. Adorable! I think my hair is a 4b everywhere else but a 3c in the back. (I just learned this today.) From researching and reading hundreds of blogs over the last four months, I must say I am so very impressed with what's going on with natural hair these days! Very impressed! And thanks everyone for giving me the strength to go natural! Please don't stop blogging old divas like me are out there listening and learning and keeping the beautiful kinky curls flowing in to the silver years!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous! I get excited all over again too reading about new journeys :-) Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have hair prone to frizz that's been chemically treated and over-ironed for years. I iron my hair 2 times or more a week, and when I attempt to wear it curly it's always unruly. After trying It's a Ten, Mixed Chicks, and countless other conditioners, I've finally found what works: Shielo Hydration Condtioner. I've also tried Shielo Hydration Shampoo, which honestly was not as effective. Just the conditoner works VERY well. When I straighten my hair after using this product it feels silky and healthy; when I wear it curly the frizz is minimal. I'm also half African-American, and even though Shielo doesn't usually market their products for black hair, I encourage women of color to try it!

    ReplyDelete

Amazon Store