Kukui Combo

My hair has much in common with the Serengeti. I have come to accept it’s perpetual dryness and have learned some work-arounds that have helped significantly. However, I’m always on the hunt for new methods to moisturize my sand-like strands. By always on the hunt, what I really mean is that if I stumble across something that works, I’ll stick with it. I am basically lazy when it comes to my hair and I don’t particularly like trying new products. This is how I came to randomly put two products together that I already happened to have on hand. Like lots of people, I’ve used aloe vera gel for a variety of purposes for most of my life. My hair and skin both love it, so I tend to keep both a bottle and a live plant in my house. Like my hair, my skin is also quite dry, and so I have developed the habit of applying a body oil immediately after I shower in order to help stave off the alligator look. Coconut based oils work really well for me, but I have extremely sensitive skin, so I have to be careful about using mixed-oil products. A few weeks ago, I bought Alba’s Kukui Nut oil, 

which I have used on my skin before, thinking that it would be a nice alternative to the Monoi oil I’d been using. Negative. My eczema-prone skin bugged out. So, I was stuck with a nearly full bottle of Kukui oil sitting on the bathroom counter. Then one morning, as I reached for my aloe vera gel hoping to revive and refresh my curls a bit, I noticed that my hair was doing it’s best imitation of a bale of hay and thought that in addition to spritzing some water and using the aloe gel, I should include a bit of oil. Already holding a palm-full of aloe and feeling the usual laziness set in, my eyes moved to the bottle of Kukui oil sitting on the counter. I mixed a few drops with the aloe, applied it to my curls and then did the running man when I saw and felt the super soft, super defined results. It didn’t dry crunchy, the definition remained and my hair smelled like a Hawaiian island. Winning! I’ve tried this combo a few more times since then and I still love it. Yay for random discoveries. Anyone else MacGyver a new hair solution lately?

Peace,

Nuri

Braces Update and coils picts after trim

I swear my visits to the orthodontist sometimes feel like a test of my pain threshold. You know that moment when you know someone is going to do something to hurt you, and there is nothing you can do about it- so you brace yourself?  Then you can stand practically anything for like 10 seconds. A shot, blood drawing, splinter or ingrown hair... whatever.  You can handle it.

SO at the ortho- they go to take the bands off, which always hurts. My bottom teeth are still super sensitive though, as they have been moving all month. (see exibits A and B below.) So I brace myself... ok taking bands off. It extra hurts but it has to be done. cool. cool.  I only flinch a little.

She says I'll get the same wire. Cool.  Then she takes the wire out after looking around a bit... hu?  Then she comes back with a file looking skinny thing, and tells me its like a nail file and tells me I'll feel pressure between my bottom teeth.  My super crowded, can hardly get floss in, sensitive bottom teeth...

I have but a split second to brace myself, and then it feels like the most cruel sandpaper being forced between my aching teeth. I flinched hard and she asked if I was OK- to which I quickly responded YES (part of the bracing of self hardcoreness I was attempting).

So she moves on to the other side of the tooth and, NO I'm not OK, and I am about to stop her and she's like "awww I know these teeth are sensitive, I'm almost done..."  so I refrain.  BUT DAMN. She attempts to go between one more, which I know I won't be able to tolerate, but this time she can't even get the "saw" in between the teeth. She says "wow, some very tight contacts here, this tooth has nowhere to go" and gives up.  Pheeewwwww!! After re banding them- which was a breeze in comparison, she sends me off saying lets watch my bottom teeth continue to "unravel."

Now my whole bottom jaw is aching. Great.

But look how much they moved over the past month. (yep switched to silver on bottom after debating purple for a sec lol.)
May 21st > June 25th


As for my hair...
I had been severely neglecting it over the past few weeks as I dealt with some ailments and tragedies in my family and around home. I had been starting off with a wash and go and then not moisturizing, not protecting it at night as I slept in various places (such as hospital suites, my childhood bed, a chair... standing up lol).  I hardly had time to wash and de-tangle once in those few weeks, not at home, no deep conditioning, no time to protective style. So last week when I returned to work, while drifting off  at my desk I was partaking in a nice hand in hair session when I noticed an abundance of single strand knots and hair that was simply coming off the end of my hair in my hand. Perturbed, I actually took my work scissors and cut away some of the worst offenders right then and there, rather than have them get lost in my hair again and begin to work in more innocent bystanders.

After another day of making the same discoveries knew I had to cut some hair off my ends all over and be done with it. :-(
I cut my hair wet with conditioner, with my professional sheers, practically curl by curl.  I ended up taking off 1-1.5" all over.  Hardly noticable while shrunken, but if I press again I've set myself back a few months.

Now imagine- some naturals never protect their hair at night, and don't know how to properly moisturize or seal their ends.  3 weeks and I effectively knotted up the ends of my hair. There really is something to taking those few extra steps to preserve length!!  At home I have silk pillow cases, and I use castor oil to seal, steam in the shower, a few different leave ins... It doesn't take much, but it takes something. 

My ends look great now! I took a few flicks of a chunk I pulled down yesterday.  I have in it Paul Mitchel's The Conditioner, Eco styler gel and had refreshed with steam and Nubian Heritage (read this! the same thing happened to me in CVS when I picked this up) Heat Protect Leave-In Conditioning Cream Honey & Black Seed. It has a VERY strong scent and I'm not yet sure if I can deal, but I will keep you posted when I am able to try it alone.

Fluffy hair follow up

Remember this post about bigger hair?
So the first pic kinda accurately projects how it feels 2-3 days later :-(
And the rest convey how it looks.

SO I ended up putting it in a puff after the very first day.  It felt DRY and tangled and I did not feel I could wear it down without risking a lot of single strand knots and snags.

Today I wore it like this because even the puff was rubbing my shoulders and I worried about my ends.  It looks ok but the cream of nature leave in is not so much a leave in as it is a sealant.  Great shine, but that's it.  Like for relaxed hair.

But look at my little curlies :-) I love them so. I just have to protect them and this product combo is not the way!

Rebooting with a co-wash tonight!

Product review: NEW! Royal Curl™ Curl Shaping Crème

You all know I give all these products a fair shot right?

So I got this about 1.5 months ago from a local store - Yes Organics I think it was.  And OH, it sounded so lovely! 

In a hive, there’s only one queen whose diet is only Royal Jelly, a nutrient packed super-food with 17 amino acids, vitamins A, C, D, K and multiple B-vitamins. We use the Queen Bee’s Royal Jelly in Curl Shaping Créme to naturally tame frizz, define curls and smooth waves with silky hold. Pure Aloe Vera Gel and Agave Nectar quench your hair’s thirst without the grease, while powerful Green Tea antioxidants and intense moisturizers defend against damaging heat and humidity.

All natural: No harsh, or drying chemicals like alcohol, sulfates, petrolatum, parabens or phthalates.

Transforms Kinks To Defined Curls and Soft Waves

I tried it right away on a wash and go- following the directions, forsaking all other products and using my fingers to distribute it.  That was not good.  It dried frizzy and a bit crunchy, lacked sheen, and was clearly not going to yield me day 2 hair.  I also felt there was a slight residue by the time it dried- making it look a bit dull all over.  FAIL.

But I was not ready to give up.  The ingredients seemed so good!  and maybe it just needed some oil?

Just this weekend I tried it again.  This time I took the cream and some oil in the tub with me and applied it liberally to wet hair with oil added to help with dryness and residue, I hoped.  It is very thin and does not have inherent slip.  So though it was not clumping I was still like- "well maybe I will get a more shrunken and piecy wash and go."  That's not always bad- my lil curlies are dope.  I finished applying it and it looked quite alright soaking wet.  I sat under a hair dryer for an hour, since I was just home chilling on a weekend evening, and let it just dry without touching it.  Even still- I had a shrunken shiny wash and go.  No ringlets and a bit frizzy but it seemed like the helixy shape of the "inner hair" was intact and I would have a few days of nice textured hair.  I did multiple bantu pineapple knots and went to bed.

The next morning.....  FLAKES.  Flakes galore!  they spawned over night and were everywhere!!  root to tip.  what sucked worse- it was like flakes on top of sheeny zig zaggy hair that would have otherwise been fabulous, if not a bit velcro like. I did some yard work but eventually knew I had to wash it out and start all over.  sigh.

So my conclusion is, you can't use much of this product before you get flakes, yet if you don't use a lot you will NOT get definition on anything crookeder than curly hair.  My hair is spongy and fluffy, but it will coil and curl with the right product.  THIS is not it.  This is totally false and misleading: "Transforms Kinks To Defined Curls and Soft Waves."

I am not amused.

I still have half a jug left- it comes in a large 15 oz jar, like kinky curly. Maybe I will try it on a twist or braid out this winter, but I have a stronger suspicion that this jar will collect dust unless someone wants it! Who has time for potential fails on cold weather hair?

I didn't take picts because I never even got to a styled head of hair with this mess. By the time I finished my yard work and really began pulling my hair apart I had already turned on the water in the shower lol.

(oh hell- I just noticed the pic of the girls' hair on their website! What kinks??? smh.) 
ZERO out of 5!

Let's JAM! (2011 Remix)

Throwback: Remember LET'S JAM! Shining and Conditioning gel? Remember how it would have your edges LAID? Remember how the scent was so distinct other people could always tell when you’d used it? Remember that the ingredients were:

Aqua (Water), Isoceteth-20, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Glycerin, Oleth-2, Propylene Glycol, Parfum (Fragrance), Sorbic Acid, Methylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Ethylparaben, Benzyl Benzoate, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hydroxycitronellal, Benzyl Alcohol, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, CI 19140 (Yellow 5), CI 14700 (Red 4), CI 17200 (Red 33)

Scary.

I can’t even remember the last time I used JAM. In its absence, I have relied on various gels (from Fantasia IC, to Eco Styler, to pure Aloe Vera) to slick my hair back when the style or look I was going for called for it. Nothing I used quite did the job, and most (except for the aloe) left my hair crunchy and didn’t hold for the whole day.

Enter: Curls Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste.

Photo by Nuri

First of all, I just have to say that whoever is in charge of purchasing at Target is some kind of genius. They must be making money hand over fist off of us naturals by having that special curly hair section! But I digress. Anyway, I had been looking for something to help slick my edges down, particularly the hair on the back of my neck (which almost always looks crazy), for awhile. I had noticed the Curls Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste a few times on previous Target trips, but hadn’t really considered purchasing the product. Then, the other day, I went into the store to return some Palmers Coconut Oil Hair Milk, because I detested the way it reacted on my hair (a nasty, pasty, milky film just sat on the surface of my hair until I washed it). I figured I’d get something else instead and wandered over to the “ethnic” hair products section of the store. I grabbed the Curls Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste and figured I’d give it a go, because I’ve wanted to rock a giant, slicked back puff.

Now, I will say this about Curls Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste, the ingredients are a far cry from perfect. This is probably why I hadn’t tried it before. The ingredients are:

Water, Ceteareth-25, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Glycerin, Isostearyl Isostearate, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter, Jojoba Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Tetrahexyldecyl, Ascorbate, Passion Fruit Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Maize Starch, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance

Not scary, but a little unsettling.

While the product proudly states that it has “No Sulfates, Silicones, Parabens, Mineral or Petrolatum Oils” (which is great), there are still a few ingredients in the list that give me pause:

Ceteareth-25
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Phenoxyethanol

That said, the product does exactly what it claims to do. The label says:

Smooth out and slick down unruly edges -  ✔
Tame frizzy out of control curls - ✔
Add amazing sheen - ✔

Photo by Nuri

Check! The consistency is quite similar to Let’s JAM – it’s slightly tacky/sticky both to the touch and when you first put it in your hair. It doesn’t smell like passion fruit to me, but it does have a sweet yummy smell, kind of like warm caramel. It leaves the hair extremely soft, shiny and LAID! I mean laid people. With just a tiny amount, my hair was super slicked back and fly-away free. The product works so well, that even though I fell asleep last night with my hair still in a puff and I had neglected to even put on a scarf/hooded band/bonnet, I woke up and my puff was intact. I actually threw on my coat and walked out the door to take my puppy for a walk without doing a thing to my hair, and without looking even remotely crazy. My hair is still soft and, miraculously, the hair on the back of my neck is still smoothed into my puff. I have only tried it on dry hair so far, but may experiment with it on wet hair later, as well as trying it on my curls to see what it can do with them.

My verdict? This stuff is great, but I wish they would reformulate with out the ingredients mentioned above. I don’t like feeling as though I am risking my health for the sake of a fly ‘do. In spite of this, I will probably purchase it again, at least until something that works as well, but with better ingredients comes along – if you have any suggestions of such products, please leave them in the comments section.

Peace.
Nuri

My Twist Out is winning!

I love Kiss My Face Upper Management  gel.  I LOVE KMF gel.

I twisted my hair last Sunday.  Took the twists apart on Wednesday, and was still wearing the dopest twist out yesterday (Monday).  Again- whose hair is this?  My hair is frizzy and water reactive.  It's puffy and it has a big ego.  With this gel, the same silkyness I observed in my wash and go carried on in my twists and then my twist out for days and days.  I was getting up in the morning and just leaving. No hair accessories, no fixing.  ah. you can not tell me anything about this twist out!!

Now for the evidence- tons of indulgent picts lol

Reminder- here were the twists.  My BF loved these the most of all my styles. 

Here they are simply unraveled with no pulling apart.  I wore it like this for 2 days.

Now HERE is the separated twist out for Friday and Saturday.  I took a little bit of castor oil and gel mix on my finger tips as I separated them. You could not tell me anything about this twist out!!

 

Or my green earrings and green shirt for a St. Pattys Party.   

But then....  Then there was Sunday and Monday hair too- even more picked apart. Even doper.

Looking at these pictures I like it even more.  Alas, it had been 8 days since I co-washed my hair and I was starting to worry about tangles and my scalp, so that was the last day.  As I type I am sitting under the dryer with coils in my hair for a coil out tomorrow.  I finally got to use the tangle teaser I purchased so I'll review it at the beginning of the next post.  In short- I like it- but it's a tool just like my denman.  Good for some things and not for others IMO. 

But as for KMF gel (w/castor).  Winner.  

I'm sorry Eco Styler.  We had a good time together.

Kiss my... twists!

I did double strand twists with the Kiss My Face/castor mix!
And they too, are silky and shiny. I did them on wet hair, with no parts. There are about 32-36 of them, but they are so tight and shrank so much that my hair is gone. Thus- I hate them.

But everyone else loves them. I was going to do the twist-out yesterday, as soon as it dried but my BF wanted me to leave them in so I did and came to work and all my co-workers swooned. Yes, I even let someone touch one lol. So I am wearing them again today and took pictures. I'll probably unravel them for the twist out tomorrow. I think I will need to do a lot of separating to get the volume I like back. But I think the definition will be divine!

What I did (all while hair was in 4 sections):

• Co-wash with V05 Kiwi Lime.
• Detangle with Renpure conditioner, widetooth comb and then my denman.
• Added honey and let it sit for 20 min before rinsing.
• Add Quidad leave in to each section (I had an old bottle I needed to finish)
• Began grabbing wet hair in sections and adding Castor/KMF root to tip as I twisted.

The actual twisting process took about 1.5 hours and I was taking my sweet time.  I had to spritz a few sections that had began to dry out.  I probably could have finished in 40 minutes if I was really just going at it.

Ta-da! and stay tuned for the twist out picts.

 

Slept on and crept on. Yes to Cucumbers and Curls Clensing Cream

When I did go to Target last week for some household items, where I was sadly floored by the "natural section" I still managed to put a few hair care items in my cart. I got a bottle of Curls Cleansing Cream and a bottle of Yes to Cucumbers Daily conditioner.

So let's start with the surprise that crept up on me... the bad news.

That dog-gone cleansing "cream" is just some shampoo. I maybe didn't do my research, or maybe should have read the bottle more critically, or memorized the effects of more ingredients, but I saw cream and curls and assumed it'd be a particularly cleansing no-lather type of deal. Even out of the bottle and into my hand it was creamy and smelled delightful- like their leave in. I'd pre-conditioned with Suave Naturals Tangerine conditioner and rinsed it out, and had been using no styling cones for weeks - so my hair was already pretty clean... Thus I put some in my palm planning to only focus on the roots and back of my head by patting it on top of my head on on the base of my neck. That mess sudsed up IMMEDIATELY and rabidly, instantly making my hair crunchy and non-slippery. I panicked a little and began trying to use the foam to create some slip to prevent the matting from happening in front. Fail. I ended up kinda squeezing it the rest of the way through and rinsing- to the sound of that squeaky clean chirp I have not heard in a long time. I had not detangled my 5 day old shingle so I was dismayed to feel the hair in back particularly clinging to itself for dear life. :-(

So on to the product I've slept on. The good news!

I moved on to the Yes to Cucumbers Conditioner.
Background info- I loooove the C is for Conditioner Yes to Carrots one, so I had high hopes, but a skeptical mind because it says "daily" and "color care" on the Cucumbers bottle. I figured it was a lighter version of the Yes to Carrots I love. I have heard curlys rave about it (here and here) though so my PJ alter ego got it for me.

In the shower: I painstakingly sectioned my hair into 4 with my hands and squirted a huge glob in my palm. I put it in the front left section liberally and MY GOODNESS, it multiplied. It has a bit of a sudsing action, kinda like the Yes to Carrots but more like the old school cholesterol deep conditioners I used to use back in the day, but with more slip and better smell and ahhhh.... I was like what IS this. I picked up the bottle and read it again. "Conditioner." "daily care." I used my shower comb and got through the tangles with no trouble at all, even combining the two back sections into one. I was so very happy with it. So very happy.

My stream of consciousness was like:
it cost kinda a lot, but I don't need a lot, and I don't wash my hair often, but I do wash and goes often, I could use it for that OH I wonder about using as a leave in like they say, but the suds. oh the suds mmmmmm, it would work as poo though, the smell is good, fresh. yes. This is mine. how much did I use all super heavy handidly... oh not that much pheeww...maybe it will help with my highlights somehow too. sniff. yum. yeah this is good, very good. I. must. tell. people!"

I rinsed and my hair was light and fluffy and smelled fresh. I was sad to see it go down the drain :-(

More on shingling with Ecostyler- vid-n-results

So I made a video when I was almost done shingling my hair a few days ago- with the Denman! (a knock-off denman style brush that is) Yes it's back! On my long hair I found it to be more trouble than it was worth, but on this length it's great again. I also like the shape of my hair best when shrunken pretty tight, so ta da- Denman shingled curls. I don't use the Denman to detangle (I prefer my hands or a Jilbere Shower Comb), but use it to style my hair like this.


I took pictures on day 3, since I putted around the house for two days over the weekend. But it was holding up nicely! I'm on day 5, (FIVE!) today. I'll have to remember to take some pictures.

Here is day 3.

...and another vid for good measure. I love my iPhone :-*

Vids- Wondercurl Wash n Go results

I ordered Wondercurl Get Set Hair Jelly from this site when she had a free shipping special a few weeks ago. Here I apply the jelly to freshly conditioned hair. I washed with Suave's rosemary/mint professional conditioner and de-tangled with suave professional sleek conditioner- rinsed with cool water. I then applied Paul Mitchel the conditioner liberally to my hair split into two sections.

The gel is clear, non-tacky and gives good slip. I ordered the unscented version.. I had samples of the earth scent and the almond scent. Earth smelled like... dirt... and the Honey Almond was very sweeeeet smelling. Not too fond of either.

*Note* - you have to crank the sound waaay up to hear what I am mumbling about lol. I'll do better next time. And also turn the camera portrait view :-)



And here are the results! I must mention- regardless of what I think and my particular preferences, just on my way in to work I got two compliments from strangers :-)
An older women said I had beautiful hair and a fellow natural with a cute twist set asked what product I used. I'd have to say this product is a styling and shine success.

I'm so ashamed... Hello, my name is

...Nia. And I am a Product Junkie.

I am the junkie of all junkies. I have more than one- 3 and 4 of things- similar if not the same things. 1 off things, small things, big things, mostly full things of hair product that I mostly do not use.

This pile began because I'm moving this month, and I began to pack up the dark and overlooked shelves of my apartment. I figured I could fit all of my hair products into a small box, but then I kept finding more stuff, and more stuff... and more stuff.

I have at least one of all stuff that were ever hair stuff. I think I have tried almost everything in the universe. Once I force myself to sort through all this, (tonight!) maybe my favorite products will finally take the spotlight and assert themselves in a rotation of sorts. I have said in the past that I have no routine, and perhaps this is why :-/
It's like a little city.

Just this past week I flipped and decided I was tired of gel, and had been wearing my hair fluffy, and then pulled back. I have not co-washed in days. I have no idea what I'll do with it tomorrow for my boyfriend's graduation from law school. Maybe I'll find inspiration shuffling though these products.

Do you recognize these bottles and caps ladies? If so, you too may be a product junkie. I try not to encourage this behavior, so I tend to only review products when I have a strong feeling about them. But as you can see, I have tried everything! My hair generally tells me what it wants, and different products have different uses, and mix with other products to make yet new products.

I'll def have to post a follow up to this exposure of my behavior.