AfroVeda Sweet Roots Collection Product Review

I recently received/purchased the Sweet Roots collection from AfroVeda as I am into Ayurveda and was attempting to find a good Moisturizer. 

I washed my hair with Dr. Hoting's Thickening Solutions Cell-U-Plex Revitalizing Shampoo to clarify it. I wanted my hair free of all other oils and products before trying a new product.

 I towel blotted my hair to absorb some of the water and while it was still damp I applied the Licorice and Marshmallow Leave-In Moisturizer to my entire head and combed through as instructed.

 Price: $21 for the sample set of 3 products

Product:AfroVeda Sweet Roots Leave-In Moisturizer

Product Claims: Stops breakage and dry frizzy hair. 
Actual Performance: You all know that it takes a lot to impress me with hair care, but even doing what the product says it will do goes a long way in my book. With this product I was disappointed... The texture was like cheap lotion. It didn't leave my hair dry but it didn't deliver enough moisture to actually last beyond the point of application. My hair was frizzy and looked as if I had blown it out. My curls in the front were non-existent once the product dried.

Scent: I'm a huge fan of smell as long as it smells good. This product smells very strange and medicinal. I didn't like the scent at all, as a matter of fact I found myself wanting to apply something else to cover the smell but I chose not to.

Product: Sweet Roots Licorice and Marshmallow Hair Control Style & Control Hair Sculpting Wax

Claims: This product makes no special claims so I expected it to live up to it's name (sculpting wax)

Performance: It didn't perform as a wax would at all. I applied it to my edges to lay them down and to the front of my hair to lay it down and it did nothing special. My edges ignored the product as if I'd never put it on. The product looked like it would have some kind of hold to it but once I applied a little pressure to the surface of it my finger sank into it like a tub of butter. The texture was very soft and yielding. This product did not live up to my expectations in the least, but it wasn't horrible. Much like the moisturizer it smelled strange and almost unpleasant.

Product Sweet Roots Licorice and Marshmallow Liquid Curling Spray

Claims: Molds, Sculpts and Shapes Curls and Waves, making it the perfect styling tool for enhancing texturized styles. Will not leave hair crisp or flaky and will nourish the scalp for healthy, hydrated hair.

Performance & How I Used the Product: I spritzed the spray onto my hair as a finishing spray and at first I was impressed but when my hair was dry the curl pattern was non-existent in most of my head and the few curls that remained were not molded, shaped or hydrated. The smell of this product was similar to the other two but a little more tolerable. I tried using it as a curl refresher spray the next morning and was a little surprised when it actually added a little shine to my strands, but the buck stopped there.

Overall Personal Opinion: I don't like the products enough to ever purchase them again but I don't dislike them enough to sell them or give them away. I will use the product but once it's gone that will be the end of the sweet roots legacy in my regimen.

NOTE: I did not list the ingredients as they can be found on the website for those of you interested. This review is just my PERSONAL experience and opinion of the product and is not intended to dictate what your experience may or may not be like should you choose to try the products listed for yourself.

Product Review for... (Drum Roll Please)

Lets Jam! Styling Custard

Today I purchased Lets Jam! Styling Custard to see what all of the youtube fuss was about. I'm not a bandwagon person but curiosity got the best of me. Everyone should know that when trying out a new product hair should be clean of any other products so before trying this product I washed my hair with my usual clarifying shampoo by Dr. Hoting's Thickening Solutions Cell-U-Plex Revitalizing Shampoo with pure plant extracts.

Price: The price was okay, I purchased a 10 oz. jar for only 4 bucks ($4) at my job (Family Dollar), all in all it was a pretty decent amount for the price.
Scent: The smell wasn't anything spectacular or new, the only way to describe it is to say that it smelled like most Lets Jam! products.
Consistency: It had a lot of slip which I hear is good... j/k slip is good but not always. It was creamy, slick and went on easily and absorbed pretty well.
Results: My hair didn't gain or lose any curl definition and there was enough frizz going on that I was slightly disappointed. However once it started to dry, the frizz diminished (just a little) and the curls gained shrinkage which amounted to a little bit of extra definition. 
Overall Opinion: I'm not impressed. I don't love it, I don't hate it. I like it enough to use the rest of it (rather than sell it on Lola's Green Hair but not enough to purchase it again. result photos follow this post and are of my hair when wet with the styling custard freshly applied, they do not include pics of the dried results.

My Current Regimen

My current regimen: Daily I wear a wash 'n go because my hair is so short (sporting a twa) because I recently big chopped. Even though I sport a wash 'n go everyday I don't always wash or co-wash my hair because I don't want to dry my hair out. I co-wash with Pantene Pro-v Frizzy to Smooth Conditioner 3 days a week. On alternate days I just refresh my look by wetting my hair thoroughly with very warm water in the shower, I do a final rinse with cold water to seal the cuticles before exiting the shower and then spray my hair with Nappturalistic Beauty's Super Hair Growth Spritzer and tassel to style. On the days that I do co-wash, after rinsing away the conditioner with cold water I apply Nappturalistic Beauty's Leave In Conditioner and use my shower comb to fluff into a fro then I spray with the spritzer and go.
Once a week I shampoo my hair with Henna Sooq's Cocoveda Shampoo Bar, don't condition or deep condition after using this particular wash method because the bar has so many healthy natural conditioners already in it. After washing my hair apply Nappturalistic Beauty's Whipped Moisturizing Hair and Body Butter to my hair, working through to the scalp thoroughly, I then style with my fingers using Henna Sooq's Sweet Mimosa Butter.  Once a week I deep condition using hot oil (usually EVOO heated in the microwave) and my usual Pantene Frizzy to Smooth conditioner under a shower cap for an hour.  Every night I do a scalp massage with small amounts of Nappturalistic Beauty's Hair Growth Serum Blend, concentrating on the temples where my hair was starting to thin. 
Every 4 weeks I like to use Henna Sooq's Sukesh Ayurveda, for my method of application with this product see the product review. After the application of Sukesh I like to use Shea Moisture's Organic Yucca and Baobab Volumizing Conditioner. I choose this conditioner to follow up with because the Sukesh Ayurveda is a strengthening treatment that promotes growth and hair health, and the Shea Moisture conditioner contains biotin for hair growth along with other ingredients that add to the strength and over all health of hair.
Every night I sleep with a satin bonnet on. I used to use a satin scarf but I was wearing it too tight and when it wasn't too tight it was too lose and would shift or come off at night, both of these situations caused my temples to thin so I switched to a bonnet.

Product Review for Henna Sooq's Cocoveda Shampoo Bar

I recently read about shampoo bars and wanted to try one... well more than one but I thought I'd start with one. If you're into Ayurveda then you know there is a wealth of products out there that will nourish your hair and help maintain the health of every strand but you have to choose wisely because not everything is for everyone. I had to pic and choose my starting products; one of those products was the Cocoveda Shampoo Bar from Henna Sooq. The bar is brown, several colors of brown because it is organic and hand made. The scent took some getting used to. When I first received the bar it had been in the mail truck in the heat long enough that the smell was pretty over powering at first. I refrigerated all of the products until they solidified. After a brief refrigeration the bar's scent was much lighter and the color was a bit darker. The smell was earthy like red dirt with a hint of ginger and coconut.

The ingredients are: Saponified organic high oleic sunflower oil, unrefined cocoa butter, unrefined organic shea butter, organic coconut milk, organic henna (this will not color or change the color of your hair), organic amla, shikakai, bhringraj, bhrami, nagarmotha, ginger essential oil.

I love this product! It takes a while to lather it as it has no sulfates or sud boosters, but once you get it lathered up you will love the feel, the sent, the sensation. It felt wonderful massaging this shampoo into my scalp, I could tell that the ingredients were working on every strand. When I rinsed it out my hair felt a little coated the first time as I had a ton of grease in my hair from greasing my scalp the night before. The second time my hair felt so strong and healthy and thick! My hair was clean but not stripped. My curls had definition and sheen beyond what I'd ever expected from a shampoo bar. This product claims to promote hair health, shine, conditioning, growth and strength and it delivers on the promise every time. This bar is so good for you that it can be used from head to toe (literally) even though I only use it for my hair. I feel that this bar is good enough to be used for both basic washing and co-washing.

The bar is about the size of a regular bar of soap. It is best to cut off a piece of the bar and keep both the piece and the bar away from water and moisture when not in use. The directions say to lather in hands and apply lather to hair and scalp but I like to use the piece directly on my hair to get a better lather.

This is a great shampoo for dry hair and will definitely be in my regimen. I would recommend this to any and everyone looking to try a shampoo bar.

Product Review for Henna Sooq's "Sukesh Ayurveda"

Say Goodbye To Traditional Protein Treatments
With Henna Sooq's Sukesh Ayurveda hair is stronger, thicker, shinier and curls have more bounce after just one use. This all organic Ayurvedic powder is a mixture of cassia obovata, organic amla, organic neem, organic aloe vera, organic tulsi, brahmi, bhringraj, and shikakai. These ingredients are sure to enhance scalp health and promote growth. This is part of my regimen that I use once every 4 to 8 weeks.

 The smell was fresh and earthy, almost like fresh picked black tea leaves. It actually made me want to make a cup of tea it smelled so much like it. The color is green, kind of like a light sage green. This product can be mixed with water, oil, lemon juice, herbal tea or apple cider vinegar. I mixed mine with a mixture of warm water and acv.  If you ever made mud pies when you were little then you know what to expect with this product as far as textured when mixed. It felt a little rough when I was applying it to my hair so I was very careful not to rub too hard when applying it. I left it on for an hour and a half then rinsed it away with warm water. My strands felt stronger when I rinsed the Sukesh out of my hair. It rinsed out pretty well but there were bits and pieces of powder balls left in my hair, which came out easily when I  shampooed my hair. Over I am very pleased with this product. I will say that I like it better with plain water rather than acv.  I will say that you MUST DEEP Condition after any herbal or powder Ayurvedic treatment, this is something I did not do  the first time, because of that my hair was left dried out the morning after. The second time I just used warm water to mix it and deep conditioned and my hair looked and felt amazing afterward.

I can definitely say without a doubt this is a staple and will remain a part of my regimen. Unlike henna there's no need to let the mixture sit before applying it and you can leave it on for one to two hours; there is also no need to wear gloves unless you have a problem with it getting under your nails. If you have any questions you can call Khadija at Henna Sooq @ 410-579-4543 they are open from 10 am til 6 pm. Their website is http://www.hennasooq.com/

Ayurveda

I first read about ayurvedic treatment for hair on Luv My Kynxx blog. I was reading about henna and happened to find out about other Indian Ayurvedic herbs that bring forth health in the hair and on the skin. As I type I am currently sitting with a mixture of those herbs on my head under a plastic cap. I am doing a strengthening and conditioning treatment called "Sukesh Ayurveda" from Henna Sooq. This is my first time ever trying anything ayurvedic. I ordered the Sukesh treatment from them along with a sample of their Cocoveda hair oil, Cocoveda Shampoo Bar and their Sweet Mimosa Butter. My next blog will be a review of at least one or all of these. I can tell you already that I love the scent of the Sukesh; it smells herbal and earthy... almost like fresh picked green tea leaves. I mixed it with warm water and acv (apple cider vinegar). I think next time I'll skip the acv because as much as I like the was it makes my curls pop, I absolutely despise the smell. I will follow the Sukesh with a wash with the cocoveda shampoo bar, followed by a seal with the cocoveda hair oil. Tomorrow for my usual wash 'n go I will co-wash with my favorite conditioner by Pantene then I will style with the Sweet Mimosa Butter. Stay tuned for the next post.