Breaking the Rules Pt. 2

So I broke the rules again and guess what, my hair didn't fall out or stop grwing or jump off my head and run. But seriously I think that there are too many "hair police" rejects out there judging everything someone else does to or puts in their hair. I mean come on, if you chose to put nothing but all natural ingredients in your hair then that's good for YOU but don't judge others who don't do the same.

I dyed my hair with real dye because... well lets just say my only source is online and I'm not paying over $14 in shipping cost for something that only cost $1.95 to begin with. The dye didn't damage my hair anymore than it already was. It did take quite well... too well in fact. My hair instead of turning red turned carrot orange. so I used this product to strip the dye down to a darker color. Yep you read that correctly, the Curls Unleashed Take Command Curl Defining Cream Strips Dye. I had used my Sulfate shampoo at least twice to try to take some of the dye away but nothing happened. BUT then I remember that when I dyed my hair starry night black back in the day all it took was styling my hair with that product and rinsing it out the next day to not only strip my dye but also made my relaxed ends a coppery color. YIKES! so I figured that product was a waste of money because I didn't want it to strip my dye or make my hair hard and brittle but it did. The ingredient list alone is eye popping and not in a good way. Anyway I dyed my hair and stripped it on purpose this time and I styled it with products with taboo ingredients in them and my hair turned out just fine. Follow my next blog to see what products I used & how it turned out.

Breaking All The Rules

Have you ever found yourself using "taboo" items or products with "bad" ingredients? I do all the time, and as much knowledge as there is floating around on haircare and products you'd think we as naturals never make a mistake. I am not only a product junkie I'm also a hair blog/website junkie. I find myself checking out every book, blog and article available. I read and watch and listen on a daily basis... yet I still stick to my own rules. I use pantene conditioners that have ingredients that are "frowned upon" by the natural haircare world. I made my own leave in and it has none of the usual things in it and all of the unusual things in it. I have never used most popular product lines nor have I tried all of the latest fads like apple cider vinegar rinses or honey masks but that doesn't mean that I won't. I don't have a regimen (although I should because routine is good for haircare) and I'm working on that. I will keep doing me and doing what works best for me and not what everyone else is doing. I will try the products I am interested in and not the ones that everyone else raves about.  Next month I'll be trying the Qhemet Biologics line, not because it's a trend or a fad (and as far as I know it's not) but because I am a Ayurvedic loyalist! I believe in it like it was the bible. and Qhemet Biologics have all the Ayurvedic oils and properties that I love!!! Also on my list in the coming months are the rest of the beautiful textures line, Afroveda products and Original Moxie along with Oyin handmade products. Now I know that most ppl on youtube have already tried and reviewed these things but I'm going to try them anyway seeing how I am transitioning and only a few months away from my big chop and still finding out what works for my hair. I figure while I'm on the hunt for what works well for me I'll share the wealth of my experience with the general public so stay tuned.

What's in Your Spray Bottle?

Most "Naturals" have a spray bottle.  In that spray bottle they have a concoction of what works for their hair as far as moisturizer or and detangler. I have a leave-in detangler so my bottle is used for moisturizer. I am still trying to perfect my recipe that works best for my hair. When I first got my spray bottle I was following a trend or a "fad" of a natural that lives across the street. I had no idea what to put in it, or why I had it for that matter, so I asked her what was in hers. First mistake of transitioning is asking someone else what They use for Their hair, because Their hair is NOT Your hair. She had a mixture of Aloe Juice, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and Jojoba Oil. Sounds good but when she made some for me (minus the jojoba oil because she was out) it came out smelling like sardines in a bottle with coconut. Also it did nothing for my roots or my ends... both textures rejected the mixture promptly. I was going to pour it out but then I realized that the smell was coming from the aloe juice, it was rancid! So I took a syringe and sucked the oils out of the bottle and placed them in bottle without a spray nozzle. I used the coconut and olive oils to seal my ends after detangling and it turned out great! So then I thought to myself, I know how to seal my ends and I no longer need a spray bottle for that so what do I put in the bottle??? Well as you all may know, I use the Shea Moisture line of products and I was running very low on the Curl and Shine Moisture Milk which by the way is an AWESOME moisturizer. I was also low on funds so I added a little water to the remaining mixture. It made a small difference in the amount of Moisture milk but not enough to last as long as I'd need it to so I put it in the spray bottle, I had another product that was good at moisture retention; Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment, so I added some of that to the bottle as well as more water. The mixture is okay but not great! The Cantu Strengthening Treatment does not mix well with water and will always separate after sitting for a while, so if you try this mixture please shake well. I think however that I will try a different mixture when that one is gone. So that's what's in my spray bottle but what I really want to know, What's In Your Spray Bottle???

Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner Review

Okay the results are in. This leave-in conditioner works great for tangles. It smells great and has great slippage. My fingers, my wide tooth comb, and even my paddle brush slip right through with my hair with this product applied. This conditioner also keeps your hair wet long enough for those tedious styles that take forever to do; it also makes curls POP! I like to seal my hair with a mixture of EVOO and Coconut oil after detangling with Beautiful Textures Leave-in conditioner. If I remember correctly this product only cost me around $5 at Sally's Beauty Supply. The only draw back to this conditioner is that it doesn't add any shine to the hair. Not that it takes any away or claims to deliver shine. But for what it's worth this is a leave-in that I'm sticking with... well at least for a long while... you know how us product junkies are. I search for what's perfect for my hair type and while this is good it's not perfect. To me the perfect leave-in would detangle, add moisture, make the curls pop, add shine and be light weight while smelling great! If I find one that does all this I'll stop shopping around for a leave-in.

Protective Styling... To Twist or Knot to Twist... That is the question

Protective styling is a long and tedious process. No matter how you put it all of the protective styling options that are in the natural hair care "bible" are time consuming and some are very damaging! Straw sets are great looking and long lasting depending on what you use to set them with... on certain types of hair... like natural hair. However when you are transitioning with relaxed hair that has been severely damaged... OMG can you say split ends??? Straw set in particular do more harm than good when it comes to my relaxed ends and it takes FOR-EVER! Bantu Knots are great and very easy to do but they too can be frustrating and time consuming. They don't seem to make the two textures blend when trying to sport a knot-out. Flat twist... this one is like cornrowing or french braiding if you ask me, fine for the skilled hand but if you cannot braid then flat twist will look raggedy and be almost pointless if you're trying to look good. Two strand twist... now I can definitely dig those! I love two strand twist, block braids and plaits. Easy breezy transition girl! lol. So when it comes to knots, twists or any other protective style I'm almost at a point where my response is "I'll Pass". They say the point of protective styling is to protect the hair from elements and to protect the ends from themselves therefore protecting them from tangling... IF that is the case then I will try a few more things such as flex rods and tucks and buns and rolls but eventually I will end up making my own "protective style" no doubt. So for real if you find what works for you aka the gander, then stick with that instead of mimicking the goose. The question is, to twist or knot (not) to twist? for pics of my journey from beginning to end check out http://www.youtube.com/ProductJunkieTheLife/videos

Transitioning. Natural Hair Care vs Relaxed Hair Care: What's good for the Roots isn't always good for the Ends

Transitioning is a Very Personal, Very Hard Journey

It takes sooooo much patience to transition. It's easy to go completely natural if you have lots of new growth. Some days I really want to do a BC just because I find that my new growth is more managable and healthy than my relaxed ends... it can be so frustrating. But then I notice how long my hair is with the relaxed ends and I see the growth that has taken place and the lack of breakage and then... tada the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps me going. They say to treat your relaxed hair as you do your new growth aka natural roots when transitioning. I do this and my relaxed hair HATES it! I mean there is nothing I do to my hair that both parts love equally, however Shea Moisture Curl and Shine Moisture Milk is the One and ONLY product that makes both parts soft and keeps both my ends and roots moisturized and healthy.

When it comes to products you have to find what works for YOU not what works for the other 4b or 3c icon on your favorite blog or youtube channel. Not every hair type is cut and dry. I have several different hair types in my head, but that's a blog for another day. It's okay to try what others have tried, if it looks good on her it may look good on you too, however, you should not get discouraged if this is not true for you. Also when transitioning a lot of natural style can break and damage your relaxed ends so be very careful what you try, how you try it and how often you try it.

I tried the straw set using a method and products I saw in a youtube video for transitioning... it went well minus the fact that my relaxed ends DO NOT like styling gel, nor have they ever! Knowing this I tried it anyway and it was a major fail! There was hold and plenty of it and my hair looked A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! (see my youtube video for pics) BUT there was also the dry brittle crunchy feel to my hair, also in the video the woman I tried to imulate used Shea Butter Leave In Conditioner... another fail for me. My hair feels rough and fragile when in contact with that stuff. This once again is why I'm a product Junkie. I have to experiment constantly to find out what works for me.

I tried the straw curl with several other products since then, only test sections to see how it would turn out instead of the whole head and let me tell you; that particular style is too high maintanence for me, it just takes too long. I have tried plats, corn rows, flat twist, two strand twist, twist outs and braid outs. I have to say that none of these styles went without damaging my relaxed ends. These are/were the times when I felt like just Chopping it all off... down to the roots anyway. The only style that I like that I have not tried is Bantu Knots.

I have found products that pass and products that fail, transitioning styles that pass and styles that fail. I will eventually do a product review blog but for now I will tell you that my absolute favorite style, my signature style, my go to style is the Wash n Go. I love that style, there's not much manipulation involved in the style, it's simple, easy and it's a very Convertible style. As you can see from my last blog it can be turned into a fro-hawk, there are many other styles as well. The only pitfall to the wash in go for me anyway is that it is a Wash and go, meaning wash or co-wash to get the look and too much of that is not a good thing. I haven't yet figured out what I can do or use as a short cut to get the look without actually having to wash or co-wash my hair. Many say use a spray bottle with water and that may be fine for natural hair but relaxed ends hate it!

Next Blog Product Review

wash n go, a convertable style

These are pics of my wanna be frohawk aka bump in the front and banana clip in the back... believe it or not this is also a wash n go.