Store Shelf Products vs. Al Natural: My Take

A while ago there was a deep debate on my twitter timeline (which is mostly women of the natural hair twitter community) and the debate was whether you can still achieve healthy natural and long hair using store shelf products that typically contain "not so great" ingredients. I remember my point was that I know the relaxer was a very big no no because it, for a fact causes breakage (which i noticed along my hairline) but what about the same products that we all grew up on and momma swore by? I personally always had long hair. I didn't have a problem with breakage until I was 15 years old and decided it would be fun to experiment with color. That's when the real breakage came. But what about that good ol' Blue Magic hair grease? In my opinion it really does the same thing that shea and the oils do. Gives the hair moisture. Yes of course it contains mineral oil/petroleum which can stunt hair growth but what if you just apply it to the hair shaft and not your scalp? The hair is dead but not the follicle. I never liked greasing my scalp anyways. But What if you aren't as financially able/inclined to spend the amount of money that these natural hair companies are asking for? What are you going to do? Go to the nearest beauty supply store and buy what you can. Of course my analogy would be like comparing the use of store shelf products to alcohol consumption. Don't over do it and you'll be fine! lol Going out to drink every now and then is okay. Have a few drinks party with friends but don't over do it. If you do you start to see some serious side effects like a beer belly (bleh!). Same with hair products. Try to keep at least one or two natural products around. Like shea butter! Shea butter can be found anywhere and if not locally the internet is the best place. Also try your hands at homemade conditioners and even oils that you would normally use in the kitchen (i.e. EVOO). Mix it up, use what you can and go to the store for the other stuff.

Knowledgeable Natural: Shelley Chapman (Naturi Beauty)

Ok, Barbzzz it's that time again! It's Knowledgeable Natural time. Sorry it took me a while to get this together. I will try to post by Tuesday night every week on this topic. Anywho...

This week's knowledgeable natural is no other than Shelley Chapman, known to the internet world as Naturi Beauty. (Luvzz the logo! ^^^) You can find her on Twitter chatting it up about natural hair or on youtube sharing some healthy vegetarian/vegan recipes. She has a website (naturibeauty.com) that features her blog, her catering service (ATL area) and her natural hair care products. Yes, Barbiezzz, she has natural hair product line called Naturi Tress. She has two products: Naturi Quench and Naturi Curli. Naturi Qeunch is great for moisturizing your mane and Naturi Curli is great for curl definition and eliminating frizz. Her blog features discussions about natural hair, healthy eating and recipes. She even has a recipe for some yummy vegan carrot cake! I will be trying this recipe since I have the biggest sweet tooth. As for her catering line, Barbzzz she prepares all her meals from scratch using natural ingredients. If you are in the ATL Click here for her services and prices. So yes, this natural Barbie is HIGHLY recommended if you want health for your hair AND body. Until next time barbzzz, Peace and blessingzzz!

For her twitter account click here
for her youtube channel click here
for her website click here

Do You Still Have Dry Hair?

A few naturals have come to me asking me what they can do to combat their dry hair. They have their staple products such as conditioners, deep conditioners, shampoos and moisturizers. They also have a simple hair care routine. There are a few things that some people do not look at to assess whether or not their products are the culprits. As I've stated in my last post some "cones" can actually be drying to the hair for some people. So if you notice that after using the products that contain them your hair gets dryer, even brittle, stop using it. Another thing to look for is protein. Yes Protein is good for your hair...in moderation! If all your products contain protein you may experience a protein overload which can cause the hair to get hard and brittle. Also if you are doing protein treatments make sure to moisturize your hair well to prevent the drying and breaking. There are some other simple things to do such as shampooing less. Some people can shampoo every day, others can't. It depends on what your hair likes. As you should know, shampooing strips your hair of build up...along with your natural oils. If you have a need to shampoo often, do a pre-poo with one of your favorite oils. It will help retain some moisture. I also learned from a youtuber by the name of blackonyx that to seal in moisture follow this order: Add your water based moisturizer, then cream based and last oil based. A simple way that I do this is to use my shea butter creme mix. It contains all of that ! (lol)
So in conclusion, make sure to check out the ingredient list of your products, pre-poo before shampooing and moisturize following the order of water, creme, and oil. Peace and Blessings!

Winter Hair Care: My Winter Hair Routine

Okay, lovelies! It's almost that time...Long sleeve sweaters, high heel boots and....dry hair!? In the winter we have to go to extra lengths to protect our kinky curly manes. The air is dryer, colder and the harsh winter wind blows like no other. Here's a video explaining what you will need to do to protect your hair this winter:


Now, what products will I be using and what styles will I be using? for moisturizing my hair I will stay with my whipped shea butter mix and my organic virgin coconut oil. My clarifying shampoo is black soap and I usually use that 1 per week but I'm going to cut back to 2x a month. For conditioner, I have just fallen DEEPLY in love with Giovanni deeper moisture conditioner. Love it! I will be doing a product review so stay tuned. I don't really have a deep conditioner yet, but since the Giovanni line seems to be working for me I will be trying their deep conditioner. As far as protective styles go I don't have a set idea yet but as of right now it will be braids and twists. However, I am thinking of "locking" my hair for the winter. I will be purchasing some extra silk/satin scarves and some rasta (over-sized beanie) hats to protect my hair when I go out. Mind you, I do live in SC and it doesn't really get as cold as most places so I may not be doing this routine until the later months. If things go according to plan I will be moving up north early next year and therefore I will need to start this routine. Stay tuned! Peace and Blessings.

My Miss Jessies Curly Pudding Experience

As you know I don't really favor curling puddings or gels, but I do these reviews for my viewers/readers. Now, My experience with Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding (MJCP) was far better than my experience with the Kinky Curly Curling Custard (KCCC). Although I was hesitant to use it at first because of the price ($22 for 8 oz) and the ingredients. I heard people say that the ingredients were low quality for the pricing and that it contained mineral oil. The ingredients are as follows:
Water
paraffinum liquidum- aka mineral oil! (ahhh!)
glycerin
fragrance - some fragrances can be skin irritants
triethanolamine- making emulsion with mineral and vegetable oils, paraffin and waxes (to blend the oils, and shea butter)
carbomer-help to distribute or suspend an insoluble solid in a liquid. They are also used to keep emulsions from separating into their oil and liquid components. Carbomers are often used to control the consistency and flow of cosmetics and personal care products.

PEG-12 dimethicone- a very harsh cone; the heaviest; very difficult to wash out; used to condition hair but actually dries it out for some people.
dipropylene glycol- used as solvents and viscosity decreasing agents in cosmetics and personal care products; low-toxicity

silk amino acids- adds softness and repair hair structure; A natural water-soluble source of acid derived from liquid silk
aloe barbadensis leaf extract- aloe vera leaf extract
avocado oil
shea butter
sweet almond oil
jojoba seed oil
macadamia seed oil
oleth-5- helping water to mix with oil and dirt so that they can be rinsed away. These ingredients also help to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified and help ingredients to dissolve in liquids in which they would not normally dissolve.
ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate- protects cosmetics and personal care products from deterioration caused by UV rays. (preservative)
disodium EDTA- helps prevent the deterioration of cosmetics and personal care products. It also helps to maintain clarity, protect fragrance compounds, and prevent rancidity. (preservative)
DMDM hydantoin- prevents or retards microbial growth, thereby protecting cosmetics and personal care products from spoilage. (preservative)

ext. violet 2- coloring (why it's purple)

So as you see, most of the ingredients are synthetic. They disguised the name mineral oil because they know most people are hesitant to buy any products containing it and are most likely not going to look it up. And I'm also wondering why they need 3 preservatives? Anyways I am very disappointed in the ingredients. I expected more from a $22 jar. As far as what it does for my hair, I like it. It didn't make my hair feel hard like the KCCC. It smells pretty good, but that's probably because of all the fragrance in the product. I applied it 3 times, each time differently. The first time I applied it to damp hair. It didn't really do anything. It defined my curls only a little bit and I still experienced frizziness. Next, I applied it to wet hair, applying my shea butter mix first, towel blotted my hair and then applied the Curly Pudding. It came out nice, and I had few problems with shrinkage. I still had some frizziness because I believe the shea butter acted as a barrier to the Pudding. Last I applied it while wet in the shower. First I applied a leave-in cream and then applied the Pudding while my hair was still. My curls were really defined and I had almost no frizz (click here for the video). However, I did experience more shrinkage than I would have liked. All three times my hair was not hard or felt crunchy like KCCC. KCCC is all natural, and MJCP isn't. I wonder if all the synthetic ingredients have something to do w/ that. Anywho, the picture at the top is my second experiment with the MJCP using the shea butter as a base. I also tried this with twists. My twists were completely dry the next day. It wasn't brittle dry but it wasn't moisturized in my opinion. I would not recommend this product to people who are sensitive to cones or over-priced products. Hope this helps someone! Peace and Blessings.

References for the ingredients come from
Wikipedia.org and cosmeticsinfo.org

Let Your Hair "Do what it Do": My New Natural Hair Motto

We are all guilty of it, especially us "newly naturals". What am I talking about? Piling our hair with gels and puddings, vigorously brushing our mane with the infamous Denman brush. Stretching and parting or curls, and combing out the curls to achieve a certain look. I've done it, spending at least over $100 dollars on curling products. Yes, my hair curls on it's own but I do have some spots of frizziness. But you know what? That's okay, because that's what my hair wants to do. And there in lies my new hair motto: "Let your hair do what it do!" Our hair has a mind of it's own. The way it curls, deciding whether to clump together or not. It's okay and it's beautiful. Stop trying to make your hair do something it doesn't want to. Don't believe me? Go do a quick wash and go, don't add any products. After it's towel dried a bit shake your hair and see where it falls, how it falls, and which strands decide to curl or clump together. See? It's beautiful! Of course doing twist outs, braid outs, coil outs, etc. every now and then is okay. But not every day, not all the time. Let your hair be free to do what it wants! Yes I do protective styles, but you will not see me in a different one more than once a week! Stop trying to make it fall a certain way, let it reach to the heavens if it pleases! Don't break the curls up, they want to be together! Love your hair how it is! Own it and you will be beautiful! Peace and blessings.

First Braidout

So I was suppose to keep the braids I recently did in for 5 days but they started to get frizzy. I decided to take them out and the pics above are the end results! I love it! I've always done twist outs hoping that it would stretch my hair but it never stretched my hair enough and the braid out did just that.

I believe that the braids got frizzy because I didn't tie down my braids with a scarf at night, instead I just wore a satin cap which didn't protect against rubbing.

The way i maintained my braids and braid out was to go over my scalp and hair w/ coconut oil everyday.

If i could have done anything different I would have tied my braids down at night and also have done them smaller so that the braids would have lasted longer.

Hope this helps everyone!
Peace and Blessings

Trimming...When is it Necessary?

Okay, I would consider myself a newly natural since I'm only 6 mos in. i haven't had a pair of scissors to my head since my BC so I was wondering how often should a natural trim their hair? I went on Youtube for my search and found one video where the female said to trim every 3 mos although she did more of a "dusting" than a trimming. Everyone else just showed how they did it. I went looking on the Internet and found something that makes since. One forum where a professional long hair care dresser said if you want to grow long hair why would you cut it so often? She recommended every 6 mos. Now that's for people who don't add heat or chemicals to their hair. Of course the more heat and chemicals you add to your hair the more likely your hair is going to break and split. I made the huge mistake of dying my hair about a month ago. Never again. The fumes that permeated from the coloring were so strong I would not let my daughter in the room for fear that she'd breathe in the harmful chemicals. Anywho, that's another subject all together. Even though this lady recommends every 6mos she also stated that she knows people who never trim their hair ( and I do too).

Another thing I'd like to state is that in having kinky, curly hair you do not have to straighten or blow dry your hair to trim it! just section and trim off the desired length.

In conclusion, I am going to follow this person's advice and trim my hair (meaning 1/2 an inch) every six mos. I will write a post w/ pictures when I do later this month.

Suggested Products to Use While Transitioning

Okay, I like to use natural product for my hair, but i will suggest some store shelf products.

Shampoo: Black soap. I love this b/c its all natural and it works as a clarifying shampoo. A store shelf brand I would suggest is anything that doesn't contain sulfates because these are very drying for the hair.

Conditioner: I prefer an all natural lightweight conditioner like oyin handmade's honey hemp conditioner or My Honey Child's Jamaica Island Conditioner which is my current favorite. A store shelf brand I would suggest would be Organix coconut milk conditioner or any of Garnier Frutis conditioners.

Deep conditioner: A deep conditioner can be made at home. I suggest a conditioner made with coconut anything b/c it's great for repairing damaged, dry hair. The conditioner I make is made of coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil, and half an avocado. blend until smooth. I do not recommend store shelf for a deep conditioner b/c you can find these all over your local grocery store.

Moisturizer: If I've said it once, I'll say it again: SHEA BUTTER! lol. I feel that shea butter is the best for transitioning hair b/c it coats and protects the hair. You can mix it with oils to make it whipped or you can mix it with water and oils to make a cream. Store shelf for this I recommend Hollywood's Beauty Carrot Creme. Its great for breakage and it's really inexpensive.

Oils: To me the best oils are EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), coconut oil, and jojoba oil. Store shelf would be Africa's Best Herbal Oil. It has a bunch of great oils and it's inexpensive. Apply to scalp daily to condition natural hair and to hair shaft to prevent breaking and split ends.