Staples

I have to say that I'm in love with Tresemme Naturals hair conditioner! To me it's comparable to Giovanni Smooth as Silk, see the video for more info on my staples.

Finally a routine!

I haven’t posted in a looong while, and I really should be better at this blogging malarkey , but I just post when I think I’ve something worth writing about, and as for my ingredient a week that’s gone out the window, but also I don’t want to reveal too much about what’s in my products just yet!

Anyhow the reason I’m posting now is because I finally have a hair routine! This will be my 4^th week of my 6 week cycle and I have noticed improvements in my hair. Before I reveal that, something that has drastically changed my hair and the amount I loose on wash day is NOT USING A COMB, BRUSH OR TANGLE TEEZER TO DETANGLE, yes I only finger detangle every week and comb detangle with my Hercules Comb once a month. I don’t get any fairy knots and tangles have drastically reduced. Also since gaining a bit of length I’m enjoying playing with my stretched hair, rather than putting twists in straight from washing, I now braid with a leave in, leave it to dry then the next day play with my hair.

So here is my 6 week routine

WEEK 1

Comb detangle with conditioner, water and veg glycerine – braiding hair into sections - rinse

Leave hair in braids and was with Aubrey Organics GPBShampoo

Undo braids and apply Revive UK’s breakage treatment in sections using Ouchless bands - from Asda (I replace ayurvedic powders that she uses with 5tsp of Kalpi Tone, deep conditioner used Aubrey Organics GPB Conditioner) – leave for 30mins and rinse

Apply Giovanni Smooth as Silk braid hair and rinse

WEEK 2 & 5

Wash hair in sections using Afro Shampoo Bar

Apply Hibisculious Deep Conditioner (BeUNIQUE Hair Care) braid hair, leave for an hour and rinse

WEEK 3 & 6

Apply Avocado Glaze ((BeUNIQUE Hair Care) braid hair and steam

Wash with Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Shampoo

Condition with Tresemme Naturals

WEEK 4

Bentonite Clay Mask

1 Cup of Bentonite Clay

½ Marshmallow Root Powder

¼ cup conditioner

¼ of coconut milk

Up to 500ml of water (can be infused with herbs)

1tsp Jojoba Oil

1 tsp. Castor Oil

Other info

I use Shea Passion Milkshake (BeUNIQUE Hair Care) as a leave in and Mango Twist (BeUNIQUE Hair Care) to style. To moisturise daily I use a herbal infusion with brown algae extract and I also may use Nettle Tea Cream (BeUNIQUE Hair Care) to moisturise and soften the hair.

As you can see I’m trying to use my products on my hair on a regular basis to really see what the effects are.

The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Conditioner

Dr. Organic @ Holland & Barrett

Was out with my Mum the other day and she dragged me in to Holland & Barrett, and I ended up buying some hair conditioner, I'm not usually one to impulse buy, but the display looked so inviting, yeah I'm weak. Anyhow the display was of a new brand on the scene Dr. Organic, they make skin care and hair care products. The conditioners that I looked at were Aloe Vera, Manuka Honey, Lavender, Vitamin E and Pomegranate, they also do Green Tea. I chose to purchase the Vitamin E conditioner, because it said it was moisturising, it cost £5.25 for 250ml, which I think is a fair price, and at the moment Holland Barrett are offering buy one get one half price on anything in store. It has a slight fragrance to it and is a thick consistency, I haven't tried it yet, I just wanted to share, but I'll be sure to do a review when I do try it.

What the website says:

A nourishing conditioner suitable for all hair types formulated with Organic Vitamin E, Aloe Vera, Shea butter, Hydrolyzed milk protein, Panthenol and Sunflower oil. A deeply soothing and effective conditioner formulated to lock in moisture, which restores natural condition by penetrating and coating the hair’s external fibres and cellular keratin matrix, promoting rehydration and restoring the hair into beautiful and manageable condition. See picture below, he colour isn't right my conditioner is rich golden colour.



Garnier Fructis £1 @ ASDA

I went grocery shopping yesterday and picked up some Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine for £1

"Put down the Eco Styler!" - Dangerous Ingredient

I'm doing my public service bit and have come to inform you all about an ingredient called TRIETHANOLAMINE. You'll find this mostly used in hair gels and it's used in Eco Styler and African Essence (I'm sorry to say when desparate I still use my African Essence). Please read extract below taken from Aromantic.co.uk (http://www.aromantic.co.uk/buy-organic-natural-emulsifiers-cosmetic-skin-care-uk.htm)

"Another Emulsifier to avoid is Triethanolamine. It is produced within the petroleum industry and has been used for several decades (and continues to be used) within the cosmetics industry to support emulsification. This chemical is severely irritating for the eyes and skin. It penetrates the skin and can cause liver damage. In addition to this, when combined with nitrate ions - normally found in drinking water and many meat products - it produces a carcinogenic substance, Nitrosamine. It should never be used in Skin Care products but is regrettably, common in the UK."

Click here for detailed break down, and you can look up other ingredients too!

Shea Butter Cottage - Akua Wood

I'm in love with Shea Butter Cottage, it's one of those sites that you keep looking at, and in your head add products to a secret wish list. I've only tried one product, but let me tell you where my love is coming from. Akua Wood, (the owner) works with ingredients that I like, ingredients that I, at first thought, only I was incorporating into hair products. Her site is extreemley informative too, telling you what the ingredients will do for your skin and hair.

Last night I washed my hair with her Afro Shampoo Bar I LOVE IT! and it has great ingredients, I'm not a fan of shop bought shampoo and since the BC the only thing I use in my hair that's a soap is Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap. Well, let me tell you, the Afro Soap is great, as soon as I put it on my hair my curls began to pop, and my hair felt so soft it was amazing! (I think my new filtered shower head helped too). One of the ingredients is murumuru butter which is great for afro hair and I also use this ingredient in my homemade conditioner, so my hair had double softness.

All I can say is keep it up Akua, and if you haven't been to her site do so ASAP!

PVPs and hair gel

See these websites for for information:
http://www.in-cosmetics.com/ExhibitorLibrary/39/Natural_Polymers_in_Cosmetic_and_Personal_Care_Applications.pdf
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4922470_hair-gel-work.html

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curly-q-a/the-nitty-gritty-details-about-hair-gel

African Essence Hair Gel

So like i said previously I did fall of the wagon and used shop bought gel, but it made my hair hard and once I read the ingredients and wanted to wash it out right away. The key ingredient is PVP this is a polymer and it's what helps to clump the curls together and help define them. So my reaction was I found a natural silicone all I have to do is find a natural polymer or to be more specific a biopolymer. I found one that I could only source from China called Pullulan. But then after searching on the internet for hours I cam across Aubery Organics B5 Design Gel and Aubery Organics Moisturising Jelly.

I have purchased these products because they use Gum Tragacath and Gum Arabic, which should be good substitutes for PVPs. So once I try them I'll tell you how it goes, but I have also bought the aforementioned gums in a bid to create my own gel. I WILL NOT GIVE UP!

Holla - it's been a while

I haven't posted for a while due to not having time to sit down long enough, and sometimes it's easier to just post a video on YouTube.

I've begun to get into a routine with my hair and have found the products that it likes and I'm going to stick with them, I tried a new product reluctantly last week and my hair didn't respond well probably because it had parabens in it (I know shock horror!). It was TIGI Bedhead Moisture Maniac, people rave about it on YouTube, but my hair doesn't like it.

Another mishap this week, and another thing my hair doesn't like INDIAN POWDERS, I tried them my hair smelled like curry and it messed up my curl pattern I was sooooooooo unimpressed.

So okay the products I use and my hair likes, and are currently my staples are:
Garnier Fructis Repair and Shine Conditioner (I want to try sleek and shine too)
Faith in Nature Conditioners
Oyin Whipped Pudding (which I have now finished :( but will create my own)
Giovanni Smooth as Silk Conditioner
Giovanni Direct Leave in Conditioner
Dr Bronners Castile Soap
Water and vegetable glycerine
Natural oils (to many to mention but my hair loves Avocado Oil)
My own homemade hair gel and moisture cream
Afro Shampoo Bar - By Shea Butter Cottage
Aubrey Organics White Camellia Ultra-Smooth Conditioner

So that's all I'm using for now as well as experimenting with making my own conditioners and deep conditioners, but my hair gel is the only one so far that I'm really happy with.

Garnier Fructis Repair and Shine Conditioner

I tried a new conditioner, I'm awaiting my ingredients for my homemade conditioner and so searched for a cheap co-wash conditioner without silicones and parabens and I found Garnier Fructis Repair and Shine Conditioner. It smells lovely, cleaned just as well as shampoo, and gave my hair a good shine.

INGREDIENTS
Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol, Elaeis Guineenis (Palm Oil), Behentrimonium Chloride, CI19140 (Yellow5), CI15985 (Yellow 6), Niacinamide, Ribes Nigrum Oil (Black Currant Seed Oil), Saccharum Officinarum Extract (Sugar Cane Extract), Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Olea Europaea Oil (Olive Fruit Oil), Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Pyrus Mallus Extract (Apple Fruit Extract), Pyridoxine HCI, Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado Oil), Butyrospermum Parki Butter (Shea Butter), Citric Acid, Lemon Peel Extract, Glycerin, Fragrance

WHAT SOME OF THE UNPROUNOUNCIBLES ARE!

Behentrimonium Chloride
Cationic quaternary ammonium compound (docosyltrimethylammonium chlorid) made from colza oil (canolla oil) with potent conditioning effect. Potent conditioner with antistatic & detangling properties, able to restore & rebuild damaged hair (due to colza oil it does not coat but penetrates & substantiates the hair shaft), softening effect, antimicrobial properties.


Niacinamide
(Viatamin B3),

Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Origin: A synthetic compound derived from stearic acid, a fatty acid. It is an emulsifier that is made from vegetable based components and is safe for the environment and for your hair.

Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride
Antibacterial properties soluble in water

Linalool
one of the natural constituents of lavender essential oil, can also be manufactured synthetically

Pyridoxine HCI
Vitamin B6

Citric Acid
Inherently natural as it occurs in citric fruits, produced by fermentation of carbohydrates, Acidulant (useful to adjust pH of products to make them more acid / less alkaline), chelating effect (neutralizes minerals to enhance activity of antioxidants & preservatives)

The week I declared war on my hair!

If I haven't mentioned it before I am a school teacher, and therefore I don't have enough time or the inclination to wory too much about my hair in the mornings. Now that Christmas holidays have begun I've decided that it's time to see what I can do with my hair and to try and go gel free.

I'm trying to go cold turkey and not use any gel and see what else I can use to define my curls. The link with the gel is that #1 I can't get Eco Olive Oil in the UK, #2 Eco Clear is a little drying and #3 gel just increases shrinkage and my hair has less body.

So what have I done this week:

1. I've co-washed Faith in Nature's Jojoba Conditioner, and then just added Jojoba Oil and let my hair dry - this made my hair soft and when I rinse with cold water my curl pattern holds better, but the next day I had to co-wash again to revive the curl.
2. I blow dried my hair (first time since 2nd BC in August!), I liked it but heat = damage in the long run, so then I put African Essence gel on the dry hair and used a bristle brush in a circular motion all over my head to make the curls pop. It looked good but the gel is very drying.
3. I co-washed with Faith in Nature Jojoba Conditioner, put in Giovanni Smooth as Silk wrap head with cling film, put my head scraf on and went to bed. In the morning rinsed out with cold water last, then put in jojba oil, sprayed with Naturally Sexy Moisturising Spray , and then put on Naturally Sexy Styling Cream added a little cold water and added Oyin Shine and Define. I then used the bristle brush in a circular motion all over head, the longer you do it the more defined the curls they end up looking like finger curls. I liked this best will have to see what it looks like with 2nd day hair.

Update on Curls Products

The Curls products didn't provide good second day hair, I have found recently that I'm having to co-wash my hair everyday so that I can have defined curls. To co-wash I'm using either the coconut sublime or Organix coconut conditioner or the Organix pomegranate coditioner, I then use the Curls quenched curls because I think that it's an excellent product and I use Eco styler olive oil gel, and Green People aloe vera gel. This is what is working for me so far.

Curls (TM)

I've recently tried a range of products by Curls, their slogan is "Effortless, Frizz Free Curls for Multi Ethnic Women and Girls". Well what can I say I purchased a whole 4 step product line

#1 Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream
#2 Coconut Sublime Moisturizing Conditioner
#3 Quenched Curls Moisturizer
#4 Curl Soufflé and Whipped Cream

All the products have a high percentage of natural ingredients (I'm not going to list them check out the website) so much so that they all smell like you can eat them, the Curl Soufflé could be mistaken for yogurt. After using the whole system my hair felt soft and moisturised. The Curl Soufflé did help my curl definition, only drawback was I washed my hair at 9am and by 6pm my crown was still damp, but my hair was smelling sweet! In addition I didn't have much shine, my hair looked a little dull. I would recommend this product line, and I would use it again but not on a TWA, I'll wait until I have some more length.