Update: Hair Routine

Check the "routine" tag in the sidebar. I've just been playing around with a few ingredients and made a few tweaks. 

twist-out

wearing 2x twists

• Scalp massage on wash day using avocado oil, Auromere oil and blend of  rosemary, tea tree, peppermint e.o
• Pre-poo with hair in 2x twists with Auromere oil, or conditioner under hooded dryer for 20 min. This helps with detangling since hair has been in twists 7-14 days.
• I pre-poo on DRY hair with a combo of 3-5 of my fave conditioners and seal with oil. Pop on a plastic cap, wrap a towel or scarf around that, and wear as long as I can stand it, sometimes overnight. My current pre-poo conditioners:
• Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose
• Burt's Bees Shea & Grapefruit Deep Conditoner
• Desert Essence Jojoba Conditioner (vitacost.com)
• Inecto Pure Coconut Oil Conditioner (Ulta)
• Coconut Oil to seal
• Finger detangle twists after pre-poo, then wash.
• This is key: Deep condition under hooded dryer for 30-45 minutes, then detangle with shower comb and paddle brush. No more detangling in the shower for me. Rinse and apply leave-in.
  
• Nature's Blessing hair dressing on scalp while twisting with Shea-Aloe. Seal with coconut oil, aloe vera gel mixed in palm of hands.
  
• Refresh twists daily with leave-in spray and seal with oil
• Set twists on rollers (sponge removed) on Saturday night for church
• Twist- out Sunday, detangle with fingers and paddle brush, moisturize  and re-twist Sunday night. This is the key to fewer tangles on the next wash day.
  
• Day before washing, saturate dry hair with fave conditioner and finger detangle
• Wash day and repeat

Best of 2009!

Happy New Year, Curlies! Better late, than never, right?

I still love you, I just want to make sure I'm giving you the best information I can, so I write when there's something exciting to write about. 2010 will be full of new product reviews, updates, beauty, skincare, videos and more! Before we jump into the new, let's recap some of the best products of 2009. Here we go......

Overall Hair Care: Curly Girl Method, "Baggy", and Sealing

Eliminating sulfates and -cones in my hair products has been the single best thing I've done for my hair in 2009. It retains moisture better, it's softer, shinier, and it simply looks healthy. For more info, check the tags in the side bar.

Shampoo: Aubrey Organics White Camelia

This cleanser is sulfate-free, but still does a great job cleaning my hair and scalp. I only use this product once every 2 weeks, focusing mainly on my scalp.

Co-Wash Conditioner: Trader Joe's Nourish Spa

Deep Conditioner: Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose

I get much better results with a damp washcloth over my hair, plastic cap, and a hooded dryer for 30-45 minutes. Makes detangling a breeze!

Leave-In Conditioner: Desert Essence Jojoba Conditioner and Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier

Moisturizer: Shea-Aloe (with a KinkyCurly Twist)

Follow the recipe for basic Shea-Aloe. Once the oils have cooled, add 1/4 C of conditioner (must be silicone and protein free) and 1/4 C Taliah Waajid Bodifier. Mix until creamy

Oil(s): Auromere Pre-Shampoo Conditioner

This Ayurvedic oil is a blend of Indian herbs, coconut, and wheat germ oils. It gives my hair nourishment and amazing shine. For an amazing hot oil treatment- saturate hair with oil, pop on a plastic cap, and sit under a hooded dryer for 20 minutes. Wash and style as usual.

Styling Product: Taliah Waajid  Lock It Up "gel"

This product defines curls like a traditional gel, without the drying alcohol. It's also made with nettle, hemp, and Taliah's Black Earth formula.

Routine: Check these    posts

Skin Care (For my dry skin)

Cleanser: Oil Cleansing Method (All skin types)

100% African Black Soap

Moisturizer: I love experimenting with the ingredients that I have on hand. This winter, my skin has been loving shea butter, jojoba oil, and aloe vera gel mixed in the palm of my hand.

Exfoliator: Philosophy The Microdelivery Peel

Worth every penny! Vitamin C crystals and lactic/salicylic acid gel combine to exfoliate and resurface skin revealing glowing, just-had-a-facial skin. This will last months-a little goes a long way.

Gimme the Luscious

Consistent deep conditioning is the only way I can keep my 'fro juicy. Shiny. Thick. Soft. Luscious.
Here are a few ingredients that you can add to any commercial conditioner to kick it up a notch, taking it from average to A-mah-zing! And your hair will be oh-so-healthy, not 0h-so-krispy.

coconut milk
molasses
honey
oils- coconut, olive, jojoba, avocado
butters- shea, 100% cocoa (melted)
ayurvedic powders- 1 tb each amla, shikaka or brami
baby food banana
whole fat, plain yougurt
aloe vera gel
essential oil- 3-5 drops each rosemary, lavender, peppermint vegetable glycerin

My Stash

"This is a stick-up, stick-up. I need the bags or that money..."- Sasha Fierce

If you don't own Beyonce's new joint "I am...Sasha Fierce", somebody done told you wrong.

On to the kinky/curly biz...

I am getting to know my hair a lot better. We've been dating, chillin', just kickin' it and I really like it. I think this could be the one! LOL. I'm learning what ingredients my hair loves (shea butter) and hates (silicones). I have a routine that consists of low manipulation (combing, brushing), low heat (45 minutes under a hard bonnet dryer to deep condition), and ridiculous amounts of moisture and conditioning. I'll detail my routine in a later post.

I want to let you all in on what's in my stash. These are the products I can't live without, the creams and butters that feed my product addiction. "Hi, I'm Kinky/Curly and I'm a product junkie."

Cleansing

I've been following the Curly Girl Method, so I don't use shampoo. I conditioner wash (co-wash) with an all-star team of products that smooth, nourish, hydrate and strengthen my hair. Like a true PJ, I can't use just one conditioner at a time. Here's the current rotation:

Inecto Pure Coconut Oil Moisture Infusing Conditioner ($5.99, www.ulta.com for store locator)

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration ($3.39,www.ulta.com)

Avalon Organics Fragrance Free Conditioner ($9, available at Whole Foods)

Origins Knot Free Finishing Rinse ($13, www.origins.com)

If I've been using gels, Curly Meringue, or other stylers that are not CG friendly, I will clarify my hair with Chagrin Valley Shampoo Bars ($7, chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com), Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo (sulfate-free) or a mix of baking soda and water (2 TB baking soda, 2 C warm water).

After my hair gets so fresh and so clean, I layer on the moisture. I start with my lightest hair lotion, add a cream, an oil to seal, and finish with a heavy butter. Here's a list of my favorite leave-ins, creams, butters and stylers:

Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose Conditioner ($7, www.vitacost.com)

Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier ($7, naturalhair.org)

Homemade Shea-loe

Whipped Shea Butter

Castor Oil

Shea Butter

Miss Jessies Baby Buttercream and Curly Meringue

Every week I deep condition (45 min. under a hooded dryer with plastic cap) with richer, heavier products than the conditioners I use during the week. I use homemade treatments, old-school cholesterol masks, and some new brands that I've discovered on my natural hair journey. You should definitely give these a try:

Lustrasilk Shea Butter Cholesterol Plus ($3, Sally's Beauty Supply)

Jessicurl Weekly Deep Conditioning Treatment ($12.75, www.jessicurl.com)

Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose

Olive Oil, Honey, Shea Butter

Homemade Caramel Treatment



For extra special pampering, take a cue from our brown sistahs and use Ayurvedic herbs and oils on your hair and scalp. Ayurveda (“Ayur” = Life and “Veda” = Knowledge) is the ancient holistic science of India which aims at a total harmony of mind, life, body and spirit in balance with nature’s rhythms and the world around us. I just added these to my weekly routine:

Vatika Enriched Coconut Hair Oil and Amla Powder (available and local Indian grocers)

Auromere Pre-Shampoo Conditioner ($5, vitacost.com)


Our hair has been through alot this year. Let's pamper our stressed tresses as 2008 draws to a close. Adding one, or all of these fantastic products to your current routine will guarantee 365 good hair days in 2009! Until next time...