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.

I Like My Men and My Soap- BLACK

 African Black Soap, 100% natural


Actually, I'd be an equal-opportunity dater (if I weren't already married to a delicious Black Man), but it made a great headline.


I've been using this for a year to cleanse my face. I bought it from a woman named Zee at Discover Mills, in Georgia. She now has her own store, Zee Craft, where she sells the best Shea Butter as well. She told me Black Soap would clear up my skin, and it did. Wanna know what else? It is a GREAT shampoo! I just pinched of a small piece and lathered it over my hair in the shower. Once my hair got really wet,  I rubbed the soap directly onto my hair, and worked it in.


Product reads:
African Black Soap is made in West Africa from palm oil, palm kernel oil, and water. The aroma and deep rich color result from the centuries old extraction process that blends the two ingredients together, resulting in the finest skin cleanser available.

Usage:
Relieves acne and removes blemishes, prevents rashes, itching, dry, and scaly skin from developing
Cleans pores and rejuvenates the skin
Clears up eczema
Body cleanser

This soap is dark brown in color, like the photo above. IT IS NOT BLACK! If you are using a black (dyed) bar of soap, THROW IT AWAY! This soap is soft and maliable, like Play-Doh. You can pinch of a small piece to use. One tub will last forever.

One More Again

When I was rocking my TWA, I was able to throw any 'ole condish in my hair. Now that my hair is 6 to 7 inches all around, not so much. But every Curly Girl at naturallycurly.com raves about cheapie conditioners! Suave, V-05, White Rain constantly come up on the boards as co-wash faves. Now that summer's here and I've increased my co-washes to 2x/week, I'm gonna give the $1 conditioner another shot. I just picked up Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut conditioner. I'll let you know if it rings my bell, or ends up in the product graveyard. Until next time......

Do It! Do It!

It's been a while dahlings, but I'm back. I've been trying new products, attending industry events, and mixin' it up in the lab (aka my kitchen).



Since going natural and adopting the CG Method, I've been scrambling to find products that work for my hair, and struggling to find a weekly routine I could stick to. Browsing the hair forums, I came across new methods like "baggying" and "sealing" that I had never done before to my hair. After reading hundreds of threads, I think I've found a weekly routine that I can stick to. It's work, I use way too many products, but my hair looks healthy, feels great and I'm worth it! In a perfect world, this is what I do weekly:

Pre-poo overnight with oil

Wash 1x monthly with shampoo

Co-wash with conditioner

Detangle out of the shower with wide tooth comb and paddle brush. Section hair into 4 sections

Leave sectioned hair in clips and rinse conditioner


Apply hair mask 1x month

Apply deep treatment to hair in sections



Sit under hooded dryer 30 minutes

Remove clips and rinse DT

Moisturize with Qhemet Biologics Detangling Ghee and Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier. Comb through

Apply Trader Joe's Nourish Spa conditioner as a leave-in

Apply shea butter

Seal with oil

At this point, my hair is cleansed, soft, detangled and full of moisture. I can style it any number of ways, usually in 2x twists.

Apply light oil to scalp. Massage

Spray each day with a mix of water, conditioner and oil in a spray bottle. Spray again at night and baggy.

The Vocab:

Sealing- Applying an oil to well moisturised and conditioned hair to lock in moisture

Baggy- Applying moisturizing product to hair and applying a plastic cap and leaving over night

Pre-poo- Saturating hair in oil and leaving overnight. Shampoo in the morning

Word to the wise: Do your research. What works for one kinky girl may not work for another. Experimenting is the fun part of this natural journey. Good luck, dahlings! Until next time.....

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...