Shea Moisture: Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Cost: $10

Smell: Great

Texture: Thick

Rating: 8/10

I was in Target looking at the new "natural" lines they sell. I came across Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie. When I read that it had Coconut Oil AND Silk Protein I should have stepped away. My hair hates protein. But I thought this would be a great water based moisturizer... Kinda! This product works BEAUTIFULLY for twists, cornrolls, braids, and twist/braid outs. I am going to hold on to this product. It also works great in my friend's twist out: 

Breeze's 4a Twist Out

I will tell you this though, this is a great replacement for Miss Jessie's Baby Butter Creme. It is cheap and it also DOES NOT have mineral oil in it, like Miss Jessie's does.

HOWEVER, It felt really thick and gross on my thick 4c hair when I rubbed it directly on my toweled dry hair. It felt like it just sat on top of my hair. I did not like that. It did not define my curls either. Maybe I should not have put it on my hair while it was wet. but as a twist cream or a water based coating cream this is great!

TRESemme' Oh La La

TRESemme' NATURALS

For a commerical product this worked very well. I love the way it felt when it touched my hair. I worked it down to my roots and left it in for 3 minutes. I rinsed it out and loved the way it left my hair feeling. (But I did use Aubrey Organics as my first condition and I used this as my second conditioning) I loved the moisture it gave my hair. The REAL questions is... Will this moisture last or will it dry my hair out like the Pantene For Black Women Conditioner.

I highly recommend this thus far and i will be using it until it is gone!

Protective Hair Styles

Your hair is a very sensitive body. When it is out it is fighting a war. It is fighting:

-Sun

-Each Other Hair Strand

-Fabrics

-Dirt and Debris in the Air

Because your hair is fighting all of this it is good to get protective hair styles and to keep your hair up off of your neck. Hair on your neck is constantly rubbing up against fabric from your non-satin shirt, your necklace, and your hair. When your hair is in a protective style it rubs up against stuff less. It also is protected from all of the other things listed. So what exactly is a protective hair style. Here is a list of some examples:

Curls: flexi rods, bantu knot-outs, curlers, etc

Braids: Braids w/ and w/out fake hair (kanekelon, etc), French braids, etc

Twists: Kinky Twists, twists w/ and w/ out fake hair. Sanglenese Twists.

Others: Buns, Ponytail w/ fake hair, corn-rolls, flat twists.

When you have these styles, your hair still has to be moisturized on a daily basis. You can wash and condition most of your protective hair styles as well. When you hair is protected you optimize its ability to grow because it is not rubbing against stuff and breaking off.

My Hair

I have very kinky very coiled 4c hair and my hair is the weakest. It breaks very easily. It also does not retain moisture well either. And because it is very coiled it curls up around itself and causes other hairs to break off. Once my hair got very short on the crown of my head because of hats, scarves and coo-fies. Because my hair breaks so much I need to keep it in protective styles. One of my styles is the picture on the right. In this picture I have very large braids. They are like the Poetic Justice, Sista Girl braids, lol. These braids lasted for 4 weeks. They could not last longer because my hair is short and it came out of some of the braids. If the braids were smaller then I would have kept them longer. Protective hairstyles are a plus and very well needed.

How to Make a Leave In-Conditioner

What you will need:

-A Spray Bottle -Vegetable Glycerin -Your Favorite Oils -Bottle of Water -Your Favorite Conditioner (Only if you want to, it is not needed)

Pour the water into your spray bottle until it is 3/4 full. Next Pour in about 3-4 teaspoons of your favorite conditioner. (Only do this if you want to, you can still have a great leave in without it, but i like adding conditioner) Then pour in a small amount of vegetable glycerin. Enough so that it is 1 parts glycerin, 10 parts water. Then pour in some drops of your favorite oils. After you do this, if there is still space in the bottle fill it up with water. Put the top on and shake. You want to mix up your ingredients.

**When your mixture is sitting, the oils will separate. Simply shake up your bottle and then spray it over your head.

Why a Mister?

In my opinion misters cover more area and the little droplets that is sprayed out can get further into your afro. Its also very easy to spray and you don't have to get your hands messy. When you have 4c hair like mines, it is best to keep it wet and moisturized, especially during the summer time. All I have to do is pull out my mister and spray my head. My spray bottle is so small that I can put it in my purse or I can buy a smaller bottle and have some on the go.

Hope You Enjoyed :)

Check out the Video!

Safflower Oil

I love safflower oil for my kinky 4c hair. It is an oil that as soon as it hits your hairs it feels wonderful. Why does it feel so good?

• Rich in polyunsaturated fats as well assaturated fats.
• Contains Oleic Acid which is light and penetrates the skin easily.
• When on the scalp it gets the blood vessels circulating bring more nutrients to the hair.
• Contains Vitamin E.

This oil keeps my hair very moisturized. I also use this oil to seal in my water based leave-in conditioner. It is very light and does not weigh my hair down. It is also odorless which is great because it doesn't conflict with the smell of my shea butter mixture. I would like to thank the safflower for this wonderful oil.

Hair Types

What hair type am I? Well, what hair type are you? I have been asked these question many times by all sorts of naturals and non. Because each person is very unique it is hard to categorize hair types, but there is a well known general system that is used. So what hair texture are you? Well I'm going to try and answer this question for you using the most common hair typing scale, the Andre Walker Hair Typing System. This system works like this:

Type 1: Straight Hair

Type 2: Wavy hair

2A, 2B, 2C

Type 3: Defined Curls

3A, 3B, 3C

Type 4: Tightly Coiled Hair

4A, 4B, 4C

Each letter behind the number represents how wavy, defined, or kinky your hair is. When you think of people with straight hair think of Caucasian, Eurpoean, and Asain people or those with permed hair. When thinking of wavy hair think of a stretched out S. It looks like waves. As the scale goes from A-C the waves get larger. This hair is said to be a little harder to style. When thinking of type 3 hair think of small springs. 3A hair have looser "springs" and 3C hair has tighter springs. The type 4 hair is said to be the weakest and most slow growing hair. It does not have a curl pattern, but one can be made with products and twists. When thinking a 4a hair think of a fro with spirals in it. But when thinking of 4C, think of me:

• Notice how dense the coils are.
• Yes there are curls, but not in a curl pattern.
• Look at how tightly the coils are twisted, you can see how long they are up close but they shrink to less than an inch.

Still boggled as to what hair type you are? Contact Me

About Each Type:

• Type 1: Sebum, our hair's natural oil, travels very well down this hair type. That is why people who have this texture wash their hair frequently. The sebum travels down the hair shaft so well that at times the hair can look greasy and feel sticky. This hair is also said to grow the fastest. It is stronger then all of the other hair types making it very resistant to curling and hard to damage.
• Type 2: This hair is like type 1 and 3. This texture allows sebum to travel down the hair shaft well. But this hair also becomes very frizzy easily. This hair style is strong as well and can be straightened and curled easily.
• Type 3: This hair is a defined curl. The curls look like a S. Some of the curls are loose and large while other curls are smaller S's (
• Type 4: This hair type is very fragile and weak. It is very wiry and coiled. Sebum is not able to get to the ends of the hair shaft so this hair is the driest. This hair can also break very easily and this makes it seem like it does not grow. This texture also shrinks more then 60% of its actual length appearing very short. 4 hair, 4c hair especially needs moisture and protective hairstyles so maximize growth.

About Aubrey Organics

Where has this stuff been all my life?! This conditioner is a great moisturizer and detangler. When you put it in your hair you can immediately feel the slip. It made detangling my hair feel very easy and it did not take long. I have very tangled and twisted 4c natural hair And this product completely moisturized and detangled my hair. The ingredients are:

Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, White Camellia Oil, Wheat Germ Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile and Yarrow; Organic Geranium Oil, Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Sage Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E). (http://www.aubrey-organics.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=109)

GREAT TIP: Use this conditioner to detangle and condition your hair. Rinse it out and then do a second conditioner with Giovanni's Smooth as Silk Conditioner. It will make your hair very smooth and moisturized. It will also be very easy to manage. You will not have to co-wash so much and the moisture lasts!

Avocado Deep Conditioning Treatment

Ingredients:

1 Avocado

1 Egg

1/4 Cup of Safflower Oil

1/4 Cup of Olive Oil

1/4 Cup of Oil Mixture (Your Fav Oils)

1. Put your ingredients in the blender.

2. Blend for about 30 Seconds or until creamy consistency.

3. Pour into a bowl.

4. Put the mixture into your hair. (I recommended that you wash your hair once before you do this so your hair/scalp can be clean enough to absorb the nutrients)

5. Put a shower cap on and leave the mixture in for 20 minutes.

6. Wash and condition your hair as normal.

My Results:

I have 4c hair. My hair does not take well to protein. When I use high level of proteins my hair gets very hard and brittle. I have been using conditioners and shampoos with little to no protein.

But I noticed that when my hair was wet, it f

elt like mush. So the egg and the honey was needed. It came out very well with my hair. The protein/moisture gave my hair shine and my curls are strong and more defined.

About the Ingredients:

The egg and the honey has high protein structures and is what caused the curl to be more defined. The honey gave it shine. Avocados are high in fats like the Safflower Oil. This is why the hair is very moisturized.

Check Out the Video!

Welcome!

This is my first post. I'm really excited to have a blog. I already have a video blog with Youtube. But I really wanted to make a blog to review products, post pic, and to give an insight into my ideas on natural hair. Currently I am rocking a template provided by blogger but soon, I WILL HAVE THE BEST BLOG EVER!

A little bit about myself... I's currently in college perusing my Biology degree. I am also a McNair scholar. I plan on attending Medical School to become an Anesthesiologist. BOOST!!! But on my spare time I am dedicated to my NATURAL hair. Now of course this isn't just about me, in this blog you will see me doing big chops and styles. You will also see pics of new naturals that I know. Please enjoy!!!