Natural Hair Barbie

So I'm in Target and that's is what I see... Hmm they are really jumping on the natural hair band wagon. I have noticed lots of naturals on commercials and in the media. I like the doll, she is fierce!

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Baltimore Natural Hair Care Expo 2011

This is a bit late but I was so excited to try my products that I forgot to put what I brought and how my experience was. This year I loved the hair show. There was so much jewelry and hair products! From small business owners like Afiya and Created By Nature, all the way to the big business owners like Heautiful and Jane Carter Solutions! The hair products ranged around the same price as last year. The main price was $10, The only issue I had was that the price of jewelry was sky high! Earrings had the prices of $15 and $25!!!! Oh no! Other than that I loved it and got my monies worth! Here is what I brought including prices, websites, and my review!



This is Created by Nature Shea butter. I love this stuff!!! I brought the Lavender and Vanilla shea butter last year and was searching for it again this year and I found it. Both of these were $20. This is not a bad price considering how much other products were. It smells awesome and it smoothed onto my 4c hair beautifully!!!
http://www.createdbynature.ecrater.com/
Cost $10 per jar (This was the price at the hair show! The 8oz jar of pomade  is $14.00, the 16oz. jar is $25.00)





These products are made by Naturalista Cosmetics. These products smell wonderful! The spray in the bag is a Ph balanced leave in spray. The jar next to it is the Juicy Hair Leave In Conditioner. This is smooth and very creamy. It is also whipped very lightly, it is great.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/naturalistacosmetics
Cost: $20 (This is the cost for the spray and the leave in, the coco butter was a free gift. Again, these are the prices at the hair show, online the products are a lot higher?





This booth was a pleasant surprise. Walking by it made my nose yearn for more of a smell. This is soaps and lotions by Buhdze! I purchased two bars of soap and her scented black soap. These things are all natural and smell like heaven! The owner who was at the show was so friendly and welcoming. I purchased the oatmeal and honey bar as well as the white tea and ginger bar. The black soap suds very well and feels amazing on the skin! I love how she gave often bitter black soap a great smell.
http://www.buhdze.com/
Cost: $20 (this was a pick 3 deal at the air show. cost the same online)







I forgot all of the information bout this earring, but it was $10 and very pretty!












This conditioner is by Simply Natural Organics. If you want a conditioner with a smell that will last all day long, then this is the conditioner to use! It smells great but very strong. it is thin in texture but has a vast amount of great ingredients!
Cost: $10










These deep conditioners are made by Afiya. These deep conditoners are great. They smell nice and are very moisturizing. These deep conditoners elongate my curls and makes by hair very easy to detangle. Easy to detangle even if I slap it on a dry twist/braid out it will get my hair moisturized and detangled. This can also be used as a leave in as well. This is a hidden treasure that my 4c hair loves!
http://www.shopafiya4you.com/
Cost: $25 for 2 (online they are $30 for 2)






Taliah Waajid gave away free samples but they did not sell hair products.
http://www.naturalhair.org/














These are a pair of Ankh shaped earrings. They are beautiful but they cost $20! Ugh! my splurge of the day!






                     What I Purchased the Same Day





Oyin Handmade was not at the show, but because they weren’t there I went to their Baltimore store. Because they weren’t at the show they were giving away their after bath oil for free with every purchase!
www.oyinhandmade.com
Cost: $28 (free after bath valued at $10)











I purchased this from Sallys for $10. I love it and it works great!
http://www.tangleteezer.com/

                                                                         

Random Show Pics VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

4c Mini Twists w/ Oyin Handmade

I have done 4c Mini Twists in the past. (Video of 4cMini Twists) These mini twists were not as good as the ones I have most recently done. This time around I used the Oyin Handmade Burt Sugar Pomade. This is a really great product for 4c hair because it whips out hair into the shape we want it. It gives great shine and curl definition. 

                                           

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WT... Twists to This!

 This dry apparently twisted hair belongs to me. It is dry, it is ashy and those really don't look like twists. It is kind of sad. Well some where in there are twists and I transformed them to a care free twist out. 

 This is the twist out that I came out with. I like it however I don't like how my ends look. i am going to try the Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade. It will hold better because it is thicker and I will see how that turns out. 

Where have I been?

In Miami! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Another Natural Hair Crossroad

Washing and deep conditioning your hair every 3-5 days is a lot out of yourself and your schedule. I recently got braids and I like the fact that I do not have to deal with my hair. Ugh! This makes me think should continue getting braids for hair growth??? Hmmm...

Afro Style

I have been practicing how to cornroll and wa-lah! I corn-rolled my friend's hair into a style, check it out! 

Corn-Rolling Flat Twisting!

So after many Youtube videos and tutorials, I finally learned how to corn-roll/cane-roll and flat twist! I finally learned how to corn-roll from a young lady I'm in school with. I learned how to flat twist from BlakIzBeautyful's Video.  They look very primitive but I am practicing daily and I am so excited! 

This is a corn-roll! It looks so thick but I am so happy! 

This is a very primitive flat twist but it is my skills in progress! 

Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo

Cost: $10-12
Smell: Clean and Light
Texture: Thick Like Elmers Glue
Rating: 9/10


When thinking of a basic organic shampoo this stuff is great. I love how it gently cleans your hair but does not strip it. This shampoo has a great lather (if that is what your looking for) and  it cleans very well. I shampoo only once, that is how well it works. When I wash my hair it causes my hair to curl up. It removes all of the products that cause my hair to feel dirty and weighed down. When it is washing my hair the shampoo restores my hair back in its natural curly state. This shampoo is ph balances and that is the reason why it is able to cause my hair to curl back and not feel like mush or dry after I wash like other shampoos. (ph of shampoo should be between 4-6)  It is beautiful. At times when choosing a  shampoo to use for my wash day I always seem to go back to this shampoo. I know the price is higher than other shampoos you can find, but for the ingredients, ph balance-ness and what it does, I LOVE IT! 

Evolve Conditioning Cap

Cost: $2.50-$3
Rating: 10/10


OMG!!! This $3 wonder is awesome!!! If you are used to conditioning your hair with a shower cap and sitting under the drier, then this is great for you. This conditioning cap is so much better than a simple shower cap. It is made specifically for conditioning and locks in and holds heat. This cap really says you can use it with body heat alone but when pairing it with a drier, AMAZING! I would even go as far to say this cap is better than my Heutiful Hair Steamer! :-O Oh no she didn't, oh yes I did! I love this little cap and I have only used it twice. The elasticity on it is tight so nothing slips out, and it is very heat efficient. Two huge thumbs up!!! Give it a try, Walmart sells it for very cheap. 

Heutiful Hair Steamer Review

Cost: $125
Rating: 7.9/10


Last year I brought a Heutiful Hair Steamer. I did not want to do a detailed review because I wanted to use this product a few times. The steamer comes in 3 parts and they are very easy to put together. In this heutiful steamer video I show you how. This hair steamer is very nice, it has a clean look and is very efficient for... the top of your head. Unless you are really sitting under it which is super hot it potentially misses a good amount of your hair. If you have long hair, pin your hair up that way it can be under the steamer. 

  
• The first time I used it I must have barely sat underneath it because the back and sides of my hair was dry.  
• The second time I used it, I must have put too much conditioner on because it did not feel different than a shower cap at all.
• The third time I used it I randomly steamed my super dry hair. This time my whole head was wet and moisturized. 
• The forth time i used it I sat all the way up so it can get to the back of my head and my sides, it worked, but not as well as the top of my head. It also hurts sitting all the way up. Steam can burn and the accumulation of the hood dripped in the middle of my head. OUCH! This time however the parts that have been getting throughly steamed the whole time... FELT GREAT!!! My hair was moisturized and I could tell my hair strands had moisture. When I used my leave in my hair smoothed down nicely. However, the back of my hair and sides was still not as "wet" or "steamed" as they should have been.
• Maybe my head is too big... -_-
• The next time I try this I'm going to open the vent ducts at the top and stick my head all the way in the steamer, or perhaps I will sit backwards and bend over, I don't know. I would like the rest of this great feeling all over my head. 

Conclusion!!!

If you have a small head and money to blow, treat yourself. But if not, do not buy it. This product is a luxury and not a necessity. I personally love it and I do not mind moving myself around to fit it, but if you don't want to work with it and wait for results, then don't buy it. If you have dry hair, and want to try something new, go for it. I think this will work well with protein treatments because they are so drying. 

Mommy Look At Me!!!

I know I am posting this a day after Valentine's Day so...

Happy Sidechick Appreciation Day!!! 

(if he wasn't with you yesterday... i'm just saying...)

Blazer- Torrid Around $40

Shirt- Old Navy $10

Pants- Torrid Around $55

I always love how my mom dresses so this is a blog shout out to her!!

I love you Mommy!!!

www.knownasmonique.com

Kimmaytube Leave In

Since I have been doing my "frequently washing" regimen, I changed some of the products I use to leave in moisture in my hair. One of my now staple products is the Kimmaytube (easy do it yourself) Leave In Conditioner. It has a ph of 4 and will cause the cuticles on your hair strands to close. You put this on wet hair and it will lock in that moisture. I have noticed when "smoothing" (rubbing it in from root to tip in a downward direction so your cuticles won't be lifted) this in my hair, my hair has felt very smooth. I then seal that in my with my shea butter and oil. My hair is moisturized for a long time after. I still moisturize daily! Give this a try!!! 


2 tbs Aloe Vera Leaf Juice
2 tbs Kinky Curly Curling Custard
2tsp Jojoba Oil (Or oil of your choice. I like to add this and a small amount of emu oil and 5 drops of rosemaryto mines) 

Nature's Gate Organics Shampoo: Chamomile and Lemon

Cost: On Sale $3.95
Smell: Good
Texture: Smooth, Not Very Thick
Rating: 6/10


This shampoo was a lot different than I expected, lets start with that. It was so light that I was wondering if it cleaned anything. And speaking of cleaning your hair, this shampoo was so gentle I felt that it did not clean my hair. Perhaps this means I should look at the shampoos mission. The shampoo is for dry, damaged hair. I believe the reason it did not feel like it cleaned my hair is because this shampoo is formulated for dry hair, meaning it is not made to strip your hair. Shampoos for oily hair will strip your hairs of moisture. Shampoos for dry hair will not. In conclusion if you want a gentle "non-stripping" shampoo then this is a good one to use over the more expensive Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo or Curls Creamy Curl Cleanser. 

Shea Moisture: Moisture Retention Shampoo

Cost: $10
Smell: Good
Texture: Creamy, Thick for a Shampoo
Rating: 8.5/10


    If you want a shampoo that is moisturizing then there is no other organic shampoo than this one. This shampoo is very thick and creamy and very shiny. When this shampoo hits your hair you can instantly feel the moisture that it brings. It lathers up very nicely for a shampoo that leaves behind so much moisture. Speaking of leaving behind moisture, that is why I did not give this shampoo a 10/10. Shampoos are supposed to lift and clean residue out. Shampoos with high moisturizing agents leave residue behind. Your hair is not getting as clean as other shampoos can make it. HOWEVER this shampoo is great for washing hair before a protein treatment, after a dye job, or if your hair is really dry. I would not use this shampoo over the long term due to the build up it may cause. You can use this shampoo everyday or on your wash days if every 1-2 months you will use a clarifying shampoo. This shampoo is a treat for my hair. I highly recommended this shampoo for the dry haired like me, but only in moderation, YOU WILL GET ADDICTED.