Last week, one of my fellow PJs requested I do a review comparing KCCC and Eco Styler. Well, here it is! And no, I will not reveal my winner for you! 
P
xoxo
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Hey guys! Hope everyone in the DMV area is staying safe and dry in your little blizzard. Can’t say I’m sad I missed it! Anywho, at the end of my little no-glycerin challenge, a few things started going a bit…awry. Not with not using glycerin, but with my routine. Here are some confounding factors:
- I got my Hair Butter from Koils by Nature. It has 4% glycerin, so I was like eh, what the hell, and used it one day.
- I DC’ed 3x last week, so I threw in a protein treatment for good measure. Yea, about that. My hair isn’t a fan of protein. I wouldn’t call it protein sensitive…but protein treatments usually make my hair too hard for a couple of days after I do them. No more of these unless my hair feels like mush.
Regardless of my random activities, I’ll say, I really enjoyed my glycerin-free week. My hair was noticeably less frizzy and softer, no matter what product combo I used. However, I have many products that have glycerin in them…so, will I be throwing them away? Hecks no. Some I am going to save for summer (Darcy’s Curling Jelly), and some I am going to use only when I am not using any other products with glycerin (Coconut Hemp Pomade, Darcy’s Leave-in, Eco Styler?). Also, I’m going to wait until summer to purchase anymore products with glycerin (yea, great, MORE restrictions…) So…there you have it. I’ve found something else my hair doesn’t like much. Sheesh, it’s such a brat.
Furthermore, I have some reviews that I need to do this week (maybe more depending on what hair products actually GET HERE this week…these processing times…). Here’s a list so I don’t forget:
- Side by side comparison of KCCC and Eco Styler Krystal
- Koils by Nature Hair Butter
- Aubrey Organics B5 Gel (maaaybe, I sort of talked about it last week, and really, it was nothing special. Perhaps when I have more hair)
Still waiting on my orders from HairVeda and Curl Mart…so if I get this stuff this week, I might review too…
- Elucence Condish
- CoCasta Shikakai Oil (HairVeda)
Stay tuned! I’m outtie. xoxo
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Tags: afro, glycerin, Hair, natural hair, Products, reviews, styling, TWA
Glycerin Free Week: Day Five!
So, I’m telling you…I think my hair loves this no glycerin deal I’ve got going! I did my green tea rinse this morning (decided not to use ACV as it can be drying, and my hair doesn’t really feel like there is a lot of build up) and cowashed with TJ’s TTT. And you’ll never guess what I styled with – nothing! Okay maybe not NOTHING, but barely anything. All I did was add my Giovanni 50/50 and a little bit of my Komaza Care Coconut Curl Lotion, which really isn’t a styler. And my hair came out lovely! I have minimal frizz and my hair is soft. 
However, I’m going out tonight and wanna refresh…because my Koils by Nature Hair Butter came today! Yea, it has glycerin, but I contacted the owner and she told me that it only has 4% glycerin.
Okay, not really much to say today, but I’ll be sure to review the Hair Butter soon. Oh, and here’s a pic of my hair today. Thoughts? It looks REALLY red…not sure why…
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Tags: afro, glycerin, Hair, humectants, natural hair, stylers, TWA
Glycerin Free Week: Day Four
Today I got kind of lazy. But yes, my hair is still soft! I did a DT with Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa + castor oil and I must say…I didn’t really like this combo. I think it was the conditioner though…it kind of made my hair feel filmy, which is weird, because it usually doesn’t do this. Oh well, now I know not to DT with it. No matter, my hair survived. Today the routine went like this:
- Cowash: TJ’s TTT – After the DT and the filmy feeling, I conditioned again and my hair felt a little better.
- Leave-in: Giovanni 50/50 mixed with castor oil – That’s right, your girl is getting fancy! I the oil over my leave-in to seal in moisture, because I wasn’t really trying to use hardcore stylers today.
- Styler: Aloe Vera Gel – No lie, straight up AVG. It did a pretty good job on my frizz. I approved. However, I don’t really like how this feels on my hair alone. It’s not moisturizing enough.
- Moisture: Komaza Care Coconut Curl Lotion – I’m iffy about this stuff, but it did the trick today! Gave me a little more frizz control and a healthy dose of moisture.
Anywho, I was happy with the results. Tomorrow I’m going to do an ACV/Green Tea rinse before cowashing.
xoxo
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Tags: conditioning, gylcerin, Hair, natural hair, stylers, Treatments
What Exactly Are You Paying For?
So, if you have read the blog, you know that I buy a lot of hair products. And most of them are not the cheapest; so I was thinking to myself, what exactly am I paying for? Am I buying these products hoping they will transform my hair, or is it something else? I’ve seen a lot of naturals look for a product to give curl definition – KCCC, Miss Jessie’s, etc etc – especially with gels, and honestly, this confuses me. Personally, the only thing that differs from gel to gel is frizz control and perhaps the amount of clumping I get. It’s like, the heavier the gel, the more frizz control it has. The curl definition is never really different, regardless of whether I am using KCCC (the HG of many) or Aubrey Organics B5 (I’ve seen this gel used by people with looser curls more often).
The reason that I don’t mind spending more on products is because usually, the products that do not contain cones and other “bad” ingredients cost more, that’s just how it is (won’t lie, the ingreds are yummier). However, I really have a problem with the companies that use ridiculous “before pictures” (Hair Rules, Miss Jessie’s) to give customers the notion that their products will give them a curl, all while containing a ridiculous combination of ingredients that I can’t pronounce. Actually, I’d really like it if someone would let me know if they’ve been successful defining curls with a product like KCCC rather than a regular gel. Because I just don’t see it. So…what are you paying for?
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Tags: curly, Hair, natural hair, Products
Glycerin Free Week: Day Three
Okay, so last night I did a scalp massage with Oyin’s Burnt Sugar Pomade, and my hair felt especially buttery this morning. I did a DC with castor oil, olive oil, honey, and TJ’s TTT (apparently I now have to do DCs 3x a week – thanks Naturally Curly!), and left it in for a couple of hours, then simply rinsed. I didn’t do a cowash be my hair felt so good I didn’t want to mess it up! The routine went like this:
- Leave-in: Giovanni 50 50
- Stylers: AO B5 Gel with Curls Goddess Glaze: So I was testing out to see how the GG would act with the B5…well, it didn’t do much. Pretty much came out the same as it did when I used the B5 alone. I always find it weird that this gel doesn’t smell at all, it makes me feel like I’m just putting mush on my head. It’s strange.
- Moisture: AfroVeda Curl Define: I had a little more frizz in the back than I like, so I added a tiny bit more B5 gel. I really do enjoy its texture.
So far, I’m really liking this whole no-glycerin thing. I have my shampoo bar coming here by Friday, so I can’t wait to try it! Here are the ingredients for it:
Ingredients: Saponified oils of Carrot, Horse Tail, Nettle, and Neem Leaf infused Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Red Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Palmarosa, Litsea Cubeba, Sweet Orange, Benzoin, Cedarwood, Bay Leaf Essential Oils, Aloe Vera Extract.
Caaaaaan’t wait! **Happy dance**
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Tags: conditioning, glycerin, Hair, humectants, natural hair, styling
Glycerin Free Week: Day Two
Okay, so this morning…my hair felt softer than it did with gylcerin products, but it was still EFFED up, mostly because I ruined my hair doing a scalp massage last night. I decided to use my TJ’s TTT for my cowash today, because I mean…if I’m not using glycerin, wth am I using cones? Anywho. The dealio:
- Cowash: TJ’s Tea Tree Tingle (you already know)
- Leave-in: Giovanni 50:50 Balanced Hydrating Condish: Okay…so. This conditioner had the crappiest slip. However, because I was using it as a leave-in, it didn’t really matter. I’d never use it in the shower though. No thanks. Felt moisturizing in my hair though.
- Styler: Aubrey Organics B5 Design Gel: I’m really trying to like this gel. For one, I HATE the smell. It’s one of those gross herbal-type smells that I can’t stand. Smells like guy. However, I really like the texture. It’s not as slimy as KCCC…it’s slicker. I dunno, I like it. I added a few squirts to my hair; it’s fairly easy to distribute. I’d actually love to see how this product works in my hair when it’s longer, because it seemed lighter, like it was helping the frizz, but at the same time not clumping my hair so much that I had coil head. Still might go check out the Mandarin Magic though, because they are supposed to be the business together. You know I can’t stay away from an experiment.
- Styler #2: AfroVeda Curl Define, for moisture and to further decrease frizz. I think it did a good job, and melted well into my hair with the B5.
The result? I likes. However, I kind of feel like my hair is trying to hang some in the back, and I’m like, “No, you’re not ready yet! What are you doing!” Lawd, my hair is trying to run away from me…smh. I shall report back tomorrow! xoxo
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Tags: aubrey organics, glycerin, Hair, humidity, natural hair, styler
My Ode to the Teenie Weenie Afro
Hey y’all! My new article is up on the The Coil Review. This one is my little dedication to the teenie weenie afro. Loves it! Check it out here.
xoxo
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Oh yes guys, we have another butter! I had the pleasure of receiving the Nourishing Hair Butter from Nature’s Indulgence last week, and I must say, I like it! Honestly, because of the smell, I actually like it better as a body butter (which works awesome), but that’s just a personal preference. It worked great on my hair as well…but enough of my narrative, let the video speak for itself! xoxo
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Tags: aloe, butter, Hair, moisture, natural hair, Products, styling
These products are out for the week!
Alright, so I’ve decided that I’m not going to use any products with glycerin for a week (maybe more, depending on my results). Why, you ask? Well, because I live in SoCal, and it’s rather dry out in these parts. If you’ve done your ingredient homework, you’d know that glycerin draws moisture out of the air in humidity/high dew points. However, if there is little moisture in the air (low dew points), where do you think it gets the moisture from? Ding, ding, your hair! And I often go out with wet hair while realizing that MANY of my products contain glycerin (from my cowashes all the way to my butters, even my leave-in!). I honestly didn’t know it was that many…Furthermore, I realized that when I used more glycerin in my hair, it would feel great while drying, but each morning when I woke up, my hair was so dry! I also have a problem with frizz, so I wonder if the glycerin was drying out my hair and making it frizzier.
Many of my HGs (AfroVeda, Darcy’s, KCCC) also do not contain glycerin, so it got me thinking…I’m gonna see what happens if I shelve all of my glycerin containing products for at least a week. I started today, and went to the tried and true products:
- Cowash: HE Hello Hydration (this stuff has a cone, but I like it for a cowash – NOT A LEAVE IN – )
- Leave in: Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle (love love love this stuff)
- Styler: KCCC (went to the sure thing to start)
- Moisture: AfroVeda Curl Define
So far (hair is still wet, applied prods about 5 hrs ago, I know right??!) my hair is very soft and has minimal frizz. I am loving this combo! I also went to the store and bought some Aubrey Organics B5 Gel…I HATE the smell, but I’ll see how it works tomorrow. Oh, and some Giovanni 50:50 Balanced Conditioner…I’m going to use it as my leave-in. It was on sale at the door and it has nettle in it. I’ll report back tomorrow!
xoxo
Filed under: Hair, Products, Treatments | 1 Comment
Tags: frizz, gel, Hair, natural hair, Products, styling, weather
Recent Entries
- Kinky Curly Curling Custard v. Eco Styler: The Battle Ensues
- The Verdict on Glycerin and Upcoming Reviews
- Glycerin Free Week: Day Five!
- Glycerin Free Week: Day Four
- What Exactly Are You Paying For?
- Glycerin Free Week: Day Three
- Glycerin Free Week: Day Two
- My Ode to the Teenie Weenie Afro
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- Glycerin-Free for a Week: Day One
- Big Chop Revelations
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