Pre-Shampoo Treatment w/ Pure Shea Store's Leave-In

Hola Curlistas!

I woke up the other morning ready for my weekly pre-oil treatment.  Just one thing...I didn't have enough coconut oil!  What's a girl to do?!?!?!  I was on the lazy side and didn't feel like running to the store, so instead I looked around to see what I could use.  I came across Pure Shea Store's Leave-In Conditioner in my closet, and decided to press my luck.  The 2nd ingredient is coconut oil...so I figure it was worth a shot.  Wouldn't you know it, it actually worked very well as a pre shampoo treatment :-)  Here are my thoughts:  

Rating: 4 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• Smooth texture is very easy to apply
• Coats hair easily
• Great for my finger detangling
• Smells wonderful
• Hair was soft and moisturized as I rinsed out

Cons: Can't really think of one

I have to say that I am really glad that I thought of the idea.  I assume its because of all the oils included in the products that I was able to use it as an oil treatment.  Yaay for multi-tasking products!

My Two Cents - Nourish & Shine by Jane Carter

 

I've recently been using Nourish & Shine by Jane Carter Solution.  I was drawn to the product because of the all-natural ingredients.  I've been using for over a month now, and I must say that I love, love, love it! 

The first time I used it I ended up with not so great results.  I applied it to my soaking wet hair in sections after my wash/conditioning session. This left my hair icky and greasy.  I hated it. This product contains butters and oils, and oils are not always my friend.  I have to be especially careful with oils post wash/condition because my hair tends to repel the oil and I'll just be left with an oily head of hair. 

How this product works best for me is in-between washes.  I lightly spritz my hair with water, and apply the Nourish & Shine in a few big swoops.  The combination of the spritz and the Nourish & Shine really helps to spruce things up, and keeps my hair moisturized in between wash days.  I'm really a fan of the product.  It just might become part of my staple list.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• Smooth texture is very easy to apply
• A little goes a long way
• Great flowery sent
• Helps to maintain softness and moisture in between washes
• All natural ingrediants
• Can be used on skin also

Con: Product is somewhat pricey

Twisted Ballerina Bun

Today I’m rocking what I like to call the Twisted Ballerina Bun.  I like to rock this when I’m going for that professional look.   

This is how I achieve my Twisted Ballerina Bun:
Items You'll Need

• water bottle (optional)
• leave-in conditioner/moisturizer/gel/pomade (optional)
• hair tie (2)
• hair/bobby pins (optional)

•  Spritz hair with water, so that hair is pliable. (optional depending on the mood my hair is in) 

• Add leave-in conditioner/moisturizer and/or gel. (again, optional depending on the mood my hair is in.  I normally use leave-in conditioner)

• Smooth hair from top to bottom. You can either use your hands, or a brush.

• Gather hair into a ponytail.  Smooth the crown so there are no bumps. 

• Secure the ponytail with a hair tie. 

• Take the ponytail and roll it together from top to bottom. Then twist into a circle.  Then secure with hair tie.

Add a hairpins for extra security. (optional)
Add gel or pomade to smooth out crown and sides. (Optional) You can either use your hands, or a brush to smooth in.

All done!

Frizz Factor 10+

OMG!  Can you say FRIZZ!  My frizz factor is on 10+!!!  Fros are cool...but that was not the look I was going for :-(  I blame it on 1) the shampoo and deep conditioner that I used, and 2) my not so bright idea to detangle on hair that wasn't soaking wet.

The shampoo and deep conditioner that I used didn't seem to give me a drop of moisture.  I put the deep conditioner on with my heat cap for 30 mins, but after taking off the cap my hair seemed sooo dry and I didn't want to attempt to comb through the conditioner.  I had already finger detangled while rinsing out my oil treatment.  So I waited until I rinsed out the deep conditioner and applied my leave-in and styler.  I detangled as I combed through the styler.  Normally I wouldn't detangle so late in the process.  So I'm thinking it's probably the double whammy of the non-moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner, and me detangling on hair that wasn't totally soaking wet.

Whatever the root cause....this is what I woke up to Sunday morning!  The clock was against me as I was trying to get ready for church.  In an attempt to camouflage the frizz, I opted for the messy bun seen below. Whew....the messy bun definitely saved me from being late!

Pure Shea Store Goodies

While at Women's Empowerment last month, I picked up some goodies from Pure Shea Store! I can't wait to try them out! I got them from company founder Chris, aka "The Soapman" himself :-)

Pure Shea Store products are completely natural and created without animal testing, parabens, GMOs or other harmful ingredients. Their focus is on providing products made with the best possible ingredients. All products are made by hand in their warehouse in Baltimore, MD based on the recipe of the founder's grandmothers (Grandma Pearlie and Dee Dee).

I'll be trying out the Mango Hemp-Shea Shampoo Bar, as well as the Shea Leave-In Conditioner.  I've never used a shampoo bar in my life, so I'm very interested to see how I like it! I'll let you know :-)

Check out Pure Shea Store products for yourself at the following website:Pure Shea Store or visit one of their many stores (locations can be found via the website as well).

Kinky/Curly Hall of Fame - Chaka Khan

This multi Grammy award winning singer/song writer came to fame in the 70's. She's famous for hits like "I'm Every Woman", "I Feel for You", "Through the Fire", and "Sweet Thing", just to name a few.  To date, Chaka Khan and her amazingly enormous curly fro are still synonymous! 

Snip Snip - It's Trim Time

 

I've gotten quite a few questions about trimming, and how often I trim my ends.  Personally, I trim my hair about every 3 months. When I straightened my hair more regularly, I probably did it about every 2 months, since I was using heat on my hair.  But being that I don't use heat often, every 3 months works well for me.  If in between that time period I see any random splits, I'll run and grab the scissors and snip right above the split on that particular hair strand.

Since I'm an accountant, I usually perform my routine end maintenance right after the accounting quarter close.  It's just easier for me to remember that way.  The accounting quarter close happens every 3 months, so that's my cue to trim :-)

My Process for Trimming:
1) Twist hair in big or medium size twists (about 8-18 depending on how I'm feeling).   My primary reason for twisting is to stretch the hair so that the ends are easier to see and cut.

This time I twisted an old wash and go that I had worn for 3 days and was starting to frizz.  I spritzed with water and twisted up.  Other times I'll put in the twist right after I wash my hair.

2) When twists are dry I then proceed to take them out.  (I'll usually leave in overnight)

3) As I am taking out the twist I divide the unraveled twist into sections, and just clip clip. I would estimate that I cut about 1/4-1/2 inch off the ends.

That's all I do....it's not the  most scientific way, but it works for me. Even with my non-scientific method my hair is still fairly even.  Since I wear my hair curly 95% of the time it doesn't matter to me if my hair is perfectly even.  I'm more concerned about the shape of the curly fro, over the super evenness when straightened.

How about you?  What's your hair trimming process?