My Two Cents - Pure Shea Store Mango Hemp-Shea Shampoo Bar & Shea Leave-In Conditioner

 

I recently tried out Pure Shea Store's Mango-Hemp Shampoo Bar, along with the Shea Leave-In. Pure Shea Store products are completely natural and created without animal testing, parabens, GMOs or other harmful ingredients. I've been using the products for a couple months now. I wanted the effects of the products for more than one use.  Alot of times the first use is a fluke, be it good or bad. 

Here are my thoughts...

Mango Hemp-Shea Shampoo Bar
I use this like I would any shampoo.  I applied after my oil treatment.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• Lathers really well 
• Cleans scalp and hair well without any harsh ingredients
• Last a long time - You don't need to use alot
• All natural ingredients
• Price is really reasonable

Cons:  

• Personally it does not provide enough moisture for me.  My hair was super dry. 
• Frizz was like WHOA
• I actually ended up giving this away

Shea Leave-In Conditioner
I used this 2 different ways....  1st as the marketed leave-in conditioner.  I used like I would any other leave-in conditioner (post wash, and conditioner on wet hair).  2nd use was as a pre-shampoo treatment, used with a heating cap (pre wash and conditioner).

As a Leave-In
Rating: 3 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• All natural ingredients
• Nice smooth texture - Very easy to apply 
• Last a long time - A little goes a long way
• Great at locking in moisture

Con:  

•  I had to experiment some with the amount to use, because my hair is somewhat sensitive to oils post wash and conditioner.  Oils tend to leave my hair on the greasy side.  So it took some trial and error on my part.

As a Pre-Treatment
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


Check out the entire line of Pure Shea Store products for yourself at the following website: Pure Shea Store or visit on their retail stores in MD, DC, MI, GA, NC, or VA. 

My Faithful and Favorite Products

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is….“What products do you use in your hair?”

Before I go any further, let me make my disclaimer :-)   These are products that "I" like.  Everyone’s hair is unique and these items may or may not agree with your mane.  Using these is not a guarantee for success.

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled program....

Although I sometimes experiment with different products, there are those products that I am faithful to.  These are the ones that I can always count on to do me right.  My faithfuls tend to be “all-natural” products.  It’s just a personal preference of mine that the items I am repeatedly using are healthy and natural.  Yeah I know…I’m a bit of a health fanatic.

Here's my list....

Shampoos:

Kinky Curly’s Come Clean

Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Curl Activating Shampoo
Terressentials Pure Earth Hair Wash
Giovanni’s Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo

Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balance Moisturizing Shampoo

Conditioner:

Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balance Moisturizing Conditioner

Honorable Mention Conditioner:
Giovanni's Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner

Deep Conditioner:

Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment

Protein Deep Conditioner:

Aubrey's GPB Balancing Conditioner

Leave-in Conditioners:

Kinky Curly’s Knot Today
Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Curl Activating Leave-in Conditioner

Honorable Mention Leave-in Conditioner:

Giovanni's Direct Leave-in Weightless Moisture Conditioner

Gels:

Kinky Curly Curling Custard
Eco Styler Krystal Styling Gel

Honorable Mention Gels:

Beautiful Curls' Curl Control Custard
Homemade Flax Seed Gel

Cream:

Donna Marie - Dream Curling Creme

Honorable Mention Cream:

Shea Moisture - Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Oils & Butters:

Unrefined Shea Butter

Coconut Oil

Nourish & Shine by Jane Carter ***Been using a few months now.  I think it may be favorite worthy.

Pomade:

Giovanni’s Wicked Texture

Wash & Go Web (ie. Tangles)

 

Hola mi amigos!  It's been a minute since I've posted anything.  Been super busy with the new job.  I finally have a moment to breathe and write a post!

 

A couple weeks ago my curlfriend Cam and I were venting about the annoying tangles when wearing wash & go styles repeatedly.  So of course, I decided to write a post about it :-)

 

Wash & Go - In the coily natural hair community this refers to a carefree style where you wash/condition, add gel or cream to style it and then leave it to air dry or use a diffuser.  In theory you should be able to wash your hair and just go about your business.

 

My relationship with the Wash & Go has evolved into a love/hate relationship.  It's been a staple style on and off for YEARS.  I absolutely loved it, but over the past year and 1/2 or so they have evolved and require more post styling maintenance than I would like. 

 

My gripe has absolutely nothing to do with the look of my wash and go.  I absolutely love the look!  And I get complements left and right when I wear them.  My gripe and frustration is concerning the tangles that come as a result of repeated wash and going.

 

The logical reason that I came up with is that the tangles are worse because my hair is longer.  Therefore there is alot more opportunity for the strands to tangle and intertwine between themselves.  On wash days my hair can be tangle city!  Although it looks great, it's such a pain dealing with the knots and tangles.

 

I love wearing wash and gos in the warmer months, so I'm going to have to find a way to combat these tangles.  I already do regular oil treatments, which do help alot with getting out tangles.  But how about avoiding tangles in the first place! 

 

The first thing that comes to mind is to perhaps stretch my hair before I wash it.  Like maybe do my hair in big plaits/twists at night before washing...the hope would be that twists/plaits would keep the hair from raveling around itself overnight.  It's worth a shot.... Hopefully it works!

 

How about you?  Any suggestions?  How do you prevent tangles?

 

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!