Caring for Natural Hair During the Winter Months

I have a love/hate relationship with the long winters that are common here in Colorado.  On the one
hand, you have fun times in the snow and beautiful scenery.  On the other, unpleasant bouts of dry skin and hair.  I realize that other states get plenty of snow like we do here in Colorado.  Thing is, we also have a dry climate which can seem even drier during the wintertime.  This seasonal change can lead to skin that soaks up lotion like a sponge.  It can also be a burden to my already thirsty natural hair. 

Each year I have to change my hair regimen in order to adapt.  It's either that or come spring I'm mourning the loss of valuable inches.  I usually keep grapeseed oil on hand which helps to seal in the moisture from one of my favorite hair milks.  That works just fine during the warmer months.  For
winter though, I have to act like I live north of Winterfell and get medieval on these curls with something heavy like shea butter or castor oil. 

In the fall, I started out using a mixture of castor and grapeseed oils to act as my sealant.  This was okay up until December when the dryness began to set in.  I tried doing deep conditioning treatments but I really just needed a good moisturizer.  I knew that I could find a moisturizing product for natural hair at the store but I wondered what would happen if I just used olive oil instead?  It technically has a molecular structure that allows it to penetrate the hair shaft so it could work right?

My hair is softer and more manageable
Thanks to using Olive Oil as a moisturizer

Let me tell you my hair bounced back almost instantly!  It felt so good it had me wondering why I never thought of this before?  I mean, of course I've used olive oil in my shea butter mixes or back when I started experimenting with Eco Gel.  This time though, I used it just like it were my moisturizer.  I hopped out of the shower and applied the oil directly to my hair while it was still slightly wet.  Then I used my Shea Butter Extra Moisturizing Transitioning Milk by Shea Moisture.  I have used this product alone but never had this much softness and manageability.  I finished by using Eco Gel with Argan Oil for a wash and go.  My hair felt great up until wash day which for me is about every 3 to 4 days (thanks to my psoriasis scalp).

If you're in Colorado (or having dry hair issues in general) then I highly suggest giving olive oil a try.  Look for Extra Virgin olive oil because it is going to give you the best results.  I do not suggest this oil if you plan on using heat on your hair.  Also, it may be too heavy if you have fine hair so you can apply it and leave-in for a few minutes before cleansing your hair.

I'm so glad my hot hair tip is finally out of the bag!  I get asked about how to manage dry hair all of the time and I truly hope that this helps someone.  Please leave a comment below if this has
helped you!

In Review: February Onyx Box Unboxing from We Are Onyx

This month I was excited to receive another beauty box from We Are Onyx.  The monthly Onyx Box subscription service caters to women of color and is always a treat.

The theme for February is, of course, love but more like pampering yourself.  Items like these are a nice reminder that it's okay to stop and make time to take care of your hair and body.

The Products

A beauty box service is a fun way to find out about new products.  This month, I am delighted to find shampoo and conditioner from a brand called Acure.  Both are made with all natural ingredients including Moroccan Argan oil.  I recently switched back to using ammonia free hair dye so it's nice to find a shampoo and conditioner that are color safe.

 I've always wondered how my curls would react to using flax seed gel for styling.  Now I can finally put it to the test with Carmella Marie's My Gel.  The product also contains jojoba oil which I understand is good for the hair and scalp.  I can't wait to try it!

Speaking of scalp health, there is also a So Posh Beauty Herbal Hair Tea in this month's Onyx Box.  It has a blend of natural herbs for a tea that conditions the hair and treats the scalp.  With peppermint and rosemary in the ingredients list you know it smells delish.  Another product that smells good enough to eat is the Coquito Bubble Stuff shower gel by Honeycat Cosmetics.  This is what pampering is all about!  With ingredients like coconut, honey and rum you can't go wrong.

To round out the offerings in this month's box of goodies we have hair products from Creme of Nature. There are two samples from the new Straight from Eden line as well as a full size container of the New Butter-Licious Curls Styling product.  All three products are made with natural ingredients and are mineral oil, petrolatum and paraben free.

Shop the Box!

The February Onyx Box will be available through the end of the month so head on over to weareonyx.com to find out how to get started.  You can also find full size versions of these and many other products at weareonyx.com/shop

NOTE:  This month's box was sent to me courtesy of We Are Onyx.  I am not affiliated with any of the products and/or brands mentioned in this post.  Please visit weareonyx.com for more information.

Onyx Box Opening January 2015

Recently I was sent the Onyxbox for the month of January.  What's this you ask?   It's a monthly  beauty subscription service that is geared towards women of color.  Previously, the box has featured items from Shea Moisture, Cargo and OPI nails and a host of other beauty brands.  So naturally I was excited to see what was in this month's box and I was definitely not disappointed.

There are so many natural hair brands out there who offer hair products for our textured tresses. A service like the Onyxbox allows you to try before you buy.  Inside this month's box were items from Woman to Woman Naturals, Anu Essentials and Beija Flor.  This is my first time trying products from these brands and I am interested to see how they work on my hair.

WATCH MY REVIEW FOR THE MAY 2014 ONYX BOX HERE

I already tested out the Creme Brulee Moisturizer from Beija Flor on my hair which is currently straight.  It did not cause my hair to revert but left me with soft hair that smelled like cinnamon.  The Anu Essentials line is one I've heard of on Instagram.  There appears to be a small sample packet of nearly every product they offer in this month's box.  Then there is the leave-in conditioner by Woman to Woman Naturals.  It has a citrus scent which will make for a nice mid-winter pick me up.

But wait, there's more!  The wintery dry climate of Colorado has left me with dry skin.  I was glad to find the Cracked Heel Stick Soap by Luxuriant in this month's offerings.  It says that it cleans and exfoliates so there may be hope for me yet!  Lastly is the Golden Ticket Nail Sugar by Cinapro.  To date, I have never seen a nail polish product with a light up cap.  Where have I been?

One of the best features about the Onyxbox service is that you can head over to www.weareonyx.com and shop the collection of goodies offered.  There you can also sign up to receive your own monthly beauty box.  See website for details.

Note:  This box was sent to me courtesy of WeAreOnyx for the purpose of this review.  I am not affiliated with www.weareonyx.com and/or any of the brands mentioned above.

In Review: Shea Moisture's Purification Masque

This morning I posted a video on my Youtube channel showing my first impression after using the Purification Masque by Shea Moisture.  The product claims to relieve itching from dry scalp caused by conditions like dandruff, eczema and psoriasis.  I suffer from scalp psoriasis which thankfully is a lot better after taking my vitamin supplements and eating healthy.  I still have a little bit of an itchy scalp so I thought I would try this product to see if it would help.  Check out the video to see what I thought!

MY REVIEW ON SHEA MOISTURE'S PURIFICATION MASQUE

Also, be sure to take a look at my recent posts on how I deal with my psoriasis.  It is an autoimmune disease that tends to flare up during the fall and winter.  I talk about how I cleanse my scalp without causing too much stress on my hair and also how diet and supplements help me to get my skin back
to normal.  

In Review: Camille Rose Naturals Curl Love Moisture Milk

Camille Rose Naturals
Curl Love Moisture Milk

Earlier this year I celebrated 5 years on my natural hair journey and realized that I've pretty much stuck with the same products.  I am usually one of those gals who like to use affordable products that can be found locally in stores.  Once I figured out what worked for me, I stopped looking.  Still, I couldn't ignore all of the rave reviews that circulate in the natural hair world.  For this reason, I decided maybe I could tweak my routine here and there.  Who knows?  Maybe I'm missing out.

My Curls after using the Curl Love Moisture Milk
and Eco Styler gel

I was eyeing the Camille Rose products at my local Target store for some time and decided to try something from the line.  I needed a moisturizer for when I do my wash n' go so I grabbed the Curl Love Moisture Milk.  You get 8 ounces for about $15 dollars USD which seemed reasonable considering it contains all natural ingredients.  The product claims to,"nurture your tresses and aid in preventing breakage, shedding and styling damage."  The label also states that it,  "…will provide shine, protective anti-oxidants and long-lasting moisture to enhance the driest hair."  This sounded like something that would certainly provide my hair with the moisture it needed under a heavy styler like Eco Styler gel.  I love how gel makes my curls pop but I'm sometimes left with dry hair a few days later.

 I first tried it on wet hair after cleansing and conditioning.  Then I decided to use a little grapeseed oil to seal in the moisture.  Lastly, I sprayed each section of my hair with water before applying Eco gel.  I was very surprised to see how much my curls clumped together.  My hair also appeared to hang more than my usual wash n' go.  I let it airdry and realized that maybe adding the grapeseed oil was making my hair a bit too heavy.  The next trial I decided to skip the oil and use the Curl Love as my sealer because it contains Castor oil.  In this case I used Aussie Moist as my leave-in conditioner and then followed the same steps as before.  The result was okay but my curls weren't as juicy.  The combo that worked best was when I used a leave-in conditioner, grapeseed oil to seal then the Curl Love all before applying the gel.  This basically meant I was using the L.O.C. method (leave-in, oil, cream). 


Overall, I found that the product does what it claims by allowing my curls to hang more when I use it to do a wash n' go style.  It definitely feels moisturizing and leaves me with much softer hair after using the hair gel.  I did notice however that if I stuck with sulfate free products to cleanse my hair, the product would build up.  I am back to using a sulfate shampoo for when I need to clarify so this is no longer an issue
for me.

Moisturizes and gives my curls hang time!

I agree with the price point considering I am still on the same bottle a couple of months later.  I realized early on that you don't really need to use very much of the product in order to moisturize your hair.  I even use it on my kid's hair and feel like we've gotten a lot of use out of it.  I would definitely purchase this product again in the future.

HAVE YOU TRIED THE CAMILLE ROSE NATURALS LINE?

Natural Hair Now--Stores Are Taking Notice

NEW Product Display at Sally's Beauty Supply
geared towards Customers with Natural Hair

When I started transitioning in the summer of 2008 (well relaxer stretching that led to transitioning), there wasn't a lot of products available locally for natural or curly hair.  That was fine by me because thanks to YouTube and online hair forums I found a lot of information on how to make my own.  I learned all about making whipped shea butter, sulfate free shampoo and hair oil mixes.  I pretty much tried everything.  Then one day I discovered a natural hair product line called Kinky Curly.  On YouTube ladies were raving about the curl definition the Curling Custard gave and did tutorials on how to use it.  It also had natural ingredients so I thought it would work great for me.  Then I saw the price.  This is where I started shakin' my head.  Just because the product stated it used all natural ingredients meant I had to fork over thirty bucks?!  No maa'm, I didn't feel the need.

Loads of Curly/Natural Hair products now
available at Walmart

Since then there have been lots of other products lines that have come onto the scene.  All of them using the words, "natural," "curly," and sometimes "organic," to hook new customers.  The thing that made me really start considering paying for one of these products, was the availability.  Yes, I'm that lazy person who doesn't really want to go through the process of ordering something unless I KNOW it's the bomb.  I remember though stopping dead in my tracks the first time I saw Miss Jessie's, Kinky Curly and Shea Moisture hair products in my local Target store.  Seeing the items every week while doing my regular shopping was very tempting.

The selection for Curly and Natural hair products has probably tripled since then.  I even found a full display of products once only available online in Walmart!  Even Sally's is trying to catch some notice by moving these products from the back of the store towards the middle (where the other products for "ethnic" hair began).

If I were newly natural right now, I would probably be a total PJ  (a.k.a Product Junkie).  The displays in stores hold so much styling pomade, cremes and whipped concoctions that it must be really hard filtering through all of that.  Thankfully though I have gotten past the stage of trying things out to see what works.  I pretty much know what works for me and I'm sticking to that.  Still, I just find it funny how stores spent years practically hiding hair products for us somewhere in the back or on bottom shelves and now they're on full display.

What do you think about stores changing it up in the hair product aisle?  Are they viewing Natural Hair as a trend to make money from or is this going to last?

Updated Hair Regimen and Products List

I was looking through my blog the other day and noticed that I still had my old regimen from Fall of 2010 up.  There were lots of products listed that I haven't used in ages so I figured it was time to update it.  Here is my current regimen and products list.  I may make some changes (I always do) but this is what is working for me right now.

NOTE: where products are bulleted I just use one of the items listed

Pre-Cleanse

I part my hair in 4 sections and apply conditioner prior to cleansing with shampoo or conditioner.  This helps to stretch out my shrunken hair and remove any shed hairs.  This step also helps with detangling.

Shampoo-1-2 times per week

• Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo 
• TheraNeem Naturals Moisture Therapy Shampoo (sulfate free)
• KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp Anti-Dandruff Moisturizing Shampoo
• Neutrogena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo

Co-wash-1-2 times per week

• Suave Naturals Coconut Conditioner
• Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner

Rinses-After Shampoo

• Oil Rinse-I use grapeseed, olive or coconut oil.  I sometimes do this in place of deep conditioning.  This step also helps with detangling.
• Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse (ACV)-I do this step after using shampoo to help my hair get back to a normal pH.  I either do the rinse before or after applying conditioner

Detangling Method

I detangle while my hair is soaking wet and saturated with conditioner.  The hair is parted in four sections.  I start by finger combing and then use a denman brush on each section.  I do this 2-3 times per week when wearing wash n' go's or once per week if wearing stretched styles.

Deep Conditioning Treatments* 1x per week 

• Hot Oil Treatment with Coconut, Olive or Grapeseed Oils
• Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture conditioner with Honey or Olive Oil added

 *I do most of my treatments under a hooded dryer for 40 minutes

Moisturizers*

• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• Aloe & Veg. Glycerin Spray (homemade)
• Paul Mitchell "The Conditioner" Leave-in
• Garnier Fructis Leave-in (for heat styling)
• Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme

To Seal Ends*

• Coconut Oil mixed with Castor Oil
• Olive Oil
• Shea Butter
• Grapeseed Oil

*I apply Leave-in conditioner after each wash for moisture.  After that I moisturize when needed.

Curl Definers

•  Eco Gels-The Pink version and Argan Oil (red)
• Kinky Curly Curling Custard
• Curls Unleashed Take Command Curl Defining Creme (trial)

*I always use my Paul Mitchell The Conditioner Leave-in under a curl definer for added softnes and moisture

Styling*

Roller Sets, Curly Braidouts,  Wash n Go's, Puffs, Buns, Banded Ponytails, Flat Twists, French Braids

*Currently taking a long break from heat styling

Henna-Once every 3 months

I have started doing the 2 step Henna/Indigo process which gives me a natural black tone  

What I add to my Henna mix

• Green Tea and Water (enough to make it the right consistency)
• Olive Oil (usually add this right before application)
• Lemon Juice (when I want more color)

I sometimes add powder to darken the hair and maintain curls.  For my Indigo mix I only add water and a little salt.  For each step (henna & indigo) I make sure to co-wash after rinsing out.  This helps to keep the hair soft.

Review: Hollywood Beauty's Olive Creme for Dry Hair

One of the most popular topics over at the K.I.S.S. hair forum (or any forum for that matter) is which moisturizer works best.  For a long time the word "moisturizer" was a bad word in my newly natural regimen.  I had become accustomed to avoiding products that contained mineral oil and petroleum which is often found in "moisturizers" for curly, relaxed and afro textured hair.  Still, the homemade spritzes and butters I learned how to make were either too heavy or too wet for my hair depending on the style.  For a while I started using leave-in conditioner to moisturize and sealed that with one of my favorite oils.

Finally, I decided to purchase a product to add to my regimen after reading a suggestion in one of the discussions on K.I.S.S. .  That product was by Hollywood Beauty which I have to admit was never a brand I thought of ever trying.  I guess I assumed that there would be a lot of the "no-no" ingredients in their products.  I was surprised to find that their Olive Creme was mineral oil and petroleum free.  Instead I found ingredients like, Olive oil and Calendula extract.  I decided at $4 (USD) it was at least worth a try.  I'm on my fifth jar now and can't say enough about it.

The Ingredients:

Deionized Water (Aqua) , Isopropyl Myristate , Glycine Soja Oil (Soybean) , Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive) , Stearic Acid , Stearyl Alcohol , Glyceryl Stearate , Vitamin E (Tocopheryl Acetate) , Matricaria Extract (Chamomilla Recutita) , Calendula Extract (Calendula Officinalis Flower) , Vitamin B (Yeast Extract) , Macademia Oil (Macademia Ternifolia Seed) , Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate) , Coconut Oil (Cocos Nucifera) , Rosemary Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf) , Sage Extract (Salvia Officinalis Leaf) , Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) , Great Burdock Extract (Arctium Lappa Root) , Triethanolamine , Methyl Paraben , Propyl Paraben , DMDM Hydantoin , Imidazolidinyl Urea , Fragrance , Yellow #5 (Cl 19140) , Blue #1 (Cl 42090)

My son likes to call it, "Yoda Creme" because
of the pale green color

While the ingredients are not 100% natural, I still find that this product does a good job of keeping my hair moisturized without leaving a heavy, greasy feeling.  I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really expect much from the Olive Creme but it is now one of my staples.  It even works well when my son's curly (3b/3c/4a) hair is starting to get the, "frizzy halo".  I just spritz his hair down with water first and then apply the creme throughout his hair and we get another two days of soft curls before wash day.  He dubbed it "Yoda Creme" because of the pale green color and we still call it that.  


I of course love to add it to my Argan Oil Eco Styler Gel along with some Castor, Coconut and Grapeseed oil for my DIY Eco Styler Custard.  I also use it after applying my leave-in conditoner when I pull my hair back or braid it up for air drying.  The only thing I would complain about is the scent.  It's not like some of those other products out there that smell good enough to eat.   It just has this faint, old fashioned women's cologne smell or something.  It doesn't matter because I just ignore the scent.  I can always add some fragrance oil to it to make it my own.  I'm just glad to have found a product that works well and is affordable for me and my family.

Shea Moisture Products at Walgreens



Shea Moisture Products
Now available at Walgreens stores



All the hair forums and blogs are buzzing about the Shea Moisture line which is now available at Walgreens stores.  The drugstore chain is doing a BOGO this week on all of the items in the line so if you've been thinking about trying it out, now is the time! 

Prior to this, the Shea Moisture line was only available at Target stores or online at Target.com.  The products are made with natural and organic ingredients and are very affordable with each item going for $9.99 USD. 



Shea Moisture's
Dandruff & Dry Scalp Elixir



Even with all of the excitement on this promotion, I still wasn't too sure that the Walgreens in my area would have the Shea Moisture line stocked yet.  So tonight I decided to stroll by the hair aisle just to check and see if they had it.  There wasn't any Shea Moisture to be found.  I figured that maybe this Walgreens was a little bit late but then I stopped by the new items near the door and found a very small display with maybe five items from the line.  There were only one or two of each item.  I'm hoping that there will be some Curl Enhancing Smoothie left when I get around to shopping this Friday.  I already told my husband that I'm gearin' up for a product haul this week so look out Walgreens, I'm comin'!

READ MY REVIEW on Shea Moisture's Conditioning Curl & Style Hair Milk