From curly to straight

Recently, I perfected my curly girl routine to achieve the best curls ever. Well, I got so excited that I used up most of my stash to create the curls. Thus, I decided to straighten my hair until I could get my new favorite curl definer.

I decided to flat iron using the following products:

1. Redkin real control shampoo and conditioner (sample sizes)
2. Darcy's Botanical Pumpkin Seed conditioner
3. Redkin smooth lock heat glide

I got the sample products when I purchased the smooth lock heat glide.  The shampoo was ok, but I really liked the conditioner. Both the shampoo and conditioner contained shea butter. After applying the pumpkin seed conditioner, I sat under my huetiful steamer for 20 minutes. My hair was incredibly soft when I detangled my hair.

The Redkin smooth lock looks similar to the John Frieda Frizz ease but it is simply the best darn heat protector and smoother I have ever purchased.  I applied the smooth lock after I towel dried my hair based upon the directions. I was afraid to towel dry my hair because I imagined that it would make my hair difficult to blow dry.  I was wrong.  In an effort to avoid the same problems that I had in the past, I used a comb attachment on my blow dryer rather than using a round brush. I never really learned how to use a round brush anyway.  When blow drying my hair, I started from the back first. I normally start from the front.

Once the first section was dry, I realized how amazing the smooth lock was in my hair. See below:

I blow dried my hair faster than I had ever done before. Thank goodness. With my length, it can be tiring to blow my hair. I could not believe the results. Nothing short of amazing. I think I owe it to the hair steamer, pumpkin seed conditioner, comb attachment and smooth lock.

See the final results below:

Overnight I put my hair in a doobie.  When I took it down, it looked like I had relaxed my hair. Shocking.  A first for me. I never thought I could get these results, especially when I did my own hair.

Have you tried the huetiful steamer or Redkin smooth lock?  What were your results?  

The Buzz: Ms. Black Latina goes to Puerto Rico

That's right. I moved! I am loving it all. I recently attended an event hosted by Diosas al Natural. I can say that I met some women with bossy afros and beautiful curls. I am going to venture out to my first salon visit for naturals. It is a place called OM Studio in Guaynabo. I will be doing a salon review after my appointment. I can't wait to give you the scoop on my new discovery.

I have to admit that my hair was not behaving when I first moved here. I don't know if it was the water or what but I looked like I needed a treatment so I got one. Thank goodness. I used Bobeam shampoo bar in rhassoul clay (made with chocolate), Tropic Isle Living protein conditioner, Darcy's Botanical Pumpkin seed conditioner, and Darcy's Botanical's Curlying Jelly. OMG!!!

I finally achieved the results I wanted this week. Finally. I started a new gig so I really wanted to look like top billing. Now, I get so many compliments on my hair. My male co-worker, who I have known for years and has never said a word about my hair, even said something. Honey, I was feeling myself and my hair.

I will post some pictures later today. The curling jelly is a product that I used only once or twice before for a ponytail but I finally started using it for wash and gos.  I can't order enough of this stuff. Its affordable, tames the frizz and gives me the best wash n gos.  Now I look like boricua, morena! I think that means black girl from Puerto Rico. I am still learning spanish.

Stay tuned for a product review of some of the products I used to achieve my look this week. What is you holy grail product?

Update: my picture

What do you think? Have you tried the DB's natural coils curling jelly.

Product Review: Karen's Body Beautiful Butter Love

Hola chicas! It's time for another product review. Today, I will review KBB's butter love. Butter Love is made from rich, thick butter san luxurious oils. It conditions, softens and adds sheen to fragile, stressed hair.  Seals moisture and nourishes natural or straightened hair. 

It contains shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, jojoba butter, aloe butter essental and fragrance oils, grapefruit seed oil and vitamin E. It is sold at KBB for 16 bucks.

check out my video review below:

 

 

 

Two thumbs up!!! Have you tried KBB's Butter Love? What did you think?



Hair Growth Tip: Onion Juicing

Yes, I know it sounds a little crazy. However, I learned that juicing an onion can actually promote hair growth. It provides nourishment and circulation to the hair follicles.  Onions are high in sulfur, which helps in regenerating hair follicles and reducing inflammation.  I plan to try it myself for the next few weeks and post pictures of my results. Here is how it works:

1. Juice an onion (a whole onion should be enough)
2. Apply it to your scalp at night. I would recommend wearing a cap and then a bonnet so that it does not get on your pillow case.The scent won't suggest "come hither" but that's fine by me.
3. Rinse out the onion the next day with your regular shampoo and condition your hair. 
4. I heard that you should try it each night for a week or two.  (I will be doing wash 'n gos during this period. If you live in a cooler climate than Saint Thomas, you may want to try it just once a week and dry your hair before heading out the door.)

Here is a video of a woman who tried onion juicing: 

Here is another video:

Have you tried onion juicing for hair growth?

Sell your not-so-favorite products!

Hola chicas. Gone are the days that you would want to kick yourself for buying products that don't work. Now, you can sell your gently used natural hair products on the website www.lolasgreenhair.com.  You will need to set up a paypal account to get your money from any purchaser. To avoid a fee, ask your customers to indicate that it is a gift. I just learned about this site. I plan to go to my natural hair vault (or what my husband calls my personal beauty supply store) to sell those must-haves that turned out to be duds.

You can also swap products on the forum page on the following website: www.curlynikki.com.  Just go to the link for curly hair product swap. No need to have a paypal account. 

I have been giving away my no-so-favorite products. Now, I can make money off of them or get what my hair likes from swapping. You know what they say: one man's trash is another man's treasure.

What are you doing with products that don't work for your hair?

Product Giveaway!!!!

Hola chicas! It is time for yet another product giveaway. This time Tiffany's Natural Treats is giving away Tropic Isle Living Strong Roots.  Strong Roots promotes growth with top ingredients such as Jamaican black castor oil and pimento oil. To win go the link on the right (for Tiffany's Natural Treats) and post a tip for repairing high porosity hair.  The winner will be announced on September 21st. This contest is open to residents of Canada.

Feel free to like the page. Good luck!

Homemade flaxseed gel - the buzz

Ok, making homemade flaxseed gel is not new, but I recently made a batch over Labor Day weekend for the first time. OMG! #loveit! I went to my local health food store and picked up a bag of flaxseed (linseed). I used a quarter cup of flaxseed and 2 cups of purified water. I added both to a pot and waited for it to boil. Once it started to boil, I began to stir the mixture so the seeds would not stick to the pot. When it reached a slightly thick consistency, I removed it from the stove. In retrospect, I should have removed it sooner because it seems like the blob after I strained and cooled it. I was concerned about hold but it dries with a nice hold. It feels softer the second day.  I was left with the best darn curl definition for a wash n go since I started my journey.  It is easy peasy to make and super cheap because you can re-use the seeds.

Here is a video of how to make it from youtube and my results:

Have you made flaxseed gel?

Update:

I forgot to mention that you should keep the flaxseed gel in the refrigerator so it does not go rancid unless you have a preservative like grapefruit seed extract. About six drops should be sufficient.  Enjoy!