So, I've already mentioned the products I started off using to care for my natural hair...deva curl no poo shampoo, jane carters nourishing conditioner and I put miss jessies buttercreme down pretty quickly...why was that?
My hair, in general is light and can't really hold up against heavy products. I may have a lot of hair strands, but the strands themselves are thin...I just have a lot of strands which gives the effect of thicker hair...etc., anyway, the miss jessies product appeared to be petroleum based and I always equate petroleum with Vaseline (the stuff your mom used to lather on your face on a cold morning - heck, I do it to my own kids...just shining like a Christmas tree!). The point is...it protects the skin from the harsh elements outside...making like a barrier between the cold and your face...and EVENTUALLY, through the day, some got wiped off and some got absorbed into your skin...same concept with putting a product similar to that on your hair.
Your hair strands, at least what I've always believed, are "dead" - and naturally need a lot of moisture, or rather a good balance between moisture and protein...which is what your hair is anyway.
I digress...the buttercreme, one of my first products with my natural hair, was too heavy and it felt like a "coating" on my hair - not really getting down to the shaft to condition inside and then out. I would stand by this claim months later when I went to my curly hair professional done...curly! Sounds silly...that's because it was. I'll get to that adventure soon...
As I stated, I eventually used the buttercreme on my daughter's hair as I braided it up. She has a similar texture to me, but since I was braiding up for at least 4 days at a time, the heaviness of the product didn't do any harm...but I can tell you, I don't have a lot of faith that it is really providing anyone's hair with much benefit.
...and big plus about the buttercreme/baby buttercreme is it smells good and the scent last...so you better like it if you use it.
SIDEBAR: when I was pregnant with my second child I really hated my hair routine because the smell of the product made me sick! I called the company and asked if they had an unscented version, they did not, so I left the suggestion under "comments" - still no unscented version has been released...but I don't plan on being pregnant ever again...so no worries on my end.
Okay, so the "curl" enhancing product struck out. What now? I basically did a co-wash (a co-worker taught me that term) application of conditioner with my morning shower, rinse, still leaving a little remaining and hop out, light dry and of course a headband (ouchless) and out the door. Quick process, but it didn't enhance my curls at all...but I was getting a great amount of moisture which must of had a hand in the upward...or rather, downward growth of my hair in months to come.
How did I stumble upon my tried & true company...CURLS? I don't really know - ah, yes I do. The lady that cut my hair (my big chop) had a small kit of curl- q's meant for little girls. I purchased the kit (probably about 5 products) for my daughter. In the kit, there was shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, and...something else I think. At any rate, I didn't like the moisturizer for her hair - it felt and looked like it dried it our rather than the effect the name would suggest. So I stopped using that on her head. The shampoo and conditioner smelled good...and the conditioner was really thick...so if it wasn't giving her hair the conditioning it need, at least it was faking the funk by being thick - and everything smelled pretty good. Not too overpowering.
So, after trying out a few of the Curls products on little mini me, I searched for the product at a local salon - of which I found, but getting into a store with kids is hard and the internet is my best friend...so I searched for the company online. Tada! http://www.curls.biz/ ...here I come. On the site I found a plethora of other products, both for women and kids...and remind me to tell you a little secret about that division.
After reading up on the descriptions of each product and what I was looking for, I choose the heaviest of "cremes" to purchase. The cremes ranged for lightest to heaviest milkshake, something else and whipped cream...and honestly, I think the names are pretty fitting and it gives you a great idea on the consistency of the product if you're not familiar with them.
So, the heavy "whipped cream" arrived in the mail and I took a stab at the application. ...Um, exactly, how was I supposed to do this? I had seen people apply and then use a comb and run it through...I failed at the attempt - my hair just looked frizzy and certainly didn't have the defined curls like I was looking for...another tactic?
Finger styling? I had heard that word, what it exactly meant I don't know, but if anyone ask, that's what I did. At first, I wet my hair in the shower, blot dried it with a towel (really, water streaming down my face) and then applied generous amounts of this (literally looking like whipped creme) product to my hair. I didn't worry about sections - didn't have to. My hair was just that short. I usually applied the product in a "backwards" motion away from my face - to this day I can't stand hair in my face...touching my face...around my face! ...but this really wasn't an issue at this stage in the game.
So, curls whipped creme did a fairly good job and I as I became more skilled in the application, it became easier and easier.
So now my morning routine usually (not everyday) consisted of a co-wash, blot dry and application of whipped creme...and out the door. The down side to the whipped creme, because it is so heavy, is I would leave the house with my hair wet and while it was short, it would still be wet my lunch time. ...and as my hair grew the drying time got longer and longer and longer (remind me to tell you about the purchase of my "diffuser" blow dryer (lol).
Since the curls line had other products, I ordered samples of the moisturize for women and the ...what is it called...can't remember at the moment, but it reminded me of a little, clear gel...and that's pretty much what I think it is.
So, I added these products to my daily routine as well...more products, more drying time needed...who would have guessed right?! I would experiment on taking one product out and seeing if that effected the way my hair behaved...nothing really mattered...and no one, not even I could tell if I had applied all three or just 1 or 2.
Personally, I think you can just get way with the look a - like gel and everything will look pretty much the same. Gosh, wish I could remember that name...AH! Goddess Glaze, I've got a great mind - I usually can mentally find anything I'm looking for...I think it's one of my talents!
The goddess glaze is clear, no scent and it can be worn with or without other products. They consider this a layering product and that's exactly how I used it. Once I had done everything, I would top it off by adding a little/a lot of goddess glaze and then head out. The application of the Goddess Glaze is easier than the whipped creme, because of the light nature of the glaze. Again, I think the name is fitting because you are finishing off your stying regime with a little glaze. Great marketing...although, I doubt many people sit an ponder about such silly things.
So, I did that routine for a while...and as my products ran out, I would drop 30 or 40 bucks everytime I ordered products...which was about every three to four months...now, as my hair got longer...more product needed right? Right...this was getting expensive.
I went into Urbanbella on Saturday - can't believe I actually got away for a few hours (the house always needs something!) and it was BUSY! Urbanbella often as these come and see what we have events...and I just happen to come on that day - lucky me!
The place was packed for small wall to small wall - Urbanbella is so big, if you blink you'd probably miss it...I still drive right past it, although the name of the street still has me puzzled (Wiecua - I think that's it).
At any rate, the walked into Urbanbella, and it must have been November or December because Miss Jessies was having their yearly promotion of "buy one, get one free." People were dropping hundreds buying up all those products. I just wanted someone to make recommendations for my hair type. After I wrangled a "representative" down, we sat down in the trying room, where she doused my face (my hair) with water for a spray bottle and proceeded to try products on my hair - personally I think Urbanbella is sleeping with Miss Jessies because that's the only products the "representative" tried on me. BTW, the representative had great hair...and I asked how to got it like that...it was big and fro like, but it had curls to it and it looked controlled. She stated...it took her hours and a lot of steps...right then I knew I was in for a long difficult road during my natural journey.
Okay, back to the packed out at Urbanbella...she tried about 3 products on my hair...pulling the product through using her fingers only. I couldn't see a difference between one product or another. She did try their stretching creme on me and because of the name, I thought it would reduce the shrinkage I was experiencing and elongate my curls...um, not so much. Although the name implies, it did not deliver - I bought a small 2oz sized to try and was really glad I had not committed to the 8oz size.
...I'll have to stop here, because my eyes are getting heavy and I'm sure this post is long enough already...I'll pick up on my second Urbanbella experience next time.
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