Product Review

So to follow my previous blog (I can't believe I've done 3 blogs over 3 consecutive days. I've done well, right?!) I'm just going to update you on how well (or not so well) the products I've used over the last 24 hours have worked with my hair.

Head And Shoulders Itchy Scalp Shampoo - I must say, after adding the shampoo to my wet hair, it absolutely lathered up my afro. It worked its way all over and around my hair with little application. My scalp isn't really itchy at all, which is a good sign! Although it did feel like my hair was quite significantly stripped of its natural moisture. The Timotei Avocado and Macademia Oil Shampoo I normally use doesn't leave me with that result. The olive oil I used afterwards (with the conditioner and this morning) was a wise decision, I think.

Sainsbury's Honey Extract Conditioner - Ok, this conditioner, being mixed with my olive oil, worked like a CHARM. The smell, the texture, the moisture.. It was lovely!! I used it as a leave-in, and after undoing my messy plaits this morning, my hair was left feeling so soft and smelling so sweet! Timotei tends to leave my hair in a softer (and slightly curlier) texture after it has been washed out. But as a leave-in? It doesn't achieve the same results as this honey conditioner has.

After I'd undone my plaits, I did some fat twists in my hair section by section. I added my Mango, Aloe Vera and Mango whipped hair cream on each section before I twisted it up, which left my hair feeling even softer. It blended nicely and aided my hair in adding moisture, and my olive oil in retaining it (you can find a picture of this moisturiser in the blog before this one - I'm working on preparing it for distribution).

So I've now twisted up my hair in preparation for the style that I'm going to try to put together this Saturday. Here's my current hair state:

My hair was so manageable today!!!

The products really complimented my twists by adding hold as well as moisture and shine! Let's hope the same success will also be reflected in the definition when I take them out.

I'll be back soon with results!

Update On Home Made Products/Washing & Detangling Tips

I'm baaack!

:D

(Ignore the dot on my nose - it's my hair moisturiser. Quite convenient, lol.)

So to follow up from my previous post (literally a day before this one), I'm going to show you what I did to sort out those twisted tangled coils of mine. Just to let you guys know, all I did was put a du-rag over over the little style I had last night (pictures are in the previous post) and went to sleep. Although, I pinned down the loose hair at the top and front. The picture above is how it looked from the front after I woke up.

To my surprise, the style kept pretty well. It just looked more 'contained':

SO..

Like I said, I had some products to try out. But before we get to that, let me show you the little goodies I've put together!

Left: New and improved curly custard

Right: Whipped hair moisturiser

I've deliberately made my curly custard thicker, so that it holds definition better. I was very very pleased with my end result. As for the hair moisturiser, I've made it quite light because it's a daily moisturiser. If it were too heavy, it wouldn't be suitable for daily use. I really, really whipped it! It's a blend of avocado, aloe vera and mango extracts with added essential oils. Quite rich! I'll be selling some soon.

-SO-

As I previously mentioned, I was going to wash my hair today (which I did). The next part of this blog should be of help to you if you're wondering how to detangle nappy hair that has been left in mini twists for toooo long! (yes, yes.. I'm guilty..)

So here's how I started off.

Section hair off into 4 parts. The section left open is the section I began with:

(I started to separate the strands, as you can see. It's slightly poofed out on the bottom left. Eventually I just left it, there was no need.)

Here are the products I used:

(The bottom picture is the conditioner with added Olive Oil. I wanted to retain moisture after washing, so I added the oil to the Honey Extract Conditioner and left it in.)

Step 1: Dampen the hair with warm/hot water. I don't do this just to prepare my hair for the shampoo, I do it also to loosen the tight tangled coils. Loosely grasp random areas of the section from the roots, and run your hands downwards to assist the hot water in the 'loosening' process, like this:

Step 2: Apply shampoo. If you know your hair is really dirty, you'll be tempted to scratch your scalp vigorously in an attempt to lift up dead skin, dirt and grease. Try not to do this much. Remember, your hair may already be quite tangled, so strands may tangle even more from your chaotic scratching. Try to massage the scalp and repeat Step 1.

Step 3: Rinse out the shampoo (following the method described in Step 1) and apply conditioner. Now this is one of the most important parts; this is the part when you DETANGLE. This is the only time when I really comb/detangle my hair. When the hair is dry or left unconditioned, it is prone to breakage. It is important that after you apply your conditioner, you use a wide tooth comb to detangle your hair from the tips FIRST. To follow, work your way up to the roots.

Note: if you find areas of your hair which are knotted, do not just get frustrated and comb it out (because all you're really doing is ripping out the knot; thus ripping out your hair). Separate the knotted area and carefully detangle it. Use your hands/fingernails if you have to.

Step 4: Either rinse out the conditioner (same method as Step 1.. You've just detangled it, you don't want to REtangle it!) or leave it in if it's the type that permits you to do that. Make sure it's not a protein conditioner if you're going to leave it in. It can cause damage to your hair if left in. 

Once you've made your choice, it's really up to you whether you want to stretch it up by pineappling (stretching your hair into a bun at the top of your head), banding (see the previous post), twisting or plaiting. I try to avoid heat, so I don't really recommend blowdrying etc. I just plaited up my hair while it dries. I'll deal with styling, stretching etc after it's dried and moisturised.

So I ended up going from this:

To this:

Tangle free. :)

I hope this post helped! I'll update you on any post-worthy antics that I get up to. I'm thinking of trying out a Blaque Onyx inspired style (a puff with twisted out bangs) but we'll see how that goes.

Adieu!

Since my last post..

..I haven't really been up to much.

But I decided to do a quick blog to update you guys. Today I decided to take out my mini twists and wasn't really sure what kind of style would go well with this mini twist-out. It looks pretty messy. I think I left it in too long! I have decided to wash and treat it tomorrow with Head & Shoulders Shampoo for itchy scalp (because my scalp gets annoyingly itchy!!) and a Sainsbury's Honey Conditioner (which I'll probably mix with olive oil because my scalp also gets pretty dry pretty quick! >:( I may do a review on these products) but in the meantime I decided to try a frohawk with it. I think it did my coils justice!

(Sorry about the picture size)

Nappy and happy!

(These nappy coils were courtesy of my dad's genes and my home made curly custard (again) ;)

read up on my blogs to see how I made my curly custard!)

Secondly, just letting you guys know that I'm trying out various ways to stretch out my hair without using heat. I shall be doing much trial and error..

My most recent trial was with banding:

...Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of how it looked afterwards (sorry guys!) but it wasn't anything special really. I didn't let it dry out, so my hair shrunk after I took the bands out. I wanted to loosen my curls as well, or at least let the bands leave a pattern in my hair. Sadly, this did not happen (my fault). Although, the parts that did dry turned out pretty alright.. But flat twists still remain my favourite form of stretching and styling though. They give me this beach wave effect. It's pretty nice. Try it!

Next time I'll be sure to not only take pictures, but to learn from this error! I think next time I may even do it when my hair is dry, as I tend to find that my hair stretches better when it's dry and well moisturised. I shall most definitely have to whip up a batch of hair cream for this!

Ciao!

Custard Results

So I did the twists in my hair with the curly custard, as before mentioned.. Not much to say about it, the pictures say it all really! I was pleased with the results. My twists had never come out so defined before.

I'm currently in the process of creating my whipped hair butter. I did my first batch, but let's just say this is definitely going to be a matter of constant trial and error lol.

In the meantime, here's how my twists came out with the help of my custard comrade:

I'll most probably try it again on some flat twists. I'm kinda liking the beach wave effect it leaves me with.

Time for a hair wash! God bless!