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Wow! My last update was in May.
If you've read some of my naturallycurly.com posts, then you know that I had my hair braided for 5 years. I had some breakage around my hairline as a result of the braiding. It has been growing normally again but that hair was significantly shorter than the rest of my hair, so I decided to cut about 3 inches off of my hair. This was not an easy decision, and I almost cried after I cut it, but I know that my hair will grow back. And now I don't have a noticeable line of demarcation.
Since I've cut my hair, it no longer hangs down! I now have a very tightly coiled TWA (teeny weeny afro). Hopefully it will grow down (and not out) when it gets longer.
I haven't posted any pics since the summer because I've been extremely busy trying to sell our condo. We're still waiting for a buyer. The Chicago real estate market has been terrible lately.
Hello, everyone.
Well, I've been very busy this month. I've been focusing less on my hair and more on getting my house in order (literally not figuratively, LOL!). We are hoping to move within the next 6 months, so I have a lot of cleaning and decluttering to do.
As for my hair, I've been mostly using my CurlyQ's milkshake with either AO Mandarin Jelly or Curls goddess glaze over it.
I also just recently tried WEN's fig cleansing conditioner. Love it! I will continue to use it regularly. I may not make it a Holy Grail staple, however, due to it's price ($14 for 6 oz).
April 27, 2007 - Aubrey Organics Mandarin Magic Jelly.
I've been using this for the past few days with either CurlyQs milkshake or Aveda Elixir underneath it. I stopped using the Devacare One C as a leave-in because I think it was the product that was causing my itchy scalp.
This is a very nice gel. Light hold and very moisturizing. It also has a very light aroma, which I prefer.
The gel seems to work very well regardless of the leave-in that I use. For a little more elongation, however, I prefer it with the Aveda Elixir. I may re-purchase the MM later down the line when I get low on the other gels that I own.
April 23, 2007 - Curly Qs Milkshake and Aubrey Organics Mandarin Magic.
So I took the weekend off from my product challenge to let my scalp get back to normal.
I used various Curls products over the weekend. I'm glad that I decided to re-try this line. I really like the products now.
This morning I thoroughly rinsed my hair, then applied CurlyQs milkshake and AO Mandarin Magic Jelly.
My hair is very moist with good spiral formation and lots of shrinkage.
I've noticed that, since the weather in Chicago has finally started to warm up, my hair looks almost exactly the same each day, regardless of what products I use. If you look at my last couple of fotki albums, you'll notice very little difference in the pics.
April 18 through April 20, 2007 - DevaCre One C and Aubrey Organics Mandarin Magic Jelly.
I tried to get second day hair today by refreshing with watered down Curls Pure Essentials Moisturizer. My hair didn't look bad, but it didn't look as good as I had hoped. Later in the morning I decided to completely rinse my hair and start over.
I thoroughly 'water washed' and then applied DevaCare One C. I let it sit for a minute, and then very lightly rinsed. I squeezed out most of the water and applied the Mandarin Magic. So far, I really like this product combo. My hair is very soft and has a nice sheen. The Jelly seems to have very light hold, but the combo has enough weight for me.
April 19, 2007 - I'm very happy that I decided to try this gel (thank you, Suburbanbushbabe). Coupled with the OneC it knocks out my canopy frizz and poof. It's also very moisturizing. Love it!
April 20, 2007 - I've decided to cut this trial short. My scalp has been very itchy for the past two days. I think it is because I'm using the One C as a leave-in. Today I'll use the Mandarin Magic with the CurlyQs milkshake and see what happens. If my scalp is still itchy, then it might be the MM that is causing it.
April 15 through April 17, 2007 - So I 'washed' today with the DevaCare no poo then used the DevaBrown One C. I like these both. The One C felt great and my hair detangled easily. I had great spiral formation and my hair was not poofy on top.
I then put in the B'Leavin. My hair instantly felt weird - sticky and re-tangled. I wonder if it is the protein? So I put in the ArcAngell and then used the Mister Right and Set it Free. I let them sit on my hair for a while, and that weird sticky feeling and tangling went away. Tomorrow I will leave out the B'Leavein and try again.
April 16, 2007 - Today I used the One C and rinsed out most of it. I then used the ArcAngell. I quickly decided that I needed more moisture with this gel. I sprayed in my Curls Pure Essentials Moisturizer (it's been discontinued ). This turned out to be an awesome product combo! The moisturizer was not too heavy. It elongated my spirals and provided just enough weight.
I'll do it again tomorrow and if I'm happy with the results, I'll take some photos.
RESULTS - My second 3-day challenge is over. I got pretty good results. I really like the Deva no poo and One C. I will continue to use them and will probably repurchase them. I will also continue to use the ArcAngell, but with a creamy leave-in under it. I'm not too happy with the B'Leavin. I seem to need a creamy leave-in under my gel and the B'leavin has a gel-like consistency. I will probably try it under one of my creamy styling products.
The Set it Free was just OK on my hair. I won't repurchase it. I need to use lots of it on my hair, and it's too expensive for that. The Mister Right is going back to the store. I HATED it. It smelled too strongly of lavender (and I usually like lavender) and my hair felt dry when I tried to use it as a refresher.
Took some new photos and created a new album.
April 12, through April 14, 2007 - I'm retrying several Curls products now that I know my hair better.
I just purchased some Curls products (love the swap board!) and will be using the Naturally Enhanced Curl Lotion under the Spiral Curls Cream for 3 days in a row.
RESULTS: Finished my 3 day hair challenge. My hair was just OK - not great. I found that these two products didn't weigh my hair down enough. I also had major shrinkage. I didn't take any photos.
I'm going to try pairing the Naturally enhanced lotion with something heavy, like the whipped cream (yes, I have that one too) and then I'll use the Spiral Curls cream with the Quenched Curls.
My next 3-day product challenge will be the Deva products. I'm going to start the week fresh - No Poo then One C followed by B-Leavin and ArcAngell.
Starting April 11, 2007, I decided to challenge myself to use one product combination for at least three days in a row before moving on to another.
Those of you who know me from Naturally Curly know that I am a shameless product junkie, so If I can consistently do this, it will be a major accomplishment.
Please wait...