Hair Supply Haul

    I haven't really been totally in tune with my hair regimen because I seriously needed my ends trimmed! I like washing my hair, it's the detangling that's annoying sometimes. I felt like I couldn't start my hair journey with my ends still jacked up. No matter what I did to my hair, my ends would still be split and look raggedy. But NOW, now I feel like a whole new person with a whole new outlook on my whole new head! So anyway, not only do I finally have my ends trimmed, but I have new hair supplies to kickoff my HHJ with!!

1. TRESemme Naturals Radiant Volume Conditioner - although it's not the nourishing moisturizing conditioner (which I desperately wanted and searched the Walmart for), I still like it a lot. It smells good and does a great job with slip!
2. Shea Moisture Thickening Moisture Mist - smells good! It contains biotin! I've read good reviews about how it actually thickened hair, but I'm still skeptical. If it does thicken my hair, I probably won't notice until at least a year down the line. I'll just have to take hair pics to compare.
3. Slick-It Pomade - haven't tried it yet. It's said to slick down the edges to give a relaxed look. I have thin edges, so I'll definitely need this. Someone on hairlista.com compared this to Hicks Edge Control and said they're about the same, but this one is cheaper....and indeed it is!
4. Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula Conditioning Shampoo - never tried, never heard of it, but it replenishes moisture! It contains coconut oil and keratin, no sulfates, no parabens! Sounds like something I'd love, especially since I had a hard time finding a sulfate free/harsh ingredient free shampoo.
5. Jamaican Black Castor Oil - Words couldn't describe my excitement when I stumbled upon this in a local beauty supply store. It was fate! My boyfriend randomly wanted desert from Burger King and I saw the beauty supply store next door. I went in, looked around the entire store for nothing in particular, and right before I left the store, there it was sitting right under the Jane Carter Solution products and next to the Kinky Curly products...JBCO, ohhh I was ecstatic!!! Oh course, I purchased it on the spot, wasn't a second thought in my mind about it.
6. Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner - I've been looking for a good leave-in conditioner for awhile. I heard good reviews about Giovanni, but the Asian beauty supply store didn't have their brand. I do know that Jane Carter's products are great for natural hair as they don't contain any harsh ingredients, so this was a good find.
7. Olive Oil & Coconut Oil - I never had olive oil before. I don't know what I'm missing out on, but it must be something great because everyone loves it. I already know coconut oil's effect on my hair, that's why I had to replenish my supply before I got completely low on it. Both are 100% natural, cold pressed, extra virgin...yep, it's the only way to go.

    Since I have to straighten my hair tomorrow, I can't wait to use the Slick-It Pomade! I have regular castor oil, but I'm going to start using the JBCO first! It's hard for me to believe I'm so giddy right now, I've never been this pressed to do my own hair. Haha

Hair Survey

1. Why did you start taking better care of your hair?
Tired of paying to go to the salon. Didn't have a way to get to my sister's house for her to do my hair. And I'm so happy for these two reasons.

2. What are your 2 favorite hair products?
Tresemme Naturals Conditioner, Coconut Oil

3. Who's hair did you admire as a child?
I loved Aaliyah's hair. It was long and always looked silky smooth!

4. What is your ultimate goal length?
  Mid Back Length

5. How are you going to celebrate when you reach your ultimate goal length?
Straighten it and whip my hair back and forth lol

6. Two styles you want to try at your goal length?
Wavy hair and see what a twist out looks like on long hair

7. Which do you prefer: Health or Length?
Health!

8. Which do you prefer: hair ties with no metal parts or butterfly clips?
I guess hair ties since I use that more often

9. What products do you prefer: salon brands, organic brands, BSS brands, Drugstore brands, or other?
No preference. I've found some of my faves in each of these places.

10. Which product/technique do you think is over-rated?
Relaxers. Natural hair is more versatile.

11. Which product/technique do you think is under-rated?
Finger massaging. Just think about it: it feels good, you do it when you wash your hair anyway, it increases blood flow to your scalp which stimulates the follicles for growth, and you can do it while applying  essential oils.

12. What is your favorite part of your hair regimen?
Conditioning. All because of my Tresemme Naturals conditioner!

13. What is the most annoying part of your hair regimen?
Styling! My arms get tired from being in the air all the time

14. Oils or Butters?
Oils

15. Buns or Ponytails?
Buns

16. Wigs or Weaves?
Weaves. Never had a wig, so I'm not sure how natural I can make that look on me.

17. What is your opinion of growth aids?
Only tried Hairfinity. It improved my hair overall, but I had some side effects. I'll stick to natural growth aids like castor oil.

18. At what length do you consider hair long?
APL

19. When is the last time you visited a salon?
Can't remember, but I guess 08/2012

20. What do you like to surf most often: YouTube channels, personal blogs, or hair forums?
YouTube channels definitely! I've learned so much for starting my hair journey, soo thankful!

21. And finally, what piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out on their hair journey?
Do your research before anything!! It could save you time, money, and regret.



Copy and Paste and make your own survey! (Don't forget to erase my answers)

Wishlist...

    Thank goodness for my love of researching! Without it, I would definitely be a product junkie. I don't like to spend too much, so I always try to be wise when spending money. Since I'm in the beginning stages of my hair journey, I have yet to acquire an arsenal of products, techniques, styling tools, and hairstyles. I really don't want to become a product junkie, even though I can feel it's inevitable. I wish finding the perfect combination of products was easy, but sadly, it is not. So far, I have the basics of what I need for my hair. I have:

• Wide toothed detangling comb/brush
• Eco Styler Gel (yes I consider this a necessity, I love it!)
• Shampoo & Conditioner (both free of harmful ingredients)
• Coconut Oil, Castor Oil
•  Spray bottle
• Large hair clips
• Satin bonnet

So far, so good right? I don't yet have any products that I consider my "staple". My problem is, when I read good reviews for a product, I instantly want it. As long as my excitement is from my laptop and not inside of a store, I think I won't have to worry much about becoming a product junkie. Now that I have a good foundation of what I need, let's talk about what I want to find:

Conditioner that enhances curls and has good "slip"

I do have the Shea Moisture Organic African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner first in mind. Haven't tried it yet, but I've read LOTS of good reviews about it! The price is $9.99/12oz bottle. Most people say this is a good price, but I don't really think so. Buy 10 items and you've already spent $100. It's more commonly found in Target and Walgreens, not sold everywhere.

Recently ready reviews for the Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner and haven't seen a negative review yet! Plus, you get 25oz for normally about $6, but (thanks to an app on my phone) I was able to find it at Walmart for just $3.98/25oz bottle!!! It's sold just about anywhere hair care products are sold online/local.

Specialty Irons, Etc.

I already have a crimping iron, now I want a deep waver and a curling wand. I love my good ole ceramic flat iron, but all of a sudden I feel like straight hair is boring hair...unless it's luxurious with lots of volume! I don't have thin hair, but more volume makes all the better. Thick hair = healthy hair. I don't have my eyes set on a particular specialty iron, that's why I don't have any listed.

The thing that caught my eye about the Jilbere Hot Air Brush was the round brush and blow dry feature. The first time I had my hair blown dry with a round brush was at a Dominican salon. I loved how straight it got my hair. My sister did it the second time and it was a lot straighter than using a blow dryer and a regular brush.

The Denman Brush so far is the only item I've seen with 5 complete stars, 100% customer satisfaction. Reasonably priced at $9.99 and available in select stores, but more commonly found online.


I'll keep looking, but so far these things caught my eye

Eco Styler Twistout

    I am absolutely in love with my hair! In all my years, the first time I do my hair from wash to finish and THIS is the result I get!!! *Pats self on back*. I'm amazed, proud, and inspired. This is a really good turn out for someone who's never done anything more than just flat iron their hair before.

    Seeing my hair like this is such an inspiration to rock curly hair instead of getting it pressed all the time. But ever since I became a fan of healthy hair instead of long hair, I really don't care for length as much as I used to. Also, healthy hair helps you get longer hair, so it's a win/win!

How I Did My Hair

1. Wash and Deep condition. Always best to start new hairstyles on clean hair.
2. Apply Eco Styler Gel. Put eco styler gel onto my hair as if I was doing a  wash and go.
3. Twist hair. Made small to medium sized twists and kept for 2-3 days
4. Twist Out. Unraveled the twists to help keep definition. Don't just pull them apart.
5. Separate the strands of the twists. The gel keep the definition. Separating the strands of the twist outs give a fuller appearance.

Here's photo of my hair before and after Separation of the Twist Out Strands.

As you can see, my hair went from a twist out to a natural hairstyle. I also liked the regular twist out, but I think it would've looked better if I had put more twists in my hair. This hairstyle is definitely a keeper! And it was good for at least over a week. I kept putting my hair in different styles trying to manipulate it so I wouldn't have to brush the curls out. The Eco Styler Gel has great hood!

My HHJ :)

    Ok, so I've been natural basically my whole life. I only had one relaxer and HATED it!!! Ever since then, I swore to never get a relaxer again (which was one of the best decisions I've ever made as a child). I've taken an interest in my hair (mainly because I don't have the money to keep going to salons) and decided to go on a healthy hair journey!

    All glory to Youtube! Without all the advice from the natural haired sistas, I wouldn't know where to start. I've seriously gained a lot of useful, helpful, less time consuming techniques! And I realized that the only reason I used to hate getting my hair done as a child is because my mom didn't do it "correctly". Meaning, there shouldn't be a such thing as tender headed if you detangle your hair the best way. My first time doing my hair wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and not having to wait on someone to do it made it all better too.

    Sadly, after washing and conditioning, I noticed that my curl pattern is out of wack. I have a picture of my hair being washed years ago and the curl pattern is definitely defined when wet. All I can say is, good thing I;m going on this journey because now I can get to work reconstructing it. And as much as I love using heat for length, I have to use as minimal as possible...not only to get my curl pattern back, but to overall have healthy hair. I don't see this as much of a problem because I love twist outs on my hair. Also, I recently bought conair wave clips, I can't wait to try them out and write a review! I've read mixed reviews about them and noticed they work better for AA hair with the use of a setting lotion/gel. I got great results with my recent twist out, so I plan on using the same procedure when I style with the wave clips.


*~ Monica ~*