My New Crew: My New Hair Routine

Check out close-ups of my new hair products, lol....

I seriously have never been so excited to get hair products in my life. Why was I so freaking happy? Because I did research. The best thing about the internet and blogs in particular is that it allows people to connect and get advice from other people- just like them. I web-surfed my bum off the other day figuring out what products to get, what to make my routine. I checked out many blogs and forums and I looked at peoples before and after pictures- I respected/reverenced more the girls who had broken short hair before and long thick full "you must got some indian in you" hair afterwards. And I also kept in mind which products and brands have worked best for me in the past (patene and mizani).

I had my list, yes list and headed to my favorite beauty supply store- the one where the asian owners are nice and have smartly hired amiable black women as staff (there's two chicks, they give advice and have tried alot of the products - weaves and all). Anyway so I go there pick up some things, then I go to another- the really big one that was like product heaven for someone on a mission to find particular products. I that one I found the main ones I was looking for, like the Elasta QPR. Oh, and I stopped at Walgreen in between to pick one product as well (the Neutrogena Triple Moisture).

And this is what I came home with (minus the Patene and Mizani- I already had those). I spent about $40 bucks, but it was cool- I was more than happy to.

1. Shampoo- Creme of Nature Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo
They say shampoo strips our hair (people of color) from its much needed moisture, so a moisturizing shampoo is a MUST, some people don't even use shampoos, instead they use a cheap conditioner as their shampoo (like Suave). I think I had planned on getting the detangling shampoo, but just ended up with this one instead.

2. Conditioner- AtOne Reconstructer Conditioner

3. Deep Conditioner- Elasta QP DPR-11 Deep Penetrating Reconstructor
Everyone swears by this stuff, so I HAD to get it--- it works so WELL, my hair was left SO soft after using it.

4. Deep Conditioner- Creme of Nature Nurturing and Strengthening Treatment
This came free with the Creme of Nature shampoo, yes that BIG jar came free, so it was a fluke that I purchased, but I later found out that one of the girl bloggers with great hair uses it, she actually replaced the Elasta DPR with this one....

5. Deep Conditioner- Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural Deep Conditioning Mask
I just so happened to see this when I was contemplating on whether or not to by more patene pro-v. It was so pretty-looking (the jar was) and most of them were gone, so went 'what the heck' and picked it up.

6. Leave-In Conditioner- Elasta QP Leave-In H2

7. Leave-In Conditioner- Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk-Touch Leave-In Creme

8. Oil- Kemi Oyl

This one chick on a hair forum, with a bunch of pictures of her hair says this is the one oil she couldn't leave without. So I decided to buy it... first I couldn't find it, but it ended up being on the check-out counter.... 3 bucks for a tiny bottle of oil, its a bit pricey, but I've used it on my hair the past two days and it seems (only seems) to help my hair grow a bit and it keeps the hair nicely quenched.

My Shampoos and Conditioners:

My Deep Conditioners and Leave-Ins:

UPDATE: I am no longer using creme of nature. It is still a good product, but patene pro-v and mizani have the best shampoos. Also, shampoos are not that good for colored-american (black) hair, so its best to use a really good moisturizing shampoo when you do decide to shampoo.

On My Radar: Products to Use- Elasta QP DPR-11 & Neutrogena Triple Moisture

I just happened to be perusing through some youtube hair videos today and I've been inspired. I'm not sure if "inspired" is the word (somewhat dramatic), but you get my drift. This one chicks video and hair journey is great, I suggest all to check it out.

Then from hers I checked out others, then kept going and ended up googling certain products and etc etc... I just really wanted to organize my thoughts and what I have been finding so I decided to write a post. Here I go:


1. Elasta QP DPR-11
The women go wild- they worship it. Its supposedly a deep conditioner that many women swear by... it keeps the hair ultra moisturized, tangle free, etc etc. I decided I'm adding it to my hair routine... I heard its like $5- so I plan to go to JCPennys salon or the local beauty supply store and buy it tomorrow

2. Neutrogena Triple Moisture
This is an entire line of products and it seems most people have atleast one product from the line that they like

Okay, I think that's it for now... I'm about to wash my hair using Patene Pro-V and I'm going to deep condition or treat my hair with a new product I recently obtained: Roots of Nature Shea Butter Green Tea Reconstructing Deep Treatment... I'll tell you more about it later.

Hair Creams to Create Curls, From Kinky to Curly within Minutes: Miss Jessie's Hair Cream and Kinky-Curly

I've always indirectly searched for a cream to make my hair curly... you know more curly. Why? You may ask, well two main reasons:

1. sometimes I just feel like having really easy immediately cute hairstyle that I pretty much have to do NOTHING to- you know just get up and go. Braids are cool, but sometimes I want something a bit looser and I feel if I could make my hair very curly I could have this look.

2. because I've wanted to try the sorta curly weave and I want it to blend in perfectly. So I figure it wold blend best if I made my hair the same texture as the weave naturally instead of curling it every morning

I don't know how well this product works, perse, but many many women SWEAR by it--- Miss Jessie's Original Hair Cream. She has an array of products that seem to almost instantly make your hair curly... the only problem is, is that I don't know how well it works on permed hair. But it works WONDERS on natural hair.... I personally feel EVERY girl with natural hair should go into one of Miss Jessies locations and get her treatment. It seems to make the hair grow while looking fabuously healthy and beautiful.

Check out some of these before/after pictures. After seeing them I'm a little upset I permed my natural hair... longstory short I wore weave for about 2 years and wore my hair natural underneath... it grew sooooo much, "my afro" was huge- when pulled straight my hair was about mid back. Though my hair prefers a natural state I permed it because it was too much to deal with, buuuut I really sorta regret it after seeing these pictures....







It looks like her hair grew 5 inches huh? Its amazing.


This is about how my hair looked after I took my weave out (after abotu two years of wearing it... I would wear it for about 2 months, take it out, get cornrolls for about a week or so, then put it back in) My hair thrives in its natural state, but it was too much for me to deal with, so I had to perm it, but I wouldn't have if I would have known about this product.

This has to be one of the best "before after"

She has hair like Oprah :-)

Is it just me or does it really feel like someone is playing a trick on us? Lol, no but seriously, thats EXACTLY how I feel after viewing this. I keep thinking--- this can't really be real. Check out the gallery of transitions of women undergoing the curly process here. And the women above are before/after, check them out here.

I absolutely adore the packaging. Classic and timeless.

And I love Miss Jessie's FAQs page, I've been reading it for the past few minutes and was tickled when I got to this:

"ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THOSE 'NATURAL' BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS ARE REAL. ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT USING SILKENERS™ ON EVERYONE TO ACHIEVE THOSE CURLY LOOKS?

YES WE'RE SURE. WE ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE CURL VIA CHEMICAL OR NON CHEMICAL METHODS. PLEASE GO ON THE BEFORE AND AFTER PAGE. THERE ARE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SERVICES THAT INDIVIDUAL RECEIVED.

I'VE BEEN ON YOUR BEFORE AND AFTER PAGE. ARE THOSE CURLY AFTER PICTURES WEAVES?

NO. WE DO VERY LITTLE WEAVE WORK."

Talk about taking the words or the question rather, right out of my mouth, lol! I was thinking some of these pictures MUST be weave. Let me just go on the record saying "I love you Miss Jessie, and I can't wait until your products make it to salons and chinese-owned beauty supply stores everywhere".

To PURCHASE these Miss Jessie's products visit the online store OR simply visit a retailer near you. Oh and if you do purchase pleeeeeeeeeease come back and tell me how you liked it.



Now I've heard from people like Miss Afrobella that Miss Jessie's products are just too much (too expensive)... I can understand. So another equally as great, but less expensive product is Kinky-Curly. I sort of see these two as rivals, I haven't used either of them, but I want to! Purchase Kinky-Curly here. This line has supposedly been used by The Real Housewives of Atlanta-- which is pretty cool. I sent them a message on their myspace asking which product is best for permed/straight/relaxed hair, so we'll see what type of response I get.

Hair Product for Weaves: SoftSheen Carson Professional Weave Care Detangler.

Nowadays, alot of women wear weaves... all types (every ethnicity), but TOO many women don't take proper care of their weave. Well, slowly but surely many of the top hair care companies are creating products exclusively for weaves.

One in product that I've been hearing about, SoftSheen Carson Professional Weave Care Detangler. It supposedly works well.... and any weave-wearing gal knows how easy it can get tangled, especially after the first week and a half. I suggest trying this and reporting back.

After a small search I found their website and Softsheen actually has an entire line of products, check it out here. I can't wait til Mizani creates a line!

Best Products for Natural Hair: Biosilk and Carol's Daughter

From what I hear, these are some of the best products for natural hair... especially for those newly relaxed to natural ladies.



1. Biosilk Hydrating Shampoo and Silk Therapy

2. Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Oil and Khoret Amen Hair Smoothie

via essence.com

Bye-Bye Stretch Marks: Tips on How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks Forever, Tips on How to Get Smooth Skin

They annoy us... they come they go... we prefer them to stay way--- S T R E T C H M A R K S. Many women have struggled with them since the age of 12, others after they gained the freshmen 15, others after giving birth. And guys struggle with them as well... when they finally gain the extra pounds to form those sexy muscles or when they trim down to get cut.

Well, Let's cut the small talk and get down to the nitty gritty... how to get rid of stretch marks.


1. The number 1 way to get rid of stretch marks? I don't think you're going to want to hear this, but... Eat healthy (lots of fruits and veggies), exercise almost daily, and drink lots of water. For most women struggling with stretch marks its because you are fluctuating too much in weight-- up and down and up and down (that's the story of my life)... if you adapt a healthy lifestyle (not a diet) then you are waaaay less likely to have stretch marks. Your body loves and need stability, all the yo-yo dieting and sweet binges are not what's up... yessss, we're emotional creatures and we tend to binge when we aren't doing too well with the beau or if we're stressed, but you MUST fight it as much as possible :-) Instead of opting for a dairy queen blizzard get a smoothie king smoothie.

Okay and so now, what you want to hear... the products.

2. Typical answer yet usually reliable- cocoa butter... I personally feel like cocoa butter doesn't RID stretch marks, but it PREVENTS them. With daily use you shouldn't have any new stretch marks and the others will get alot smoother and some will fade. If you're going to use cocoa butter, I feel like you should adapt my "cocoa-butter duo" treatment. You purchase cocoa butter oil and cocoa butter in a jar. After washing your body in the shower rub cocoa butter oil all over your body, then gently rinse it off. After getting out of the shower dab yourself dry with the towel and apply cocoa butter onto your body, particularly rubbing it into areas with stretch marks. This certainly will help your skin to become more one-toned, soft, and smooth. If you're really good you'll do what I did back in the day: I used cocoa butter soap, oil, lotion/creme, and serum to boot... again it didn't per se rid my stretch marks, but it made them and all my skin very smooth and more even-toned. (Some people say the natural cocoa butter works best, but be careful because its not as easy to use, you'll have to heat it to apply it).


3. Two words: BIO OIL... I haven't personally used it, but I have heard ALOT about this oil. and out of all the at-home products and treatments this seems to be the best. Women and men say that with daily use they have seen obvious changes, some women say they've seen it work over night... (I'm not sure if these women are black though)... Soooo, long story short I'm going to order some today and I'll use it and I'll report back. The best thing about Bio Oil is that it can be found almost anywhere- walmart, walgreens, ebay, amazon. I just praaaay it works because I have a few stretch marks on the back of my leg (behind my knee) that I MUST rid asap.




4. Natural ingredients. Some people say the only way their stretch marks go away is with natural ingredients... check out this routine a woman swear's by:

"Everyday I shower, and use an exfoliant on my marks. This exfoliant is very gentle and takes away any dead skin cells. It is made out of:

-Plain Oatmeal

-Honey

-Pure Ginger Root (ground into a paste)

(Keep in the fridge)

Then I will put 100% Vitamin E oil, with 40,000 IUS.

After it is rubbed in completely, put 100% Coco Butter on the marks.

At night, repeat the steps but this time with the Vitamin E oil, rub it in and put a thin towel over the marks. Then get a hot water bottle, or heating pad and put it over the marks for 10 min or so. This penetrates the oil deeper into the skin.

I also drink 2 L of water a day, and have a very healthy diet, with lots of exercise. I also found that tanning, only naturally, helps the marks..because we receive vitamins from sunlight"

Her routine sounds pretty solid, huh? I say if you have a routine that hasn't been working- try this... its 100% natural so you won't hurt your skin.



5. Jojoba Oil. Many people haven't heard of this one, but they say its one of the best- certainly better than cocoa butter. Jojoba oil is rich in Essential Fatty Acids will help to repair and regenerate your new skin cells. It's 100% natural and non-allergic.


6. Skin peel, laser treatment, and/or cosmetic surgery. If you have the funds, I say cut the bullsh*t, lol, and just go get them removed- that's what all the stars do... you know our beloved Beyonce or J.Lo has stretch marks, but they pay to get them removed. Matter of fact, I think I remember Beyonce or one of her assistants talking about it a few years ago... Anyway, the fact of the matter is, the treatments are often expensive but you can save up for it, do research on the best doctors in your area who specialize in removing stretch marks on women of color (specifically black women) and make an appointment. After your stretch marks are removed you can now work to prevent them, with the oils and treatments above. I say if you can splurge on a brand-new coach bag with matching boots or on a new plasma screen, why not on a treatment that is likely to boost your self-esteem or atleast give you some extra confidence. (But don't hastily get one of these treatments, consult your doctor, and do alot of research and thinking).

__________________________________________________

Stretch marks are on most people- thick, thin, short, tall, fat, skinny, old, young, black, white, female, male... don't feel alone. Women, believe it or not but most men surprisingly don't even care, they'll still think you're sexy... and men if you have bulging biceps who cares about a few stretch marks... but if you want to treat them, the above methods will work.

Stretch mark cremes? Yeah, these usually don't work and if they do it's usually for new stretch marks, not for old one's that you've had for a year or longer. Generally speaking do NOT waste your money on these cremes, unless you have extra money to spend and you have new stretch marks and you have fair skin.

How long will this take me? Be patient! Give yourself a month... stop your complaining, time flies. If you've been living with stretch make for years, whats a few weeks to see progress and a few months to see them vanish away.

Get in a routine, oil your skin and massage the oil into your stretch marks TWICE a day for atleast 4 weeks... drink lots of water, eat healthier portions, more green veggies, more juicy fruits, and lean proteins... exercise daily (atleast jog in place for 5 minutes, do a 25 situps, a few lunges/squats, and 5 push-ups), lol... stay positive and you'll see perfection.

FEEL FREE TO GIVE YOUR STRETCH MARK REMOVAL ADVICE BELOW.

List of the Best Products for African American Hair

My sisters and I have used a lot of different products over the years, we've had a few different hair beauticians and they were all good at what they did. I also have a whole host of friends who have great hair and they use great products (not that this matterspersay, but they come from well to do families and are able to spend alot getting their hair done every week or 2).So with my experience I feel like I am accurately able to name the best products for women of color:

This list is in NO particular order. The best product for you totally depends on your hair type. After I name the best, then I 'll give you my general preferences and recommendations.

1. Mizani

2. Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural

3. Nairobi

4. KeraCare

5. Dr. Miracles

6. Organic Root Stimulator

7. Design Essentials

9. Essations

10. Jane Carter Solutions

11. Elasta QP

12. Nexus


Others: Straight Request (Silky Milk), Redken, Designer Touch, Dudley's, Bronner Brothers, Nioxin

If you check with any great hairstylist, they will agree that these are the best mainstream hair products hands down.

My personal recommendation is to use the products that are infused with more natural minerals oppose to the products that are chemical heavy--- but again it just depends on your hair.

For example, I swear by Mizani because it had truly nurtured my hair, but my sister and aunt use Keracare. I personally don't recommend Keracare as a whole because it had done more damage to my hair than good... but that's just because alot of their products are just so strong. There perm is too strong and the fact that they have shampoos and conditioners that are the color blue makes me realize that I should have never used them (in retrospect). Because a light blue opaque shampoo is completely unnatural... its reminiscent of a perscription shampoo and I beleive should only be used if you have severely dry and itchy scalp. But with that said Keracare does have great products- their glossifier and leave-in conditioner are really good!

I also believe every woman of color should implement Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural into their hair maintenance routines. Though seemingly too mainstream and perhaps not as high-end, Patene Pro-V is one of the best haircare systems for every woman (white, black, or and mix) and almost every celebrity hair stylist will recommend patene as an alternative to their self-named brands... it really is that good.

Nairobi is a product that I have not personally used, but want to. Why, you may ask.... well because during college every once in a while I would meet a woman whose hair was just so pretty and healthy looking and black that I would have to ask them what they use... and Nairobi was always the answer. So I feel like they have a good product- I've seen and touched the hair of Nairobi product users and I'll have to give them two thumbs up.

At a certain point during high school, I was adamant about my hair growing. So I stopped using gels, spritz, and alot of heat and I began to wrap my hair each night and nurture it. During my "nurturing" I would lightly "grease" my hair each night with my product of choice- at first Keracare, but I felt the clear Glossifier was lacking nutrients and the clearish pink Dry and Itchy Scalp moisturizer was too strong. Then I began to use Mizani's Rose H20 in conjunction with their Overnight Treatment- this worked well. But I felt like my hair became the most thick and was the strongest when I used Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil in conjunction with the Mizani products every now and again.

The Dr. Miracles commercials are funny and entertaining, but in my opinion that made the brand seem like a gimmik... I never desired to use it because I simply didn't belive the hype. But, my mother proved me wrong. She cut her hair to right below her ears (mid-neck) and a few months later her hair was to her back... her secret- using Dr. Miracles Stimulating Moisterizing Gro Oil every or every other night (and tying her hair with a silk scarf). Now the Gro Oil does have a strong smell and it's very liquidy, so not all people may be moved to use it.... but it works. I use it every time I get cornrolls and it keeps my edges straight and my hair looking and feeling healthy. Because this is an oil, if you are wearing your hair straight you should NOT saturate your scalp with it, just very lightly dab a little on parts of your scalp and edges (only do this a few times a week).

Each of us have our own experiences with hair products, feel free to share yours- and be as specific as you can:-) What are your top hair care products and why?