Product Review: Aussie Split End Protector

So I've been using this product for a few months and it is my new love(: I first bought it because the old HE LTR formula had changed again and my hair did NOT agree with it and I heard that Aussie was basically the old LTR. Other than the smell I completely agree! Another plus of this product is my hair likes it on wet hair as well! The old LTR wasn't good on my wet hair and I only used it to moisturize, it's nice to know that I can use my Aussie as a leave in and moisturizer, but I mainly use it as my moisturizer at night. It doesn't leave my hair sticky and makes it feel smooth soft and juicy! The smell is light and kind of coconuty. My only issue with this product is the bottle is a little on the small size but the price is nice so it's not a huge deal. Also when the product is running down, the pump doesn't work as well anymore but neither of these issues are anything to cry over. Overall I completely recommend this product!!

Pros: smell, consistency, available everywhere, old LTR formula, works on wet and dry hair

Cons: small container, pump doesn't work when product gets low

Repurchase?: YES!!!!

Free Samples From Miss Jessie's!

So I decided to get in on this 3 free sample thing from Miss Jessie's because may as well take advantage right? I'll update this post as I try each product. What I received was the:

• Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue
• Miss Jessie's Curly Butter Creme
• Miss Jessie's Creme de la Creme Conditioner

Let it also be noted, that I am relaxed but I think my hair is more texlaxed as opposed to being bone straight. When my hair is wet it has a wave to it that I've never seen back when I went to the salon and my hair was being relaxed bone straight. That's why I figured these products would probably be okay for my to use since I still have a little of a natural wave to my hair. We will see how things go!

May I Have Had A Succesful Cowash?

So last night I got finished with my workout and didn't want to wash my hair. So I decided that I'd "cowash" with my Aussie conditioner I thought I hated and thought messed my hair up just to use it up. When I wet my hair and put some of the conditioner in my hair, my hair MELTED instantly! My hair has never done that, not even with my staple deep conditioner! So I left it on my hair for about 3 minutes and when I washed it out and detangled, there were almost no tangles (and I hadn't detangled my hair since the day before) I was very pleased. Then I decided to use my Aussie Split End Protector as my leave in since I had only used it on dry hair. I sealed that with my trustee grapeseed oil, combed my hair into a damp pony, put a roller on the end and went to sleep! The next day (today) my hair feels softer than when I wash, DC for an hour, and airydry in a damp ponytail. I am so pleased with my results! I was about to chuck my Aussie Moist but I've found a great use for it, and I now know my Aussie Split End Protector can be used as a leave-in for wet hair. I will probably try this out a few more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke and update this post but for now I'm sold!

HairVlog: When Oils Go BAD!

 

So like any product, oils also can go bad. This has happened to me a few times in my hair journey. My most recent oil loss was my avocado oil. What I noticed about this oil was when I sealed with it, it wasn't making my hair as soft as it use to. I thought this was just a fluke and that my hair was just being dumb. But then I sniffed it to make sure it still smelled light and fresh, NOPE, it now spelled rank and old and expired! I chucked it in the trash and kept it moving! Now the reason I threw this bottle away was because it was a small bottle and it didn't really matter to me, but when my big bottles of castor and grapeseed oil went bad a few months ago, I used that up! I'd mix those oils in my lotion or just put it on my body as a lotion. Sometimes I'd put these expired oil on top of my prepoo concoction to kind of help "seal" in the conditioner and had no adverse affects. When my castor oil went bad I didn't realize til a month later when my scalp would start stinking right after I would oil it (right after a fresh wash). And when I'd start washing my hair, it would smell like rank oil! After I got rid of my castor oil my hair was back to normal. So ladies, make sure your oils are fresh and don't smell rank but when they do go bad you can use them for other things, don't waste anything!!

HairVlog: Grapeseed Oil!

Wow so grapeseed oil must have been one of the first oils I purchased on my hair journey. Back in the beginning I didn't really know what I was doing or what my hair liked. Anyways I finished my first big bottle and bought another one but I had bought other oils so I kind of forgot about my grapeseed oil. Well my avocado oil recently went bad so I decided to go back to my grapeseed oil and seal with it. The next day my hair felt so incredibly nice and soft1 I had completely forgotten how wonderful my hair feels when I use this oil. I guess that old saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" is really true. It's okay to venture away from staple products but remember what products always make your hair feel healthy and juicy!

HairVlog: Cowashing

Cowashing, what is it? Cowashing is when a conditioner is used as a shampoo, instead of using the harsh shampoo, a conditioner is used to cleanse the scalp and bring moisture into the hair. A lot of ladies have cowashing in their hair regimen but I am not one of them! I tried cowashing a number of times with different techniques and products. I tried it by:

• Using the conditioner as a shampoo, massaging it into my scalp, washing out and repeating then going on to styling
• Same as above but only "lathering" once and proceeding on to styling
• Prepooing with a conditioner then simply washing it out, detangling my hair, and proceed to styling

Everytime I cowashed my hair it would come out feeling weighed down and not clean at all. I think the main reason cowashing isn't for me, is because when I wash my hair, it needs to get CLEAN and the conditioner doesn't cut it for me. Even though my experience with cowashing isn't a very good one, many other ladies do it and love it, so definitely give it a try to see how your hair likes it!

HairVlog: Wet Bunning This Summer!

So this summer I have been really lazy with my hair, but not in a bad way. Normally when I wash my hair I rollerset it then I'm on my way. This summer I've put rollers in my head about two times! It got super hot and I couldn't do my hair in that heat so I threw it in a ponytail and secured my ponytail in a roller to give my ends a bump and let it air dry. I don't know what I'm doing different this summer but my hair is so manageable and soft after I dry my hair like this. Last summer when I'd do this my hair would dry but it would be matted together, not fun. Recently what I've found myself doing nightly is wetting my hair a bit, moisturizing and sealing my hair, then applying my Fantasia IC gel to the front half on my hair, bunning it, and going to sleep! In the morning my edges are nice and flat and though my hair is a bit crunchy, by the next night my hair is easily combed. I haven't seen any adverse effects to doing this, I also oil my scalp nightly and my edges to keep them soft. Overall I love wet bunning and am happy to welcome it into my summer hair reggy!

HairVlog: ACV Rinses

So I realized last year I think I have slightly porous hair. So I decided to finally invest in some ACV and did a rinse my last wash. I washed my hair, applied the rinse, then went on to DC. Overall my hair dried a bit softer than it normally would and although it frizzed up at first, the next day my hair looked as if I had done a rollerset! I will try more rinses until I finish off the bottle then do a full review. But for right now I have no complaints about ACV rinses.

 

After using the ACV in my hair, I read in a few places it also aides in weight loss so I may also try it for that at a later date!

Proclaim Hair Masque Review(s)!

So today was my wash day and I decided to clarify and try my new Proclaim Hair Masque. Putting the product in, it instantly detangled my tangled hair which was very nice. The smell was a little odd but I didn't hate it. The consistency is pretty thick but glides into wet hair very nicely. I let it sit in my hair for 15-20 minutes then washed it out. When it came to detangling my hair was just a tiny bit more tangly than normal but no biggie, I did just clarify my hair after all. But my hair felt dry in the shower. After I applied my leave ins my hair still felt just a bit dry. Normally I rollerset but it's too hot so I just airdried in a ponytail. When my hair was drying it felt kinda soft except for some spots. When I wake up tomorrow morning I'll finish the first time use review!

Day After: 
Well when got up in the morning my hair felt better and now that I'm 2 days post wash, I can say my hair feels pretty good! Normally when I dry in a ponytail, my hair is kinda hard the rest of the time but my hair hasn't been like that this time. I think I didn't give the masque a fair review because my hair is prone to conditioner shock (may do a post about that later) and I had clarified leaving my hair more dry than normal. I will definitely use up the rest of my sample packet and tell you guys the final results!

Conclusion:
So I used this product about twice and I don't really want to anymore. It had a very interesting smell that some may like and others may despise, for me it was just in the middle. Did my hair feel more moisturized when I used this product? Not really, if anything it felt less soft than what my hair normally feels like after I DC with my normal conditioner. That being said I did only use it twice so I can't really give a fair review but for me it isn't worth using again so I'll just toss the sample pack and keep it moving! I say try the sample though what may not work for me may be your new staple product, always remember that! 

HairVlog: Dandruff!

 

Is it snowing in here? Lord only knows back in the day before my healthy hair journey I had out of control dandruff! Now it didn't look like it was snowing or anything but it was pretty bad. I think some of the main reasons my dandruff was so bad was because I would be using grease on my scalp, more than likely using sulfate shampoos, and only getting my hair washed every 2 weeks. Not only would greasing my scalp weigh my hair down, but it wouldn't really make my scalp feel good. I really think it was one of the things that helped to attract dust and dirt to my hair. With my hair, I need to have it washed roughly ever 5 days, unfortunately my hair was getting washed only every 2 weeks back in the day. My hair would be weighed down, maybe smelling a little funky and just be gross by the end of week 1! Even today I sometimes still have a little dandruff on my edges so I obviously haven't completely fixed the problem but it's night and day comparing my hair now and then! But now since I've been oiling my scalp, washing every week, and just caring for my hair more, my dandruff problem has decreased by at least 90%!

HairVlog: How I Gained Thickness In My Hair

So looking back on childhood pictures, my hair was pretty thick as a kid! But as I grew older and started getting relaxers (around 5th grade) my hair started getting thinner and thinner each year. Along with the relaxers every 6-8 weeks, I was also using the blow dryer and flat iron every 2 weeks when my hair got washed. To make it even worse I wasn't moisturizing and sealing at all! Ever since I've started college, about 2 years ago, my hair has slowly but surely been turning around for the better. These are a few things that I've started doing to help my hair become thicker and healthier:

• Stretching my relaxers for at least 8 weeks (most of the time I shoot for 10 weeks minimum). The most I've ever stretched is 16 weeks.
• Deep condition as much as possible! Being in college my first two years I couldn't really DC because it was too much shower hopping. So I'd only DC when I came home and washed my hair which was roughly once every 2 months.
• Dusting monthly. I'm doing this mainly to get rid of my old, thin, overprocessed ends gradually instead of cutting them all off at once. This also lessens the amount my stylist has to trim when I actually get trims.
• Texlaxing. I wouldn't consider myself officially texlaxed but my hair has curls and texture when it's wet now and it never use to have that back in the day. Anyways this helps with my thickness because my hair is no longer bone straight relaxed.
• NO HEAT! Now I only use heat every few months and this direct heat is my flat iron. I make sure when I use it to use a heat protector. I no longer blow dry my hair because every time I do it makes my hair feel like straw.
• Castor oil. I swear I have to thank this oil for my newly found thickness! I oil my scalp 1-2x a week with this oil and my roots have become thick luscious healthy and just juicy!(:
• Moisturizing and sealing nightly. I'm not sure if this really helps with the thickness of my hair, but it definitely helps with the health of my hair.
• Protective styling. I do more twists and pinups with my hair and this helps to preserve my ends, resulting in less dusting and less trimming!

Bought Me a New Product!

 

I was in Sally's today because I needed an applicator bottle but I decided to look all around the store since I hadn't been in there awhile. Anyways I got to the Proclaim section and saw the hair masque and remembered seeing a few reviews of how good this product worked. Being a product junkie I picked up the small sample size of this. I'm pretty excited to try this out my next wash! 

Bantu Knots!

So I decided to try the bantu knots but this time with a twist, literally! Anyways I did two strand twists then did the bantu knots. I also added some of my Fantasia IC gel to my. When I took it down I fell in love instantly! My mommy was like "Why don't you just go natural?" She really liked it too. It lasted all day long and by time night came it had fallen but some parts were still pretty curly. I retwisted the twists last night but forgot the gel and this morning they came out OK but I wasn't really trying. I've decided that when I do this hairstyle again I have to do the two strand twists and make sure I have gel in my hair. I really loved the curly look on my hair though here's a picture of the texture:

Sorry it's not the best picture but you get the idea(: I didn't expect it to come out so good! Anyways a full complete list of all the product I used are:

-Aussie Split End Protector

-Spectrum Coconut Oil (Refined)

-Fantasia IC Styling Gel

I'll definitely be perfecting this style over the summer so I can do it at school!

Product Review - Elasta QP Silk Thermal Designing Liquid

 

One of my favorite leave in's, Elasta QP Silk Thermal Designing Liquid! I mainly do rollersets in my hair and I have 3 main leave ins and without this one, my hair would never come out as nice as it does. This product leaves my hair with a nice shine, but also an awesome hold. I find that when I don't put too much of this in my hair, my hair comes out "fluffier" and more easily prone to frizz which isn't good. I tend to put more than I should of this product in my hair just to make sure it's fully covered. This product gives my hair a solid hold from my rollersets, but leaves the hair manageable, and holds the curl a LOT longer than normal which I love. The smell is light and doesn't really linger. What I do is shake up the bottle a little and spray 5-6 squirts in my hands and spread it through my hair then take 2-4 more squirts and concentrate on my ends. I love my Design Silk and it's a staple leave in for me, my hair would be nothing without it! I find mine at my local Sally's and I don't really see it elsewhere. It's about 2-4$ I think which is a decent price because it lasts for awhile. Now this says it's a heat protector but I've never used it for that purpose, only rollersets. 

Pros: price, hold, scent, shine

Cons: availability, not sure about heat protector

Repurchase?:  Yes!