Product Junkiesm

Happy New Year! Yes the title contains a made up word. Wanna fight about it?! Lol The picture was of my hair product...collection/stash. I posted this on Instagram and some people were impressed by the organization of it (I'm a bit obsessive about things being organized), some people wanted to be my friend so they could try the products (moochers! Lol), many people wanted to know if I use all of the products (I have but I mostly stick to my staple products) but most people thought I had a problem...and I guess I kinda do. 

I am a product junkie and not stage 1 or 2, but a full-fledged junkie. I love shopping, finding deals and trying new products. It's rare to find samples of products (though not impossible if you look online), so I've found that it's just easier for me to buy them. Then if I find a couple of products that work for me, I just buy the entire line which is why you see so many Oyin Hamade and Shea Moisture products. I've given away a lot of products especially when I made the transition to products with all natural ingredients (except for a select few items like the Aphogee protein and keratin products). 

I also go through phases which my collection reflects. For a short period of time, I was a mixtress inspired by many a YouTube video, blog, or forum. I would make my own products and some came out great, others were disasters. Through this phase, I collected many butters, oils, powders, and other natural ingredients like ACV, EVOO, aloe Vera juice/gel, and the list goes on. Then I got tired of that, so I just started buying products instead of making them.

My collection tells a story similar to that of many other newly natural ladies (I'm not that new to being natural, but the point still remains), that it is a process to find what products work for your hair and lifestyle. And throughout your journey, what may have worked before, may not work as well or you may find something better. TI think I've found what works for me now after 5 years (I'll make another post about products and my regimen), but I know it'll change again, because I'll see some new product that I want to try or the products that work now may not work the same because they change the formula or my hair gets accustomed to it.  

So one of my resolutions for 2014 is to not buy ANY hair products. Zip. Zero, because I have plenty and it will force me to use what I have instead of buying more stuff. I did however make my yearly Oyin Black Friday purchase because of the discount to get a lot of my staples...and bought some (lots) is Shea moisture products on sale so I don't run out! Hey don't judge me, just the thought of running out of sometjing gives me palpitations lol. This is going to be my toughest challenge yet!

Sew-Ins No-Wins

I got my first sew-in almost two weeks ago and at first it hurt more than (what I believe) child birth does. And before you get it twisted, the braid (in a circle around my head...well more like a square...like you lol jk) was not tight. At. All. In fact, I felt no pain until she started to sew in the middle of the braids and do the closure. I was this close (holds thumb and index finger really close together) to telling ole girl to just stop, pay her her money and be out. I literally had to take some pills to get through the last part and I had trouble sleeping for the next two days. And I wouldn't consider myself a punk when it comes to pain, but for serious that ish hurt like no other. And this is coming from someone who has had almost every kind of braid known to man done on my hair, including crochet braids (and I distinctly remember one time some hiefer did the corn rows under instead of over...woo if you know what I'm talking about, I'm sorry, I feel your pain but, this hurt worse).

So after the pain subsided and I was liking how my hair looked, then the itching came. At first it was just slight, and it progressed to a full-fledged force all over my head. I tried oiling my scalp to no avail. So then I go to Google and type in "itchy sew-in." I got some information almost all of which stated not to get cheap hair, but I already did and got it installed, so what's next? I see something about aloe vera and tea tree oil, which I have in my natural hair arsenal, so I decide to try it.

I tried to apply some aloe vera with some tea tree oil in it. By now my hair is looking kinda fuzzy from all the manipulation and scratching (and did I mention the hair was cheap?), but so far nothing has worked. So I finally say F this and proceed to try to wash it with some tea tree soap (Dr. Bronner's) which was an experience in and of itself. the hair got heavy, It was difficult to get to my scalp (which to me is how a good sew-in should be, but what do I know), but I did the best I could.

So even after all this, my head is still itching and looks even fuzzier (more like it has been up for a month instead of just 1 week). And the itching is just to the point that I just want to shave all my hair off for some relief. And my scratching has caused little scabs, but it had to be done. I even woke up in the middle of the night to scratch my scalp (or rub it since I had my satin scarf on). I was to the point of taking the style completely out... after only a week which is unheard of for me with any hairstyle.

So after yet another search online for remedies on Tuesday, I found that a few people mentioned Witch Hazel, which I also have, so on my lunch break I went home, mixed some Witch Hazel, distilled water and a few drops of tea tree oil in an application bottle and voila the itching was almost all gone (ALMOST because I only applied it to areas that were itching at the time). When I went home for the day, I reapplied the witch hazel mix, then the aloe vera mix, then some oil on my scalp, which seemed to help alot.

So today is one day short of 2 weeks, and it will come down tonight!. My first sew in looks a fuzzy mess now, BUT at least when I get it done again (which I am willing to try at least once more since I have all this knowledge and my first time may have been a fluke), I know what to do.

A few tips, I've discovered from my online search:

-Use human hair (it causes less irritation than synthetic for most people because less chemicals are used)

-If you are not a baller (like me) and you MUST use synthetic hair, soak the hair in some vinegar and water and let air dry prior to installation to get rid of the chemicals used in the hair

-Make sure your scalp is clean and well-oiled prior to installation

- If your head starts to itch, do not scratch it (I know I know...do as I say not as I do:( ). I would try the witch hazel and water trick first since it actually worked immediately, then the aloe vera and tea tree oil if the witch hazel doesn't do the trick, and finally if neither of those work then wash and condition your scalp

General tips to keep in mind when you have protective styles with fake (meaning not grown by you) hair:

-Make sure your hair is clean prior to installation (should be a no-brainer)

-Wash at least bi-weekly to prevent build up and to have a healthy scalp (no one like a smelly weave...no one)

- Oil your scalp regularly

- The take away message here is to not neglect your hair, just because you have it done, beauty never rests

I didn't post the entire process like Lady C, but below are a couple of pictures of my hair before and after the itchiness.

After 2 days (done on Saturday night, this is the Monday after)

After 1 week (itchiness has begun and the fuzziness as well)

Final Day...it's coming down tonight! (it's fuzzy to death and the picture doesn't do it justice...or I'm just that nitpicky.

Natural Hair Boredom

You'll understand the pictures once you read the post. My feelings coincide more with the picture on the left though...

I don't know when it started or if it's just temporary, but I am bored, BORED out of my mind with my hair. I know natural hair is more versatile than relaxed hair, but I typically always do the same styles, first it was twist-outs, now braid-outs and I'm tired of them. I should also add that I'm pretty lazy as well, so I have not been keeping up with my hair regimen as I should. I even have spreadsheets with when to wash, oil, protein treat, etc to my hair on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis (Lady C has seen them). I also put these things on my calendar, so I get reminders of what to do when, but alas I just ignore them and do what I want when I feel like it (whatever whatever I do what I want!- Cartman of South Park).

The last time I was this bored with my hair was around the time all of black Hollywood was shaving off one (or both) sides of their hair and I wanted to do that. I decided on a Mohawk because at least that would be more even and I've seen naturals successfully pull it off. I didn't cut my hair (that's crazy talk!), but I had my sister cornrow the sides of my hair up and I did some twists on the middle part of my hair, untwisted it in the morning and pinned it up and voila a faux-hawk was born. I liked it...at first, but looking back at the pictures (which will NOT be posted EVER lol), I now see it was not the business AT ALL. I'm glad, I didn't go berserk and actually cut my hair (my sides grow slower as it is)! But I now have a permanent (well kinda) memory of that hairstyle that cannot just be forgotten...

During my last hair-boredom-phase, I was bombarded at work RIGHT after coming back from lunch for our i.d. photos. I looked at my coworker with the camera like she was crazy talking about a picture with NO warning or nothing. I almost left her there looking crazy until my supervisor assured me it was no joke and we HAD to take the picture. We hadn't had damn i.d.'s in the two years I worked there before and NOW they just HAD to take them? *Sideeye* I was pissed, and I got even more pissed when I got the i.d. with the picture on it. I wanted to cut the photographer and the other heifer who was there who didn't tell me my hair was straight jacked. Every time I see that picture (which will STAY hidden behind my work access card), I just smh because in addition to that style not being the business in general on me, it was windy outside that day (yes I remember, don't judge me!), so it looked WORSE than it normally looked, because some pieces were out of place. To give you a mental picture, I looked like a black version of Krusty the clown's sidekick with the damn bone, Mel, or Sideshow Bob's brother, Cecil (yes! this IS a Simpsons reference too GET OVER IT!).

So that's my last experience when I was bored with my hair and acted on it. I know there are ways to jazz your hair up with hair flowers, clips and color, but I want something more drastic! But I'm scared because of my last foray into something different (smdh...I just can't...). Le sigh, I guess I just need to get some braids or kinky twists until this phase passes, so I won't have another hair regret.

Has anyone else had a similar hair regret or story? Sharing is caring :)

REVIEW: Split Ender

Ok just a quick disclaimer, unlike my previous reviews, I have only used this product once, so I will probably do another review once I've used the product a few more times, to see if I REALLY like or dislike it. Also I have the pink one ONLY because they were out of the blue one which made me sad.

First off, I'm a little disappointed that the product runs on FOUR AA batteries!! REALLY?! It's a hair product NOT a toy! I would prefer that it have an internal rechargeable battery that you can charge, use, and recharge (as we see in cameras and some phones nowadays). Simple right? OR it could plug into an outlet like most other hair devices. But there are some perks to the lack of a plug or rechargeable battery, it makes the product great for travel (Look I'm TRYING to be more optimistic by finding the upside to things, so let's ignore reasons as to why someone would be in such dire need to take this product for TRAVEL when it is recommended for use every 4 to 6 weeks).

Also I'm a little disappointed that the product has to be used on straight hair, because I am trying to use little to no heat, but this particular product necessitates that my hair be straight. So I will only use this when I straighten my hair which will be no more than 4 times a year. Also the directions recommend use on product-free hair, but that is not negotiable seeing that I have to straighten my hair just to use the product, so I used product, but tried to not be so heavy-handed with it.

OK one last thing...THIS. THING. IS. LOUD.

But does it work?

It appears to. After applying TRESSemme Heat Protectant, I then used the Tangle Teezer (see review here) on each section as I was blow drying my hair. I followed up by applying Ion Heat protectant and going over each section with the Maxiglide (see review here). Finally, I went over each section 4 times with the Split-Ender, taking care to make sure the directional switch was pointing the right way.

After doing roughly half of my hair I saw lots of little pieces of hair in the chamber, and my hair appeared softer and looked awesome, but I don't know if I can attribute that to only the Split-Ender (I don't mean to beep my own horn, but BEEP BEEP...or it could have been the protein treatment, Maxiglide, my deep condition treatment...or just that I'm awesome lol).

Clean up with the Split-Ender was a little troublesome, because the little brush they provided did not get into all the nooks and crannies the way I would have liked (I still saw hair!). I wanted to rinse it off, but I didn't want to chance damaging the product, so it's still there. It's not BAD and most people wouldn't mind, but it bothers me.

Pictures of my hair are the same as for the Maxiglide, since I used the Split-Ender after using the Maxiglide, so I won't post the pictures again. I will do another in-depth review as I did with the Maxiglid and Tangle Teezer once I have used the product a few more times, and I will also post pictures as I go along like I did for the henna experience (see post here).

*Note: I was not paid in any way to give this review, though I would not be opposed to compensation ;) If you wanna pay me, who am I to refuse money for liking and writing about a product I like. Get at me! lol*

My First Henna

I’ve heard a lot of talk about henna over the years while scouring the Internet for information about natural hair (and getting ammunition for my product junkieism). Well, I finally took the plunge. I bought the henna from a website that seems to be recommended by everyone on the Internet, and I THOUGHT it was a good place to buy my mixtress supplies, which was fine until this last time. I won’t mention any names, but if you have looked on any natural hair vlog, blog, forum or website, I’m sure you heard of them. I guess customer service is secondary nowadays...but I digress. Back to the point of this entry, my first henna. I took lots of pictures this time which made the process that much longer...YOU’RE WELCOME!!! I kid, I kid, but seriously it was quite a task to do my hair, take pictures and not damage my camera. Hope you enjoy :)

I did my henna treatment per instructions by Curlynikki and Naturally Curly’s Evelyn’s video here (also featured on CurlyNikki). I did a combination of the 2 methods (mostly using CN’s method and adding a few things I saw in Evelyn’s video).

I used the following ingredients:
-100 grams of Jamila henna Summer 2010 crop
-3 green tea bags
-1 ½ cups of almost boiling water
-2 tablespoons of honey
-Oyin’s Honey Hemp Conditioner (I don’t have the exact measurement, I just squeezed some in)
-Shampoo
-Conditioner
-A shirt, you don't mind getting dirty
-A pair of disposable gloves


I poured the package of henna into a plastic bowl. Then I placed the tea bags and the water into a pourable measuring cup to steep for 5 minutes. I then slowly poured the tea into the henna, stirring as I went along to get a cake batter consistency. Next, I added the honey and conditioner, put the top on the bowl to sit while I washed and conditioned my hair. I washed my hair with a mix of Dr. Bronner’s baby mild liquid soap and Oyin’s Honeywash and conditioned with a cheapy conditioner (Suave Naturals Tropical coconut). I was so caught up in taking pictures of the hair that I didn’t photograph the steps prior, I’m getting better though as you will see below.

These first two pictures are after I shampooed and conditioned my hair. I have my hair in four sections each section plaited. The section, I'm about to apply the mixture to has been taken down.

I applied the henna to each section starting at the back forward. The pictures below are of my hair after the henna mixture has been applied to the back half of my head (craptacular angles are due to me having the wet henna gloves on).

The next pictures are of my hair completely covered with the henna. I used the entire mixture, so next time I'll be using a box and a half of the Jamila henna because my hair didn't look nearly as covered as I saw other people's.



Next I pulled all my hair to the top of my head (sorry no pictures of this, the sides kept falling as I tried to pick up the camera and needless to say, it's a GOOD thing I even finished taking pictures because it was pissing me off! Grr). Then I put on a plastic cap and a headband (don't I look like a black ninja or some ish lol)



I left the henna on my hair for 6 hours (I was thinking 4, but then I got lazy, but not lazy enough to leave it on longer as I didn't want my that much color if any to my hair)

Here are some pictures of my hair after taking off my ninja gear, before I wash the henna out

Next I filled the tub with water almost to the top and dunked my head a few times.
My Tub Before: And After:

It looked so gross, but the vast majority of the henna was in the tub, not in my hair, so I wasn't too bothered.

So now here's what my hair looked like after it was dunked in the tub but before I condition washed (co-washed) the remaining henna out of my hair. You can still see traces of henna, but it's not nearly as bad as it was before.


So I then jumped in the shower and co-washed my hair in sections twice and then applied my deep conditioning treatment (DC) which consisted of jojoba, hemp oil, coconut oil, Oyin's whipped pudding, and vitamin e oil, put on another ninja hat with cottonballs all around to keep the mess from dripping on my face and went to bed (no pictures of this either, it looked similar to the look above but with cotton balls underneath the cap on the part closest to my face). You get the idea.

I woke up and washed the deep conditioning treatment out and applied Oyin Honey Hemp Conditioner (HH) to each section. I then did a quick rinse with the plaits still in my head and then I was ready to style.


So the jury is still out as to whether or not I like henna. My hair did seem a little drier and the DC seemed to help, but it's still too soon to tell. I DO know it altered my texture at the top of my head which had these cute loose curls, and now it's just looks a frizzy mess. But my hair has different textures throughout, so wash-n-go's have always been a no-go unless I plan on looking like Boo-Boo the fool!

I braided up my hair for a braid out which will be another post later this week with more pictures.

Review: Maxiglide

*I found this picture by searching via google, because I did not see a picture of the particular package that I have*

Hello again, I have another review about a product that I've seen on infomercials for years and obsessed about for a while until I finally treated myself and shelled out almost $150 for a package similar to the one above except I also got the Velcro-like rollers. the product I am referring to is the Maxiglide (doesn't it sound like a feminine product lol). You can find out more about the product by going to the website here.

I've used the Maxiglide a total of 3 times in the last 7 months as I'm trying to minimize the frequency and amount of heat I put on my hair. My most recent attempt was the best thus far due to trial and error on the 2 previous tries.

For my first attempt, I let my hair air-dry with little stretching and used the maxi-glide on setting 6 or 7 and a heat protectant because I was terrified of heat damage. Well the result was a hot poofy mess. It was more stretched out, but I did not have the results I desired (the relaxed look) that I saw from other naturals, so I mostly just wore a bun until I washed it. (Sorry no picture :( )

My second attempt was better, I used a setting of 7-8 after some blow-drying with cool air and it looked kinda good. Thick and kinda puffy, then I took a steaming how shower (that is some hard work and I was tired)...I know! My BAD! SMH So again a puffy frizzy mess; my little shower cap did nothing! So again I wore a bun until I washed my hair again.

This first picture is comparing the side I've used the Maxiglide on to the side that I just blowdryed.

The final product of my hair on my second attempt. Excuse the crappiness of the pictures, as I used my old camera phone :(

My latest attempt came out great. AWESOME! I used the TRESemme Heat Protectant while blow-drying and simultaneously stretching the hair by combing throught the hair with the Tangle Teezer (see my review here). I then used ION Heat Protectant before using the Maxiglide (setting 8) on small sections of my hair then finished each section with the Split-Ender (review to come shortly). This process took a WHILE (READ: HOURS!!), but the results were AMAZING! I made sure not to make the same mistakes as before, so no steaming hot shower immediately after. I rocked my hair in a number of styles including down (not too much though), in a cheerleader pony tail or bun, depending on the weather and my mood.

*Two views of my most recent Maxiglide attempt. My hair looked flatter and had more of a "relaxed look," after wrapping it every night as compared to the prior attempt. I kept it up for 2 weeks, and just washed it out.*

So I do like the Maxiglide (it works), but in order to get that relaxed look, I have to use a pretty high setting (8 out of 10!) and blow dry before using the Maxiglide which is A LOT of heat. Thank goodness, I only straighten my hair to do length checks and trim damaged ends (as far as I know, the split ender can only be used on straight hair, correct me if I'm wrong!).This may not be the case for all hair types, but for more tightly coiled naturals this amount of heat might be necessary. I'm still working to perfect my straightening method making small alterations like lower the setting from 8 to 7, to see how things turn out next time.

Regarding heat damage, I have not experienced it, but it still kinda freaks me out, so I apply heat I use (probably overuse) heat protectant, do a deep condition and protein treatment before applying heat, and this last time I deep conditioned, used porosity control shampoo and conditioner AND Aphogee Keratin Reconstructer when I washed my hair.

*Note: I was not paid in any way to give this review, though I would not be opposed to compensation ;) If you wanna pay me, who am I to refuse money for liking and writing about a product I like. Get at me! lol*