Been a while since I reviewed a product. As a somewhat reformed product junkie, I don’t any more — not at first, second, or even eighth use. After almost 5 years as a natural curly and literally hundreds of products used, it takes a lot to impress me these days. Just Great Curls from Delineation Hair & Skin Essentials is doing it for me. I got a free bottle as thanks from an editorial contact, loved it at first use, said “okay” and continued to use.
Are you are a woman of a certain age who is thinking about going gray and going natural? Check out these helpful tips in my article:
Cala Renee Salon hosted Lorraine Massey, founder and co-owner of Devacurl in a talk, demo and book signing today. Lorraine appeared at only 2 Massachusetts locations, Cala Renee in Beverly, MA and Brookline Booksmith. Lucky us! She is funny, modest, gave some great tips — and check out the tights and shoes! I got 2 Curly Girl books autographed, one for me and one for one lucky winner of my upcoming giveaway; so stay tuned!
During her informal Q&A I asked her – “what did you do to your hair today?” Her answer surprised me a bit. She washed and styled the night before with her gel, and diffused. She said she left the gel “cast” on (that hard crusty feel) and slept with her hair spread back on the pillow. This morning she let it soften in the shower and scrunched out the crunch. She doesn’t use a shower cap but doesn’t let it get wet-wet; just a bit of spray. So check out her 2nd day hair. She also said she can go 3-4 days by just refreshing curls piece by piece with Devacurl One Condition and water or a mix of Mist-er Right. She doesn’t do every curl, just the ones that need it. This method is almost exactly what I do with Loma Imply and Qhemet Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm. Sweet!
Quick pony/pineapple with twisted & pinned front hair - I'm trying this for sleeping
I'm 5'8 and Lorraine in high heels must be 5'4"
Love the tights and shoes!
Devacurl Cupcake tower
I’ve developed a few strategies to keep my snappy dry ends moisturized. Extending my wash and gos to 6-7 days (or 4 if I’m sweating a workout) helps a lot. But to do that, my medium-high porous hair needs the right products:
Wet styling:
In my wet wash and go I layer either shea butter, castor oil, QB Olive Honey Hydrating balm or QB Burdock root butter cream over my leave in, before gelling.
Smoothing Curl Junkie Curls in a Bottle over Kinky Curly Curling custard over a leave in has helped my hair stay moisturized over 3 days of wearing it out.
Dry styling:
Night before day 4 I’ll dry twist, using a tiny spritz of water, a couple drops of Loma Pearatin Repairative Hair Serum for whole head, and Devacurl Set it Free for each twist. I re-moisturize and smooth ends with Afroveda Curl Define and Qhemet Biologics Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm before finishing the twist and setting ends on foam rollers.
After a day or two of wearing a dry twist out, the curl is gone. I may moisturize dry hair with either a Kimmaytube-type leave in, Karen’s Body Beautiful Ambrosia, Afroveda Moringa Leave in or Afro Detangler,plus a couple drops of Loma Pearatin Repairative Serum and Qhemet Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm. Then I will brush in sections with a Mason Pearson Junior boar bristle/nylon brush and bantu knot. Next day, I can bun it, or wash it.
What’s your winter routine?
But I’m still a regular gal in real life. Check out Dee’s feature on me at her Natural Free and Fierce Blog. Among other things, she asked me what my 4 favorite products are. I had a good chuckle. Four products? Where do they come up with these numbers?
Qhemet Biologics Olive Honey Hydrating Balm
I remember opening my first jar of this product and wondering “WTF”? It looked slimy and shiny and greasy and I had no idea what to do with it or how to use it. A styler? Nope. Conditioner? Nope. Leave-in? Nope. On my dry hair at the time, I found it too greasy. In my first year or so of naturally curly hair, oil and I did not agree.
Fast forward to 2010 and wet hands. Wet hands and wet hair – light bulb moment! Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm is water-soluble, yet it clings! It is a moisture booster and hair softener par excellence. On my wet hair it works beautifully over conditioner or leave in, before I gel. And it mixes well with other leave in products.
Day 1: On freshly washed, wet, detangled hair, apply right over conditioner, before cool rinsing. Rub a 1/2 tsp. in palms, scrunch into hair and finger smooth your strands. Let sit for a few minutes, then bend over and cool water rinse, with emphasis on getting all conditioner off your scalp and roots. A cool water rinse leaves some OHHB on your ends. Read More…
Rochelle Ritchie is the reporter and also featured in the report. A striking statistic – Black people spend $9 billion a year on hair products and services. That’s the GDP of a small to medium-sized nation, the revenue of a large corporation. Holy Moly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HugPZDEX8DY
Ritchie weaved
Ritchie after BC
I am so pleased to announce the winner of my 4th natural hair anniversary giveaway. And it is (drum roll)–
This natural beauty has a story that will move, inspire and encourage you. Someone said the greatest gift you can give someone is to share your story with honesty. Durelene congratulations for sharing yours and for winning a jar of Vigorol Curls Curling Cream. Durelene’s story will be published in the post just after this one. Happy reading!
It's a Celebration! And a Giveaway!
October marked my 4th year of being completely natural. Rather than talk about my hair, I want to hear and celebrate your story. I’ll choose one to publish here and, if it is yours, you will receive a brand spanking new jar of Vigorol Curls Curling Creme (one of my top styling products and CG) and a generous sample of Karen’s Body Beautiful Juicy Beauty Bar. So send me a story and help me celebrate!
Suggested topics:
E-mail to me at suburbanbushbabe@gmail.com and have fun with it. Deadline for submission is November 15th.
Scrunching, shingling, and plopping – oh my! The terminology and techniques for natural curls, coils and kinks can be like a foreign language. What does it all mean for your hair?
If you ever wondered what these strange words mean and which of the many hair techniques, product types and ingredients work for your hair, this is the Meetup for you. Get the information that helps you decide what’s important and what you want to try. No need to spend valuable time surfing the web (unless you want to). Meet other naturals, take away useful information and goodies, and leave what you don’t need behind.
You’ll have a chance to network, then we’ll have the presentation, Q&A and discussion. And finally — the raffle! There will be at LEAST 3 giveaways! Additional raffle tickets will be available at $4.00 each so you can have more chances to win!
Suggested Donation of $10.00 includes a $4.00 raffle ticket for cool giveaways, refreshments, freebies and more.
Suggested Donation: $10.00 – includes:
- A raffle ticket worth $4.00 gives you a chance to win some hot products.
- Refreshments
- Freebies and samples
- All handouts
When: Saturday, November 20th, from 12 Noon to 2:00 pm
Who can attend? This event is open to curls, coils and kinks of all persuasions as well as Boston Natural Meetup members.
To register: Natural Hair Meetup members can register at the Meetup page. If you are not a member and want to join, you can join the meetup group here. If you want to attend but not join the Meetup Group, please contact me at suburbanbushbabe@gmail.com to register.
Location:
Body By Brandy/The Wellness Studio
2181 Washington Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
Schedule:
12 to 12:30 pm – Sign in, network and talk hair!
12:30 to 1:45 pm – Presentation and Q&A
1:45 to 2:00 pm – Raffle and wrap-up
Our goal is to provide you an enjoyable experience in the best space possible at a reasonable price. The Wellness Center at Body By Brandy is centrally located in Boston, MA and accessible by car and public transportation with ample on street parking. It is a spacious, serene, and comfortable studio with sofas and other seating – the perfect venue to relax,connect, mingle and learn. Your donation covers site rental and equipment fees as well as giveaways, light refreshments and samples.
