Product Review Shea Moisture Products

This is a product review of Shea Moisture Curl and Style Coconut and Hibiscus Shampoo, Hair Milk, Shine and Hold Spray and Curl enhancing Smoothie. I was drawn to these products as, being a former product junkie, I still "cruise" the shampoo isle. Now a days I mostly just pick up "natural" shampoos to check their ingredient list and shake my head at the blatant false advertising. I thought that would be the case with Shea Moisture, but alas, it was not. This label boast no parabens, phthalates, paraffin, gluten, propylene glycol, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances, PABA, synthetic colors, nor sulfates. This brand is also made sans animal ingredients and byproduct and is not tested on animals. WOW.

I was able to pick up a sample pack of all 4 of their products at walgreens so I figured I would give it a shot. The smell is divine, not too sweet, definite coconut oil aroma but with out the pina colada smell that I loathe in some shampoos.

Step One: Shampoo

The Coconut Milk and Hibiscus Curl and Style Shampoo.

A nice, thick shampoo. The scent was very delicate. I diluted this in my spray bottle 1:1 and hit my scalp first then the body of my locks. Washed away clean and did not leave my locks feeling stripped or crunchy. I did rinse a bit longer to be sure all the shampoo was out since it was thick.

Ingredients: 

Step Two: Condition

Coconut Milk and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk

A water based, creamy leave in conditioner/styling cream. Concerned with build up, I only applied a half dollar amount of this product to my towel dried hair. It wasn't sticky and was the consistency of a thick body lotion. I am doing a braid out so we will see the condition of my hair when its all dry.

Ingredients: Deionized water, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Sugar Starch, Silk Protein, essential oil blend, Neem seed oil, capryly glycol, sorbitol esters, algae extract, arvenese extract, carrot seed oil, honeysuckle flower and vitamin e.

Step Two B: Condition

Coconut Milk and Hibiscus Curl Smoothie

This is a bit of a thicker cream, so thick in fact, that I used a dime sized amount. I don't think this will be something I use often.

Ingredients: Deionized water, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Macadamia Seed Oil, Mango Seed Butter, Avocado Oil, Vegetable Glycerine, Aloe Barbendenis leaf extract, Silk Protein ammonium salt, Neem seed oil, carrot seed oil, sorbitol esters, panthenol,  caprly glycol, essential oil blend, honeysuckle flower and vitamin e.

Over all, I LUV these products. My hair is soft, has a nice sheen and no build up. I also like the fact that I can just run to Walgreens when I need shampoo and not wait for the postman to come.

Lanza Loves Locks

As I mentioned in my prior post. I had a few double dragons from waiting too long in between reti appointments. At first, I was somewhat upset that I had let my hair get so bad, BUT those things came in handy. I was able to clip them and have test strands for some color experimentation. I had an insane amount of grey streaking my locks :(.

I originally wanted my grey covered and some funky colored streaks in fuchsia and teal, so Ms Gina (who you all may remember from my nail escapades) decolorized the one clipped locks, cut it in two and applied the semi permanent color. Well, the fuchsia came out red and the teal green, That wasn't the look we were going for, but it gave her a point of reference in which to work her magic from. She tried another test strand using a dif formulation and the fuchsia came out perfect, the teal, still green so we decided to go all fuchsia, which was fine by me. Once we got all that color game planing squared away off to the shampoo bowl I went.

Gina started off saturating my locks and then using L'Anza Healing Pure Clarifying Shampoo to remove mineral and product buildup and then applied L'Anza Healing Pure Keratin Infusion to, as she says "Infuse the hair with vitamin C encapsulated Keratin molecules that fill in the holes left behind once the build-up was removed."

After ma locs was all "infused n stuffs," she applied the decolorizer and color. Since my hair pulls red when colored, Ms Gina used a formula that combats the extra warmth in one step. After processing for about 45 min, I was rinsed. My hair had highlighted to a beautiful caramel color that I did not have the heart to dye pink so we left it.  Grey covered, some caramel colored streaks, I'm too much :D

I do now use some lanza products in my locks. Their noni fruit leave in conditioner helps my crunchy winter hair, neem plant silk serum smells yums and helps protect my color and their trauma treatment is awesome after a lock clarifying (baking soda/ACV etc.)

Guess Who's Back

Forgive my lack of makeup

Side View

The Back look how long!!

Ohhh emmmm geee, its been ages i KNOW I have been slacking on my blog and I'm so sorry blog family. This year has been stupid crazy but while I was looking at my hair and noticing the changes I realized I had yet to share them with you all. So, here are some pics pre wash, deep conditioning and setting tonight.

Long Time, no Chat

Hello blog family~

Sorry its been so long, a lot has been going on in my world. I changed careers and went to manicuring school and am now doing nails full time and I actually love it quite a bit. Unfortunately for me, beauty school ran the same hours as my locticians schedule so I went *gasp* 8 months with out a reti.  I was a DIY for a while thanks to Kalia-Dewdrop. This kept my hair from looking like a lukewarm mess instead of a hot one. I didn't purchased the nappyloc tool she uses in her video. I fashioned my own with the assistance of NubianLockedPrincess from a yarn needle purchased at Wal Mart. Now my reti was in no way as professional as Ms Shannon my loctician but it did help it look not so frumpy.

When I FINALLY got in for my retightening, it only took about an hour and a half longer than usual. I didn't have much breakage at all, but she did have to marry a total of 4 locks so I now have a few double dragons, which came in handy, but I will explain that later.

I will say that I did have a LOT more folicles produced waiting so long to have my hair tightened up but other than that, it was not so bad..Granted I am now back on my 6-8 week schedule because I don't want to lose any locks just because I'm being lazy.

I know this post was rather short and sweet but MORE info to come shortly re professional coloring and a professional line of products that is lock friendly as well as a video. 

Progress Month 3 vs month 10

Month 10

Here are some updated pics of length and texture at month 10. This is my first time blogging from my iPhone using an app called blogwriter. Whoo hoo no excuses nows.

Slide show of my progress

Here is a slide show of my hair progression thus far...Not seeing to much change actually, or am i just being picky?

"

Color At Nine Months

Ok I straight up lied and said two post ago, my next post would be about me coloring my hair when my happy behind wasn't supposed to be coloring it. So here it is lol

DISCLAIMER: JUST BECAUSE I WAS HARD HEADED AND COLORED MY HAIR W SUCCESS AT MONTH FOUR DOES NOT ENDORSE OR PROMOTE THE ACT OF DOING SO.

After checking in to my hotel one night and passing by a mirror with overhead lighting and seeing a smattering of grey hair and those lovely hair follicles that look like I'm nasty and don't wash my hair, I ran straight to the beauty supply store and got me some color.

Shopping list

Miss Clariol 203RR
Miss Clariol 70R
40 Volume Developer
Color Mixing Bowl
Color Application Blush
Secret Weapon (I can't tell ya'll which one, cuz my mama shared it w me on the condition I don't share but am allowed to mix it for peeps lol)
Shower Cap
and out of habit, a few packets of ION reconstructor lol

I mixed 2 oz of 203RR 1 oz of 70R w 2 ounces of developer and 1 oz of the secret weapon. I applied it starting with the grey first using the application brush, then to the rest of my hair. I didn't mash the color into the lock, just brushed it over my hair root to tip. I covered my hair w a shower cap, let it work its magic for 45 min, checking every 15 for brittleness.

Since I wasn't planning to condition unless I had to and the only shampoo I was using at the time was Dr. Bronners, which can be really stripping, I just rinsed my hair in the shower for about 20 min. It only took about 10 before the water ran clear, but I wanted to make sure all the color was out since I wasn't using a shampoo.

Color was done, hair felt a wee bit dry so i distributed a quarter sized amount of coconut oil through my hair and sat under the dryer on low heat.

I didn't have a lot of slipping. A bit around my crown area, but that is somewhat standard for me when ever I would wash my hair because its so soft in front.

DISCLAIMER: JUST BECAUSE I WAS HARD HEADED AND COLORED MY HAIR W SUCCESS AT MONTH FOUR DOES NOT ENDORSE OR PROMOTE THE ACT OF DOING SO.

The pic I posted is a few months after the color job, but you can kind of see the results. I'm thinking about coloring before or after the new year, so will try to be diligent and make a vid or something.

Month Nine/Organix Shampoo Review

Hello blog land. Here I am in month 9 of my sisterlocks and not much exciting to report. Doesn't seem like I have had much happen as far as growth or any definitive locking. I am getting more and more white bulbs as well as greys and really itching to throw some color on these bad girls, but know I should wait until I am fully locked.

I have did try a new shampoo. Organix Pomegranate and Green Tea. It is not completely natural so I was very hesitant to try it due to my pet peeve of pseudo organic or natural products trying to pass. But this smelled so good, I had to try it. My hair actually liked it. Nice and full after my wash and my scalp wasn't dry.

It's priced right too. At $6.99 a bottle you can find it at your neighborhood Walgreens. They are even clearing out the White Tea Grapeseed formula, so you can pick it up for $3.99, but in the store only.

Here are some after shampoo pics after I twisted the front down. I didn't use the conditioner, but will review it if I do.

Long Time, No See

WOW, I have really been slacking, out having fun swimming, dancing, jet skiing, doing everything BUT worrying about my hair. Not worrying about getting it wet, trying to be cute on the houseboat with a super fro or having to hit the pool in the early hours of the day so I could spend the afternoon washing, detangling, deep conditioning etc etc etc.

But with all this free time, been neglecting my sisterlocked cyber fam and for that I apologize. Here it is now almost month 7, my hair isn't locking yet but I am getting the buds on the ends and they seem to be thickening up even more..I think they are only thickening because I did a no-no. I dyed my hair at month 4 *gasp* I know, I know, I'm a naughty girl but I had all kinds of grey poking out all over my head like defiant children in church. Details on my dye job in my next blog.

Between month 5 and 6, my loctician went on maternity leave so I contacted a trainee by the name of Chesara'e (chez are ray) Fletcher. I first came in contact with Mrs. Fletcher when I was beginning my sisterlock journey and true to my word, contacted her for a retightening. I made my appointment four weeks in advance and once again, Chesara'e proved to be the consummate professional. Since she stated she was new and a bit slower, she quoted me a very reasonable per hour price. Even though it took her about 4 hours and it takes my normal consultant 2, the price was about the same. Chesara'e does work from her home but the environment is very professional and inviting.

My 6th month retightening took the same 2 hour time frame even though I was about 6 weeks out. There is some growth but not as much as I was expecting. I think its still shrinking. I will post some pics hopefully within the next few days. I have been experimenting with more styles and updo's. It must be looking good, as I am getting complements such as "Wow, your hair looks good," and "I wasn't sure about your hair at first, but I like it now," and the still ever popular, "Are those braids or locks?"

More Pics

Here are some more pics. Still a little scalpy at the crown. But lookit my lil babies, trying to get grown and swollen

Month Three w pics

Hello Blogland. It's been a while and I apologize for that, but school has been whipping my royal foxy behind. The school I attend operates on a quarter system and since I have a propensity to be a slacker as the school session rolls on, I opted to take 1 full term course and 2 mini 5 week courses. One at the beginning of the semester and one at the end.

Which means that no only is one entire semester of work crammed into a quarter, its condensed into five weeks!! Is there any wonder I am finding gray hairs in places I shouldn't be finding gray hairs? But that's another post entirely.

Anywho, I am on month three, yippie!!! My last retightening was on April 30, was about five weeks from my last appointment and took a little under two hours. I have about three locks on the right side of my kitchen that constantly slip. I don't know if this is because I sleep on this side and my sleep bonnet rubs against it when I turn, but the other side is locking up just fine.

A few days ago I woke up and looked in the mirror and was like, dang I gotta leave the lock loops alone until my hair gets longer. Then I remembered, hey, I haven't set my hair in over a month. Good old shrinkage. My hair has constricted to about half its install length. The ends are swelling and budding, OMG, wait, I'm in the next stage of locking!!! Cool. I actually like it a bit better, I can truly freestyle and not have my head looking confusing. Now, if I can just keep my mother from yanking at the "knots in yo head," all would be well.

Photos to Come, but busy packing for Vegas, Phantom, here I come!!!

Is it Just Me?

It is just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of people cutting or combing out their locks. It started with Golden and then, when I received an alert that Fauryn another loc idol of mine had loaded a new Youtube video, I was shocked and heartbroken to see that she had also combed out her beautiful locks. She is still gorgeous, but I just chalked it up to, well maybe it was time for her. THEN while watching Sunday Best on BET, I see that Latice Crawford one of the top five has also big chopped her shiny locs.

I know these ladies probably feel the same way I did about the concern that people have with their hair. I used to HATE IT when people would comment about me cutting off "all my long pretty hair." I am by no means knocking these beauties at all, they all look great with their new do's and are all still keeping it natural. I am just curious how many sisters in blogland and cyberspace have considered cutting or combing out their locks and the reason behind it. As a newbie on my loc journey, it's interesting to see that maybe women do get tired of having the same hairstyle and want something different.

I guess that I thought of my locs as the cure all for hair woes, but it is just hair. Those with short hair want long hair and when they get it, they grow bored with it. Same with women with long hair who want short hair. I don't know why I got it in my head that these issues would be resolved once I started locking. But I'm going to wrap this up because I am starting to ramble, but am very interested in your thoughts.

2nd Retightening

Will edit this post later, but remembered I promised I would post some lock mohawk pics so here they are..

My First Video Blog

Here it is my first month anniversary lock video blog. I feel a little silly now, celebrating one month anniversaries like you did when you were dating in high school..But I am in love with my hair, so here it is...

First Retightening

Had my first retightening yesterday. Took a total of about 3 hours including retightening (actually that part took about an hour,) shampooing and sitting under the dryer. Being as it was only two weeks, there wasn't much new growth, but enough.

Shannon (my consultant) tightened first and then washed. It felt soooooo good to have someone else shampoo my hair. I missed that luxury since I stopped going to the shop. I used to have my hair professionally shampooed every few months as a treat because I love it so much, but most beauticians would try to talk me into some perm or under a pressing comb, so I just said forget it.

I actually packed my own shampoo (Dr. Bronners mix of peppermint, eucalyptus and lavendar shampoos with some water,) just in case she was going to use the Sisterlocks shampoo. Nothing against Dr. C, but I don't want ANY chemicals on my scalp period. As a matter of fact, when I DO get the green light to color, I more than likely will only color the tips of my hair, not the root. But I digress.

Shannon does use Dr. Bronners for the same reason I do its natural, affordable and does the trick. After shampooing, she put a light oil on my scalp and a bit of shea butter conditioner and set me under the dryer.

At first, I was disappointed because I was like, man everyone else gets rollers before they get under the dryer, why didn't I? Well when I was done I saw, my hair has a natural crinkle and GASP, my ends have started developing curly-q's whooo hooo..

So my next retightening appt is March 17, which is a little shy from three weeks. More info to come.

Lock Loops

Ok, so I was a bit bummed out about the state of the ends of my hair, so I went on a mini shopping spree. Ordered myself some Lock Loops and a few Loc Socks . Still waiting on the loc socks, but my lock loops did arrive (rather quickly I may add.) I used about 13 locks per curler and got super tight curls...Too tight. I think I would like it if I wasn't having a bad lupus flare which made my face super puffy... Will post more as the days go on.

I Did it!!!

Sisterlocks all installed whooo hoooo. A total of 26 hours totalling 404 micro and small sized sisterlocks. The install, while long, was worth it knowing I never have to sit for that long again!! My loctician Shannon Scott, was awesome and patient for putting up with all this hair, standing on her feet for that many hours five months pregenant. She never sacraficed or took short cuts. The parting is impeccible and the tension and sizes of the locks consistant. She rents space in at Doubletake Salon at 21st and Broadway in Sacramento. Shannon now has 51 Sisterlock clients as well as many traditional locked clients. I chose Shannon not only because she comes highly recommended by locked sisters in the Sacramento area, but because she believes in all aspects of organic and natural care. Her styling products are all created by a local african american esty using organic ingredients. Having lupus, it was important to me that my loctician understand that I favored a more holistic lifestyle in general.

I also chose her due to her care of her clients. For the first 6 months, she likes to see her new clients every two to three weeks to monitor their progress. The biweekly visits include washing, styling, retightening and overall assessments of lock progress. Talk about full service, I don't have to braid and band because she will do it for me!!!! AWESOME.
But enough about Shannon, I will share more about her as well as pics of her beautiful, healthy traditional locks after my next retightening.

As far as the look, well it doesn't look quite as I expected. I thought that it would be much fuller, but I know that Sisterlocks are very chameleon like and will shape shift quite a bit throughout this journey. I will make it a priority to post updated pics at least biweekly after my salon visits for the first 6 months. I know that some changes can be subtle and I don't want to miss any phases.

My scalp is a bit dry and itchy, which is common for me after braiding. I just applied a bit of rosehip oil mixed with clove and peppermint oil, which seemed to solve the issue so far. I did make a spritz of spring water that I heated and seeped with nettle, chamomile, flax seed, horsetail, rose, calendula, clove and lavender in a cheese cloth. I then added some sweet orange, rosemary and GSE to preserve it. I was considering adding some veggie glycerine, but it can make hair hard and brittle in the cold months, so I decided against it. I did make another smaller spritz bottle with the same solution but added a bit of jojoba oil (20%) mixed with rosehip (50%) and sweet almond oil (30%) for those dry scalp days. I chose a majority of rosehip oil as it absorbs into the scalp almost immediately, so no build up.

Here is the one pic of the final outcome, more pics of the parting etc to come, I am just still really drained.

It Feels LIke Christmas Eve!!!

Tomorrow is day one of my install. I am so excited, I can hardly sleep... I know it is going to take a long time, lots of sitting, sore butts and all. I packed my lunch like its the first day of school. The macbook is charged, I have a few dvd's and my school books ready to go for the morning. Pics to come!!!!

Lock Stats

Loctician: Shannon Creal
Location: Sacramento, Ca
Size:
DOB
Length of Labor
Number: