A few new things...

Hi all!

I wanted to come by and share a few new products I picked up within the last couple days :-)

As some of you may or may not know, Shea moisture has announced 2 new lines in which they have created for hair and body. Shea moisture has come out with the following and I am super excited! 

Super fruit complex line (available at Ulta this month)

 Jamaican black castor line (available at CVS in late July)

I managed to snag some of the super fruit complex hair items the other day. I picked up: the 10 in 1 renewal system conditioner, and the 10 in 1 renewal system hair and scalp serum.  I'm so excited to try both of these products, and the ingredients look pretty decent :-) the only thing I'm nervous about is the hydrolyzed rice protein in the conditioner for Shea moisture. I am pretty protein sensitive, but this protein is at the bottom of the list which should be ok. I tend to steer clear of items that have proteins within the first 5-7 ingredients on the list. 

I also picked up another item from one of my favorite lines by Camille rose.

I bought the curl aide moisture butter. It was about $16 for 8 oz at target. Many naturals like Mahogany Curls use this product and have nothing but good things to say about it. I can't wait to use this on my next rod set! 

Stay tuned for reviews on these products! I'm so excited to see how they work

-Dani

What those "hair supplement" companies DON'T tell you!

Hairfinity. The Mane Choice. Both of these companies are very well known companies in the natural hair community. Both offer hair products and tools to many women who have natural hair. What they are both very well known for are natural hair supplements that they offer to all ethnicities of women. You see their ads all over Instagram and Facebook, and based on the stories and "testimonies" listed on social media , you are then lured into the buying trap that these companies want you to be in.


A little background about my hair: I have very THICK, type 4 hair. With low porosity and its extremely dense. When I say my hair is thick, its extremely thick and shrinks like no ones business when water hits it. When trying these hair supplements, I was hoping that they would boost my already fast growing hair, and help me to retain some length that I "thought" I wasn't keeping.

Now I'll admit, I was one of those people who fell into the "trap". I had studied and researched Hairfinity and The Mane choice both for a quite a long time before I decided to make a purchase from both of them. I decided to give hairfinity a go first, and bought one bottle to start, just to see how I liked it...
I started taking hairfinity late fall, early winter of 2013. As indicated on the bottle, the directions are to take 2 capsules by mouth daily.( preferably with meals). As I did so, I immediately noticed two side effects from Hairfnity that I did not like. 1. Increase in Migraines (I already had a problem with migraines before starting this supplement) and 2. Acne/break-outs. My skin went crazy when I started taking these pills! I'm talking 1-2 new pimples a day. Now I'd say that my skin was is usually pretty clear and smooth and I don't have a hard time keeping it that way. As far as the migraines, I usually get those 1-2 times a month, because they are controlled with a prescription medication I am currently taking. When I started the hairfinity, I had a migraine every other night! I thought to myself, this is crazy! Nevertheless, my hair was growing slightly faster than it was without the supplements. I decided that I would not repurchase Hairfnity after finishing the first bottle.

A few months went buy, and I was still seeing posts from The Mane Choice on Instagram. I was pondering the thought of possibly trying this supplement, because maybe it was a little bit different from hairfinity. I decided to give it a go on a whim, because I felt like I had nothing else to loose. Boy was I WRONG. I will say that I didn't have the same horrible side effects with The Mane Choice vitamins as I did with Hairfinity. No breakouts and no added migraine headaches. But something just wasn't right with my hair over the course of a couple weeks, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I kept complaining to my mother at the time, that something just was NOT right with my hair. It wasn't responding to product like it used to, and it wasn't as thick and full as it usually was. At the time, I contemplated the big chop again, because I was so frustrated. We went over a few things that we thought could be causing the problem and left it at that. Never did we think to question the supplement I was taking. During this time, my hair was growing. I did notice the length, but the thickness just was not what it used to be. By now, I had finished  the first bottle and was on my second bottle (the last bottle). Then, one morning it HIT ME. The hair supplements were causing my hair to thin!!!! It had to be the hair supplements. I can honestly say over the course of the months I was taking the pills that this is when I saw the biggest difference in my hair. The thickness was there but the length had drastically been affected by these supplements.
Now I don't know about anyone else, But Id rather have thick, full healthy hair than long, thin, brittle hair. I'm not sure what chemical in this supplements caused the body and thickness of my hair to be affected, but let me tell you I am not liking it. 

I stopped taking the supplements the beginning of this week. I will come back to you guys in one month to show the difference in my hair as far and thickness and body. Let me just say that I am in no way trying to bash or discredit any of these companies, but I thought it was important to let the natural hair community and my followers know about this. Most of us are so consumed by getting fast, quick results, and getting long, luxurious hair fast that we will take anything and try anything to get it. What's most important is letting your hair do its own thing naturally. Drink water, eat right, take daily vitamins not aimed at hair growth, but aimed to aid the body. I fault myself from gearing away from what's important in my natural hair journey and what I want you all to take away from my posts. Healthy hair, is the best hair, no matter the length. Length will come if you do what you need to do for your hair.

Check back with me in a month guys, and I will do a follow up on how may hair is doing since I have completely stopped the hair supplements. Thanks for reading, feel free to ask questions and comment!

-Dani

Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Conditioner

I've been on the hunt for yet another deep conditioner.....My hair is extremely protein sensitive, and if protein is anywhere at the top or the middle of the ingredients list on a product I steer clear. I have experienced some minor breakage because of this protein sensitivity, which is what led me to purchase this new amazing product! 

I've seen beautifitul textures products around, at Sally's occasionally and some local stores like Walmart and other BSS (beauty supply stores). I have so much stuff at home (yes I am a recovering product junkie).. that I have yet to try out any of their products. I was in Sally's the other day, buying hair color when I came across this product and a sale banner. "Buy 1 get 1 free" is what it said, and I immediately grabbed 2 jars to take to the check out counter. Now on to the actual review lol...

This product has a thick consistency and has a smell of mangos and fruit! (Yummy). I really enjoy fruity smells, especially this one because it's not to strong. 

The directions on this product state to apply a generous amount to strands, combing through to make sure it saturates all of the hair. For normal conditioning you can use with heat ( hooded dryer or conditioning cap) for 15 minutes. For very damaged dry hair, you can use with heat for 25-30 minutes. can I tell you how dry my hair has been lately? I've really been going through it with some new products I've decided try and had to discontinue the use of a few of them.... :-( more details on that coming later.

As always I used my heated cap for about 15 minutes with this stuff coating my hair. When I took off the heated cap and plastic cap my hair felt AH-MAZ-ING. It was soft to the touch, and was shiny!!!!!! Not to mention the ingredients are pretty natural and most of all, it doesn't contain ANY PROTEIN. I like to deep condition my coarse strands once a week for added moisture, so I will be using this again as the weeks go by. 

I will come back with and update on this product later to let you guys know if it's still doing what it did from the beginning. The Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Conditioner is about $7 at your local store. For $7 you get A LOT of conditioner in one big jar. It's a great buy for those looking for something not only cheap but also something that gets the job done. 

Please let me know if you decide to try this, or if you've tried it and what your thoughts are on this product. Don't forget to subscribe guys! Take care!!!

-Danielle 

Tresemme naturals "woes". The conditioner that is ever changing!!!

*sigh*

Boy do I enjoy a good, cheap, moisturizing conditioner. One that is not filled with silicones, parabens, preservatives and other junk that simply won't be beneficial for my hair. For the last couple years, I have had all this and more in my beloved Tresemme naturals moisturizing conditioner. This conditioner comes in a large container, and is about $4.50 at any local target, Walmart, Walgreens or CVS. 

Now let me say that since my hair has gotten longer, I do not co-wash as much. I do however like to mix up my own deep conditioner, using a common store bought conditioner and then mixing in other items, such as honey, olive oil, coconut oil, eggs, mayo etc depending on what my hair may need. I could do that with Tresemme until... It happened.

I was browsing YouTube one night, looking at recent posts from those fellow naturals I have subscribed to. I noticed a post that popped up on my mini feed saying: "Review, the NEW tresemme naturals". Instantly my heart dropped. I knew then that the company must have switched something or taken out a precious ingredient. I proceeded to watch the post, and then went on to watch many other posts about this conditioner. To realize, that the company had not only changed the ingredients, but the "certified organic" ingredients it once had in the formula were no longer there!!!!!!! The new bottle had a different look. A black top, and the "tresemme" on the front of the bottle was in black, bold writing. 

The ingredients in the new formula are completely different from what was in the old formula listed below:

The old bottle with the old (better) formula, has a white top, and on the back it lists "certified organic" ingredients.  Which consist of aloe Vera juice, sweet orange and avacado.

Here are the ingredients for the older formula, which is the one that most prefer:

I'm sure the company was looking for ways to cut costs, and because organic ingredients  can be somewhat expensive, they decided to cut corners, add fillers and other garbage that won't do anything for your hair. Although I have not actually tried the new conditioner, based on the reviews I have heard, I won't be wasting my money and trying it at all. I have found something good in a product & I know that the newer conditioner won't do much for my hair. I went out and searched high and low in every target, Walgreens and Walmart until I found some bottles left over of the older formula conditioner. They were sitting in the back of the shelf, and the newer bottle with newer ingredients were all pushed towards the front. I bought all of them, because I wasn't sure what to expect next from tresemme. 

Will they keep the ingredients as is on the newer formula? Or will they change it back to the older, more popular formula once they receive so many complaints?

Why is this so important you ask? Why do I care so much about ingredients? Why does this matter? I don't know about you guys but I actually take the time to read the ingredients for products I use not only on my hair, but on my face and body. I have stopped using a lot of common lotions and creams that contain harsh preservatives, fillers and other harmful ingredients. It's important to really realize what's in the stuff that you use!

Since I have about 6-7 bottles of the older conditioner, I should be good for about 6 months to a year lol. Let me know what you guys think about this conditioner, if you've ever tried it, new formula or old formula. 

-Danielle