Hair Mistake: Under Conditioning

If you are relaxed or natural, your hair needs to be conditioned. I like to condition my hair at least every time I shampoo, so that would be once a week. Now I'm talking a deep conditioner, where I apply it to freshly shampooed, damp hair, and allow it to really get in there by adding some heat with my hooded dryer.

I double condition, meaning I use an instant conditioner and then a deep conditioner. When I used to just use an instant conditioner my hair wasn't thriving like it is now. The best way to start is to use a moisturizing conditioner over a protein based conditioner, because most people need more moisture.

White Sands ER Fusion

Lately, I've been on a little bit of a roller-set streak. Instead of air-drying and damp bunning like I should be doing, I've been wearing my hair straight and down. While my ends are not suffering, I still felt like my hair needed a good reconstructive or protein treatment, so I headed to my hair care closet to see what I could dig up and try.

I found White Sands ER Fusion. ER Fusion is an intensive reconstructive hair treatment which restores hair back to its youthful condition. The product creates a clear micro shield to seal in color and softness, while weightless quaternaries balance and self-adjust color in the hair. A complex set of amino cystines repair damage while lemon grass extracts enhance color with a high gloss. ER Fusion’s unique delivery system ensures optimum performance and lasts 30 days after each initial use.

The night before I co-washed my hair with VO5 conditioner and applied Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment to my hair. Then I slapped on a plastic cap and topped that off with my pretty wrap and went to bed. The following morning I shampooed with Kerastase Bain Nutri Thermique Shampoo and followed up with White Sands ER Fusion. I, then covered my hair with a plastic cap and sat under my dryer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes was up my hair was soft and I was able to easily run the comb through my hair as I was rinsing the conditioner out.

Now it's a few days post shampoo, condition, and treatment and I must say I have less hairs in my comb! I'm a fan of this product and I will probably continue to use it once a month.

Jamaican Black Castor Oil Conditioner

(Black Castor Oil Protein Conditioner, $11.99 Oilsfromjamaica.com)

For a while there I was adding some JBCO (jamaican black castor oil) to my conditioners to provide additional softness and help make my hair stronger and healthier. Now there is no need to play kitchen mixtress, I can buy Black Castor Oil Protein Conditioner to help remedy my hair and scalp issues. The conditioner contains black castor oil, cactus oil, pimento oil, mayonnaise, apple cider and other hair friendly ingredients. Together, these ingredients are chock full of Essential Fatty Acids, protein, vitamins and minerals that builds, repairs, energizes and return your hair to a state of good health. It's excellent for dried damaged hair, split ends, hair breakages, dandruff etc. Tropic Isle Living Black Castor Oil Protein Conditioner will leave your hair light, bouncy and with a glow.

This conditioner gets an A+ from me. The only downside is that your hair will feel like it has some oil in it even after rinsing out the conditioner. If you plan on wearing your hair straight this might not be for you, but since I'm avoiding heat and air drying it's perfect!

Miracle Mask Protein Conditioner

(Inova Miracle Mask, $48.00 InovaProfessional.com)

The name Miracle Mask is appropriate when it comes to Inova Professional's all star deep conditioning mask, Miracle Mask. I tried it and my hair loves it.

Product Description: Formulated with avocado oil, keratin protein, silk protein and white carnation oil to provide intensive nourishment and hydration, The Miracle Mask repairs split-ends and other symptoms of dry, weak, and damaged hair, while simultaneously detangling and improving manageability. Hair will be healthier, luxuriously smooth, and with brilliant shine.

Thoughts: We all know nothing will repair split-ends, I'm not sure when hair care companies will realized we won't be tricked by that claim. Although, it cannot repair split ends like it claims it does help out tremendously with detangling and softening. The scent is amazing and it leaves my hair feeling soft and strong. The strength comes from the Silk and Keratin proteins. The packaging is unique and you get a lot of product for your money, 17.6 oz. to be exact.

Deep Conditioner Review: Milk Protein & Olive Oil Really Deep Conditioner

This week temperatures are expected to reach almost 100 degrees in my neck of the woods, so I'll be hitting the pool on a daily basis.  I actually might even venture to a waterpark or the beach, but one thing I plan so doing this week is deep conditioning every other day.  That might seem like overkill, but with heat comes dryness and dryness can result in breakage. 

To make sure my hair is thoroughly moisturized, I plan on doing four key things: 

1. Deep condition every other day 
2. Apply  my water and glycerine based moisturizer twice a day 
3. Avoid heat styling 
4. Keep ends damp and tucked into a bun  

As a matter of fact, as I type up this post I'm sitting here with my Heat Therapy Wrap on my head doing my first deep conditioning treatment of the week using SofnFree Milk Protein and Olive Oil Really Deep Conditioning Treatment.  The consistancy is similar to that of mayo and as soon as I applied it I could feel my scalp tingling, which caught me off guard but it's actually a bit refreshing.  There is no real fragrance that I've noticed with the product and the price is right at $1.99 for a packet.  This product is also paraben and sulfate free, but it does contain mineral oil.   

For the full review .... keep reading


Alright so I just rinsed out the SofnFree Milk Protein and Olive Oil Really Deep Conditioning Treatment from my hair.  Next, I added Wave Nouveau to the entire length of my hair.  Put some Design Essentials Gel to the edges and put on my scarf, I plan on letting my hair air dry and then before work I'll re-moisten my ends and tuck them into a bun.  As far as the conditioner goes, my favorite part is the tingly feeling.  I associate tingling with increase circulation to the scalp which helps out the follicles and has been linked to increased hair growth.  Once I rinsed it out, it felt like my hair had actually absorbed a great deal of the conditioner, the slip wasn't as great as I'd expected but my hair was easy to detangle regardless.  Bottom line, I'd re-use the conditioner but mainly for the tingly feeling. 

Pantene Clarifies Conditioner Myths

While at the Pantene Pro-V breakfast the conditioner stories just kept pouring out.  Like most of  you, the women at the breakfast confessed that we love to leave our conditioner on long.  The directions say let sit 5-10 minutes?  We leave it on for at least 30 minutes with heat and sometimes even overnight, with the idea that if 5-10 minutes is good well 1 hour plus heat is even better.  Well guess what ladies?  Pantene Scientist Jeni Thomas says it's not true.  If the conditioner is not formulated to be heat-activated then adding heat is just a waste of time and enegry.  Another big mistake?  Using too much conditioner.  The directions say a dime sized amount?  We take fists full and glop it on our hair.  Guess what?  We are wasting product.  Celebrity stylist and Pantene user, Tippi Shorter says we only need enough conditioner to coat our strands and a dollar coin sized amount should do the trick, because remember you don't need to condition your scalp, in fact Tippi warns against it. 

Product tip:  The newest Pantene products are specifically tailored to different hair types.  Just because you are  a black woman doesn't mean Relaxed & Naturals is for you!  Keep your eyes peeled for more posts on more Pantene News.

Hair Therapy Wrap

Remember when I was chatting about BeautyFix?  Well I finally got my package and I have to say the best item is my Hair Therapy Wrap.  Since I gave you guys a discount code so you end up only paying $19.99 for the entire thing, I have to say it was a good deal.  A heat therapy wrap plus a bunch of other sample sized goodies, the wrap itself is about $25.00!  But I also have to say if I paid full price and the heat therapy wrap wasn't available, I would have felt ripped off. 

When I first opened up the Hair Therapy Wrap, I was a bit confused.  The shape of the wrap is a bit strange, I wonder why they didn't make it more round.  I popped it into the microwave for the recommended 10 seconds and I didn't feel any heat.  So I kept heating it over and over at 10 second intervals for about 90 seconds.  Still it didn't feel hot but I slapped it on anyway, I was completely wrong!  It was nice and warm.  I left the Hair Therapy Wrap on for about an hour and then took it off and put my Pretty Wrap on and went to bed.  My hair was super soft in the morning, I rinsed out the Creme of Nature Professional Treatment and my hair was easy to detangle, blowdry, and style.  

So here is how the Hair Therapy Wrap works:
1. Apply your conditioner or deep treatment
2. Cover with a plastic cap
3. Heat up your Hair Therapy Wrap (either microwave or stovetop)
4. Put it on your head and relax!

It's that simple, it's easier than using a bonnet dryer and the results are similar.  I plan on using this all summer instead of the super hot bonnet dryer, plus there's nothing to plug in so I can roam all over my home with it on. 

College Bound Diva's - This is perfect for you guys because it doesn't require cords just a microwave! 

Deep Conditioner Review: Deity America

I'm always on the hunt for new deep conditioners, while cruising the aisles in CVS is no different.  I always look at the large green tub of Deity America Deep Penetrating Conditioner for Damaged Hair and consider purchasing, but never took the plunge until now.  I finally gave in and spent the $10.99 + tax on the conditioner. 


Product Description: Deity of America delivers an incredible penetrating reconstruction treatment. Deity America Deep Penetrating Conditioner penetrates deep into damage hair with natural plant extracts and with a protein-injected formula to help rescue and restore strength, elasticity, shine and condition split ends and breakage.
- Restore dry brittle hair
- Mends split ends
- Stops breakage
- Adds body shine
- Adds moisture
- Strengths hair


AHS Thoughts:  When I opened the tub I couldn't help but think that it looks like a tub of mud.  Usually, my hair feels noticably softer as soon as I apply conditioner, but this time I didn't feel anything different.  The directions say to apply liberally on damp hair, comb through, cover with plastic cap and place under heat for 20 minutes. Allow to dry to a hard shell and then rinse away.  When you keep reading about ingredients, it says 'main' ingredients while to me means there are 'other' ingredients that aren't mentioned.  I wonder why?  Anyway, I applied the conditioner to my hair, put on a plastic shower cap and covered with my scarf.  I ended up falling asleep and leaving the conditioner in overnight.  In the morning my hair felt soft and in a few areas the conditioner was hard, but for the most part it was soft and so was my hair.  I rinsed and my hair felt soft and I noticed a drastic decrease in the amount of hair in my wide tooth comb.  

Keep reading for the ingredients
   
Ingredients:  Main Ingredients: 100% Tibet Herbal Essence, Ginseng, Ganoderma Lucidum, Angelica, Pseudo-Ginseng, Wheat, Protein, Avocado.  Please note that the label says MAIN ingredients, kind of makes you wonder what the 'other' ingredients are.

Elasta QP Deep Penetrating Remoisturizing Conditioner

Within my goodie package from Elasta QP was Elasta QP DPR-11+.  My favorite type of hair product is conditioners, the deeper the better, so when I was reading the product description of Elasta QP DPR-11+ I just knew it was going to be fantastic. 

Product Description: Vitamin-rich, DPR-11+ is a deep penetrating remoisturizing conditioner with 11+ plant extracts, organic oils and vitamins.  Moisturizing conditioners renew hair strength and elasticity leaving hair feeling like silk.  Contains 11 conditioning botanicals including Peach Blossom oil and Vitamin E, Penetrates inner hair fibers to surge nutrients to moisture depleted hair, Perfect hair repair treatment when combined with Elasta QP Protein Supplement. 


AHS Thoughts:  I had such high hopes for this conditioner and yet it didn't do much for my hair.  The consistancy is super thick and coats extremely well.  I've had regular conditioners (not labeled deep) moisturize my hair more than this conditioner.  From what I've read this conditioner has been reformulated and now contains Petrolatum as the second ingredient.  The scent is a light peachy smell that doesn't actual linger. 


Availability:  Elasta QP DPR-11 is only $6.00 on Elastaqp.com 

Profectiv Mega Growth Conditioner

I use chemicals in my hair and I use heat in my hair, so I'm always using deep conditioners.  Deep conditioning is a staple part of my weekly hair care regimen.  It's a step that I never ever skip, I might cut down the amount of time I deep condition for but I never ever skip it.  I also hardly ever use the same deep conditioner back to back, that's not to say I don't have my favorite because I certainly do but how would I ever keep you guys updated on all the different deep conditioners available if I didn't test different varieties like it's my J-O-B?  The newest deep conditioner to soak into my strands?  Strength Of Nature - Profectiv Mega Growth - Deep Strengthening Growth Conditioner. 


Product Description:  Protects, restores, repairs & rebuilds fragile, damaged hair for healthier hair growth.  Fortified with Pro-Growth Complex - a deep penetrating blend of natural minerals, oils, and proteins.  MegaGrowth strengthens hair from the inside out to promote stronger, longer, healthier hair.  Excellent for deep repair of damage caused from chemical overprocessing, heat styling, over-styling stress and dryness. Stops breakage. Promotes Healthy Growth. Boosts Hi-Shine




AHS Thoughts:  I'm fond of conditioners that are thick and lush and this conditioner is just that.  Once applied to my hair, it felt soft and conditioned immediately but of course I slapped on my plastic cap and went to sit under my hooded dryer for a while.  The scent is not worth noting but it's nothing terrible.  The ingredients leave much to be desired, or should I say much to be undesired like mineral oil, petrolatum, parabens, and cones.  If the ingredient list were better I would highly recommend this conditioner because it actually does condition your hair and really aids with detangling.  Plus, my hair felt like it already had a leave-in applied after only towel drying a little. 
 
Keep Reading for the entire ingredient list     
 

 
Ingredients:  water, mineral oil, petrolatum, propylene glycol, polyquaternium 37, propylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, steareth-2, steareth-20, silk amino acids, wheat protein, soybean protein, hydrolyzed oat protein, coconut oil, jojoba oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil, flax seed oil, horsetail extract, olive fruit oil, wheat germ oil, soybean oil, dimethicone, phenyl trimethicone, lanolin, hydrogenated vegetable oil, methylparaben, propylparaben, DMDM hydantoin, fragrance, corn oil, BHA, BHT, Yellow 6

Elasta QP Soy Oyl Conditioner

Not to long ago I talked about some of the benefits of soy in both your diet and your beauty regimen. Thanks to the great folks over at Elasta QP I was able to try another product containing soy, Elasta QP Soy OYL Anti-Breakage Moisture Rich Deep Conditioner. Lately, I've been totally bad, after I relaxed my hair using Mizani Butter Blends I've been loving the sleekness of my hair so much that I've wore my hair heat styled for 2 weeks in a row! So when I received the Elasta QP goodie package with the new conditioner in it, I just had to try it out.


Product Description: ElastaQP presents Soy Oyl Protein + Vitamins! The SUPERIOR Organic Oil - Richer in protein, vitamins and Omega 3 & 6, Organic Soy Oyl infuses natural moisturizers and conditioners deep into hair to help restore strength, manageability and shine. UltraHydrating Soy contains 5 times more Omega 3 & 6 than Olive Oil for healthy hair growth and superior anti-dryness protection. Vitamin-rich Soy Protein penetrates faster and deeper into hair for the maximum protection against breakage, split-ends and dryness.

AHS Thoughts: The package is super big which I love because I use tons and tons of conditioner. I really like to scoop it out and glop it on real good, no dime sized amounts here. The consistancy reminds me of a mix between jello and mousse and the slip was almost instant, the scent is okay not fantastic but hardly even noticable. I conditioned for only 15 minutes under traditional heat and got amazing results. My hair felt totally conditioned, very soft, and it was super easy to detangle and comb through the entire length of my hair with my jilbere shower comb. Although, the label says organic oil please note that the second ingredient is mineral oil (insert the sound of teeth sucking). But regardless of whether the conditioner has mineral oil or not, I still really liked the end results.
Availability: Although I haven't seen this in my local BSS yet, it might be in yours or at the very least coming soon for about $7 to $9 dollars for the big one (32oz.) Check Elastaqp.com for more info

Ingredient Junkies: Keep Reading for the goods.

Elasta QP Soy Oyl Conditioner

Ingredients:  water, mineral oil, petrolatum, propylene glycol, poylquaternium 37, propylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, steareth-2, steareth-20, soybean oil, hydrolyzed soybean protein, olive fruit oil, vitamin a, vitamin e, vitamin c, vitamin h, vitamin f, avocado oil, dimethicone, phenyl trimethicone, lanolin, hydrogenated vegetable oil, methylparaben, propylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, fragrance, corn oil, BHA, BHT, cetyl alcohol, FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Red #40, FD&C Blue #1, FD&C yellow 6

Deep Conditioning: Steam vs. Traditional Heat

So now that I've been using my steamer for a few weeks now, I just have to let you guys know that I have yet to sit under a traditional dry with my deep conditioner. In my opinion, steaming allows my conditioner to better sink into my hair and the results are just way better than when I DC using heat alone. Prior to purchasing my steamer, I had never tried steaming before because none of the salons I used to frequent have a steamer so I always just relied on straight heat with no steam. I took the plunge and purchased the steamer because I heard so many great things from so many different people online, but when a few people I work with also said steam was the truth I couldn't take it anymore I wanted a piece of this hair bliss. Now I've goit it and I'm not looking back.


So ladies with steamers or who have used a steamer before - What do you prefer, a deep conditoner with steam or traditional heat?

Pre-Poo Steam Treatment: EL' Treatment

So as I type I'm sitting under my BFF also known as my hair steamer.  This time I decided to treat my hair with Rare Elements El' Treatment.  I tend not to use this oil as a leave in but rather as a pre-shampoo treatment because the scent isn't my favorite.  Instead of being a flower type scent, it's smells like woodsy but it really leaves my hair feeling great.  The shine and the way it makes my hair feel keeps me coming back.  Sometimes I'll apply the oil to my ends and then wear a bun to work and pre-poo like that.  Now with the power of steam I'm hoping the benefits are amplified.  So once I finish steaming and rinsing I'll be back to finish up this post.

The steam with El' Treatment was awesome!  The scent from the oil didn't linger which was awesome and it really softened my new growth and the length of my hair.  The shine wasn't as great as the coconut oil steam treatment, but it was still better than nothing. 

Hair Steaming Benefits

I just finished another steaming treatment and the whole process just keeps getting better. I'm so pleased with my new steamer, so far I've been using it weekly to pre-poo and deep condition. I'm loving the results so much that I think I've completely revamped my regimen to include my steamer, more on that another day. I've only used my steamer a few times so far, so I can't say I'm seeing a drastic change in my hair but I see small changes. For example, shine. For my second steam treatment, I decided to pre-poo with only coconut oil so I applied coconut oil to my entire head of hair from ends to roots and even applied it to my scalp. I clipped my ends up and sat under the steamer for about an hour watching some TV shows, usually NCIS. After the entire process of doing my hair, I noticed that my hair was noticeably more shiny than usual after blow-drying and BEFORE applying a little bit more coconut oil.




More benefits of using a hair steamer:

1. Tons of added moisture

2. Increased Shine

3. Increased manageability of new growth

4. Softer feeling hair

5. Less hair breakage or hair fall

6. Decrease in dandruff cause by dry scalp

7. Less tangles and knots - easy detangling

Hair Steaming - Why it works

Hair steaming is the process of conditioning the hair using steam. There are mainly two different types of hair steamers, a table top verison and a vertical steamer (large kind on a stand - the type you would see at a hair salon). I personally, prefer a stand up steamer because it's larger and seemingly more powerful than it's tabletop counterpart. Regardless of the type of steamer you choose the benefits remain the same, the most common being increased moisture. Lack of moisture is a big problem in the black hair care world, the best way to put it is that black hair (meaning hair types most commonly found on African American people) is more prone to drying out and resulting in breakage. Note: Black hair is certainly not the only hair that can benefit from steaming, but that's what we are talking about here. Here is how hair steaming works: The heat mixed with steam opens up the follicle and also opens up the hair cuticle to allow moisture to seep down into the hair shaft nourishing from the inside out. Why it works: With the follicle and hair cutlcle opened up wide your favorite oils, conditoner, and deep condtioners can really penetrate deep down.


Note: Once I am completely done steaming I always rinse my hair with cool water to help close up the follicle and hair cuticle.

My Hair Steamer

Guess what?  My hair steamer arrived!  I'm super satisfied with my purchase so now let me spill the beans on the details of my purchase.  I decided to purchase a hair steamer via Ebay. 

Ebay Seller: Best Choice Products

Purchase Date: January 11th (monday) in the wee wee hours of the morning.

Date Received: January 15th (friday) around 6pm

Item Purchased: HAIR STEAMER BEAUTY SALON EQUIPMENT COLOR PROCESSING

Purchase Price: $114.95

Shipping Cost: FREE!

I've used my steamer and it's the best thing ever!  More steamer info and complete review coming soon, but I know some of you have been asking about the make and model and other info.  I didn't want to share until I received my product without any issues before letting you guys know about the seller, etc. 

Wash Day: DevaCurl No Poo & One Condition

I've decided that I'm going to use a very moisturizing, sulfate free shampoo, followed up by an extremely moisturizing conditioner.  Why am I going over board with the moisturizing products?  That's because I'm doing extremely well applying my Mega-Tek Growth Mix, since Mega-Tek is a heavy protein I want to make sure that I don't end up doing more damage than good on this Mega-Tek Challenge. 

Pre-Poo:
Saturated hair with coconut oil and did a scalp massage before bed, then applied a plastic cap covered by a scalp to my head and went to bed. 

Shampoo:
DevaCurl No Poo

Conditioner:
DevaCurl One Condition left on for a few minutes

Deep Conditioner:
DevaCurl Heaven in Hair Deep Treatment left on for 30 minutes with heat

Results:
DevaCurl No Poo does not lather so I always find myself using more than I really need to, but it's okay because it has no SLS to upset my scalp.  Don't get up in arms if you are relaxed or just have naturally straight hair, DevaCurl products are for all hair types.  It smells great and left my hair feeling awesomely soft.  The DevaCurl One Condition and Heaven in Hair both compliment the scent of the shampoo and left my hair extremely soft and feeling very moisturized.

Some like it HOT: Deep Conditioning

Source

I love deep conditioning my hair, the benefits outweight the cons.  I hardly ever just sit under the dryer while my deep conditioner does it's magic, I'm usually always laptop on lap blogging away or reading some of my favorite blogs.  So my time is not wasted, as if deep conditioning is wasting time, but you know what I mean.... I'm not idling.  But, the biggest thing I hate about deep conditioning with heat is that I sweat.  Regardless of what I'm wearing (or not wearing) I always get extra hot and ultimately start sweating.  It's seriously the worst thing ever... anyone else experience this or am I alone? 

I did it: Hair Steamer

I've been talking about how much I want a hair steamer so I took the plunge and purchased one!  I have tons of closet space in my new apartment so I decided to get the stand up verison over the table top one because I plan on using my brand new steamer weekly and I wanted a good quality steamer.  Part of me was being cheap and debating if I should just use the steam room at my gym where I have a membership, but gym steamers usually have chlorine circulating around (or maybe it just smells like it) and I'd rather be in the comfort of my own home. 

Qualities of a Hair Steamer to look for:
* Auto Shut Off
* Quiet
* Adjustable settings
* Warranty

Expect a Hair Steamer Review once I get it!