Never Never (Again) Land

I have been pretty fortunate when it comes to products. I haven't developed product junkie-ism *knock on wood* and the majority of the products I have tried work pretty well with my hair.

However, as I was looking through my little bag of hair goodies, I did notice some products tossed in that I know I'll never purchase again. I haven't thrown them out because... well that would be wasteful, considering they are all over half full. I mean, they must be good for something, right? Oh gosh, am I a product hoarder?!

I digress.

Here are the four items that I can do without. No product bashing here, but they just don't work on the fickle follicles atop my head.





1. Softsheen Carson Optimum Oil Therapy Hair & Scalp Quencher

Contrary to the name, it did not quench my scalp. I bought this product as a replacement to the Sulfur 8 that I used to use to oil my scalp after I got it done (during the relaxed days). I was basically shooting in the dark trying to find another product, but since I was already a fan of the Optimum Oil Therapy Shampoo & Moisture Creme, I figured I'd give it a shot. I didn't care for the consistency of this... product (I still don't know if I should call it grease or oil or what). It was really pretty watery and melted to the touch--not in the good way either. My scalp felt like there was nothing on it, still just as dry as before I put it on. Not sure why it didn't work for me, but I'm not planning to revisit that. I'll stick with the Sulfur 8. Never had an issue with it before (other than the smell, of course).

2. Miss Jessie's Stretch Silkening Creme

I basically told everything in this post. Tried it on soaking wet hair and completely dry hair. Didn't work either way. The one redeeming quality was that if I misted my hair and used this on the edges, it gave me decent waves for my puffs. But that's just not good enough for the $22 price tag.

3. We Rock Roots Rock Out Butter

My complaint with this is very similar to the issue with the Hair & Scalp Quencher. It was too light. Felt (and looked) like nothing was there. The rest of the We Rock Roots line was amazing to me, but this one fell short of my expectations. If I need butter, I'll stick with their Rock On butter.

4. Urban Therapy Twisted Sista Curl Activator

This gave my curls some definition, but no more than my Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk. On top of that, it left my hair feeling... icky. It was stiff and kinda lifeless. After two tries with this one, I decided to count it as a loss and haven't used it since.

Have you purchased any products that didn't quite live up to the hype? Or tried something new with less-than-stellar results? What products have you vowed to never use again?

Product Review: Miss Jessie's Stretch Silkening Creme & the We Rock Roots Line

About two weeks ago I made my way to Target and picked up my first ever Miss Jessie's product. The selection at the store I went to was pretty slim, so I ended up with the Stretch Silkening Creme. I was not happy about shelling out $22 for the 8 oz. jar, but I'd heard so many good things about Miss Jessie's that surely it would be worth it, right?
Well, not quite.
Here are the directions from the Miss Jessie's site:

Apply product while hair is soaking wet for full coverage based on your length and density. Do not rinse out. Air dry or dry under an overhead dryer. For maximum stretch silkening: After curls are fully dried grab a section and stretch downward for tension. Using a blowdryer with a nozzle attachment blast heat from root to midshaft. This will further stretch those kinks to curls. Enjoy!

I did like the definition Miss Jessie's gave my curls

So I applied it with my hair soaking wet. While it definitely held true to it's claims that it would not make hair feel dry or crunchy, I wasn't expecting it to keep it feeling and looking wet. For most of the day I looked like I had a jheri curl. No bueno. On top of that, it didn't actually stretch my curls. (I didn't have time to use the blowdryer, so maybe that extra action would've given me the results I was looking for.) After that, I decided to try it with my hair lightly misted (my simple mix of distilled water and pure unrefined coconut oil). I was a bit more pleased with those results. The Miss Jessie's still didn't stretch my curls, but they did define them and gave my hair a nice shine.
My final verdict? While the Stretch Silkening Creme is a decent product, it's not something I'll be buying/using regularly. And I'm not so sure if I'll be buying any other MJ's products; I feel like I fell victim to the hype. I dunno, maybe I'll try the little $2.00 packets of shampoo and conditioner, just to see if it gives me different results than my current products. I'm not expecting miracles this time around, though. (In retrospect, it may have worked better if my hair was longer. I've seen pictures of some of the people who rave over MJ's, and when the hair is about shoulder length, it seems to get pretty good results. Maybe I'll save this and try it again in a few months. *shrugs*)

A few days after buying the Miss Jessie's, I received my We Rock Roots prize from the contest over at Kinky, Curly, Coily Me! Included in the prize pack were samples of the following:

RockOUT Butter – Uses: To set twists, coils, braids, or curls when setting on rollers and lock maintenance.

Ingredients:  Aloe Butter (Aloe Vera with Coconut fraction) Unrefined Shea Butter, Pure Aloe Vera Gel, Vegetable Glycerin, Tea Tree Essential Oil, Fragrance

RockON Butter – Uses: Apply for daily moisture.

Ingredients:  Unrefined Shea Butter, Soy Butter, Golden Jojoba Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Orange Essential Oil, Tea Tree Essential Oil

RockSTAR Oil –Uses: Apply as needed for added shine and moisture

Ingredients: Sweet Almond Oil, Unrefined Shea butter, Golden Jojoba Oil, Flax Seed Oil, Fragrance

RockTHERAPY Oil – Uses: Apply daily for itchy or dry scalp.

Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Horsetail Herb, Amla Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Golden Jojoba Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Tea Tree Essential Oil
 (Uses and ingredients per JenellyBean on KCCM!)

I wasn't sure what to expect because I'd never heard of WRR, but I figure I'd give it a shot. It would be rude not to! And I have to say that I am soooo glad that I did! Here's a quick breakdown of how each product worked for me.
RockStar oil: It gave my hair a really good shine without being heavy like some oils I've tried before. It was slightly oily and wasn't absorbed into my hair, but that it wasn't a major detractor from my overall love of this product. Plus, it smells like cookies! (#fatgirltendencies lol)
RockOn butter:  I loved the whipped light texture! It almost felt like it sorta fizzed when I touched it. RockOn gave me the most awesome curl definition and good healthy shine to boot.

Result of RockOn Butter & RockStar Oil.
Sorry it's not clear, I should've used the digital camera!

 

RockTherapy oil: This was right on time for me. I have one particularly dry/itchy area near the crown of my head. One day after co-washing, I applied some of this oil to my scalp. It feels soothing (I'm assuming that was the peppermint at work) and calmed the itch. I'm not a fan of the scent but it's not overwhelming, and not an issue since it gets the job done!
RockOut butter: This was extremely light. In fact, I wasn't sure that it would work on my twists/twist-out because it was so light. My assumption was correct. When I took my twists down, it was as if they had no product on them at all. Depending on what you're looking for, this may not be a bad thing, but for my twists I like something a little heavier with a better hold, like my Cantu Shea Butter.
Three outta four ain't bad, huh? I've gotta say, WRR has found a loyal customer in me.

If you're interested in purchasing these products, you can find them at www.missjessies.com and www.wix.com/werockroots/werockroots.

Review: Thank God I'm Natural

I've been reading Chris-Tia Donaldson's book Thank God I'm Natural since, like... February. No, I'm not slow! It's just that the ADD kicks in overtime when it comes to reading. I'm currently reading four books--this one included--along with reading books/articles for work and class. Needless to say this is pretty inefficient, but I eventually finish them. I'm wrapping up this book now, so here are the things I did and didn't like about the book.

Since my "didn't like" is pretty short, I'll start with that first. This book seemed to rely heavily on the "Evil relaxers" theme. Not only did she make it seem like it was impossible to have healthy permed hair, but she even makes a REACHING assumption that because relaxers are "addictive" like cigarettes, they could cause cancer. Ummmm, what? There is no research supporting this (which she does admit) but I'm thinking why even bring that up when there is absolutely nothing to back up that statement? Plus, Skittles are addictive (to me, at least). Does that mean I'm gonna end up with cancer because I like to taste the rainbow regularly? According to Donaldson's logic, yeah. The scare tactics really turned me off of this book for a while, because I was not looking for a diatribe about how terrible relaxers are and that I didn't love myself when I had one. Been down that road, not interested in a walk down memory lane.
But I can kinda see where she was coming from, in a marketing sense. To make natural hair look better, you have to make perms seem awful. (OF course, this could have just been done by extolling the benefits of natural hair, but hey...) It would be like Jenny Craig saying "Hey, buy my food! My food makes you lose weight! Don't eat regular food if you wanna be healthy... Although you could lose weight and maintain good health by monitoring your portions of whatever you eat and getting regular exorcise." No, they can't say that! They have to say "Buy Jenny Craig!" Much in the same fashion, Donaldson presents natural hair as the only way to have beautiful, healthy hair.

However, there were some great things in this book. I don't want to give away anything, so I'll just briefly say something about the chapters I enjoyed most.

Chapter 3: A Brush With History
Chapter 4: Anatomy 101 & Chapter 5: Type & Texture (I learned a lot that I didn't know in regards to hair growth, the composition of hair, and types of hair. Very informative for a natural hair newbie like me.)
Chapter 15: In the Kitchen (This chapter has a lot of recipes for making your own shampoos, conditioners and rinses. I have not tried any of them yet but I'm anxious to do so!)

There is also great information about what ingredients to look for and what to avoid, various styles natural/transition styles, tips for transitioners, locs if you decide to go that route, and coloring natural hair (something that I am planning to try soon).

Overall, I enjoyed this book. While I would not tout it as a "natural hair bible" like the reviews I read before I bought it, it did prove to be a valuable tool to me, both while I was transitioning and now.


If you are interested in ordering the book, you can go to Thank God I'm Natural or online retailers such as Amazon.com.

Product Review: Tropical Traditions Pure Virgin Coconut Oil

*Seeing as how this is my first product review, please be patient/understanding with me!*

A couple of weeks ago I received a jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. When I first opened it, I was a little confused. It was rock solid! LOL The next day, after sitting in my sauna-like house, it had softened up so I began my experimentation with the coconut oil!

Skin
Before I get into the review, let me explain something. Last winter I noticed that my skin had changed. For some reason (not sure if it was due to diet, medication or what) it had become extremely dry. Regardless of how much lotion I slathered on in the mornings, by lunch my legs and arms were not really soft & smooth. I'd read that coconut oil was beneficial for skin as well as hair, so I figured I'd try it. I began using it with the Vaseline intensive care that I usually use, and noticed that it actually lasted! So I started using just the coconut oil and I love it! I can tell a difference in my skin's overall appearance, even fresh out of the shower before I put it on. The biggest difference can be seen on my elbows. They weren't as smooth as I'd like since they're always rubbing against the rather rough arms of my office chair. After only about a week of consistently using the coconut oil they are so soft & smooth! I'm trying to find some way to incorporate the coconut oil in some kinda homemade foot scrub. (#random: I *heart* DIY pedicures, even more than going to get my feet done professionally.) All in all, I am extremely pleased with the results and I'm definitely gonna continue using virgin coconut oil as a part of my daily skin care regimen.


Hair
I am not as pleased with the results of using coconut oil in my hair. I tried using the coconut oil and EVOO as a hot oil treatment and I followed the steps that I found online to the T. I was expecting super soft tresses after that; the results were less than stellar. Fortunately I've never really had a problem with really dry hair, so it's not like this was a major issue. But still, for all that time & effort, I felt like there should have been a noticeable difference. I may try this treatment again and either let it stay on my hair longer, not use a shampoo when I wash it out (or use one that's sulfate-free), or try mixing in other ingredients. I'll update with a part II on how that turns out, should I do so. In the meantime, I am using the coconut oil occasionally just to oil my scalp, especially around the edges. No big TA-DA or anything with that, but at least it gives my hair a nice lil shine when I do it.

Overall, I think I will continue using PVCO, but probably more so for my skin than my hair. Has anyone else used PVCO for their hair and seen positive results? If so, share your secret, por favor!