To Be A Naturalista

Take a moment to ponder that question. Answer if you like

I almost forgot that I wanted to come back and report to you guys the results of the adaptions on Kimmaytube’s leave-in on my hair. Let me just say, I love it! Absolutely adore this mixture on my hair.

As I began to take down my twists, my hair felt so soft and not overloaded with greasy products. Thanks to the aloe vera gel I used instead of aloe vera juice, my twistout has pretty nice definition. (I was going to post a pic, but I’m at school. I’ll just take one when I get home)Also, I’d like to point out that it is holding up pretty damn well to this Texas heat and humidity. We shall see how it looks when I return home. 

So I guess I can say that the first trial of this homemade leave-in has been a success. I give this product a triple plus, 8 stars and all that jazz.

~~Stay Beautiful

It’s only been a week since the last time I washed, but it feels long over due. It’s usually not like that, but I think the KCCC I applied last Thursday really left alot of build up. (Btw, the Curling Custard flakes “ewwwwww”)

So anyway here’s my usual wash regimen:

• I separate my hair in four sections and shampoo each section separately with Ultra Care Sulfate Free Hydrating Shampoo. (A review shall be coming soon on that) I wash my hair in sections because its really Really REALLY thick, and I would not penetrate my scalp effectively if I just do it in one big puff.
• After rinsing all sections, I apply my conditioner. This time I tried Herbal Essences Hello Hydration ( Which I don’t like as much as my Aussie Moist), and detangle in smaller sections. I usually let the conditioner sit in anywhere from 10 to 30 min, depending on the amount of free time I have.
• When rinsing out my conditioner, I like to let the water run directly under the faucet. And we’re done!
• I twisted my hair after my wash with my newly made leave-in conditioner. (Which I like btw)
• On average I takes no more than 2 hours to completely wash and twist my hair. Any longer and I’m probably being lazy.

I Love my hair when it’s clean! I guess it’s because I can really see and feel the change between dirty and clean. When my hair is dirty, it really looks dusty and icky. But when its clean, its like so dark and shiny and gorgeous, just yummy lol.

Ok that’s all for now. Plus, new style come Wednesday.

~~Stay Beautiful

Being a college student, I can definitely understand the difficulty in purchasing natural hair care products on a budget. So when I do stock up on my essentials, I try to find ways to stretch them out. And since for me, my leave-in conditioner doubles as a styling product, I especially want to make it last as long as possible.

At the moment, my go-to leave in is Giovanni Direct Leave-In Conditioner. The bottle contains about 8.5 oz of product and will last me for the school year on avg (for both moisturizing a styling. A little goes a long way). While this is good and all, I still wanted to do something the would get the most out of my leave-in. So I began to research recipes on homemade leave-in conditioners. One I came upto was Kimmaytube’s Leave-in, alot of people swear by it. The recipe goes as follows:

2 tbsp Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner

2 tbsp aloe vera juice

2 tsp jojoba oil

2 tsp castor oil

Now I only used this recipe as a template, and used whatever I had on hand. I feel like if you know what works best on your hair, you should try your best to stick with the same combination of products. I used twice as much ingredients for the size jar and this is the result:

My adaption of Kimmaytube’s recipe includes:

4tbsp Giovanni Direct Leave-In

4 tbsp Aloe Vera Gel (I was hoping the gel would give a bit more hold for my hair)

4 tsp jojoba oil

4 tsp coconut oil

I mixed well and the mixture became light, stiff, thick, and fluffy (just the way my hair prefers products). The mixture itself is cool to the touch, creamy and thick in consistency and when applied, does not leave oily residue (which I love). Now I have used this mixture on my head just yet because i just mixed it up a couple hours ago. However, I will most definitely be using it tonight when I wash my hair. 

Be on the look out for an update on the results of this mixture on my hair and my wash routine.

~~Stay Beautiful

Last night, I decided i would not be conquers by humidity. I should be able to wear my hair any which way I wanted to and I will! So after doing a little research, I went on ahead a retwisted my hair, with one extra touch.

Usually I just used water, my leave-in, and shea moisture curl and style milk. Last night I just spritzed my hair with water and add Kinky Curly Curling Custard to steal in the moisture. I must say, after wearing my hair all day, it has definitely done its job! My hair maintained its shape, while still being soft and full of body. Here is a three day comparison of my hair and the effects of humidy:

As ya’ll can see, there is a HUGE difference between today, and the past two days. I think I have won this battle :)

~Stay Beautiful

NaturallyCurly.com has a list of product that help combat humidity. A few of these items include:

• Kinky Curly Curling Custard
• Curl Junkie Curls in a Bottle
• Deva Curl Set Me Up

A list of of all ten products can be found here. The goal with these styling products is not to use them a curl definers, but rather in like the form of a serum. It will help prevent the moisture from getting in and puff your styles into a hot frizzy mess!!!!

Styling options? I’d say keep it simple. Low maintenance, wash n gos and productive styles work best in humid weather. If you would like to wear an out style (twist out, braid out, bantu knot out) take a look at the products from the list above to help your hair keep its shape. I show you how I dealt with Texas humidity in the next post.

Hope this helps

~~Stay Beautiful