Hair Review: New Hair Goodies from My Natural Hair

Can't believe that, September has come and gone, where did the time go? 👀
People, I cannot tell you how long I've been waiting for these new additions to the My Natural Hair product range. If you've been following me for a while, then you know that the conditioner and oil are on my list of favourite products.
I was privileged enough to be invited to the product launch at Style Studio Canal Walk, which took place on 31 August 2017.

The new additions to the family:
A Leave-in Conditioner, Hydrating Masque and a Curling Cream 😁 as well as the Nourishing Conditioner in a larger 500ml bottle (our prayers have been answered curly-coilys).

I've had braids installed for the whole of August; so I uninstalled and dug into these to try them out.

I shampooed with my usual; the Lush Shampoo bars the "NEW" or the "Soak & Float", I have scalp issues and these are the only shampoos that work for me.

I detangled with the hydrating conditioner and rinsed it out; I've already reviewed this one , along with the other products in the core range (click here) It comes in a larger bottle 👍👌😁

Look at my face 😁 It's the small things in life

I dry my hair with a towel to get rid of the excess water before applying the hydrating masque. I applied this to my hair one section at a time (I usually have 4/5 sections), then I cover my hair with cling film and put a towel over that and wait 15-30 mins ⏰ depending on how lazy I'm feeling.

The dilemma

After rinsing out the mask, I towel dried my hair and then I styled it. I decided to do a roller set. I separated my hair into 3 sections and applied the leave-in conditioner, the curling cream and strengthening oil.

First roller set in over two years

Feeling after roller set is done. Them rollers were digging into my skull 😶

 Skip past the overnight anguish of the roller set ...to the end result

Soft & Fluffy afro is my favourite way to wear my hair

Now to my thoughts about the new goodies...

1. Leave-in Conditioner 250ml
First off, the packaging in awesome. It's in a 250 ml pump bottle.
The fragrance is the same as in the other products in the range; its a light floral herbal scent, I quite like it. the conditioner is thick and creamy, it's not greasy at all and it spreads through the hair really easily. So a little goes a long way. it's got great slip, making it ideal for detangling and combing through. It performs in the same way as the Shea Moisture Restorative Moisture conditioner (Rinse-out/deep conditioner/leave-in), so yay!!

2. Hydration Mask 250ml
This comes in a tub, it's thick and creamy too. Like the the leave-in it's got really good slip. The end result once rinsed out is amazing. the coils were popping. My hair felt soft and manageable. The only other hydration mask I've tried is from Pure Oils, which is less creamy in consistency.

3. Curling Cream 250ml
So everything in this range is creamy and thick 😀 I really like this curling cream. It's not greasy and its super moisturising. Don't be heavy handed with this one. A little goes a long way. It doesn't flake or anything but why waste product.

My thoughts on using (almost) the entire range: everything works well together. I like how the leave-in, curling cream and oil layer together without flaking or weighing down my hair. There's no greasy mess afterwards either.
I only needed to refresh my hair with the curling cream and oil on day 3, so the longevity is also good.
Price wise, I'm pretty impressed; they range from R 74.99 to 134.99 on the My Natural Hair website. Also, always take advantage of the 3 for 2 specials that Clicks has quite often.

My ride or die from this range hands down are the Leave-in Conditioner and the Strengthening Oil; definitely "holy grail" status for me.

What products are you looking forward to trying from this range?
Let me know below.

See you in my next post, 

xoxo

Haircare Review: ApHogee Two-step Protein Treatment

Hi loves,
Today, I'm going to be reviewing a product that's very popular with curlies and coilys on social media; the Aphogee 2-step protein treatment. I've been using this product about 2 years and it's made a difference to the look and feel of my hair.
To start off, I colour my hair blue, green or purple which means I had to bleach my hair to lift my natural colour. I knew that by bleaching, I'd be weakening my hair, so  I decided to look for a protein treatment that I can use to strengthen my hair. So off I went to the nexus of knowledge known as YouTube, to listen to reviews and watch some demos. Needless to say, I was convinced by the evidence put forth, so I searched for a local seller and I managed to find one and it was decently priced.

The product...
Comes in two parts: a protein treatment  and a balancing moisturizer

ApHogee Two-Step Protein treatment 118ml and Balancing Moisturizer 237ml

The process...
It's messy..to say the least and it doesn't smell all that great (it's like egg and vinegar). Based on the advice of those who'd gone before me, I transferred the protein treatment to a nozzle applicator bottle, put on some vinyl gloves and covered my clothes with a towel.
I applied the product to freshly shampooed hair (divided into 6 sections) and twisted up each section. Once done with the application, I used my hair dryer on medium heat and slow speed for 15 minutes until the hair was dry.
This product dries hard and Aphogee advises that you not touch your hair, as you might break it. Before rinsing the protein treatment out, I sprayed my hair with warm water to soften it. After the first rinse, I applied the balancing moisturiser and worked it through my hair, I also finger detangled at this point and rinsed out the moisturiser.

Aftercare...
Protein treatments can harden hair, so that it feels dry and brittle; so after detangling I applied one of my moisturising protein-free deep conditioners; my favourite is the Rainforest Radiance Hair Butter from The Body Shop. I covered my hair with a plastic cap and waited for 30 minutes before rinsing out the deep conditioner. After rinsing, I proceeded to my regular L.O.C method and styling.

Moisturising Deep Conditioner: Rainforest Radiance Hair Butter

Final thoughts...
I love that this product is available for the public; I have trust issues with hairdressers because most do not know what to do with afro textured hair (don't come at me with a hair dryer and a fine-toothed comb), so I'm quite happy to do my own hair.
You're meant to repeat the protein treatments every 6 to 8 weeks; I don't always stick to this (I do every ~4 months), but I do have protein deep conditioners and light protein treatments for in-between treatments.

I got my original 2-pack from Obulunji for R 269.00; I recently ordered a 3 pack that includes: the Keratin & Green Tea Shampoo 355ml , the Two-Step Protein Treatment 473ml and the Balancing Moisturizer 237ml for R 498.00; it should last me at least a year. I also ordered the Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer for weekly maintenance, cost R 169.00.
Kinky Moriri also stocks the 2-step protein treatment for R 529 (they don't specify as to whether it's a 2-pack or 3-pack kit). 

Pros

• High protein content (hydrolysed collagen is the first ingredient )
• Effective (this really does what it says)
• Affordable 

Cons

• Contains silicones  and mineral oil (I don't mind them; I haven't seen any negative effects on my hair)

• Recommended for professional use only (if you're not confident about doing it yourself, I would suggest going to a professional. I don't know of any salon that offers this service in Cape Town. If you're in Johannesburg, you can go to the Obulunji Hair Salon at 570 Honeydew Road West, 2169

There are plenty of articles on Naturallycurly.com; https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/does-natural-hair-need-proteins/ debating the merits of protein treatments for natural hair; I think it depends on the state of your hair. If you colour your hair, you could benefit from doing protein treatments.

That's all folks,

See you in my next post,
xoxo

Haircare Review: Eco essentials ..another - Made in South Africa

Hello loves,
By now we all know hard it is to find South African made haircare products. I stumbled across this during one long troll session through google search for conditioner [set country to South Africa].

Eco essentials is a local brand, that is cruelty free, fragrance-free and hypoallergenic range based in Johannesburg.
Here's a blurb from their site:

"Eco Essentials manufactures superior quality, effective, cruelty free, pure and natural hair care products for the whole family.

Our products are formulated to the highest standard to cleanse, nourish and rejuvenate delicate and sensitive hair, scalp and skin.  We believe that natural products are the best way to keep the hair and skin healthy and naturally vibrant.  Our products are specifically for sensitive skin which is prone to dryness, irritations and allergic reactions.  We offer products that are that are pure, effective, safe and are made without harsh chemicals.  Our products are made to pharmaceutical industry GMP standards.  Our ingredients have been ethically sourced and are not tested on animals"

I was superexcited to find another brand that caters for naturals and is affordable...because product junkism is a real thing ;-)

I didn't purchase everything in the range, I went for the shampoo, hair mask and the hair butter.

  

Cleansing & Nourishing Shampoo 500ml, ZAR 99.95

The shampoo is orange in colour; the consistency is jelly-like, quite thick and not runny at all. It's the most gentle shampoo I've ever used, definitely not a clarifier (if that's what you're going for, you may have to double shampoo), but it's perfect for weekly cleansing because you don't want ot strip your hair every week. If you like a rich lather when shampooing, then you might not like this one.

Would I repurchase? Yes. I like how gentle it is, it leaves my hair hair soft. 

Shampoo

Deep Treatment Hair Mask ZAR 250ml, 85.95

This mask has the texture of whipped cream and a faint grapefruit scent. It's very light. It doesn't have slip as some of my other masks, so you'll have to detangle before washing. After applying this and applying mild heat for 15 minutes, my hair felt really soft and manageable. It was also shiny..the coils...they love this stuff. It's good. 

Would I repurchase? It's a yes from me.

Hair Mask

Nourishing & Strengthening Hair Butter 250ml, ZAR 125.95

Hair butter is super thick and has a waxy feel. It's got a light nut scent. For my hair food people, this is a great alternative that's free of mineral oil and petrolatum. It might be too heavy for looser curl types though. I used this with my SheaMoisture JBCO leave-in and magic happened; this butter gives amazing hold for twisouts. See evidence below.

Would I repurchase? My favourite product in the lot, so YES! I like that it's not greasy.

Hair Butter

 Here are the results of my twistout:

Look at that definition

 Achieved with:

Add caption

Other products I'd like to try from the range:

The Repair & Nourishing Conditioner, 500ml  ZAR 99.95

All the products are availble for order online at www.ecoessentials.co.za , they ship internationally as well.

This a great haircare range and its affordable too.
Have you tried any of their products? What would you like to try out?

Let me know below.

See you in my next post, 

xoxo

Find it Online - Local Hair Supply Stores

 Hey loves,

I thought I'd compile a list of all the online hair supply stores that operate in South Africa. As you might know finding these stores using a Google store is quite a chore...first change the country setting to South Africa... then type in random hair product ..click enter and hope for the best. Then, go through search results all the way to page 1XXXX before finding a local hair store ....WHAT?!

Image from www.uberhumour.com

It's really hard to find these stores, unless you know the name of the store you're looking for. Here's a list of the one's I've been able to find. You can find hair products, accesories such as satin scarves, pillowcases, crochet hooks, hair extensions etc.

Proudly South African Products
Akan Organics www.akanorganics.co.za
Afrobotanics www.afrobotanics.co.za 
Afro Pride www.facebook.com/Afropridesa/
Archaic Human www.archaichuman.com/
Black African Organics www.blackafrican.co.za
Brown Child www.brownchild.co.za
Curl Chemistry www.facebook.com/curlchemistry/
Curly you www.curlyyou.co.za
Earthy www.earthy.co.za
Essentially Natural www.essentiallynatural.co.za
Eco essentials www.ecoessentials.co.za
HAIRPRINT South Africa http://hairprint.co.za/ 
Kafui Naturals www.facebook.com/kafuinaturals/ Shop for it at www.spaza-nakama.shopstar.co.za/ and www.mudanga.com/index.php/beauty-health
Keitu Haircare www.keituhaircare.com
Keramour Naturals http://www.keramournaturals.co.za/
Lavish Atelier www.solavish.co.za
My Natural Hair www.mynatural.co.za
Natural Aura  www.naturalaura.co.za
Naturally Good  www.naturallygood.co.za
Natmoisture www.natmoisture.co.za
Native child www.nativechild.co.za
Nilotiqa www.nilotiqa.com
Nubian Nature  www.nubiannature.co.za
Oamobu naturals  www.oamobu.co.za
Rockin Naturals relaunching in June 2017 as Buuya www.buuya.co.za
Ruutos www.ruutos.com
Suki Suki Naturals www.sukisukinaturals.co.za
The Moisture Factory www.themoisturefactory.co.za
The Perfect Hair www.theperfecthair.co.za
Tru Curls www.truecurls.co.za
Plush luxury online  - www.plushluxury.co.za stocks Natural aura, Nubian Nature, Zarona & Nilotiqa
Zarona www.zarona.co.za

Stocks Local and International Brands
African-Flair www.african-flair.co.za/
Beauty on Tapp www.shopbeautyontapp.co.za
Blaq Hair Care www.blaqhaircare.co.za
Everything hair www.everythinghair.co.za
Faithful to Nature www.faithful-to-nature.co.za 
Hair city www.haircity.co.za
Hairhouse warehouse www.hairhousewarehouse.co.za
Kinky Moriri www.kinkymoriri.co.za
Lush www.lush.co.za
Obulunji www.obulunji.com
Retailbox www.retailbox.co.za
Style Diva www.stylediva.co.za
Wellness warehouse www.wellnesswarehouse.com

Most of Clicks and Dischem's hair products are avaialble on their online stores:
www.clicks.co.za
www.dischem.co.za

I hope this list is helpful. I'm going to try and keep it up to date. Add new sites as I discover them while trolling the net.

Happy shopping!

xoxo,

N

 

 

DIY Hair:Goddess locs

Hi all,
Best wishes for 2017! (I hope you all had a blessed holiday). i'm late to the party I know. It's already February *gasp*
It's good to be back! First post of the year...Yay!!!
I'm so excited about my new protective style I had to share.

I've been looking at goddess locs for a while; they're super popular on social media. I've been looking at those posts all googly eyed and I've finally done it.

So what are goddess faux locs?
Goddess locs were created by trichologist Dr Kari williams (click here for a link to hair website) and was debuted by Meagan Good. This is style is inspired by the forever beautiful Lisa Bonet.

Getty Image

Getty Image

The goddess locs designed by Dr Kari are done with kinky human hair for wrapping and  deep wave hair for the curly/wavy ends. She has a tutorial available on how to instal on sale on her website, you cna also purchase a complete goddess loc kit from her website.

How do they differ from faux locs?
Faux locs have blunt ends and goddess locs have curly and wavy ends. Traditionally, faux locs are done by doing box braids and then wrapping them with kinky synthetic hair such as Marley hair (which makes them quite heavy). As I said earlier the Dr Kari's goddess locs are done with human hair. Human hair is really expensive and necessity is the mother of invention :-) so there are synthetic alternatives one can use that are way cheaper.
The curl refinery in the USA has made goddess loc packages for every pricepoint; 100% human hair, human/synthetic hair blend, and 100% synthetic hair package (Here's a link to their site). There's a UK site called Boho locs that sells packages and has a salon in London as well. They sell human hair and synthetic hair packages as well (Click here  to visit their site). I think boho locs ships internationally, but I'm not about to pay what they're charging, add to that shipping and South African customs fees.

How I installed my goddess locs?
After months of research...on Youtube and instagram I finally found a tutorial I was happy with, one that would give me the most realistic and natural looking faux locs. Here's a link of the tutorials I watched before installing my locs. (Click on the names for direct links to the video tutorials)
Supa Natural
Lynda Moyo
Cassandre Beccai

What you need?
Rat-tail comb
Leave-in conditioner: I used the Cantu Leave-in conditoning cream

Leave-in conditioner

Oil/butter to seal: I used my own concoction that mainly has grapeseed oil and Jamaican black castor oil

Oil mix

Synthetic hair:
For Wrapping: 1 pack Fina Nubian twist wave, 1 pack Darling Vibrations and 1 pack Kingston braid
For the curly ends: I used weaves from Xpression and Darling for the looser curls - Rose Deep and Brazilian Wave (I just cut off the weft and I'm good to go). For tighter curls I used the Darling Vogue curls and Freetress Bohemian crochet hair.

Curly and Wavy hair

Kinky hair

Installation:
I twisted my own hair  and left the last inch loose. I then added the curly hair to the ends of my hair by braiding in three pieces one at a time for a tapered effect.
I then wrapped my hair with the kinky/curly hair, I didn't use glue to seal, the hair is tapered so I just wrapped upwards at the end until I ran out of hair.

Final results: Tada!!! What do you think?

The day after installing

Two weeks later. I refreshed the front and added string for colour

from the back

I've had the goddess locs for about three weeks now and I plan on keeping them in until the end of February. I love them more everyday; they look more natural as the hair gets more frizzy.Will definitely do them again in the future.

First post of 2017...done!!!
see you in my next post friends

xoxo,

 

Hair: It's my one year nappiversary!

Hi all,
I celebrated my one year nappiversary last week. Can't believe the year has gone by so quickly.
I'm not going to go through the reasons and back story for going back to being natural, you can read about it here in a previous post.

Protective Styling &Length Retention
My main goal this year was healthy hair and growth; I defintely wanted to regain the I'd lost when I chopped. As a child my mother maintained my afro by keeping it in big braids and then later cornrows or threading.
In high school, I maintained my hair by doing two-strand twists and braids. When I got to varsity I kept my hair in box braids.
So I know that the best way for me to retain length would be to do protective styling which is I maintained my length in the past. Box braids and marley twists are my preferred methods, and to keep things interesting I decided to use coloured extensions instead of the brown and black I usually go for.

Purple ombre

Gunmetal grey/ Silver

Blue & Green Marley twists

I never kept the braids installed for more than 4 weeks at a time, after which I took a 2-3 week interval before re-installing. during those weeks, my go to styles were twist-outs and braid-outs, and just wearing scarves when I was feeling lazy.

December 2015

 

April 2016: 2 years post-relaxer

Head wrap

Heat Styling
I tried to keep heat to a minimum, and when I did use it - I slapped on that heat protectant. In the past year I've blow dryed my hair maybe 6 times and this mostly in the winter when I didn't want to sleep with wet hair (It's really uncomfortable and it takes forvever to dry). I blow dry with a round brush at medium heat and speed. I used a hair straghtener only once this year and that was at my 2 year post-relaxer mark in May.

Colour
Up until 2 years ago, I'd never coloured my hair, but I've been coloouring hair since I started my transition. I lighten my the ends of my hair with bleach and then use sem-permanent hair dyes such as Manic Panic and Crazy Color. So bleaching is not go for your hair; I lightened my hair in three steps 3-4 weeks apart until I achieved the desired shade of blonde.
To minimise the damage, I do protein treatments with aphogee 2-step every 8 weeks, and I do a light protein treatment every month with the CHI fortifying treatment. I also deep condition every week, no exceptions and minimise the amount of heat I use on my hair.

Favourite products of 2016

Jamaican Black Castor Oil - If there's a holy grail product for me, It's JBCO! I use to pre-poo by adding it to my conditioner. I also use it in Mandy's growth mix,  in a new Mafura butter mix I'm currently using and the scalp oil mix I use (I'll have to do a post on my DIY hair products).


Shea Moisture JBCO range - is one of favourite haircare ranges. I have the shampoo, treatment masque, leave-in anf styling lotion. When used together, the results are amazing.

Mandy's growth mix - I've talked about this in a previous post. It's an old school South African growth recipe that Mandy from The Mandy expedition modified as the original recipe is quite drying. Click here for her recipe. I add rosemary and peppermint essential oils to my mix and I use Jamaican Black Castor Oil instead of normal castor oil.

Challenges
My scalp has become really dry in the last year. and the flaking was out of control in the winter. I had to use the Shea Moisture African Black Soap range to reduce the flaking and it helped.

Supplements
I considered giving into the hype and trying Hairfinity, Mane Choice etc., but I decided against it as I already take the Vital Hair, Skin & Nails supplements. I started taking these for my nails which tend to break when I don't take the supplements.
 
Goals for 2017
Maixmum length retention and to grow my hair to bra-strap length
To keep it healthy

December 2016; 1 year natural.

It's important to realise that there isnt one magical product that will make your hair grow. Your have to eat properly and exercise, drink enough water and take care of your hair; limit the amount of direct heat and keep your hair in protective styling to maximise length retention. 

I don't think I've left anything out,

See you in my next post,
xoxo, 

Hair Review: Dark & Lovely Au Natural Range ft. the BFF

Hi loves,
I' was so excited about the launch of Dark & Lovely's Au Naturale range in South Africa (Designed specifically for the South African market, there's a plaiting pudding cream...), which couldn't come soon enough. I can't believe how long it's taken them to launch a natural hair care range considering how long they've been operating in South Africa....tsk.tsk.. But let by gones be by gones...
I'm happy to say that this review will be done in collabo with my BFF; we're both on a natural hair journey and certified product junkies. We got the products from Clicks and Dischem when they first launched (So for slighlty cheapper than the recommended retail price). She reviewed the shampoo and condtioner, and I reviewed the condtioner and mositurizing butter.

Shampoo 

Her Review:

The Moisture-Replenishing shampoo is egg yolk yellow in colour and slightly runny. It’s got a strong mango and tropical fruit fragrance, not unlike the Mango range from the Body Shop; A bit strong for my liking, but I’ll live. I used it as a clarifier after a protective style and as a weekly shampoo since purchasing. From the first wash, it lathers quite well (yay for suds!!) cleanses my fine strands clean without stripping; which is what I want, from my shampoo. I have shampooed my hair with this product both with and without pre-pooing and it delivered the same results. My strands are quite fine and dry out quickly so this is a win in my book. I just would recommend only shampooing twice if you really need to (i.e. you've been rolling in mud and/or attended the colour run). In my case, a moderate amount went a long way so I think this bottle may last me about two months.

Price: ZAR 39.95


Conditioner

My Review:
The Knot-out conditoner in this range also has a strong Mango fragrance but I'm not complaining. I must confess I'm more of a deep condtioner girl, so I used this conditioner as a pre-shampoo treatment/detangler.
The Verdict? It's great! It's got a ton load of slip which is what I need. It really made my from more manageable and removing knots easily. (I finger-detangle and follow that up with my Denman brush).
For pre-poo, I normally mix my conditoner with Jamaican Black Castor Oil and this condtioner works really well with JBCO (so that's another plus).
I feel like this is a great alternative (It's silicone-free) for those of us who miss Tresemme Naturals something fierce (I'm still mad about that by the way...How could they take it away from us?)

Her Review:

It’s light and with a creamy spreadable consistency. The fragrance was something akin to mango and tropical fruit smoothie; a bit overpowering for me, but bearable. Plus it doesn’t linger.

I first used it as a detangler on my 4b strands and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It has SLIP. As in you can detangle with your fingers or paddle brush with ease (provided your hair isn’t extremely tangled). So that passes the first test. The downside is that you have to use quite a bit of product to saturate your hair. But as it’s fairly inexpensive, I don’t mind it.

I also tried it as a deep conditioner and left it in for 20min. Here.... ja, it’s not a deep conditioner. It’s not bad but it left my hair wanting a bit more. I tried again but added some of my favourite oils for extra extra-ness. This time it did a better job. But since I hate doing that, I think I will just stick to it as a quick conditioner or a detangler.

Price: ZAR 39.95

Afro moisturizing butter

 My Review:
I decided to go for the moisturizing butter instead of the plaiting pudding cream because I have a strong aversion to pink creams. Why must you be so Dark & Lovely? Pink? Really?! NO!
The moisturizing butter is quite firm with a smooth texture, which I really like (no dripping all over the place). The fragrance...I don't like at all. It's very chemical (trying to be herby..I don't know) It smells a little like Sunlight dishwashing liquid to me. That being said I really like how it feels in my hair. It's super mosturizing; great for use as a the moisture component in conjunction with an oil to seal. Also gives great slip if you're detangling your hair post-wash. I also used it on my hair with my whipped mafura butter when I installed Marley twists.


For those who are silicone-sensitive, it does contain dimethicone. So despite the not so awesome fragrance, we're keeping it! 

Price: ZAR 79.95

My final verdict: All three of these products are super affordable. They're available in selected Dischem and Clicks stores. Also, Clicks has an online store, you can order there too.
So Dark & Lovely, well done! Took you long enough.

Her final verdict:

All in all, this combo is great and budget friendly if you’re looking for good, cheap products that do the job well. Will I repurchase? Yup! It’s worth it.

What's your verdict on the Au Naturale range? Yay! or Nah!?

See you in my next post,

xoxo








*Product images are from www.darkandlovely.co.za