Ingredients: DevaCurl Delight Edition

Hi-yah! This is simply a post on how important it is to check product ingredients, and to learn what your hair likes.

So, I’ve been using DevaCurl Original as you all might remember, and it’s ‘ok.’ It is not the most moisturizing, but I still love the Original scent. When I initially received my first Deva cut, I was really excited about the results, and I wanted to use the full DevaCurl line. The stylist used the Original line to no poo, and then condition my hair—after the cut of course. But when I arrived at the store, there were three different lines. I selected the super curly line (Decadence) thinking that it would be the best for my hair. It turned out that it was even more drying than the Original.

I think that in my last post I mentioned the Science-y Hair blog post on film forming humectants, this was a breakthrough of sorts for me—a revelation! I have a tough time keeping my hair moisturized. My hair strands are really fine, and they tend to get super frizzy, and not the nice frizz that comes with natural Black hair, but damage frizz. Also, when my hair is dry, I tend to get really bad tangles and single-strand knots.

In any case, my hair has been good, but I thought that it could stay moisturized a bit longer with less of the damaging frizz. I took a shot and started reading the ingredients list for the DevaCurl One Condition Delight . Now, I just want to say that as a super curly, I didn’t even want to look at this because they promote it to wavies, and most of the images communicate that the product is not for Black women or women with coarser textures. That said, I went to the ingredients list any way.

Of course, glycerine is at the top of the list. I don’t know what’s up with DevaCurl and their high price point when they use glycerine and propylene glycol—two of the cheapest humectants. These two humectants are sugar-based, which evaporate from the hair quickly; hence, curlies and wavies always complaining that DevaCurl is drying—it can be for many of us.

Anyway, I read the full ingredients list and two ingredients stuck out to me:

• Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract (flax seed)
• Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract (chia seed)

These two ingredients are film forming humectants! I decided to purchase a 12 ounce. I was so nervous about the purchase because I am simply tired of buying products. I’m tired of buying products, and then tossing them to the side. It’s wasteful, and I simply want products that work.

First impression: the Delight line has a really strong scent that is very different from Original and Decadence. It is a very strong citrus/perfume type of scent, and if you are sensitive to scent, I would suggest avoiding it (well, open the bottle to smell before purchase). That said, I tried the One Condition Delight (OCD), and the slip is amazing. There is no slip with the other two formulas unless you master that seaweed technique, but this one has tons. OCD is also very moisturizing. This seems to be the one to beat. I went ahead and committed to the liter sizes of the low poo Delight and the OCD—it seems to be working so far.

P.S. At the suggestion of Naptural85, I’ve been experimenting with aloe juice on my scalp for ph balance, and it is hit or miss (she’s started using aloe gel from the plant, which I may try eventually). It’s pretty acidic, too, so it makes the hair and hands kind of squeaky. I try to spray it directly onto my scalp in the shower before I apply styling products.

Aaah, another school year has begun! It’s going to be a busy one for me. What about you all?

“I’ve got time today!”: DevaCurl Follow-Up

Happy New Year! I have some time for a quick (long?) follow-up post on my hair so far. So, I remember a few years back — about five to seven years ago? — there was some talk about DevaCurl products being very drying. Also, I remember something about them changing the formulation of the products at one point.

In any case, I was only using the DevaCurl One Condition as a leave-in, and then switched to the color-treated hair formula (now discontinued), and then ceased using it altogether. As you know, I am currently using the full line of products except for my shampoo — I use LivSo shampoo.

Important Side Note: DevaCurl was sold to some sort of venture capitalist firm, Ares . Apparently, the company had already been sold to a different VC prior to this. I am critical of transactions like this because it changes the nature of a business when they have stakeholders to please. You can already see it with the three different lines that they’ve created: Original, Wavy (Delight), and Super Curly (Decadence). Further, you can tell that they simply don’t care about curly hair because they’ve created these lines based on curl pattern, and we all know curl pattern is not the most important attribute when working with curly hair.

Now, back to my point. I purchased two items from the Decadence line, the No-Poo and the One Condition. I noticed that my hair was super frizzy and dry. I am also using the Ultra Defining Gel. I decided to have a look at the ingredients, and the products are loaded with glycerin and protein. When I got my hair cut, the stylist used products from the Original line. I thought to myself “It’s super dry and cold outside, so I will use the Decadence line in the winter, and switch to Original in the summer.” Nope. That’s not how it works.

I have fine, medium to highly porous, coarse strands with medium density. The logic says “Highly porous? You need more protein!” No, my hair can’t take much protein, and the stylist actually said not to use a bunch of protein unless you color-treat or heat style (It’s funny that she didn’t mention that the B’Leave In and Ultra Defining Gel have a bunch of proteins, but *eye roll*).

Glycerin is a whole other story because there is conflicting information out there about glycerin, but the simple assessment is that glycerin can dry your hair out even more in the winter months, and make your hair expand on humid summer days. It’s a tricky ingredient, so I tended to avoid products that contained it as a main ingredient (This is getting long, huh? Ha!) I defer to The Natural Haven and Science-y Hair blog, but my hair has been fine with low glycerine and low protein products.

Bottom line: I had to exchange the DevaCurl One Condition Decadence for the Original. This helped tremendously. The No-Poo Decadence is phenomenal! I couldn’t switch that out, but switching out the One Condition Decadence significantly reduced the amount of protein I was putting in my hair (frizzy, dry hair).

That still didn’t quite solve my frizzy/dry issue. I started to think, think. With years of natural curly hair experience, what could I do to solve this issue other than return the DevaCurl products…Bam! Add a curl cream for additional moisture and curl definition. And it couldn’t be a DevaCurl curl cream because they too have protein and glycerine in those formulae. I searched around…my house, ha! I had a sample jar of TreLuxe Curl Supreme. First, this curl cream smells so amazing! I simply had to use it. I did a little bit of research, and found this review of all of their styling products on Naturally Curly. The strange thing is that the review was posted in 2014…I don’t think I had really ever paid attention to this product line.

Anyway, I’m using the Curl Supreme, and it solved the frizzy/dry issue.  I use it after I apply DevaCurl B’Leave In, and before I apply the DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel. The Curl Supreme plays really well with the DevaCurl products. I have no flakes or white spots, and I get nice shine. Remember to keep your hair soaking wet when applying products — apply them in the shower for best results.

I’m going to play around with this combination a bit, and maybe use my Kinky Curly Curling Custard instead of the Ultra Defining Gel the next time.

Back to the frigid Chicago temperatures!

 

 

 

Annual Hair Post: I’ve Been Doing This All Wrong!

Hiyah! I haven’t posted in a long time — I’ve been really busy. This semester was a rough one. I’m a pretty hearty person, but I caught a cold by the end of the semester.

In any case, I’m not here to discuss the Special Collections library, but hair of course! Ha! So, I finally got my hair cut after eight years. After years of having people in my head: blow-outs, micro-braids, hair pieces, and weaves (I was performing when all this hair action was going on) I simply hated getting my hair “done.” So once I committed to the hair that naturally grows from my head, I didn’t want to see another hair stylist.

There are curly girl salons closer to my house, but I decided to go way up north in the city (Chicago) for my first Devachan cut. This salon has been around for about seven years, and I have been holding out for the time, and money to make my appointment. It was totally worth it!

I was really scared to get my hair cut, but it really hasn’t been growing, and it always tangles (single-strand knots, dryness, frizzy hair, etc.). But I had come to manage these issues. I already knew that my stylist was white because her bio was on the salon’s website. I mention this because the last time a white stylist did my hair I was a freshman in high school, and it was one of those franchises…it just didn’t go well, ha! Please do not take this personally followers because there is light at the end of this tunnel.

My stylist was amazing! She taught me so much in one appointment that she made me fall back in love with my hair, and I will definitely be booking with her again. First, Afro textured hair needs hydration. I know this, but I didn’t know just how much. Also, it needs specific hydration — WATER. She told me that it is a myth to think that you can’t wet your hair at least twice a week (she suggested more, but I don’t have the time for that right now, ha!). After following blogs, and listening to so many naturalistas online, I thought that having your scalp wet a few times a week was bad –not so.

Also, the second most important thing she shared was stop using so much oil and butter. I wasn’t going crazy with the oils and butters, but I was using them for the LOC method, and to refresh my hair, and it simply does not work. I use light oils, too, but they should be used sparingly. Oils and butters coat the hair strand, and can lock moisture out. This makes total sense. I had been using oils and butters to lock moisture in, but they can also lock it out of the hair strand. Perfect sense. No wonder I couldn’t manage my frizz and tangles properly.

I also had not used the full line of DevaCurl products. I am now doing that, and am obsessed with them. I use the No Poo Decadence and One Condition Decadence (for the winter months, I will go back to original during the summer), B’Leave In curl primer, and Ultra Defining Gel. Side note: I’m about to experiment with a line called LivSo because I’m still struggling with scalp issues when I use shampoo*. I will post a review of that in about four weeks. Interestingly, I have significantly reduced dryness and itching when I No Poo, which is my second wash of my week.

Okay, so, DevaCurl products. I used to use the One Condition original, and loved the scent, and it was pretty moisturizing. But I think they changed the formula at some point, and some other weirdness, so I stopped using it.

There is a learning curve. You have to use a lot of WATER! That is, your hair has to be soaking wet when you apply the styling products, like, dripping wet. And you have to allow your hair to completely dry before manipulating or scrunch/fluffing the hair. The gel will make what they call a cast on the hair, and when that cast completely dries it creates a hold and moisture barrier for your curls.  You will apply a little bit of leave-in conditioner making sure it coats every strand at every level of your hair, and then you apply the gel on top. You have to make sure that the products make a “squishy” sound. That tells you that you have a balance of water and product in your hair — don’t squeeze the water out — just make sure that product and water are evenly distributed, but that your hair is still soaking wet — even if you have to spray more water in your hair. I do my hair in the shower just to make sure that it’s really wet.

I haven’t mastered this process yet, but I am close. And the one thing that I’ve noticed already is that I get more consistent curls and kinks. So, even if it is a little dry or frizzy, my curls and kinks are still poppin’.

Your next step is to allow your hair to completely dry. Don’t touch it! You can sit under a hood dryer or air dry. After it’s completely dry you simply fluff and scrunch to break the cast!

I hope this helps someone else out there! Happy holidays, and here’s hoping for a great 2018 (Prayers up!) If you have questions, just send a reply!

 

Socks and Deodorant

Funny title, right? Not really. I take these things seriously! I’ve been looking for the perfect, most effective natural deodorant for over twenty years! I’ve ruined so many tops and t-shirts on my search for a great deodorant. In any case, I believe that I’ve found it. I happened upon it through a friend of a friend. I just so happened to mention something about deodorants about three years ago, and this friend of a friend said “I have this deodorant sample that my sister left behind…she used the other one, but you can have this one.”

I believe it was Primal Pit Paste’s Orange Creamsicle jar I’m not super crazy about putting citrus scents on my body, but this was nice and sweet, so I tried it. I think that I placed a full order the same week.

Let me say that deodorant is not an antiperspirant, so I do sweat. But when I do, it doesn’t smell bad — even on the hottest days, and things get pretty hot in Chicago and Chicagoish (Note: as long as I cover my armpits with the right amount, and allow the deodorant to set before I put anything over my armpits).

I was never really comfortable using drugstore antiperspirant because of all of the chemicals, and it would leave crystals/stains in the armpit area of my shirts. You can’t get that stuff out!

I use the regular formula of the PPP, and I purchase the jars (I tried a stick, but I didn’t like it–you may like it; they have sensitive, regular, and strong). My favorite scents are Royal and Rogue, Patchouli, and Coconut Lime (I do randomly still use the Orange Creamsicle, and tried the Thyme and Lemongrass, which was HORRIBLE –it didn’t work with my body chemistry).

If you don’t already, I suggest using a wash cloth to wash your armpits between use. Don’t just swipe a bar of soap over the area because the deodorant leaves buildup, and will cause a rash and irritation (I did experience this and almost stopped using it until I figured out what I wasn’t doing). This deodorant contains coconut oil (antibacterial) and shea butter (no, they don’t stain your clothes), and baking soda and arrowroot powder to reduce sweating (it’s the baking soda that can cause irritation, so you want a clean armpit upon each application).

Moving on, about three years ago I was looking for a Christmas gift for my teen niece, and saw an ad for Rhianna socks (Fenty). They were selling them at this online shop called Stance . I went to the site seeking socks for my niece, and ended up buying a few pairs for myself (Aaaah, Christmas, ha!). I love, love, love their socks especially their Classic Crew and Ankle socks.

Stance not only makes their crew with appealing designs, but they are so luscious and comfortable! You could have a shoe with no support, but put a Stance crew sock on, and it will feel like you are walking on a foam bed. They are best for the fall and winter months (even though I have snuck these in on a 50-70 degree day). My second love, are the ankle socks. I was really hesitant about the ankle sock thing, but I purchased some, and I love them. They are perfect with straight leg pants or jeans. My last favs are the Tomboy Light socks. These are like a a hosiery sock, but thicker. I have a couple of pairs of these, and I just ordered another…I am just obsessed now, and my sock game is tight, ha!

 

 

 

 

Shampoo Update: “Boing!”

Okay, so in January I tried two different shampoos, Not Your Mother’s Naturals Tahitian Gardenia Flower & Mango Butter Curl Defining shampoo and Ouidad’s  Climate Control Defrizzing shampoo

As you can see, I didn’t add a link to the NYMN shampoo because, meh, it was almost too mild. I would almost categorize it as a baby shampoo. I think it could still be for curly hair, but not coarse curly hair. Also, I wasn’t really pleased with how my scalp dried out. Conclusion: Mild, fruity scent, still suffered from scalp irritation.

Now, the Ouidad shampoo is a different story. Initially, I thought “meh, this one is not that great either,” but I decided to rotate it with the Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo. First, it passed the scalp test with very little scalp irritation. Second, it did not strip my hair. Let me say that my hair feels clean after use, but not stripped. It does have a really frothy lather, which initially freaked me out (the scent is very mild and clean). Also, this is one of those products that one has to use several times before coming to any conclusions. I’ve noticed after using this for over six weeks that I’ve gotten consistent results–no super dry hair or scalp, minimal tangles, and my crown is not as dry as it usually is by wash day (I only had to refresh one section). That is, I think this shampoo has progressive results.

I’ve also changed my leave-in. I mentioned that I was rotating in the Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter. Well, I decided to use this as a leave-in and rotate out Curl Junkie’s Smoothing Lotion, which has been what I consider a HG product. I was really hesitant about taking this out of the rotation, but I see the results are completely different and in a good way.

I have gotten more “pop, boing!” and longevity with my curls than with other regimens I’ve used over the past 8 years. And I’ve significantly reduced scalp irritation and itch. I’m

gonna keep doing it until, and if something changes.

 

 

 

Curl Refreshers

Yes, another hair post. I know this is supposed to be about more than hair, but lately I’ve been more inspired to write about hair than all of the other horribleness that’s been going on since 45 was elected into …

Shampoo Update 2017

Happy New Year All! I was settling, but not completely satisfied with the Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo. I am still going to use it because it is the most non-irritating shampoo I’ve used. Well, that is, until yesterday.

So I decided to do a little bit more digging on the surfactants/detergents in shampoo. This is ongoing research for me, but I decided to venture back in to see if there was more detailed information. And there was. I found it on Curly Nikki’s website. I didn’t go directly to her site, but used Google, and a link to this article popped up. I was searching for shampoo for sensitive scalp, but this one on shampoo for dry natural hair was on the return results list. I won’t go into detail because all of the information is contained within the article, but I can say that this helped me select a different shampoo.

I have found that after being a serious product junkie that my scalp had become super sensitive. I’ve had severe dry scalp, sore spots on my scalp, and some hair loss — from cheap sulfates!! When I use anything with SLS/SLES or Sodium C12-14 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, I have an instant reaction. As soon as my hair dries, my scalp is dry and within a day or two my scalp is itchy, and then a few more days out, my scalp is itchy and has sore spots. When I attempted to do no-poo (with Wen and many other cleansing conditioners) the same thing happened.

I decided to go back to Aveda brand shampoo. I first purchased their Scalp Benefits formula, but that made my scalp dry and itchy (see the ingredients list). And then I moved on to the Rosemary Mint. This shampoo significantly reduced my symptoms, and it’s actually supposed to be a clarifying shampoo. I thought that using it once a week would dry my hair out, but it doesn’t. And as I mentioned in a previous post, my scalp seems to prefer watered down sulfates. I still get the itchies with Rosemary Mint, but it’s nothing like the severe reaction I get with the other shampoos. That is, on a scale of 1 to 10, Rosemary Mint is about a 2-3 by wash day. But I think that this is only part of the story.

After reading the article on Curly Nikki’s site, I ran out and purchased Not Your Mother’s  Naturals Tahitian Gardenia Flower & Mango Butter Curl Defining Shampoo . I really don’t like fruity body care products, but I decided to give this a shot. I purchased this because of the mild cleansers. Mild doesn’t mean that this won’t get your hair clean. It means that it is less likely to irritate your scalp. I would usually wait until I’ve used a product for four washes before I post, but after my first wash, I could tell that this was going to work. I have not experienced any burning or itching so far. I will definitely be able to confirm by Saturday.

I purchased a Ouidad brand shampoo with C14-16 cleanser — I knew that I should not have because the Organix brand uses this cleanser, and it always dried my hair out, and irritated my scalp. But because Ouidad is supposed to be great for curly heads, I decided to risk it. Well, it didn’t work, ha! So, I exchanged it for the Ouidad Climate Control Defrizzing shampoo . I was simply going to return the Ultra Nourishing formula, but I noticed that the Climate Control formula contains some of the milder surfactants. So I will try that one next, and let you know how it goes.

I’m not that thrilled about how my curls turned out with the Not Your Mother’s, but if my scalp is inflamed and not healthy, it’s not going to matter too much anyway, so I’m sticking with it! All of this is connected to my slow hair growth! Ugh!

I may simply rotate these with the Rosemary Mint. But I first have to try the Ouidad!

Did this post help you? It’s taken me about five years to figure all of this out, and I am surprised that I’m not bald. Let me know.

 

Finals Week ‘n stuff

*Skipping a discussion about the 2016 Presidential election because…yeah…it’ll just stress me out.*

So, it’s finals week at the University, and things are slowing down in the library. I am really satisfied with what I am doing right now, though, I feel that tug of “There’s more that I want to do, let’s do it now,” which has caused great instability in my life. I’ve had to accept that I can’t sit still. I have a wanderlust when it comes to work, and fortunately this position has a lot of tasks to hold my attention. I now need to settle down and write — easier said than done.

I’m currently reading The Racial Contract by Charles Mills, a Caribbean scholar. It was suggested by a French political scholar on Twitter (I have a Twitter problem). It’s really driving home the point that racism is integral to the functioning of politics in the Americas (global white supremacy is more accurate). Racism is fundamental. And he uses philosophy (on which Western governments are based) to deliver his argument. It’s very good so far.

It’s now winter in the central Midwest (Chicago–the most important city in the Midwest, ha!). I crocheted a hat over Thanksgiving break. It’s beautiful and made with a wool/silk blend so that it won’t grab my kinks and curls. I am so happy with it that I am going to make another in a different color.

In any case, with winter comes the winter hair regimen. I don’t really do too much differently from season to season. I probably should, but my hair has medium/high porosity, so the most important thing is locking moisture into my hair. I’ve had to ditch the Lush Fairly Traded Honey shampoo. It was eating away at my hair. I mean…ugh, Lush! So I’m back with Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo. I’m also experimenting with Kinky Curly’s Stellar Strands. It’s okay…smells really weird, but I do notice a difference in softness when I rinse it out. So I will use it up, and give a full review then.

So here’s what I learned in the past week about this shampoo. The reason why it’s not as drying/stripping as the other Aveda shampoos, is because it contains a watered down sulfate (interesting because it’s supposed to be a clarifying). My scalp likes sulfates. I’ve tried mostly coconut based shampoos — who am I kidding — most shampoos have coconut cleansers, but my scalp hates full on coconut cleanser shampoos (I’m looking at Shea Moisture.) My scalp goes into five-alarm itch mode. Also, there are so many different names for coconut cleansers that it’s impossible to find a shampoo without one unless you go straight clay. My hair loves clay, but my scalp does not. Simply, my scalp likes to be cleansed with a sulfate shampoo. But sulfates dry my hair and scalp out!

So, here I am with Aveda Rosemary Mint again because it just works. I still have to put a little bit of Jojoba oil on my scalp, but it just works.

Talk soon!

‘Luke Cage’ second season on its way from Netflix — Mashable

I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix lately. This is one of the shows that I love! I got my mom and sister hooked on it too. Netflix is winning at the moment.

Christmas just got a little sweeter. Netflix revealed Sunday via Twitter that Marvel’s Luke Cage is definitely coming back for a second season…we just don’t know when. SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Netflix downloads The 13-episode first season of Luke Cage follows the bulletproof hero of the Harlem streets as he learns…

via ‘Luke Cage’ second season on its way from Netflix — Mashable

Hair Products 2016

I’m not sure when I wrote the last post, but ‘hello there.’ I thought I would post more after finishing my graduate program. But, alas, one has to build a career. In any case, it seems appropriate to warm-up with a post about  hair. It’s very easy, and, yes, 7 years later I am still obsessed with my hair.

So I’ve found out a few things about my hair and scalp. Yes, that’s right, I was using the anti-dandruff shampoo by Shea Moisture. Well, now I’ve concluded that I simply cannot use Shea Moisture products. I don’t find them moisturizing, and the shampoos ultimately make my scalp itch. Which leads me to  a video I found about three weeks ago. Hair vlogger, Naptural85 posted a YouTube video about her sensitivity to coconut oil. Not just her sensitivity, but why she stopped using coconut oil. Upon hearing her symptoms, I thought about what I had been experiencing with my scalp –itchiness, sore spots, and dryness/flakiness. I decided to eliminate coconut oil and as many coconut derivatives as possible.

You would not believe how many products use coconut oil or coconut cleansers. And the many names of coconut cleansers. I’ve been using shea butter, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil as sealants and refreshers for a while, so it wasn’t a big deal to eliminate coconut from the line-up. It was simply finding products that didn’t include coconut oil.

Along with the elimination of coconut oil, I’ve also started to reverse wash. I love the results. I think this is particularly helpful if you have fine, natural hair, and you have scalp issues. The two things that I’ve noticed is that 1) My hair has more volume and body. That is, it’s fuller and it has more movement, and 2) It has, along with the elimination of coconut oil, significantly reduced the scalp itch and irritation. I think the reverse wash gets rid of any conditioner product that may get left behind– reduces build-up.

Now, I’m not completely sold on my current shampoo because it seems a bit drying, but it doesn’t have any coconut cleansers. And I add a light coating of Jojoba oil to a clean scalp, and this combats any dryness that may occur (I use a Q-tip to apply the oil to my scalp).

So without further ado here is my current product list:

Reverse Wash:

• Inexpensive conditioner (I just found out last week that Aussie Moist has added sodium chloride to the current formula, so I am now searching for a new conditioner. I thought Tresemme would be good, but their conditioners have potassium chloride, which is just as bad as sodium chloride–they are cheap thickeners and just don’t feel good on the hair. I felt that the sodium chloride reduced slip. I may go back to Herbal Essences Totally Twisted)
• Obia Naturals Babassu Deep Conditioner (So good!)
• Fairly Traded Honey by Lush (really sudsy and drying, so I don’t use a lot. Also, I’m super critical of Lush. The products smell great, but most of their products are not ph balanced–their bar soaps and regular shower gels make my skin crack and break out in these weird thingys. I don’t know what one would call it, but when I stop using their stuff, my skin clears up. Also, they still use parabens and haven’t come up with a satisfactory reply to why they still use them, “there are parabens in your food…” just doesn’t cut it for me.
• Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion (Leave-in, Holy Grail product!)

Leave-in/Stylers (I use the LOC method):

• Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter (Liquid:  In addition to the Curl Junkie Smoothing lotion, I use this as a leave-in for wash ‘n go styles. I have yet to use it for a twist out, but it is as good as people say. I was hesitant to try it for my own reasons. Also, I had been using Jessicurl Deep Treatment, which is still good, but the Camille Rose is a nice change)
• Qhemet Biologics Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm (Oil: Holy Grail! I love this stuff, and it took me a while to figure out how to use it. I actually gave my first batch away because I couldn’t figure it out. I learned how to use it from a curly who used to be really active on naturally curly’s curl talk forum. You have to emulsify this with water. So I squeeze a small dollop into the palm of my hand, add a few drops of cool water, and then mix it into a cream. I add this in sections
• My DIY shea butter mix: (Cream) shea butter, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil. Mix with hand blender or if it’s a small batch, you can try to blend it with a spoon.
• Spritz my hair with water (bottle from Sally Beauty Supply)
• Apply Kinky Curly Curling Custard (Holy Grail! I’ve been using this since I found it, and I think that was 6 or 7 years ago. It freaks me out because I should probably try something else, but this gives me consistently great wash ‘n gos, and hold for days! I can’t quit it)

Yes, this seems like a lot, but my routine has actually gotten simpler over time. I want it to be even more simple! I wish that I could find one moisturizing leave-in, but my hair is porous, so no go. And the Shea Moisture High Porosity Masque seemed ‘Ok’ at first, but I started to notice that my hair was tangling more.

Has anyone had scalp issues? Problems you’ve noticed with certain product lines? I hope to post soon!