Product Review: Goin Natural

Kandy

Product Review: Goin Natural

I recently had the pleasure to review 2 of the 4 products, in the Goin Natural product line. 

Morargan Gold

100% Pure Moroccan Oil

Ingredients: Argania Sponosa (Argan Oil) 

Consistency: Oil

Product Review: I have been hearing so many positive reviews on pure moroccan oil. Many product lines are now incorporating argan oil to their products. So I was thrilled to try PURE 100% argan oil. It smells great, and it only took a few drops to seal in N's moisturizer. Now I was very thankful that only a few drops did the job. Why, you may ask? Well it costs $30.00. I'm a cheapie so for a little over 3 ounces, this is pricey. But the benefits of using argan oil are excellent, listed below are a few benefits of Argan Oil:

- Promotes Hair Growth

- Controls Frizz

-Restores Shine

-Prevents Breakage

Now that you know the pros and price, you can be the judge. But I do love it, and as they say "the finer things in life aren't free." So I will continue to use this product, and if I see a HUGE difference in her hair I will buy more (at income tax time LOL.) But I'm treating this product like pure gold! 

Silk

Twist, Curl & Edge Control 

Ingredients: Deionize water, mineral oil, vegetable glycerine, dea-oleth-3, phoshate, oleth-3 olrth-20, argan oil, kernal oil, diazolidinyl urea, fragrance.

Consistency: Thick brown (gel like) texture.

Product Review: I'm a label reader. So when I read "mineral oil" as the second ingredient, and diazolidinyl, I was not thrilled. Mineral oil, along with petroleum, has never been beneficial to N's hair. It makes her hair feel greasy and is still dry. So even though I gave this product a major "side eye" I gave it a try on her hair. It claims to help control your edges, and it did just that. It has a perfumy (not sure if that a word lol) scent. It truly slicked down her flyaways. I won't use this daily, but compared to previous gels ( like ampro for ex.) This was not as drying. Those other gels always left that sticky feeling, & flaky stuff in her hair. This product did not. So if your hair takes well to mineral oil, then this product is right up your alley. But for us, the jury is out on the Goin Natural Silk. I will keep you all updated on this product :)

My Son "L" Hair Journey

Kandy

My Son "L" Hair Journey

My Son L is 2 years old. I never really talked about his hair, well... because he didn't have much hair to talk about lol. He even went through a stage where he lost his hair. I put together a college of his little hair journey. He has come a long way, and is now able to rock a ponytail, ....but that's another post lol. 

(Click on photo to enlarge)

You will be seeing more of him on this blog, since I doubt I will ever cut his hair. 

Keep checking in to follow my baby boy "L's" hair journey.

Feather Clip Hair Fashion Accessory

Kandy

Feather Clip Hair Fashion Accessory

We love Claires! I always find such cute girly accessories. I saw this feather clip and it was only a dollar, so YES I grabbed it without second thought. The best part is they had several colors to choose from. 

Cute huh? 

I created a simple ponytail, with a headband braid (regular braid going across the hairline.) Which added a little spice to the ponytail and decorated it with this feather clip. 

Detangling A Tenderheaded Kid's Hair

Kandy

Detangling A Tenderheaded Kid's Hair

My daughter is very tenderheaded. She cries whenever I attempt to comb her hair, while wet. Doing detangling can be a nightmare. This is why I have only do twists on her hair.

As you can see, she has lots of hair. All these hair needs to be detangled! Thinking about the task at hand, gives nightmares. Hearing her cry during the detangling process, breaks my heart. However, I have finally found a way that works.

Choose a friendly and comfortable location

Her favorite room is the game room, where she has her toys and lots more entertainment and distraction.

Provide distraction 

Give her something to distract her. I made sure the TV was set to a kid friendly show.I also provided her with a small snack and Barbie dolls to play with.

Have your detangling products available 

I mixed the products for detangling,while she was watching her show. I do the detangling during pre-poo step of the whole wash process. I mixed conditioner and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Also, got a mist bottle filled with water.

Start detangling the hair 

One thing to note before you start finger detangling, check your finger nails for any nails that might snag on her hair. Also, be extremely gentle with the hair. I divided her hair into four sections. Starting with the most tender part of her head and I gently detangling that section with my finger. I hold on to the base of the hair that is being detangled and then work my way from the ends of the hair to the base. When I finish with one section, I two strand twist it. I do this step for each of the sections. If you come across a knot or tangle, apply more of the detangling mixture to soften it before you attempt to untangle it.

End Results after washing, deep conditioning and styling...

Do you have a tenderheaded child?... or are you tenderheaded? 

Share your detangling tips.

 Guest Blogger: Sawah

Website: http://discoveringnatural.com/

Protecting Hair From Heat Damage

Kandy

Protecting Hair From Heat Damage

Before straightening N's hair, I couldn't help but notice that many naturals have a fear of using heat on their hair. It is obvious that heat can bring severe damage to hair, and cutting the damaged hair is the only cure. So why did I even dare to use heat on N's hair? ...Well, I wanted to show the right way of using heat, with these few tips. 

Prepping

The 1st step before using heat, is to prepare the hair. Start with freshly washed hair, followed by a moisturizing deep conditioning treatment. Deep conditioning helps to adsorb and dissipate heat. Hair not properly moisturized heats rapidly, and is damaged more easily.

Temperature 

When searching for a flat iron, use a flat iron with an adjustable temperature settings. You want to be sure that you can view the actual temperature. This is so important. Some flat irons do not show the actual temperature that the flat iron is set to. Some flat irons only have settings such as "low-medium-high." Avoid using these flat irons. Even the "low" setting can be too high for certain curl types, and can cause unwanted damage. A setting above 450 can reek havoc on your hair. Use the lowest setting, preferably high 200's to low 300's. 

Blowdryer

As I mentioned above, also use a blowdryer with temperature settings. But most importantly the "cool/cold" option. Yes, it may take a little longer to dry, vs using the hottest option. But keeping all of the heat on low, is the safest way to go. I rotate between the warm and cool option for N. 

 Heat Protector

Would you sunbathe without using sunscreen? ..No. So why would you use direct heat on your hair without using some sort of protection from the heat. This is the one crucial step that many don't do. You have to protect your curls. There are several types of heat protectors such as sprays & serums. Silicones such as Dimethicone & Cyclomethicone are the best for protecting the hair, also Glycerin & Propylene Glycol. Read the bottles and lookout for these ingredients when purchasing a heat protector product. 

Too Much, Too Soon 

Moderation is the key to using heat. I have only blowdried N's hair twice, and flat ironed twice in her (soon to be) 8 years of life. Even if you use all of the tips above. You hair can still suffer when using heat excessively. Every day, every 3 days, or even every week, can be too much and you risking the health of your hair. Another example of too much heat, is when you go over the section of hair to be flat ironed, a bunch of times. It is recommended to smooth the flat iron over the hair, no more than twice (3 times max for courser hair.) Do not leave the flat iron on a certain spot (I did this all the time as a preteen.. -sad face-). But glide the flat iron down the hair shaft, at a medium pace. Also the Chase-Comb Method is great for getting the hair straighter with one pass of the flat iron. 

SpotLight: Azariah

Kandy

SpotLight: Azariah

Her name is Azariah. I nicknamed her Azzy. She is 1 years old.(soon to be 2). 

 In 1 of he photos she is with her Big brother Ezekiel. They both have Biblical names.

I recently decided to start my daughters hair journey because a close friend of mine went natural (& her hair is so long) & recommended to me to do the same to keep her hair naturally healthy. 

 I started looking on websites for natural hair care & started trying banding & bantu knots for twist outs. I am trying a couple of regimens for her hair but nothing to harsh because she is still small. It is a struggle to maintain Azariah's hair, but as time progresses it will become easier....I pray.

Krystal you are doing a great job! Azariah is such a cutie, and so is her brother. It took us awhile to figure out a good routine for N. But through trial and error you will nail it. Keep up the good job and it will become more easier with time. Thanks for being featured. 

- If you would like to see your child in our next SpotLight click here for the details. 

Straightened Natural Hair

Kandy

Straightened Natural Hair

If your not following us on facebook, you missed our status about how we were searching for information on hooded dryers, and hair steamers. I decided to check out Walmart & Amazon looking for a reasonable priced hooded dryer, with decent reviews. I decided to purchase the Conair hooded dryer. I also had to grabbed a few other hair goodies. You know how you can't just get 1 thing while shopping at walmart (sigh.) I also purchased a new flat iron, blow dryer, and heat protectant spray as well, all for a total of roughly $60 (not bad!) Oh and free shipping, and it arrived within 2-3 days (yeaaa buddy.) 

I originally planned on waiting to flat iron N's hair this fall when the weather is cooler, so we wouldn't have to worry about humidity. But I couldn't help myself, I swear that flat iron and blow dryer were calling me.  Plus I wanted to see if it worked well, so I could return it haha. 

N rocked a twistout for the full week. 

I washed her hair with Blended Beauty Soy Shampoo, and deep conditioned with Blended Beauty Herbal Reconditioner. I put her hair into 2 braids, and placed a plastic cap over her hair. I set the dryer temperature to the low setting, and the speed to high. 

She sat under the dryer for 10 minutes, and let me tell you! Deep conditioning with heat, is AMAZING!! Her hair NEVER EVER felt like this! Don't get me wrong, her hair feels good after deep conditioning with a hot towel. But this time, it felt as smooth as butter! I barely finger detangled, her hair separated so easily. I was seriously blown away! I wished I purchased it years ago (always late -sad face-) 

Okay, after I rinsed the deep conditioner out, I added Giovanni Direct Leave In, and it provided slip for me to detangle. Our detangling session was a breeze. I put her hair into 4 sections (two on top, two on bottom.) Then I blowdried one section at a time. I used the cool setting, and used the pick attached to help straighten her hair a bit. Once I completed the 4 sections, I added Bee Mine Luscious moisturizer, and sealed it in with Blended Beauty Hair Oil. Next, I sprayed her hair with our new Garnier Frutis Heat Protectant Spray. I made sure that her hair was well coated with it, to avoid heat damage. 

Then it was time to flat iron. I set the iron on it's lowest setting, it took 30 seconds to heat up (really fast.) The only down side, was due to the automatic shut off, it shut off 3 times. I guess it's not used to being on for 2 hours as we straighten ahaha. I worked in (1/2 inch sections) going down her hair with the chase comb method. Chase Comb Method: Combing the hair slowly, as the flat iron follows directly behind it. 

We finished her hair past midnight. I quickly snapped a few pictures. Then I wrapped her hair in a doubie wrap, like this. 

  and sent her to bed with her scarf.

Here are our finished results 

(click on the pictures to enlarge.)

During our 4 hour hair time. We joked around and watched a movie. While talking, I asked her if she preferred her hair "Curly" or "Straight?" She replied "Curly" I asked her "Why?" She said "Because I'm scared that my hair will end up going into the toilet." ....Leave it to N to think of that sillyness! 

Representing BIG Hair!!!

Kandy

Representing BIG Hair!!!

This labor day weekend we went to a Puerto Rican Festival. I removed N's twists, and let her rock her BIG hair for the day. 

Shortly after this photo, it started RAINING! Yes, pouring down. It was already over 80 degrees and humid.  Then we got caught in the rain without an umbrella. Sooooooo as you can image the big hair, became bigger, and frizzier, and more tangled. (Sigh) 

In the crowd, there was over 100 kids. Ronald McDonald said "I need a volunteer, how about the girl with the red, white, and blue headband." I thought it was funny, how he pointed her out by her hair and headband lol. So who's says, BIG hair won't get you noticed?