Its Working, Its Working!

Ok so yesterday I mentioned that I was on a quest to find a new deep conditioner, and I think I have found it. Let me start by saying, I think I may be the only naptural who is not impressed with Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Pak. It gives me no slip and my actually feels like I have shampooed it rather than deep conditioned it. So I started researching a little more and I saw that Elasta QP DPR-11 received pretty good reviews, so I went to my local beauty supply store and picked it up.

I took out my braids last night and gave my hair a good shampooing (which I rarely do) so my hair was definately in need of a little TLC. Even after my regular conditioner, my hair was a dry tangled mess. And just when I thought a big chop was in my future, DPR came and saved the day.

I felt like this man:



I applied it generously to my wet hair and 15 mintues later, my Denman brush was gliding through my hair. And to make it even better, this product is only $6! I love when cheap products work. After I detangled my hair, I twisted it in sections and rinsed out the deep conditioner with my twist still in. Afterwards I applied my Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercream and twisted it back up.

Here's a pic of the results


I'm a little out of practice but I am still pleased with the results.

Finally, My First Post!

Hello All,

MJ here. I apologize for the delay in posting, I have been braided up for the last six weeks so I didn't have much to talk about.

So here is my history hairstory:

My mother started relaxing my hair when I was six years old, thats right I said six. And I lived the lye until middle school. In middle school I started getting braid extensions and kept getting them done for two or three years. I wore my natural hair once, to my sophomore cotillian and after that I got a texturizer... Ughhh. so once my hair dried out and broke off I cut it all off and unfortunately started relaxing again. I kept a steady routine of braiding and relazing until 2006. In June 2006, I got my last perm. I didnt have a dramatic big chop, I just decided I wasn't going to get perms anymore so I transitioned with braids and trimmed aggressively until all the perm was gone. After spending countless hours on you tube, nappturality.com, and various other hair sites, I finally got the courage to take my braids out in September of 2008.

I have 4c type hair. Or if your scale only goes to 4b then I have that. My hair is fine, soft, kinky, cottony, and shrinks a lot. I am always looking for a new products to try that can keep my hair moist, a constant struggle. My current quest is to find a good deep conditioner. I will let you know how that goes. I love using natural products on my natural hair, but I don't exclusively use natural products. My last product purchase was Miss Jessie's Stretch Silkening Creme. Here are the results:



I actually really liked it. I was slow to give in to all the Miss Jessie's hype, because while some people love the products, other find them grossly overrated. But I bit the bullet and purchased the product (during the annual bogo sale) washed my hair, applied generously and twisted my hair in about ten twists. The silkening creme like all of Miss Jessie's products are expensive, but I was pleased with the result, and it smells great.

Banana Hair Smoothie

Repost from Random Thoughts on 11/10/08

Last weekend I took out my cornrows and treated my tresses to a banana smoothie. I mixed yogurt, mashed banana, honey, coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil, vegetable glycerin, and a little dab of Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream (AOHC). Had I not put in the AOHC, it would have been edible. I'd heard about the wonderful benefits provided by bananas and even yogurt, so I decided to try my hand at a recipe. I used nonfat plain yogurt because I needed to finish the container I had on hand. Next time I will use the kind with lots of fat in it. I had a few snags along the way and my bathroom was quite messy, but it all worked out. My hair smelled absolutely yummy and felt very fortified when I was done.

This smoothie can be done as a pre-poo (before shampoo) treatment or be used on freshly washed hair.

Here's my modified recipe:

1 cup of Natural plain yogurt
1/2 cup of Natural plain yogurt
3 tbs Honey
1 medium Banana*
2 tbs Vegetable Glycerin
2 tbs Castor Oil
2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbs Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO)

*You can substitute all natural banana baby food since it is already pureed.

Blend banana and 1/2 cup of yogurt in blender of food processor until pureed. You do NOT want any banana chunks to be present as they will be very difficult to get out of your hair. Ask me how I know. Add remaining ingredients and blend.

Optional Step: Transfer smoothie contents into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals until desired warmth. Warming it will ensure that the EVCO does not solidify during application. This also makes your smoothie into a hot oil treatment.

Apply smoothie to your hair in sections. Wrap head with a plastic cap (a plastic bag works just fine and it's FREE). You can sit under the dryer or you can wrap your head in a warm towel (put it in the dryer or wet it a bit and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes). Keep smoothie on for 45 minutes to an hour. You can use this time to clean up the mess you made. Rinse hair and style as usual.