Tag Archives: water

Feb18

Howdy!

Coming to you with another product experience with the aboslute wonderful product line from Karen’s Body Beautiful. Yup, this one is in Target stores too! All the products from the gift box I received from KBB will be sold in Target! In case you missed the ones I’ve reviewed so far, check them out here: Sweet Ambrosia, Butter Love, Hold It Gel w/Argan Oil.

KBB finally posted a list of Target stores that will carry these on their Facebook Page. I also noticed the release date is now March 18, not February as I mentioned in previous posts. Oh well, it’s definitely worth the wait!

***SIDEBAR — I also just saw as I am typing this (it’s Friday, Feb 15) that KBB, for a limited time, brought back some of the retired scents that I used to love back in the day!!! (coco lime, coconut fig and luscious pear are TO DIE for!) I wonder if she saw my plea to bring them back lol. Sadly, I won’t be buying any this time :o( since I need to use up what I have first. HOPEFULLY, she will run this special again!! ***wink** :o)

Ok so let me tell you about the Hair Blossom Moisture Mist. It retails on the KBB site for $16 for 7.1 oz of product and the same on CurlMart. Mine is the juicy smelling Pomegranate Guava.

Product Description
Karen’s Body Beautiful Hair Blossom Moisture Mist contains nourishing oils and extracts to moisturize your hair as it refreshes curls.

Product Description
Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Gel, Water (Aqua), Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Persea gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Panthenol, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Amica) Extract, Calendula officinalis (Calendula) Extract, Echinacea angustifolia (Echinacea) Extract, Urtica dioica (Nettle) Extract, Equisetum (Horsetail) Extract, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Argania spinosa (Argan) Oil, Limnanthes alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Helianthus annus (Sunflower) Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Potassium Sorbate, and Vitamin E (Tocopherol).

This mist spray is PERFECT for when you are twisting or re-twisting your hair. I use this to dampen and moisturize my hair before I twist it back up for the night. It’s got an amazing mixture of oils and extracts along with my beloved aloe vera and since its water-based, this will definitely moisturize your hair which is why I love to use it before I do my twists because the shea/oil based products I use seal in the moisture from the Hair Blossom Mist. So in essence, this is an alternative to my usual spritzer mixes. Besides it providing moisture, it also helps soften my hair which I find helps my twist-outs become more defined the next day. This contains glycerin and aloe which are both humectants. If you wear your hair in a wash-n-go style, this is a great way to refresh your curls and provide some moisture.

I have two more products from KBB to share with you guys so keep checking back! Byeeee for now!

May8

Hard Water…a Reason You May Have Dry Hair

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Lauren

Hard Water…a Reason You May Have Dry Hair

So last summer, I noticed my hair, scalp and body became unusually dry….like flaky, brittle, nasty dry. I was like what the fudge is going on! I dyed my hair and figured that played a part but I had dyed my hair many times in the past (even with a relaxer) and NEVER had this bad of a problem. So I adjusted my regimen, tried new products, new practices and finally after ruling out a few things, I realized something that never came across my mind….my WATER!

I have hard water :o(

It suddenly made sense because I realized how frequently I had been cleaning my shower because I would get that weird reddish toned film all around the tub. I never really thought twice about it, I was just like oh ok time to clean my shower again lol but then I was like, I know I clean myself well lol and my body doesn’t give off nasty red grime haha so I realized what I was cleaning was the mineral build up from the…dun dun duuuunnn… hard water.

So I did my research and realized most cities have hard water and that is because they must treat the water with dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium to keep it as clean as possible. It is especially bad in large cities. It is said that over 85% of homes in the U.S. has hard water so that’s pretty much the majority of us lol ***NOTE: hard water is harmless to our health, it is actually a good thing so we don’t get sick, but it sucks for our hair, skin and bath tubs (soap scum anyone?)

The even more jacked up part about it, is unless you can afford a super duper water softening system and own your own home to be able to access the filtration system, then you can have soft water ALL the time, in every faucet in your home.

BUT if you are like me, live in an apartment building and have limited access to only the sinks and faucets, then we are kinda stuck with this hard water thing we got going on.

There is hope….and it’s not an expensive hope….a shower head filter!! I never realized it, but all my other apartments always had a shower head filter and then looked in my current place and of course, I had the lil dingy generic one. So I went ahead and bought a new filtler off Amazon for $27. I got the Culligan WSH-C125 and it was a breeze to install.

image via Amazon.com

Although there are, I’m sure, a ton of shower heads you can buy, here’s a bit more about this particular one:

The filtration system removes up to 99% of chlorine, as well as the impurities within water that can damage hair follicles and result in dry, itchy scalp.
Additionally, by reducing the amount of scale (a hard, filmy residue created by minerals in water), the shower head is able to give you more of the hydrating nourishment your skin and scalp need.
This shower head offers five spray settings to suit your mood.
Certified by the NFC, the Wall-Mount Shower head provides your family with chemical-free showers.
Effectively filters water for six months–or 10,000 gallons–before it needs changing.
The Culligan Level 2 Wall-Mount Shower head is backed by a manufacturer’s limited five-year warranty.

Since I started using this, I almost immediately noticed a difference on how the water actually felt, I am not cleaning my shower as often lol, I am not slapping on as much lotion, my hair isn’t as brittle and my scalp is no longer flaky! (but remember, I had also been switching up my hair regimen so all of that combined relieved my scalp issues).

So the point of this story is, don’t overlook the power of hard water! Yes, we are supposed to moisturize our hair with water but if you are putting a ton of HARD water in it, it may have a reverse effect!

Another way around hard water, in regards to hair, is to buy jugs of distilled water and use that in your spray bottles or to rinse your hair. Also, there are lots of clarifying shampoos on the market that can help get rid of the minerals in your hair.

— Have you noticed your hard water may be drying out your hair?

Apr5

Wet Hair!

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Lauren

Wet Hair!

Hey guys! :o)

Just a quick post to show some pics of the texture of my hair. These pics were taking right before I did a deep conditioning treatment with the Shea Moisture Organic African Black Soap Purification Hair Masque. This is just wet hair that is still dirty. The curls seem a bit elongated because there is still product in my hair (just rinsed out a little bit).

It would be nice if my curls looked like this when dry! Oh well…

See how much looser my curls are at the crown of my head? Hmmm….I guess its gravity.

Apr1

Sealing the Deal!

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Lauren

Sealing the Deal!

…or maybe just your hair lol so I finally embraced this wonderful hair practice about 6 months ago. I am a bit ashamed to say that, being that I have been natural for 7 years now. Why had I not known about this YEARS ago!? I’m like how many wasted inches of damaged hair could I have saved had I known lol but whatever dude. It’s never too late to start! Ok I’m done venting…

So the matter at hand…Sealing your hair!

Basically sealing your hair is sealing in moisture (water) into the cuticle of your hair. This is done by using water (or a water-based product) and an oil (or an oil based product).

***Sidebar, I may have said this before but I’ll say it again hehe, water is the only true form of moisture! That’s why it’s the number one listed ingredient in “moisturizing” products. Without water, it isn’t really a moisturizer…

Ok so when you grasp the concept of sealing, it totally makes sense! Think about it, oil and water don’t mix—Oil always rises to the top, so if you have oil and water in your hair, the oil will “rise” to the outer layer of your hair shaft while sealing in the water underneath.

You may want to start doing this If your ends feel a bit crispy and look frizzy or frayed. They are probably not sealed (OR you need to get rid of them split ends girl lol). Essentially the purpose of sealing your hair is to keep your hair moisturized and for longer amounts of time, specifically the ends of your hair. Sealing will help retain moisture in the ends as they are the oldest, driest parts of your hair and the natural oil (sebum) that your scalp produces can’t travel down through all the coils and curves to get to the ends. Regular sealing will result in more length retention since you won’t have to trim off as much damaged hair.

Knowing the porosity of your hair is also really important in order to know what method of sealing and the products to use. I will save that topic for another post ;o)

So because I have low porosity hair, Iighter oils (like coconut, grape seed) and liquid-y products (think Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia, SM Coconut Curl Smoothie) work better for me. Here’s what I do on wash days, after I wash/condition and am ready to twist-up my hair while it is still damp:

I apply a moisturizer to the length of my sectioned out hair (sectioned as in the section I am about to twist up). If I am using a moisturizer, I may go over it with a light oil. If the moisturizer contains a lot of oil in the product, I won’t go over it with additional oil because the moisturizer itself IS the sealant.

If I am not using a moisturizer, I’ll use a bit of oil to seal in JUST the water in my damp hair. I like doing this sometimes because it keeps my hair light BUT the downside is I may not get as much hold as using an actual moisturizer i.e. I won’t get good 2^nd, 3^rd day hair.

Now for the absolute essential part of the sealing process….the end!

…the ends of your hair of course! Seal the ends! I do this when I have about 1-2 inches left to twist in each section, I use a sealant (check out my .essentials page; currently loving Oyin’s Pomades) and smooth it on the ends, then twist up the remainder. It’s also good to sort of twirl the ends around your finger to “clump” the section.

You’ll know your ends are sealed when they look something like this:

*Notice how the curls are “clumped” together. I hope you have a better understanding of this awesome hair practice and will be able to incorporate sealing into your hair regimen!

— Have you sealed the deal?!