Edge Control Product Review

So I have been wearing my twist extensions for a while now. In my previous post about ORS Edge Control  I showed how amazing the product was for slicking my edges down. The below video gives an up to date overview alongside another similar product by African's Pride called Silky edges. 

My New Do - Twist Extensions

I finally decided to put my hair in one of my preferred styles Twist Extensions. After a few months of weave good and bad a time for a new look was needed. When taking my weave out that I used a lace front closure with I accidentally cut my own hair. I basically was using the razor that people use to trim their eyebrows. I was not using a mirror and thought the thread was extra tough and ended up cutting right through my hair braid. It has meant that one side of my hairline is butchered whilst the other is okay.

My stylist loved the fact that all my hair is natural. She told me the condition was good and that the back has more body than the front. So I do wonder what can I do to increase the the front of my hair.

I have some pictures of my hair out prior to the extensions which I hope to post later on this week.

In the meantime here is a video of my new hairstyle. It is a weak old in this video.

What my son said....

So by now you should know that I am pretty much stagnate in "protective" styles aided by extensions and half wigs. However I am starting to venture into weaves especially for the brute winters we have in the UK. Yes I know its not as bad as other places but it is bad enough for me to feel it. Right now I am stil on the hunt for winter boots that can fit my calves. 

 Anyway as I prepped my own natural hair to be washed, I showed my husband how long the back was. It is almost APL. I dare not say it is APL because when I get it trimmed this month it will be just between. I also noted to him how the middle is shorter and the front even shorter. He claims he has the same issue. My sons always love seeing my hair and often comment on my various hairstyles. So today my oldest seeing my hair in its natural state said this to me: 

 Son " Mum why do you wear hair when you have hair?" 

 Me " Because I like to change styles often without damaging my hair" 

 Not sure if he was unimpressed with my answer he replied 

 Son "Only bald people are supposed to put hair on their head"

I can understand his analogy and at only 7yrs old I Am in awe of his observance and questions. I am slowly building up a healthy hair routine to see if I can get my middle and sides and hairline to reach the same lengths as the back of my hair. I air dried my hair today but on those dark winter nights this may not be possible depending on time of day. I will finally invest in some rollers and may try a rollerset challenge. I am inspired by EbonyCPrincess who although was natural and is now relaxed her blog and youtube channel is all about healthy haircare whatever the texture.

One more thing I revisited an old friend from my relaxed days. That is ORS Hair Mayonnaise. I left it on for about 30 minutes and my hair was so manageable and easy to detangle. I will try use this once every month or every other month depending,

This hair of mine

Well I know I do not post often on here. However what I think may start doing shortly is sharing information on haircare that I like and intend to try at some point. I had my hair in a protective style. Just a short weave but I need to look into care of my hair underneath more. Decided on this style as previous styles means too much tension in one are on my head top was not working out. I have noticed I am getting scabs on my scalp that sort of remind me of relaxer burns. Yep that deep. Now my hairstylist does not braid my hair too tight and my scalp has been oiled. I just wonder if I need to switch to Jojoba oil or something. My scalp has always been super dry.

I am supposed to try using the rollerset method for future occasions when I wash and dry my hair. I have seen some great pics on that. My natural hair is shoulder length when blow dried. I have now after just over a month taken the weave out. With the summer like heatwave we have gotten in the UK over the past weeks I decided i needed to come out so I could give my hair a decent wash. The longest I should go without washing my hair is a week with no hair oil or I can get 2 weeks with an oiled scalp. When I do no t oil my scalp it gets really dry and sometimes scab in places. It may not be scabs could be dandruff. I may need to do a clarifying wash treatment or something. So I guess that will be my next research topic

Hair thoughts and support

I am considering joining Long Hair Care Forum. When I first went natural I joined many hair sites and began to follow many blogs. Except now I only really visit one forum, though always check out the bloggers and vloggers. Months and months ago someone tweeted to me that LHCF would be a nice place for me to be as anything I do with my natural hair would not be condemned. There is a natural hair website that to me is quite militant so I only really browse there these days. 

Now with LHCF there is a small fee. Which I do not mind paying as due to currency conversion is spare change. I was reading EbonyCprincess's blog which featured a lady who although relaxed has gone from neck length hair to mid back. When my hair was relaxed I only suffered breakage when I did stuff to it like bleach and dye. The areas of my hair now where I suffer breakage are new to me. I have no intention of relaxing my hair right now. Only because my scalp built up an indifference to relaxers. Nowadays my scalp just wants to be cleaned regularly as in once a weak where possible and the noo poo method is not a friend of my scalp. 

One thing I noted I do not get treatments as often as I feel I should. I have bought a few and will definitely share what my thoughts are on them. Income is low so although I would be tempted to buy products I need to use what I have and make it work for me. Except I will invest in some Jamaican Black Castor oil. I would like to improve moisture, growth and hairline. I love the moisture and seal method. My hairline has always been fragile it does not need any traction to break. It goes through a break and growth cycle. I could be wrong but I have never had to tempt it to grow back.

The Science of Black hair sounds like it would be a good read but at nearly £20 is a bit steep for me. I have just discovered it is on Kindle for just over £7 and wonders whether this type of book is best suited to hardcopy. Are there any other useful books out there?

I got hair huh!

When I took my hair out of the weave I caused damage to my hair. It is not too bad and I know better next time. I accidentally cut my hair at the back whilst removing the thread and tracks. So that means a whole length of hair is gone. Now because the X-pression hair mirrored m own it was hard to tell. Thankfully it was at the back so no one will see. 

I took this picture after combing out my hair after the weave was taken out. I shampooed my hair and conditioned it and used Miss Jessie's Sweetback Treatment. However I feel although I love that product I need a better product that is cheaper for deep conditioning treatments. This pictue lets me know I have a whole lot of hair. Just do not be fooled. It looks thick and lush. But it is simply dense and fine. my plaits have no oomph to them which is why I stopped doing twists and braids on my own hair unless it is bulked with extensions.

One of my friends who shaved off her hair and wore a TWA for over a year has been growing her hair out. She wears it in a fro with pride. I used to think my face would not suit such a style. However I took my hair out of big plaits and it was styled like a chunky curly fro. I looked in the mirror and thought wow it looks good and would be perfect for this summer with a maxi dress on. However the summer in the UK is not quite here. 

If you know of any good hair treatments that can be done weekly or bi-weekly please let me know. If it is not sold in the UK I will find a way to get hold of it.

Trimmed and treated

I was not able to take pictures yesterday. However I finally went to the hairdresser and sorted out my split ends. The breakage was so sporadic that he had to trim what needed to and then blend where was necessary. So for now my hair is at different lengths or layered. My stylist took off 1 1/2 inches. I also had a deep treatment too which was much needed. 

One thing though. My stylist does not believe that you can grow your hair by following any set routine. He feels that from his experience your hair will grow to its own desired length then stop and brake off. I think he meant natural shedding. I have however seen otherwise on others. I should sort out my hairs breakage and prove him wrong. But more so show myself with a little determination my hair can grow longer and healthier. 

What home treatments do you recommend? 

A few textured hair pics

lightly blow dried

I wash my hair yesterday and thought I would take some textured hair shots. I used Tresseme Naturals moisturising shampoo and conditioner. I find this one feels less stripping to my hair and definitely moisturising. Anyway I took this as an opportunity to share some textured pics. My hair is not yet in the best condition but it is getting there. I am finding that my hair needs washing at least once a week to help it's moisture levels. I could be wrong who knows but that is what I think. I need tips on moisture breakage prevention. As soon as I am able I am going to a professional to take off about 2 inches just to ensure all split ends are gone. I just still cannot work out why right in the middle of my head I have the strangest breakage. Some of pics are taken without flash as the hair was not showing up as I could see in the mirror. So I may need to work on my camera technique for the next time. 

with flash

I've Decided

I've decided that I am not going to relax my hair just yet. At the back of my mind the thought will remain but for now I will no be doing so. I had a good talk with a friend who is natural and she suggested that I level my hair off to one length and use a protective style like singles braids. Now giving my hair a cut is no problem to me. So hopefully in a months time I will start wearing single braids or rather twist extensions. I know i will have to be careful with my hairline. 

Its such a shame I have so many products I will not need. Some need to be thrown out so I will be doing that the moment I sort my hair out.

Thinking about Relaxers again

I consider myself to have been a natural hair sister since 2005. In 2002 shortly after I was married I experienced a very bad scalp reaction to my regular relaxer. For years I found my scalp was becoming indifferent to them. Sensitive scalp formulas offered no relief until I discovered a local salon that answered my dreams. However my scalp decided enough was enough.

Twist out 

My scalp was covered in thick yellow chunks of dandruff. The salon was so nice and offered me free treatments to correct the problem, but after my 4th free weekly treatment I decided to try something new. So it was not the burns that you get. After all I was trained to recognise this as part of the process since I was 5yrs old (could have been 4). My journey to natural hair began at 22yrs old.

To transition I wore my hair in extensions, head wraps (which I miss wearing), twist outs, braid outs. I googled natural hair and initially stumbled upon Black Hair Media, Nappturality, Motown Girl, Roshini whose current site is now Glamazini and not forgetting Afrobella. I had various resources and attitudes at hand to help shape me. I never entered any challenges I just took style ideas product junky pride and did the best I could. In between home styling I would go to my hairdresser and get a treatment and a trim until all the relaxer was gone. So in 2005 I declared I could not see anymore straight ends and welcomed it. I embraced my hair for what it was and have pictures of me out in town drinking with my friends.

Twists

Throughout this I discovered half wigs. Wow they transformed my look in an instant and my friends could not tell it was a wig as opposed to a weave. The curly hair styles became my staple. Imagine an accidental discovery becoming the go to look. Yes I have experimented with lace fronts but not for everyday wear. I just can not do that right now. Not knowing my hair was in a protective style it thrived. I gave birth twice as a natural and had no problems. 

I coloured my own hair unevenly all over and here is where I think it went wrong. The process dried out my hair to an extreme. Felt like straw afterwards. Took awhile to get it back in shape. 2010 I realised edges were thin and braking. 2011 I realised that from my hairlines to the middle crown of my hair it had broken off. So the remainder is longer at mid shoulder-ish when straightened, whilst the middle is not doing much. 

To make matters worst my hair feels so try. Now I do not know if this is down to me not washing my hair more often. I wash and condition my hair every week to two weeks. I tried co-washing but that process irritated my scalp. I used to use Castor oil to retain moisture. Maybe I need to re-discover it.

Canerow and afro puff

I just feel like right now my hair is dry, breaking, and my style options are stagnated. When my hair was relaxed I can only remember one time I suffered breakage. So that is once or twice in 17years. Whereas now it happens regular. I know relaxers are have negative effects. I am even considering a texturiser. Or maybe I should see if I can discover the natural laxers that don't sound natural.

  

Maybe a real return to protective styles such as twist extensions and a sew in weave. Well weaves never last long with me. I often wonder if I consciously made a better effort to lose weight if that would help. I personally feel I look better with certain styles when I have less fat on my body. 6 years of being chemical free is a long time. It is the only time besides birth in my life when my hair is as is. As much as I do not want to quit on my hair I want to be free from it. Surely natural hair was supposed to be the easier natural option. But it clearly is not for me at present.

Middle breakage but why?

I have noticed over the last 2 months that the middle of my hair is breaking. The texture of my hair feels weird there too. The roots are coarse and the ends are softer. I do not know if this means my hair texture is changing or my hair is suffering for some reason.

My current routine is very simple. I am wearing protective styles. I wash my hair every 1-2 weeks. I am trying to improve my diet and become more active. This bit is slowly happening. I just do not know how to eliminate what is wrong with my hair and how to stop it breaking. Should I wash it more often, put it away in a weave so it gets no manipulation at all. Visit my hairdresser to get his opinion on what I should do. I just do not know.

I guess I need to trawl the hair boards to see if someone can help me. Any suggestions would be great. 

Soft Hood Dryer

I bought this a few years ago for about £20. Now I could be wrong by a few or many pound coins. It is a Vidal Sassoon soft hooded dryer. The soft hood is made of some durable plastic that when you attach the dryer part to it, the hood inflates and distributes hot hair to your head. I like the fact that it is something that can be tucked away unlike the traditional hood dryer that is on a stand. I used it a few weeks ago to give my hair a deep hair treatment which it has not had in a long while. 

You have to hold a square dryer attachment in your hand or you can use the the strap to keep it out the way I guess. The hood gets really hot on the 1st setting alone. I am not able to manage the heat on the second setting unless I have a towel placed on my shoulders. For convenience this is quite good. Though I will probably one day invest in a traditional hooded dryer. Just because I am very conscious of the fact the dryer attachment lays by my chest and I am not overly keen on that at all. However it does what it does.  I have not used this to actually dry my hair, just for treatments.

Practice makes perfect

I am quite pleased with this pic. No not the state of my edges but the canerow. Yes I was raised calling them both canerow and cornrow and used both. Anyway I have been practicing putting canerows in my hair for a while now. I am getting better. I can see that what I need to do is actually make smaller sections and maybe ease up on the tension. My hair is very fine so unsure how it will look. Just think if I can perfect this skill a bit more I could go on to try crochet braids or even a natural curly style weave. 

From previous advice and YouTube I need to work on my moisture levels. I wish Shea Moist was available in the UK as that looks like it would do the do. I have been told to try Bee Mine sulphur hair serum to help rejuvenate and strengthen my edges. They break and grow back in without me doing much. Though I must give it some TLC.

My Curls review

I was given the opportunity to try a new UK based natural hair product range. The company is called My Curls. The website states that these products are for natural and afro hair and come without many of the additives found in mainstream products.The company came to be out of the need for more UK based natural hair care products. I tried the Cleansing Cream and the Curl Smoothie.

The cleansing cream is a very nice shampoo that comes filled with Aloe Vera, Panthenol and oils from sunflower, lemon and tea tree. I am not the best with scents but it smells pleasant and is not over bearing. When I washed my hair it was laden with Miss Jessie's products and this shampoo did the job. It took three shampoos to get a massive lather. I use this as a sign of how clean my hair has become. I could have settled with the second shampoo but I like to wash my hair three times when it is being washed.  It was easy to wash out and my hair felt clean and not stripped. Overall this is a good product which does what he says it will.

The Curl Smoothie is a moisturiser which also contains many natural ingredients which are all listed on the My Curls website. After applying my usual conditioner I applied the curl smoothie to my hair whilst damp. I did not add anything else as I wanted to truly see how this product works on its own. I blow dried my hair and it came out soft and bouncy. Although I could feel some product not fully absorbed into my hair when I applied a small amount to my hair when dry. I think this is due to the glycerine. I am finding that many products that contain glycerine react this way with my hair. I did not need to add more to my hair the next day. Curl Smoothie is very light an did not weigh down my hair.

Very cute packaging My Curls Products

Overall I would say My Curls have the beginning of a very good product line. My Curls also do a conditioner called Coco Curly Conditioner. All three current products are now priced at £10.25 and can be purchased from their online shop.

 I hope to see more UK brands pop up so us consumers can buy more instead of pay huge postage cost. 

This post contains products sent to me for review!

Culture of weaves and wigs

I spotted this video over at Black Girl With Long Hair. I found it interesting. I like the fact our hair is being spoken about so much these days and what I am hearing is positive. The debates in America  are definitely ahead of the UK, but with so many UK based blogs and websites dedicated to natural hair popping up I hope to read more good stuff.

I used to switch between protective styles to wearing my hair out to wearing head wraps. Now I mainly wear protective styles which I will start to discuss. However I have a goal for my hair which once achieved I will wear my hair out more. What are your thoughts on the discussion?

Miss Jessie's Curly Buttercreme

I would like to think that I am kind of frugal but having discovered the wonderful site British Curlies I slipped up a little. They sell many products all aimed at naturally curly ladies. I will do a review of them in a later post.

As I browsed their shop I came to find that they were taking part in the Miss Jessie's BOGOF deal. So this would mean I could try a few products of theirs and kind of get a bargain deal. I bought the Curly Buttercreme and received Curly Meringue free. I also bought the Super Sweetback hair treatment and received the Curly Pudding free.  I chose these products based on what ladies with similar hair types to me had used and what I thought I could achieve.

The Curly Buttercreme has minty menthol like scent. It is not a classic hair product scent that I am used to. However this is a minor to me as I was not bothered by the scent. I decided to try a twist out. I have not done these in years as I do not feel twist suit me. Anyway I applied the product on damp hair which I spritzed with water after a fresh shampoo on the areas that dried quick. Then applied product and twisted away. As I am twisting I realise not all my hair feels like the same texture so all the twists came out different.

In the morning I unravelled the twists. The twists were well defined and smooth until I separated them into smaller sections. The ends appeared frizzy and where I had dyed my hair previously the ends looked  not so good. Though I believe it is the ends of my hair that need a good trim. 

Overall I do like this product. My hair felt nice and well moisturised. My hair naturally has more of sheen than a shine. So my expectations of the appearance may be a little off. I also need to work on my styling as if I had arranged my twists differently I would have had a nice wearable style. Practice makes perfect. 

Hair update

Freshly shampooed conditioned and blow-dried somewhat

I thought I would share a picture of my hair. The angle this picture has been taken in can be deceiving, but it show how uneven the length of my hair is. I have always had problems with the sides of my hair with breakage. My current reliance on protective styling such as half wigs and extensions may be the cause or my past dye job as its only the ends with colour that break. Please note that my hair is not thick at all. It is very fine textured but dense. When I relaxed my hair, it had no body and that was because it is naturally fine.

When I dyed my hair ages ago it became really dry, though I managed to get the moisture levels back in order. At present my hair has a colour that is not pretty but once I have visited my hairdresser I will see what he thinks I should do. I am actually going to let him take about an inch off. I have not trimmed my hair in over a year. I have spotted split ends so I need to get them removed.

Although I have suffered from breakage I really want my hair to be in Senegalese twists. People are charging £60-80 for that and at present is a lot for me to pay. Especially when right now there are some material things I really wish to buy like a new car.

I guess for the new year my aim will be to correct the colour and research and perfect the moisture levels in my hair. I am also about to place my order for some Miss Jessies products from British Curlies, while the offer is still on. I will also try out a product from Darcy Botanicals.

If you have any product suggestions or routine tips or general advice please share. I am all for learning if told in the right way.

My Grey strand

I have had this one grey strand of hair for years. Since I was a teenager in my last days at school. So it has seen relaxers, canerows, extensions, weaves and more. Now it's just a curly bit of colour less hair. My grey strand does feel stronger than the rest of my hair strands. I have no idea why that is. Just thought I would share my grey.

My curl pattern

I do not really do much to my hair . This pic is my hair freshly washed and somewhat air dried. So this is what my curls look like. The picture was taken a few months ago and I have since checked my curl pattern again and it looks pretty much the same like this.

Oh and as you can see the redhead that I was is all gone. Now its this brownish colour. As crazy as it may sound I just might go and get some highlights done professionally a little colour correction. I tried a full head weave recently and my head was so tender I removed it after 2 weeks. I will try to post pics soon.

I always think of my hair as a 4a/b. It always looks deceivingly thick but its quite fine in texture just very dense. What would you class my hair as? What products would you suggest?

Red Hot Rhythm - what !

I bought 2 boxes of Dark and Lovely's Red Hot Rhythm permanant hair dye. I actually bought the dye to late because I was supposed to dye my hair at the start of summer and then wear some nice styles showing it off. I have many friends who are hairdressers who did not want to dye my hair as I do wear pieces too. So anyway I just dyed it. check out the pictures and have a look. The only thing is the colour did not come out even so next time I will start from my ends then my roots or something. I might even get a different shade all together. Do you have any tips on doing your own hair dye? What products should I use. I might even go for a more of a mahogany brown/red or something next time. How do I get the colour to take on the ends better?