I bought this product right when I went natural because a number of people commented and emailed me me about it. I bought the Curl Curl Boosting Spray because the Curl Cream was out of stock. I think it was 5 pounds. I bought 2, and then completely forgot about it. Last night, while going through all the stuff in bathroom I came across it. So I decided to give it a go on two strand twist last night and planned to do a wash and go tomorrow. At least that was the plan

I sprayed each section of hair with three spritz of Noodle head, twisted and sealed the ends with a tiny tiny bit of Shea butter. The results are really nice I think. It’s not as soft as the hand made conditioner, but is comparable to the Lustrasilk softness. Some of the curls that I had roller in turned out a little wonky but I suppose you can call that character. Plus my hair seems to have a lot more movement.

It has a bright coconut smell similar to sunscreen cream. And that were I starts to be a problem for me.

I like the smell! Unfortunately it’s a parfum, so while I spritz, small particles end up on my face and my face will have none of it. I think I mentioned before that I suffer from eczema. I usually have it under control but parfum really irritates it. So as much as I liked this product, I have to let it go.

Which is good news for you guys though. As I said I have two, which means one unopened on to giveaway! So if you are in the UK and you would like to try the noodle head ping me an email at hi@cherrylola.com. I’ll I ask in return is a short review of the product and if you can, a pic! I’ll announce the winner next week

Here are the pics:

Before Fluffing

After Fluffing

I had mentioned before, I think, that I would do a test of Lush henna blocks. So I decided to over the weekend because one thing about Henna Boy is that they take forever to send stuff and it’s it usually by courier that needs a signature so I was thinking that if the Lush blocks were good then it would be easier just to pop in after work.

So on Friday night I popped into Lush on Regent Street, which is a cool store- most of everything is downstairs, and discussed the various block with the sales girl. They have 4 types of blocks at £6.80- Caca Brun; Caca Marron; Caca Noir; Caca Rouge. After discussing the various kinds with the clerk I decided to go with caca rouge since it did not have Indigo in it. That’s how they claim to make the different colours, with various amounts of indigo and also the use of coffee in some blocks . The entire ingredient list for Caca Rouge is :

Red Henna (Lawsonia inermis), Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Fresh Organic Lemon Juice (Citrus limonum), Powdered Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryopyllus), *Citral, *Eugenol, *Geraniol, *Citronellol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume

The process goes like this. Take the block and chop it into small pieces. Place in a glass or wooden bowl and near boiling water and mix until smooth. Apply to hair and wrap in cling film for 2- 5 hours for a reddish hue or leave the cling film off for more conditioning and less color. Rinse

Let me say this now. I give up on Lush. This product is truly inferior to the Henna boy Henna. Because they’ve mixed it with cocoa butter the block is really hard. But chopping it into little pieces isn’t what put me off. And it wasn’t the fact that it made far more of a mess. It was the wash out. The thing about Henna Boy is that they sift their henna 3 times. I read that on there site when I purchased the first time. I didn’t give it a second thought. Until I was in the shower for an hour trying to wash little bits of twig and stone and sand out of my curls. And still I found more in my hair the next day. And even with all that cocoa butter my hair felt dryer then ever. Probably from all the rinsing. I didn’t notice a change in the color.

Now I like the fact that it isn’t wrapped in tons of plastic. It’s not enclosed in anything. That’s the thing about Lush. If it doesn’t need to be wrapped it doesn’t get wrapped. Which is a policy I admire. But it’s official. I’m giving Lush up.

I am VERY happy with the results of the handmade conditioner I made at Plush Folly on Monday. I did a twist out on freshly co-washed hair yesterday and although the results weren’t as smooth as the Lustrasilk, this is fine with me because I seem to fluff until I get a little frizz anyways. It was softer. It also held up against some MAJOR hand in hair-itis. I couldn’t stop touching it! I also felt my hair had more shine. Over all a 10. So here’s the recipe

Oils Phase

25g Light Fast absorbing oil (like Rice Bran oil)
2g Vitamin E Oil
2g Orchid Extract
10g BTMS Wax

Water Phase

80g Spring Water
0.2g Silk Powder
4.g Panthenol

Final Phase

1g Microkill
30 drops essential Oil (I used Patchouli)

To make it: Mix the oil ingredients separately from the water and silk. Then adding the two over heat and mix until the wax is melted. Now when I say mixing , I mean MIXING- for about 35- 40 minutes. Then add Panthenol, Microkill, and then an Essential oil for scent. The recipe can be played with it works as sort o a base, and if you are going to use it right away (like within a week) you can skip the Microkill.

Some of the other women didn’t have to stir for a long as me. But I swear- even Sally, the owner of Plush Folly was mixing for me. Yes my arm got sore. yes it was more difficult then a trip to the store. Yes it was totally worth it. It was a great hair day. Here’s the Pics

BEFORE FLUFFING

AFTER FLUFFING

You can get all the stuff from Plush Folly. Or take a class and make it there- save on the clean up.

Yesterday was an amazing day. If you recall, I mentioned that I would be taking a few classes. I didn’t want to mention the place where the workshops were taking place until I knew if they were good or not. Since it was great, I will reveal : Plush Folly, in Hampton, about 45 minutes out of London from Waterloo Station. I took a class on how to make natural hair care products. They also have classes on cosmetic making and how to

It was an informative class, but what was even more amazing was stepping off the train and running right into another Natural! She was heading to the same workshop! As we walked I discovered she was Michelle, the previous leader of the London Natural Hair and Sisterlocks group! She also runs the online magazine Hair Affairs, and a Sisterlocks Salon. We laughed at what a small world it is, and I admired her locks (which are beautiful) and headed into the small shop. Inside were three women, one of which was… Another Naturally Curly! After exchanging names, I realized it was Ebony, who runs Naturally Sexy!

It’s not a small world – it is tiny.

During the work shop we concocted a saponified shampoo, a rich conditioner, a hot oil treatment, a hair mask and a serum. Very educational. Very fun. And everything we made was full of wonderful oils and herbs. The class was 90 pounds and ran from 10-4.

I’ll review each product I made as I use them. I think I’ll start with the conditioner which I will use as a leave in.

I found this ad in this months Essence Magazine. The way this women looks in this ad- that’s how I want to feel every day. Plus her hair rocks!

After the experience of the last few days, I’ve been reevaluating what I want this blog to be. Although it’s direction is still a little unclear, I do know that I want it to be a place of positivity. I realized that it is not very positive to feature ads that make me feel marginalized. It’s not uplifting , plus it gives a little extra press- even if it’s bad- to products I’m not interested in promoting. However, I did say I would post the ad I hate more then ever, and I’m not one to go back on my word. Furthermore, I think that this ad emphasizes what I meant in the What I said post.

It’s difficult for me to explain how oppressed this picture makes me feel, so instead I’ll paraphrase my partner when he saw this ad

” how can anyone feel good about who they are when this kind of thing is fed to them”

With this sentiment I completely agree.

So this will be the last post on ads that I hate. I’ve decided to shift the focus onto Ads that Rock. They may be fewer and perhaps further between, but it means that I’ll spend a little more time looking for things that inspires me and not discourage me. And hopefully you too.

I am wondering how others feel about this advert though. Please post a comment and let me know.