I’ve been experimenting a lot the past few weeks and have fallen in love with a few products made in the UK.

The first company I’d like to mention is Roots to Ends They make a great pomade to add a little softness and shine to second and third day twists out! An it smells great, kinda of like bubble gum. Remember a little goes a long way!

Here is the ingredients: Castor Oil, Virgin Olive Oil, Wheatgerm Oil, Avocado Oil, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Japan Wax, Hemp Seed Oil, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Natural Vitamin E (d-a tocopherol), Fragrance.

“R2E Pomade is blended from the finest unrefined Vegetable Oils, Shea Butter and Japan Wax and other fantastic,gentle ingredients This pomade will condition your hair leaving it soft, manageable and healthy looking. “

They also make a hand crafted wooden comb:

R2E combs are made of fine natural wood such as cherry, boxwood and other precious wood (from sustainable sources). The wood is sturdy in nature and has fine grains; making it suitable to produce good quality wooden combs. Notable differences between R2E combs and others are the high quality natural woods and selected bamboo that we use for making combs.

Benefits of Using Wooden Combs:

• Improves blood circulation of the scalp

• Helps prevent split ends

• Releases Tension

• Antistatic

• Non Toxic

Advantages of Wooden Combs: R2E Health Combs are in general suitable for daily use and you will benefit from using our combs in the long term.Using our combs promotes healthy hair, increases the blood flow through the scalp if used often enhances alertness. Since R2E combs are non- toxic it is safe to use and can be used as often as possible.

Normal plastic combs in comparison are not very gentle to hair because of its sharp edges, which acts like “knives”. Split hair is often associated with low quality plastic combs. Our high quality wooden combs are anti-static and therefore one can easily combs their hairs without entangling it. Too much static can hurt the hair profile and makes it rougher and brittle.

Technical: Our combs are hand made and are skillfully crafted and polished.No additives or chemicals are added to enhance the surface texture and luster.All combs are manufactured naturally and polished in a traditional way.

Although not a wide tooth comb, I was really amazed at the smoothness of the wood and how each tine seeme to have been wittled so you hair can’t catch on a seam!

When you order you first pomade R2E with include a complementary comb with the purchase.

A big thanks to Roots to Ends for sending out samples for the Natural Hair Meet up in June. They went down really well!

Shop R2E here

Next post is on Curl Harmony!

CONDITIONER Ingredients : Purified Water,Cetearyl Alchol ( from Palm Kernal or Coconut Oil) Cetrimonium Chloride ( from Palm Kermnal or Cocnut Oil) Cyclopentosiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethiconal, Polyqaternium-10, (from Cellulose), PEG-7m, Lecithin (from Soybean), Macademia Nut Seed oil, Panthenol (vitimin B5), Wheat Germ Oil (source of natural vitimin e), Maltodextrin (from Corn), Hydrolysed Wheat Protein, Organic Olive leaf extract, Organic Aloe, Organic Chamomile Flower extract, Organic Ginseng Root extract, Silica, Magnesium Mitrate, Methylcholorisothazolinone, Maganesium chloride, Methylisothiazolinone

A couple of weekends ago I was strolling down the Strand with C when he decided to pop into Superdrug to pick up something. I think it was razors, but I’m not sure because as soon as I get into a drugstore/health food store/ grocery store, I immediately head for the hair care aisle to see what strange and random product they carry. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this line of hair products by Natures Organics. I purchased the Dry Moist conditioner that boasted the following on their label:

* • NO Sles, Sls, Ales, Als
* • NO Parabens
* • No Petrochemical cleansers
* • Cruelty free
* • Plant based packaging
Containing olive leaf extract designed to smooth and shine as well as replenish moisture to dry hair. Your hair will feel manageable and healthy, helping to reduce split ends and damage.

Let me just say this product is AWESOME! It is now my absolute favorite. It left my hair smooth and little shiny – but not fake shiny, has pretty good hold, but mostly it made my hair feel soooo soft. Worked really well after a Cherry Lola treatment, and worked well with a twist out.  The company that has great ethics and best of all it’s price tag was under £4 pounds. You can check out the website here

Unfortunately, this product isn’t in every Superdrug- but I’ve been to the one in Westfield and they carry it there too. So try a larger store. For some reason Superdrug’s website doesn’t carry it- I’ll keep looking for those who need (or prefer) to order online.

Acording to their advertising, this is the number one selling product in Naturally Curly’s CurlMart. I picked up this product in December, from Shesells.eu a site based in Europe that carries a few natural hair products including Curls and My Honey Child. I bought it there because Curly Hair Solutions doesn’t ship to the UK. It’s a Canadian product create by Hair Stylist Jonathan Torch. You can check out the website at Frizzoff.com He is also the creator of the “tunnel cut” which is a hair cutting technique that scares me just watching him…

I bought this right before I went Natural, and then forgot about it- getting side tracked with things like Shea Butter, Coconut oil, henna and such… And I kinda thought that I wouldn’t work on my hair 3c/4a hair.

Now I wish I had tried it right off the bat because it has got me thinking.

I’m kinda torn about this product. Let’s talk about the good stuff first. This is silcone free liquid that you apply to drench hair and then let air dry. Which is exactly what I did. And once my hair dried it look great. My curls were really curly although more of an flat S shape then the small ringlets i get from other styling aids. Plus it made my hair a richer color of black which I loved! I had my hand in my hair most of the day, but it didn’t effect the shape of the curls. And it lasts- I went 3 days with this stuff and normally I can barely make day 2 hair. Plus C like it. He said that this was his favorite style so far.

However. My hair felt really crunchy at first. The more I played with it the less crunchy it was but even by the end of the day my hair felt dry- not really “touchably soft” which is how I like it. Maybe this will be different if I put a leave in conditioner in first. Plus, I had to use alot, like 1/3rd of the bottle, which normally would be an issue except that once you add shipping and exchange rate this stuff cost £30. Which is a lot, in my opinion.

Overall I give it a 9 for performance, 5 for feel and 2 for affordability.

As I said, it’s got me thinking. This is an oil free product. After using this product I have had some second thoughts on using products with oils in my hair. My curls seem to like being oil free, even if they felt funny. I’m not sure yet….This weekend is going to be all about testing!

Anyways, I’d love to hear what you think of oil- any kind of oils…

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who wrote in to give me advice on the henna breakup. There was some great comments and if I decide to henna again (I’m thinking about it…) I will definitely use your recommendations. No yogurt with the henna. Try green tea and honey instead.

I have to share something. Today, I was really frustrated with the state my hair was in, and had been in all week. Fuzzy and not wanting to curl no matter how many times I DT. (I did stay clear of protein conditioners)

I decided to strand test the Cherry Lola treatment to see if therer was any improvement on my sad, sad hair. I liked the results so I did the treatment to my whole head. I left it on for about 10 minutes. Then I rinsed and co-wash and then styled with the Henna Wax Treament. What can I say… the curls came back! Hurrah!
This is not a twist out- this is strictly a wash and go. I did try a new technique in the shower though. I’m going to try it again tomorrow and if the technique works again, I’ll post about it tomorrow. Here are the results :

After Henna

After Cherry Lola Treament

Back of Head

Side View

Front View

Crown

Bangs

How I wore my Hair

Buy Braggs here in the US

Buy Braggs here in the UK

I “hennaed” this weekend again. It was my 4th attempt and my first attempt with Jamila henna. I know a lot of bloggers out there seem to love the henna, but for me, we have to break up. And it’s not me, it’s henna. It has been 5 days since my henna treatment, (which was a mix of henna honey, yogurt, herb infused water and a little olive oil.) 5 days! And my hair still feels like straw. But more worryingly is that there is some serious breaking going on. When I detangled tonight the amount of hair that came out was comparable to when I would take my extensions out. Not a good sign.

This kind of make me sad because the color of my hair this time turned out really nice. It glows a really bright red in the sun, and when I wore my hair in my “PinUp Girl” style I felt like a cute, brown Lucille Ball.

Bottom line though: Henna treats me bad, so no matter how cute it appears to be, we gotta break up.

That and it keeps turning my fingers orange no matter how careful I am with the gloves… this week the nail buffer has been my best friend. Orange tinted nails are not pretty on me… how about you?

A few post back I mentioned I came across this product in Morrison’s and said I liked it. I’ve been using it for a few days and have decided to change my ruling on this product.

I LOVE IT.

I’m going to go so far as to say it’s better then LustraSilk. For me at least. I did a test this weekend. One day Henna treatment Wax, the next Lustrasilk. The Henna wax has far more hold- which I need, and left my hair feeling far more silky. Plus my hair is far for resistant to puffing up over the day. In comparison, the Lustrasilk almost felt chalky. The camera died this weekend so I’m going to try the test again next weekend just to be sure- and this time I’ll take some pics.

Over the weekend I was trolling the net researching things about hair, when I came across a really gross article about soy sauce being made from hair.
Check it out here.

Yes, Grooooossssss. I actually think this is just a rumour. But still. Yuck!

Anyways…it got me thinking about Soy Sauce. Or, more importantly, Liquid Amino Acids.
Amino Acids (AAs) are the building blocks of protein, which is exactly what hair is; protein.
I also have Amino Acids in my fridge as I use them instead of plain old Kikkoman or tamari sauce.

In total there are twenty amino acids:
Alanine
Arginine
Asparagine
Cysteine
Cystine
Glutamic Acid
Glutamine
Glycine
Histidine
Isoleucine,
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine,
Proline
Serine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Tyrosine
Valine
Minor Amino Acids
GABA
Taurine

There are two types of amino acids:
1. Non Essential AAs – these are the kind that your body produces on its own.
2. Essential AAs – these are the kind that you must get from edible sources. Proteins such as chicken, fish, nuts, and (to a lesser degree) soy are all great sources for essential AAs.

From my research I’ve concluded that all AAs are important for hair health, but the following ones play the most important roles in hair:

Essential Amino Acid

Methionine

• A powerful antioxidant;
• A good source of sulfur which helps in the prevention of hair, skin and nail disorders;
• Prevents the premature loss of hair;
• Works in the body to detoxify many harmful elements;
• Works as a good anti-fatigue agent;
• Aids the breaking down of fats to prevent the buildup of fat in the arteries and liver.

Non essential amino acids

Cystine,

• Makes up 10-14% of the skin and hair, vital for healthy development of skin and hair;
• Encourages better recovery from burns and surgical procedures.

Cysteine

(Cysteine and Cystine are interchangeable; two molecules of Cysteine make Cystine.)

• Great Antioxidant and a natural detoxifier;
• Essential in growth, maintenance, and repair of skin and hair.
• One of the three main sulfur-containing amino acids, along with Taurine and Methionine.

Tyrosine

• Produces melanin, which is the pigment that gives the skin and hair its color;
• Vital to the body’s overall metabolism;
• Can improve your moods and is used to treat depression, insomnia, and anxiety.

Now let me just say; I LOVE AMINO ACIDS. I don’t know why, but they cheer me up. At night, C and I usually have a big salad and I always spritz on some AAs for flavor and almost immediately I get an uplifting effect from them. I get a little giddy. After looking around a bit, I think it has something to do with the Tyrosine.

So the burgeoning mixtress in me got all fired up. I decided to put AAs in my hair.

I thought about it a little more. I couldn’t just pour them on my head; I didn’t think that would work as they’re thin like water. So I mixed it up, and here is my recipe:

Yogurt - 2 parts
For the protein and the conditioning properties.

Baking Soda 1/2 part
To make my hair more porous.

Amino Acids 1/2 part
To see what they did.

I’ve used yogurt and baking soda before, mixing them with other things, and they were okay.

But together with the AAs – AMAZING!!!!

I sectioned my hair into eight parts and applied the concoction with my fingers, making sure to coat from root to tip. As soon as I put the treatment on I could tell something was different.
My roots! My roots started to clump together.

This has been my big “issue”; frizz – mostly at the roots. This treatment totally calmed the frizz down and made the roots behave the way the rest of my hair does. It has become curly from root to tip. I was floored by the results. I still am. I’ve done the treatment three times now over the course of a week and the results seem to just get better. I haven’t changed anything else in my regime and have been using Lustra Silk and my own handmade conditioner, or the Henna Wax Treatment, and co-washing every other day with Boots Coconut and Almond Oil Condish. But judge for yourself, here are the pics:

Click here for more on the Cherry Lola treatment

MORE POSTS ON THE CHERRY LOLA TREATMENT

This is my texture un-handled. I’m am 3c/4a hair type for those who care to know

An Average Twist Out

First treatment

First Treatment Results

2nd Treatment

2nd Treatment Results

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3rd Treatment Results

MORE POSTS ON THE CHERRY LOLA TREATMENT

Here’s where you can buy Braggs:

If you try this and it works for you – or if it does not – let me know!!!

I gotta say, it’s pretty good. I used it for my twist out last night and it has pretty good hold and added a nice bit of shine. It smells nice and really moisturises. It has great slip. I think this would be a great conditioner for using Terri’s technique. It’s quite thick, so I’m going to try it out this weekend and see if it works. Overall- a great product!!

In Third Place

Hello Hydration

No surprises here- It’s cheap, often on sale and available everywhere ( I bought mine 2 for 1 at Superdrug, I think it’s on sale 2 for 1 at Boots at the moment and recommended by a number of curlies on Naturally Curly.com as well a various bloggers. I think it works quite well at making my hair slippery enough to get the dirt out.

In Second Place

Pantene PRO-V RESTORATIVES Breakage Defense Conditioner

Not as great as the mask- (which by the way has been impossible to find lately… 7 shops and no one is carrying it.) but a pretty good co-wash. Not as slippery as the Herbal Essence though. I picked up this conditioner at Tesco for £2. 00 on sale. Right now at Boots you can get 2 Pantene products for £4

But the Ultimate, Number One :

Boots Coconut and Almond Oil Intensive Conditioner!!!!

This stuff is brilliant-just make sure it’s the one in the jar and not the regular bottle conditioner- there is mineral oil in that one. But the Intensive Condish worked amazingly. It really cleaned my hair, I could see it in the shower water!! And it left my hair feeling super silky and soft. And when i followed it with my homemade condish really turned out nice the next day too! And here is the best part. It cost £0.89. that’s right 89 pennies. I paid for it with the change hanging around the bottom of my purse. Brilliant!