What Is In your Beauty Closet: Hair Daze  

Before you pack for your honeymoon, you may want to ask what is in your beauty bag? If you enter into my washroom you would believe I own a small beauty supply store.  It is not lacking for any form of beauty products from my head to toes. I have enough beauty products to make you think I am an expert or a horder. And, make no mistake, I have tried and/or used at least 80% of the products at least once or twice.

Why?  Well let’s get down to the heart of it; with so many magazines, blogs, social media, and television commercials, we are bombarded with information that tell us we are not beautiful… unless you use their products. The real question is how do you decipher between what is useful, productive, and actually good for you?   At the very least, will these products do what they say and promise to do?   Did I come out feeling any more beautiful or worthy?  The jury is still out on both questions.

But what I will tell you is that this summer, I narrowed down and used some of the products I have wanted to focus on and found them to be effective. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not necessarily saying all the other products didn’t work, rather, that some products work during certain seasons or  times of day.

As an example in the Winter, my hair and skin need more moisture due to the harsh cold weather, and requires products to help revive it. During the Spring my hair is starting to come alive and needs a little assistance keeping it locked in as it goes through its seasonal changes and blossoming period. The Summer brings out a glow and it is fully blossomed; I need to manage the moisture, shine, and to focus on protecting my skin, hair, and nails while looking beautiful. The Fall is the shedding period, I have to learn how to not irritate it, panic and think I am balding, or turning into some form of reptile.

All these are natural changes, but with so many products how do you know what works for which season?   Only time, patience and taking copious notes on the natural reaction of how your body is responding to the products you are using.

So I will begin from the top of my head- my hair, my crown and glory.  I rock an Afro, it is not a tight curl, it is not a loose wavy curl, it is somewhere in between.  So it proves to be a challenge.   I further complicate it with the use of color which adds to the dryness of my curls and strips it from its natural luster.   So I am forced to look to the aid of products from the bottle.

As of late, my choices are as follows-

Mix Chicks– The Shampoo I must admit my hair is feeling, and sounding squeaky clean.  I can hear all the oily products being stripped from my scalp and hair.   This is amazing, as I am obsessed about not having dirty and smelly hair.   I would have to say that the Shampoo and Conditioner is truly made for Mix-Chicks, those of us with combination hair that has the lingering heavy oily feeling and needs that extra cleansing factor.

But I do want to tell you I swear by the Morning After Redefining Foam.  It not only smells fabulous, but actually helps in redefining my natural curls and smells divine.

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What I did discover that worked for my texture of curls is Renpure Orginals- Coconut Cream Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner, including the Leave-In Coconut Water Mist a leave-in treatment that has worked wonderfully for my hair this summer.   The smell is addictive to me and the results are phenomenal.   I noticed that the shampoo left my hair feeling clean, and after conditioning it felt moist and soft and easy to comb through by not letting it lock the curls, and I let it dry naturally keeping my curls well defined.  I am pleased.

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Another challenge I often face is shrinkage.  This has got to be one of the biggest challenges for us curly hair girls when we love big hair.  So what has worked nicely for me has been Dark & Lovely Naturale anti-shrinkage- Easy Twist Gel N Butter.  I love it!  The Pomade was done before the Summer was nearly half way through. 

But like any girl, my hair style changes at the very least 2 or 3 times a week, but during the Summer months my hair is in braids, which tends to be the easiest to manage so I need to oil my visible scalp more often, so I need something that is not too heavy and won’t attract dirt and debris. I while looking for such products I discovered the following: Renpure Micro Mist Oil treatment that can be sprayed directly on the scalp and hair sparingly and it really does the trick.

Mixed Chicks also makes a lovely replenishing oil that is lite to the touch and just a drop (size of a quarter) is enough to cover my bare scalp.

My other favorite product Aveda’s Light Elements, Smoothing Fluid is great for a bit of a shine for your actual hair as the days go by and keeps it fresh until the next wash.

For those of us that like to add a little heat to our hair whether a blow dryer or straightening iron, what works for me is John Frieda Frizz-Ease.   For repairs and hair breakage, Carols Daughter Monoi – Repairing, anti-breakage spray which can also save your hair from the heat.

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For all my ladies that color their hair, Terax Italia– Shine color locking, leave in conditioner seems to be working wonders so far for my do it yourself color projects.

Mizani also makes a great Thermasmooth Shine Extend that is anti-humidity sprintz, spray antihumidity for those tough summer humid days or as you travel.

Sometimes after washing my hair I simply want to twist and go;  Mizani Pure Style – gel has a light hold that helps me to achieve the lose curls that I want.

So for all you ladies that are on your honeymoon and are looking for products – you may want to try them out before you pack your beauty bag.

A couple of bonus products you may want to consider:  Yarok, to feed your curls, Optimum- Amla Legend Rejuvenating Ritual, Carols.s Daugher Monoi Reparing hair mask, — Oribe curl by Definition Creme and Butter-Licious Curls.

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