Mini Natural Hair Product Haul

I purchased the above products online as I did not have a moisturiser so decided to settle for the all-natural Shea Butter and I was running low on Aubrey Organics and I CANNOT be without this deep conditioner! I have been wanting to purchase the Curl Enhancing Smoothie for aaaaages and I am so glad I got my hands on it. The Shea Butter was from Amazon and the remaining products from Beauty By Zara. Here are some other peoples to purchase natural hair products.

Review: Denman D31 Brush

I recently purchased this Denman D31 brush for £6.99 at Boots. I decided to buy it to aid detangling my Kinky Curly Yaki hair as I was planning to wash it for the first time. I wasn't too sure which one to purchase but the label said 'for afro hair' so I went with that one!

Description: The widely-spaced, smooth, nylon pins of this Denman Freeflow Medium 7 Row Grooming Brush are set into a half-round pad, which helps to create volume and movement in the hair. Perfect hairbrush for producing a softer, fuller look.

Thoughts: This brush was like a miracle worker! It clumped the curls together after applying my leave-in conditioner mix to my hair) and detangled it very well. I definitely will say make sure you detangle the hair whilst damp, definitely not dry! Some people choose to modify the brush by removing rows, but I chose not to and it detangled my hair very well as you can see:

Description from www.boots.com

Mini Hair Accessory Haul & Afro Puff!

I decided to put my weave away for a week and try out some natural hairstyles. I went to the shops and bought some hair accessories to enable me to achieve some of these styles:

1: Hairbands, £1 Primark - note they have no metal band this protects against breakage and potential snagging of the hair

2: Donut, £1 Primark for buns although this is too tiny to fit over my hair -_-

3: Kirby Grips, £1.39 Superdrug

4: Black Elastic Headbands, £1 Primark for afro puffs- ensure you stretch them before!

Look how high I can get my puff now using the headbands:

Aubrey Organics

Yes! My favourite deep conditioner is back *dougies*. I honestly did try to use this Shea Moisture restorative conditioner (review here) but it is waay too light for a DC. I should have purchased one of their masques instead. So I am back to this conditioner here which I purchased from Ebay (I did not want to pay for postage). My review is here. I'm definitely going to enjoy deep conditioning now!

New Hair Products

My BC date is nearing (12th August) and I'm preparing my natural hair regimen and products. Here are three things I bought this week:

Giovanni Leave-In Conditioner £9.39, Whole Foods (also available at British Curlies and other online stores)

Eco Styler Gel, £1.99, local hair shop. This was quite hard to get a hold of! I purchased the Argan Oil, they have a lot of different varities. This has a maximum hold of 10. I will also do a review after a couple of weeks of use. I know it is available at Aces, Paks and Julia's.

I will of course do a review soon on both products!

And some scissors to BC with! 99p Shop.I need some Eco Styler Gel, it is so hard to get a hold of! I didn't realise it would be, I know they sell it Aces (and Pak's if it is near you) so I will be heading there.

Mini Hair Haul: Oils & A Butter & Video

All were purchased from ebay for a total of £10 (including postage and packaging).

1) Castor Oil
I repurchased this as my last bottle was empty. I still use it once a week on my hair prior to applying my deep conditioner. Want a demonstration? Click here.
Positives: Cheap! Great for promoting hair growth and really moisturising (especially if combined with other moisturising products)
Negatives: Can make your hair itch if applied too frequently (I'd reccommend no more than 2-3x week), quite a heavy texture so don't be too heavy handed.

2) Coconut Oil
I had to repurchase this because I can't find where my last jar got to! Hmph. I cannot do without coconut oil, I love it!
Positives: Cheap, multi-use - can be used for cooking, sealing, adding shine, in hot oil mixes and in DCs
Negatives: Mine is in a solid form so it has to be melted













3) Shea Butter
I repurchased this as this is my main ingredient in my homemade moisturiser. I really like it and I plan to use it every other day to prevent product build up and my hair feeling greasy.
Positives: Cheap, easily accessible and can be used for skin as well as hair
Negatives: Again, I do have to melt it a little bit as it is in a solid form.

I also purchasd the Shea Moisture Shampoo (12oz) from British Curlies. I am running low on shampoo and I have had my eye on it for a while. It did cost £15 including postage and packaging so I really hope it is worth it. Look out for a review soon!

My New Moisturiser

This is a combination of shea butter and coconut oil microwaved in a pot. Tip is don't microwave it for longer than 10 seconds or it will be liquid! So far so good, I will do a proper review after a week or two of use.
Shea Butter purchased from here. I purchased 100g but I feel that will not last me too long.
Here's my coconut oil

 I've stopped using Blue Magic Hair Grease as a moisturiser check my review here

Two New Synthetic Lace Front Wigs

I know , I know, I promise I am not becoming a wig addict! But my previous wigs ended up matted and unwearable so I purchased two more for £83 including postage, packaging or so I thought! I purchased from LH Boutique on 23rd January and I did not get my products till 9th February. Why so long? I received an e-mail the beginning of February stating I would have to pay an extra £22 in custom charges, very unhappy with LH Boutique and their poor customer service (not replying to my complaint sent over a week ago!). So I will not be ordering from there again. And it came in this big old box!

Anywho here are the wig specs.
Model Model Viva, $39.99 now, I purchased for $29.99 click here
It's a colour 1B, body wave texture about 14 inches.

Model Model "Futura" Lace Front Wig - Inspire here, $39.99
It's a colour 1B, straight texture with a small curl and it's a lot longer about 16 inches.

I hope these wigs last me till the end of May when I will be purchasing my last *wipes tear* human hair wig to aid my transition, I plan to BC in August 2012.

Recent Hair Buys

 Satin Tie Bonnet (£2.49) from Ace because my satin bonnet is outstretched and lost :(

Hair Scarf from Primark (£3)- hopefully I can use this to wear as a headscarf or turban:

Look What I Purchased! Yes I jumped on the bandwagon...

Blue Magic Conditioner Hair Dress- I plan to use this to moisturise my hair daily

This is from Ghana- I got it from my aunt's hair shop in the market. They also sold Dax for 7 cedis (£3) but I didn't purchase it. I'll post a review soon!

Look what I purchased!

Remy Hair, 10 inches
Description: Remi Collection Indian Remi Weaving by Sensual Collection is made of hundred percent human hair with remi texture in wet and wavy style.
Price: £19.99
Where from? http://www.pakscosmetics.com/
Delivery? £2.50

For my sew in I decided to upgrade my hair to remy hair, I purchased two packs and plan to install next week. I plan to reuse this hair at least twice more, so hopefully it's a worthwile investment, I will definitely be posting reviews on this hair.

African Pride Braid Spray Regular

Description: Healthy, beautiful braids have been popular in Africa for hundreds of years. Our ancient recipe will soften, shine and moisturize your braids. Daily use promotes strong, healthy, shiny hair. Gives hair a fabulous fragrance. Relieves frizzies and breakage. Excellent for locks and twists. 
Ingredients:  African Pride Herbal Complex (Aqua (Water), Apocynum Cannabinum (Indian Hemp Extract), Urtica Dioica (Nettle Extract), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary Extract), Arctium Lappa (Burdock Extract), Betula Alba (Birch Extract), Rosa Canina (Dog Rose Hips Extract), Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan Extract), Tussilago Farfara (Coltsfoot Extract), Prunus Serotina (Wild Cheryy BarkExtract), Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion Extract), Sambucus Nigra, Equisetum Hiemale (Horse-Tail Extract), Echinacea Purpurea (Coneflower Extract), Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Copolyol, PEG-8, Oleth-20, PEG-75 Lanolin, Silk Amino Acids, Panthenol, Acetamidopropyl Trimonium Chloride, Parfum (Fragrance), Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.
Price: £2.79
Where from? My local BSS, Ace

 I plan to use this spray to moisturise my braids underneath my weave. I may use this daily or every other day- I'll see how it goes. I did read the ingredients list and noticed it does contain cones however it also contains glycerin and the first ingredient listed is water so I thought it shouldn't be too bad. Again, I'll post a review on this moisturiser.

Mini Hair-Haul

I know tut, tut but the product junkie in me couldn't help but buy a couple of things from the hair shop.

< terrible picture *covers eyes*

I've been slacking on my oils ALOT, I'm almost out of castor oil and will not be re-purchasing carrot oil (doesn't compare to coconut oil). So I bought some coconut oil for £1.79 from Julia's. I also purchased my relaxer ORS no-lye (£3.49), I plan to relax on Tuesday because I am co-washing tonight. I have bought Wahl pro-pik dryer (£12.99) which I have wanted for years, yes years! I actually don't own a hairdryer I use my mum's. The comb attachment will come in handy and I plan to use it for my monthly heat pass. I also purchased some Sleek fashion 101 hair 1B (£5.99) I'm still confused on whether it is synthetic or human hair :s, all I know is you can use heat up to 200 centigrade. This hair is for some new clip-ins which I plan to make. My old ones are just horrid and matted, I didn't really look after them :(. So a product junky promise- I promise not to repurchase any new hair products unless they are oils (I am really running low) or a relaxer till the end of September- my first paycheque. My mum purchased some olive oil to cook with so I've taken some and put in a spare bottle, I plan to add this to my DCs. I also plan to purchase argan oil and more castor oil. I need to post a whole lot more reviews- on coconut oil (which is my new oil to seal with, definitely a staple), my new Sleek fashion 101 and argan oil when I purchase it and my brahmi and shikaki powders when I make that mix.
I have been really busy lately but now that I have almost finished university I should be doing a lot more posts. I am treating my hair today. I was SO worried after all that shedding, but I have just been plaiting my hair in four braids each day and moisturising and sealing that's all really, very low manipulation. Today I have done a hot oil mix (olive oil and coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds)  - thanks for the advice Maureen - and coated it in my hair in four sections. Next I am going to do a moisturising DC with added olive oil (just 1-2 tsps) and then co-wash with a moisturising coniditioner. My hair has honestly been the longest and healthiest it's ever been, haircare REALLY works. I can't believe how much my hair has grown since September. I realised today I actually do not trust any hairdressers, I am actually fearful of going to a hairdresser to get a relaxer. I'm fearful of relaxer burns, a "cut" when I want a trim and just coming out bald-headed. So I am definitely going to self-relax *fingers crossed* you know I'll post the results too!
Thanks for following my blog guys, I've noticed some new followers :)

Haul/Clip-Ins Part Two

SO...I feel kind of bad because I broke one of my Hair-resolutions to avoid buying more products. However I needed these. Here's what I got from the local hair shop:

In this pic: magnetic rollers (for roller sets on wet hair, which I want to try soon) in medium and large (£2.50 in all), human hair 14-inch for clip-ins, wig clips and Elasta QP DPR-11 moisture DC- I'll alternate this with my hair mayonnaise protein DC after washing to get my moisture/protein balance right.
I bought the clip-ins because the hair I have is colour 2 which is too light. My hair is a mix of black and brown. However  I saw a great idea from Hairlista to make clip-ins a protective style! Here's the clip-ins I made (I previously did a clip-in tutorial):

I sectioned off a small section of hair at the front and pinned that out of the way. I then did a French plait of all the hair at the back and pinned it. I put the clip-ins over my hair at the back so the back of my hair is protected and not exposed. Here I am with the first clip-in:

By the time I finished my own hair at the back is completely covered:

Just the front section is left out and I blend it by moisturising and brushing the clip-ins and my own hair. Look how well it blends :)

This beats wearing a half-wig for me at the moment- they're a lot more money in England then America- although it is still on my wish list. I'm happy with my clip-ins I'll probably wear them on weekends and bun throughout the week, easier to do as I'll be so busy with work.