Review- Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Description: All-natural hair dressing moisturizes hair and imparts a shine and bounce to curls. Nutrient rich vegetable butters condition hair, restoring moisture, body and shine. Enhances curls, minimizes frizz and provides curl control. For thick, curly hair.

Ingredients: Deionized Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut), Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado), Vegetable Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Silk Protein, Ammonium Salt, Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem), Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil (Carrot), Sorbitol Esters, Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5), Caprylyl Glycol, Essential Oil Blend, Lonicera Caprifolium Flower and Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Honeysuckle and Japanese Honeysuckle), Tocopherol (Vitamin E)


Thoughts: I purchased this product- wanting a styler, I have wanted this product for aaaaages! It is quite pricey- this was actually about £12.99 from Beauty By Zara which is cheap! Usually it retails for £15 and up (have you seen the prices on Ebay?!). Onto the review. The first thing I noticed when I opened the product was how much you get- it is quite a lot. Second, the texture it is really thick which is perfect for type 4 hair (as noted in the description 'thick hair'). Third, the smell which I don't really like- I don't think I am a fan of the smell of shea butter anyway. As for a styler it does work well I will post the video below but it could have more hold! The con is the price but however if you apply it on wet hair it is easier to distribute and you will use less product as opposed to applying it on dry hair. Overall I give it 4/5.
Ingredients/description from www.naturallycurly.com

Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo 12oz

Okay here is the review for this shampoo. I have been wanting to purchase a Shea Moisture product for over a year now and was very pleased when it came to London. I did write a blogpost when I purchased it but unfortunately British Curlies sent me the wrong shampoo (Curl & Shine).

So I rang them up the following day and they kindly sent out the correct shampoo with a freepost post label included. As you can see from the previous picture, they sent me a sample of Hairveda whipped ends moisturiser. If you would like to read a review on this sample- click here.


Anyway onto my review. I have used this shampoo twice, once after deep conditioning and once before deep conditoning.This was in order to better assess the effects of the shampoo on my hair.

 The price of the shampoo was £10.99, however for 12 ounces of product- that is not too bad.

Description:
This gentle, all-natural shampoo will help soften, moisturize and repair damaged, over-processed hair.
Directions: Apply shampoo to wet hair, gently massage and work into a rich lather, then rinse thoroughly
Ingredients: Ingredients: Deionized water, Decyl Glucoside (sugar beets), African Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea butter) (denotes certified organic ingredients), aloe vera leaf juice, Argan Oil, Panthenol (pro-vitamin B-5, rosemary extract, sea kelp extract, vitamin E, Lonicera Caprifolium (honeysuckle) flower and Lonicera Japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) flower extract.

Thoughts: Prior to purchasing I already knew a strength of the Shea Moisture line, it has "No Parabens, No Phthalates, No Paraffin, No Gluten, No Propylene Glycol, No Mineral Oil, No Synthetic Fragrance, No Animal Testing, No Synthetic Colour, No DEA, No Animal Ingredients, No Sulfates." So it is definitely all natural, which is an advantage! 




The first time I used my hair, it was so dry and it definitely was a good test to see how moisturising this shampoo was. It is super moisturising! When I put this shampoo in my hair, it felt so so so soft! It was amazing how it changed the feeling of my hair to a dry, straw like feeling to soft and kind of mushy. Another good thing is the smell, it is not strong at all it smells like a mild coconut scented soap. Furthermore, I did not need a huge amount of product at all. I used three pumps the first time and that was waaay too much because it lathers quite a lot. I would use one to two pumps in the future. I would definitely repurchase again, the only thing I did not like was the fact I have to order this online, wait for it to arrive and pay for shipping. Otherwise I really like this shampoo! I shampoo every other week so hopefully this will last me a very long time. I give this product 4/5.

Information from http://www.britishcurlies.co.uk/store/

My Heat Tools

Even though I try my best to stay away from direct heat. I have 3 main direct heat tools, so I thought I would do a review on them :)

1. BaByliss 2287BU Pro Curl 210 Curling Tong

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Description: This 210°C Salon Performance tong makes curling quick and easy. With its Advanced Ceramic Heating System it is ready to use in seconds and has ultra fast heat recovery to maintain constant high heat during use. The 25mm barrel with Tourmaline-Ceramic creates perfectly defined curls with a smooth shiny finish or run your fingers through for natural looking tousled waves. 

Background: I received this tong as a Christmas present almost four years ago. Since using being on my HHJ  I have used it once on my real hair to blend in with my half wig and numerous times on my weave when I wanted curls when I couldn't be bothered to wait for my Caruso rollers to heat up.

Pros:

• Has adjustable heat settings of 150ºC, 165ºC, 180ºC, 195ºC and 210ºC which is great if you are trying to avoid using high heat
• Heats up extremely quickly - remember this especially if you dont want it to burn your carpet- I learnt this the hard way :(
• Still works lol- I have bought many products from Babyliss I think they are a reputable brand and it comes with a 3 year gurantee

Cons:

• The curls will not stay for the whole evening unless you use a holding spray, they tend to drop after a few hours
• Curls can also be created (sometimes better) using a flat iron like GHDs or Cloud 9, so if you have a flat iron- do you really need this tong as well?

2. Wahl Pro Pik Dryer

Description:

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Description:

Professional 2000w ionic hairdryer with three heat settings and cool shot. Has two speed settings, continuous ionic with an easy clean removable air filter. Ideal for Afro Caribbean hair.

Background: I purchased this as I have wanted one for years and also wanted a heat tool that was not as harsh on my hair as my flat iron. I have yet to use this on my hair as I am trying to avoid direct heat, however I did use it on my mother's hair when I relaxed it around Easter.   Pros:

Has different heat settings- I love the fact that it comes with different heat settings- you could air dry 70% then blow dry on cool, you could blow dry on the highest heat setting after just washing Flexibility- the comb attachment can be removed leaving it to be used as a normal blow dryer or as a hooded dryer with a hooded dryer attachment Gets hair relatively straight, when I used it on my mother's hair it didn't even need flat ironing afterwards Cons: The highest heat setting is too hot- my mother couldn't bear it Availability- luckily I purchased this at my local hair store Julia's, but the availability and pricing can be well 'dodgy', I've seen some hair shops sell it for £25+, Argos I believe sells it for just under £20 and I don't believe at the moment it's available on Amazon. Just search for the best deal before buying :) 3. Ghd original ceramic salon styling iron - 2"   ***

Description: The ghd ceramic hairstyling iron is the Holy Grail of hair styling tools that features a unique built-in microprocessor which conducts heat fast and retains it more effectively. Plus its advanced infra-red heat actually protects your hair by sealing in its natural oils, moisture and hair colour guaranteeing you beautiful hair with an attractive healthy shine. Background: I received this as a birthday present 7 years ago and it still works the same. I used to use it when I was 16-18 with my natural hair every other day- hence why it broke off :/. Since starting my HHJ (11 months ago) I have used it about 4 times to flat iron my new growth and about twice to flat iron my whole head. I used it on my weave every time I washed it which was every 10 days. Pros: Has wide plates- plates are 2 inches wide so is great for straightening thick afro hair Straightens hair very well and straightened hair in general lasts until the next wash day You can use this flat iron to do curls - both loose and tight curls I am yet to master this but there are tutorials on Youtube Quick to heat up and quick to straighten hair due to the wide plates 　 Cons: There is no adjustable heat setting. I do not know what heat it reaches I've heard 260-360 centigrade which may be too high for people. It would be nice to have a choice Price- it is $152 some may find it pricey especially when you can purchase a flat iron made by Chi which has thinner plates but does pretty much the same job. In my opinion for seven years of usage and counting it is well worth the money

* image from amazon.com
** image from wahlglobal.com

***image from drugstore.com

Review: Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Conditioner (aka Long-Term Relationship)

As stated in my previous blog post, I posted a 75ml travel size version of this conditioner. But the full size is pictured below it is £3.25 ($4.80) atm from Superdrug for a 400ml bottle, although they always seem to have 2 for 1 on the Herbal Essences range. Apparently the US equivalent to this bottle is called Long-Term Relationship I'm not sure if the ingredients are the same.

This was my first time trying it and I wanted to try it for a while. I used it to co-wash after using a moisturising DC. I also used it as a leave-in conditioner, I basically rubbed a dime-sized piece of this conditioner throughout my hair.

Ingredients:
Aqua, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Alcohol, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Isopropyl Alcohol, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Linalool, Propylene Glycol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Hexyl Cinnamal, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Magnesium Nitrate, Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract, Hydrolyzed Silk, CI 17200, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Methylisothiazolinone, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate.


What I Thought:
I liked this product- the smell is sooo nice! Also it made my hair feel silky and the front of the bottle stated "red raspberry & silk extracts" and I really could smell the raspberry on my hair afterwards :). I also felt that it could be used as a leave-in conditioner by diluting with water in a spray bottle rather than purchasing the Beautiful Ends Leave-In Conditioner seperately. I love that it is sulfate-free it was very moisturising.

I would definitely buy this again. I didn't use all of the bottle on holiday so I will use it for my next co-wash. Once my current conditioner (Tresemme Naturals) is finished, I will purchasing this. And maybe the Beautiful Ends Shampoo as my clarifying shampoo because it contains sulfates.

I've considered buying the Herbal Essence's Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner because reviews (especially by naturals) suggest it provides lots of slip and moisture. But I just love the smell of Beautiful Ends.

I would reccommend this product to relaxed heads and naturals too. On the front of the bottle it says 'for mid to long hair' but I am currently nearing APL and it worked well for me, I think it is pretty versatile for all hair types, my hair is quite coarse (4a).

Hmm out of 5, I would give it 4 :) (mainly because I can't pronounce most of the ingredients :/)