Online shopping! Product Junkie Paradise Worldwide

Curl Harmony Results

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post but I will include the shopping link for your convenience.

As you all know, by now in 2016 I became a huge product junkie, my shelf only featured the one single line I used for a few years an nothing much changed. Today I want to show love for my favorite online beauty supplier by doing my first product line review.

My weakness is online shopping in beauty suppliers, specially Naturalistic Producst from the UK. It is a relatively new store and what captivated me was their customer service  when they were starting out and that has only continued to improve as their business grows.

Today I followed one of the advices on their blog: Use all the products from the same line, as they are formulated to work better together,a reason for this is the pH of the products, but that is a topic for another blog post.When starting in the natural hair journey and being part of the community one wants to try it all! and believe I did try a lot of things in 2016 but I forgot about that simple tip.

In a, not so quick, cabinet search I found that the only line I had complete was Curl Harmony one of the very 1st lines I tried and that I actually forgot about until now, except the curl reviver cream that I used as holy grail product, whenever curls misbehaved.

Wash Day

1. Finger detangle easily just with water (my hair was saturated of leave in)
2. Shampoo with curl harmony curl cleanser which cointains my favorite anionic surfactant: Sodium C14-16 Olein Sulfonate which cleanses deeply without overly drying the hair
3. Intense Repair Deep Conditioner: I added a little bit of rosemary oil because I do not like flowery scents, I prefer earthy or neutral smells, but the product works. The first time I used this product I honestly did not give it a chance, since the flowery smell,the protein & shea butter content put me off a bit but this time, following my seasonal change Product Junkie beast control method, I tried them again in my 1st winter as a natural and things seemed different. My hair needed a little protein now and not back then. For high porosity, damaged and transitioning hair seems like a perfect choice ingredient wise. It contains Behentrimonium methosulfate one of my favorite conditioning agents because it is very, wheat protein, shea butter & coconut & jojoba oil. For low porosity hair it should used sparsely, only when hair damage is present or not at all, so I will save it for times when I need a little extra TLC. My hair was soft, easily detangled and to be honest it smelled of rosemary oil which I love.
4. Curl Reviver: It is a cream that feels like a leave in conditioner my absolute holy grail for curl definition ever since I first got the tiny samples, I had no idea this line existed. Hurray for free samples. The slip, smell and overall performance of this product is amazing. It contains Behentrimonium Methosulfate which basically tells you it is a very hydratying product so I skipped the Leave-in. Later I got a full size as a thank you from Naturalistic Products, since sadly this line went out of production this year and it is not available any more.
5. I used a little curling jelly on the fringe but asides from that it was all curl harmony. It was nice to get to know this line of products. Definitively a good reminder to go back to the basic, simple rules. Out of this line the cream and shampoo work great for me, the Deep Conditioner only when I need extra nutrition.
6. A transitioning tip: Go for one line of products from Shampoo to finishing product, try to consider your hair type, porosity and specific hair needs at the time of purchase; then once you have mastered your wash day & become more confident experiment more and try mix and match, if the mix and match does not work you can always go back to using the full line of the same products. I have already selected a few brands I will be completing, which is step one in completing one of my 2017 hair goals (restore order, in my curly chaos product junkie cabinet).

Reasons why I buy in  Naturalistic Products

I already mentioned excellent customer service:  The way we met was on IG they had a sale and I missed it by a day, so I commented what a shame it was that I missed it and I got my own personal code in my inbox. I asked for product recommendations based on my hair and they gave my absolute holy grail, which I will blog about sometime, hopefully, soon. How cool is that? I once even went as far as to inquire about a specific ingredient and they help me with that too.

Samples: They offer free samples per purchase and so far I have not been dissapointed.

Rewards program: The point system is great and I have been able to catch a few discounts thanks to their loyalty program.

Shipping: The cost varies but for us curlies living in countries where options to try international products are limited, it really makes a difference to have access to an efficient mailing service. It takes about a week, but they are always on top of every order.

Family Owned European Business: This one is special for because I am also part of a family owned business, so let’s say I know the struggle and I can tell they have the best interest of their customers in mind.

These are just my personal opinions and I have not interviewed the shop for creating this post, I just noticed that in a lot of forums people do not know where to buy good products outside of the US, so I figured I might help with my testimonial.

Cheers! Have a Curly Hair day

Dr. L

Are you a Product Junkie?

 

Winter Holy Grail

11 Useful Tips for the Curly Girl Product Junkie

1. Set up a monthly budget for haircare products according to your income and stick to it. Once I noticed I was spending too much money in products I found this to be the most useful intervention. My monthly budget is 100 Euros per month, if there is a particular product or hair tool that is more expensive than that then I wait until the beggining of the next month to make the purchase. Set a stablished amount and stick to it.
2. Don’t impulsive buy when you visit the drugstore. Some products might be on sale or very cheap, but it is better to read about it first. Buy according to your hair needs, know your curls, for instance you might be protein sensitive and see a great protein treatment is on sale, but it is not the right product for you so it will only sit on your shelf.
3. Trade products that did not work for you with friends and family, you both might benefit from the deal.
4. Keep a list of your stock of products and buy first the type of product that is running out. I keep a shelf for styling and finishing products for example so that I can see if the balance is tilting more towards oils (my guilty pleasure) or leave in conditioner (my favorite product) while I am running low on curl definers or stylers before purchasing a new oil I check if there is not another product that I actually need.
5. Don’t be too hard on yourself, if all of the above failed do your very best to keep your hard earned coin together while not feeling guilty about a few moments of product junkism weakness, revisit your goals and strategy and repeat.
6. Donate barely used products to charity and quantify how much money it is you are giving and consider a fund for donations instead of excessive shelf products.
7. Shop online in a store with a rewards program or on a beauty supplier and ask for free samples of products you might want to try in the future or join a products subscription box service and keep within budget while still trying new things!
8. Be alert for the sales of your holy grails and stock up and then adjust the subsequent months budget.
9. Review your product cabinet when the seasons change, it might be some products that did not work in summer work for winter and viceversa. Try them in a different season and if it is a no no then kiss them goodbye.
10. If all else fails reset and go back to your holy grails until you find a way to sort out your product junkie cabinet( at least that is what I am doing just now, getting rid of all my products in order to return to a few holy grails that were just perfect for my hair & skin)
11. Have fun!

When I started his blog in April I was not a product junkie, now I can confidently say I am a product junkie and I need to go back to keeping it simple as a new hair goal. I will try to use all the products I have or try and trade them although I have no fellow curlys in my vecinity for now.

Cheers!

Devacurl One Condition Decadence Results

Dr. L

I wish my shelf was as tidy XD

I Have a Crown Now

I am sorry you can not see, how great I am. I am sorry you were born below me, I always knew I was better than you and now thanks to my crown, everyone knows.

You wanted me to apologize, ok I will write a meaningless statement just to keep the crown I deserve, because I have better skin, better hair and a faker smile than yours.

Get outraged, write about me on social media, I do not care, I am the crown queen or king of the most powerful country on earth. I am the face of racism, discrimination, hate and violence and I am proud of it. I have not changed at all but I will write I did just to weather the storm. Anyways next week Kayne and Kim will be trending instead of me.
***This is what I imagine feels like reading in between the lines of the never ending Apology for saying and writing racists, or sexists comments from celebrities, politicians, teenage beauty queens, social media influencers, anybody big enough to have millions of followers and people they influence.

I cannot understand how systematically we continue to vote, pay for products and merchandise, select services and invest our money in businesses and people who clearly dislike others but their “own kind” whatever that means. This is a global reality it is not circumscribed to one single country like the USA or the UK, because selective crime and punishment also happens in places like Latin America where I grew up. We as a collective of peace loving people should be more supportive and take true actions for peace not just ignore the comments and move on, yes it is scary I get it. It took me months to finish this prompt reply I knew what I wanted to write but not how. 

I choose love, compasion and understanding, non violence and non hate, because as the iconic Mae West once said “It takes two to get one in Trouble”
 

 

 

 

¿Shampoó Cowash?

Esa es la gran pregunta cuando iniciamos la jornada de cabello natural, a simple vista el consenso es no use shampoo, pero un cuero cabelludo limpio y sano es la base de un cabello saludable, entonces que hacemos? Pues, aprender a usar bien nuestros productos y decidir qué nos funciona y que no por experiencia propia; eso sí, con buena información de base. El shampoo contiene agentes llamados surfactantes para cumplir con su funcion de limpieza y esta es la razon principal por la cual el cabello se reseca. La técnica correcta es  aplicar una pequeña cantidad, masajear el cuero cabelludo y no poner todo el cabello en la coronilla sino lavarlo ordenadamente solo con la espuma que va cayendo del cuero cabelludo que es lo que realmente necesitamos limpiar.

Cowash es lavarse el cabello con un acondicionador o un producto conditioning cleanser o no poo, hay muchos nombres y marcas pero lo importante es tambien utilizarlo bien si escogemos cowash debemos primero haber lavado muy bien con shampoo en el wash day anterior y partir de un cuero cabelludo limpio para ver si esto nos funciona. Es absolutamente necesario no utilizar siliconas porque los “cowash” contienen surfactantes muy debiles es decir son limpiadores suaves y no son capaces de remover todo el sebo, los productos acumulados y la contaminacion ambiental del cabello. La forma correcta usar cowash es mojar muy bien el cabello aplicar abundante cantidad y masajearlo en el cuero cabelludo distribuyendolo bien en todo el cabello, dejalo puesto varios minuto enjuaga muy bien y listo.

El Cowash es muy popular entre las naturalistas y vale la pena hacer la prueba si tu cabello tiende a estar muy reseco, entre más rizado el cabello mas tiende a ser seco.

“El cabello rizado siempre estará seco” y “usa mucho producto” son dos frases que todo peluquero experto me ha dicho y doy fe de que es totalmente cierto e incluso hay una explicación para ello, pero como este post es para las que han hecho big chop o transición reciente lo dejaré para otro escrito.

Un poco de la ciencia de todo esto y ¿Que son los surfactantes?

Los surfactantes son agentes limpiadores comerciales presentes en todo tipo de producto de limpieza desde jabones de barra hasta shampoo de linea profesional.

Tipos de Surfactante

Hay 5 tipos de surfactantes (limpiadores o acondicionadores)

Anionico: Aporta limpieza profunda, puede resecar el cabello.

Cationico: Suaviza el cabello, casi no tiene habilidad limpiadora.

No Ionico: Limpieza más suave posible y acondicionador.

Amfoterico: Limpieza Suave, no irritante para los ojos, aporta hidratación al cabello, muy versatiles y suavizan el cabello.

Surfactante Natural: limpia muy poco, excelente espuma.

Existe la percepción de que los sulfatos son malos, pero de hecho son útiles y económicos agentes  para remover el detritus que se acumula en el cuero cabelludo; usados con buena técnica y moderación son excelentes aliados en el cuidado del cabello natural, sobretodo si tendemos a usar geles, aceites o mantecas muy pesadas.

Muchos shampoos con sulfato no resecan tanto porque también contienen acondicionadores que suavizan su efecto. Los productos con bases tales como el sodium y ammonium laureth sulfate y el sodium y ammonium lauryl sulfate son los mas baratos en su produccion por lo tanto no deben ser costosos para el consumidor final, si un producto tiene estos limpiadores de base debe ser barato.

Espero que esto te sirva para aclarar dudas y hacer mas fácil tu proxima compra de shampoo o acondicionador para cuidar tus rizos.

Más adelante te compartiré más información, para ir conociendo poco a poco lo que nuestro cabello necesita, como lo necesita y así recuperar tus rizos, ondas, rulos, crespos o tirabuzones.

Metodo LOC: Leave in conditioner, aceite y crema de peinar.

Mi opinion: Rara vez hago cowash porque tengo mejores resultados con el shampoo, utilizo todo tipo de shampoo pero prefiero los que tienen coco-sulfato, olein-sulfonatos y sulfosuccinatos porque limpian profundamente sin resecar mucho y lo hago 1 o 2 veces por semana. Solo hago cowash cuando no tengo mucho tiempo disponible. Es importante usar shampoo de la forma correcta o sea siempre prepoo y acondicionador profundo o al menos un acondicionador con aclarado dejado puesto 5 minutos.

Cuentáme qué más te gustaria aprender en este laboratorio del cabello! Comenta o escribeme 

The Hair Lab MD