[review] proclaim curl activating gel

proclaim curl and wave conditioning activator gel

water, glycerine, propylene glycol, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, hydrolyzed wheat protein, carbomer, triethanolamine, fragrance, methylparaben, polysorbate 20, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, alpha-isomethyl ionone, linalool.

yet another purchase i got on recommendation from someone at lhcf. this gorgeous user had managed to shingle her twa and it was the business. so, i popped on over to sally's two weeks ago (i got this the same day i got the tj's conditioner) and ran in. i stalled for a second when i found it, though, because there were a few different formulations. there was protein (black top), aloe vera (green top), and then this one with both (blue top). i hate options and figured that if i had to pick one, i might as get the one that had both ingredients in it. i don't even think i noticed the price until i got to the register - $1.69 for 10.5 oz. not baaaad. i return things to sally's a lot, so i was hoping i liked this. if not, i'd give it away. i am not returning less than two dollars worth of merchandise. my god.

luckily, i fell in love with this jar of gel the first time i used it. i'm glad i picked it up because, disclaimer: before this gel, i thought that anything with the word "activator" in it was either something extremely different/special/potent, or it was for keeping your jherri curl nice and juiced up. after reading the ingredients, i've realized that it's just a hyped up name for gel.

packaging is extremely simple and straightforward. a sturdy jar, that looks like it cost every bit of two dollars. not that i mind - it'd just be sitting on my dresser. it smells just like any other gel, although i do like the smell of this for some reason. great spreadability, etc., etc.

now, performance. i love this gel. so much, that i use it every day. haven't decided if this is bad or not. i haven't tried to shingle with it yet, only because of scab hair and i'd rather avoid that frustration. this gel really does define and pop my curls all over my head and what's great is the hold is amazing - it doesn't dry hard or crunchy. perfectionnn. this may even have beat out ecostyler - it was very easy to add even the tinest bit too much and my hair would become crunch city. not cool.

gel is the last step in preparing my hair in the morning, and i've noticed that when i play in my hair during the day, my hands don't come back shiny. now, when i was just using shea butter and jbco, some product would sit on top of my hair, making it not touch-friendly. maybe it's the gel, but no greasy hands, no greasy hair. great! i've been getting lots of compliments lately, too; my favorite: "it looks so moisturized and curly!" well, thaaaank you! :]

only thing i've noticed is when i've played in my hair too much, i get tiny flakes, and this is usually only when i've been using the gel daily, and haven't co-washed in a minute, so i'm guessing it's buildup. and then, i only really get them on my edges in the front. my hands go here first when i apply any product, so it gets most of it - so probably buildup. just means it's wash time. other than that, no complaints.

gel is tricky in that it can cause you to troubleshoot and tweak your regimen over and over again. my regimen isn't rock solid, but if i use gel very often, it means i'll have to shampoo a lot more often, so i'm watching my hair carefully. more shampooing means a chance for my hair to dry out, and with the cold weather kicking in, i don't need any extra dryness. i'll probably cut back on the use, just because shea butter and jbco keeps my curls pretty defined already.

would i repurchase? absolutely!

[review] aussie moist conditioner

aussie moist conditioner

water, stearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, glutamic acid, fragrance, BIS aminopropyl simethicone, benzyl alcohol, EDTA, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, ecklonia radiata extract (australian sea kelp), simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, aloe barbadensis leaf juice.

yet another conditioner that was bought on a whim during a run to the store. again, because of rave reviews on lhcf. i didn't get the 3 minute deep conditioner just because i didn't think i'd need it just yet, so i was fine with just this. i don't remember the price tag, but it wasn't more than four dollars, which isn't bad for 13.5 oz. now, onto the review.

first off, i am really liking the bottle - it's one of the prettiest i've seen. the bottle is the most deep, jewel purple you've ever seen. the color is far from flat and really makes the product seem like you've got something good in your hands. the cap is an iridescent pearl, very pretty, although a little stiff to pop open and close. at first, the light blue lettering put me off - it was too flat compared to the other colors, but i quickly got used to it. it's a pale, frosty blue and really stands out from the deep purple. the shape of the bottle itself, is standard with an elegant little twist (literally). the perfect size for holding and squeezing.

i'm horrible at describing scents, but this conditioner is definitely one of those strong perfume-y types. it's got this weird undertone to it that screams "potent" to me - like the ingredients are really strong; reminds me of my salon days with the gallon tubs. ahh...i wouldn't say tropical, i wouldn't say citrus, or sweet, or even musky. just... perfume and potency. idk. it is boyfriend approved, however. the scent isn't as strong once it's out of the bottle, thank goodness, and becomes a lot more bearable. not that the scent is bad, at all, just strong. if you like your scents to linger, this is definitely a good condish to use.

the formula is just thick enough, making this conditioner seem like even more of a luxury, keeping in theme with the aesthetic of the bottle. i remember first using it, the slip was ridiculous. hands down, this beats all my other conditioners in that department. as for performance, it fits right in with the rest of my conditioners - clean, soft hair. i'll have to update this next time i use it and rinse it out - just to give a more thorough review. right now, however, i am trying it out as a leave-in and will come back and update tonight once my hair has fully dried. :)

would i repurchase? in a word, yes. i feel like this could become one of my staples, but i move through different conditioners often, so we will see.

getting impatient. . .

. . . and it's youtube fueling the fire. it's natural, i think, to be excited and even a little impatient while waiting for your hair to grow. but that's entirely personal.

it's when other people are making you impatient that i start having issues.

now, i can dream and daydream about my hair all day if i let myself. imagine having a long ponytail, or tying my hair into a puff, or rocking the most glorious afro ever. and i can imagine it over and over and over again, and never get bored. and i can handle that. imagining tides me over while nature does its thing and my hair grows at its own pace.

but last night, i spent maybe little less than hour watching one particular youtuber: MahoganyCurls. i first noticed her because she had a twa, like me, and her curls were already so defined and springy and all-around amazing. naturally, i wanted to know how she did it, so i watched and watched and watched. and i gained soooo much information.

first off, i learned that second-, third-, and even sixth-day hair was possible with a twa, without having to wash every day or every other day, without having to apply product everyday, etc. even better/worse for me, she uses drugstore cheapies (VO5). i'd already heard a lot about VO5 from lhcf, but was never compelled to buy any, much less five-ten-fifteen bottles like some ladies, even with such a great price tag (sales of, like, 69 cents). but seeing this girl work her magic on her gorgeous, flawless twa, made me want to go out and buy a few bottles. (i swear, i am an advertisers dream).

all she does was wash once a week and then leave in some of her conditioner. in the morning, she just spritzes generously (and i mean generously) with some water and her curls literally SPRING back to life. from there, she just shakes it out and is on her way. don't touch it, don't play in it, sleep with a satin bonnet, and you're good. seeing it, i'm a believer.

but here's where i have the problem... my hair is nowhere near long enough to shake. sad face. i cannot wait for it to grow, just so i can do that - shake my twa.

her videos answered a lot of questions i didn't even know i had. how to style your hair without washing all week, how to keep your curls defined with the most minimal effort in the world, and it encouraged me to start leaving in some of my conditioners. i tried this a bit over the summer, but i take it i didn't like the results, if i didn't keep doing it. but i'm going to start doing this with every conditioner i have, just to see what i like (plan to do that with aussie moist tonight - review coming today - whoo!) and don't like. my mind just does not register washing/rinsing conditioners as leave-ins solely because of the consistency. but it won't hurt me to try.

in short... grow hair, grooooooow. kthnx. :)

[review] trader joe's tea tree tingle conditioner

trader joe's tea tree tingle conditioner

water, tea tree, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, nettle oil, thyme oil, birch leaf oil, chamomile oil, clary, coltsfoot leaf, yarrow oil, mallow, horsetail oil, soybean protein, cetyl alcohol, vitamin e, trace minerals, citric acid, sodium hydroxymethylgycinate, grape seed

so trader joe's is pretty much one of the coolest places on the face of the earth. so much stuff and so cheap. i picked this conditioner up on a whim maybe two weeks ago. i had heard a lot of things about the shampoo, and i already loved the nourish spa conditioner, so i decided to try this. i didn't have any conditioners that tingled - so why not? the price was right, as always - 2.99 for 16 oz of product. i was trying to convince myself not to buy any more products, but for some reason, i was on a mission to get this. i was able to mitigate my guilt once i realized i was three months natural on that very day - shoot, my hair deserved it.

first, packaging. from the jump, i liked this bottle a lot more than the nourish spa one. nourish spa is kind of flat and awkward for me to hold, and i don't like squeezing it. the ttt bottle, however, is in a shape that vaguely reminds me of a pyramid. cute. comes in a kind of frosted white bottle, like the nourish spa, but with rich dark brown and vibrant sage brown writing and pictures. i like the colors - especially the green. i might like the brown more if it had a little bit of red to it, but oh well - the colors aren't what i'm reviewing.

as soon as you pop the top, your nose is hit with the strong peppermint oil. i hate peppermints. i hate the mint candy, i hate the gum. luckily, though, i wouldn't be eating the conditioner, so i could appreciate the smell this time. i was excited to feel the tingle on my scalp; a good whiff already had my nose hairs tingling. so the scent is as complex as a regular peppermint - strong, tingly, with the tiniest hint of candy at the very end. pretty straightforward.

i decided to wash my hair in the morning, but that resolution lasted all of five minutes as i hopped into the shower with the conditioner. one of the first things that jumped out at me was the lather - for a conditioner, the lather on this thing was ridiculous. instant winner. the tingle wasn't as strong as i expected, but definitely pleasant. it was light, and made my scalp feel so cool and invigorated. the slip was crazy and i couldn't stop massaging it in - the more i massaged, the more tingle i got and i liked the tingle. a lot.

my hair was clean without being stripped, and i loved how light and cool my scalp felt. the scents from my conditioners never last long - although i'm not sure if this is because my hair is not long enough for me to sniff (yet) or because i put a moisturizer and gel on afterwards. but i wouldn't mind for my hair to smell minty - it would keep me awake in class all day.

i don't think i'll be experimenting with this as a leave in, solely because i don't know if i could stand to go around tingling all day long. but would i repurchase? most definitely. once i get through about 50-11 other conditioners first...

[regimen update] what's up now?

just a quick update, mainly because i think i need to shampoo my hair. for the past week or so, i have been working with a quick, simple regimen that has me loving my hair. dampen with some water (from a spray bottle), moisturize with shea butter, seal with jamaican black castor oil (what i was doing earlier), and then applying some of the proclaim curl activator gel. and i'm loving it, yet again. when i was just doing the shea butter, i may have been a little heavy handed, so my hair would feel a little greasy. but sealing with the jbco and the gel, i don't have that problem anymore.

sunday, i washed with HE HH conditioner and baking soda, on a whim, so i'm not sure if that actually did anything. i had a lot of white stuff in my hair today on my hairline (where i put the shea butter first), so i'm going to do a good wash today. and i'll probably need to shampoo more, using such heavy products and that gel.

and about these reviews... my goal is for two this week. it's so easy to go into any store and pick up anything on a random recommendation, or just because it looks or smells good. and store-bought stuff is so cheap, i never think twice about buying anything. just last night, i bought aussie moist (from raves on LHCF) and cantu shea butter leave-in (more raves). not sure what i'm expecting from the leave in, but i look forward to using the aussie moist tonight.

so, my reviews this week will (hopefully) be: trader joe's tea tree tingle conditioner and proclaim curl activator gel. i might have to break out the eco styler again, just because it's been a while and i need to remind myself how much i like it. and so i have something to reference the proclaim against.

in other news, my hair is growing! i was walking into a store today and caught my reflection, and there, on the side of my head, standing at attention was this one, most perfectly formed curl. it looked weird, though, because it STUCK OUT from the side of my head, but it was so bold and confident and cute, the last thing i was going to do was pat it back into place. so i let it be. <3

again, natural life is the best life. no questions asked.

time just flies by.

if i could kiss and hug my hair, i would. and when it's long enough to do so, i will. i've been natural for a whole three months now and it's like a nonstop party on top of my noggin. there's so much to learn about your hair, it's ridiculous.

natural hair is the ultimate high. when your spirits are down, at least your hair is always up. it's my drug. whenever i have a bad day, all i need to do is wash my hair and play around in my curls and no more worries. it's so ridiculous, it's amazing.

every one needs to go natural at least once in their lives and at least experience the natural awesome that is your natural texture. so far, i've gotten one girl to bc and another to transition. i'm trying to get another to convert and so far, she seems receptive. i sound like an evil monarch or something.

my hair has grown so much since i bc'ed, so i'm glad i decided to start a blog and a fotki because i get to see the transformation. it's so much thicker and richer and it just keeps getting better and better each day.

lord stop me when i get to my goal length (arm-pit length, unstretched). no one will be able to tell me a damn thing, i know i'm so fly.

so, i've got a little list just simmering with products i want to try and that i plan to try as soon as i can. the list grows every few weeks. i can't help it. and that's not to mention all the miscellaneous purchases i buy during the week, without a thought. monday, i bought some proclaim curl activator (more on that below) and some trader joe's tea tree tingle conditioner (more on that, too). for the quickest of split seconds, i almost thought, "iz, you do not need any more products." then i realized, it was my threemonthaversary - i'm gonna treat my fro and myself.

okay, so gel activator? i would've never ever bought anything with the word "activator" in it if it hadn't been for a girl's hair on LHCF. she used it and managed to shingle her twa and it looked so good. before buying, i always thought curl activators had some special chemical in it that warranted the word activator, but really, it's pretty much gel with a different name. so far, i like it. i also liked my eco styler and i've stopped using that. oh, well. i'll do a product review maybe next week.

and it's no secret i'm in love with trader joe's and their products. i love my nourish spa, but never thought twice about the tea tree. it is some kind of amazing. i'm so glad i bought it. and sooo cheap. will definitely be doing a product review on that this week.

just a list of things i need to review sometime soon, so expect a barrage of those. eco styler gel, proclaim gel activator, trader joe's tea tree tingle condish, vs so sexy condish (have been putting this off forever), and herbal essences hello hydration condish.

i couldn't imagine...

...being relaxed.

which is so weird, considering that i've spent the majority of my life thus far being relaxed. but to quote lauryn, "i've never been in love like this before."

i'll be honest: my relaxed hair SUCKED. breakage left and right, chemical burns, limp, thin hair. seemed like it would never grow and to compensate, i cut it one summer and then cut it the next. thinking about it, my hair did grow back pretty nicely from the one summer i cut it shortshortshort. but relaxed hair, unless you know how to properly take care of it, blows. your ends are thin, all you know is to keep it straight, your hair is just dry, whack, and not as fly as you think it is. at least, this was the case for me and from the looks of a few young girls around my way, that's the case for them too.

i'll keep being honest: whenever i see a girl with choppy, abused, relaxed, thin, dry hair...i simultaneously feel sorry and superior than her. i know that sounds horrible, but why shouldn't i? i may have a twa, but my hair is luscious, thick, curly, strong, and healthy. i don't necessarily feel better because i'm natural, but because my hair is healthier. maybe it's not even that i feel better than her, as much as it is that i feel better about myself. but as long as she's happy with herself and the hair on her head, how i feel has absolutely no effect on either of us and we keep it moving.

before people take it the wrong way, and just in case some have already (not that many people read my blog, but here's a little disclaimer) this is in no way bashing those who choose to relax their hair. there are many women out there with thick, healthy, shiny, gorgeous relaxed hair. i've seen it. it's when i see a jacklaxed sister that i begin to feel any kind of way. oh, well.

the point of this post was to say that even though i have been relaxed, i can't imagine ever going back and i'm surprised i didn't go natural sooner. i can only imagine how miserable my relaxed hair would've made me. way too many problems and not enough patience for any solutions. i would've gotten so fed up. i never considered going natural until a few months ago and i am so grateful that i did. i love every single strand on my head (even those crazy ones that stick out pin straight).

i feel so much more comfortable in my skin and my confidence has shot through the roof. i feel sexy, natural, happy, and just amazing. and i guess that comes from having something so uniquely my own - no one in the world has a texture like mine. my hair is beautiful and no one can tell me different. my options are endless and i'll say it - naturals have a versatility that relaxed heads do not have. relaxed hair can't revert to a head full of lush, springy coils with just a spray bottle. and even relaxed heads still have to straighten and flat iron, just to keep their already straight hair straight.

everyone's hair is different - everyone. but to me, straight hair (not even relaxed hair) is not really any different from the last head of straight hair. now, there's differences in thickness, cut, density, etc., but those differences aren't really that significant (TO ME). but with being natural, each head of hair is uniquely different from the next and it SHOWS.

i don't even care if what i'm saying is PC, or mean, or just all kinds of wrong. i only care about the transformation my hair has caused in me.

i don't even know what i'm trying to say... just felt like writing.