i am on a product NO-BUY! for six months!

yep, that's right. i'm putting myself on a hair product no-buy for the next six months!


but... why?!


due to the combined efforts of the amazing generosity of the lovely ladies of lhcf and black friday, i now have more than enough hair creams and conditioners than izzy can handle! amongst handfuls of adorable sample sizes and free full sizes, i plan to spend the next six months shopping my stash.


i have everything i need: shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, moisturizer, oil, etc. and i really shouldn't be buying more products when i have a backlog of others that i need to review (some have been sitting around for months). so i'll be working on that. i'll also be updating my inventory post with my entire stash.


here are my rules for myself:

1. no new product purchases. this includes sample sizes (this is how i end up with so many)!
2. only allowing repurchases of staple products and products i adore.
3. work on at least one review a week (maybe not post, but at least begin working on one).

how about you ladies? any of you getting a little out of hand with your buying? did you participate in BF? what did you buy?!


edit: just coming back to add a brief list of the things i am not allowed to buy (in addition to hair products), because if i have a more concrete list, i won't be tempted to buy!


no more: body wash, soap, lotion (unless it's a smell good!), eyeliner, lipgloss, skin care products.
i will allow: blushes and nail polish.

so... i might take that back.

i hate moisturizing on dry hair.


hate it, despise it, detest it, curse it, etc. etc.


how do people do it? maybe there are some naturals out there with magical afros that never get mushed, or flattened, or compacted while they sleep. maybe they can wake, shake (or fluff), and just go. *sigh* i can't imagine how blissful that must be. did they not get the frizz? the dryness and crackling? guess not.


as for me (and dear izzy). izzy is definitely my hair - she sleeps hard just like me. my springy spirals are effectively and tenaciously pressed against my scalp after a night of either deliciously deep sleep or tossing and turning. should i so much as look at izzy in the morning the wrong way, she'll frizz up. i try to tenderly, gently poke the tips of my fingers into the thickets of my curly roots in some kind of feeble attempt to get my coils to spring to life. 


if i can't do it with my fingers, what can a moisturizer do? psh. out comes the trusty spray bottle, and with it, the drippies for at least ten-fifteen minutes. damp ears and a moist scalp are not the business in fall, with winter creeping around the corner. even more so when you're running late for class. but that seems to be the only way to get izzy into some semblance of cooperation. what else could i do? the drippies were driving me up the wall!


the one day, it hit me. smacked me in the face as i was rubbing one eye, lazily inspecting my afro with the other. what did i care? no honestly, what did i care if izzy looked like she was cooperating? she was daring, just like me! obviously, if "moisturizing"my hair just made me how aware of how dry it was, then i must not have been doing it right, or not using the right products.


if it was the products, i'd been hearing people going on about water-based moisturizers, but i never really cared? what did i care? my hair was always fine before. but with this new color, obviously "fine" wasn't gonna cut it now. luckily, i'd been shopping around for water-based moisturizers and settled on the leave-in from jasmine's.


i grabbed the moisturizer (jasmine's shea butter cream rinse leave-in) and slathered it over my head... no cracklies? no tangles? i can move my hair? afro perfectly shaped?


BINGO!


why had i refused to try this for so long?! this was maybe two or three weeks ago and me and my hair have been doing fine! i felt like a huge dope - why did i wait so long?! i still can't believe it! drippies are down by 90% percent! styling time is five minutes max!


it just goes to show that i have become stagnant with experimenting with  my hair and a little exploration is essential - learn your hair and what works. try new things, you may like them!


i will say however, i have noticed that i use a lot more product on dry hair versus wet hair. if i had to wager a guess, it'd be because it's much easier to spread the product through damp hair. i am still looking to try more water-based moisturizers!


what are some things new that you've tried with your hair? what moisturizer do you like? chime in. :) i love suggestions. i hope everyone is growing and learning along with their hair!

time for inventory...

earlier this year when i cut my hair, i managed to whittle down my product stash by quite a bit. i was quite happy buying samples as i wanted, and using them up within the week before moving on to the next thing. i never felt as though i needed a number of products. my short-hair mentality was: little hair, little products.

a month or so ago, i decided to let my hair grow out and as you can see from my pictures, i've been doing just that. however, my buying habits still had a short-hair mentality. over the past few weeks, i've ordered a number of samples and products and now, i have more than i care to possess. now that i'm only washing once a week (my deep conditioning on sundays), my product stash hasn't had many losses to balance the incoming goodies. 

so i'm doing a little spring (fall?) cleaning of my stash so i can keep better track of the items i already have. hopefully, i won't be tempted to order anymore (except black friday, that is...)

[conditioners]

christine gant babassu cream deep conditioner (sample)

jasmine's avocado & silk deep conditioner (sample)

mozeke moisturizing hair masque

jessicurl weekly deep conditioning treatment
hairveda moist conditioner 24/7
oyin handmade honey+hemp conditioner
jasmine's babassu buttercream organic conditioner
ori organics golden jojoba hydrating conditioner
ori organics curl restorative masque: deep conditioner

bear fruit hair olive drench conditioner
bear fruit hair mango macadamia mask

[oils]

hairveda cococasta shikakai oil

hairveda avosoya oil
hairveda vatika frosting

mozeke alma herbal infusion
oyin handmade burnt sugar pomade

[moisturizers, etc]

christine gant sweet milk leave-in

jasmine's shea butter cream rinse leave-in

qhemet biologics alma olive heavy cream

qhemet biologics honey hydrating balm
darcy's botanicals shea butter curl moisturizing cream
oyin handmade hair dew
kinky curly knot today leave-in
ori organics replenishing hair milk (sample)
ori organics moisture balancing buttercream (sample)


[stylers]
nbd cosmetics moisture miracle
darcy's botanicals curling cream gel

donna marie miracurl curling jelly
donna marie dream curling creme
kinky curly curling custard
ori organics curl styling buttercream (sample)

aaand... some samples from bee mine.

i know this doesn't seem like a lot, but my desk is getting crowded with all kinds of conditioners and creams and i would like that space back, lol. to me, this seems like quite a lot since i don't use as many products as often now that i wash less. i also have the full sizes of a few of these products, but even sample sizes can take a while to whittle down.

reviews might be coming a little slower too, since i like to really work with a product before i review it. since i'm not washing my hair as often, i won't be using my products as often, so... slower reviews. but i do plan to have at least two up each week. there are lots of products that i have tried that i haven't yet written about.

KAPLOWWWW!!!!!

guuuuuuuuurl(s). my hair look guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhd tuhdeee. let. me. tell. YOU!!! so like, i woked up righ? and i aint eeven have no scarf or nuffin! i just hopped up out the bed, and my swag was already on!!! it would have been a problem if it was the interior light, you know like in a car? cuz then my battry woulda been died. but nah, it was my swag!!! and swag don drain for me gurlies. so like, i just tooked a looked in the mirror, and wassup? was lookin right. wholetime joant was all curhly and purrfect righ? and the joants was spiriling and poofin and bouncin. like KAPLOW!!! #thatisall

steamer thoughts, part 1... (and a half)

so, i'm sitting under my steamer now... for the second time since i've got it monday. ;0


don't worry, though! i captured a bevy of pictures from my first foray under my huetiful hair steamer and i remember my thoughts clearly, so i thought now would be a good a time as ever to get this post out. i can see this easily becoming a weekly ritual - steaming and blogging. ;) yum!


so i picked up my steamer from home wednesday and used it thursday. thursdays i have an icky 8 AM statistics course so i thought trying out my new steamer would be a great way to reward myself. :)


i don't want to turn this into a review, but i will make some notes about the steamer. right out of the box, it is very easy to assemble and heats up within minutes. i had to make some adjustments, height-wise, since it is a tabletop unit, you can't pull the hood up higher or lower. i simply propped it up on one of the foam pieces it came packaged in, and that sets the unit at the perfect height.


one thing i like about this steamer is how cute it is! i love how handy and portable it is without sacrificing style and chic. i'll get more into the packaging once i do an "official" review.


anyway, i lathered up with my ors aloe shampoo, then slathered on a handful of my mozeke moisture masque and detangled with my denman. i eagerly shimmied my way under the hood of the steamer and cracked open a book. the steamer has its own timer, so it dinged off after about twenty minutes. 

shampooing...

after rinsing shampoo... shiny&fluffy!

deep condish and denman! yum!

the first thing i noticed is what my hair had a new kind of weight to it - it was heavy (with moisture i eagerly assumed). my hair felt just lovely!

that is, until i rinsed.


i hate to admit, but once i rinsed out my conditioner, my hair hadn't felt that much different. i wasn't sure why, but i wasn't exactly sure what to expect either so i didn't have much disappointment to quell. i decided i would judge how well my hair retained it's moisture until next steam. i would reserve judgement until a few more steams.


i will admit, i was fully expecting for my curls to be bouncy and defined, although i'm not entirely sure why, LOL. i suppose that i assumed that the steam would juicify them right up. i also know that moisturized hair is tends to shrink up, and i did notice that izzy was a little more compacted than usual! not a problem with me!


i had wanted to use my steamer with a new moisturizer i'd ordered, but i never got the moisturizer, so i used my good ole avocado butter, and sealed with a new oil blend i decided to try out from mozeke. my hair wasn't as soft as i wanted, but the oil didn't leave my hair greasy at all!


all in all, i don't have much to report on the steamer just yet, but i really hope my new moisturizers come soon just because i can't take this dryness much longer!


as for this second attempt...


combing my DC through with my fingers was very easy. i also decided to mix in a little of my hairveda vatika frosting, just to kick it up a notch. i'm also going to let the conditioner sit for a little while afterwards, instead of just rinsing it out immediately.


and an important note! i hadn't noticed that there's a little circular slot on the top that can open or close to release or trap steam. i made sure the slot is closed this time, so we'll see.


i'll chime in again after i rinse out!

these little girls are my idols.

beadsbraidsandbeyond is a fairly popular blog, so i'm sure many of you are following. i've been a follower for a few months now and have been eagerly devouring all of Nikki's updates and posts. i'm a little disappointed that she disabled left clicking, because i like to save the pictures to a "style inspiration" folder for ideas on how to style my own hair, but i can more than understand why she did it. i just hope that she never closes her blog! i've been combing through all of her posts, all the way to the very first one, rapturously admiring her creativity when it comes to styling. i know i'm at least twice A's age, but i see no good reason why i can't recreate those own styles on my own head when my hair is just as remarkable! i will, quite sadly, have to forgo the pumpkin and heart-shaped styles. ;)


A's head of hair is absolutely lush, i can't help but to stare and marvel at it. it's clear that Nikki takes excellent care of it and she even serves as an inspiration to me to step up my own hair care game. complaining about having to shape my twa every morning seems pathetic when it comes to that lovely mass of hair she so expertly cares for every week. never have i see a photograph where A's hair didn't seem thick, moisturized, and shiny. her hair is just delicious to me! clearly, time for me to step my game up! i will admit, i have been very interested in trying the bee mine products after seeing A's hair and it's a wonder how i've held out this long.


but that's not the point of my post!


lately, i've been daydreaming about long, loose hair. the thought of having my hair out in this weather, however, sends the cracklies down my roots! fall/winter is protective styling season for sure, but as i traipse about the hills of my massive campus, i can't help but to imagine that a huge, fly-ass afro is bouncing right along with me. i really can't help it! and to be honest, who can?


summer, the thoughts are even worse. i can dream myself delirious with thoughts of a sexy, disheveled curly afro, the rich brown of my hair reflecting back the sun's radiance. carefree and effortlessly chic, natural and soulful, i just can't wait! (of course in all these fantasies, i'm rocking some kind of cute off the shoulder top, and huge, colorful, handmade earrings). you wouldn't be able to tell me a damn thing.


and all of these fantasies came to a head when i was browsing Nikki's blog and stumbled across a recent hair share: click me! 


this little girl's hair was pretty much the manifestation of all my dreams, the epitome of all my wild afro dreams. sigh. her hair is absolutely gorgeous and i can't wait for young izzy to reach similar levels of awesomeness. hand on her hip, it's clear to see that even that little girl realizes how fly she is!


i will get there! i just gotta take this one step at a time. focus on my hair now so that it continues to be healthy and moisturized. i plan to be up on my DCs and moisturizing! i want to steam at least once a week, and i will moisturize daily without complaint. i just have to wait up a little earlier to allow me to do my hair properly in the morning. this half-hearted moisturizing isn't hurting anyone but me and izzy deserves so much better.

pre-steamer thoughts...

haha! YES! i finally put in my order for a steamer!


i was really unwilling to wait any longer. i've been working (fairly) hard in school, so i figured why not treat myself! ever since DC'ing this past weekend and using my hydra-silica spritz, izzy hasn't felt nearly as dry and crackly as she was, which has me so happy. but figured a steamer wouldn't hurt, especially with the colder weather coming. i predict a freezing weather is on its way to maryland. :( dang.


if this is the case, i'm going to pay close attention to izzy. i ordered another 16 of the mozeke masque, along with some samples of a leave-in and other deep conditioners from a company from which i have yet to try. i am especially excited to try the leave-in, because i would like to start experimenting with more moisturizers.


i have such a renewed interest in izzy now that i'm ashamed to admit i stopped caring in the first place. :( looking at my drivers license, i am always so surprised to see this huge, luscious afro i just went and chopped off. my curls were so thick and BIG! it really is true: you never realize what you have until it's gone. i practically had the huge, bodacious afro i was pining for, but i couldn't see it. i could actually shake my hair. and this was all in its shrunken state... i can only imagine how it was stretched!


looking at my ID picture always gets my heart jumpstarted. i am dedicated to getting izzy back to where she was, in all her gorgeous glory! so i am super excited for my new steamer and goodies!