Curl Junkie Products

I had the opportunity to test out a variety of Curl Junkie products. Once again, I started off with the smell test. It's always the first thing I do with a new product. Two thumbs up for the scents, especially the Coffee Coco Curl Creme and Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner. I already had the Sulfate Free Gentle Shampoo and Curl Assurance Daily Hair Conditioner which came with a My Pretty Pink Box I had ordered a couple weeks ago. Marsha, of Curl Junkie Hair Products, was nice enough to send me Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair conditioner, Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner, Coffee Coco Curl Creme, Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel, and Curl Assurance smoothing gellie.

Whenever I review products, I try to keep and open mind even if I've already read reviews on those products but, I still can't help but have certain expectations for products that have a lot of positive reviews. I figured I would test out three different combinations of styling products, each time using the the Sulfate Free Gentle Shampoo and Curl Assurance Daily Hair Conditioner.

I really like the Sulfate Free Gentle Shampoo. Its consistency, which is similar to just plain water, is kind of unusual for a shampoo. I usually expect shampoos to be thick and creamy. I was pleasantly surprised to see that you still get a lot of sudsing action even though the shampoo is not thick at all. As for the Daily and Moisturizing hair conditioners, both did condition my hair, but the results were average and typical of other conditioners I have tried.

Test#1 - Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel

This combination didn't really do much for my hair. I didn't get good clumps and using a gel to hold the non-clumping just left me with limp semi-wavy hair. It also made the more straighter sections of my hair even straighter. I might have to try this combination again but, use different amounts of each product and see if my results differ.

Test #2 - Coffee Coco Curl Creme by itself

I was expecting this to be my favorite of the bunch because of how heavily it's been discussed on naturallycurly.com. It's also supposed to do the job of both a leave-in conditioner and a gel which I love because it cuts down on the amount of products I have to buy and apply. The Coffee Coco Curl Creme moisturized my hair and gave me good clumping, but the clumps were falling towards the end of the day. I think next time I'll have to use more product. I used a light hand this time thinking too much would weigh my hair down.

Test#3 - Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance smoothing gellie

This was my favorite combination of the three I tried. It gave me lot of clumps and good hold without the crunchiness. I even tried it out at a birthday party picnic with high humidity and temperatures close to 90 degF. By the end of the day, I did have some friziness but, this combination still responded better to the humidity than other products I've tried. I'm still searching for a product that totally protects my hair-do from humidity.
Sooo..in order from my most favorite combo to my least favorite combo..I would have to go with Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance smoothing gellie, Coffee Coco Curl Creme by itself, and finally Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel.

I spoke to Marsha of Curl Junkie about the results I got (she's really great about discussing issues you might have with Curl Junkie products and giving recommendations) and she said she normally doesn't recomend the Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner as a leave-in for people with my hair texture because it's usually too heavy but she's happy it worked for me. She also suggested trying the Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel alone on wet hair or Coffee Coco Curl Creme + Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel. If you have these products and you aren't getting the results you want, you might want to try Marsha's recommendations.

Another thing I really like about these products, other than the scents, is that some of them are multi-purpose. For example, the Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner can be used as a rinse-out, deep or leave-in conditioner. I'm definitely one for saving money and getting the most out of a product.

I also mentioned to her that a lot of people, including me, dislike buying products online because of shipping costs. She said she's "slowly but surely" adding retail locations where Curl Junkie products can be purchased. Currently, they can be purchased at Back to the Lands Natural Foods in Brooklyn, NY, Lin's Beauty Supply in Little Elm, TX, and Honeyfig in Ontario, Canada but, be on the lookout for a retail location close to you in the near future.

AG Hair Products

I had the opportunity to test out AG Hair products. I have heard of them before because many of the members of naturallycurly.com use and love the Re:coil Curl Activating Balm. I was sent the Re:coil Curl Activating Shampoo, Re:coil Curl Activating Conditioner, and Re:coil Curl Activating Balm to review. The shampoo is sulfate-free. The conditioner contains some of the heavy silicones such as cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone. It also contains Amodimethicone which is a slightly water soluble silicone. The balm does not contain silicones. Because the conditioner contained silicones I wanted to test out the balm by itself then test all three together.

Experiment #1 was the Re:coil Curl Activating Balm by itself. I cowashed with Suave Naturals conditioner then conditioned with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner. The way this balm works is similar to how Kinky Curly Curling Custard works which made me think the Re:coil balm would work better if I had applied a leave-in conditioner before the Re:coil balm.

The reason I say that the Re:coil balm works similar to Kinky Curly Curling Custard is because as it dried it seemed like it would dry crunchy but, once it was fully dry you were left with defined, NOT crunchy waves. However, I still thought it would have been better layered with a leave-in conditioner.

In this picture, my hair wasn't 100% dry but fairly dry. I get too lazy to blowdry my hair and I figure the warmer weather is perfect for air drying my hair.
Experiment #2. In the next pictures, I used Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in before applying Re:coil Curl Activating Balm. I figured since Kinky Curly Curling Custard works well with Knot Today leave-in conditioner and is similar to Re:coil balm then the Re:coil balm would work well with Knot Today leave-in. I actually prefer this combination to just using the Re:coil balm alone.













Experiment #3. This time I used the shampoo, conditioner, and balm together. I also used the Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in. I liked this combination also but, it wouldn't work for those who are strictly following the Curly Girl method because the conditioner does contain silicones as I mentioned above.
In summary, the AG Hair products worked well with my hair but, I also needed a separate leave-in conditioner in order to achieve the results I wanted. The Re:coil balm alone just didn't give me the defintion that I was looking for but, once you added a leave-in conditioner, it worked really well. It worked as well as Kinky Curly Curling Custard which is a favorite among the wavies and curlies. The shampoo is sulfate-free which is a definite plus. For those of you who don't fear the silicone, the conditioner also works great.

Nine Naturals Giveaway winner

Congratulations to Courtney Yarberry - winner of the Nine Naturals giveaway which includes a Nine Naturals set of shampoo and conditioner! Thank you Courtney and everyone who participated. I have another giveaway lined up and this time it may possibly have multiple winners so stay tuned.

I smell a giveaway...

Contest is now closed. Winner will be announced shortly. Thank you to everyone that participated.


The founder of Nine Naturals hair care line, Nicole Shariat, has generously offered to give away a Nine Naturals set of shampoo and conditioner. Her products are tailored towards moms-to-be but, if you look closely, many of her products are what most of you are looking for - products that DO NOT contain pthalates, parabens, sulfates and DEA. All Nine Naturals products contain nine or fewer truly natural ingredients, not "psuedo-natural" products that try to hide their chemicals behind words such as botanical, natural and organic. All Nine Naturals products are also certified vegan.

You don't have to be expecting a baby to enter this give away. You just have to want hair care products that are 100% natural that DO NOT contain harsh or harmful ingredients and chemicals.

Check out the Nine Naturals website for more information.

Contest rules:
1. Any reader that posts a comment AND sends me an email with the subject line saying "Nine Naturals giveaway - [insert name that you used to leave a comment here]" This allows me to track down the winner easier. My email address is mamendoz@gmail.com.
2. Contest is open to US and Canadian readers.
3. Winner will be chosen randomly.
4. Contest ends at 12:00 PM EST on Friday, May 8, 2009.

Let me break out the Pledge...

And dust off my blog. I have so many posts in my head that just need to get written down. I have some product reviews, including AG hair products (most known for AG recoil), Curl Junkie products and Arrojo products, that I have to get around to. I have the products, tested them out, taken the pictures but, I just need to sit down and actually write it out. I also have another giveaway coming either the end of this week or beginning of next week.

Blended Beauty sent me a cute sample bag which contained most of their popular products. One of the first things I do when I receive products is smell them. I'm very sensitive too smells. Blended Beauty products have that natural, woodsy scent going on a la Carol's Daughter's and Ojon products. The scent is strong and will linger in your hair the whole day. I categorize scents as perfumey, fruity, natural, and food-like (usually products that smell like desserts such as cake). There are probably scents that I haven't encountered yet that don't fit those categories but, a majority of the products I've smelled do fall in those 4 catgeories.

In my sample bag I received the Soy Cream Shampoo, Curl Quenching Conditioner, Light Styling Lotion, Kicks for Curls, Silkshake, Curly Frizz Pudding and an instruction booklet. I haven't had a chance to try some of the products because some of them are used on 2nd day hair and I usually wash my hair everyday. I cowashed with Suave Naturals, conditioned with Curl Quenching conditioner, and styled with the light styling lotion and Curly Frizz Pudding.
My hair was a bit tangly when I took this picture. The day I tested out some of the products was the day of my friend's "winging" for the Navy. Keep in mind this picture was taken at night. I think my hair held up pretty well for a warm day where I was sweating and running around (the room where they held the ceremony was kind of warm) and I also had my windows down when I was driving.

Blended Beauty products are very moisturizing. They don't have a lot of hold but, do give me some definition. I wouldn't call it heavy clumping though. If you want to style your waves or curls but, want them to have looser definition, these products would work for you.

Since I last blogged, I've past two milestones in my life. One being my 29th birthday and the other completing a half-marathon.

I felt like I celebrated my birthday all week. It might be the most I've ever celebrated my birthday. I celebrated at work twice (once actually at work and once at a hibachi restaurant), at Cheesecake Factory, at my boyfriend's mom's house, and at a bar and club on the weekend. I even had two birthday cakes. I'm not writing to brag about how much I celebrated my birthday but, to talk about how much all of that meant to me. I don't like to talk about my personal life that much on public sites but, some days, especially during holidays or special occasions, I feel kind of alone. I have a really big family but, my parents, brother, aunties, uncles and cousins are all out of state and not really at driveable locations either. I'm not close to the family that I do have nearby because of drama that I won't get into. When I say "not close", it's pretty much like we're strangers. My grandparents are close by also but their favorite past time is staying at home. I've been lucky enough to basically be "adopted" by one of my best friend's family and my boyfriend's family. My best friend's family is my 2nd family and her parents have always been there for me like my own parents have. My boyfriend's family is forever feeding me. If you see how much I eat, you know that can be costly. I have a couple close friends nearby but, again as life does to everyone, most of my close friends are miles and states away. I can't seem to find the words to end this rambling but, basically my Facebook status that I had posted up during my birthday week should sum it up, "[I'm] grateful for all the blessings that God has given me but most grateful for all the people He has brought into my life." I can't express how happy and thankful I was for everything that was done for my birthday. Thank you to everyone who celebrated and made me feel that I do have family here. Thank you to my family, who are some of the nicest people you'll meet, my boyfriend, who never ceases to make me happy, all my friends - new and old, both sides of my boyfriend's family who are always taking care of me, and my coworkers. Let me end this with some birthday pictures before someone offers me some cheese with that whine.

Celebrating at work. Yes, I know I'm dressed like a mechanic and No, I can't fix your car. The other day, someone in my neighborhood asked me if I was a professional dog sitter because I was always walking my dog at the same time dressed in my work uniform.
Celebrating at my boyfriend's mom's house. We had no idea she was planning anything. My boyfriend even took me out to dinner to Cheesecake Factory and his mom just told us to stop by. When we got to her house, there was all this food. I wish I could have eaten more because everything was so good but, we had gotten an appetizer, main meal and dessert at Cheesecake Factory.
My final celebration which happened to be the same day as the half marathon. I had to take a nap before we left that night. Blowing out my "candle" that was actually a steak knife.
Look at the size of this carrot cake that the restaurant gives out for birthdays.
The ladies. I was cracking up hard in the first picture.
I had fun that night but, took me a long time to recover.

Like I said above, I completed my half marathon earlier that day. That's the longest distance I've run so far - 13.2 miles. I started struggling at mile 10. It was also the first time I ran with an Ipod. The night before I had just dumped a bunch of songs on a playlist that I thought would be good for running. I might have to reevaluate my playlist though. Stay by Lisa Loeb doesn't hype you up as much as you think it would when all you feel like doing is rolling yourself into a ball and resting for a bit on the side of the road.

Here's a pic of me and my boyfriend at the halfway point, between miles 6 and 7. I look rough.
I think my pose for my next race will be one of these two.

Now that I've completed the half marathon, I've come to realize that I went about my training the wrong way. Forget building up your endurance and speed and increasing your mileage by 10% each week. All you need to do is keep your adrenaline up the whole race. That rush will enable you to complete your fastest mile EVER. Take for instance what happened to me. I'm running the half marathon, staying on the side of the road closest to the trees. Of course, because you are close to the woods, they are required to put up signs warning you about surrounding wildife, including bears. I'm getting in the groove, listening to my T.I., reggaeton and occasional soft rock songs, when out of nowhere this bear comes out of the woods ready to attack me.
I jumped, said "Holy Crap, Oh shoot", and sprinted with the quickness only to find the other people running next to me were laughing. (I like to think with me not at me). That's when I realized the bear was actually a very realistic, very life-like statue. I really think I'm on to something here. Imagine if you're running a race where you are constantly fearing for your life. Don't you think you'd end up with your best race times?

My goal was to a.) Finish the half marathon without having to be carried over the finish line and b.) Complete it within 2.5 hours.

Here are the details of my race sent to me by the race officials.

Your time 2:23:29.06 gave you a 10:57 pace per mile.

Your 3M time was 32:06.57 for a pace of 10:42 per mile
Your 6M time was 1:02:16.25 for a pace of 10:03 per mile
Your 10M time was 1:46:10.59 for a pace of 10:59 per mile

They really aren't impressive times especially considering when I was at 3.5 miles the winners of the race were on the way back to the finish line but, it was just a personal goal I can finally check off my list and I'm happy to have completed it without hurting myself. The boyfriend and I are planning on running a full marathon this year. I will definitely have to train for that.

Images courtesy of:
http://kara.allthingsd.com/files/2008/06/austin_powers_mike_myers_as_dr_evil.jpg
http://events.clowningaround.com/images/Lookalike%20Photos/Austin%20Powers%20shagadelic.jpg

I don't mean to brag but....

I'm addicted to the Scramble game app. I just recently discovered that you could play against other players online. I have a somewhat competitive streak in me. Something just comes over me when it comes to games - kickball, baby shower games, tetris, my company volleyball game, dodgeball, buffet eating, etc. It doesn't even have to be against other people. I'm always trying to beat my own score at most games.

In Memoriam

I just wanted to take a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives during one of Virginia Tech's most tragic days two years ago on this date.

Please take time to read the biographies of our 32 fallen Hokies here.

When I read these biographies, all I could think was how sad, senseless and selfish an action it was that took away someone's father, brother, sister, cousin, friend, classmate, etc.

My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those who have been affected.

We will always remember. WE ARE VIRGINIA TECH!

And the Blended Beauty winner is......

Congratulations to Jess! She is now the lucky owner of 3 Blended Beauty products of her choice. Congrats again and hope you enjoy your products.

I chose my winner a little bit more technologically advanced than last time. I made a numbered list of everyone's name and used a random number generator to choose a number which in turn was my winner.

Huuurcuut!

I did end up getting my haircut yesterday but, didn't go for the short cut. The picture I showed the hair stylist was a picture of someone with long hair, long layers and shorter layers in the front. I just couldn't part with the hair. On the same page of the haircut I liked was a picture of a really short cut and the stylist thought at first that was the cut that I wanted. She said in her head she was like uh oh she's gonna chop of all that hair.

The stylist did a wet cut as opposed to the dry curly cut. I told her I do style my hair different ways and want that option to switch between curly, wavy and straight styles. It didn't look like she took off that much but, my hair feels different when I run my hands through it. My boyfriend was able to tell a difference.

I'll post up pics of it wavy the next time I fix my hair.

Yes, yes I know the angry face again but, it's the only decent hair shot I could take. I should have taken a picture of the back so you could see more of the layering.

Now is the time to get Curl Junkie Products and Possible Haircuts

If you've been wanting to try Curl Junkie products but, didn't want to spend a whole lot on shipping, Curl Junkie is currently doing a $5 USPS Priority mail/$6 UPS Ground flat rate shipping special on all orders. Don't forget to check out all the goodies on sale under the "sales & trial set" link.

I may possibly be getting my haircut soon. I probably won't be getting a "curly haircut". This will be a good experiment. I know there have been a couple questions about whether or not a "straight haircut" would look just as good once you styled your hair curly. I'll be finding out the question to this soon. When I go to the hair salon, I'll probably go there with my hair curly, which I don't usually do, and mention that I'm trying to wear my hair curly more often.

I'm really contemplating bangs and a haircut because it's almost my birthday (I usually like to get my haircut near my birthday), it's been a while since I got a cut, and because these two pictures influenced me.

The first picture is a wig sold by a Japanese company called Mod's Hair. You can read more about this on Jillipoo's blog. I don't think I would get my hair cut as short as the wig but, I just thought it was a cute cut and I liked the bangs.

The second picture is of course Rihanna who I love so this may be making me biased towards the haircut. I showed one of my friends though and she liked it a lot too. This cut isn't too too short but, will still be taking a lot of length off my current hair length. And even if I ended up liking the cut a whole lot, I'd probably still regret it. I have a weird attachment to my hair when it comes to change. I always like getting my hair done but, at the same time I usually end up regretting changes other than minor ones.

I'm planning on getting it cut either this weekend or my birthday next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and wonderful Easter!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Contest is now closed. Winner will be announced shortly. Thanks to all who participated.

Blended Beauty

The nice folks at Blended Beauty have graciously donated any 3 items that one of you fine readers will pick from their website http://blendedbeauty.com/.

Blended Beauty hair care products were designed specifically for the needs of those with dry, wavy, curly, kinky, and relaxed or heat-straightened hair.

Their main goal is to provide superior quality products that beautify the look of the hair but also nourish the hair from the inside out, promoting healthy growth and diminishing breakage. All our products are formulated with naturally derived ingredients and are between 98%-99% natural.

Their mission is to encourage those with curly hair, to realize its beauty and embrace it. Whatever your hair type is, you can wear it natural and love it. Chemicals, petroleum, mineral oil, and relaxing can be a thing of the past, on a Blended Beauty regimen. Our suggestions for promoting great hair have been laid out on the hair tips page for the benefit of our customers.

Some of the natural hair care ingredients included in their products are Shea Butter, Chamomile, Horsetail/Shave Grass, Marshmallow Root, Aloe Vera, Sunflower Oil, Volcanic Clay, Vegetable Glycerin, Seaweed, Grape Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Witch Hazel, Keratin, Silk Protein, Soy Lecithin, and Rosemary Extract. Blended Beauty will always remain paraben-free.

For those of you following the Curly Girl Method, their products are Curly Girl Method approved.

Go ahead and check out their site. Pick out the three products you would want to win because you just might get lucky. There are also before & after pictures, demo videos and hair tips on the site.

Contest rules:
1. Any reader that posts a comment AND sends me an email is automatically entered to win. The only reason I ask you to also send me an email is because it is easier for me to contact you when I pick a winner. Most people are not comfortable leaving their email address on a comment which is entirely understandable. You don't have to write a fancy long email. Just put Blended Beauty giveaway on the subject line and then your name that you used to leave a comment. My email address is mamendoz@gmail.com.
2. Winner will be chosen randomly.
3. Contest ends at 12:00 PM EST on Wednesday, April 15, 2009.

Curl Junkie + Mixed Chicks

I had ordered March 2009's Pretty Pink Box with my main motivation being the Curl Junkie products. When I received it, I didn't have any Curl Junkie products. I wasn't sure if I was missing them or if that was just the way products were distributed among the boxes. I asked Linda, who operates Pretty Pink Box, and she replied that she usually tries to distribute the products evenly among the boxes but, each box is different. She kindly offered to check if she had an extra Curl Junkie products, which she did, and sent them to me.



On the same day I received the Curl Junkie products, I received a package from Mixed Chicks. They had sent me a box full of samples of shampoo, deep conditioner and leave-in conditioner to review.

For my first experiment, I tried Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Gentle Cleansing shampoo then conditioned with Curl Junkie Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair conditioner. The cleansing shampoo lathered up more than most sulfate-free shampoos which was a plus because sometimes I do miss the suds. The moisturizing hair conditioner was light but still moisturizing. I knew my hair was going to squish when I applied products after my shower.

The only product I used after my shower was the Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner. I didn't use any other gel, creme or mousse with it and was happy about the results. It gave me pretty good clumping and hold without any crunchiness. It was so easy to only have to apply one product too. My hair was still slightly wet when I took these pictures.
My second experiment was with the Mixed Chicks shampoo, deep conditioner, and leave-in conditioner. This shampoo does contain a sulfate so I was expecting the suds. The deep conditioner was very moisturizing also but, I would use it solely as a deep conditioner not as a rinse-out conditioner. I'm really liking this routine of only having to scrunch in one product after my shower. Once again I used only the leave-in conditioner and no other products.
My hair is completely dry in these pictures. I don't like the way my hair looks as it's drying but, I'm too lazy or don't have enough time to diffuse my hair and would rather let it air dry.

Ingredients for Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Gentle Cleansing Shampoo:
Water, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, CocamidopropylBetaine, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Glycerin, Lauryl Glucoside, PE G-150 Pentaerythrityl tetrastearate, PE G-6 Capric/Caprylic Glycerides, Laureth 4,Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Panthenol, Matricaria Recuitita (Chamomile) Flower Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Sambucus Nigra (Elder) Flower Water, Quaternium-79 Hydrolyzed Silk Protein, Sodium Chloride (Dead Sea Salt), Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Oil, Citrus Aurantium (Neroli) Oil, Citrus Aurantium (Petitgrain) Oil, Brown Rice (Oryza Sativa) Powder, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA ,Tocopheryl Acetate.

Ingredients for Curl Junkie Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair Conditioner:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol*, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate*, Glyceryl Stearate*, Panthenol, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Matricaria Recuitita (Chamomile) Flower Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Sambucus Nigra (Elder) Flower Water, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA. *Vegetable derived

Ingredients for Mixed Chicks Shampoo:
Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Tea Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Disterate, Panthenol, Avocado Oil, Silk Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Ginger (Zinglber Officinale) Extract, Malvasylvestris (Mallow) Extract, Borage (Borago Officinalis) Seed Oil, Cinnmidopropyl Trimonium Chloride, Polyqatermium 10, Allantoin, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Yellow #6.

Ingredients for Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Octamethylcylotetraxiloxane, Safflower Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate and C14-18 Perfluoroalkyethyl Thiohydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride and Benzoic Acid and Glycereth - 2 Cocoate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance

Ingredients for Mixed Chicks Leave-in Conditioner:
Water, glycerin, Amodimethicone, emulsifying wax, hydrolyzed wheat protein,/pvp crosspolymer, methylgluceth-20, hydroxypropyl trimonium choloride, octyl methoxycinnamate, hydroxyethyl celloluse, jojoba oil, safflower oil, primrose oil, wheat amino acid, crosilk, hydrolyzed collagen (marine), phenoxyethanel, methylparaben, proplyparaben, butylparaben, FD&C red #40, FD&C yellow #5, fragrance

You can order Mixed Chicks products from http://mixedchicks.net/ (make sure you go to .net NOT .com. Dot com will take you to a much more different website) or from http://www.curlmart.com/

I liked all of the Curl Junkie and Mixed Chicks products that I tried but, the Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner takes the cake for me (you know I had to throw in a food reference). I like how it's like a curl creme that encourages clumping and gel all in one but without the crunchiness. Both of the Curl Junkie products listed above do NOT contain silicones or harsh sulfates for those following the Curly Girl Method. The Mixed Chicks Shampoo is NOT sulfate-free. Both the Mixed Chicks deep and leave-in conditioner contain Amodimethicone which is a slightly soluble silicone that some have found a cowash can remove.

All the products had subtle fragrances. I remember liking them but, can't remember exactly what they smelled like. When I get a chance I'll have to take a whiff of all these again and edit this post.

I think it's time for a haircut too. I can tell my ends are getting a bit stringy.

P.S. I finally ran 5 miles yesterday and was only in a slight bit of pain so I was happy about that. I bought some of those shock absorber insoles which seemed to help. I'm still waiting on my Kinesio tape. I've been taking a break from running for the past couple of weeks so it felt really good to finally run almost pain-free.

Carol's Daughter - Straight Version

Just as I suspected, Carol's Daughter products worked well with heat styling tools. I shampooed with Giovanni Invigorating Tea Tree shampoo (I meant to cowash instead but forgot) and conditioned with Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Smoothie. I used Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray and Carol's Daughter Hair Milk. I blow dried with a round brush and used a big curling iron to straighten it a bit more. I was going to add Carol's Daughter Lisa's Hair Elixir but, found I didn't need any more moisture after I was done. In fact, I think I may have added too much hair milk. Once again, a little goes a long way. My hair did not feel dry after and looked smoother than it usually did when I would straighten it.
The first picture is a weird angle but, it was the only way I could really get a shot of my layers.

We are Family..I got all my sisters with me

I'm a sister of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Incorporated. This past weekend I had a mini reunion with my sorority chapter sisters. It was just nice seeing everyone. I haven't seen some of them in years. There was also a stroll competition held by United Council of Fraternities and Sororities (UCFS) that we attended. I know I'm getting old though because the one day and one night I was actually at my alma mater wore me out. The 5 hour drive tired me out too. I got home and slept for more than 12 hours and was still tired when I got up.

One of my sisters was the host for the stroll competition










Some of the participating Sororities and Fraternities



Third Place










Second Place










First Place











This was one of the highlights of the stroll competition for me. If you can't really hear the music, it's Beyonce's Single Ladies.