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.

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

And the product testing goes on..

I went to a Christening reception for my coworker's daughter's baby. It was at this Japanese Sushi Buffet that I've never been to. I definitely went over calories that time. (Remember I'm using my Iphone Lose It app to lose weight?) It was worth it though. I have a new ice cream love now - Red Bean aka Munngo bean aka Mung bean ice cream. For those that have tried halo-halo, it's the same red beans that are in that. I've seen Red Bean ice cream at the Asian stores before but, never found it appealing. Now that I'm on the hunt for it, I probably won't be able to find it anywhere.

I'm still experimenting with products that I already have. To get accurate results, I should actually be only changing one product at a time instead of using all different products everytime I do my hair.

I decided to use Suave Naturals for cowash, L'oreal Vive Pro Nutri-gloss for Medium to Long Curly/Wavy Hair for rinse-out conditioner, Garner Fructis Sleek & Shine leave-in, and L'oreal Vive Pro Glossy Curls spray gel. I didn't do the upside down rinse this time either.

For my rinse out conditioner I usually use the L'oreal Vive Pro Nutri-gloss mixed with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner. This time I only used the L'oreal Vive Pro Nutri-gloss conditioner and didn't like the results. My hair didn't feel as moisturized so I ended up having to spray my hair with a spray bottle that contained a little less than 1/4 of Suave naturals conditioner and the rest water (well mixed together) before I applied my leave-in and gel.

If my hair doesn't make a squishy sound when I scrunch products in, my hair isn't conditioned/wet enough. My conditioner/water concoction comes in handy for times like that. This has only happened to me when I used L'oreal Vive Pro Nutri-gloss by itself and Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious conditioner.

I srunched Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine leave-in in my hair upside down. I scrunched in the L'oreal Glossy Curls spray gel upside down too but, instead of spraying it directly into my hair, I sprayed it into my hands then scrunched it in. I'm sure that defeats the purpose of a spray gel but, I wanted to make sure the gel was distributed evenly.

I plopped with my microfiber towel until I was done putting on lotion. I currently plop not to achieve better clumping or waves but, to get the hair off my back while I'm getting ready. All my life I've had my hair twisted up in a towel while I got ready and can't seem to break the habit. I figure plopping is better for my hair than just wrapping it up in a regular towel.

After I was done getting ready, I removed the microfiber towel and scrunched out excess water with the same towel. I don't plop for that long so there's still a lot of water in my hair. I diffused both upside down and right side up for about 5 minutes then got bored and just let it air dry. The spray gel dried a bit crunchy and you couldn't really scrunch out the crunch. I've had worse in the past, though, when it comes to some crunchy hair.
Once again ignore the expression. Once I get a semi-okay picture I'm like OK that's it...tired of picture taking..this will work.

If you plan on using Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine leave-in, keep in mind it has Amodimethicone. It's one of those silicones that people are iffy about when they are CG. Some say it washes out with a cowash or low/no poo and some won't touch it with a 10 foot pole. My own personal experience? I haven't had a problem with it and will continue using slightly soluble silicones.

The L'oreal Glossy Curls spray gel does NOT have silicones.