Bleached Hair Damage + SHEA MOISTURE Haul!

Hiya, guys! I made a quick video showing what happened to my hair after bleaching it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5l-0syfKwA

So, as you can see, my 3B pattern got more loose after using the dye, but I really don't mind it.  I knew what could possibly happen before it did.
But I wanted you guys to see what effects bleaching agents have on my hair.
My hair is also mega dry, and it breaks much easier now! The bleached areas are more fragile and weak, and I can't put too much stress on them. The LOC method, or even the LCO method (even using shea butter on top) does little to hold moisture in my hair now, which is no bueno lol! I have to add a little bit of protein to the moisture every once in a while, although because I am protein sensitive, it's often hard to govern how much of a balance is needed to keep my color from being damaged even more. I am still working to figure that out, but being natural is a journey... a long, exciting one! ;)

Ideas I may implement: I may start adding keratin products to my hair to protect the color... and also these Shea Moisture products that I bought the other day.

I went to Walgreens on a 50% off day. I didn't even know that was the case until I went in, and I bought these three Shea Moisture products. They are wonderful so far. I will have a video done about this soon, and also reviews. Oh, and I finally found that black lipstick that I'd been looking for for ages! Woo hoo! ;) #geekpower

More updates and blog posts coming soon.
In the meantime, check out the latest videos from my channel.
Peace out! https://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence/videos

~Epic Realist~

Spring/Summer Hair Stash & Hair Tip #4

Heya, curlies! I wanted to show what I have in my bathroom right now as far as hair and face care. I had this little guilt about being a possible 'product junkie', but when I evaluated what I actually buy versus other people, I'm not even close to being a product junkie! LOL!

So, as you can see, I'm still a huge fan of Shea Moisture. That Yucca & Baobab shampoo and the Y&B conditioner is the biz-zomb! Curl Enhancing Smoothie... still awesome, mostly for Syriah's hair. My hair doesn't require that much protein. I like to use the Deep Treatment Masque as a leave in on my hair.
One day, I'm going to try Nubian Heritage hair products, because them and Shea Moisture are very similar as far as what ingredients they don't allow in their stuff. Plus, I love NH's soaps! I use them on my face as well as my body. All natural, all awesome. So far, the Raw Shea Butter soap in the picture is my favorite one.
EcoStyler gel will always be here. Love the stuff. I rarely use it, so when I get a jar this big, it tends to last about six months or longer. The olive oil one is the only kind I've tried thus far, but one day, I'll try the others.
I started using my Ambi fade cream again because my three pregnancies have left me with dark areas all over my face as well as my neck. My neck has annoying dark lines on it, and this stuff has always worked in the past for me, when I was still young and battling acne scars. So I saw it in Walgreens for 6 bucks (25% off)  versus the regular 10 bucks in Walmart and hopped on it!
And last but not least, the unfamiliar product in the picture is mine. Yes, I have labels for them now! I'm working on making them better, but this is the first go round. Used for hair and skin. If you'd like to purchase, then check out the Purchase our Products page.
This is pretty much my stash for now. Won't be changing around too much until I get money to try some new things. So, yeah. Hope you enjoyed!

Hair Tip #4: Don't get caught up in the hype of hair products. Just because everyone else is trying the newest product doesn't mean you'll die or miss out on something if you don't try it. It is tempting; don't get me wrong. The newest thing for kid's hair, apparently, is some type of gel called Gorilla Snot. Yes, that's the name of it. It looks like it tames fly-aways like nobody's business. I've been tempted to try it, but it can wait. I don't use too much gel in my hair or my family's hair, anyway. It's not urgent to try everything new. If what you're doing works, stick with it until you get bored, or your hair changes. You'll end up wasting tons of money trying every single thing out there just because everyone else is. Try one thing at a time so if your hair does something crazy, you'll know what product to blame it on instead of three.
Dark & Lovely's new natural line looks like junk to me. I wanted to try it, but when I saw the ingredients myself in the store, I said hell to the no! And this is what they call natural!? Some of these mainstream companies are way too desperate to hop onto the natural bandwagon and keep making money, and it seems like all they do is change the label and plaster it onto the same crap that they were selling before, give or take a few things. Same with Pantene's natural line. Utter disappointment. -___-
Please don't fall for the hype. Like Miss Jessies, for example. That stuff costs more than a dinner at Red Lobsters for a whole family, but I heard that it was utter crap and caused scalp problems in a lot of people because of all the chemicals in it. Use what you know works, and if something new has an ingredient that you know that you know that you KNOW your hair hates, then why...buy it?

Peace out, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~

"What Products Do You Use?"...Really? -__-

Well, well, well, what do you know? In a previous post, I mentioned that Walmart sold Shea Moisture products for two dollars more than Walgreens does.
Tell me why I checked Walmart today and saw that they lowered their price to match the Walgreens one... Actually, to be 'fashionably cheaper', they went down to $9.98 instead of Walgreen's $9.99. Wow. -__-
It's not a bad thing, though. I just found it funny. Ha!
You know what annoys me about some mothers of daughters? They see someone else's kid's hair looking really nice, and then the first thing they ask is, "What products did you use?" To me, it's irritating because people actually think that if they use the same products or use the same regimen, then their kid's hair will come out looking the same way. That's not necessarily true, people! I never ask what product was used because to me, it doesn't matter. Just because it worked for one person doesn't mean it's going to work for me. I'm pretty sure that some women go out and buy that same product just because someone else raved about it and got good results.
That's not me. I do my own research. I don't base my results off of someone else's. Ultimately, I don't care what products you used or what your regimen is. So sue me already.
Alrighty, that's my little ranting and raving for the day on the hair topic. If you want raving on other random topics, check out my other personal blog! Hehe. http://www.epicrealist.blogspot.com/
Peace out, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~

Walgreens vs. Walmart

So, I went to Walgreens on Monday to get some Shea Moisture hair products again. I picked up three different things, went to the cashier. There was a young black guy who had been looking me up and down ever since I'd walked in. Guess it was because I had something kind of sexy on.
Anyway, I paid for the stuff and I noticed that the total was way lower than what I'd expected. I decided not to investigate until I was in the car, and lo and behold, the total was ten dollars off.
Either the fool wasn't paying attention or he'd done that on purpose, trying to flirt with me on the undertone. Heck, either way I got one of the $10 hair products for FREE! Haha! Sucker!

I think I see why that happened, anyway. One of the products was the Shea Moisture Curling Souffle'. I washed my hair yesterday and immediately sectioned my hair. Then I began applying the stuff.

It was the stickiest hair concoction I'd ever touched! I mean, seriously. It felt good, kind of like a gel, and it smelled awesome. But it was soooo sticky! I felt as if I'd lathered my curls in honey. Literally. So, in a way, the universe must have known that I wasn't going to fall in love with the product and decided not to have me even waste money on it, because frankly, I'm not sure if I'd ever buy it again. 

Hey, I just got lucky.

Wait... I don't even believe in luck. You guys know what I mean though, right? .__.

Anyway, today in Walmart, I went cruising down the hair aisle, which I hadn't done in months, due to them not carrying any all natural products yet. I just wanted to check and see what they had now. I got a surprise this time. They actually had a good selection of natural products now. I was like, wow! Walmart's finally coming up! 

But good old Wally World's prices on some of these products weren't so hot. For the Shea Moisture shampoo that's shown above, they wanted $11.99! That's two dollars more than Walgreen's $9.99. I said, hell to the no! It was also $11.99 for the curl enhancing smoothie stuff I usually get. I'm not paying an extra two bucks when I know I can go right across the street and go cheaper. What happened to Walmart being the cheapest of the cheap on everything? 

You'd think that a pharmacy would be more expensive, considering that people don't really go to pharmacies to solely purchase hair products. You'd think they'd want to take advantage of the people who are going in to pick up their prescriptions... to sucker them into picking up a pack of diapers or candy or pens just because it's there. Oh, since I'm in here, might as well get my hair cream!

Apparently, that's not the case here. Now I know that I won't be getting any Shea Moisture stuff from Walmart, and if I try another natural product, I'll price it elsewhere before settling for Walmart. I heard that CVS now sells Miss Jessie's products. Wow. Now that stuff costs an arm, a leg, and your head on a platter.

Thirty bucks for one container... a 12oz container, I believe. Some people say that it isn't worth the hype, but either way, that's way too freakin expensive for some darn curl cream.

I got that Cantu hair cream from Walgreens as well. I was shocked because I didn't know that Cantu was beginning to create natural products at all! I mean, there's a few questionable ingredients, stuff that I well, can't pronounce, but hey. It's just a few. Haven't tried it yet, but I will soon. 

Syriah's hair is straight at the moment. I straighten it usually every 6 months to trim and what not. I used EVOO as a heat protectant. Her hair is in GREAT health right now. I'm so proud of myself.

Well, that's all for now, folks! I don't exactly have a tip for today. My mind is somewhat in a trance due to excessive sleep deprivation. Symari's one month old today, and she wakes hubby and I up twice a night to eat. So, we get about 4 hours of sleep a night. We're lucky to get 5 most days. Oh, well. That's newborns for ya.

I'm out! Peace, curly mamas! 

~Epic Realist~

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy 4rth of July, everyone! I really wish I knew how to do one of those fancy hairstyles that I've seen other people do, you know, the ones where they put big corn-braided stars in their daughter's hair. It looks really difficult, and I haven't had much time to even try it. much less practice it. But they look awesome.
Doesn't matter, though. I'm not big on holidays anyway. LOL! It just would have been another new hairstyle to practice and perfect.
On another note, I have a picture to show of Syriah's puffball that she wore yesterday to a kid's play place called Kids Planet. It surprisingly still looked good after her playing around for four hours.

I used Eco Styler gel in her hair for the first time ever, along with some shea butter. Loved the results! I'm not looking forward to washing her hair again when I can, because the new shampoo that I've been trying isn't working all that well. It's a brand called Organix, and their coconut shampoo isn't as moisturizing as I would have liked. I only got it in the first place because last time I went to Walgreens to get my Shea Moisture shampoo, they were fresh out... of that and the other curling stuff they have. Both of them were gone, and when I asked an employee about it, they said that the truck hadn't come in yet with another stock.

Figures. This whole natural kick is going viral, and every natural product ever created is beginning to fly off the shelves lately. Walmart had better get with it! They're beginning to, though. I've heard that they now carry Taliah Waajid products now, even though I think that brand has way too many chemicals to be considered natural.

Well, I've got to roll now. It's dinner time. I cooked some good stuff... brown rice, sweet potatoes, and baked chicken! Haha!

Until next time, curly mamas!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918

New Hairstyle #2

Heya, guys! This may be my last update until my baby's born, because I'm 37 weeks and really close now. Been really busy and tired. Good thing hubby is able to be home with me now. =)
I have new hairstyle pics to show! =)

It's another style I created out of thin air the other day. I like to combine styles and mix it up sometimes. In the future, I may do tutorials on how to do certain styles if there are people who'd really like to try them and can't figure it out, but right now, I'm too camera shy to plaster myself on YouTube like that. LOL! Plus, these few styles are considered easy. Well, to me, that is.
I bought another Shea Moisture product from Walgreens a few days ago because the curling smoothie had finally run out after two months. Glad I was able to stretch it that long. I wanted to get it again, but it was gone, all out stock, along with the shampoo. Funny how natural hair is a really big hit nowadays. I refuse to buy it online; not worth the shipping costs when I can get it right up the street for 10 bucks. So I got the Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque  instead. I needed a deep conditioner anyway because my hair has been parched lately, especially with me being too tired to upkeep any kind of regimen. I haven't used it yet for deep conditioning purposes, but I look forward it. It can be used as a deep conditioner, where you leave it on for a certain time and rinse it out, and it can also be used as a leave in.

I put a little in my hair that evening around the edges and in the morning, my hair was extremely soft and moisturized! Some people say that it does better as a leave in than anything else, but hey, we shall see soon enough.

Syriah's hair has been growing. I love the health of her hair now, and I will stop at nothing to make sure that she doesn't lose her hair due to breakage or dryness. I have to remember to put a little something on her curls every day, whether it's a cream, oils to seal her dry ends, or my own whipped shea butter mixture. Same with Jamian, because his hair gets just as dry. His hair just isn't as long, and he's a boy, so it's not urgent.

Tip of the day: Don't be such a product junkie! You will end up wasting money. Find one brand at a time, test out whichever parts of it you'd like to try, and if you absolutely don't like it, then at least finish using it or give it to someone who could use it. I can't stand seeing women who go ahead and buy like five different types of products, use all of them during their next hair wash, and then get a bad result. Then they don't even know which product to even blame for their misfortune, because they used Shima oil before washing, then washed with Aubrey Organics shampoo, then used Kinky Kurly conditioner, then deep conditioned with Shea Moisture's Hair Masque, then used a Taliah Waajid product as a leave in. Please don't confuse yourself and try several different hair products at once, because more than likely, your hair will go into shell shock. And I don't blame it! 

Well, that's my little update. Hopefully, next time you get a new post, it'll include a picture of my newest family member. Pray that I don't need another C-section, too. LOL!

Peace out till later, curly mamas! <3

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918