Curls, Coils, & Kinks

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Alicia Keys has a gorgeous head of her curls at one of her latest concerts on March 3rd. When she goes straight it is cute too, but nothing beats her curls. As an entertainer, when you are on stage performing and sweating it is best to go with your natural texture or a weave. I remember , I think it was the MTV Music Video Awards 2007, she had manufactured curls lol– They were made by a curling iron. It was gorgeous and had perfect cascading curls and literally 30 minutes into the show, it was getting bigger and bigger and she was just sitting in the audience at that point. I like big and frizzy though. I just like her natural texture.  Below is how she had to maneuver her look before her performance. Still Gorgeous! It is just so much easier just rocking your natural texture.

I had the opportunity to review products from the line Elasta QP and MegaGrowth/Profectiv.

I got my hair dyed the day before I tried this. When I got home, I decided to do another deep treatment. I used their new Soy Oyl product:

SOY OYL ANTI-BREAKAGE, MOISTURE-RICH DEEP CONDITIONER. The deep conditioner was amazing and my hair definitely felt smooth afterwards. I like that this product comes pretty large also. Because I have alot of hair, I hate to buy deep conditioners and they come in little bottles and I am done with it after 5 washes. The size really is helpful.
Last night, after the deep treatment, I decided to try out their new and improved Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer. This product is said to prevent breakage and is great for your ends. This can also be used as a thermal protectant. The consistency of the product is not too light but not heavy either. The consistency is definitely something I would feel comfortable putting on my hair everyday as a refresher. The product has a light mango scent- which I love because I am addicted to mangos- like seriously, Don’t bring mangoes around me! For those of you that are extra sensitive to smells, I don’t think this would bother you because its a light sweet smell.

On to the styling! I put about 2 quarter sizes of the Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer and smoothed it through my wet hair. I decided to do chunky twists- about 7 of them. I took it down this morning and I have definition and sheen- and a great smelling head of hair. I really like this product. I will definitely incorporate this by adding a small dab everyday, especially to the ends. This seems like it would make a good refresher. I am happy with both products.

To learn more about the brands please visit:

Elasta QP: www.elastaqp.com

MegaGrowth/Profectiv: www.profectiv.com

As I stated in a previous post and on twitter (curlygirllexi) , I tried to dye my hair myself and it was an epic fail. I was trying to dye the top portion a golden caramel blonde- but it turned out red…well I got the color fixed today. The stylist did 3 tones. The top being blonde, 2nd area caramel, and the bottom a tad lighter brown. This is the first time I have had all of my hair dyed. Usually I just get highlights on the top portion. I wanted a drastic change this time. It always takes me awhile to get used to the new color. Check it out:

When I got home, I put some Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Moisturizer on it and did a chunky twist set. I will post the results tomorrow.

I am looking for ladies to feature on my blog. I would be very honored if some of you ladies would take a couple of minutes to send in your story. Here are some of the topics:

-Transitioning

-Protective Styling

-Favorite Hairstyle and a how-to in writing or pictures

-Spring/Summer Routine

-Naturals with color- How to protect the hair, what products, etc.

….And many more. If you have an interesting story, please send it over. Make sure to include pictures.

lexi@curlscoilsandkinks(dot)com

Thanks Ladies (and Gentlemen- if there are any)

I love it! The smell is ammmaazzzziinnngg. It smells like sweet cherries.  The smell still lingers even after I washed it out. The texture is kind of souffle-ish and I like it alot. It’s not too heavy and its not too light- just right. I put a little over a golf sized ball on my hair and my hair is tangle free and shiny. I can’t wait to keep using it to see long term results.

FYI: The World Natural Hair Show is back! April 10-11th . For more details click on the pic…

A couple of weeks ago when it was snowing in Atlanta, I got bored and decided to dye a portion of my hair in the front. (Just the part you would do a hump with) SMH….Bad decision. I used Clairol’s Textures and Tones and it said with my hair color it would make it a honey blonde. The max you could keep it on was 45 minutes and at the max it still wasn’t the desired shade so I just washed it out. It was a horrible reddish-orangish color—The color you get on its way from dark brown to honey/caramel blonde.  I hate that it is so light at my scalp. I shouldn’t have even dabbled in it. I think at home coloring systems are good, but just research first or have someone else do it. I tried to dye my hair myself once my freshmen year of college. I didn’t realize that if you did it from root  to the bottom, the roots would take the color much faster because of the heat from your head. This time I did up until 1 inch for about 20 minutes and then I did the roots. My roots were still too light. So this Wednesday I am getting it redone and going to do two toned–lighten up the back of my hair just a tad and the front- a honey/caramel blonde. I decided to get the back lightened as well so it won’t be such a contrast with dark, dark, brown and honey blonde. I hope it turns out okay. Will update on Wednesday….

Here was the color at first:

It is actually growing on me because the color has toned down with washes. Here it is today(sorry for my hair all over my head):

I have heard great things about Darcy’s Botanicals and they have just introduced a new conditioner called Pumpkin Seed Moisturizing Conditioner. I looovee the smell of Pumpkin- it has such a sweet, soft smell. I’m sure it would make your hair smell good too! This conditioner is supposed to be great for the harsh winter effects on your hair.

“It doesn’t get any more moisturizing than pure Pumpkin Seed Oil!  Our moisturizing conditioner will help to soften, moisturize and condition your curly hair.  Scented with the sweet smell of pumpkin it is a must have to rejuvenate your damaged winter hair.”

HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Use as a cream rinse or rinse-out conditioner to give your curls a wonderful boost of moisture and softness.

WHAT’S IN IT?
Distilled Water, BTMS (a mild conditioning emulsifier), Pumpkin Seed Oil, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Japanese Camellia Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Botanical Oil Complex, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Panthenol, Ximenia Oil (Wild Plum) and fragrance.

HOW DO I USE IT?
*Use it as a cream rinse to naturally condition dry curls, locs & waves.
*Use as rinse-out conditioner to add moisture.
*Use to promote healthy hair growth

For more info, check out Darcy’s Botanicals new Pumpkin Seed Moisturizing Conditioner.

I warned others and myself about the damaging marcel irons and improper use….Well my hair has officially been fried. Not everywhere Thank God. Just a small section on my left side. I posted a video about it. I’m not upset that I am going to have to cut that hair, I am moreso upset at myself for going through with someone using a marcel iron on my hair. The last time I had damage was probably 4 years ago. I had a small handful of hair that didn’t curl up anymore and just laid limp while the rest of my hair was shrunken up. To maintain it, I would use bobby pins to stick it inside my curly fro because it was 4 inches longer and stuck out like a sore thumb. I was always told that once the hair is burned that there is no turning back. I ended up cutting the hair to match my texture in its curly state because I barely wore it straight. This time, I am going to try PrettyDimples and Rustic Beauty’s tip of using stale beer. I will have to research what it is in the beer that potentially makes hair revert. Wish me luck!!

I am really feeling Corrine Bailey Rae’s new look. She kind of did a Tracee Ellis Ross on us.  Came out with natural hair texture-tighter curls- and now sport a more looser curl. Not a problem with that. She looks awesome