Braids Out!-My Product Reviews (Very long!)

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I took my braids out the past weekend and between Monday and today I have a few product reviews that I thought I would share. First, let me say that my braids were in approx. 6 months-I did retouches in between-and I lost hardly no hair. In the past I would have thinning hair and hardly no hairline on one side...now after keeping the braids in for that amount of time-my hairline on the left side has grew back in and my hair feels fuller instead of thin. I do not know how much growth I gained because I have not pressed my hair yet. Okay, now on to the reviews.

Product Reviews for Monday-Thursday, Feb. 23-26, 2004

Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo
: I did this as a pre-wash before using Kenra's Moisturizing shampoo. It got the job done but I felt my hair was a little dry after using it. I will continue using it when I need to clarify [as long as I follow it with another moisturizing shampoo] until I use it up...maybe it work better next time considering I had just taken the braids out.

Kenra Moisturizing Shampoo
I give it a thumbs down because I felt it wasn't as moisturizing as I thought it was going to be. This could also be due to the fact that I tried it after I did a pre wash with the Suave Clarifier. It provided enough slip but my hair was still shedding a little...which can be contributed to the braids but not necessarily because I took the time to take the braids out with extreme care and in the past when I did this and washed with Creme of Nature..I had minimum shedding.

Carbonel Concentrated Thickener and Hair Conditioner
I have used this in the past...but then I did not follow with a moisturizing conditioner. Needless to say, I got the hard hair. It worked pretty good this time around..and I merely wanted to use it up. It's a product made by Gold Medal (and I don't normally use their products after the Herbal Tame wrecked havoc on my hair back in the day) but since I was too afraid to try Aphogee Treatment for Damaged Hair, I decided to use this for strengthening as it contains Hydrolyzed animal protein...I think it worked good this time around...and of course I will finish the bottle and decide if I need to purchase it again or try something else...

Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner
Nice, thick consistency and I love the coconut scent it has. My hair was easily detangled after using this. I will definitely use it again.

Ultra Black Hair Dew
I used this as sort of a leave-in/moisturizer type thing. Also, I continued using it for daily moisturizing. I didn't find that it worked in keeping my hair ultra-moisturized though..after a few hours my hair felt dry again. I think I'm going to try Sta-Sof-Fro when I finish this bottle.

Ultra Black Hair Lotion Creme Moisturizer
I find this to be very moisturizing on both wet and dry hair; if I can't continue purchasing this from Cathy Howse I will probably try Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Lotion..since it's available in local beauty supply stores.

African Royale Hot Six Oil
I found this to be very lubricating but it doesn't "slick" my hair like regular grease...when I use it with water or a moisturizer...of course its not going to do the same thing as "grease" does, but I find that I have to tie my hair down to get it to stay in place. When I was younger..water and grease did this without a problem. Now, since I am trying not to press my hair after every wash, I have to find something to tame "the hair that sticks out". I still like this oil and will continue using it...thus the thumbs up I gave it. I find it lubricating to the scalp also even though I don't apply it to my scalp liberally.

Product Reviews for Friday, Feb. 27, 2004

Jason Natural Sea Kelp Shampoo
At first, I felt like this shampoo wasn't moisturizing enough [chalk it up to my use of Creme of Nature Shampoo for the past 2-3 years]. But after I rinsed this out, I applied a second application. The shampoo was very detangling..and I lost no hair after combing with the Jilbere de Paris Shower comb. Even though I don't care for the smell, I will continue using this one.

Ultra Black Hair Conditioner
I thought this conditioner was a little thin in consistency. I applied to my hair and especially the ends of my hair. I sat under the dryer for at least 20 minutes. The peppermint tingles were a little too much for me; I felt the tingle before I even sat under the dryer. After awhile, I felt like it was going to burn my scalp but that wasn't the case. To be honest, I grew impatient sitting under the dryer for 20 minutes. In the past, I never sat under any kind of dryer for deep conditioning...unless I was at a salon and note: I haven't been to a salon in over 3 years since I've been doing my own hair and wearing it in braids. To my relief my scalp wasn't burned but my hair felt great! I didn't experience any of the hardness other people have experienced while using this product. My hair actually felt quite moisturized and extremely soft. I checked if my hair could be detangled...and I had great slip as well-no loss hair. This could be due to the fact that I didn't just rinse out and applied moisturizer [like she recommends]but I don't know...I went ahead and followed it with Jason Natural Sea Kelp Conditioner anyway-because I wanted to get a feel of the sea kelp conditioner too, not just the shampoo. Anyway, the Cathy Howse UBH conditioner is a keeper for me-I can't wait until my next hair wash.

Jason Natural Sea Kelp Conditioner
I left this on for five minutes with a shower cap. The consistency is thin and I don't care for the smell but my hair was easily detangled. I will continue using this one as well.

Other products I have yet to try: Giovanni Direct Leave-In, Giovanni Magnetic Power Treatment, Kenra Straigthening Serum, Blue Magic Pressing Oil, and Aphogee Evening Primrose Oil Hot Oil treatment. I have these now but haven't tried them yet. As far as other shampoos/conditiner lines...I may still try out Elucence..and Keracare was supposed to send me samples but I haven't gotten them yet. I want to try different oils too which I will eventually in the near future.

Edited to add: I do not know my hair type...that hair typing thing confuses me. I will say that my hair is in it's natural state and it's fine and thin.
 

miss_brown

New Member
Excellent reviews!!! You're the second person to reccommend Kenra's Moisturizing Conditioner to me in the last 2 days, so maybe I'll finally take the plunge ....
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: My Product Reviews (Very long!)

Product Review for March 7, 2004

Blue Magic Pressing Oil
: I really didn't like this for pressing my hair today. It was the only pressing oil I could find in my area. The pressing oil made my hair "curl" with grease not sure if it was because of other products I had in my hair or not..but I had to press it a little harder than normal...it seems that when I try to switch to new products they wind up making my hair worse. In the past, I rarely used grease let alone any "pressing oil" or "pressing creme" to press my hair...I thought it was supposed to protect the hair from burning but instead it makes the hair more susceptible to burning.
 

inthepink

New Member
Re: My Product Reviews (Very long!)

I would definitely give the Kenra Moisturizing Shampoo another try when you're not clarifying! It really is a wonderful, gentle shampoo!
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: My Product Reviews (Very long!)

I tried the Kenra shampoo again with my last hair wash and I did feel more moisturizing than before. I really LOVE the Kenra conditioner though..and there is local salon [white owned but...] that can get it from as long as I call ahead of time and tell them to order it for me.
 

kytrona

New Member
Re: My Product Reviews (Very long!)

Thanks for the reviews Natori!

Question to everyone: What exactly is 'grease'? Is it like Dax pomade, etc, or something else? Is Kuza Indian Hemp pomade considered hair grease? TIA!!
 

sithembile

Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
anky said:
WOW! thanks for the product reviews *thinking really hard about that Jasons sea kelp
*

[/ QUOTE ]

Go get it girl, its really good!
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: My Product Reviews (Very long!)

[ QUOTE ]
kytrona said:
Question to everyone: What exactly is 'grease'? Is it like Dax pomade, etc, or something else? Is Kuza Indian Hemp pomade considered hair grease? TIA!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I consider grease as something like Dax pomade..I would say that the Indian Hemp is grease also. Most people consider "grease" as anything that contains mineral oil or petroluem..so I guess it depends...like if it doesn't have those ingredients people just call it "oil".
 

kytrona

New Member
Re: My Product Reviews (Very long!)

[ QUOTE ]
Natori24 said:
[ QUOTE ]
kytrona said:
Question to everyone: What exactly is 'grease'? Is it like Dax pomade, etc, or something else? Is Kuza Indian Hemp pomade considered hair grease? TIA!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I consider grease as something like Dax pomade..I would say that the Indian Hemp is grease also. Most people consider "grease" as anything that contains mineral oil or petroluem..so I guess it depends...like if it doesn't have those ingredients people just call it "oil".

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks - that used to confuse me
 
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Guest

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Re: My Product Reviews

Product Review for March 10, 2004

Roux Porosity Control: Thumbs down! (couldn't get the graemlin feature to work) I applied this to my hair and left it on for 30 seconds under the shower cap; then I rinsed it out. It made my hair dry and a little hard..but it wasn't tangled-which is strange because I don't think this product contained a "harsh" protein. I thought it would have been more moisturizing. I know others mix this product with a moisturizing conditioner but I basically follow the directions on the bottle..so I didn't mix anything. I will say that my leave in moisturizers and oils "penetrated" and "moisturized" my hair a little better than before but I don't think I will be using this again. Maybe this works better on relaxed hair.
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: Another Review

Aphogee Evening Primrose Hot Oil Treatment
After warming this in warm/hot water like it says on the tube, I applied it to my hair. I thought it was going to be a "good" hot oil treatment for my hair but it wasn't. First, when I applied the "warm" oil it "lathered" like a soap or shampoo which I thought was strange. I decided not to follow the instructions on the bottle and sat under the dryer for at least two minutes-I always follow instructions but I thought I would sit under the dryer to allow it to "penetrate" more. BIG MISTAKE. My hair was dry and it did not feel "lubricated" at all. I rinsed and applied my leave-in moisturizers but for some reason my hair was still "lathering" on the sides...and I know I rinsed thoroughly. So I rinsed again a little...rinsing off some of the UBH Dew...and you know that's not too cheap. I won't use it again. I will switch back to TCB hot oil treatments-something I've been using for years or maybe next time I will leave it on for one minute and rinse in cool water like it says. I guess this is all trial and error...you try out new products and either they work or they don't-that's when you know to go back to the "old tried and trues".
 
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Guest

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Re: Another Review

I know...it seems like its not worth trying out new products..just stick to what worked for you before...and I view it as "wasting" money.
 

soulchild

New Member
Re: Another Review

Natori, there's nothing wrong to sticking to what worked. It seems like you have a small group of quality products which you enjoy so, at least for now, work on those.
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: Another Review

Yes, I think I will use some of the "new" products and then switch back to the stuff that works.
 
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Re: Product Reviews

3-27-04

L'anza Dry Hair Moisturizing Shampoo
: This shampoo felt Ultra moisturizing for my dry hair tonight. I don't care for the scent but it was very moisturizing and it got my hair CLEAN! I noticed that some of the other moisturizing shampoos I have tried didn't get my hair as clean even after I clarified. This got the job done without stripping. My deep conditioner penetrated much better after washing with this shampoo. Since this was a sample size, I need to find out where I can purchase this product.

L'anza Dry Hair Moisture Treatment
: I used this after my deep conditioner. It has a very nice smell and after I rinsed my hair was detangled.
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: Product Reviews

4-16-04

Kenra Straightening Serum
: I really like the Kenra Moisturizing Condtioner but the Serum isn't any good-not for my hair anyway. I applied this "generously to damp hair" as the instructions stated..but in the end I got dry, stiff hair that wasn't so straight or smooth after blow-drying. My ends were dry and crisp too. I rarely blow-dry these days but when I do I will stick to John Frieda's Wind Down Relax Creme-it's available at my local Wal-Mart-I don't have to "special" order it like the Kenra. Everytime I used that John Frieda "creme" my hair was so smooth, sleek, and straight all the way to the ends...no need for pressing either; I got a very different result with the Kenra Straightening Serum.
 

Pookie25

Member
[ QUOTE ]
Natori24 said:
Carbonel Concentrated Thickener and Hair Conditioner
I have used this in the past...but then I did not follow with a moisturizing conditioner. Needless to say, I got the hard hair. It worked pretty good this time around..and I merely wanted to use it up. It's a product made by Gold Medal (and I don't normally use their products after the Herbal Tame wrecked havoc on my hair back in the day) but since I was too afraid to try Aphogee Treatment for Damaged Hair, I decided to use this for strengthening as it contains Hydrolyzed animal protein...I think it worked good this time around...and of course I will finish the bottle and decide if I need to purchase it again or try something else...

[/ QUOTE ]
I use to use Gold Medal product too. The Herbal Tame was bad for my hair when I had a relaxer. I wanted to try it again though on natural hair.
 
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Guest

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[ QUOTE ]
Pookie25 said:
I use to use Gold Medal product too. The Herbal Tame was bad for my hair when I had a relaxer. I wanted to try it again though on natural hair.

[/ QUOTE ]

Herbal Tame was bad on my hair when I was trying to "transition" years ago. It wreaked havoc on my hair...never tried it again.
 
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