I have couple of staple products that I like to use:
Taliah Waajid Black Shampoo & Conditioner (natural products)
QP Elasta Mango Butter
Lush Caca Noir Henna (new staple...LOVING IT!)
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil/Olive Oil
Amla Oil
Brahmi Oil
Shikaki Soap Bar (as well as many other Aryuveda products)
Co-Wash wih Suave & VO5 Conditioners
Most of the time I wear my hair curly, or in a bun...but since it's getting cold, I think I'll convert over to twists, or some other protective styles.
TW products are great. I'm really happy that a lot more local BSS are carrying her products (even CVS carries three of her products). I'm really trying to K.I.S.S. and use mostly natural products. TW's Black Earth and Royal Roots lines allow me to do that without having to order online so much. I went to the BSS today to get some royal roots, but they were out of the moisture glaze-which I love. Had to get the bodifier (which I love as well, but costs 2 dollars more).
Anyhow, I'm finished tweaking my reggie (hopefully I won't change it for a long time). I recently had a personal moisturizer challenge. I'm challenging myself to stick to the exact same products in 2010. I used the following products:
Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme
Elasta QP Olive and Mango Butter
Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In
S-Curl
BB Oil Moisturizer (the castor oil one-pink/white bottle)
Qhemet Biologics Amla and Olive Heavy Cream
Qhemet Biologics Olive and Honey Hydrating Balm
Afroveda Shea Amla Whipped Butter Cream
Darcy's Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla Styling Cream
Afroveda won, hands down. My hair absolutely loves shea butter products. I just decided to use Afroveda because it's cold and I can't stand trying to melt shea in my hands when its cold. It's just not comfortable. Afroveda is also a whole lot more cost effective than other natural moisturizers. Initially I was worried that it doesn't have enough shea butter in it. I thought it would be watered-down. Don't be fooled by the fact that shea butter is the fourth ingredients.
Also, I did a conditioner challenge (again, for my person 2010 product challenge). I only used Lustrasilk Herbal Cholesterol because I have been trying to transition back to the BSS. I have come to the conclusion that it isn't happening. My hair-
especially my ends-thrive off of natural products.
I often switch from BSS products and online/natural ones-mostly because I get frustrated with the cost. However, using TW products and sticking to only five allows me to use the kind of products I like without breaking the bank. Also, my hair thrives on simplicity.
The Five products I decided on:
1. Black Earth Shampoo
2. AOHR Conditioner
3. Black Earth Protective Mist Bodifier (love it, the first product I ever called a staple. What's sad is a discovered this mere months into my journey. Then I wound up wasting so much money on products that didn't work or just did not compare)
4. Afroveda Shea Amla
5. Black Earth African Healing Oyl (works great, very pleasant smell)
I think I will switch to the black earth conditioner when I'm done with the AoHR. That will be my one exception. Also, I'm thinking about doing cassia treatments once a month, but I really don't consider that to be a product. just a special treat. Anyhow, I hope I can last a whole year.