Product Review - Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In

Product Name: Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream
Price: $4.99 at Walgreens
Review: As an African American, many times, my hair would be so dry, it would hurt to detangle it! I went from product to product throughout my life. Luckily, I found this before I became hopeless. I love this product! It does right what it says on the package and more! It softens the hair, makes it smell really good, and completely moisturizes! It moisturizes for days without my hair getting dry. And though, I highly encourage moisturizing hair daily, when you have those styles that you don't want to mess up (like roller sets, finger/comb coils, etc), as long as you initially used the product to get the style, your hair is pretty safe.  It doesn't weigh down hair, but it should not be used heavily.I highly recommend buying this product. It's well worth it.

Healthy Hair Pyramid

Check out this great photo I found online. It speaks for itself.

Courtesy of BlackHairInfomation.com

Roller Setting - Great for Naturals & Transitioners!

Whether you're looking for a hairstyle thats cute our one thats protective, why not have both?!
One of the most appealing and easiest hairstyle to do is rods. Whether you do this with a curling iron, blow drier, or no heat at all, its such a fun look. :)
This looks great on short, long, and medium length hair.
I, personally prefer to do this the heat free way, which can be utilized by flexirods, magnetic rollers, perm rods, or curl formers. I used flexirods, which come in various sizes.

Here are some pros & cons to flexirods.

Pros

• Easy to use - use them the same way regular rollers are used, unlike curl formers
• Can be done without heat
• Not as pricey - while curlformers can cost up to $60, flexirods are sold in packs of 6. One pack is only $2.99 (I have 36, so it only costed me $18)
• Works on wet or dry hair
• Many size variations
• Can be used on short or long hair - even if you have a TWA (teeny weenie afro) you can use these as long as your hair is about 3 inches
• Can be used on weaves or any hair types

Cons

• Hard to sleep on
• If you don't use them properly, you may have puffy roots

Tutorial: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=GbRWkW0NPVo&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGbRWkW0NPVo
Below are my results.

The Best Way To Straighten Your Hair

Natural girls always seem to struggle with frizzy hair especially after just flat ironing it. but no worries; I'm here to show you how I keep my hair from frizzing the before and after process.

1. Only condition (co-wash) your hair (Make sure you detangle your hair before this step. try detangling w/ either your fingers or a wide tooth comb and with a product on your hair like a leave-in conditioner). I typically co-wash because shampoos strip African American hair from essential oils. I prefer to deep conditioning. The product I like to apply to my hair before I detangle is Cantu Shea Butter's Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream. I co-wash is Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner. For deep conditioning, I use Shea Moisture's Deep Treatment Masque. 

2.  With your hands, gently squeeze up your hair, so the excess water can be removed. 

3. Add a heat protectant, oil (olive, coconut, shea), or leave-in conditioner to protect the hair from drying out and being damaged. 

4. Then, blow dry your hair. it may be easier to do in sections. The blow dryer setting should range from cool to warm (if on hot, it should be on low/medium speed versus high. Use the diffuser attachment if you have one.

5. After hair is dried, separate hair into at least 6 big sections. Add another light layer of heat protectant to each section.

6. With each big section, separate them into smaller sections and slide the flat iron down your hair from root to end. Continue until all the hair has met your desired style.

Most Common Weave Fuck-Ups

Disclaimer: This specific post was made to be funny. Do not take anything i said in this post seriously. I just want to give you a good laugh. If you can't take the heat.... idk. Enjoy.

If its easy to distinguish your real hair from your weave... I'ma need you to consider your hair texture before you even get the weave.. or how you can match it now that you have it.

If your edges are peeking out from a full sew-in.... that's not the intention. If it was, you would have gotten a partial. Get a new hairstylist pronto or at least smooth them into place.

If you don't have edges, get a weave that will cover them.

Weave should really only smell like flat irons and/or hair products.

Um.. You know it's time to take that weave out when you move the the hair doesn't move with you. Y'all gotta be on the same page to work; like a relationship.

If i can see your tracks... somethings wrong.

Don't get an invisible part (98% of them turn out looking like shit).

Oh And I hate weaves without a damn part intact. It really looks more like a bad wig when it's like this. Yuck!

Oh, and I must say, lace front wigs are a no-no!

Am I missing anything? Please leave a comment and lemme know!

Am I Still Considered Natural If I...

For all the newbies that are natural or anyone thinking about going natural or urghhhh.... anyone who has been natural but just wants to assure their self that they're being natural.... read this.

Definitely Not Natural

• Perms
• Relaxers
• Texturizers

"Am I still a natural if I get my hair dyed?"

Some people believe that if you color your hair, you should not be considered natural. Yes, it does change the natural texture of your hair to what sometimes is only the slightest extent, however, I consider it natural. not many people argue with this statement but there are some.

"Can I press my hair and be a natural?"

It's an on-going argument that those who press their hair, are not natural (due to it altering the natural hair texture). However, I disagree with this! This is just an alternative way to wear your hair without the harsh chemicals. Hair is about versatility. Of course its great to show off your beautiful texture of its own (I personally prefer wearing mines with a natural texture to it). But I urge anyone who want to to rock your straight hair (before humidity gets to it). 

"Sew-ins, Glue-ins, Weave Braids, and All That Good Stuff! Natural??"

This is considered natural. I mean, of course it isn't the completely natural hair grow from your scalp. But it is, once again, and alternative way to styling your hair. And some of these styles are good for the health of your own hair (if done the right way).

"What about all natural products?"

All natural products won't knock you out of the category of being a natural, however, they are typically better for your hair. I cannot stress it even more that products with mineral oil, sulfates, and hair grease should be avoided!! I'll blog later about how "oh-so" horrible they are.

Any questions or comments about this article? Just say it already. : )