2 years natural as of May 2011!

I am happy to say that despite one too many hair cuts, I am finally APL (armpit length)! The greatest part is I didn't even realize it for a while. Actually, I was getting frustrated because I didn't think I had retained much length since my last cut/color in March.

The nape is apl and the front (bangs) is midneck. As soon as I get a chance, I'll post pics.

Current products: not much has changed though I do try random stuff every once in a while.
Poo: any of the Organix brand.
Condish: Herbal Essence brands (hello hydration or ltr)
Moisturizer: Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie
sealant: Grape seed oil (love love love more on this later)
DC: DRP -11, ORS, and whatever other conditioner or oil I feel like adding

Styling: still not that big on styling but I've tried a few things and I'll make separate post about those. Still mainly wash n go. I'm going to post my wash n go routine also b/c everyone seems to have these extremely difficult or long processes and I just don't understand why. *shrug*

Renpure Organics Amazing Miracle

Okay, first let me say I'm sorry it's taking so long to review these products. My work schedule has been beyond ridiculous.

On to business. Renpure Organics Amazing Miracle deep penetrating reconstructor with aloe, kukui & silk protein. I'm not sure what the kukui nut does. I'll research and update when I have a bit  more time.

I mixed this with 1 ORS packet, some DRP-11, honey and olive oil. I let it sit with no heat for an hour or so. My hair felt sooooooo soft. I really loved what it added to my moisturizing dc. It made it a little bit thicker and my hair really liked it. The wng I did after using this was one of the best I've ever had. People who see me with wng on a weekly basis were asking what I'd done differently to my hair. Permies were asking how to get curls like mine. It was crazy. Whatever this did to my hair, I love it.

I've used the mixture twice and gotten the same results. I know I say it every time I try something new with my dc but this is going to be a permanent part of my dc mixture. It seems to be giving consistent results and that is what my hair needs.

Next 2 blogs will be the Renpure poo and condish. After those, some new hair styles! I'll try to get a bit more blogging in b/c there is so much I want to share with you guys.

24hr Walgreen's

Headed to Walgreen's to satisfy the pj in me when I got off work. To say this was a GREAT experience is an understatement. First, I only went to purchase two products: Renpure Organics poo and condish. I was initially disappointed because I wanted the moisturizing set but the tops were broken on all of them. I settled for the "I Love My Hair!" body and shine duo. Then, I was thinking about the fact that I haven't done a dc in forever so I grabbed Renpure Organics Amazing Miracle Deep Penetrating Reconstructor (with aloe, kukui & silk protein). Remembering that I needed something to seal and I'm out of Castor oil and not loving Shea right now, I turned around and grabbed Hollywood Beauty Olive Creme (smells like a perm though :-( yuck!). But I picked it up because it had a free container of Olive Cholesterol deep conditioning creme. Then, I saw Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Paks (grabbed 2 for $1.39 each). And as I walked down the aisle, I saw shower caps (needed one for my dc as I just had to throw away the one I had) and black headbands (all black ones are broken). So, this long list of products cost me LESS than $25. The Renpure Organics was buy one get one free and all 3 of them have mail in rebates. So really, after I mail them in, I'll have spent $13!

All this for less than $13 after mail-in rebates

When I was checking out, the clerk told me how beautiful my hair was and said her granddaughter had natural hair down to her waist. She had been having trouble finding products to use on the child and asked my advise. I told her for detangling, I use HEHH or HETT. Upon her request, I showed her the two products, explained how I detangled and showed her a few other products I'd tried or heard were good. She was so happy! She told me again how beautiful my hair was and that she was so happy she was at work tonight so that she could meet me. She said that God sends angels when we least expect it and on this night, I was her angel. That was about 30 min ago and I'm still smiling. I almost went to Walgreen's last night but changed my mind and went tonight instead. There was obviously a reason why. I feel really good.

Finally, protein success

I was informed the ORS pack I used was a moisturizing condish, not protein like I thought. So that kind of changed my prespective on it but only a little. I still like how soft my hair was but it pretty much gave the same results as the mixture I've made.

I was still wondering what to do for a deep protein condish. I had almost enough LustraSilk Cholesterol left for one use. I added the rest of the ORS pack, EVOO, honey, and some HEHH (only added because there wasn't enough of the other 2 condishs to cover my hair). I remember the condish breaking down a lot when I added salt so I didn't want it to be in the mixture too long. I mixed it in just before application. I let it set, no heat, for an hour.

As I rinsed, I was pleased that my hair didn't feel as rough as it normally does when I rinse out LustraSilk. It's not the normal softness but it felt really good. It was almost 230am by the time I rinsed and I wanted it to dry faster. Being very horrible to my hair, I rubbed a towel over my hair to absorb most of the water. My hair was poofy and curls were pretty much non-existent. I generously applied Nubian Heritage Coconut & Papaya Hair Butter. Some of my curls came back but it will require some work to look good tomorrow.

My hair is about 95% dry. It has never felt so soft after protein. I'm going to stick with LustaSilk Cholesterol as my protein. I realize now that I just have to add a really good moisturizing condish.

Oh and I had been thinking my hair was breaking off from lack of protein. When I rinsed my hair, I took the time to check out the hair I lost. Hardly any of it was broken hair, it was mostly shed hair. I saw the white bulb things on the ends so I knew there were shed. All of the strands looked really thick and strong.

My ORS experience

Okay so as I was saying earlier, I'm using the ORS protein conditioner today. I love the citrus smell. I felt like I needed to add something to it but didn't really want to use the other products I have. So, I took this opportunity to try the salt. After I mixed it, the condish became very runny. MSatch told me this happens with every condish when she adds salt. I added a little more condish straight from the pak because I didn't feel like it was coating my hair well due to it being runny. I let it sit, no heat, for an hour.

I just rinsed it out and I'm on the fence about it. I'm really pleased with the fact that my hair doesn't feel hard and rough. That is why I didn't like protein. My hair feels really soft and my curls popped! I'm very very happy with the way my hair responded to the ORS. The downside, I tried to rinse with lukewarm water but it couldn't get the stuff out of my hair. It felt coated and sticky. I had to rinse again with warmer water to get it all out. Tha't's not really a big deal though. I probably didn't need to follow this up with my moisturizing deep condish mix but I am. I want to keep with my regular routine of protein and moisture deep condish on the same days.

I like it a lot and I'll be using this on a regular basis.