Monthly Hair Box Subscriptions the bad the good and the UGLY

O.K. Curlies Lets talk Monthly "box" Subscriptions". 

Now, we are all educated grown women on this page so we can agree to disagree without using any curse words or calling each other out of our names or the ones we have chosen for ourselves..... 

Here goes.......

I use to be subscribed to a monthly hair subscription service, I cancelled that subscription because of my year long self imposed no buy and because to tell the truth all of my boxes I got for a year and some months are neatly stacked in a corner in my room I don't need another thing!!!! 

THE GOOD

1. I must say that getting that little box in the mail each month was exciting for me and the girls. 
2. I really enjoyed about the subscription is that most of the times I got products from brands I had never heard about due to the fact that they were from small businesses, or up and coming new businesses in the "Natural Hair Junket"
3. The price was a no brainer, $20.00 a month, now here on island I can spend 20 bucks on a plate of food for lunch and end up throwing it in the trash cause it was yucky so 20 bucks was not a bad price to me.

THE BAD

1. Late shipments 
2. Fictitious shipping emails, stating that items have been shipped when in fact they have not. Lack of proper avenues to track the package as well as lack of update on package status
3. Spilled items
4. Missing items
5. Lack of communication, too much communication
6. Information and updates posted on social media sites that not all customers are part of thus some customers being kept in the loop and others not
7. Not all boxes being kept equal

THE UGLY

1. Paying for a service that promises you an in into new products for naturals and receiving products that you can pick up at the local BSS, WTH !!!!
2. Having your emails for cancellation or basic concerns going unanswered  
3. Having your inquiry, taken personal and then receiving a rude and unprofessional response.

Now, I can personally say that I never had an issue with my subscriptions. Where they perfect? No not at all however, in the great scheme of things I put things in perspective and just dealt with whatever issue I encountered. Most importantly I gave the company time to deal with my issue as well.  Ultimately the length that I had to wait for my box(es) was a non issue since I am use to the "snail mail" here on the islands.  I honestly was stoked every time I received a full size product because in actuality I subscribed for a "sample box"...At the end of my subscription I had found some great products that I would have not been exposed to if I had not tried the subscription thing and some young women at various schools and events I was invited to speak at benefited from winning one of the boxes that had been  just sitting on my dresser as a prize.

I miss my subscription boxes, I miss getting something in the mail every month , I miss being pleasantly surprised by a new product I have no access to because of my location and I miss seeing them all lined up on my dresser like endless gifts I just have not had the time to open....LOL 

THE NO BUY STRUGGLE IS REAL!!!!!!!! 

Now, this is just my opinion and I am just saying eh!!!!!

MORE HAIR......MORE TIME?????

(Unknown Model)

Most of us natural or permed are always on the quest to retain the length of our tresses. How many of you have cringed the moment you see the scissors being pulled out of your hairstylists smock? As women we most likely believe that our hair is our beauty and our strength. I personally have never been obsessed with length but recently as a natural I decided to concentrate in retaining length and paying closer attention to my hairs natural growing cycle.  Now lets go ahead and start by getting rid of misconceptions that are out there in the universe.  Our hair grows, it grows in the range of 1/4 - 1/2 an inch per month.  Once our hair exits our scalp it is really not alive it becomes a fiber, what grows is the hair that is inside our heads. Our hair follicle receives nutrients and blood which helps the root to be pushed upward and out causing the most growth that we covet. Now, I am going to keep it simple because I am neither a hair specialist or stylist just sharing what I have learned with you guys.

Our main problem is retaining length! Think about it.....every time we have to trim off an inch due to damaged ends we are basically cutting off 2 months of growth.  Esto no es bueno! This is not good if your objective is to retain length. Our ends are the oldest parts of our hair thus they are the most fragile and we should really pay attention to how we treat them.  We also know that putting our hair away in protective styles will help us to minimize damage (in some occasions) and retain length. However, keep in mind that putting your hair away in a protective style does not mean that you no longer have to care for it. In order to ensure that the length you have achieved while protective styling can be retained you should continue to care for your hair while it is protective. Sooooo, moisturizing your hair, cleaning your scalp, and ensuring that your edges are not to tight are paramount to successful length retention while protective styling.

As my hair retains length I have recognized that they are some things in my regular hair routine that I must change, adjust, and shift.  Of course the freedom I so enjoyed while I had my TWA of doing my hair in the shower and going is no longer something that can be achieved.  With length came the need for me to perform most if not all of my hair care outside the shower, sitting comfortably in front of a mirror.  Pre-poos have come paramount to my wash day becoming a success, and sealing those ends with oils (which I don't particularly care for) are necessary to ensure that my ends don't suffer any damage.

Simple things like putting my bag on my shoulder, my suit jacket on, the cars seat belt, and my jewelry can create havoc on my hair at this point so I am constantly trying to be aware of how I could move these kinks, curls, and coils out of harms way. It is hilarious how shrinkage which I viewed as "the Devil" when my hair was shorter is now my best friend.  Why? Because of shrinkage I can wear my wash n go's and not be concerned about where my ends will end up, the shrinkage is just enough to keep those ends off my shoulders, and anything that can rub up against them to cause damage.

In essence I just wanted to stop and say...BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR! Enjoy your hair and its various stages, be patient and BE PREPARED.

1. Be prepared to tweak your routine as you go through the stages.
2. Be prepared to spend more time preparing your hair at night as well as styling that GAUGEOUS COIF
3. Be prepared to re-purchase products that lasted quite a while when you first did that BC
4. Be prepared for the journey of a lifetime!!!!!!!!!!

DARK AND LOVELY AU NATURALE LINE

What Ethnic  "Black" woman has not heard of Dark and Lovely? Now come on son, you know that in your permed days Dark and Lovely was a trusted brand for that chemical process that ensured our hair was laid down, silky, straight, shiny, and bouncy lol.  Dont Fake!!!!!  Well, I am happy to announce that Dark and Lovely has heard the cry of so many women out there that are opting to wear their hair "Au Natural" and has thrown in their hat, hell let me be BOLD they have jumped in body and soul into the natural hair products market with their new line designed for kinks, coils and curls called  Au Natural.

I recently had the pleasure of receiving these products to review from Naturallycurly.com and I must say that I was extremely excited since I had already contacted the company for samples and at the time none were available which made me a bit sad :( . Lol those of you who live in the Caribbean are well aware that products get to us months after they have launched on the mainland, thus, being the product junkie that I am I was afraid that the long wait to test these products was going to render me insane from anticipation and pure old needing to have them in my little grubby hands!!!! However, the universe lined up for me and Naturallycurly.com came through big time by sending me the entire line to review! Now let me state this loud and clear...I did not pay for these products they were sent to me free of charge by naturallycurly.com and Dark and Lovely to test and review.  My opinion is my very own and a true representation of my experience using the product(s)...O.K. now that I have made that clear lets get into the good stuff.

The products arrived at my office just at the right time, it was Tuesday and my wash n go had been in need of a re-do so I rushed home filled with joy and  expectation to get right into the matter at hand and start testing these products.  Let me tell you, before I could get these products safely to my car my co-workers were all in my bizzznesssss! The opened every bottle and jar and had their noses promptly all into the products oohing and ahhing about the lovely tropical smells that were permeating their senses and hitting me with all kinds of questions:

• Where can we get this?
• How much does it cost?
• Is it on island?
• Who sells it on-line?
• Can we have this...?
• How does it work?

I know we work in the Court system but why was I feeling like a defendant that was under cross examination for stealing the cookie out of the cookie jar?  O.K. so I responded as best I could packed up my box and safely got it out of their hands.


The first product I put in my hair was the Knot-Out conditioner

Ingredients :AQUA / WATER / EAU, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, ELAEIS GUINEENSIS OIL / PALM OIL, BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE, GLYCERIN PHENOXYETHANOL, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, STEARAMIDOPROPYL DIMETHYLAMINE, MANGIFERA INDICA SEED OIL / MANGO SEED OIL, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, CITRIC ACID, CHLORHEXIDINE DIHYDROCHLORIDE, BENZYL SALICYLATE, LINALOOL, BAMBUSA VULGARIS EXTRACT 

Did I already say that my hair was on its 3rd day of a wash n go and was THICK as a an unkempt Forrest? Well, after stepping into the shower and finger parting my hair so that the water could saturate the strands all the way down to the roods I applied a generous amount of the conditioner to my sections (I finger parted my hair straight down the middle into two sections).  I read the instructions and it said to apply to hair and let it sit for 10-15 minutes so I applied it and continued on my bathing routine thinking hmmm lets see if this stuff is going to tame the wild beast! My, my, my, ha! As I scrubbed my skin and sang a song in my head I could feel my hair slowly relaxing its tight grip on those coils and I could feel the hair brushing up against my shoulders, back, and nose as the coils separated and began to hang free of the density that was binding them together and making them comfortably cling to my roots. For those of you who are on the CG method the product is silicone, sulfate, and paraben free.

As you can see from the pictures above the coils were hanging and yet very defined.  The top picture shows my hair completely saturated with the product, you can also see how there is no white stuff on my hair and I am telling you that I used a "generous" amount but my hair just seamed to soak it all in.  As I felt my hair relaxing under the magic of the substance I felt confident that I could now attempt to finger detangle my tresses safely and proceeded to do just that.  The Knot-Out conditioner provided great slip allowing me to safely and easily finger detangle my sections. I rinsed the product completely out of my hair as seen in the bottom left picture and my coils were left soft and elongated.

I then decided to style with the Coil Moisturizing Souffle' since what I wanted was a wash n go and even though I have all kinks, coils, and curls shooting out of my head in my opinion the coils overpower the curls and kinks.

Ingredients:Water, cetearyl alcohol, cetyl esters, glycerin, amodimethicone, behentrimonium chloride, parfum/fragrance, phenoxyethanol, isopropyl alcohol, mangifera indica seed oil/mango seed oil, trideceth-6, cetrimonium chloride, benzyl salicylate, methylisothiazolinone, linalool, benzyl alcohol, limonene, CI 19140/yellow 5, CI 15985/yellow 6, geraniol, bambusa vulgaris sap extract

This product is of a creamy consistency and smells like mangos/papayas to me.  I followed the directions of course, and raked it through my coils in medium sized sections ensuring that all of my strands were coated in product.  I also applied the product to wet hair in order to make the application smoother and save on the amount of product that I used.

Top picture my hair is 80% dry bottom picture product was freshly applied and hair was still wet.  This product would not be CG approved due to the amodimethicone that is listed 5th in the ingredients list. However, it is sulfate and paraben free.The following is my hair in its completely dried state,

Overall I am pleased with the results of these products! I am on second day hair with my wash n go and my coils, kinks, and curls are holding their definition well with minimal crunch an no dryness to the touch.
I am pleasantly pleased to have the trusted brand of Dark and Lovely back into my hair product life.

PROS:

• Products can be purchased on ground, I have received  sightings of the products in target stores
• Products price point is affordable at 9.99 for a little of 14 ounces of product
• Product application is easy
• The smell is fruity and while it attacks your senses at first it diminishes and simply leaves a subtle scent of fruit behind that is pleasant and noticeable by others
• Products are mineral oil, paraben, and sulfate free. Some are GC friendly some are not but you be the judge of that for yourselves.
• Products are manufactured by a trusted hair product brand Dark and Lovely who has been around for  a number of years

CONS:

• Not all products in the line are GC friendly
• While the styling product claims to elongate your coils I did not experience elongation, which in essence is no big deal to me because I embrace my shrinkage and actually love it

Overall, I give these products 4 curls out of 5 and I would recommend you give them a try and see how they work on your kinks, coils, and curls.  Would I purchase them? Yes, I would I would most certainly purchase these products with my own money and add them to my rotation especially when I can walk right into a BSS and get instant gratification of not waiting for the mail man to grace me with his presence so that I can get my kinks, coils and curls in order.

Thank you for reading curlies! And remember to comment and ask questions below.  It has been my pleasure sharing my experience with you.  Remember "sharing is caring" and "Twirl a curl" today!!!!!

BANANA & YOGURT IN MY HAIR!!

Hi there guys, today I will share with you my experience into mixing my very own deep conditioner! I decided to try a homemade protein treatment. Here is the list of ingredients for my mix; 

1. A banana
2. Plain greek yogurt
3. Honey
4. Coconut oil
5. Grapeseed oil
6. Alovera plant
7. Coconut milk or water
8. Lavender essential oil just because I like the smell of lavender and I want to mask the smell of yogurt. 

The following are the benefits of the main ingredients in my mixture. They all sound great right? Well, as we say if its good for your body it is great for your hair as well. :)

YOGURT

Yogurt  contains lactic acid which will smooth and hydrate your strands.  Yougurt is a great base for  your conditioner, and is also a gentle cleanser. Yogurt promotes hair growth, and makes it easy to comb hair and get rid of knots.

BANANA

Bananas can help prevent and heal any  damages that are caused to the hair by exposure to the dirt, pollution and other environmental toxins. It helps in protecting the hair from further damage. The vitamin B helps in the prevention of split ends. The type of hair that is suitable for this treatment are dry hair, dyed hair and for hair after perm. It also serves as an excellent treatment for addressing the problem of dandruff and is helpful in retaining moisture on your scalp. is rich in potassium, natural oils, carbohydrates and vitamins that helps in softening the hair and protects the hair's natural elasticity preventing split ends and breakage. Bananas when used for hair has a number of benefits such as it creates manageability, shine, growth and controls dandruff. rules for dry, itchy, flaky hair.   It keeps hair hydrated and healthy.   With regular use, a banana hair mask can increase the moisture content of your hair, smooth frizz, and soothe your itchy scalp.

HONEY

Honey contains vitamins, minerals, is antibacterial, acts as a humectant (attracts moisture), and has incredible healing properties. Due to the many characteristics of honey, hair is actually nourished and enriched.   It is food for hair and adds shine.

ALOE VERA

Aloe vera acts as a natural conditioning agent that restores the hair’s sheen, luster, and shine. It not only makes the hair soft, but it also enhances strength and suppleness. It naturally combats frizz but does not have the greasy buildup that many hair care products leave behind.Aloe vera can be used as a safe and natural treatment to prevent hair loss. 

                         Here is the video showing you how I made the mixture 

Now the application process was hmmm interesting. I think I needed to 

not add the water in order to make the conditioner thicker. OMG the moment I applied this to my hair it began to rebel! I could feel my cuticles lifting and my first thought was WTH am I doing? My hair matted up like nobody's business well here is a picture of a section

Now, it took everything within my soul not to STOP immediately, jump in the shower and wash this mess out of my hair! However, thought about it and knew that all the ingredients in my mixture were considered good for the hair so why would I be scared.  As I carefully worked the conditioner through the sections smoothing it in I could literally feel when my cuticles relaxed and started to lay back down. At this point my hair started to feel slippery and I was able to finger detangle with ease! Here are some photos of my hair once I worked the concoction into the sections.

As you can see the concoction had my curls popping! The mixture was uber easy to rinse out and I immediately felt the benefits of an intense protein treatment, My HAIR FELT STRONG.  All in all I enjoyed using and making this conditioner, I am also convinced that my hair is protein sensitive. However, I know that ever so often I MUST do a protein treatment. I think I will be using this mixture as my "shot of protein" every 2-3 months.  Have any of you tried this mask? If so please do share your experiences.  As always thanks for reading and remember to TWIRL A CURL today...

AN ADVENTURE INTO COLOR

Me, Elisa & Eshae'

Eshae' & Elisa

O.K. so if you follow my blog you know that I have been trying to resist the urge to get color! For various reasons while I admire the different hues of color I see in many naturals I respect the damage that color can cause and the work it must take to ensure that damage due to color does not become part of my natural journey.  However, my two teenage daughters 14 and 19 have the resilience of youth and are fearless on many things including experimenting with color :)









On this particular Saturday the girls seemed like they had a dream about color and at the break of dawn they decided to wake me up with the unnerving idea that I should take them to the hair dresser today and allow them to get color.  For Elisa that was no big deal her little patch had grown nicely and healthy and the color was barely holding on to the ends so it was time for her to go back and redo her color. However, for Eshae' this request made me nervous especially since she wanted to change the color of her entire head of hair and vision of straw like hair texture and breakage occurring at a drop of a hat had me scrrrrrrrred!!!!

Nevertheless, I decided long ago that it was their individual journey and the only peas I had in them Q's was making sure they had the knowledge and tools to ensure that they themselves kept their hair healthy and thriving so off to the hair dresser we went.  Eshae' decided that we should all dress alike on this adventure thus the jumpers we all wore....( my girls sometimes forget that I am a little long in the tooth and expect me to dress like them....well we do share similar taste in clothes lol lol).  I was savvy enough to tape the experience so take a look at the process

So, all in all the experience was wonderful thanks to our stylist Uni from Celsa's House of Beauty.  She was extremely great at taking her time and helping the girls pick what hues they wanted as well as explaining to them the process and  what she would have to do to get them to their desired  style.  Most of all I loved that Uni was confident enough to do the color and then watch me take over the girls co-washing and styling experience.  Uni watched as I made the girls kinks, coils and curls pop with just some conditioner and our safe gel and she was happy to say wow "I learned something today".  The girls were happy with the end results and as a parent I could tell you that having two happy teenage girls in your house is paramount to any parents sanity! Thus, I was happy for the moment, since the thoughts of how I would keep Eshae's hair moisturized still plagued my sub-contious.  If you are wondering why I am not as worried about Elisa's color it is because 1. She had this patch done previously 8 months ago when she first went natural and has proven that she can maintain it and 2. she is a college student so she lives in the dorms this year not in my house(YES!!!!! lol).

Elisa's hair after color on the left it is freshly co-washed on the right styled with CJ Repair me protein conditioner and Kiss my face upper management gel

Eshae's hair before color and after color. Her hair was styled with the same products as Elisa in the previous picture.

I am happy to say that it has been a month since the girls adventure into color and I can report that surpisingly Eshae's hair is even more moisturized than before we did the color....HUH islandgurl your previous statement must be a typo....you might be thinking... but nope I can clearly state that ShayShay's hair is more moisturized now than ever.  Why? Because she is much more diligent about moisturizing and deep conditioning her hair since we introduced color to her tresses.  The deal I made with the girls is that if they suffer damage we will BC, no need to hang on to raggedy unhealthy hair and 2. the color can only be done once a year for them this means every summer.

Eshae's Routine for dealing with color and keeping her hair healthy includes;

• Washing hair weekly with a no-poo (we like DevaCurl and Curl Junkie)
• Moisturizing deep conditioner once a week under steamer
• Spritzing hair every night with water/aloe vera juice and glycerin mixture
• Sealing in that moisture with a butter (we are loving TastiKiss Ayurvedic Butter)
• And lastly we put some Jamaican black castor oil to finish it off.
• Put the hair into large twists or braids and tie it down with a silk scarf for the night.

This process has been working well for us thus far in keeping the colored hair soft, healthy, and moisturized. I am happy to report that its been one month and the appearance of straw like hair and dry hair that breaks at the touch has been successfully abated by this household.....As always thanks for reading and remember to "TWIRL A CURL" today and everyday....

WHAT IS CURLKIT? MY THOUGHTS AND A QUICK REVIEW

When I first went natural I had so many things to deal with such as:

1. What am I going to do with an afro?
2. Will I still be attractive?
3. Will my friends treat me and see me differently?
4. How will I make my hair presentable for the workplace?

However, my biggest concern was WHAT DO I PUT IN MY HAIR?  Yes, I was overwhelmed by all the information that was out there and the surmountable amount of products that claimed to be the "must have" product to give me curls or make my kinks soft and manageable and lets not forget keep my hair shiny. So, off I went creating a budget within my budget designed specifically to purchase products that would help me manage my hair.  Needless to say that this was an expensive budget and that as a single mother of 3 it was quite difficult for me to allocate $10, $15, $20 dollars out of my already stretched budget just to buy a deep conditioner or styling cream that without having any clue if it would work on my hair much less on both me and my daughters hair.  Especially since, when I was permed I  practically purchased nothing for my hair due to the fact that I never did anything to my hair more than pulling it into a ponytail, for washes, conditioning, styling I went to my hair dresser.

Now, fast forward two years and the invention and innovation of CURLKIT! CurlKit is a monthly subscription service that supplies you with 5-7 samples of products geared towards natural hair. Yes, it is samples of products that are specifically designed to deal with our kinks, curls, and coils.  Here is what "team  CurlKit" has to say about their service;

CurlKit sends out a selection of 5-7 samples that their team of online experts, researches and even tries themselves. In each CurlKit you'll receive everything from pomades and conditioners to natural hair tools, from well-known brands as well as emerging gems.

CurlKit subscriptions are sold on a first come, first served basis. Join now while supplies last. Subscriptions are released regularly.

CurlKit subscriptions are available with a 100% no questions asked guarantee and you can cancel at anytime!

CurlKit is a complete solution for women with natural hair.

CurlKit’s mission is to help newly naturals and lifelong naturals sort through the clutter, to find new brands and rediscover old favorites

Of course, even though I have been natural for two years and 6 months there was no way I was going to pass up getting in on this deal.  Thus, four months ago I joined CurlKit  and I have not regretted it one bit. Here are several pictures:

My Very First Curlkit

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My CurlKit for the month of June

I spy you spy we all spy 3 full size products in the Junes Curlkit. Yes, this would be what I call "A BONUS"! 

                                               Now, why would you call it a bonus islandgurl ? 

Because the service that I signed up for and pay only $20.00 per month for (well plus shipping lol), is one of samples not full size products. The whole idea behind me signing up for this service was to be able to try new products or products that I have on my list to purchase before making them dust catchers on my shelves or wasting my money on a product(s) that just do not work for me or my girls hair.  CurlKit has been so kind as to include full size product(s) in the boxes occasionally and that has made me and my girls jump for JOY.  I mean every time I get a shipped notification , I start to feel giddy and excited just like a kid on Christmas, stalking the post office with anticipation that my kit has arrived and wanting to see what I got this month.

Now,  CurlKit has not limited their service to just the monthly subscription they have also incorporated a blog,  a Store where you can purchase some of the full size products they have sent you samples of and a FB FanPage where you can follow them and enter their variety of contests to win full size products, oh and lets not forget that you can also follow them on twitter and join them on Tuesday's for their weekly "curltalk" which has proven to be a great source of pure fun for me and my family.  

All in all I waited 4 months to write this post because I wanted to make sure that I could honestly speak about the service as well as, give CurlKit an opportunity to establish itself and iron out any kinks they might have experienced with such a new service.  I must say that it took me long enough because from the onset I have been pleased with my subscription and the customer service that the curlkit team has provided me and my fellow naturals here in the United States Virgin Islands. 

 I know that they are working on opening their service to international markets so my fellow naturals in islands like St. Kitts, Tortola and Jamaica can also take advantage of their service at an affordable price so be a little patient "island naturals".  I must also say that this awareness that curlkit has shown to our needs here in the islands may be a partly because I swear I can be a "buggaboo" oh as we say here on island "a pest" and I constantly send them emails about making the shipping affordable for naturals on other Caribbean Islands (well you didn't think I was going to give them all the credit did you haaaaa). You guys know me I am always fighting for us to be recognized and treated equally lol lol

Now here are the links to my un-boxing videos of my curlkits....If you only want to watch one I suggest you click on June's because I think the intro to it was funny and Eshae' and I had a great time filming this one.....I am presently anxiously waiting for July's Kit. I

March Curlkit #1

April CurlKit #2

May CurlKit #3

June CurlKit #4

If you are interested in purchasing the Kit just click here, remember the service is $20.00 + shipping and you can cancel your subscription anytime.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post so until next time remember to "Twirl A Curl" today and everyday.  

islandgurl3601 singing off  "ride out soljah".....(in my island twang)

LETS TALK COLOR

O.K. so last week on my radio show  Lets Talk Hair (Click on the link to listen to the show) we discussed the topic of Hair Color.  The question was posted by the co-host: Why is it that as soon as we go natural the majority of us go directly to color?  My point of view is that most of us do the BC and instantly want to

1. Stand out by adding color
2. Brighten our complexions by framing our face with color
3. Experiment at the BC stage which can be viewed as the easiest stage to deal with on our natural journey
4. Add color to simply not look as boyish or childish as we ma perceive ourselves with such short hair.

Now, I must say that coloring my hair has never been a point of contention for me.  I enjoy the dark color of my hair and when I decided to go natural I never though about coloring my hair once I had gotten rid of the perm.  However, as my hair grew and my grays became more visible I was curious to find a way to cover my grays and maybe create some highlighting effect on my tresses.  Thus, my love with Henna developed.  I have been an avid Henna user for over one year and I love the way it gives my grays a beautiful red-copper tone.  I don't have many grays so in order to see this I have to part or style my hair a certain way.  I also love the conditioning and strengthening properties of my Henna treatments.  I add dry Hibiscus flowers to my Henna to deepen the color and hues of red the Henna naturally provides.  After one year of using Henna my hair when in natural sunlight has this deep burgundy/black color, however, lately I been fighting with the idea that I would like a section of my hair to be died a brighter red than I can achieve with only using Henna.  My fear of the unknown, the side effects of using a chemical color for that one section of my hair has caused me many a worry some trips to the beauty supply shop.  Do I purchase the color or do I just forget about the entire thing?  The color that I am so excited about is the Matrix 7RR and it is a beautiful hue of Red as shown below

I have decided that I don't want to well, at least I am not ready to jump into the chemical color arena just yet.  I am not prepared to risk damaging my hair.  However, through research I have found that they are several things that I should do when and if  I decide to bite this coloring bug:

1. The process of coloring takes place in the inner part of hour hair strand, better known as the Cortex. This it changes the physical and chemical makeup of our hair.  This could result in a texture change that may be permanent or just last a few weeks or days.  To attempt to correct this problem it is important to make sure and incorporate protein treatments into our regimen. It might also help if the styling products that we use while dealing with color treated hair contain protein
2. Before diving into any chemical color we should consult a natural hair stylist and if at all possible have the stylist do the coloring process.  
3. If you don't have "time" to spend with your hair now forge the color.  Because laziness and color treated hair do not go well together.  Once your hair has been color treated it is imperative for its health that you never skip a deep conditioning treatment and that you try to stay away from sulfate shampoos or shampoos all together which can be drying to the hair.  The chemically colored tresses need the tender loving care of moisture, moisture, moisture, thus co-washing will be ideal for this hair.
4. Make up your mind that in the best case scenario you should only color your hair once a year and just deal with the darker roots.  Over processing the hair with chemical color by doing it every 6 weeks or every 2 months can most certainly affect the health of your hair.

So now do you, see why this is such a big decision for me? While retaining length or attaining a certain length with my hair is not important to me, the health of my hair is by far the most important factor within my hair journey.   So what can I do? I still want the color. I still want to be a little more edgy as my journey continues.. Well recently I have come across a natural way to lighten my tresses, and it is all natural!  Like anything natural it will not be an overnight change but with time and patience I hope to achieve some success.  I will be using honey to lighten my hair.  Yes it seems that when you mix honey with water the honey releases peroxide which when applied to the hair can cause it to be lightened.  To read more on this go to innovative way to lighten our natural hair with honey . Now, I have no clue if this will work but I will begin testing and documenting my progress this weekend.  My plans are to apply the honey/water mixture to my bangs, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for 6 weeks and see if my hair color changes.  My goal is to once I get my bangs a lighter color to continue with my regular Henna treatments thus creating the contrast that I so desire.




Have any of you tried this process? If so please leave comments on how it worked or not under this entry.  I would also love to hair from you naturals that have always used chemical coloring and what did you do to make sure your hair stayed healthy.  As always I can't wait to hear from you guys on this topic.


Blessings  and thanks for reading :)