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

ko
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 :)

Defining Your Kinks, Coils and Curls!!!!

Hi There Curlies!!!

What are the first goals you set for yourself when you first went natural?  Well, for me it was

1. Getting enough hair growth to achieve a fabulous afro puff
2. Praying that my hair would have a curl pattern and that I could master the art of defining those curls

Sooo after 2 years of being natural I must report that I have in deed achieved both of my goals! Now let me report that achieving these goals was not an easy task.  I did countless research on YT and websites like   Naturally Curly dot com, and of course hair boards.  To say that the amount of techniques and information out there was overwhelming is simply an  understatement! However, I continued with my research and took it all one day at the time.  I suffered many fails like

1. Curls that were to heavy due to drowning of product
2. Curls that were to tight 
3. Fuzzy hair
4. Crunchy hair
5. FRIZZ
6. Dry hair

But finally, today I can say that basically I have mastered my Wash n Go and that my puffs are the bomb.com, well they must be when people come up to me and ask me what hair piece do I have in my hair LMAO.  So Naturally Curly.com has blessed me with featuring one of my was n Go's tutorials in their article and I thought it only fitting to share it with you guys. So click on the link and enjoy the article along with a tutorial on how to achieve a great Wash N Go   Coily Beginner’s Guide: Shake and Go Hair  Blessings to all! And thanks for reading please share my blog with your other friends and don't forget to leave any questions or comments below. :)

SHEA MOISTURE PURIFICATION MASQUE

She moisture has won my heart once again! I have had the the Purification Mask since the last Walgreens Bogo sale yes curilies not the one they just had but the one before that. Any who it was just sitting in my bathroom shelf looking pretty all lined up with some other products as part of my stash.

Then the other day after wearing my hair in a Wash N Go via the curly girl method I decided I wanted to use it as a pre-poo before I redid my twist.  As I took the time to read the ingredients I was perplexed as to whether it would be a good idea for me to sleep in the mask due to the fact that it had clay in it.  Any who laziness got the best of me and I decided I would sleep in it over night because I just could't was my hair that night I was to tired for all that work.  Well, well, well, I devided my hair into sections and then I moistened my hair with my water spritz and applied this funny looking masque to my hair.  WOWSA!!!! As I applied the product to my tresses it was like my hair immediately turned to butter, did I say butter I meant to say BUTTA!!

Now, bare in mind that I had been wearing a Wash n Go for the last 4 days and I was well aware of the tangles and thickness of curls that had settled on my head so I was prepared to do some work on single strand knots, kinks, and thirsty curls.  But let me tell you that all of the previously mentioned issues simply melted away as this product was applied and absorbed by my tresses.  My hair was singing  ALELUYAH and the chorus was responding AMEN.  This stuff is the business.com and then some.  I was able to detangle each section without a problem and I detangled with my fingers.  I felt the stress melt out of my hair with every stroke of my hands that were saturated with this magical potion.  

Listen guys I don't flake and I don't fake but my curls, kinks and coils loved this stuff.

Lets take a look at the ingredients;

Deionized Water , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Mangfera Indica Seed Butter (Mango) , Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado) , African Black Soap Extract , Sea Salt , Cetyl Esters , Kaolin Clay , Grapeseed Oil , Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba) , Behentrimonium Chloride (Conditioner) , Salicylic Acid , Salix Alba Bark Extract (Willow) , Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem) , Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil (Tea Tree) , Sorbitol Esters , Aloe Vera Leaf Juice , Tocopherol (Vitamin E) , Rosemary Extract , Salvia Officinalis Extract (Sage) , Plantain Extract , Lonicera Caprifolium Flower and Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Honeysuckle and Japanese Honeysuckle)

This products does not contain:

 sulfates, parabens, phthalates, paraffin, gluten, propylene glycol, mineral oil,
synthetic fragrance, PABA, synthetic color, DEA, animal ingredients or sulfates
Cruelty free, no animal testing

Well , O..K.. as per the ingredients list it seems that this product is suppose to be off the chain! So after it turned my hair to butter, and I mean not butter that had been sitting in the freezer but butter that had been left out at room temperature and had soften to a silky, smooth consistency I tried it on my daughters hair.  Now this child has great hair but her hair is in the 4's category and to say that she doesn't always treat it nicely is an understatement.  So I got my daughter in the chair and was afraid of what I was going to have to deal with after one week of her gelling her hair back into a puff and sleeping on it without moisturizing.  I pulled up my sleeves and as I applied the first dollop of the masque to her section what did I see but curls and coils coming out of the woodworks! What.....this must be some trick my eyes are playing on me I thought, but know I continued her application process and her hair turned to BUTTTTTAAAA before my very eyes!  THIS MASQUE IS MOST DEFINITELY ON MY HOLY GRAIL (HG) LIST, excuse my shouting but I shall never be without this product.  

Cost: $9.99 

Purchase @:  Walmart and select Target Stores

My only con with this product is that I cannot walk into any store in my location and purchase it, other than that I am in love with the Shea Moisture Purification Masque.  I encourage you to try it I can almost swear that you to will love it.  My favorite use for this product is as a pre-poo on me and my daughters hair.

GET TO KOW YOUR HAIR CHALLENGE

Hello there curlies, naturals, transitioners, and hair enthusiast!

Its a get to know your hair challenge!  Yes I am inviting all of you to join me and other hair enthusiast on a challenge that will begin on April 1, 2012 and last until June 23, 2012.  This challenge is being sponsored by Curls of Joy and co-sponsored by Napturalite Radio. This is bound to be a great way to challenge yourself and get to know how to manage and deal with your tresses better.  


The great thing about this challenge is that you set your very own goals! Yes you can decide what is it that you would like to know about your hair. It could be that your goal is length retention, better product use, manageability of your tresses, styling, or retaining moisture.  You can set the pace and learn how to achieve your goals with the support of others, as well as popular youtubers and hair enthusiast like myself (islandgurl3601), Mohogany Curls, Dawn, and Iknowlee.  Whatever, your goals are we will all be there with you.   


And here are the rules:

1. Subscribe to Curls of Joy’s Blog: http://curlsofjoy.blogspot.com/
2. You must sign up on or before March 25, 2011.
3. Under the blog post, on their page leave your name and email address.
4. Also, answer the following questions:                                Why did you decide to become natural?                                 How long have you been natural?
5. At Week Four, Eighth, and Twelve they will be posting blog check-ins where you let them know how your hair journey is going. Active participants will also be entered to win prizes.    

Just hit the link listed at the beginning of this post  for Curls of Joy and sign up for the challenge.  You will have the opportunity to start a hair journal, load pictures, track your progress, share your frustrations and triumphs.  During the challenge their will be great giveaways and contests.  It is so much easier to achieve and stick to goals when you have a group of people to support you.  Sooo don't be shy come on in and join me on this challenge.  I am still trying to decide what goals I want to accomplish on the challenge, they are so many things flowing around in my head in respect to what I need to learn about my hair.  

Shea Moisture Curling Souffle

SHEA MOISTURE CURLING SOUFFLE REVIEW


Like many of you I too was uber excited to hear that Shea Moisture was coming out with a curl enhancing gel or should I say a gel that would freeze my curls as they appear when soaking wet. As such, I couldn't wait to hit a target store to purchase the souffle once I hit the City of NY on my brief vacation.  I was so pleased to have gotten my hands on a jar and couldn't wait to use the product once I made it back home to the island.  As always my first instinct was to search and research what others said about the Curling Souffle, as I did so I was so disheartened to come up on one after the other less than stellar review of the product.  As I watched more and more reviews my heart sank a little lower with each comment that the souffle was to tacky, sticky, that it would not dry, that it left the hair untouchable due to the gewy feeling sooo what did I do?

 I STOPPED LOOKING AT REVIEWS!!!!!

Yes guys I stopped looking at those reviews and went straight to the source!  I went on Shea Moisture's fan page on FB  Fan Page to see what did they have to say about their latest product and the proper way to use it.  Now what I saw in their postings defied every concept I had in my mind as to how to use a gel in my hair! Per Shea Moisture's instructions the Curl Enhancing Souffle is to be applied:

1. To soaking wet clean hair. Check mark this is a regular process for me when doing a WnG.
2. To "Virgin Hair" in other words nothing should be in your hair no leave in and no other styler. Now this was where my confusion started and where my brain cells shut down on me.  I do not put gels or stylers or anything in my hair with out a leave-in.  My sense of reasoning could not grasp this step and everything in my mind was screaming "NOOOOOOO DON'T DO IT, IF YOU DO YOU WILL BE SORRY" LOL
3. Only use a dime size amount on each section.  Hahahahah this I laughed at, "a dime size"! These people must be mad! I thought to myself, do they not know I live in the Caribbean where humidity is boss and the salt air is prone to cause frizz in places you didn't even know you had hair?

Any who I made up my mind to do as I was instructed and to give it a try . Welllllllllll, what can I say the results were Marvelous. Take a look for yourselves Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie Review

It is my opinion that once again Shea Moisture has hit the ball out of the park with this one!  I had big hair the first day which is rare for me when I use gels and my hair remained soft and moisturized.  I wore my WnG for the entire week and probable by the 4th day it could have benefited from a little refreshing but my hair was still soft and moisturized so I took the lazy road and just pulled it up in a puff.  Thus far I have not been disappointed with any of their products I have tried. 

PROS

1. A little goes a long way! This coming from a person that is heavy handed with product so in order for me to abide by the instructions all I did was dip my pointer finger in the jar and use what product coated my finger on each section.  My jar is still full
2. Extremely moisturizing.
3. Gives a "natural" hold and look to curls.
4. Gave my tresses second day looking hair the first day! I love big hair so having volume and curls the first day is a plus in my book.
5. Affordable, at 9.99 per jar.

CONS

1. At this time the only con that I can come up with is that it is not available here on island curlies.

Of course Ms. Naturalist @ Essentric Shoe Boutique still has a few jars available at her store however, it still remains to be seen if the Shea Moisture line will become one of the many natural hair care lines she will carry on a regular.  Lets hope that she can seal that deal and make it easy for us to get the products.  I will continue to experiment with this product I have a feeling it will give my daughter who has type 4 hair a gorgeous twist out!  Thanks for reading my post curlies and remember to "Twirl A Curl Today" Blessings....

**To access links just click on the white words curlies***

SHEA MOISTURE IS HAVING A SALE!

Hi there curlies!

Have you heard about Shea Moisture? Well, I am here to tell you that Shea Moisture is a great product and it is extremely affordable. The products have worked great for me and my daughter the curl enhancing smoothie gives my daughter the best ever twist outs.  Her twist outs are extremely defined and moisturized, her type 4 hair stays so soft with this product.  I use the moisture milk as a leave in and the curl enhancing smoothie as my styler. The above mentioned combination leaves my hair shiny, soft, and bouncy curls.  I use this combination when I want to achieve the look that I have just stepped out the shower and done absolutely nothing to my hair.

SHEA MOISTURE HAIR PRODUCT LINE

Sooo this entire week you can get Shea Moisture hair products at Walgreen at buy one get one half price! I don't plan to miss out on this sale and actually I have already placed my order. I was so excited I swear I purchased two of each hair product that Walgreens carries.  Now if you are reading this post for the Virgin Islands you are well aware that we do not have a Walgreens on island however, you can purchase the products at http://www.walgreens.com/ and yes they ship to the VI.  I purchased at least 10 products and the shipping was around 19 dollars which I don't find to be unreasonable at all.  Guess what else curlies if you enter the code SHEA4FALL at checkout you will receive an additional  20% off your entire order.  Blessing, Blessing, Blessing!  YESSAH! Now don't delay because the sale is only from August 28, 2011 to September 3, 2011 so put in your orders quickly don't hesitate. If you have been wanting to try these products I advise you to take advantage of the sale and remember that each product only costs $9.99 a jar so with the bogo you get 2 jars for $14.98.  Till next time curlies!