Going Curly Girl, what does it mean, and how does it work.........

Hello ladies, I know I've been talking and talking, well, blogging and blogging, about hair lately, sorry to disappoint but I'm talking about hair again today. I go through phases, one week I'm obsessed with skincare, then haircare, then makeup. Stick around, I'm sure I'll get sick of hair and move on soon enough, just not yet.

Today were focusing on "Curly Girl", the method of caring for curly hair that Lorraine Massey invented I suppose, and addressed in her book, by the same name. If you check out Naturally Curly, there's tons of info, for anything I don't cover here, or maybe you have more questions about.

There are basically some main points to being Curly Girl, or CG as it's often referred to.

• Say no to sulfates!!  Sulfates, which are essentially in all shampoo are horrible for curly hair, frankly their bad for any hair, but especially curly, dry, or damaged hair. Sulfates strip hair of it's natural moisture, and cause damage. They cause frizz, scalp problems, and a slew of other things. You don't need shampoo to cleanse your hair, which I have address in several other posts. Conditioner, the right conditioner, can be used, very successfully, to cleanse your hair and scalp.
• Say no to silicone!! Silicones work by coating your hair, which prevents your hair from absorbing moisture and anything else that's good for it. Silicones may give you the illusion of great hair for a short amount of time, but they require sulfates in order to be removed. If you've eliminated sulfates, then you muct eliminate silicones. Silicone is found in a variety, in fact most hair products. Pretty much any ingredient that ends in -xane, -cone-, -conol, is a silicone and should be avoided.
• Treat your hair with TLC!! Your hair is a delicate thing, no matter how strong you think it is. It should be treated with care. Only detangle hair when it is soaking wet with conditioner. Never dry brush your hair, it causes breakage and a ridiculous amount of frizz. Make sure your hair is always properly moisturized. Curly hair is dry hair, and it needs to be moisturized to thrive.

Review: Jessicurl Line

Hello all you lovely curlies! I'm back, it's time to talk about Jessicurl, which basically has a cult following in the curly community. Jessicurl was created by Jessica McGuinty, a Naturally Curly community member, when she was unable to find a product that gave her the results that her hair needed and she wanted. She cooked Rockin Ringlets up in her kitchen, and the company grew from there.

I reached out to Jessicurl about featuring the brand on here and Examiner, and there were more than helpful and sent me a trial kit to test out. I have fine to medium hair, it's color-treated, it's damaged from heat styling, and it's dry, so I opted for the rich collection. I tend to prefer products made for a thicker, coarser hair type. Included in the Jessicurl trial kit are: Rockin' Ringlets Styling Potion, Confident Coils Styling Solution, Hair Cleansing Cream, Too Shea! Extra Moisturizing Conditioner, Weekly Deep Treatment Conditioner, and Awe Inspiraling Spray. The kit is $23 to buy, which is a bargain for everything you get!

So let's talk about each Jessicurl product individually:

• Rockin' Ringlets Styling Potion: I must admit I was skeptical about this after seeing it. It has the absolute oddest consistency that I have ever seen in a hair product. It's brown and very thin, so initially I assumed that I wouldn't like it. Well let me tell you I was wrong, I love this. It glides easily through my hair, and it helps give my curls better definition.
• Confident Coils Styling Solution: This is more of a styling lotion, it's white with the consistency of conditioner, a good conditioner anyway. It's meant to be used after Rockin' Ringlets, to help hold your curl pattern better. It worked for me beautifully, leaving me with well-defined, shiny, springy curls.
• Hair Cleansing Cream: This was another product in the line that I was initially skeptical of, it has a thin consistency like Rockin' Ringlets. Most cleansers are somewhat thick, and this isn't. Hair Cleansing Cream isn't a cleansing conditioner, or a shampoo. It's got it's own thing going on, when you first apply it to your hair is feels like it isn't really doing anything, and then you get this amazing lather. All without the use of sodium lauryl sulfate, which for curlies can be a curl killer.
• Too Shea! Extra Moisturizing Conditioner: This is a super rich and creamy conditioner, which left my hair amazingly soft. I'm pretty picky about conditioners, as my hair can be finicky, and this one is definitely a keeper. If you have fine or thin hair, and thick conditioners weigh your hair down, this would be a great deep treatment option.
• Weekly Deep Treatment Conditioner: I left this is my hair overnight, since my hair is so damaged from years of pretending I don't have curly hair, and when I rinsed it out the next day my hair was ridiculously more manageable. It wasn't like magic in a bottle or anything, but my hair was easier to style, looked better, and felt super soft.
• Awe Inspiraling Spray: I'm not a 2nd day hair kind-of-girl, I completely redo my hair everyday, so this really hasn't gotten much use. I did spray it on my hair a few time, midday, just to see if I could restyle my hair with it, and it worked.

The Jessicurl Trial Kit that I got, I opted for the scented version, so I was able to try both of their scents out. I prefer products with scent in them. Both of the scents were pleasant, not overbearing at all, and didn't interfere with all the other scents I had on.

Bottom line, I really truly liked the Jessicurl line, it left my curls gorgeous, soft and manageable. I would definitely purchase for future use. The entire line is silicone free, so there's no need to shampoo occassionally to get rid of build up, which is a big problem of mine. They're also really affordable, everything is $12.75 each, for full-sized versions. You can also buy a full-sized version of the trial kit for $65.

Check everything out at Jessicurl!


Also stay tuned because very soon I'm going to be featuring a Jessicurl Giveaway, where one lucky reader will win a trial kit or 3 full-sized products. :)

Spotlight on Curly Hair: DevaCurl

The original Curly Girl, Lorraine Massey is a best-selling author, world famous hair stylist, and has her very own line of hair products for curly girls; DevaCurls, DevaCare, and DevaColor. I’m so jealous! Today we’re going to talking about DevaCurls!

The entire DevaCurl line is sulfate-free, as curly-girlies we should all know that sulfates are the enemy. Every product in the line is designed to give you the gorgeous, soft, shiny, bouncy curls that you crave.

DevaCurls cleans, hydrates, and styles. The best part is that the entire line is easy to use, doesn’t cost an entire paycheck, and does what it’s supposed to. Nobody wants to dish out their cash for products that simply don’t live up to the hype. Unless your looking to buy jumbo-sized, every DevaCurl product is under $25!

Cleanse
There are two Deva options for cleansing your hair; No-Poo and Low-Poo. If your like me and you don’t shampoo, then obviously No-Poo is the way to go. However, I know there are curly-girlies out there who like the lather, you need Low-Poo. Low-Poo is sulfate-free, and it hydrates while cleansing.

Condition
DevaCurl has a universal conditioner called One Condition, and holy crap, I wish every hair product I owned smelled like this. One Condition is super creamy, and left my hair feeling soft and silky. If you have incredibly dehydrated hair you may want to try Heaven In Hair, DevaCurls deep-conditioner.

Style
DevaCurl has five options for styling, they can be mixed and matched to your hearts’ content. Set It Free is a spray that locks in moisture for 24-48 hours, which helps keep your curls looking beautiful from one day to the next. AnGEL is a light-weight gel that gives great hold, and is completely water-soluble. B’Leave-In is a curl booster and volumizer, which is great for fragile or fine hair. Set Up & Above is for the ultimate hold, and it still manages to moisturize your curls. And just in case you don’t like going through the entire process everyday try Mist-er Right to rejuvenate tired or frizzy curls.

Every DevaCurl product is botanically infused, and hydrates, hydrates, hydrates. Lorraine Massey says hydration is the key to frizz prevention. When our curls are parched they reach out into their surroundings, looking for moisture from anywhere. This is seen as frizz, but Massey says if your hair is properly hydrated, it won’t go searching for moisture that it doesn’t need.

Want to know more? DevaCurl

Also, I highly recommend checking out the DevaCurl channel on Youtube!

Spotlight on Curly Hair: DevaCurls No-Poo Cleanser

The more and more research I do about co-washing, also known as washing your hair with conditioner, the more amazed I am, with what I find.

Enter DevaCurls, created by the original Curly Girl herself, Lorraine Massey. It’s called DevaCurl No-Poo Cleanser! This stuff smells like heaven in a bottle, leaves hair soft, and cleans your locks. I absolutely love multi-tasking products, especially those designed for curly ladies like myself.

DevaCurls No-Poo Cleanser is of course, sulfate-free. It’s scented with peppermint and Turkish rose. No-Poo leaves your hairs moisture balance in tact, while doing away with any dirt, oil, or grime. I cannot say enough about this bottle of joy, I think this may be love.

The best part about DevaCurl No-Poo Cleanser is that it won’t break the bank, it’s only $17.95 for a 12 oz. bottle.

Want more info? DevaCurl

Coming Up: Spotlight on Products For Curly Hair

Curly ladies!!! I’m going to be doing an ongoing Spotlight on Products For Curly Hair!! I’m going to feature a number of brands and products. I know how difficult it can be to deal with curly hair, and sometimes we could all use some pointers and recommendations. I absolutely love trying new products, and I love it even more when they work for my rather unruly, curly hair. For reference for you gorgeous gals, my hair is between a 2b-3a, I think. I looked it up on NaturallyCurly.com.

So over the next few weeks, I’m going to feature all sorts of brands and products. I’m going to try and give you ladies an idea of what products I think would work best for different curl types. I would love it if you ladies could give me some feedback if you’ve tried a product also; did you like it? What’s your hair type?

I’m going to be talking about all sorts of products; shampoo, conditioner, gel, styling cream, pomade, etc. This should be an all encompassing endeavor, I want you lovely ladies to really be able to figure out if something would work for you, and if it’s worth your hard-earned cash.

Thanks so much for stopping by and stay tuned!!