How to Choose Your Products

Whether you are just starting your natural hair journey or you're a veteran who hasn't quite found the right products for your mane, this post is for you!


Natural or Synthetic?

Selecting products that have or do not have certain ingredients is a matter of personal preference. You may not care what ingredients are in your products, and that's perfectly fine. Or you may be the opposite, and that's okay too. Everyone is different so don't let anyone try to force their way of doing things onto you. When I began my no-heat growth journey, since I was doing both me and my infant daughter's hair, it was important to me that I sought out the most natural (preferably organic) products that were effective but also friendly to my wallet.

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Budget

This probably goes without saying but I'm gonna say it anyway, lol. Be realistic with your budget and spend wisely. It can be tempting to go out and buy everything you hear about, I know. But exercise control. No two heads are alike, so not every product works for everyone, even if you have the same texture. Just because that 10oz jar of product that costs $50 a pop gave someone else phenomenal results doesn't necessarily mean that your hair is going to respond the same way. And you'll have blown $50.

Pick It & Stick with It

Consistency goes a long way when it comes to maintaining a healthy, growing head of hair. And if healthy hair is your goal then you'll need to learn what product combination works for your tresses. The only way to do that is by using a product several times. If you don't do this and instead jump from product to product, then you'll never know what is really working for you and what is not.

"Is this product working?"

From washing through styling, you should take note of how your hair responds to the products you're using. Is your hair dry, dull, brittle, crunchy when touched, mushy, breaking a lot? If so then it may be time to re-examine your product stash. Trust me - your hair will let you know whether it "likes" a product. If you still think you're not getting the results you should with a product, then set it aside for a bit and come back to it later.

Style Matters

How you style your hair can also play a role in how your hair responds to a product. For example, the SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie is supposed to do just that - enhance the curl pattern while also adding moisture to each strand. The first time I used this product I attempted a wash-n-go and it was a mess. But I didn't give up on the product - I simply used it for a different style. During the winter of 2011 I began applying a little of the CE Smoothie on top of the Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner when two-strand twisting my hair. And the results? Phenomenal!! My hair was super moisturized, soft, didn't feel weighed down and had a healthy sheen for days on end. Not to mention the twist-outs were ah-mahzing! I knew it was a quality product; I just had to figure out how to make it work for me.

Hope this helps! As always, if you have any questions please feel free to comment below or drop me a line via email at forhisglorynatural@gmail.com.

Peace & Blessings!


Lauren <3

Detangling WITH My Hair ;)

(Sorry for the blurry pic)
Gel has been my "saving grace" lately with all this washing.
This is 2nd day hair with KCCC. I just spritzed with water, smoothed
it down and VOILA! That's about as WnG as I've been able to get so far! LOL!

So recently I've had this crazy theory...


Why not detangle my hair the way it likes to be detangled?! I know - sounds nuts, haha. Here's the thing: I've been finger detangling for a couple months now and I'm loving it - and so is my hair. But recently I've taken this a step further. I used to aim to go through and separate as many strands as I could, with the goal of removing every single little tangle. But since my hair is SO THICK and DENSE, I found that this causes me more frustration, takes longer, and ultimately puts more stress on my hair, which can lead to breakage. And, since I've been handling my hair more than ever before over these past few weeks (running + multiple wash days each week = YIKES!!) - and I can't stand messing with my hair so much, especially since I'm noticing the difference in its health - my goal is to minimize the amount of manipulation during each wash session as much as possible by allowing some strands to remain clumped together if they want to. What do I mean by that? Well, when my hair is wet there are areas where the curls define themselves and stick together without any product. So, instead of trying to rake through each of those tendrils and force them apart with my fingers, now I just leave them alone and gently run my fingers over them to check for major tangles and knots. The result? My detangling process is much less daunting and so much more suitable for my busy, active lifestyle. Here are the other steps I take during my detangling process:


1. Separate into sections (anywhere from 2 to 8 sections - depends on how much time I have to wash) and  loosely twist each section.
2. Hop in the shower, wet hair and begin applying my favorite moisturizing and detangling conditioner first to my scalp, then down each section of hair.
3. As I rinse each section, I use the pressure and downward motion of the water to help me gently run my fingers through my hair to remove the tangles.
4. After rinsing, I twist the section back up and repeat for the other sections.


I should probably do an ACV rinse or use some sort of clarifying/cleansing product before co-washing, but honestly, I haven't had enough time! I went from having one wash day a week to about 2 or 3! So co-washes between wash days are gonna have to do for now. :)

Yeah...my hair is THICK! It's a forest in there! haha

Preserving Styles Overnight

For those of you with hair that is shoulder-length or longer, here is a great trick for preserving your hairstyle overnight. If you're a wild sleeper like me, lol, you'll find this very helpful.

It's called "pineappling." (We naturals have such funny names for our tips and tricks, don't we?) Take a big hair tie (I like to use nylons for my hair ties; I just cut and tie them and I can make any size I need), lean forward, bringing all your hair to the front, and gently pull all of your hair into the hair tie at the top of your head. Be sure to leave it as loose as possible so you don't wake up to unwanted dents in your hair the next morning. Cover your head with your satin scarf or bonnet at usual (or sleep on a satin pillow). The next morning, simply let down your hair, shake it out and you're good to go! Happy pineappling! :)

Sulfate-Free Shampoos...What's All the Hype?

It seems like "sulfate-free" is everywhere nowadays. Just walk down the shampoo aisle and you see it plastered all over products left and right. When I first started to get to know my hair back in April, I didn't understand this. I did not have a background in chemistry and I didn't plan on getting one. Yes, I loved my hair, but did I really need to get a degree to understand what it needs/wants? I didn't believe so.

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So I searched online and came across www.tightlycurly.com. Terri LaFlesh, the author of Curly Like Me, has so generously put together this very informative site which includes an Ingredients Dictionary. Cha-ching! I spent an hour and ran down the ingredients lists of my products, comparing them to what Terri had researched and compiled into her online dictionary. After learning more about sulfates (among other ingredients) I understood why it's important for me to use a sulfate-free shampoo: sulfates are detergents that create suds when combined with water. Due to their drying effect, they tend to strip our naturally curly hair of its oils, making it dry and brittle. At least that's how I know my hair feels after using a sulfate shampoo. When I do use shampoo (I usually co-wash) I'll use a sulfate-free one. I've experienced much better results from my sulfate-free shampoo.

There are some benefits to using a sulfate shampoo, such as when your hair is really dirty. For example, the ONLY time I'll use a sulfate shampoo now is when I wash my hair after having worn it straight. Since my hair is loaded down with silicones from the heat protectant, the sulfates effectively remove the product so there's no build-up. Of course I follow-up with either my favorite moisturizing conditioner or a deep moisture treatment to replace the lost moisture.