Tag Archives: DIY Leave-In Conditioner

Perm Rod Curls – Valentine’s Day Look (option 2)

2 Replies

Hey Maicurlies,

So I managed to record and edit another “Valentine’s Day Look”. I figured since I was redoing my hair I might as well record it and heck why not throw on a dress that makes for a good “Valentine’s Day Date Look”.

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Ok so as the titles says it is a perm rod set and I used all DIY products and a Natural Oil. I ended up using 32 orange perm rods (originally I wanted to use less but forgot that was my initial plan) and let my hair air dry overnight before taking down the rods (with a little oil on my fingertips), separating and then fluffing my curls.

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I always feel that having “faux bangs” really isn’t quite “for my face” but then I have a rather noticeable forehead so I want to rock a faux bang to cover it up so I opt for a to the side fringe thing…..anyways you get the point. In the video I tried both but ended up feeling “most like me” with it to the side, so that is what I stuck with for the final look.

Products/Tools Used:

  • 32 Orange Perm Rods
  • DIY Spray Leave-In Conditioner
  • DIY Hibiscus Flaxseed Gel
  • Argan Oil
  • Wide tooth comb
  • Afro Pick

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Method:

I had sectioned my hair into little mini sections after cowashing my hair. From each section made (a total of 6) I would apply the products in this order:

  • Spray Leave-In Conditioner
  • Hibiscus Flaxseed Gel
  • Argan Oil 

After applying the products I detangle with my wide tooth comb (my hair was already detangled before) and then make smaller sections to roll. I start from the ends and work my way up, first rolling the ends of my hair onto itself and then in a slanted angle wind my hair around the rods. After letting my hair air dry overnight I use a little oil to help separate my hairs and reduce frizz while doing so, separate and fluff. 

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers out there and as for us single girls/guys Happy Valentine’s Day to us too! 

Thanks

Maicurls

Maicurls

Medium Pin Curls on Fine Natural Hair

6 Replies

Hello Maicurlies,

So today I wanted to share my current obsession (actually I have yet another new one already) Pin Curls! 

Medium Pin Curls

Let me tell you, I LOVE pin curls!!!! 

What do I love about Pin Curls? 

EVERYTHING! Since I have fine natural hair I tend to look for styles to helps to give me volume and the illusion of more density and pin curls give me that….they give me life! Generally I normally like to style on dry hair or slightly damp hair because I get more volume if my hair is not really wet but with pin curls regardless of whether I start on freshly washed hair or dry hair I adore the results! In my demo I did medium sized pin curls on freshly washed hair which gave me medium curls with bounce but they can be made smaller for tighter results or bigger for looser curls. 

Products/Tools Used:

My styling process (especially when I start on wet hair) is to 

  1. Set the Pin Curls
  2. Allow them to air dry 
  3. Cover with a silk/satin scarf overnight
  4. Take down the bobby pins, separate the curls and style my hair (the following day)
Pin curled hair
Curls taken down, fluffed and styled

However, there are times when I have to go out after setting my hair (example on the day when I recorded my video) so on those days I do my faux huge headwrap.

Faux huge Headwrap

No one knows my hair is curled up, pinned down and not in a big bun underneath and I don’t have to go out looking a little peculiar 😉 Then the following day I take down my hair and voila! 

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Here is my video of the process:

I would love to hear what you think! Do you do pin curls, would you try them? 

Thanks

Maicurls

Maicurls

Long Fluffy Puff

5 Replies

Hey Maicurlies!

I’ve got a new styling video up of how I do my long fluffy puff!

I sometimes wish my hair were a little shorter because I would be able to call it my fluffy Afro puff but gravity likes to pull my hair downwards (not that I am complaining about my hair.) 

Products/Tools used:

Styling Tutorial 

I did this style on day 3 of a Wash-N-Go and my hair was a little frizzy and dry so I needed to first remoisturize it by applying water, leave-in conditioner and to seal a little oil. 

After moisturizing I separate a section of hair at the front with a hair bubble because I will style that section last. 

Separate front

I then apply a little gel to the edges of my sides and brush them back gently. 

DIY Flaxseed Gel
Apply Gel or edges
Brush back edges

I collect and pin my hair down in the middle of my head till I have pinned all the hair on one side. (I use two bobby pins crisscrossing them over each other until I reach the back where I only use one bobby pin.)

Use bobby pins to hold hair

I repeat the gel, brush, and pin routine on the other side.

repeat on second side

I then style the front by first spritzing a little water, adding a little gel, brushing the edges. 

I spray water and then apply the gel
Brush back the edges

I like to give myself a little “pompadou” or bump at the front and then pin the hair down.

create pompadou

I like to fluff my hair out to make it bigger and then fix areas that need fixing.

Fluffing my hair
Fix my hair

And voila!

What do you think? How do you make your fluffy puff or Afro puff? Would love to hear from you!

Maicurls

Maicurls

Twist and Tuck Donut Bun

3 Replies

Hello Maicurlies,

I figured it was time to do a other styling tutorial seeing as I have been on a DIY and experiment frenzy as of late. This is my Twist and Tuck Donut Bun.

 

Twist and Tuck Donut Bun

                                         Twist and Tuck Donut Bun

I love this bun because it is oh so easy to do, really quick and more importantly it is a protective style. Apart from being a protective style it does not require a lot of manipulation and if you do not make it too tight you can actually just cover your hair at night with a scarf, take down the scarf in the morning , touch up the edges (if you wish) and you are good to go!

I have a video of how I do my Twist and Tuck Donut Bun on YouTube.

I also have an written explanation below of how I achieve this bun:

Products/Tools Used:

  • Plain water spray bottle
  • DIY Creamy Leave-In Conditioner
  • Donut*
  • Ouchless Hair bubble
  • Soft Bristle Brush
  • Stretchy Headband
  • Bobby pin (you might need more than one depending on your hair)

*I modify my Donut which I bought from H&M because I do not like the texture of it as my hair gets stuck it in. To protect my hair I cut off the toe part of a stocking (best to get a fresh stocking for this). I slip the stocking in the gap of the Donut, pull the edges over the Donut, cut off the excess and that is it. (See below)

Modified Donut

Slip the stocking through the gap of the Donut
Cover the Donut with the stocking
Cut of the excess stocking

Tutorial 

I have explained how I achieve this style along with images and text below. 

Finsihed Twist and Tuck Donut Bun
Twist and Tuck Donut Bun With Ribbon

Thanks

Maicurls

Maicurls

Tresemme Naturals Conditioners (Review)

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Good Evening Maicurlies! 

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter 🙂

Before I start I want to point out one thing:

  • I was not paid/compensated or requested to do write this “review”
TRESemme Naturals

TRESemme Naturals Conditioners

Right, now that that’s out of the way let’s get down to business shall we. This will be my first “product review” if you can call it that, so please bear with me (it is long)! I wanted to provide as much information as possible.

I had to change my “go to” conditioner because long story short I noticed an ingredient that was either newly added or I never noticed it in the list before. I will not mention the name of the conditioner but the ingredient is Paraffinium Liquidium!!! (Mineral Oil!) Said conditioner was my staple for a number of reasons. It is paraben, silicone and phenoxyethanol free, contains 98% ingredients of natural origin and has a gentle pH. Aside from that it contains Shea Butter and Olive Oil, detangles my hair and deeply nourishes it.

So Why?? Why?? WHHHY??? I do not get it! You go to the lengths of being all of the above and then have that in there?!?! I was even a fan of the Hair Mask/Deep Conditioner from said company. Ok enough of my rant.

This brings me to my product review of TRESemmé Naturals. This is an old friend from back when I was transitioning and even after I was initially fully natural. I think during my product junkie days I sort of forgot about this conditioner. So I revisited my longtime friend and like it! 

I went over some product reviews to see what other natural-heads had to say before I retried it and of course there are two sides to every coin. There are rave reviews and some who were not too fond of it. Apparently at some point the ingredient list had been changed without warning and this caused quite a stir! Some ladies said that they preferred the “old” conditioner better. For me, I remember being fond of it a few years ago and my hair still responds well to it.

Before you continue reading please note: while the name says TRESemme Naturals it is NOT 100% natural! So ladies/gents please read your ingredient lists and then read it again to familiarize yourself with the product and to know what you are applying all over your hair and scalp.

TRESemmé Naturals Review: 

I tried both the: Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner and the Moisturizing Conditioner over a few weeks to get realistic results. I used both in the same way I used my previous conditioner: to wash/co-wash, as part of my DIY Deep Conditioners (DC) and my DIY Leave-In Conditioners.

Packaging

Both bottles have a clean and simple design with a big green leaf and a description of what each conditioner is supposed to do for your hair at the front. The back of course gives more details. The bottles are quite large (900ml) which is both positive and negative because while you get A LOT of conditioner the bottles are a little “bulky” in case you want to take one with you on vacation. *Read my Curly Travel Tips post to see how I solve this issue when I travel.

Price*

Both conditioners are the same price (in my area) and both are affordable (again in my area) so when it comes to price I think you get your monies worth especially as they are large bottles. *Price depends on where you live in the world but from what I have read online it is a seemingly cheap conditioner worldwide.

Consistency & Scent

They are both reasonably thick (not to the point that it is hard to squeeze them out of the bottle) and give me great slip. The color of the conditioners is white, the scent of both are neither strong nor overpowering but they do have a light ‘perfume-ish’ smell.  F.Y.I they both contain (PARFUM) fragrance (ingredient list below) in case this is an issue for you.

Results

TRESemme Naturals Moisturizing Conditioner

Moisturizing Conditioner

Moisturizing Conditioner: My hair really does feel moisturized after using the conditioner as a co-wash/DC/Leave-In Conditioner. It cleans my hair but does strip it (technically a conditioner should not but there have been cases of this happening). As part of my DIY DC’s I enjoyed the results because it left my hair feeling moisturized and soft. Since it was not developed as a DC I add additional ingredients for more benefits. My hair does not feel or look weighed down when used as a Leave-In nor does it coat my hair. Instead, I get really moisturized curls with a nice sheen, good clumpage, curls that pop and are really shiny. Note: when used as a DIY Leave-In the ratio of the ingredients used can determine if you do/do not get buildup. Therefore make sure to use measured amounts and ration the amounts used.

TRESemme Naturals Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner

Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner

Vibrantly Smooth: My hair feels moisturized, slick (not greasy) and not stripped at all. My hair does not feel or look weighed down instead, it does a good job of clumping my curls, moisturizes my hair and giving it a smooth finish. As part of my DIY DC’s I enjoyed the results because it again left my hair feeling moisturized and soft. Since it was not developed as a DC I add additional ingredients to maximize the results. I noticed the most frizz reduction when I use it as a part of my DIY Leave-In Conditioner. Note: when used as a DIY Leave-In the ratio of the ingredients used will determine if you feel like you have buildup or not. Therefore make sure to use measured amount and ration the amounts used so not to cause buildup or clogged scalp pores.

Ingredients

Green = “good” ingredient/alcohol (some include natural ingredients)

Orange = “average” ingredient/alcohol (some include natural ingredients)

Red = “poor” ingredient/alcohol

Moisturizing Conditioner – Water (Aqua), Caprylic/Capric Triglyrceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Diemthlyamine, Aspartic Acid, Lauroyl Lysine, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Caprylyl Glycol,Brassica Campestris/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Ethyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl Alcohol.

Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner – Water (Aqua), Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyrceride, Stearamidopropyl Diemthlyamine, Lauroyl Lysine, Aspartic Acid, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut)Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Leaf Extract, Ethyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Brassica Campestris/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Isopropyl Alcohol,Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Parfum (Fragrance).

NOTE: when looking at ingredient lists sometimes we get confused about the alcohols in them and think all alcohols are “bad” when that is not always the case. Examples of “good” alcohols are fatty alcohols such as: Cetyl Alcohol & Stearyl Alcohol. Benzyl Alcohol is considered more of an “average” alcohol, whereas alcohols such as: Ethyl Alcohol & Isopropyl Alcohol are “poor” alcohols as they can cause the hair to feel dry. Therefore if your product contains “poor” alcohols try to make sure they are at the bottom of the list as this indicates there is a low percentage of it present. (The higher up an ingredient is listed the more prevalent it is in the product.) Also make sure to do patch tests before you apply conditioner all over your head. 

Additional details

  • Silicon Free
  • Hypoallergic
  • No added colour
  • “Makes your hair 10x stronger after just one use” (I cannot attest to this)
  • Gentle enough for sensitive skin (*You should do a small patch test first before applying it all over your scalp)
  • Can be used on color treated hair
  • Not tested on animals
  • Avoid contact with eyes. Can cause skin irritation in which case you should flush thoroughly with water

Verdict

In all honesty I really like both products but I would say the Moisturizing Conditioner is my favorite because it does what the label says! It makes my hair feel great, cleans yet still leaves it moisturized and really really soft. I will never have frizz free hair (I am not looking for that It) and the Moisturizing Conditioner seems to give me just that extra moisture.  Also since I am an ingredient fanatic I prefer its ingredient list over the Vibrantly Smooth Conditioner since all of the “poor” ingredients are listed right at the bottom of the list. 

– THE END –

Do you use TRESemmé Naturals? Which one? How do you like it? If you do not like it why? I would love to hear from you!

Maicurls

Maicurls