Sunday, December 23, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Dark and Lovely 5-Minute Total Restore Conditioning Treatment
Background: I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway last month hosted by Tomecia Blake- she's the Dark & Lovely 2012 Fashionista Winner. You can check out her youtube page (http://www.youtube.com/user/HairDeLaCreme), twitter (https://twitter.com/HairDeLaCreme) and blog page (http://hairdelacreme.com). She has lots of hair tutorials, product reviews, wig and 3/4 wig reviews. Check them out if you're interested or just nos...I mean curious.
For the giveaway I won a few Dark and Lovely Products. I won two boxes of hair color from their new Chocolate Bliss Collection, the Dark and Lovely 5-minute Total Restore Conditioning Treatment and the 6-Week Anti-Reversion Cream Serum. As a result, I was in no way paid to endorse their products or contacted by Dark and Lovely to do so.
Description on Product: This 5 minute treatment boasts of being able to Recover+Replenish+Revive to Reveal healthy Hair in 5 minutes. The product also notes that it, "Quickly Revitalizes and Helps Strengthen Dry, Damaged Hair. Infused with Honey, Panthenol and Vitamin E, Total Restore is designed to:
Initial Feelings: Honestly, I was a bit skeptical. With all the naturalistas, product junkies, hair guru's and anyone out there on the journey to healthy hair out there one of the big rules that I've learned in passing is that anything that says it is a deep conditioner and recommends leaving the product on for less than 30-45 minutes is not really a deep conditioner.
Prep: As a result, I was quite excited to try the product out and see what would happen. I washed my hair with nuNAAT's NAAT Brazilian Keratin Shampoo (they are on sale for Christmas, you can get any three of their products at select Walgreens for $9), used Naat's Keratin Deep Conditioner to add moisture to my hair and help get rid of what ever tangles there were and then added the Total Restore.
Description: There is an ample amount of product in this package (1.75Fl.Oz/51.5ml). I have short, relaxed hair so it was really enough. The consistency of the product is a bit thicker than yogurt (the rich yogurt and is just as creamy. The smell is a pretty light and sort smells like cologne.
Directions: After shampooing, apply a generous amount to hair from roots to ends. Comb through for even distribution. Place a plastic cap over the hair and sit under a warm dryer for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and style as desired.
Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-37, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Parfum/Fragrance, Sodium Benzoate, Isopropyl Alcohol, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Shea Butter, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Citric Acid, Sodium PCA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Linalool, Olea Europaea Oil/Olive Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil/Jojoba Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil/Avocado Oil, Panthenol, CI 19140/Yellow 5, CI 14700/Red 4, CI 17200/Red 33, CI 42090/Blue 1.
(I really can't judge if the products are good or bad. I'll let you decide. I will say though that the Mineral Oil is up for debate at the moment in the hair community and the fragrance is pretty high on the list. I have no problems with Mineral Oil).
Method: I ended up leaving this product on under the dryer for 15 mins as I started writing the review for the product. Washed the product out after my hair cooled down a bit and added my leave-in, reconstructor and moisturizer/sealant( on the bottle it says it's a moisturizer but it contains mineral oil). Combed through with a big toothed comb. Put my hair in a faux bob and let air dry.
Review: I did not comb the conditioner through my hair (gasp). I never do. Usually, I just apply the deep conditioner and smooth through my hair. With relaxed hair and a deep conditioner that detangles without combing I've never had a problem. With this product that was a mistake. I should have combed through with the deep conditioner.
Cons: I have VERY DRY COLOR TREATED HAIR. This product did moisturize but it was o.k. I have yet to find a deep conditioner that really really moisturizes my color treated hair.
Pros: They give you a good amount of product. I've looked online and this product is $1.59 on their website. You may find it cheaper or more costly some where else. I dont know. The product also didn't leave a film on my hair. One of my previous staple deep conditioners left a film on my hair after washing and it started to become a pet peeve of mine. The product also smells great. Finally, come on guys, this treatment is only to be left on for 5 minutes! It's very convenient if your'e on the go. I was very busy this week and was glad that I had the product. There was NO SHEDDING. My hair usually sheds when I wash out the conditioner. This did not happen. My color also remained intact.
Overall: For the price, time period and amount of product it's o.k. in my humble opinion. It's for the girl on the go. I would like to try the product again and leave it on for a longer time period with and without the dryer. I think the dryer really helped with the steaming process.
What do you guys think? Have you tried the product before? Are you excited to try the product? Have you been able to find the product in stores? Leave a comment below.
For the giveaway I won a few Dark and Lovely Products. I won two boxes of hair color from their new Chocolate Bliss Collection, the Dark and Lovely 5-minute Total Restore Conditioning Treatment and the 6-Week Anti-Reversion Cream Serum. As a result, I was in no way paid to endorse their products or contacted by Dark and Lovely to do so.
Description on Product: This 5 minute treatment boasts of being able to Recover+Replenish+Revive to Reveal healthy Hair in 5 minutes. The product also notes that it, "Quickly Revitalizes and Helps Strengthen Dry, Damaged Hair. Infused with Honey, Panthenol and Vitamin E, Total Restore is designed to:
+Recover strength and manageability
+Replenish moisture and softness
+Revive body and shine
Initial Feelings: Honestly, I was a bit skeptical. With all the naturalistas, product junkies, hair guru's and anyone out there on the journey to healthy hair out there one of the big rules that I've learned in passing is that anything that says it is a deep conditioner and recommends leaving the product on for less than 30-45 minutes is not really a deep conditioner.
Prep: As a result, I was quite excited to try the product out and see what would happen. I washed my hair with nuNAAT's NAAT Brazilian Keratin Shampoo (they are on sale for Christmas, you can get any three of their products at select Walgreens for $9), used Naat's Keratin Deep Conditioner to add moisture to my hair and help get rid of what ever tangles there were and then added the Total Restore.
Description: There is an ample amount of product in this package (1.75Fl.Oz/51.5ml). I have short, relaxed hair so it was really enough. The consistency of the product is a bit thicker than yogurt (the rich yogurt and is just as creamy. The smell is a pretty light and sort smells like cologne.
Directions: After shampooing, apply a generous amount to hair from roots to ends. Comb through for even distribution. Place a plastic cap over the hair and sit under a warm dryer for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and style as desired.
Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-37, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Parfum/Fragrance, Sodium Benzoate, Isopropyl Alcohol, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Shea Butter, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Citric Acid, Sodium PCA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Linalool, Olea Europaea Oil/Olive Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil/Jojoba Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil/Avocado Oil, Panthenol, CI 19140/Yellow 5, CI 14700/Red 4, CI 17200/Red 33, CI 42090/Blue 1.
(I really can't judge if the products are good or bad. I'll let you decide. I will say though that the Mineral Oil is up for debate at the moment in the hair community and the fragrance is pretty high on the list. I have no problems with Mineral Oil).
Method: I ended up leaving this product on under the dryer for 15 mins as I started writing the review for the product. Washed the product out after my hair cooled down a bit and added my leave-in, reconstructor and moisturizer/sealant( on the bottle it says it's a moisturizer but it contains mineral oil). Combed through with a big toothed comb. Put my hair in a faux bob and let air dry.
Review: I did not comb the conditioner through my hair (gasp). I never do. Usually, I just apply the deep conditioner and smooth through my hair. With relaxed hair and a deep conditioner that detangles without combing I've never had a problem. With this product that was a mistake. I should have combed through with the deep conditioner.
Cons: I have VERY DRY COLOR TREATED HAIR. This product did moisturize but it was o.k. I have yet to find a deep conditioner that really really moisturizes my color treated hair.
Pros: They give you a good amount of product. I've looked online and this product is $1.59 on their website. You may find it cheaper or more costly some where else. I dont know. The product also didn't leave a film on my hair. One of my previous staple deep conditioners left a film on my hair after washing and it started to become a pet peeve of mine. The product also smells great. Finally, come on guys, this treatment is only to be left on for 5 minutes! It's very convenient if your'e on the go. I was very busy this week and was glad that I had the product. There was NO SHEDDING. My hair usually sheds when I wash out the conditioner. This did not happen. My color also remained intact.
Overall: For the price, time period and amount of product it's o.k. in my humble opinion. It's for the girl on the go. I would like to try the product again and leave it on for a longer time period with and without the dryer. I think the dryer really helped with the steaming process.
What do you guys think? Have you tried the product before? Are you excited to try the product? Have you been able to find the product in stores? Leave a comment below.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Nestle Abuelita
Check out Dancing Hotdogs Abuelita Giveaway at:
http://www.dancinghotdogs.com/2012/11/nestle-abuelita-giveaway-sweepstakes/
http://www.dancinghotdogs.com/2012/11/nestle-abuelita-giveaway-sweepstakes/
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
My Discovery of Shop Well
I had never heard of this site prior to my accidental discovery. I haven't been dieting for well over 5 years and the past year I've been less calorie conscious. If it tastes good I've eaten it. :(
The site is pretty cool. It offers a mobile app that has a food scanner and a healthy grocery list. I remember when I first dieted, I would memorize the calories in foods without labels (fruits, veggies, foods that did have labels but I wanted to avoid weird looks in the grocery store and wasted time) or favorite foods to really get a good idea of how healthy each serving was. It also offers recommendations for 'Trade Ups'. The site is beautiful and user friendly. Lots of pictures, enough writing where I don't feel like an idiot (a lot of websites now have little to no words and its quite frustrating-when windows got rid of drop down menus with text I was pretty annoyed), food scoring to show how closely a product matches with your needs. You can connect with a facebook account or email.
You can sign up if you want, enter your age and gender, goals and/or conditions (for example, general health, lactose intolerance ect.. this helps with selecting food preferences). It recommends foods that you want to eat to achieve your goals, foods that you don't want and you can also specify allergies. Based on your height, weight and age, exercise times and the recommended calories per day are also recommended. Mine was quite high for weight management. You can also find foods that you like and trade them in for healthier ones. A wide variety of foods are presented from international foods to run-of-the-mill items. Even bakery items from large stores are shown. For example, I wanted some cinnamon buns from a large chain store. The score was a 32 and marked in red. Another snack was recommended that was lower in calories, fat and contained more fiber. Unfortunately, the amount of sugar was not specified. It's a cute website that has all the nutritional labels.
I'll continue to check out the site but if you are starting a weight loss journey like me, this maybe a pretty interesting place to start along with Sparkpeople.
http://www.shopwell.com
Do you guys know of any other handing websites for weightloss? Leave a comment below!
The site is pretty cool. It offers a mobile app that has a food scanner and a healthy grocery list. I remember when I first dieted, I would memorize the calories in foods without labels (fruits, veggies, foods that did have labels but I wanted to avoid weird looks in the grocery store and wasted time) or favorite foods to really get a good idea of how healthy each serving was. It also offers recommendations for 'Trade Ups'. The site is beautiful and user friendly. Lots of pictures, enough writing where I don't feel like an idiot (a lot of websites now have little to no words and its quite frustrating-when windows got rid of drop down menus with text I was pretty annoyed), food scoring to show how closely a product matches with your needs. You can connect with a facebook account or email.
You can sign up if you want, enter your age and gender, goals and/or conditions (for example, general health, lactose intolerance ect.. this helps with selecting food preferences). It recommends foods that you want to eat to achieve your goals, foods that you don't want and you can also specify allergies. Based on your height, weight and age, exercise times and the recommended calories per day are also recommended. Mine was quite high for weight management. You can also find foods that you like and trade them in for healthier ones. A wide variety of foods are presented from international foods to run-of-the-mill items. Even bakery items from large stores are shown. For example, I wanted some cinnamon buns from a large chain store. The score was a 32 and marked in red. Another snack was recommended that was lower in calories, fat and contained more fiber. Unfortunately, the amount of sugar was not specified. It's a cute website that has all the nutritional labels.
I'll continue to check out the site but if you are starting a weight loss journey like me, this maybe a pretty interesting place to start along with Sparkpeople.
http://www.shopwell.com
Do you guys know of any other handing websites for weightloss? Leave a comment below!
Grace Coconut Milk Powder for Hair
Premise: For the longest time I've wanted to use coconut milk as a hair treatment. When I was highschool, my friend's mom would style her hair in-between hairdressing appointments and use homemade hair treatments to boot. Hey, my friend had a male hairdresser so she was avant-garde in my humble opinion especially since male hairdressers are rare in my neck of the woods. I still think that she is. One of the home treatments that she used was a mixture of mayonnaise and eggs for a protein treatment every six weeks. I tried it and had o.k. results (my hair has never been a fan of protein treatments and I'm still in search of a product that will be gentle enough to do so). My friends hair on the other hand was always beautiful.
Where and How Much: In any event, I went into my local Save-a-lot and was perusing the international food isle (they have a pretty good selection of products that fit my budget and many of the products are familiar but I'll write more on that later). I found this packet of Coconut Milk for 99 cents and decided to try it. I thought about using the coconut milk in the can but decided against it because of the potential mess and product dripping down my neck.
At home, I decided to use this product as a pre-poo because of the fats contained in the product. No joke, as much as I love peas n' rice make with coconut milk I try my hardest not to consume it. That's a dish for special occasions and comfort food when life gets too rough.
Breakdown it down: Basically, each packet has 5 servings of 5 tsp each, each serving has 6g of total fat and 5g of saturated fat with 1g of protein. The product is high in saturated fat. A packet of this has as much fat as a burger. In contrast, the acutal liquid coconut milk has one serving as 1/3 cup. There are 5 servings per can. Each serving has 10g of total fat and 9 g of saturated fat with 1g of protein. So, if you use a half a can of the product on your hair, it's about 25g of total fat, 22.5g of saturated fat and 2.5g of protein.
I used a half a packet of the coconut powder which was 15g of total fat, 12.5g of saturated fat and 2.5g of protein. There is a disparity between the two. To further illustrate, a large egg has about 6g of protein. In terms of protein, I have NO IDEA how many grams of protein is supposed to be in our hair or how many grams of protein are in protein treatments. Math is also not my strongest subject so my quick calculations are up for debate. In any event, I supplemented the coconut powder with a Hot Oil Treatment and an o.k. conditioner and added just a touch of water until the mixture became a creamy paste. I wet my hair and put on the paste for about 3 hours. It was pretty cold outside so I just put on a shower cap, a metallic shower cap and a wool hat to hide the shower cap whilst I ran some errands. I've alternated this method with only keeping the product on for an hour and also sleeping with it overnight. Next, I rinse out the mixture (a good tip would be to pull the shower curtain out of the bathtub and just wash your hair under the faucet; because there's so much fat in the product, it's quite difficult to wash out). I followed up with shampoo, a light conditioner to detangle (which really wasn't needed because my hair came out quite detangled. I did it out of habit), a deep conditioner and just let my hair air dry in a wrap.
The process does sound time consuming but it really isnt. I do it in phases. I prepoo the night before (for warm weather where I can't conceal the shower cap) or the day of and go to the library (for cold weather where I can conceal). The deep conditioner I do late at night before bed and whilst studying or cleaning.
Overall: I love using the powder. I may use the liquid when I have more time on my hand for cleaning and washing towels. I use this as a treat for myself especially if there is spare change in my pocket when I go to the supermarket. It's also a great way to use up a conditioner that I'm not so hot for anymore. I had no shedding with this product and my hair felt stronger and healthier. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
Try it out guys and tell me what you think! Don't be afraid to comment below.
Where and How Much: In any event, I went into my local Save-a-lot and was perusing the international food isle (they have a pretty good selection of products that fit my budget and many of the products are familiar but I'll write more on that later). I found this packet of Coconut Milk for 99 cents and decided to try it. I thought about using the coconut milk in the can but decided against it because of the potential mess and product dripping down my neck.
At home, I decided to use this product as a pre-poo because of the fats contained in the product. No joke, as much as I love peas n' rice make with coconut milk I try my hardest not to consume it. That's a dish for special occasions and comfort food when life gets too rough.
Breakdown it down: Basically, each packet has 5 servings of 5 tsp each, each serving has 6g of total fat and 5g of saturated fat with 1g of protein. The product is high in saturated fat. A packet of this has as much fat as a burger. In contrast, the acutal liquid coconut milk has one serving as 1/3 cup. There are 5 servings per can. Each serving has 10g of total fat and 9 g of saturated fat with 1g of protein. So, if you use a half a can of the product on your hair, it's about 25g of total fat, 22.5g of saturated fat and 2.5g of protein.
I used a half a packet of the coconut powder which was 15g of total fat, 12.5g of saturated fat and 2.5g of protein. There is a disparity between the two. To further illustrate, a large egg has about 6g of protein. In terms of protein, I have NO IDEA how many grams of protein is supposed to be in our hair or how many grams of protein are in protein treatments. Math is also not my strongest subject so my quick calculations are up for debate. In any event, I supplemented the coconut powder with a Hot Oil Treatment and an o.k. conditioner and added just a touch of water until the mixture became a creamy paste. I wet my hair and put on the paste for about 3 hours. It was pretty cold outside so I just put on a shower cap, a metallic shower cap and a wool hat to hide the shower cap whilst I ran some errands. I've alternated this method with only keeping the product on for an hour and also sleeping with it overnight. Next, I rinse out the mixture (a good tip would be to pull the shower curtain out of the bathtub and just wash your hair under the faucet; because there's so much fat in the product, it's quite difficult to wash out). I followed up with shampoo, a light conditioner to detangle (which really wasn't needed because my hair came out quite detangled. I did it out of habit), a deep conditioner and just let my hair air dry in a wrap.
The process does sound time consuming but it really isnt. I do it in phases. I prepoo the night before (for warm weather where I can't conceal the shower cap) or the day of and go to the library (for cold weather where I can conceal). The deep conditioner I do late at night before bed and whilst studying or cleaning.
Overall: I love using the powder. I may use the liquid when I have more time on my hand for cleaning and washing towels. I use this as a treat for myself especially if there is spare change in my pocket when I go to the supermarket. It's also a great way to use up a conditioner that I'm not so hot for anymore. I had no shedding with this product and my hair felt stronger and healthier. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
Try it out guys and tell me what you think! Don't be afraid to comment below.
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