Hair Typing

Curl pattern, strand size, texture, what does it all mean??? Hair typing systems are simply tools used as a reference point. They can assist you (or your stylist) in hair product selection, deciding which hair techniques may work best and choosing a suitable hair style.

Some people aren’t interested in (or just outright despise) using hair typing systems. It can be a source of frustration and confusion for many. I’ve pretty much given up trying to nail down what my exact hair type is but I had to share some interesting information that I came across.

I was already aware of the 2 most popular hair typing systems (Andre Walker and LOIS) but I was not familiar with Fia. This site provides further explanation on this hair typing system. I find this system to be pretty simplistic, but that’s just my opinion. . .

Do any of you know about this hair typing system? Do you think it is more helpful than the others?

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

Why do we still love what’s bad for us? (my confession)

So, Mother Nature has “trapped” me in the house for the last few days and I started going through some products that should have been tossed ages ago! I have to admit that until recent, I was only checking my products to make sure they were void of petrolatum, mineral oil, sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. There are so many other ingredients that are toxic that I didn’t pay much attention to. You can reference this post for info on various resources that educate consumers.

Anyway, I threw away a popular brand Lock & Twist Gel which contains parabens, DMDM Hydantion and propylene glycol. I also pitched alcohol filled hair sprays & an “old school” hair grease containing petrolatum and mineral oil. But tell me why it is still so hard for me to toss my Let’s Jam! I’m sure you all remember that stuff. My container is still 2/3 full and it is difficult for me to part with it. I haven’t used this stuff in a long time but memories of good times keep me holding on – how ridiculous! :-)

So ladies, is breaking up really hard to do? Be honest, do any of you have this same problem with a product or products? I can’t be the only one!

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

Book Crazy: Building your home library

If you don’t have a natural hair library, what are you waiting for? I love reading hair related books. I would go online to discover books that might help me better care for me and my daughter’s natural hair. I started off borrowing a lot of books from my local library. However, some books I wanted were just not available to check out so I decided that I needed a book collection for home. I like being able to go back and reference the information in these books.

**Here are the books currently in my home library**

Hair Care

Grow It! How to Grow Afro-Texture Hair to Maximum Lengths in the Shortest Time

Naturally Healthy Hair: Herbal Treatments and Daily Care for Fabulous Hair

Relaxed or Natural – You Can Have Beautiful, Black, Healthy, Hair: Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Your Hair’s Full Potential

Thank God I’m Natural: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair

The Knotty Truth: Managing Tightly Coiled Hair at Home: DIY Survival Guide

Ultra Black Hair Growth II: another 6” longer 1 year from now

Beauty/Recipe

Natural Beauty from the Garden: More Than 200 Do-It-Yourself Beauty Recipes and Garden Ideas

Reader’s Digest Natural Beauty: Making and Using Pure and Simple Beauty Products

Ingredient Dictionary

Milady’s Hair-Care Product & Ingredients Dictionary

**Here are the books currently on my wish list**

Don't Go Shopping for Hair-Care Products Without Me: Over 4,000 Products Reviewed, Plus the Latest Hair-Care Information (Previously borrowed from library but now I want a copy of my own.)

Nappturosity: How To Create Fabulous Natural Hair and Locs (I’m trying to locate a used copy. I just think $27 is a lot to pay for a new paperback copy of this book.)

On various natural hair blogs and social networks, you can find many reviews on some of these popular reads. Upon request, I would be happy to do a complete review on any of the books I own (click here to view my previous book “mini reviews”).

So what is (or will be) in your home library? Do you have any recommendations for me?

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

On the hunt: Hairveda Review

As a follow up on this post, I wanted to let you know my results on the 3 deep conditioners on my radar. You can read about #1 here. This is the second one I tried:

Hairveda SitriNillah Masque
http://hairveda.com/condish.aspx
Size: 16 ounces
Cost: $17.50
Ingredients: Water, Coconut oil, Castor Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, SterylAlcohol, Stearakloniun Chloride, Dimethyl Stearamine, Orange oil, Orange Extract, Vanilla Extracts, Lactic Acid, Germall Plus, Fragrance
Product description/claims: Our Best Selling Deep Conditioner is wonderfully moisturizing and a little goes a long way. SitriNillah is perfect for conditioning and softening your hair after a relaxer or protein treatment.

Our ingredients are perfectly infused to bring the life back to your hair. Nourishing Orange oil penetrates deep down to treat lifeless and brittle hair.

Orange peel, used for centuries in Ayurveda hair and skin remedies is known for enhancing the hair's supple nature. SitriNillah contains no silicones.

What I did: Pre-pooed with olive oil overnight. I cleansed with diluted shampoo. Then I applied the SitriNillah Masque to my hair in sections and detangled. I put on a plastic cap and wrapped a towel on my head to let my body heat do the work. After an hour, I rinsed it out and continued with my styling routine.

My say: Nice but I didn’t love it. I must say that my expectations for this product were very high. I’ve heard so many good things about it and when you open the container the sweet aroma of orange sherbet hits your senses. However, it didn’t give me the slip that I like so detangling was a smidge more difficult. My hair did feel nice afterward but after I finish this jar, I don’t think I will be purchasing it again. Maybe I should mix some honey with this DC. For those of you who have had success with this condish, I would appreciate any tips.

Stay tuned for my next review – Komaza Care Olive Moisture Mask

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily