It’s been about three weeks since I first started using Kinky-Curly’s Come Clean shampoo and Knot Today Leave In/Detangler, and honestly my feelings on the products are mixed.  Coming from a strict weekly co-wash regimen I was a bit reluctant to go back to using a shampoo in any form because I was hyper content with the fullness and texture definition that co-washing gave me.  Since I’m not a style maven I’ve taken to primarily wearing WNG’s with occasional twist outs, and those are styles that work best with hair that has a lot of body to it.  But I was curious to see what effect Come Clean would have on my hair since it’s far and away different ingredient-wise than my Garnier Fructis Wonder Wave shampoo which contains a touch of sodium hydroxide.  I usually only shampoo once or twice a month, or if I’ve been experimenting with different products, followed by a deep conditioning in order to combat the “stripping” effects of the shampoo, but felt the experience with Come Clean would be different since it didn’t contain SLS and I’d be find returning to a shampoo regimen.  As I’d stated before, I was a little less enthusiastic about the shampoo since it’s a gel and my hair doesn’t seem to like gel cleansers all the much, but after reading the ingredient list I wasn’t as skeptical.

Because I’d played around with the KC Curling Custard and Spiral Spritz earlier in the first week of receiving the products my first lather up with Come Clean produced disappointing lather results when using just a half dollar sized dollop so I found myself having to add more which I wasn’t too pleased with.  This may have been due to the fact of my having other products (primarily my homemade conditioner which I co-wash with and YNB’s Honey Hibiscus leave in which I use for daily refreshing of my WNG) on my hair in addition to the KC products which contributed to build up that the shampoo couldn’t quite “overcome” in such a small dose.  I typically skip the “repeat” part of shampooing because I know the second cycle is really just a marketing ploy only get you to run through your product quicker, so I was none too happy with having to repeat with the Come Clean in order to feel as if my hair was actually clean.  In addition to that, as I’d predicted, my hair did not react well to the gel shampoo, resulting in a tangled mess that I was not pleased with.  I also wasn’t all that thrilled with the “squeaky clean” feel of my hair once the product was rinsed away.  However there was a significant difference in the feel of my hair with this shampoo as opposed to when I’d used other gel based shampoos in the sense that my hair felt silkier and not at all brittle and dry, which gave me hope that I’d have a different result with prolonged use of the shampoo since it can take several cycles of use for hair to get acclimated to new product.  This is why I didn’t want to review the product right off in addition to knowing that product work better in tandem with other items from the same product line.  I figured the shampoo would have a different effect once I was only using Kinky-Curly products to maintain my tresses.

Next came the Knot Today, which I slathered my hair with under the premise that its “thin” consistency would not work on my hair’s thickness in small doses.  Almost immediately the conditioner worked to define my curl pattern and I found it very easy to finger comb through my strands despite the tangled effect of the shampoo.  The feel of my hair was soft and “sleek” and not at all weighted despite using such a large amount (slightly larger than a half dollar) of the solution.  Although I know it’s a leave in product I did rinse a little out of my hair (as suggested on the company Website) just to make sure it would not take forever for my hair to dry as well as to make sure there wasn’t a lot of build up in combination with using the curling custard.  But even with rinsing some of the product away, once my hair dried I noticed a white coating on some portions of my hair which let me know I’d underestimated just how much was necessary to coat my hair type.  A liberal spritzing with water and further finger combing remedied the build up problem and the after drying result of the product on my hair was this:

Very  “nice” definition and a somewhat looser curl effect than what I experienced using the curling custard for WNG styling which I was very pleased with.  My hair was soft and supple, easy to finger style and smelled great.  As one might expect I did not like how it reacted with the curling custard for WNG styling, however, but on its own I loved my hair’s reaction to the leave in and decided it would be my product of choice for wash ‘n goes from then on out.  Of course I couldn’t comment on the actual condition of my hair as a result of using Knot Today since it was my first experience with it, but just on the aspect of styling alone I pegged it as a winner.

Come the second week of usage of the two products, single cycle use of Come Clean was easier and my hair didn’t tangle as much but I was still dissatisfied with the “squeaky clean” feel of my hair once it was rinsed.  I made it a point to used only a quarter sized amount of the Knot Today while my hair was soaking wet in order to make sure the modest amount was evenly distributed and again my curls sprung to life and finger combing was extremely easy.  Initially I didn’t apply any other product to my hair because I was fine with the result of the leave in, but later in the week I opted to try the Spiral Spritz to see how well it worked with the Knot Today after a couple of days of having the conditioner in my hair.  As one would suspect, I wasn’t impressed with the combination, but I’ll leave the full details of that till next week when I submit my assessment of Spiral Spritz.

Week three and by this time my tresses were used to the cleansing/conditioning combo and I could actually see a difference in the surface condition of my hair.  While the difference wasn’t overwhelming I can say that I experienced less frizziness and a “smoother” appearance of my hair.  I was still on the fence as far as Come Clean was concerned because of the “squeaky clean” effect but by this time my hair hardly tangled at all when the shampoo was applied and lathered.  I would like to note too that the shampoo itself took very  little effort to rinse away each time I used it whereas I’d have to rinse other brands away two or three times before I was sure my hair was “free” of the bulk of the shampoo.  Again, using the Knot Today was a delight.  Since I’d planned to two strand twist my hair this week I applied a more generous amount to my hair to compensate for having to wet my hair once I twisted.  It took me a couple days to actually get to twisting and my hair held up just fine with my morning water spritzes and moderate styling.  Unfortunately, however, when it came time to twist my hair was a “dry”, tangled, matted “mess” that was difficult to comb part despite me finger combing and wetting it earlier that morning.  I can’t necessarily attribute this to the product itself but just mentioned that to say that the “detangler” claim of Knot Today is only relative to initial application on wet hair.  At least this was my experience.  It wasn’t a horrible experience by any means, just difficult enough for me to not wait more than a day after application of the conditioner to twist my hair.

So with all of that being said, I will chalk my experiences with these two products up to positive at this point.  Although Come Clean would not weigh in as one of my favourite cleansers it did work well in cleaning my hair (maybe a little too well) and in complimenting my texture once my hair became used to it.  I am not sure how it would work with a conditioner from another product line, but in tandem with Knot Today I can say it did better than I expected for a gel shampoo.  As for Knot Today, this is definitely a product I would be willing to invest money in and place in the JB2M Conditioner Hall of Fame.  Like with the shampoo I’m not sure how it will work with other products from a different brand, but I love the effect it has on my hair and its detangling effects.  I love the smell of both products and the fact that it doesn’t take a whole lot of either in order to receive likeable results.

And the JB2M rating?

Come Clean Natural Shampoo

Knot Today Natural Leave in/Detangler 

Come Clean would have received five picks if it were not for the “squeaky clean” feel, but provided it does as it claims and is very gentle on the hair as stated via Kinky-Curly’s Website I wasn’t going to hold my personal pet peeve against it.  Each 8 oz bottle is reasonably priced at $12 plus shipping and handling and worth every penny in my opinion.  Knot Today, an Essence Magazine Best Seller, is also available in a 32 oz. size via the Website for $44, which is a $4 savings that if you’d buy four of the 8 oz. bottles.  And much to the delight of many who don’t cotton to the idea of Web-exclusive products, the Kinky-Curly line is readily available at various Whole Foods Stores, which is another plus (I’m not sure of the pricing there yet).   Another plus.

So there you have it.  I recommend both products for all textured hair types, but only when used in tandem with one another.  Maybe in the near future I will try them with other products to see what the effects are, but for right now I’m content to use them exclusively as a duo.

Healthy Hair Wishes,

Just when you thought the kinky boom had reached its promotional zenith with being seen everywhere from big screen to small screen and even on Hollywood red carpets, two Chicagoland natural are working to pool their talents and enthusiastic love for textured tresses to provide a tag team new media platform that informs, encourages and inspires.

After a bit of low key promotion via the natural hair Twitter community The Nappturalite Radio Show broadcast its first episode in February of this year and showed promise right out of the gate. Presented on Blogtalk Radio each and every Sunday at 6 PM CST, the original vision of the show was born after natural “newbie” host Dawn Yerger shared her BC story on another Blogtalk show she co-hosted with her friend Jaye Reliford.

“As I shared my experience, I thought about how fun and inspirational it would be to share my new journey with others on a radio show dedicated to natural hair,” Yerger shares with Laquita Thomas-Banks in a Clutch Magazine interview. “Immediately, I asked Jaye, who had been a natural for 10 years, to join me as a co-host.”

Read more HERE.

Healthy Hair Wishes,

In the beginning of my regular visits to Columbus The Lion took me to visit the Urban Spirit Cafe, a jazzy little coffee house in the historic King-Lincoln district which is owned and operated by Columbus natural Charity Martin-Via.  I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and my Method Mocha while whipping The Lion mercilessly at a game of Scrabble and musing to myself the stereotypes that seemed to surround me.  I mean come on… Open mic fliers were prominently displayed, all of the drinks were named after jazz legends, both the owner and the barista were loc wearers.  All that was missing was incense and 70’s era velvet Afro art to make it all seem nothing more than a well orchestrated gimmick to the casual tourist.  But realistically, the vibe was more authentic than any stereotype could ever impose to be, reaching back to the time when the King-Lincoln was the cultural hub of the black community.  The whole scene reminded me of the stories I’d read of Detroit’s Black Bottom and Paradise Valley days and made me feel so much in my element — so utterly natural in more ways than just can relate to my hair — that I instantly fell in love with Charity’s venture. *lol* And what made it all the more attractive to my creative spirit was a quaint little book store that’s adjacent to Urban Spirit called The Book Suite, which pulled it altogether ever so perfectly and let me know I’d found “home”… Even if it was to be temporary.

You may be wondering what all that has to do with today’s book review choice, other than the tie in of the book store.  Well as I was giving the entire set up a once over I happened to spy a copy of “The Knotty Truth” perched in the Book Suite window, seeming to flirt with me behind the single paned glass.  Now this was around the same time that I was looking for titles to build my natural library and this title had not come up in any of my online searches.  Believing in the Law of Attraction the way that I do I knew this was further proof that I was in the space I was purposed to be.  Especially when you consider Columbus doesn’t exactly seem like the place where a book about African-American hair (natural or otherwise) would be written or marketed.  Unfortunately, as my luck would have it, I had just missed an in store book signing with the M. Michele George earlier in the week, but I was intrigued enough to jot down the book information so I could learn more about it on my own.  At the time Mrs. George did not have a prominent Web presence so I couldn’t find out much, but blessedly I was able to learn she was a local author which meant I’d have the opportunity to find out more in the near future.  A couple months later after I’d bought my very own copy of the book at Book Suite, I was introduced to the Nappturally Me! Meetup group of which Michele was a member.  I officially met her at the group’s screening of Chris Rock’s “Good Hair” and from there Michele and I have become knotty acquaintances who share an affinity for natural hair and the desire to spread the “good hair” news in the Columbus area.  Since that original introduction Michele has launched an official Website and released a second edition of “The Knotty Truth”, both of which help her to carry out her mission of educating and encouraging other in their journey.

The presentation of the book is simple and direct, which photos depicting the diverse beauty of natural hair styles while not overloading the senses.  The back cover displays a blurb by Nappturality.com founder Patricia Gaines which seems a condensed version of foreword she wrote for “Going Natural”, but still grants the reader a knowledgeable hint towards what to expect within the book’s 140 pages.  The book itself is organized pretty much the same others in its genre would be: starting with a personal statement by the author, moving into the history and make up of tightly coiled hair, providing a breakdown of how chemicals breakdown the structure of hair and outlining the various tools and styles that will help with transitioning and cultivating healthy natural hair.  But where “The Knotty Truth” differs from other works of this nature is Michele’s efforts to include the spiritual aspects of “going natural” and addressing the cultural obstacles that need to be traversed before one can truly take pride in their unaltered hair.  While a lot of natural hair books produce the technical and aesthetic elements of the journey, Michele takes the time show how edifying the soul and tuning into The Creator is just as important to the process as knowing what to put on your hair and into your body.  In this way, she presents “going natural” from a holistic perspective, showing how all part of the woman (or man) play in making a successful transition. 

The book is written in uncomplicated language that is void of all the high-falouting “nappy-speak” that can confuse newbies.  Nowhere in the text are the standard hair type charts many naturals treat as the holy measuring sticks that place a new spin on the “good hair vs. bad hair” debates.  And although there is a spiritual element to the book, Michele does not overwhelm the reader with the “holier than thou relaxed heads” like a lot of natural veterans do in their approaches.  In the Knotty Notes that are sprinkled throughout the book, Mrs. George takes to task encouraging her readers in uplifting communiqué as if she were sitting face-to-face with them affirming their decision.  In that respect, “The Knotty Truth” provides a guide that informs and allows the reader to transition at their pace and comfort level.

Because I used to be a serial wrapper, one of the best sections in “The Knotty Truth” that I have not seen in any other natural hair book is the addition of wraps as a style, complete with demonstrative pictures of how to create one.  In my opinion this gives naturals an alternative to adding hair or wearing wigs as a way to protect the hair as they transition, or are just experiencing a “bad hair day”.  Wraps offer a way to keep hair free for manipulation and experimentation in between “rest” periods.  Another helpful section is chapter six in its entirety, which is devoted successfully trim your own hair.  While there is much to be said about allowing a trusted professional to perform end trims, Michele offers readers steps on how to get good results should they choose to perform the procedure at home.  Most books of this nature strictly advocate enlisting a licensed cosmetologists when it comes to cutting even as much as a quarter of an inch of your textured tresses.  But the emphasis of “The Knotty Truth” is encouraging naturals to rely on their own wisdom to properly care for their hair.  This is not to say Mrs. George denounces enlisting a stylist for such a purpose, and she proves that by presenting tips and points to help you determine if DIY trimming is right for you or if your needs would be better served at your local salon.  And lastly, the “Quick Solutions to Common Problems” section towards the end of the book is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in any other book about “going natural”, providing no-nonsense help to combat issues like how to avoid damage while wearing hats, dealing with dry TWA’s and how to get matted morning hair to style right.  With seeing so many of these issues pass through my Twitter stream it’s a comfort to know that Michele has included them in reference form that can be used when you’re away from sources of support.  This also works to make newbies aware of little spoken on yet highly common hurdles that may crop up but are just another natural part of the process.  Oh wait… I can’t forget the chart that recommends products according to high and low end budgets instead of sticking to one product that the author herself swears by.  Now that’s what’s up!

All in all “The Knotty Truth” is a terrific resource for those starting out on the natural journey, or readers who may need assistance in caring for the natural strands of a loved one.  It’s comprehensive and Michele worked to include every vital stepping stones to help make the journey carefree and easy to handle.  Through the text the reader is assured that the author has done her homework in compiling the content presented, and took every precaution necessary to ensure no stone was left unturned or without resource.  In short, it is very much like the element I discovered the book in – comfy, cozy, artsy, jazzy and poetic with a feel of home.  But there are a few drawbacks, at least to the version I have.  Because the pictures are small presented in black and white, a lot of the detail is lost in translation.  While this may seem an element of nit-picky proportions, when dealing with a book that focuses on textured hair, being able to actually see the textures presented is important.  Likewise, the Knotty Notes are presented as small black font upon a dark background which can be a bit harsh on the eyes.  Fortunately, for only $5 more than the black and white edition price Michele offers the book in a colour version on her Website, which may eliminate these as issues.  Of course these trivialities aren’t enough to detract from the overall goodness of the book and may even be overlooked as issues.

M. Michele George’s debut work is available for purchase on The Knotty Truth Website for $12 for in black and white and $17 in colour (as of this posting there are only five colour copies lefts).  as Amazon.com for $12.99 and Barnes and Noble stores $17.09.  stores.  Additionally The Raisin Rack here in Columbus carries the title at its Westerville location, and if you just have to have “The Knotty Truth” right now you can download the e-book version from Lulu.com for $12.99.

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Manifest Publishing Enterprises, LLC. (January 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0578014130
• ISBN-13: 978-0578014135
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 stars
• JBTM Review:

Healthy Hair Wishes,

I have no doubt that from the above picture each and every one of you recognizes today’s feature.  Those signature curls belong to none other than Alexis, the Atlanta natural who founded the Curls, Coils and Kinks Blog and is one of the foremost inspirations in the virtual natural hair community.  Through her Blog and Youtube Channel Lexi, as she is known in the Napposphere, has delivered advice, product reviews and styling tutorials to those wishing to achieve curly success with their own locks, as well as impressed the importance of loving your hair for its own unique beauty by featuring other curly girls all across the texture span.  Even when her coveted coils were straightened for an appearance on BET’s “My Black is Beautiful” Lexi seems to make going and being natural an effortless effort, but just like the rest of us her journey has not been flawless as she worked to learn her hair and create her look.

Here is her hair-story.

AM: How long have you been natural?

Lexi: I have been natural for almost seven years

AM:  What inspired you to "go natural"?

Lexi: I decided to go natural because I was desperate to be different… I first wanted to go natural in middle school. I wanted curly hair and realized that when I didn’t get a perm for awhile, my roots were wavy.

AM: How did you transition?

Lexi: I attempted to transition in middle school [but] after being teased I promptly went back to a relaxer. In college, it was the easiest time to transition. I was broke/cheap and didn’t want to pay stylists to relax my hair. After about eight months, I did a BC.

AM: What were some of the products you entrusted your hair to while transitioning?

Lexi: Honestly I’m not sure about what products I used. I was still using commercial products. Probably Motions.

AM: Have they changed any between then and now?

Lexi: They have changed TREMENDOUSLY. I no longer use Motions… I tend to go towards the  brands that target women with natural hair such as Miss Jessie’s and Jane Carter.

AM: What’s your normal maintenance regimen?

Lexi: My normal routine is to wash with WEN – I don’t wash my hair with any sulfate shampoos anymore. Any type of sulfate free shampoo is best for me. I tend to wash my hair in the summer every 2 or 3 days, sometimes even just a rinse to get the curls back. I then use some sort of moisturizing product like Cantu Shea Butter Leave In or Miss Jessie’s Curly Buttercreme . Every week or two, I try to sit under the steamer with a deep conditioner.

AM: What are some of the products and styling implements you absolutely can’t live with out?

Lexi: I cant live without a paddle brush. This is the easiest styling tool to get the tangles swiftly and safely out of my hair.

AM: What styles have you experimented with and which would you say are your favourite?

Lexi: Flat twists. I have been doing flat twists since 2000 when I was in high school on the dance team. We all used to do this every week before the football games to get big curly hair. I was relaxed then. We used to do flat twists then put perm rods on the end. I have been changing my style so much with Twists sets — how many, how fat or thin, what types of rollers, etc.  Now I don’t do them straight back,I do them from the middle out if that makes sense.

AM: Tell me a little about your Blog and its mission.

Lexi: I started my blog CurlsCoilsandKinks.com around this time last year. My whole goal was to inspire women of ALL races who had curly, coily, and kinky hair. I wanted to showcase women with different hair types, styles, etc.  It is much easier for me to type then to make videos so now I also use it as a way to update people about my hair, like doing HOTD (Hair Of The Days) posts. It is much harder than I thought having a Blog [and] now I understand why some other blogs have several people helping them.

AM: What inspired you start making Youtube videos?

Lexi: I started watching YT vids to learn about different products and styles. I had a hard time finding someone with my hair type so I said, “Well someone else might have the same problem so why don’t I make videos?”

AM: What part of your natural hair journey have you enjoyed the most?

Lexi: I have enjoyed learning about new methods and styles. Also the fact that the more you practice, the better you get. Now I can actually say I don’t have to go to a salon to style my hair. No more salons!!

AM: Is there anything you would change about it?

Lexi: The one thing I would change is the detangling. Whew!! My detangling times… I sometimes spend 45 minutes in the shower JUST detangling.

AM: What are some of the resources you have found most helpful?

Lexi: NaturallyCurly.com was my first resource that was super helpful and even looking at people’s Fotki [albums]. Now I spend most of my time on Long Hair Care Forum.

AM: In addition to Blogging and creating your videos, are you engaged in any other natural hair endeavours?

Lexi: I put together Natural Hair Meetups in Atlanta. The first one I did had over 40 people and the last one I co-hosted with Mahogany Knots and we have over 100 ladies and even had Jane Carter and the owners of Uncle Funky’s Daughter’s come to speak.

AM: What advice do you have for other women looking to take up the journey to cultivating natural hair?

Lexi: Patience is the main thing. You have to have patience and it may sound weird but don’t have expectations of what you want your hair to look like. You don’t want to be disappointed because you were hoping for something else. I hear more women complain about their hair type because they had expectations of another hair type. If you don’t have expectations of a certain type, thickness, etc. then you can appreciate your own hair.

~@~

Lexi’s Progress in Pictures

(click each image to enlarge)

Would you like to hear more from Alexis? You can contact via her Website at www.curlscoilsandkinks.com, follow her on Twitter via @CurlyGirlLexi, check out her YouTube Channel or “like” her Facebook Fan Page.

###

Lexi thank you for honouring my humble Blog with your natural story.  I wish you and your curls much success in encouraging others.

Healthy Hair Wishes,

NOTE: All pictures used are property of the individual persons featured, unless otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.

Cultivating healthy hair is greatly attributed to diet, water consumption and the type of products used upon the hair. Taking into account the specific chemical makeup of human hair, cosmetic companies use all their scientific know-how to formulate products that clean, fortify and return our keratin strands to their proper pH level. While no beautician worth their weight in styling spritz would advise using anything other than goods sanctioned by the FDA specifically for human use, many natural hair wearers are coming clean about trusting their textured tresses to an equine product line that they say works wonders.

Read more HERE.

Healthy Hair Wishes,

With the days heating up and the sun becoming a more prominent player in the weather forecast, there’s great debate over just what works to keep the various types of ultraviolet rays from spoiling the healthy hair fun. While many products claim to be specially formulated to protect textured tresses from summer sun damage and tout charge hefty prices for the luxury additive, a lot of natural hair wearers are left to question which brand meets their needs best. Of course there is no question that hair needs to be protected, but before you rush off to procure a product claiming to shield your locks from sun damage here are some things you must consider when it comes to hair products containing sunscreen.

Read more HERE.

Healthy Hair Wishes,

As you all know I won a full set of Kinky-Curly products last week on The Nappturalite Radio Show courtesy of KC creator Shelley Davis and set right away to “testing” the products starting with the Come Clean Shampoo and Knot Today Leave-in/Detanger (reviews of those products will come after my second use of them this weekend).  Because I was most excited about the Kinky Curly Curling Custard , the moment my hair was clean and conditioned I put it to the test, because I was excited to see if I’d be able to achieve similar results as I’ve read in other’s positive reviews.  So I washed and conditioned my tresses and allowed the Knot Today to sit overnight.. Cause I was feeling kinda lazy. *lol*  The next morning I re-wet my hair which gave me this result:

Next I applied a generous amount (about a half dollar sized dollop) of Curling Custard to my sopping wet strands (as per instruction) and finger combed it through.  I think I may have used a bit too much because what I came away with after application was a white gooey mess that weighed my hair down something terrible.  Not to be deterred I toweled the excess custard off and this was the result when I was done:

Not at all what I was expecting since before applying the custard my curls were  a whole lot longer than they appeared afterwards.  But I figured I’d be able to stretch them with a couple of spritzes of water later so I went along my merry way and allowed the product to dry.  Here’s the result of my hair after it dried:

Very tight curls and “dry”, crunchy shrinkage even after I applied a bit of water and fluffed my hair with fingers and pick.  Again, not at all what I was expecting but The Lion said it looked decent so I was cool with it.  After tweeting that I would be using the custard I got a response from The Sistah Chick of The Sistah Cafe who said she’d had the same experience, but said that a friend of hers informed her that she’d “used it wrong”.  I’m not exactly sure what “using it wrong” meant so I did a search to see I could find any reviews that displayed similar results.  In my searching I happened upon to official video tutorial on KC’s Youtube channel where she suggested using the Gloss Pomade to lessen the “crunch”.  After noticing that Shelley and all the other Youtubers who had positive results from using the product had hair that was way longer than mine, I searched for videos of short haired naturals.  All but one videos seemed to boast desired results using the custard so I figured I must have “used it wrong” too, but followed Shelley’s advice and used a bit of the Gloss Pomade.  Here’s what I came away with:

Teeny tiny shrunken ringlets.  And this was the day after I’d initially applied the custard and spritzed my hair with water.  Not the look I was going for.  Although I can’t argue with the fact that my curls were “defined”, as the product promises to do, I desired a looser effect.  Well lo and behold, right on the KCCC jar are directions for both tight and loose curls.  Whodathunkit, right?  So I washed with the Come Clean and reapplied the Knot Today, let my hair dry a little bit, lightly wet it with a couple of sprays of water, applied a moderate amount of custard (little bigger than a quarter) and “scrunched” the hair as per the directions.  Here are the results of all that effort:

Not that big of a difference, eh?  Although my curls were defined this was not the look I was going for and not the definition I’m used to.  What I was expecting was a more “fluffy” version this:

The above look (if you can really see it clearly) was achieved using simple water, a few sprays of Yonnea’s Natural Beauty’s Honey Hibiscus Leave N Condish and a $2 jar of Long Aid Curl Activator Gel which resulted in softer, curlier curls (drawback: tacky texture once the combo dried).  So considering all of the praise KCCC has gotten I was expecting a better experience than my el cheapo combination, but I have to keep in mind that not every hair type reacts the same with every product and every product doesn’t work for every style.  As I stated before, a lot of the videos posted on Youtube that report great results where made by users who’s hair was way longer than mine and had more of a wavy texture (which longer hair tends to do).  There were a few vids of users who sported TWA’s or short styles, but I’m not sure they’re type is the same as mine.

Now while you might suspect I’d give Kinky-Curly’s Curling Custard a low rating based on this one trial, I am honestly going to withhold my assessment because I would love to see how well the gel works on two strands twists/twist outs.  Although it did not “elongate my curls” or “allow them to ‘hang’ better” (per the Website) and I wasn’t all that enamoured with the crunchy feel it left behind (even in relatively small amounts), there are various other things about the custard that I liked.  The fact that it not only defines curls but holds them in place.  I also like the ingredient list, which combines a host of natural ingredients and preservatives (botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), pectic, citric acid, potassium sorbate and natural fragrance) that are good for the hair.  And I also love the smell, which is absolutely delicious and not at all over powering.  So for the moment I am going to suspend my rating of KCCC because although it did not work well for my WNG (wash ‘n go) it just may work wonders for other styles or in tandem with another product.  So with that being said, I’ll return later in the month with a secondary assessment of Kinky-Curly’s Curling Custard.

Healthy Hair Wishes,

Today women and men all over the country are making an effort to make natural hair a trend.  No, no, no.  Not a passing fashion trend, but a trending topic on the popular social networking Website Twitter!

About a month ago and unknown source designated June 1st, 2010 as the day natural hair lovers and wearers would spend the day tweeting about natural hair styles, products and their love of kinks, coils, curls and naps.  Starting at midnight in their respective time zones, Twitters posted 140 character messages to pass on transitioning tips, quotes, declarations about why they’ve chosen to "go natural" and their appreciation for the support they’ve received in the community, all attached to the hashtag #naturalhair.

The signal for participation has also gone on on Facebook, where status messages alerting natural hair wearers of the occasion have been posted throughout the day.  Even Columbus author M. Michelle George put out a call to arm via her Twitter and Facebook accounts.  Although it has been speculated that the call for a Natural Hair Day was an effort to demean or discredit women who choose to chemically straighten their hair, that is not the aim. The mission of the occasion is to help spread the word about and dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding African-American hair in its unaltered state, and to encourage natural hair wearers worldwide while inspiring those who may be on the fence to take up the journey.

Read more HERE.

Healthy Hair Wishes,