winter hats for curly kids

check out www.curlyzebra.com
theyre satin lined winter hats for kids. sweet.

product review and perfect curl technique: kinky curly spiral spritz

i took a trip to whole foods and of course, made a bee line to the kinky curly products. ive been wanting to try the kinky curly spiral spritz for some time, so i bought some. this is the product description according to the website (www.kinky-curly.com):


The perfect styling product for individuals with fine or wavy hair types.

SPIRAL SPRITZ is a wonderful natural alternative to silicone serums.

This lightweight Aloe based spray is made of all natural ingredients and contains
vitamin B-5 to add moisture to your hair and completely eliminate frizz!

Can be used to style wet or dry wavy hair and provides a flexible hold..

Works great to smooth, moisturize and re-fresh 2nd day hair and remove frizz on all
hair types.

**TIP - Use SPIRAL SPRITZ TM to reactivate your style when you do not wish to re-wet and re-style your hair with the Curling Custard TM. Spray lightly when using to refresh your style. A little goes a long way!

the first time i tried it i detangled/brushed out baby girl's dry hair. i sprayed the spiral spritz in my hands, smoothed it onto her hair and then combed to reclump her curls. fail. it looked like a bird's nest.

on my second attempt i wet her hair and added her leave in, then i smoothed on the spiral spritz like i did the first time. the result was beautiful ringlets with a gentle hold (which ive been looking for).




id compare it to a gel, rather than a hair refresher or spritz of any kind. its great for anybody who is looking for definition, frizz busting, and hold. i havent the foggiest idea on how to use this stuff on dry hair, but if i figure it out, i'll definitely report back. despite that, i still like this product. kinky curly has done it again!

ponytails

ive said it a million times an dim going to say it once more: i suck at hair styling and further more, i dont like it even if i were good at it. but i wanted to spice up the munchkin's ponytails. so i did brigitte bardot inspired side pony (deep side part, teased a bit at the crown for a bit of height). simple. age appropriate. super cute.




i love this look on wavy/loosely curled hair.




for the second twist on a regular pony, i just wrapped a small section of hair around her ponytail and bobby pinned it in place. it looks twice as cute when done on pigtails!

patting myself on the back

im still styling challenged, so i was super excited when i managed to do 2 braids on the munchking. it took me almost 2 episodes of dora to complete, but i did finish and boy was i proud!

product review: mixed chicks leave in conditioner/styling cream

a while back i posted an email i received from an acquaintence singing the praises of the mixed chicks product line (http://subbrock.blogspot.com/2009/04/mixed-chicks-products-testimonial.html). now im not trying to knock anyone's hustle, but the major thing that turned me off from the mixed chicks line in general is their marketing strategy. i personally feel like theyre capitalizing on mothers (white mothers in particular) of bi/multiracial children with curly hair. but i guess thats a-whole-nother issue...

i had the opportunity to sample their shampoo, leave in, and deep conditioner but i decided to go only with the leave in (the shampoo has SLS). i tried it on both myself and the munchkin.
pros:
- it smells yummy
- it has an element of hold to it
- left munchkins hair shiny and frizz free
- definitely gave our hair some bling (munchkin had blinging curls that lasted all day. mine were blinging at first but once my hair dried 100% no bling)
- depending on where you live, you can get it locally

cons:
- hate their percieved marketing strategy
- the ingredients are definitely not CG friendly. the shampoo has SLS, and both conditioners contain non water soluable silicones. the leave in has emulsifying wax (my hair hates waxes) and multiple parabens. many chemicals ive never heard of are listed in ingredients.

baby girl's hair styled with leave in + curl keeper:



my hair styled with only the leave in (no oils or gels added). i used my modified braid out technique (http://public.fotki.com/subbrock/2009/winter/pony112.html)to style instead of my usualy wash n go.





you can get mixed chicks products at www.mixedchicks.net (check their store/salon locator to see if they have a retailer near you) or www.curlmart.com

product review: herbal essences none of your frizzness smoothing leave in creme

the little one and i went to the beach and i realized that i had left her/the man's leave in (generic paul mitchell the conditioner) at home. so i was forced to buy something (anything!) from the grocery store. i decided upon herbal essences none of your frizzness smoothing leave in creme.

pros:
- cheap
- love the smell
- leaves her hair very soft
- lightweight

cons:
- the ingredients. it contains dimethicone (im not opposed to this silicone)and its no where near natural. most of the ingredients are chemicals ive never heard of. also, it contains 5 different alcohols.

im still on the fence about this one. like i mentioned before, it left her hair extra soft even after full days of swimming in the salty ocean water and chlorinated pool water. but im worried that over time, the silicone and alcohols will leave her with a hair disaster. im going to finish this bottle and possibly repurchase one more time before i give it my seal of approval/disapproval for the munchkin. my hair gave it a seal of disapproval. too light to be effective on my dry 3c coils.

here is her hair with the none of your frizzness leave in + curl keeper:


the pics are kind of crappy but i wanted readers to note (a) the lack of frizz, despite the fact that we're at the beach and (b) the bling aka how shiny her hair is.

link to product info: http://www.herbalessences.com/us/collections/none_of_your_frizzness/creme.jsp

product review: burt's bees super shiny conditioner

ive tried burt's bees conditioners on my 3c curls and in general, theyre too light to do much for my hair. but ive been on a quest to find great products locally, so i decided to revisit burt's bees for my daughter's 3a/b curls.

ultimately, i went with their super shiny grapefruit & sugar beet conditioner because it does not contain protein.
pros:
- relatively inexpensive
- can be purchased locally
- natural/CG friendly ingredients
- leaves the munchkin's hair unbelievably soft
- good for co-washing

cons:
- doesnt "melt" tangles away
- not heavy enough on its own to tame frizz

im not in love with it, but i dont hate it either. if youre still experimenting with products, its deinitely worth a try.
here is a pic of baby girl's hair using the super shiny conditioner:



for more info, check out this link to the product info at burtsbees.com: http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/hair-conditioners/super-shiny-grapefruit-sugar-beet-conditioner.html

"shes going to hate her curls when shes older..."

everyone loves to see a child with curls, so its no wonder everytime i am out with the munchkin someone compliments her ringlets. more often than not, it goes like this:

"oh i love her hair! she has the most beautiful curls. too bad she'll hate them when shes older..."

there is a 50/50 chance the person will follow it up with:

"people with curls always want straight hair and straight haired people always want curls."

i do get where theyre coming from when they add in the second part. it seems like the philosophy of the grass is always greener on the other side is just a part of human nature. but it always makes me wonder. granted, its always a straight haired person who says it, so maybe they too are a slave to their flat iron or know someone who is. but i cant help wonder why they would say that to me, a curly adult. obviously, i dont hate my hair if im sporting my kinks in their full glory. sometimes i do tell the person that i doubt that she'll hate her hair since both her dad and i are proud curlies.

i know the comment in itself is very innocent and those who tell me dont mean any harm at all. but the more i hear it/think about it, i realize how powerful my role is as a parent. its up to us (her dad and me), as well as my extended family to let her know that her hair is beautiful and that there is no reason to wish she had something else. for anyone reading this who knows a young curly, please do everything in your power to let them know just how wonderfully perfect their curls, kinks, and frizzy fuzzies are.

cool hairstyles for little girls

i came across this blog full of cute hairstyles for girls, so i thought i would share!

cutegirlshairstyles.blogspot.com

mixed chicks products: a testimonial

an acquaintance sent me this email so i decided to post it here. ive never used mixed chicks products so i cant add to the testimonial, but if anyone else has, feel free to leave some feedback!


I just bought this stuff yesterday & I should be on an infomercial! It is the bomb!! I did [baby girl's] hair last night & when we woke up this morning she still had beautiful soft ringlets & not big crazy hair. [Cousin], I'll let you try some on [your curly kid]. [Subbrock], I don't know what you are using in [munchkin's] hair, but I wanted to let you know about this in case you hadn't heard of it. I've spent almost 4 years looking for a product that works like this. Please pass this website along to anyone that it can help!!

http://www.mixedchicks.net/

don't forget to deep condition!

i am the first person to admit that i am horrible when it comes to being consistent, following rules, schedules, routines, etc.
what can i say, im a free spirit!
so needless to say, ive been slacking on my deep conditioning treatments. ideally, i would do them at least once a week but its been much much much longer than that since i had done one.
this evening though, i decided to get back on track and do a deep conditioning treatment.

i used mop extreme moisture and mixed it with a bit of my oil blend. i spritzed my dry hair with a bit of water and then applied the conditioning mixture. next, i parted my hair in 5 sections and detangled with a comb. this also helped distribute the conditioner more evenly. after i finished a section, i twisted it up into a little bantu knot (a little bun). after i finished my whole head, i pretty much went on about my business. for an extra conditioning boost sometimes i will put a plastic cap over my hair and then cover that with either a towel or a knit cap so that my body heat aids in the deep conditioning process. after about an hour i hopped in the shower and rinsed out my hair. my hair feels amazing! im going to force myself return to once a week deep conditioning.

at least once a month i deep condition the little one's hair as well, either using mop extreme moisture or jessicurl weekly deep treatment (which i love for myself as well). on bath day i'll wet her hair as soon as she gets in the tub and then put on whichever deep conditioner i plan on using. then right before she gets out of the tub i rinse her hair. since i dont heat style or manipulate her hair too much, the 5-10 minutes of conditioning time still makes her hair even soften than it already is.

for an extra extra boost i will add oil, honey, and even vegetable glycerine to my deep conditioner before i put on my make shift heat cap (the plastic cap/towel combo).

so please dont be like me and remember to deep condition regularly. your dry thirsty hair will thank you!

3 strand twists

due to a recent thread on the 4a board at naturallycurly.com, i was inspired to try 3 strand twists on the munchkin. i remeber doing these on my friends' hair back in the day, so i didnt need to watcha tutorial, but here is my favorite tutorial:



this is how the munchkin's hair looked with her 3 strand twist pigtails:

for the kids

running out of styling ideas for your little girl? well check out videos from kaylenasmommy at youtube. ive never seen such creative (and rather simple) hairstyles!


http://www.youtube.com/kaylenasmommy