I recently had a birthday, and my curly-haired, super-beautiful, uber-trendy “chosen sister” Lee Ann (a.k.a. “Poodle Girl”) gave me the latest in hair care products (I’m trying to be FCC-compliant, people….got to let you know how I obtained the product and how much I’m paying for it!).
So, for those of you “in the know,” you have probably heard of or seen something about hairstylist Chaz Dean’s WEN Healthy Hair Care System.
I am a troglodyte (basically live under a rock), but Poodle Girl saw something about WEN on an informercial a few months ago and – in a very un-P.G. move – actually ordered some for herself.
My understanding of the product is that it’s a cleansing conditioner, so it cleans and conditions all in one step. By leaving out “harsh” detergents, Chaz says that his product is going to be kinder and gentler to my scalp and hair and that (over time) I’ll end up with more sheen, better color retention and more manageability.
PG’s hair looks great.
I’m about to apply my second go-round with the Cleansing Conditioner this morning. I will say this after my initial application:
I usually wash my hair only twice a week. I usually have a bunch of fly-aways and start losing curl definition by day 2-3. After using the product late last week, I feel like my hair has a little more life to it than usual.
But….it could be a fluke. More primary research is needed!
Stay tuned.
Ok…this is the aforementioned “more expensive salon-level styling product” I was out of back in September. I hit a humid patch and the Kinky-Curly Spiral Spritz and I were duking it out, and I wasn’t happy.
So, when I hit the salon last month, I treated myself to my old good times stand-by, the Bumble & Bumble Curl Conscious Calming Creme for Coarse Curls (note: there is a version for Fine Curls, but I need the big guns).
One of the things I love the most about this product is the fragrance: it’s light, citrusy/cucumbery – very clean (something you can live under all day!)
It takes a good blop (2 quarters’ worth – easily) to get enough to keep my just-past-the-shoulder-length mane under control, and I can tell if I hit or miss later in the day by the absence or presence of some frizzy flyaways.
The curls that get enough go-go juice are very well-defined, shiny and non-crunchy.
Maybe it’s due to the “curl-enhancing Transglutaminase (U.S. and International patent pending).” Whatever. Something makes it work.
Love having this on hand….err…on hair!
Bumble & Bumble Curl Conscious Calming Creme
For Coarse Curls
8 0z
Retail: $27.00
Cost per oz: $3.375
Effectiveness: 
Finish: 
(when I get the right curl:product ratio)
Humidity Threshhold: 
Scent: 
Ease of Removal from Hands: 
Price: 
Overall: Highly Recommend
An effective splurge.
In 1984, a curly-haired NYC-based woman named Ouidad opened the first salon in the country to cater only to curly hair.
Over the past quarter century, she has developed not only a curl cutting technique but a line of products developed specifically for curly hair.
Not all curly hair is created equal. There are girls with wavy hair, girls with loose barrel curls, girls with tight spirals and girls with kinky ringlets. On top of that, some curly hair is fine-textured, while others are more coarse. And depending on the condition of the curls, the hair might appear frizzy or actually be dry or damaged. So: there are endless combinations of curl conditions.
My personal situation: frizz-prone medium to coarse-textured spiral curls with a few patches of looser curls on the back of my head (the area referred to as “The Thatch”).
Ouidad’s site has an excellent curl primer which is a great starting place if you really want to get to know your curls.
I stumbled on this when I ran out of a more expensive salon-level styling product. At the time, I was a bit fiscally-challenged and willing to throw caution (read: $12) to the wind to see what this was all about. After all: I have kinky-curly spiral curls. It seemed like a reasonable gamble.
Actually: there was very little gamble involved. I purchased the bottle at Whole Foods (please withhold your “Whole Paycheck” comments and your boycott yadda yadda). The associate working the aisle recognized my “What if This Stuff Doesn’t Work Out?” expression, and she said that if I bought it and didn’t like it, I could return it and get my money back. Nice!
As it turns out: for the money and the effects, it’s pretty good stuff.
I need about 2 “blops” worth of it to get enough coverage on my shoulder-length hair.
NOTE TO WHOMEVER DESIGNED THE PACKAGING: Ok. The bottle looks nice enough, and I will recycle it when I’m through with it. HOWEVER: it has a pump. Implicit in the pump’s presence is that product will come out of the bottle when you spray it. After 90 pumps: you would think that something MIGHT come out of the bottle? Wrong. The product’s too thick to get through the tube (kind of like trying to drink a Sonic shake through a stirrer straw). I ended up unscrewing the cap and dumping the goop into my hand.
The “spritz” doesn’t have any silicone in it, which allows for flexible curls that don’t crunch or flake when the product is dry. It also means it didn’t take a Herculean effort to remove it from my hands after I got everything twirled into place. My curls were soft, shiny and well-defined after they air-dried.
The scent is very light and clean – no surprise since it has lavender water, sage and some citrusy elements in it.
I’m actually on the second bottle of this. I tried some in late spring and just got another bottle a week or so ago. It doesn’t have the “heft” to get my hair through the most humid days, so it’s not a mid-summer choice for me.
Kinky-Curly Spiral Spritz Natural Styling Serum
Organic Curl Care
8 oz
www.kinky-curly.com
Effectiveness: 
Finish: 
Humidity Threshhold: 
Scent: 
Ease of Removal from Hands: 
Price: 
Overall: Highly Recommend
It’s effective and affordable. Performs best in less humid climes.
I’ll start by saying that I was adopted by well-meaning straight-haired people.
My father, who experienced a few premonitions during his lifetime, dreamt that I would have curly hair. As it turned out, I was born with one curl – kind of like a big brown Cinna-bon - on top of my head.
It started with just one.....
I was not blessed with tame waves or gentle barrel curls. Instead, I was doled an aggressive tangle of spiral corkscrews and handed over to a straight haired woman and a follically-challenged man who did the best they could during a time when “product” as we now know and love it simply did not exist.
I’ll save the vintage bad hair pics for another post. We hardly know one another. Documenting how I barely survived the era of the Dorothy Hamill ‘Do and the preppy hairband craze would be too much to launch on you at this point.
My point?
There are all types of curls that need taming – and I think the type I have are pretty darn challenging.
There are a ton of products on the market now for girls in a twirl (such as myself).
Some perform when it counts (if a product can pass the Rainy Day Test, it’s a keeper). Some smell great; others are super stinky. Some get crusty and crunchy; others go on smooth and keep curls under control. Some take forever to wash off your hands after you apply them, and others don’t require a scrub brush to remove the residue from your fingers. Some are affordable; some you might have to sell a kidney in order to be able to buy on a regular basis.
I’m developing a rating system based on
- effectiveness: smoothness
- effectiveness: shine
- effectiveness: during humid days
- flakiness & crunchiness (or not)
- scent
- ease of removal from hands
- price
Stay tuned….as I try to keep from having a frizzy tizzy.
