My IC Styling Gel Review

After seeing Wahidah's video on how she maintains her hair, I decided to give one of the products she uses a try. I have always avoiding gel, because I knew that it has a history of building up, becoming a flacky mess and just drying out loc's. But I have always admire Wahidah's loc's, so I said.. ok, I will give it a try. And I love it!

I washed my hair, oiled my scalp with African Pride Oil, and then palm rolled each loc - using the IC Styling Gel at the base of each loc. As I palm rolled my loc's into sections, I braided loc's in groups of 6 loc's for each braid. Once all of my loc's where braided, I let them air dry. I left the braids / plaits in for 3 days.  With the IC Gel, the roots of my loc's stayed shiny and neat the whole 3 days (It always helps to wrap your hair with silk scarf at night, and wear a comfortable scarf around you hair line when working out to keep your loc's looking fresh).

When I took my braids / plaits down... I was so surprise. It looked salon fresh!  This is how my hair looked after I went to the salon two months ago. I was able to get the same look at home that I got at the salon for $60 bucks!  So I am so happy with the results. I am alreayd a fan of the IC leave in conditioner; but now I am also a fan of the IC Styling gel. Of course use the gel moderately. A little bit will go a long way.  Thank you for the recommendation Wahidah. Great info...

Inspirational Photo - Joy Franklin

Joy's hair is gorgeous. She has a beautiful texture as shown in these photos. She uses Bee Mine Hair Products.

No Drip Hair & Scalp Oil

A young lady contact me via ILoveMyLoc's, and had a good question regarding moisturizing an itchy scalp. I have had problems in the past with itchy dry scalp myself, and have used a few products (on separate occasions) to help. The first one is African Pride Oil, which feels and smells good. And the second product that I would recommend is Cantu Shea Butter 'No Drip Nourishing Hair & Scalp Oil'. Here was my response:

Hi ....., Have you tried Cantu Shea Butter's 'No Drip Hair & Scalp Oil'? It is really thick, but not creamy. So it won't cause any build up, if used as instructed. When I use it, it does a good job of saturating my hair and scalp, and leaves my hair feeling very moisturized. I hope this helps! - Karen

Juice Beauty

I am in love with a new skin product, that my sister recommended, by Juice Beauty. I have had problems with my skin for most of my life. My face has a combination of oily and dry skin. With that comes the pimples, dry skin and for me.... discoloration. I have tried so many products, but have had very little luck. So when my sister recommend that I try Juice Beauty's Blemish Clearing Serum, I was skeptical. So I gave it a try and actually saw my skin start to look softer and more even, within only two days of using it! I am sold...

So my main concern now, is seeing if it will actually keep working. There have been a few times when I will buy something, and it will work for the first few weeks and then I won't see any more progress. So only time will tell. I stopped by Sephora and picked up Juice Beauty 'Organics to Clear Skin Kit kit' that includes the blemish serum, a cleanser, a face scrub and lotion. I am excited to see how this goes, I will keep you all informed. The price of the serum is kind of expensive. If you just want to try the Blemish Serum, without making the commitment to buy it, stop by Sephora and ask for a free sample. Or you can also search online (ebay is one place) for better prices.

Thank you In Her Shoes!!!

Thank you In Her Shoes! Last May, I and a few other ladies, won the Cantu Contest. The prize was a package of hair and body products worth $100. I just received the items today, and I am looking forward to trying the products out. I will give some reviews to let you know how it goes and if my locs "like it" or "love it" . About 5 of the items are creamy based (which people with loc's should try to avoid), so I will give those to my daughters. So it works out perfect.

Thank you again Renae, for hosting such a great Mothers Day contest on your blog!

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June 16th Update: My daughters washed their hair last night with the creamy based Cantu products and loved it!! They both have big curly hair, and finding hair care products that work with their hair texture is often hard. So its a good match for them. Cool!

Curly hair products from Miss Jessie

Has any one tried Miss Jessie's Products? If so, let us know what you think.

So excited!!

I just won a Cantu Shea Butter contest, for a gift bag (valued at $100) on In Her Shoes!

I have never won any thing in contest or giveaways, so this is so awesome. Check out the post here. I have been wanting to change up my maintenance products for a while. I read that if you alternate/change the products you use every 6 months it will help to cut down on build up and give your hair a boost. So this is perfect. I will let you know about my experience with this product line after I try it out. Thank you In Her Shoes!

My Favorite Products

1. Dark & Lovely Peppermint Shampoo: I love the way that my hair smells after I shampoo it. With Dark and Lovely peppermint shampoo, it has a great scent and my hair feels refresh after a good wash.
2. IC Leave In Hair & Scalp Treatment: IC leave in conditioner is great because it's not a heavy product. I try to stay away from all heavy, creamy white products. It weighs you hair down and leaves a white build up appearance. When choosing a conditioner it should always be a clear liquid or something that will wash out without leaving behind a lot of product.
   
3. African Pride Oil: African pride oil is great because it really saturates your scalp and hair. It also smells good.
4. Lock & Twist Gel: I love this product because it feels very soft to the touch and not at all greasy. When it dries, there is not flaking (unless you use to much), and if used properly will not cause build up.
   
5. Silk Scarf: I always wear a silk scarf when I am cleaning, laying down or sleeping. It helps to keep out dirt and lint, and keeps my loc's neat and clean.
   

Recipes & Mixes

Recipes & Mixes from Organic Beauty Experts:

Cleanser and Spritzer

2 8 oz spray bottles
Witch Hazel 86% (buy from any drugstore)
Sandalwood or Neroli Hydrosol (Distillate)
Tea Tree Essential Oil
Rosemary Essential Oil
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
Plastic pipette (dropper)

In one spray bottle, use equal amounts of witch hazel combined with a hyrdosol (50/50 mix). Close bottle tightly and shake to blend.

Section hair into equal parts. Wet a cotton washcloth with mixture (a small amount) and methodically clean scalp until whole head is done.

For the spritzer, combine above mixture and add two drops of Tea Tree, 4 drops of Rosemary and 12 drops off Ylang Ylang. Avoid getting into eyes.

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As your locs grow, keeping them moisturized and healthy is important to their continued growth. You can use this oil to touch up and add shine and keep them supple and soft.

Loc Oil

4oz bottle
2 oz shea oil
1 oz hemp seed oil
1/2 oz olive oil
1/2 oz carrot seed oil
Lemongrass (rosemary, sandalwood or cedarwood) essential oil

Combine all oils and add 8 drops of lemongrass oil. Pour into bottle and use daily to hydrate scalp and add moisture to locs. If you make an essential oil blend, use no more than 10 drops per 4 oz. of Loc Oil