DC SERIES ~ PRODUCT REVIEW ~ COCO CURLS REVITALIZING CONDITIONER

INGREDIENTS: Purified Water (and) Equisetum arvense (Horsetail) Leaf Extract (and) Salvia officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract (and) Urtica urens (Nettle) Leaf Extract (and) Rosemarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract (and) Matricaria recutita (Chamomile) Flower Extract (and) Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter, Castor Oil,Argan Oil,Panthenol, Propanediol, Gluconolactone (and) Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance Oil.

DESCRIPTION: Coco Curls Revitalizing Conditioner includes moisturizing ingredients like castor oil and cocoa butter. This rich conditioner offers extra slip for easier and faster detangling. With ingredients like horsetail, chamomile, nettle and sage, your hair will be strengthened from root to tip.You will love the increased manageability and lustrous shine you see when using Coco Curls Revitalizing Conditioner!

pH Balanced 4.5-5.5 for naturally curly hair!

DIRECTIONS: Apply Coco Curls Revitalizing Conditioner evenly through wet hair and detangle from tip to root. For a deeper condition, cover with a plastic cap and sit under a dryer/steamer for 15-20 minutes. Rinse well and enjoy your shiny conditioned curls! 

MY REVIEW: I used this conditioner exactly as instructed. I applied to freshly washed wet hair and detangled with my wide tooth comb. The slip in this stuff is amazing! The comb just glided through with ease. I sat under my heat cap for 30 minutes then rinsed it out. I was left with shiny moisturized hair! My fingers just glided through my hair! I loved it! And the bonus is that it worked just as great in my daughter's hair which is a way thicker and dryer texture then mine. This will become a favorite of mines I'm almost sure of it and make it into our hair regimen products that I keep on hand at all times! 

I've used it twice in my hair and once in my daughter's hair and still have almost half a bottle left...a little goes a long way. I should be able to get at least another application for both of us out of what's left.

Check out www.cococurls.com for further information on this conditioner as well as her other products. 

I will do a separate review on the shampoo & styler at a later date! 

MY WASH N GO ROUTINE

When I first went back to my natural hair it was so short that the only thing I could do was a wash and go. Once my hair started to grow out I wanted to try other things so of course I tried the twist out, braid out, coils and coil out, perm rod set, flexi rod set, curlformers and the list goes on. As my hair got longer I never really liked my WnG look as much as my twist out so I stopped doing WnGs and would mostly style my hair in twist outs. 

Now that I'm back to my short hair I'm back to doing more WnGs again. This is how I do them on MY hair. Keep in mind that everyone's hair is different and what works for me may not work for you. But I wanted to share the process I use to do mines and maintain it. 

I always start on freshly washed (or co-washed) and conditioned hair. I tend to use the L.O.C (Liquid.Oil.Cream) method to help maintain some moisture. 

First I apply a leave-in conditioner on my wet hair. I find that if my hair is wet verses just damp my curls set better. Then I apply an oil, my oil of choice most times is Hairveda Vatika Frosting Herb Infused Coconut Oil. Then section by section I apply my styler of choice, usually a gel or pudding/custard type product to help enhance and define my curls. I use my denman brush to smooth the product through each section to help 'clump' my curls together. I find this gives me a better curl definition than just using my fingers to 'rake' the product through my hair. I do sometimes just use the 'rake' method but I like the results of using the denman brush better. 

I then allow my hair to air dry. If I'm pressed for time and don't want to leave home with wet hair I would either use my diffuser attachment on my blow dryer or sit under my hair dryer. I like to let it dry completely before shaping and fluffing it to minimize any frizz. 

Once it's completely dry I put some more of the coconut oil on my hands and proceed to fluff and shape using my hands as well as using my afro pik to gently lift just my roots for a fuller look. Usually as it gets older it gets bigger and tends to look better the older it gets. 

Since having my hair cut back short I haven't slept in my satin cap but have just slept on my satin pillowcase. To fluff my hair out each day I would let the steam from the shower help to moisturize it, then I would lightly spritz the shortest parts around my sides and back with my water/oil/conditioner mix in my spray bottle and add a little moisturizer to fluff and shape my curls back out. Most times the sides and back are flattened from me laying on them at night to sleep. 

This process works well for me now that my hair is back shorter. It takes minimum time each morning to refresh.So far I'm not missing my longer tresses at all! 

This week's WnG styled using Soultanicals Calcu-Lush Curling Custard...my hair is still wet in this picture

My hair once it dried...I used my afro pik and fingers to shape and lift it...it usually gets bigger as it gets older...I actually like it better the older it gets

TOOLS I USE THE MOST FOR MY HAIR!

There are many 'tools' available to help us natural ladies maintain the health of our hair and assist in our regimens. Not all of us use the same 'tools' but for the most part there are some that are essential to our routine. I'm going to share with you some of the things I use in me and my daughter's regimen.

WIDE TOOTH COMB

While some ladies don't use combs at all, I prefer to detangle with a wide tooth comb. My hair (and my daughter's hair) has to be laden with a good conditioner or deep conditioner with nice slip for easy detangling. Finger detangling is not for everybody. My daughter's hair is super thick and kinky and we would be here all day if I strictly finger detangled her hair. I find if I detangle during her pre-poo then most of the shed hair is removed during that step, therefore, when I apply the deep conditioner after shampooing her hair she has minimum tangles and shed hair which allows the comb to glide through her strands easily and helps to distribute the deep conditioner throughout her hair better. Now that my hair is back short my hair is a breeze to detangle as I only really have the top portion that has any type of length to it. 

HEAT CAP

I swear by my heat cap for a good deep conditioning session. The heat helps the products to penetrate better into the hair strands. You can also use a regular hair dryer, or some have invested in hair steamers, but this seems to do the job for me and my daughter's hair. 

DENMAN BRUSH

The denman brush is my 'go to' tool for 'shingling' the products into my hair for my wash and go. It clumps my curls together better than if I just rake the product through my hair with my fingers. I also use it to distribute the product through my hair evenly when I'm prepping each section to be twisted for a twist out. It smooths my hair and allows for the product to be smoothed through easily and evenly before twisting. 

AFRO PIK

I love using my afro pik to give my hair some 'lift' after taking out twists for a twist out or coils for a coil out or to stretch out my WnG after my hair is dried completely. I use it to gently lift just the roots of my hair, being careful not to disturb my curls, to give me a 'big hair' effect. 

These are just a few of the 'tools' I use the most in my daily/weekly hair regimen.