Eco Styler Series | Olive Oil Gel

Eco Styler is a staple in the unofficial natural hair starter kit. I myself purchased it when I was a new natural. I used it to slick back buns and freeze fros. I wasn't aware that I had hair that could be defined so I never tried it out in that capacity. Now that I'm deeper in my hair journey, I'm trying some of the most popular Eco gels starting with the Olive Oil!

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/fQEPp7TXvgY

Price: 

The price for this product varies as much as it's availability. Pick it up for less than $3 at just about any beauty supply, drugstore, grocery store, or big box store. Even in the countriest of country, you can find and purchase this inexpensive gel.

Ingredients: 

It's not natural if that's what you're looking for. The top 5 ingredients have been highlighted as they are the most present in the product.

Water (Aqua), Carbomer, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Glycerin, Amino-2-Methyl-1-Propanol, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Polysorbate 20, Tetrasodium EDTA, Olive Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), CI 19140 Yellow 5 - Love and Pride.

Smell:

The scent is very masculine. It blends right in with the manly scent of my current leave-in conditioner. I will say that it is not as strong of a scent as some of the other Eco gels I'll be bringing in this series and it dissipates as it dries.

Experience:

This gel went on my hair a lot smoother than I remember eco styler going. I was even able to style my hair in the larger sections I sometimes get away with and it glided through very nicely. My ends were in shock and did not curl up like they do with my usual gel. I sat under the drier with my hair plopped into a scarf to fix this situation.

Though this gel seems to readily rinse on wash day, I do feel as though it leaves a coating on my hair. It isn't a gel-like coating but it does feel like something is still on my hair after I shampoo. My hair lasts right up to the mid-week mark with this gel and not a day more!

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Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Giovanni L.A. Natural Strong Hold Styling Gel

A few years back I reviewed the Giovanni L.A. Natural Strong Hold Styling Gel on my YouTube channel. I was not very kind to this gel. In fact, I outright trashed it and didn't even respect it enough to give it it's own video. It was shown alongside Kinky-Curly Curling Custard. I decided to give this gel another try since my routine and the condition of my hair are both different from the time of that original review.

Day 2 Hair

This time around my hair had more definition than when I previously used the gel, the smell didn't bother me as much, and the amount I had to use is pretty standard for what I use these days. Some of the negativity about the texture and amount stemmed from the fact that I was a devout user of Kinky-Curly Curling Custard. I am now used to using thick gels and applying plenty of product.

Though I am not as harsh in my feelings about this gel, years later. It's still not making it into the regular rotation. It didn't clump my hair as well as I am used to so I still had a bit of a puffy look. It was defined enough to get me through the week. My hair--especially my ends--felt a little bit dry when It came back around to washday. The crispy ends were not a joy to detangle.

Surprisingly, the last picture (taken at the end of the week) received two compliments within the same 30 minutes...hmmm...

Day 6 Hair

I've been over here revisiting quite a few gels that didn't get such a positive review. I'm planning to check out the IC Fantasia gel which I also didn't like when I first tried it. I remember giving it to my mom!

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Video | LA Sport Gel on Type 4 Hair *FAIL*

I spotted the LA Sport Gel in Dollar Tree and, thinking of all of the people who like this gel, popped it into my basket. I was curious if it would work on my type 4 hair. 

Well...

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/2xtUW0yBvhI 

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Video | This is NOT Wetline Gel

Some of y'all seem to be under the impression that they sell Wetline Xtreme gel at Dollar Tree. I'm sorry to tell you that you've been duped! I'm going in on the ingredients, texture, and styling results that come along with Dollar Tree's Super Look gel.

Watch: https://youtu.be/O2oZkZ708cQ

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Wash and Go Combos | L.A. Looks Absolute Styling Sport Gel

The weather is heating up and more people are typing "wash and go" on Google and YouTube searches. I've decided to do my part and post some wash and go combos that I'm trying out because ain't nobody got time for flakes! We don't want it to look like it's snowing on our hair in the spring/summer.

To test out each combo I will be mixing the products together in my hand. If there are clumps (aka boogers) the combo will likely not fair well on your hair.

Today's Combo:

Soultanicals Knot Sauce + Curl Enhancing Smoothie + L.A. Looks Absolute Styling Sport Gel

Left to right: LA Looks Sport Gel, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, Soultanicals Knot Sauce

Mixed together, this combo does much like anything with Curl Enhancing Smoothie in it. They mix together in a smooth, thick, white layer. What that means for the hair is that this combo will very visibly coat the hair and will take time to absorb fully/dry. There are no boogers so it shouldn't make flakes.

Of course this mixing technique isn't an exact science and adding more of one of the products could cause the whiteness to not completely go away. There are times that my usual combo doesn't dry 100% clear. It happens!

I'll be doing a first impression video for this gel in which this combo will be on my hair. Stay tuned for that!

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Product Review | Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Control Jelly

As part of my Black Friday haul this year, I picked up the Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Control Jelly. I can admit that I purchased this product solely off of hype. Youtubers have been singing the praises of this jelly styler and I wanted a piece of the action.

Availability: Curlz.biz, Target, Curlmart, Sally Beauty (and more!)

Price: $18, 8oz

First Five Ingredients: Water, blueberry leaf extract, PEG 40 hydrogenated castor oil, acrylates copolymer, carbomer polymide-1

Scent: Blueberry Margarita 💃🏾

First Trial

I first tried this with my normal wash and go routine-- PrettyWitty77 Leave-in mix (Moroccan My Shine as the base), Shea Moisture Frizz-Taming Smoothie, Blueberry Bliss generously applied, then rake and shake technique throughout. I did a final rinse to help distribute the product and added more gel over top for smoothing. 

Post-styling, my hair seemed to not have any gel on it and when it dried my hair was frizzy and poofy. It was, however, extremely soft and had great movement. I don't particularly like to wear my hair puffy because it causes tangling and makes for unpredictable hair. There is no guarantee how long my hair will last or if it will come down "wearable" the next morning.

Next Trial

I wasn't going out without a fight. I ran out of some of my products and I made a few tweaks to my routine this time around. This time I moisturized with Soultanicals Knot Sauce and Fluff-a-Licious Curl Nutritious followed by an un-godly amount of the Blueberry Bliss. On the front section of my hair I used another gel that did me the same way as the Blueberry Bliss the first time around. 

I then did the rake and shake throughout my hair and SKIPPED the final rinse. These gels just can't last through that. I topped all sections off with a generous coating of my microwave flax seed gel. My thinking was that flax seed gel doesn't do well raked through but it does encase the hair and define curls--especially when generously applied. I did all the raking with the other gels so all I needed to do was glob the flax gel on.

The result? The back of my hair was slamming! It's soft, defined, etc. The side of the front that I cannot see without a mirror also looked good. It's the very front that didn't do so well. This hair is just harder to define anyhow. It takes certain gels to get the coils going in that area.

Final Verdict

I was able to achieve cute hair but at what cost? How much I used (remember, un-godly) and having to top it off with my flaxseed gel recipe which I had to make is just not worth it. I will take from this experience how to use up gels that don't work out for me. I now know to apply a ridiculous amount, not rinse, and top with flaxseed gel. I will be trying this routine for the DevaCurl Arc AnGel since it's not getting any buyers.

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Video | As I Am Collective Product Review

You never know who is watching your videos and this review is proof of that. The folks over at As I Am's parent company were nice enough to send me some of their products to try. You saw me use them in a recent wash and go video. However, the review is "king" on my channel so I was sure to bring you a review of the products featured in that video.

Let me know if you'd like a review of some of the other products. There are more where these came from! 

Watch it now: https://youtu.be/QfJeW7jhSh4

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Video | As I Am Curling Jelly, Leave In, So Much Moisture | Product Review

If you like what you read on my blog be sure to support by subscribing to me on bloglovin', commenting below, and sharing via the social media links. New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday!

Back around Black Friday, I acquired some of the As I Am products. Prior to this I had only tried their cocoshea spray so I was curious to see what their other products were like. This time around I tried out the Curling Jelly, Leave-In Conditioner, and the So Much Moisture! Hydrating Lotion. You'll need to watch the video to get the full details but in short--you have to use a lot of these products to get results and the definition/moisture is short lived.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeIxFSPW37A

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for clicks or purchases. Thanks in advance for your support!

Video | Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Gel Review

Click the image to be taken to the video

Don't judge me for my old hair that is fresh out of the pineapple in this video. Despite the age of my hair, I think it still looks pretty decent. 

PROS

• Drugstore price
• Easy to find in store
• Silicone and drying alcohol free
• Smells nice
• Not too sticky
• Dries quickly
• 3-4 day hold

CONS

• Tube only lasts about 3 times -- on MBL, thick natural hair
• Does not add shine, your hair will just look like...hair
• Can have horrible reactions to some other products
• Flakes when it ages

Though I had many nice things to say about this gel, I find it best reserved for an emergency moment. You have to run out about buy it way too often if you have hair as long and as thick as mine.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/D39L2NTXStA

Have you tried the Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Gel? Comment below! 

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Product Review: Xtreme Professional Wet Line Styling Gel

Like the product reviewing beast I have become, I did a review of the Xtreme Professional Wet Line Styling Gel. This gel is protein,silicone, and alcohol free. It appears to be a good gel for the curly girl method, is a no-no for the Max Hydration Method, and is a good replacement for Eco Styler gel. Click the image to see the review!

After this review, will you try this gel? Comment below! 

If you like what you've read, never miss a post by following this blog with Bloglovin'. Also, watch my videos on Youtube. NEW uploads weekly!

Product Review: ORS Lock & Twist GEL

Video: http://youtu.be/LOehWo1OM80

I'm pretty bad about reviewing my favorite products. I'm all over reviewing new products. I think it is because I have a blank slate to review from. Anywho, follow the link under the photo to see my latest product review.

                               




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Product Review: Miss Jessie's

 

I know that the Miss Jessies's products are of interest to a lot of naturals, so I decided to do a review on the sample packs that I had. Between my two big bags of samples, I had 8 Miss Jessie's products, 5 of which were unique. I used these products to create a twist n curl and a braid out (pictured above). 

Miss Jessie's Crème de la Crème  Conditioner ($14)

Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Polyisobutene (more)

I used this product as a deep conditioner because the packaging stated that I could.  I couldn't really get an authentic gauge of this product because I had previously used the Paul Mitchell protein and that stuff can leave a bit of a coat on your hair. I felt that this conditioner was moisturizing but perhaps left a coating on my hair.

Miss Jessie's Super Sweet Back Treatment ($9-$48)

Water (Aqua), Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride (more)

I also used this product as a deep conditioner on another wash day. It smells like a sweet tart at first, switches to smelling like laffy taffy when you begin to apply it, then settles on the scent of baby powder. Jessie puts a whole lot of scent in her products! This product did not wow me. It was okay.

Miss Jessie's  Crème de la Curl Cleansing Crème ($14)

Purified Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 80, Glycerin, Ricinus Communis (Castor Oil) Seed Oil (more)

Me and cleansing creams DO NOT get along. With that said I was greatly impressed with this product. It smelled like a bar soap and was colored like Lever 3000. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed the fresh clean scent. It had a weird jelly like texture. My hair was clean...from a cleansing cream! I knew I couldn't hate them all. I would actually purchase the full size of this product.

Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme ($9-$58)

Water, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Mineral Oil, Fragrance (more)

This product right here smells like A/D Ointment, chil'e! It didn't really spread much nor did it seem to melt into my hair. It provided moisture that lasted about 2 days before needing to be refreshed.

Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding ($7-$38)

Water, Paraffinum Liquidum, Glycerin, Fragrance, Triethanolamine (more)

 This smells fruity, tart, and sweet. Though the product goes on smooth and is not drying, I do not feel as though it had a lot of hold. My hair was not standing up to what it normally would. For example, my hair desperately needs to be redone on the 3rd day where usually it would need to be done, but could slide into a 4th day. Also, my braid out refresh (pictured above) wasn't as defined and frizz free as it usually would be. It isn't a bad product though.

                               




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Product Review: As I Am Products (FINALLY!!)

It has taken me nearly 3 whole weeks to use all of these As I Am samples. I randomly purchased a sample pack from them last year for less than $5 and it came with a sample of almost all of their products! Because there are so many products to share I will be grouping them based on how I liked them and leaving the ingredients out. Here goes!

The Good

Smoothing Gel - $8 for 8oz

This stuff smells great and is very thick and sticky. The ingredients list--as far as I can tell--is silicone and alcohol free. The gel held my hair just as well as eco styler olive oil gel. The only thing that would hold me back from purchasing this is that there are other super cheap gels with the same properties on the market: eco, ic fantasia, gorilla snot, etc. 

DoubleButter Cream - $15.50-28.00 for 8oz-16oz

This stuff is creamy and rich. It provided great moisture.

Twist Defining Cream - $13-22 for 8oz-16oz

This product is super thick, creamy, and moisturizing. I can feel that it has a bit of hold as well. Used it to style twist and rubbed it over them a week later before untwisting for a twist out. 

CocoShea Spray $15 for 4oz

A friend bought this for me in the full size so I took the sample traveling. This spray is moisturizing and provides shine. It is perfect for keeping twists moisturized and with very little frizz.

The Not Too Bad

Curling Jelly - $13-22 for 8oz-16oz

Used this product as a styler for a braid out. The braid out came out very nicely and survived a light rain while I entered and exited church. As for how long the style lasted, it made it to day 3, but desperately needed to be refreshed. My hair is also a bit dry <--could be the DB cream or the Jelly's fault.

Curl Clarity Shampoo - $12 for 8oz

I think this is a clarifying shampoo, but it does not have silicones. It is very thin and clear like water. It was easy to lather up (there is lather) and it was easy to rinse. My hair came out clean.

Leave-In Conditioner - $10.50 for 8oz

I do like this stuff. It has a very thin "shampoo-like" consistency and spreads very well. I had about half a packet left after applying this stuff to my hair. The next day my air dried hair has a nice little sheen to it and is soft to the touch. I will be using this again as I comb out my stretched hair before preparing to trim.

Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner - $16 for 8oz

I really liked the texture of this product. It feels like a body butter and melts when you rub it in your hands. It "wets" the hair when it is applied and my hair felt very nice when I finished conditioning. The product had some slip but not an amazing amount. I also liked the smell.

The Ugly

Coconut Cowash - $8 for 16oz

No sir, no ma'am. I did not like this stuff. The texture was cool, it felt like a mix between shaving cream and conditioner. Application was fine and it did not lather--as expected anyhow. It was the actual rinsing that gave me problems. I am very obsessive when I rinse my hair. I take time and make sure everything is out, even scratching my scalp to "test" the cleanliness. This cowash failed the test and took a lot of my time. I just don't feel like my hair is as clean as it could be.

Moisture Milk - $16 for 8oz

This is a lot like water. It didn't dry my hair out but neither did it wow me.

                               




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Product Review: Jessicurl Products

 

Hey guys! I just uploaded a review of these Jessicurl sample packs I had in my "samples collection." As promised in the video, here are the ingredients for these products.

Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment - $16.95

Water (Aqua) infused with Equisetum Maximum Lam (Horsetail), Mentha Piperita (Peppermint), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary), Laurus Nobilis (Bay Leaf), Ocimum Basilicum (Basil), Arctium Lappa (Burdock Root), Althaea Officinalis (Marshmallow Root), Origanum Vulgare (Oregano), Cymbopogon Flexuosus (Lemongrass), Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme), Salvia Officinalis (Sage) and Urtica Dioica (Nettle); Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Soy Lecithin, Citrus Sinensis Var. Dulcis (Orange) Oil (and) Lavandula Officinalis (lavender) Oil (and) Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Oil; Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream - $16.95

Water (Aqua), Decyl Polyglucose, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Vegetable Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, C 12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, PEG 150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate 

Jessicurl Too Shea! Extra Moisturizing Conditioner - $16.95

Water (Aqua) infused with Equisetum Maximum Lam (Horsetail), Mentha Piperita (Peppermint), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary), Laurus Nobilis (Bay Leaf), Ocimum Basilicum (Basil), Arctium Lappa (Burdock Root), Althaea Officinalis (Marshmallow Root), Origanum Vulgare (Oregano), Cymbopogon Flexuosus (Lemongrass), Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme), Salvia Officinalis (Sage) and Urtica Dioica (Nettle); Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Hydrolyzed Oat Flour, Soy Lecithin, Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate 

Jessicurl Confident Coils Styling Solution - $16.95

Water (Aqua), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, VP/VA Copolymer, Polyimide-1, C 12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60; Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Dehydroxanthan Gum, Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt), Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

I said in the video that my hair was a bit crunchier than I like, but the next day it softened up on it's own. I also got four days out of the style before I had to reset it.

Have you tried the Jessicurl products? 

Are you interested in trying them?

                               




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