Updated Perm Rod Set

During my natural hair journey, I have done several perm rod sets on my hair.  I did this one on my twa and I loved the results.  I used Jane Carter's Wrap & Roll to set my hair.

Then in December 2012, I did this perm rod set using Qhemet Biologics & Taji's Aloe Jelly to style my hair on the perm rods.  In both cases, the style lasted about a day because the hold was so soft and because of humidity.

This time because I understand my hair a little better, I used different products for my perm rod set.  First, I understand that my hair has high porosity which means it loves moisture.  This is detrimental to any sort of smooth curly style.  So to minimize some of this, I used Giovanni's Direct Moisture Leave-In Conditioner instead of my usual Koils by Nature Shealoe leave in.  The KBN leave in has glycerin which is a humectant meaning it draws moisture to the hair so eliminating this helped to maintain my style longer.  Then I used the Koils by Nature Herbal Gel to set the style.  Another thing that I did differently with maintaining this style was to sleep on a satin pillowcase instead of putting a satin bonnet on my head.  The satin bonnet tended to just mash my curls down.

Want to see what my new & improved technique looks like?  Check it out after the break!

Product Review - Koils by Nature Herbal Curl Defining Gel

Earlier this year, I shared some of my key staple products for my hair.  One of those for styling purposes is the Koils by Nature Herbal Curl Defining Gel.  This is my primary styler for my hair.  One of the reasons for this is because it gives my hair great definition with medium hold which results in awesome 5 day hairstyles for me.

My hair is medium density, medium texture, & highly porous hair.  My hair is cottony in texture.

Product Name:  Koils by Nature Herbal Curl Defining Gel

Product Description:  Herbal Soothing Gels are infused with organic calendula, burdock root, horsetail, & nettle and will provide your hair with great hold, excellent for defining curls, wash & gos, two strand twists, and smoothing your edges.  This gel will provide you with a medium hold depending on your hair type.  The oils will help seal in the moisture and the organic slippery elm bark and marshmellow root will help condition your hair.  The gels contain no alcohol & no protein. It will not dry out your hair or cause flakes.

Product Ingredients:  Distilled water infused with organic calendula, organic burdock root, organic horsetail, organic nettle leaf, aloe leaf juice, Shea oil, macadamia nut oil, Jamaican black castor oil, grape seed oil, organic olive oil, organic marshmallow root powder, organic burdock root powder, organic calendula flower powder, organic slippery elm bark powder, chamomile flower powder, preneutralized carbomer, guar gum, potassium sorbate, willow bark extract, peppermint essential oil, lemon essential oil.

Fragrance:  Strong essential oil scent.  I use peppermint but the the eucalyptus & lavender gel I have tried in the past & it has a similarly strong scent.

Texture:  Loose, almost watery

Ease of application:  5

My experience:  When I first saw this gel, I thought a gel this watery is not going to hold my hair.  But to my surprise it did!  So be careful, a little goes a LONG way!  Too much of the gel will make your hair crunchy.  However, this can be worked out by scrunching the hair.  I use this gel in combination with a leave in conditioner & coconut oil before application.  My favorite way to use this gel is for twist outs but I have used it with roller sets & other styles with similar success!

Would you recommend to a curlfriend:  Yes, especially if you like super defined twist-outs rather than lightly textured, fluffy twist-outs.

How many curls would you give it: 5

Day 2 twistout

Day 5 twist & curl

Natural Hair Product Review - Koils By Nature Product Line

After watching a very positive review by one of my favorite Youtubers Dawnyele, I decided to try out this next product on my twistout.

Company:  Koils by Nature
Products Purchased:  Eucalyptus and Lavender Sample Pack (includes 2 oz samples Hydrating Shealoe Conditioner, Shealoe Leave in conditioner, Nourishing Hair & Body Butter in Marvelous Mango & Herbal Gel in Eucalyptus & Lavender)  - I got a free upgrade on my Hair Butter to 4 oz...thanks Pam!
Cost:  $20.00
Shipping:  This is a small company so it took a week for my products to arrive.  No biggie.
Side Note - I love the packaging of these products.  I know it's a little thing but the containers are durable and easy to get the product out of.  The labels were created with a laser color printer.  This is important to me b/c the hydrating conditioner and the leave in are in the same size bottle so if the label blurred or came off it might be hard for me to be able to tell the difference between the two if I were in a rush.  


Review:

Herbal Gel

I used the Shealoe conditioner as my detangling conditioner.  It has medium slip & did a good job of detangling my hair.  I loved the Shealoe leave in however.  It's a thicker consistency and I only needed a little.  I was able to smooth it and comb through my hair easily.  On top of that I added the butter to seal in the moisture before I added the Herbal Gel.  The butter easily smoothed on my hair as well and left my hair feeling soft.  (SN:  I also use it after my shower on my body and it keeps my skin moisturized all night long!)  Then I added the gel.  OK, so for all my Ecostyler users, don't be alarmed.  I know you're used to the thick consistency of that gel.  This gel is watery and very thin.  I only used a little on each twist.  Initially I was little concerned about whether this would hold my 4b/4c hair.  After I twisted my hair I checked one in the back that was almost dry and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the definition forming.  So I twisted it back up.....

Check out the photo montage below of the results.  Let me just say that I have found my staple twist out product.  My hair was super defined, was soft, and had movement all week!  I did not have to reapply product.   I got 7 days out of this twist out!  I could have gotten more but I needed to protect my hair so that it wouldn't constantly be exposed to the colder weather that we're having.  It was also rubbing against my turtleneck and scarves in the back...HUGE no-no.

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Digital slideshow created with Smilebox Here is a comparison shot between my 1st twist out in January 2011 & the one from this week. January 2011           December 2011