Sister 'dry' Locks 2, A Review of Efficient Products.

This blog is especially for Ofo! Your wish is my command! ;)

Hello all, if you have read my previous hairscapades, you will be aware of my dry lock spell,  well , I had to go on  PJ moisture/conditioner hunt ... it was BAD!!

These are my new finds. No they don't come cheap, but neither did my locks! 

Well I had mad hair days last Thursday and Friday. I did my co- wash, however, that Saturday pm, my hair still lacked that special something, I was impulsively drawn to the product shelves in TKMaxx, a MAJOR first for me. 

On display was a serious selection of salon styled products, on reduction, I picked up this shampoo because it is labelled hydrating and is free from EVERYTHING! £9.99! (half price I think). It does the job.

TIGI Bed Head Moisture Maniac

Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Acetamide MEA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Cetrimonium Bromide, PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate, Pentaerythrity.

This little gem above is my BABY! So aptly named. This little bottle of magic SORTED IT OUT! Yes I mean it deserves the name and lives up to its brand. One major problem? I think it is now discontinued. TKmaxx!! buy Buy BUY!!!! QUICK! again ... sulfate and silicone free. the best! Cost £5.99, 60% off retail price. More expensive on Amazon.

water, cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, amodimethicone, glycerine, aloe leaf juice, butylene glycol and anthemis nobilis flower extract, cofea arabica extract and vaccinium myrtillus fruit extract, roas roxburghii fruit extract, propylene glycol and rosemary leaf extract, olive fruit oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, hydrolyzed wheat protein, menthol, panthenol, behentrimonium methosulfate, BHT, Polysorbate 60, PEG 60 almond dimethylamine, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, citric acid, disodium EDTA, 1, 2-hexanediol and caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, sorbic acid, fragrance

I came across this little lovely when I was trying to find out about WEN by Chas Dean. 

Hair One is a Conditioning Cleanser, a generic brand ...? A similar chemical make up, at a fraction of the price, with no subscription necessary.

I viewed many a YouTube review. Impulsed again, I 'amazoned' me a bottle ( I'm a prime customer with no postage costs) I first tested it on my Sister in the Lord, on her BEAUTIFUL natural head of hair, great results! No oils or extra moisturising necessary, even the next day after she loosened her china bumps, She said her hair was in good condition and not in need of her usual regime.

Same night I tried and tested for myself. It does not lather, at all. In fact most sulfate free's do not lather.

I pumped a lot in, its hard getting used to, applied it twice. Then only slightly rinsed out the second application as it is recommended to use as a leave in conditioner. I find 'leave ins' a little awkward because I can never quite get it 'in' and I don't like the whitish residue look after a wash.

RESULT? 

I like, very much, it takes a bit of getting used to, but, I have body and softness which I desire in a Shampoo/Conditioner . 

I located an online stockist, that have successfully delivered the items next day at the hefty price of £6.50 or thereabouts. Its a good thing I ordered more than one item, as that extortionate price was the only 'option' available! 

Beware though, I have read some poor reviews on this online store,  call first, I did, to ensure stock availability. JinnysMall £5.50 Amazon £8.49 

Oh about 'Leave Ins" - another TIGI brand Love Peace Planet, Let it Be Cherry Almond,

Ingredients

Shea Butter - excellent moisturizing and conditioning benefits, rich with natural fatty acids and other nutrients
Sweet Almond Oil - strong emollient with natural fatty acids which adds moisture for soft, supple hair and a conditioned scalp
Wheat & Rice Amino Acids - penetrate hair to help to increase moisture retention, strengthens and promotes a glossy finish
Hibiscus - anti-inflammatory, astringent and anti free radical properties work to restore hair's natural barrier
Chamomile - soothing aromatherapy fragrance, offers anti-irritant benefits for a healthy scalp

the scent doesn't last long but it goes IN and again crap free (LOL) you understand? :) It does THE Job. Will review in more detail soon, tired!! LOL!

OFO! I likes it, but I need to practice more on application :))))

Distilled water, seaweed complex, herbal complex, natural oils, herbal extract complex, preservatives, fragrance

Hmmm somewhat VAGUE! hmmm ... 

I picked this up a few months ago and disliked the scent initially and the consistency and how it felt when applied, however, when the seasons changed, so does my maintenace requirements and while in summer less means more, in Autumn / Winter less equals DRY so MORE is needed!!! 

Sister 'dry' Locks!

I have a problem. In fact, I am just not happy! A week ago I purchased Sisterlocks products for the first

time. Yay ... I thought!

Frown. 

Unfortunately, I have found that, personally, they do not live up to my expectations, especially in respect of the information we have regarding maintenance of SisterLocks.

In fact I am speechless at the results. 

I was excited at the prospect of using them, then I read the ingredients.  Eyebrows raised I forged ahead.

The result was just plain bad.

SisterLocks Shampoo.

1. I wash my hair whenever I want to. 

2. The weather has changed slightly and the temperature has dropped, yet our terrible cold misery weather has not yet set in. And I live in a hard water area. I admit that my moisturising/conditioning has levelled off to once or twice a week. At least during this summer.

I washed my hair for the first time last week Sunday, using the shampoo and the moisture treatment to follow, I noticed a strange difference, but ignored it.  I washed it again near the end of the week and the next day I had a head full of straw, in fact, straw is too generous a description. It didn't just feel dry it looked  awful. I was at work when I felt my head itch more than the norm, then I felt it. I actually can not describe how horrid it felt. 

I ran home, wracking my brain for what I could use to restore my previously lush locks. I decided to pull out the big guns (Nexus Humectress Moisturising Conditioner and American Cream Condish by Lush.) I showered, wet my head and pumped and saturated my head with them.

I rinsed, saturated again, then put on a shower cap and sat with it on for a minimum of 2 hours! KMT!!

During this weekend ...

For the last 48 hours I melted at least 4 ounces of Pure Coconut Oil and applied it from root to tip, especially the ends! I think/hope my locks are finally on route to restoration. .. but I dislike the smell  and I want to wash that out! KMT!

Desperately back on the moisture hunt again, I am a member of Lock It Up and have a backlog of unread emails, the most recent I have caught up on refer to WEN hair products by Chas Dean. I liked the sound of it but was not prepared to pay over the odds. So I checked out Amazon and discovered a 'generic' brand/ version called Hair One, for a fraction of the price. 

Conditioner.

On Saturday I came across TIGI Bedhead Moisture Maniac. I grabbed a bottle, but resisted the temptation to wash my locks again ... 

I waited ... until today, I also bought a bottle of shampoo by Head Organics (formerly unheared of) a sulfate free Hydrating Shampoo (giant bottle for 9.99). 

Head Organics is good, and great value for money.

Tigi Bed Head Moist Maniac? AMAZING!!!

Locks were still dying for moisture so went for it. OMG the IMMEDIATE SLIP, so I thought let me check what type of silicone it was full of ... only to find that it is actually SILICONE FREE!

Moisture Maniac!!!! THANK YOU!!

ALL about ... progress, moisture, products at 11 Months.

I have not been blogging as often as before, this year has been intense and a lot of changes have meant that time and will no longer meet that often, as it is, today is a bank holiday here in the UK which means ...NO WORK!!!

Yes, last week Wednesday 28 April was my 11 month benchmark and funnily enough we had the school photographer in, teachers had individual as well as class pics done with the class.
IF you are all really nice to me I MAY put it up as my month eleven progress pic !LOL!

My Consultants  patience and consistence has been endless, even though I have become a competent DIYer, I went to see her for my last retight a couple of weeks ago to check my workmanship, She commenced to push down and tighten many of them, to help my progress along, She also confirmed that I could OFFICIALLY stop braiding and banding ... tee hee.

On a whole she was very happy with my handwork!

Now I have an issue, I am a product junkie from day one, always had a plethora of products, mainly because my Mum,  currently living in Atlanta ( a US resident for 24 years) previously would bring or send me products difficult to get in the UK. Back in the day on holiday at Mums, my hair would grow like a weed, in six weeks it  improved drastically.
Now my hair, when loose natural, had a tendency to dryness, and I used to use an oil from childhood, La India, it was/is still called? As I got older that was too greasy, then the British Black Beauty Product market exploded so we had more choice, problem was, what to choose!
London is a hard water area, and we struggle more with breakage than our sisters abroad.

Anyway, I have continued to peruse in search of the perfect product for my loc'd hair type. I felt guilty, but now I know why I have so many. My Locs need moisture (but not just the water variety!) I have avoided products in general ( I have lapsed on occasion, but on a whole it has been water and lemon juice only) because my hair loves to slippage!!

Now eleven months old, I NEED a GOOD tried and tested leave in conditioner/ moisturiser. I have used Jamaican mango and lime but I am not convinced that it does not cause build up, however, it appears to solve the moisture problem. I have Oyins Juices and Berries (lovely!) but would need a lot to keep it moisturised, It cost me almost $60 ( inc postage and packaging) and took exactly one month to arrive (that is long!).
I have Paul Mitchell Awapuhi (found on LIU ), I am trying out Taliah Wajid Protective Mist Bodifier, In fact look at what I have ...

This box is the one I have in my bedrooms downstairs, There is a container upstairs too, but that has mainly shampoos ... I originally started with Neutrogena shampoo, no problems with that but wanted to use something more moisturising as I think this Neutrogena shampoo was similar in ingredients to the Sisterlocks starter shampoo. I have heard of the Sisterlocks moisturiser but I am not known to be a patient person and from what I understand generally we in the UK have difficulty obtaining Sisterlock resources and products. In fact generally we have to pay more (often double) for anything that has to be imported due to postage costs and tax.

I understand via LIU that there can be a few problems, even in the USA, with accessability, communication and response from the Sisterlocks Head Office. Unfortunately I know that to be the situation here in England. If you have had a good response time fwith the head office and are resident in the UK please do let us all know ... knowledge is power. In saying that, I have heard of one or two new salons in the Tottenham, North London area that may be Sisterlock certified but have to wait for the holidays for me to check them out and their supplies.

In the mean time, dry locs is not the one! Your generous response is appreciated :)