My Mixed Race Hair Journey Update- Trying New Products

If you have read my previous post about my hair journey so far, you will know that when I was younger I wanted straight hair, so that I could be like all my friends. However over the past couple of years I have realised that I should embrace what I have got and learn to love my curls. My biggest battle is trying to find products that work for my hair due to my mixed genes. My mother is from Jamaica and my father is from England. My hair has always been fine, but due to straightening my hair in my early 20’s it has got thinner due to breakage.

As some of you will know I attended the Afro Hair and Beauty live 2016 show in London, where I received some samples as well as buying a couple of products. I will first talk about the products I got free from ORS; Curls Unleashed Green Tea & Cucumber Curl Refresher, Shealicious Cleansing Balm Sulfate-Free Hydrating Shampoo and Hair And Scalp Wellness Castor Oil.

Curls Unleashed Green Tea & Cucumber Curl Refresher

I am going to start with my favourite product which I have been using every day since I got it. Whilst at the event I went to the bathroom and tried this product out as I felt my hair was looking a tad frizzy due to the weather and my hair being so thin (the slightest bit of wind and my hair goes all over the place). After just a couple of sprays my friend commented on how soft my hair felt and my curls were more defined, that was all I needed to hear to get me hooked. Although I wear a wig in the day, at night-time I take out my two plaits and do my normal L.O.C (Leave in, Oil and Creme) routine, I try to do this every other night as my hair seems to be more moisturized which I will get on to later. Previously I was using ORS Curls Unleashed Shea Butter & Mango Leave-in Conditioner however this has taken second place to this hair refresher. Apart from the way it makes my hair feel the one of the reasons I like this product is due to the fact that’s it’s in a spray bottle, as I found out on the day I got it, it’s so easy to spray my hair and as the name says refresh my curls. I also like the fact that I am able to lock the product, making it easy to transport without having to worry about it leaking. Since using this product (past five weeks) I have noticed that my hair is a lot softer and easier to detangle.

 Shealicious Cleansing Balm Sulfate-Free Hydrating Shampoo

Now I have to be honest I have only used the Shealicious Cleansing Balm Sulfate-Free Hydrating Shampoo  once so far, however I love it already. When I went to the ORS stand the lady advised that I could choose two products and that she would choose the final product. I am so glad that the lady chose this product for me as I needed a new shampoo as mine had just run out. As this is sulfate-free it does not lather like normal shampoo’s but I am use to this as I have used them previously. Unlike other shampoo’s which have left my hair feeling squeaky clean, this left my hair feeling soft and moisturized. This is definitely a product that i will be continuing to use in my regular routine ( I normally wash my hair once a week).

Hair And Scalp Wellness Castor Oil

I chose this product to help with the thinness of my hair, as it is well-known that castor oil is very good for helping re-growth and thickening the hair. I have previously used Jamaican castor oil, but not regularly. I have been using this castor oil from ORS everyday on just my edges, as I have only been using this for a few weeks I am yet to notice a difference. I have checked the ingredients and can see that it is mixed with other ingredients so I am unsure how effective it will be compared to pure castor oil. However I am going to carry on using this product and will let you know how I get on.

100% Pure Argan Oil

Whilst at the Afro Hair and Beauty event I made a last-minute purchase of a bottle of 100% Pure Argan Oil. Originally I was just going to purchase some beard oil for my boyfirend, however the lady did me a deal and with a little persuasion from my friend I purchased a bottle for myself. A friend years ago told me that Argan oil was good for helping to retain moisture which is one of my biggest problems. My hair would look lovely in the morning and my curls would be nicely defined however by the end of the day it would be dry and frizzy. Based on my friends recommendation I picked up a bottle in my local TK Max by chance, as this is not something you can easy purchase in my local town. However I did not notice much difference when I used this product, so didn’t re-purchase. Since getting the 100% pure version I have checked the ingredients of my previous bottle and like the ORS castor oil it has other ingredients in it. Now that I have the 100% pure version I can tell the difference with my hair, due to using this product I don’t need to take my hair out of my two plaits every day and moisturize my hair. Since using the 100% Pure Argan Oil when I take my hair out of plaits it feels a lot softer and moisturized than it did when I was using my combination of olive oil, castor oil and my unpure Argan Oil.

For now I think these products are going to be part of my regular routine. I will give you an update in a few months on my hair’s progress. If you have any recommendations please let me know in the comments.

My Experience At Afro Hair & Beauty Live 2016

As I have recently started trying to look after my hair this event came at the perfect time as it allowed me to pick up products for natural hair. I couldn’t believe how many different hair stalls there were all promoting natural hair. First of all I have to say that this is the first hair event that I have ever been to, so I have nothing to compare it to. From speaking to other people I understand that the event use to be bigger and was held at Alexander Palace. However the event was bigger and better than I expected it to be. As you can see from above, I came home with a great range of samples from some brands I have heard of and some I haven’t.

My favourite stall was ORS, this was due to getting 3 full-sized samples just for attending the event. Firstly I took a photo in front of their vending machine and uploaded it to Instagram with the caption: #tagorseurope. As soon as I had uploaded it, a small parcel from the vending machine dropped, inside it was a booklet and two samples.

I then completed the last page in the booklet which allowed me to redeem three samples. I joined the que and waited my turn, as you may know from my previous hair post I am currently using ORS Unleashed Curls, so was eager to try more from the range. The lady advised me that I could choose two products and that she would choose the third. I picked the ORS Unleashed Curls Hair Refresher and the Castor oil as mine was running low at home. The lady choose for me the sulphate free shampoo, which was actually perfect as I wanted to try a new shampoo and the one I received is not available in my local Boots.

I then proceeded to go round the other stalls, collecting as many samples as I could. I wanted to make the most of my day and get the opportunity to try different brands to find out what works for my hair. I then went to Design Essentials to meet ukafrolista, as soon as she saw me she came over and gave me and my friend a hug as if we were long-lost friends. We took our obligatory selfie and then discussed her outfit, she passed on some helpful clothes shopping tips which I am very grateful for.

At the Palmer’s stall I brought a new product which had just launched: Eventone Suncare Cocoa Butter Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30. With my purchase I received a free sample of Manuka Flower  deep conditioner, which I am looking forward to trying. I also picked up free samples of the Manuka Flower shampoo and conditioner from the desk, so I plan to try all three products together. Palmer’s also had a photo booth next to their stall with a table of quirky accessories that you could borrow for your photos. Unfortunately our photos did not come out perfectly, the lady suggested this could be due to us standing to near to the green screen or the fact it had been overused. Due to the length of the que we decided to just keep the photos that we got.

As well as the hair stalls as the title suggests there was also beauty brands, including Kiss a brand from the UK. I did look at getting some stick on nails, however they only had the longer length which if you have read my Stick on Nails post you will know I prefer the shorter ones as I think they look more natural. There was also clothes and accessory stalls, however these were mainly African print which did not appeal to me. It would have been nice to see some accessories and clothes that made reference to the Caribbean culture. Hopefully this will be something that will change in the future.

As well as all the amazing stalls, there was also a stage and a seating area. Over the course of the day there were fashion shows and demonstrations from the different brands at the event. I managed to catch a couple of the fashion shows, along with demonstrations from Taliah Wajid and Design Essentials. I think the shows were okay however there was not enough seating, after a while my feet would hurt from standing in the same place. Here are a few more pictures from the day …

After the event Soft’n’Free contacted me on Twitter and sent me some extra samples as I hadn’t received any from their stall, however on receiving them I have received some duplicates as I was unaware Creme of Nature is also part of the same company.

I can’t wait to try all my different samples, once I have tried them I will put up a review. If you have tried any of these products let me know your opinion.

My Mixed Race Hair Journey- The Story So Far

 

Although not obvious to most, but in the picture above I am wearing a wig. Usually I only wear it on special occasions, or nights out. However recently I have been wearing it as a protective hairstyle (more on that later) whilst I try to improve the condition of my natural hair. Let’s start at the beginning…

I am mixed race, my mother is Jamaican and my father is English, so my hair is a mixture of both genetics. When I was younger my hair was fine, frizzy and curly and I hated it. Kids at school used to say that I had stuck my finger in an electric socket, because of this I begged my mum to do something with my hair. Over about 5 years my mum put a relaxer (a chemical concoction) on my hair about once a year which helped to tame my frizz and lessen my curls.

I then went off to university where my friends would straighten my hair and I started wearing my hair in braids. This allowed me to hide my frizz and I was a lot happier. For my 21st birthday my godmother got me some hair straighteners that I picked myself in Boots. I chose ones that you could adjust the temperature as I was kinda aware that because my hair was so fine it couldn’t handle the high temperature of normal straighteners, so thought these would be better for hair.  Getting straighteners was the worst thing I could have done, I became addicted to having my hair straight and over a period of a year without me noticing my hair was breaking, getting thinner and shorter.

One day I decided to use faithful Google to find out how I could make my hair longer and thicker, which is when I found a website called Hairlista  a “Social Network designed to unite and educate Women on Healthy Hair Care Practices, Skin, Beauty and much more”

One of the tips I read was to avoid heat, which made me realise, was the cause of my hair becoming damaged and not growing. The website also recommends products to use and avoid to help your hair grow and maintain the length.Over the next year I tried a range of products and became what they call a product junkie, I dread to think how much money I spent as products for my hair type are not cheap (for example shampoo can range from £6 up). Because I used such a range of different products my hair did not improve as much as it should.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I started talking to my friend who is African, she has curly frizzy hair which she embraces and is proud of. I realised that I want to be like her and be proud of the hair that I have got, rather than trying to change it. My friend advised using a few products and sticking to it. So I went to Boots which for the last few years has stocked products specifically for my hair type and chose a leave-in conditioner, a styling product and a deep conditioner.

My new routine involves doing the L.O.C (leave-in, oil, crème) method with the above two ORS products and a mixture of oils. After washing my hair I apply the leave in conditioner, then a mixture of castor oil, olive oil and coconut oil and then I finish with the crème.I use the Hair Mayonnaise once a month after washing my hair I then put this on and leave it in my hair for about an hour before washing it out, The protein (the product actually contains egg protein) is supposed to strengthen my hair.

Whilst doing this routine I am protecting my hair (from wind, rain, humidity and pollution) by wearing a wig. This will allow my hair to rest and hopefully grow. I have chosen a wig that is close to my own hair colour so that it does not appear as obvious. The one in the picture is synthetic which means that I can’t re-style it or use any heat on it. However you can get wigs made from human hair, which can be curled and straightened like normal hair.

If you would like me to do a full review of the products or have any questions about my hair journey, please leave a comment below. I will do an update in a few months to let you know what progress I have made with my hair. I am also attending a hair show in London at the end of this month, which of course I will blog. As a thank you for reaching the bottom of my blog here is a sneak peek of what my natural hair looks like…