The Favorite Series: Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Hello there :)

Since I started this blog after I established my hair regimen and many months into my hair care journey, I realized that I frequently refer to my favorite products without talking very much about them. I've decided to dedicate a series of posts to my staple products. The full list of my favorite products can be found on my Regimen link in the upper navigation bar. To kick off this series I'm going to talk about my favorite ever sulfate-free shampoo, the Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo.

 This was actually only the second sulfate-free shampoo I tried when I first began my hair journey. I'm a frequent shampooer and I was a die-hard sulfate fan. I have used a good amount of commercial sulfate shampoos, and some of them were beasts. I remember the old days when I was messing with Pantene and Tresemme that would leave my hair feeling like straw. I have an oily scalp and mild shampoos often just left my hair feeling as oily as it did prior to shampooing, if not worse. When I started taking better care of my hair and began researching, I found out about the evils of sulfates (skin irritation, damage to the pigment producing cells = more gray hair, ew lol) and opted to try the sulfate-free, mild shampoo route again. Well, after trying this shampoo I was truly blown away. I had no idea that my scalp and hair could be clean yet supple. This shampoo is so bananas that I can detangle my hair right after the shampoo step. I couldn't have asked for anything better, the search was over!

For my ladies with sensitive scalps, this shampoo has never caused me any problems with regard to irritation and it safely removes natural oils while not stripping your hair completely of the sebum it needs. This product is also barely scented and will most likely not aggravate those with sensitive skin or scalp conditions. I would recommend this product to anyone who is in dire need of a moisturizing, detangling sulfate-free shampoo.

Rating: 5/5-- Staple!!

Claims: Hydrates, smoothes and repairs strands, leaving hair manageably soft.

Ingredients: Deionized water, decyl glucoside (sugar beets), African butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), aloe vera leaf juice, argan oil, panthenol (pro-vitamin b5), rosemary extract, sea kelp extract, vitamin e, lonicera caprifolium (honeysuckle) flower and lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) flower extract.
pH: 7
Type: Moisturizing Cleanser
 
There will be many more posts in this series, but I will also be doing reviews of new products that I'm trying.

Thanks for reading :),

Getting to know me :)

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday weekend and enjoying this great weather!
The lovely Lexi tagged me in this Get to Know Me quiz (it's probably not a quiz but I'll call it that for lack of a better word ;).

Rules :
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on the blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you , as well as, creating your own eleven for the people you will tag.
3. Choose eleven people and link them in your blog.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tags back.
6. You legitimately have to tag.

Here are the questions that Lexi created:

1. Who's your favorite fictional character?
   Poison Ivy from batman... I always wanted that costume lol
2. What do the keys that are on your keychain open?
   Good question... house, 2 locks and this mysterious key that I can't seem to remember what it opens
3. Which qualities do you look for in a best friend?
   Loyalty! Then kindness, sense of humor and the ability to chill without the need for drama
4. What's your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
   Sleep lol
5. Where is the next place you'd like to travel?
   Greece!
6. Tell us the fragrance/cologne you wear most often.
   It's allergy season so nothing right now :(... but usually Ralph Lauren Romance or some body spray
7. What is something that makes you nervous?
   Tests -_-
8. Are you wearing any jewelry right now? What is it?
   None
9. Tell us about the time you first used a computer with internet. Where were you, what did you look at, were you excited about it?
   Umm.. elementary school and I think we were looking up animals :)
10. Did/do you have braces?
    nope!
11. What makes a party a GREAT party?
    Booze. Oh yeah and great people lol

I def don't have 11 people to tag, but I'll tag a few:
Ms. D @ 6 Foot Long Hair
Kendra @ Healthy Hair by Special K
Carolyn @ Waist Length Wishes

My 11 questions for you guys are:
1. What's your favorite color?
2. Who is your favorite actress?
3. If you could be any animal what would you be?
4. How tall are you?
5. What's your favorite season?
6. Do you wear make-up?
7. What's the weather like right now where you are?
8. Do you have Netflix?
9. Do you wear glasses?
10. What is your favorite holiday?
11. What style is your hair currently in?

Thanks for reading :),

Detangling Experiment!

I am currently 6 weeks post relaxer, so right about now is when detangling starts to become more of a chore. Last week I had some epic tangles after a wash (slight problem from protein overload :/). Although I was able to detangle my hair using aussie moist and some patience, I still feel that generally my detangling technique could use some work. I frequently find tangles in the middle of my head after washing and since I only use a comb on wash days, sometimes the shed hair + tangle issue can really make styling more difficult than it should be. Yesterday I opted to try something new, in all honesty it's just a spin on Carol's Daughter Olive Oil Infusion kit. Here's what I did:

1. I mixed sweet almond oil and Hairveda's Vatika Frosting in a bowl. It was hot yesterday so everything was liquid (yay!). 
2. I parted my hair into 4 sections.
3. In each of the 4 sections, I applied the oil mix to smaller sections and twisted each of them after application. While applying the oil I gently finger detangled.
4. After oiling and twisting all of my hair, I then applied Carol's Daughter Tui moisturizing hair smoothie to each of the twisted sections and let that sit for 30 minutes with a plastic cap on my head. I detangled again while applying the conditioner.
5. I shampooed as usual with my Shea Moisture shampoo and conditioned briefly with Aussie Moist.

I have to say, that was probably one of the best ideas I've ever had lol. I think I will now add this to my regimen and do this on my wash day at the end of the week to aid in thorough detangling, especially when I'm stretching my relaxer. My hair turned out soft, yet strong (because of the henna in the vatika frosting and the soy protein in the tui hair smoothie) and it was marvelously detangled. I even got a comb through it outside of the shower! Also to aid in this detangling kick I've been on I ordered a seamless comb that should be here sometime next week :).

After all of that detangling fun, I air-dryed my hair until it was about 60% dry and then started rollersetting with small rollers using the techniques mentioned in Alraines youtube videos (click here for the set and here for the results). It actually took me less time to set with smaller rollers, but due to the heat and humidity today the curls fell into loose waves anyway (which i kind of like :).

 

     

I decided to make some funny faces :). These were a little later in the morning 

after the curls fell, but they came out pretty tight at first.

Next time I'll use some kind of styling product, although I must admit, I do shy away from them they tend to dry my hair out.

So ladies, do you have any detangling secrets or perhaps a favorite setting/styling lotion? Do leave a comment below!

Thanks for reading :),

A setback?

Hey beautiful ;)

This has been a weird week for me, both health and hair-wise. In terms of health, I tore an abdominal muscle so I've been laid out for a while. I haven't really been sitting up much and I def haven't been at work... Commuting in nyc is way too much strain for me right now. I've just been laying around taking it easy and waiting for it to heal so i'll be stable enough to get back to normal (non-gym related :) activities.
In terms of hair, since I've been laid out, I haven't bothered with my hair much and I've been laying on my back so it's a mess. After a few days, I decided to pre-poo with coconut oil and then do a co-wash with nexxus humectress. My hair felt a bit hard, so I followed up with aussie moist to help me detangle. When I came out it was soft, but I think my hair is thinning out. I'm concerned because I've had more tangles recently which can = more breakage, as well as a ton of shedding which has me mildly concerned. In addition to more shedding overall, those problem areas I mentioned a few posts ago def affected the hair volume on the left side of my head :(. I suppose I should mention that I'm about 6 weeks post and I have a good amount of new growth. I know new growth can make ends appear choppy and thinner, and especially since I'm airdrying maybe I'm just overreacting. I just hope I won't need to take off a few inches... that would be an epic setback. I am also long overdo for a good trim, and I'll probably do that the next time I relax. Sigh, just wanted to vent... I'll post pics tomorrow when I can edit them.

 

Right and left sides. I'll try to take better quality pictures this weekend.

Thanks for reading :),

Wash day + new product arrival

Hello there ;)...

On Friday night at like midnight, I decided to wash my hair. I don't know why I would ever do that to myself because I knew this wash would take forever, but I figured why not lol. I'll list the steps:

1. Pre-poo with coconut/sweet almond oil on my scalp and avocado and grapeseed oil on the length for 2.5 hours.
2. Clarify with Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo one time and then shampoo another time with the Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo.
3. Light protein treatment with Miss Key 10 en 1 for 10 minutes with heat, then rinsed in lukewarm water.
4. Tea rinse with cool black tea for 10 minutes, then put Aussie Moist on top of it. That was left in for an additional 5 minutes then rinsed out in lukewarm water. 
5. Deep condition with Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle mixed with Roux Porosity Control for 15 minutes with heat then rinsed in cool water. 
6. I lightly finger detangled while rinsing out the deep conditioner.
7. T-shirt dry for 10 minutes
8. Applied leave-ins, Rusk Smoother leave-in conditioner, a bit of Kinky Curly Knot Today as well as my aloe vera juice/water mix.
9. I then air dryed my hair loose and tossed on a sleep cap.

 Here are the results...

 

I like how it came out. It came out full and fluffy but pretty smooth including my ends! Smooth ends from air-drying is def hard work lol. It felt slightly dryer than usual while airdrying though, so I sprayed it with a bit more aloe vera juice and put argan oil on my ends and all was well. I need to be careful with the protein though, I used Keraphix last week and that makes the hair very strong. To avoid protein overload I will def be doing a great moisturizing deep conditioner tomorrow as well as keeping up with moisturizing using Deja's Hair Milk.

Also, I was so excited last night because my package from Hairveda finally arrived! Their shipping is crap, but their products tend to be pretty good. I can't wait to try this!

Thanks for reading :),

Random hair related thoughts...

A few posts ago, I mentioned having some scalp issues. I have recently been plagued by scalp tenderness and hair thinning in the crown and on my edges, as well as more flaking than I have experienced since I started my journey. I've decided to change a few things in hopes of seeing a some marked improvement in these conditions by the end of summer.

The two conditions of regrowing hair in thin areas is to:

1. Reduce or eliminate tension or damage to the area
2. Massaging the affected area to stimulate growth, with or without some manner of oil. Castor oil is particularly useful for thickening and regrowing hair.

Although my scalp is sensitive to a number of things (just like the rest of my skin :p), it has never been tender. This recent tenderness is driving me crazy! I experienced something similar a few months ago, and I figured out it was because I pulling my hair back too often, as well as parting it in the same spot for too long. I can get lazy when it comes to styling so I wasn't shocked lol. After a few months of leaving my hair out or in two strand twists, the tenderness subsided and all was well. It's back and now it's my edges and my crown. I can only assume that my edges hurt for the same reason, tension due to too many up-dos. The crown of my head though, I have a few theories about.... While I think it has to do with the way I style my hair, I think it may also have to do with the pressure from the water head in my shower!! When I go under that thing it actually makes my scalp hurt. Epic fail. 

To solve my issues with thinning and tenderness, I've opted to turn down the water pressure, and leave my hair out in some low manipulation style for 3-4 days per week. To combat this messing with my length retention, I just have to keep abreast of my moisturizing and sealing, as well as deep conditioning. When I do protective style the rest of the days during the week, I am sure to take the hair around my edges out of the bun, and pin then loosely to the side of my head (like in the pic to the left ;). I'd much rather a messy up-do than bald edges. Serious talk. I have also chosen to massage the tender/thinning areas with my mix of castor, sweet almond and peppermint oil to stimulate growth. I also wanted to mention that I equate tenderness to thinning; tenderness does not always cause thinning, but in terms of tension related thinning, tenderness was probably the first symptom.

 With regard to the flaking on my scalp, I plan to do a pre-shampoo (more on these soon!) scalp treatment with coconut, jojoba and eucalyptus oil, I'll probably also be sure to cleanse the scalp more often to keep it clean and I will be sure to do a scalp massage with coconut oil or aloe vera gel a few times a week.

Hopefully, I will see some changes soon. Do you have any hair or scalp concerns right now? Please feel free to leave thoughts and concerns below!

Thanks for reading :),

An Award and a Giveaway

Hi there!

I received the One Lovely Blog Award from Carolyn over at Waist Length Wishes. She was so kind to give me this award, she has a great blog so be sure to visit her!! I have to award this to another 15 lovely bloggers but I believe most of the other blogs I read have already gotten one lol. I'll try to find a few ladies that haven't been picked yet though ;)... I also have to list 7 random facts about myself.

1. I am a video game junky (ps3 is king lol).
2. I am a web designer
3. I am in love with cheese... you really can't go wrong with cheese lol.
4. I would like to be a doctor someday, and I am currently getting ready to do applications for post-baccalaureate pre-med programs.
5. I am addicted to dresses, signature bags, hair and elaborate pedicures
6. I celebrate my birthday for the entire month of october haha
7. I religiously read Rage Comics

 **sure, why not?**
Perfect Tresses

Now for the giveaway!

Lexi at  **sure, why not?** is doing an international Urban Decay giveaway! She is giving away a great package and I wanted to let you know about it! She's a sweetheart, go ahead and visit her blog for more details :).

I also wanted to thank my 6 subscribers. It may not seem like much, but having dedicated readers means so much to me. I plan to have plenty more content for you guys and thank you for coming along with me on this journey ♥.

Thanks for reading :),

Tech Talk: The Return of the Tea Rinse

Good afternoon!

I had a fantastic wash day yesterday! Last week I had some issues, I over-moisturized my hair and experienced some breakage because of it :/. My hair felt stringy, limp, weak, and it actually got frizzy. I didn't have time to do a full wash day at the end of last week, so I attempted to save my hair with a quick protein conditioner (organix coconut milk instant repair treatment, review coming soon :). That definitely helped for a few days and helped the mushiness subside a bit, but I knew my hair needed some extra strength. I rolled out the staples to save the day.

My wash day began with a 2.5 hour coconut oil pre-poo and light detangling session. I then shampooed twice with my Shea Moisture moisture retention shampoo and then used Nexxus Keraphix ♥ without heat for 5 minutes while I showered. I then rinsed out Keraphix in lukewarm water and proceeded to do a black tea rinse. I don't know WHY I slack on the black tea rinses. In addition to my being over-moisturized, my hair has also been shedding more than usual. Perhaps the shedding is seasonal, but even if it is I don't care lol, I just want it to slow down. I put my black tea into a spray bottle, streamed it onto my scalp and then spritzed a bit of it on my hair. I left it in for about 10 minutes, then put some Aussie moist on top of it for 1 minute then rinsed. That tea rinse was the truth! My shedding after that wash was minimal... Black tea really can't be beat lol.

Tea rinses are a great way to combat shedding. The tannins in tea have the capacity to reduce hair fall, as well as fatten hair strands to give the hair a fuller appearance temporarily. Black tea, as well as green tea have a healthy supply of tannins to slow shedding quickly and effectively. The caffeine in black tea can also stimulate hair growth. Tea rinses should ideally be done 2 to 3 times a week to see maximum results. Different types of tea can also be used that target other hair care issues. Click here and here to read more information. I generally brew 2 teabags in about 12 ounces of water, letting the tea steep for about an hour. I let the tea cool for a few hours or overnight and then proceed to apply it during my wash day as mentioned above.

So after the tea rinse, I then did a little conditioner doctoring. I opted to do a moisturizing deep conditioner, I mixed Roux Porosity Control with Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle and a bit of coconut oil and sat under my hooded dryer with a shower cap on for about 15 minutes. I then left the conditioner in for an additional 10 minutes and then rinsed. My hair was bananas! It felt so strong, but super soft. Between Keraphix, a tea rinse and Aussie moist my hair is bananas :). I then airdryed my hair and applied the Rusk Smoother Leave-in conditioner and aloe vera juice/water. I opted to do a twist out and here are the results :).

 

The back and the front of the twist out

Thanks for reading :),

Product Review: Miss Key 10 en 1 Super Conditioner

I have periodically used this conditioner over the last few months. Before I used it, I was under the impression that it was a moisturizing deep conditioner, but it definitely is a light protein conditioner. After I accepted that fact lol, I was pleased by how well it works. When I first put it into my hand, I wasn't expecting much, it didn't instantly make my hair feel different. After leaving it in for 15 minutes, with or without heat, my hair was bananas! It smoothes the hair, leaves it feeling stronger, and eases detangling. I love using it when I apply my conditioner in sections during relaxer stretching, it's silicone light and it doesn't irritate my scalp. It has an interesting scent, it smells like peach/mango. It has a creamy consistency and is light orange in color. I really don't have any problems at all with this conditioner, it's light enough to use weekly. I was so pleased to have found this conditioner, and it's about $5 in most beauty supply stores.

Rating: 5/5-- Staple!

Claims: 10 en 1 contains a mix of 10 of the most important products for hair damaged by dyes. It is tropicalized for all hair types. That is why it is considered to be a super conditioner.

Instructions: Wash hair well, then apply Super Conditioner 10 en 1 for 5 to 15 minutes. Finally wash hair very well.

Ingredients: Water, cetyl alcohol, glycerin, propylene glycol, stearyl alcohol, Distearoylamidoethyl Monium Methosulfate, behentrimonium methosulfate, polysorbate 60, pentaerythrityl, tetraisostearate, lactamide, hydrolyzed wheat protein, dimethicone, diazolidinyl urea, fragrance, methyl propyl paraben, ceramide, FD&C yellow #5 and FD&C red #40.
pH: 4.5
Type: light protein deep conditioner

Thanks for reading :),

A few concerns...

Hey there :).

After I washed my hair last night (I got a good 4 days out of my rollerset... #winning lol), I decided to assess the current condition of my hair. Now while my hair is progressing reasonably well, I've been having some scalp issues recently. I've been having more flaking than usual since my last relaxer and the flakes have not been responding too well to my usual measures. I also think that I have some thinning in the crown of my head, as well as some tenderness. My edges have also been tender and the right edge has also been thinning out. I haven't really changed my techniques, lifestyle and I haven't been particularly stressed, so I'm not certain of the exact cause of what I have been experiencing. Generally for me, flaking is caused by build-up of a product, irritation of the scalp (due to harsh substances or some kind of allergy) or the result of chemical damage (relaxer burns mostly). Flakes could also easily be a flare up of my seborrheic dermatitis, but flares happen in relation to some kind of event, like sulfate use (with the exception of my hairline which is affected by my facial acne treatments).

I'm currently working to remedy the issues of flaking, tenderness and thinning. I'm pretty concerned about the spot in my crown that's tender and thinning because my coarse strands reside in the front of my head and that wouldn't be too poppin if they thinned out. If you have any suggestions for how I can deal with these problems feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading :),

My First Rollerset!

So, yesterday I did something that I promised myself I would never put my hair through (unless I got a cosmetology degree ;), I did my own rollerset. The reason why I shied away from rollersetting is because my hair + me + wet manipulation = epic fail. When I manipulate my hair while wet (unless its in the shower), I get breakage, and generally angry hair. I do most detangling and most manipulation on my hair when its about 70% dry, so I get the best of both worlds-- the strength of dry hair, with the elasticity of wet hair. After giving it some thought, researching on some of my fav rollersetters (Nadege and Jeni) and gathering some supplies, I mustered up the courage to try to rollerset. I did a standard wash day, I shampooed twice with the shea moisture shampoo, then DCed with Miss Key 10 en 1 super conditioner (light protein) and Aussie moist. I then t-shirt dried for about 10 minutes and then began rollersetting, it took me about an hour and 45 minutes to complete the set. It was frustrating at times...

This picture is of the completed set, lol I was the crankiest after I finished. I set it mostly on one inch rollers, and then I used various smaller rollers for the front. The leave-ins I used to set were the Rusk Smoother Leave-in, aloe vera juice/water, and my dove heat protectant. I had some tangles, so I was not interested in using a rat-tail comb, so the set didn't get as smooth as it could of, especially at the roots. I let it air-dry for about 3 hours, then set under the dryer for about 20 minutes to make sure that my roots were dry. The set came out okay, but the back was mostly straight because I used bigger rollers in the back. I'm just lucky I was only 3 weeks post so it didn't come out looking too crazy lol.

 

These pictures are of the completed set that same night. I pincurled it that night, moisturized with Deja's Hair Milk (review coming soon!), and sealed with sweet almond oil. Sometime the next day (after lounging around on the couch :),  I took the pincurls down and got this:

 

tossed a headband in it ;) lol

I'll add some shots of the back later, but as you can see they're way curly, and they held up pretty well throughout the day. Clearly, I still have some work to do to perfect the rollersetting technique. Can't wait!

Thanks for reading :),

Things I've learned... from winter 2011

Good evening! Well, now that the crisp winter weather is mostly behind us in the Northeast, I have been thinking about what I have learned. This past winter was the first winter of my hair journey. I started in the summer and my hair took full advantage of the humidity and warm temperatures and was moisturized, smooth and happy all of the time, but when winter hit things got a little crazy. I experience chronic dryness, some breakage and a ton of shedding in October. So here are a list of things that I've learned since the end of summer up until the weather warmed up:

• Frequent deep conditioning (2 times a week), as well as continuing not to heat style will save me from a lot of damage
• Silicone is my friend in the winter, but only in moderation (really only on wash days) to help my strands retain moisture.  I just have to be careful to rinse my scalp thoroughly because it is easily irritated by silicone buildup.
• Winter is the only season where my scalp is ever actually dry, so frequent scalp massages with coconut oil keep it moisturized and flake free.
• Since I don't produce a lot of sebum in the winter, sulfate shampoos wreak havoc on my scalp and make it itchy and flaky, so no sulfates for Jen Jen in the winter :)
• My moisturizers absolutely have to be protein free during the week because my hair gets so dry that even small amounts of protein will turn it into a brick and cause unnecessary breakage (found that out the hard way when I tried to use the Giovanni leave-in in November... epic fail lol)
• I also moisturize twice a day, as well as seal twice a day during stretching to prevent my hair from drying out too much
• However, out of all of these notes, the gold star goes to aloe vera juice for keeping my pH checked, my cuticles closed, for soothing my scalp and for keeping my hair moist during the colder months. Spraying my hair my aloe vera juice/water mix in between wash days left me with softer, shinier hair with longer lasting moisture retention... That really can't be beat ;)

Thanks for reading :),

Product Review: Organix Macadamia Oil Collection

Hey there :). Now that my hair has normalized after my last relaxer, I can try new products... yay! Since I began my hair journey, I tried 2 sulfate free shampoos, Loreal Everstrong and the Shea Moisture Moisture Retention shampoo. The Loreal shampoo was alright, I didn't particularly care for the smell and although it didn't strip the moisture from my hair, it also didn't leave my scalp feeling clean. The Shea Moisture shampoo was the one I tried next and I fell in love! I had no idea that my scalp could feel so clean, and my hair could feel so moist that I could detangle right after shampooing! It has a light fragrance and all natural ingredients... my scalp was finally happy lol. I discovered this shampoo maybe 2 weeks into my hair journey so the Shea Moisture shampoo was one of my first staple products. Recently though, I have considered branching out and finding another sulfate free shampoo should Shea Moisture ever change the formula or discontinue their shampoo like Creme of Nature (click here to read about that debacle lol).
I have been intrigued by the Organix brand for a while, and I've heard some good things. I figured I'd try the Macadamia Oil shampoo because I am a huge fan macadamia nut oil. The macadamia oil line also came with an intensive moisture mask which caught my attention, so I picked up the shampoo, moisture mask and the dry styling oil.

 Pictured from left to right are the Organix Macadamia Oil Shampoo, Intensive Moisture Mask and Dry Styling Oil.

Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil Shampoo
This product had a thick consistency and a smooth, pearly texture like many moisturizing shampoos. It also has a lovely smell--it's somewhat sweet, you can definitely smell the sugar cane extract mentioned on the bottle. It had a great lather considering that it's a sulfate-free shampoo. Prior to using this shampoo, I pre-pooed for about an hour with coconut oil. However, even after the pre-poo my hair still felt squeaky clean, not dry, but just as if I had used a clarifying shampoo. This shampoo wasn't so great for detangling, but my hair didn't feel dry, and since I'm only 2 weeks post I can't say that I had major tangles prior to, or while washing. This doesn't compare to my beloved Shea Moisture shampoo when it comes to detangling and smoothing, but it did leave my scalp clean and it didn't irritate it either.

Rating: 4/5
Ingredients: Water, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, cocamidopropyl betaine, dimethicone, sodium cocoyl isothionate, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultane, cocamide DEA, glycol distearate, laureth-4, laureth-23, amodimethicone, trideceth-12, cetrimonium chloride, PEG-23M, polyquaternium-10, macadamia seed oil, bamboo extract, cocoa seed butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, aloe leaf extract, panthenol, parfum, DMDM hydantoin, sodium chloride, citric acid, FD&C Red Yellow No. 5, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Blue No. 1
pH: 7
Type: moisturizing

Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask 
This is the second deep conditioning mask I've tried from Organix, the first was the Moroccan Argan oil which proved to not be moisturizing enough for my strands. I didn't have high hopes for this conditioner either, but I have to say, in conjunction with the shampoo I was pleasantly surprised by this moisture mask! It's scent is slightly sweeter than the shampoo, it has a thick creamy consistency and a light peach color. It spread really easily through my hair and it felt very smooth when putting it on. I then covered my head with a plastic cap and sat under my hooded dryer for about 10 minutes. When I took the cap off to let my hair cool the conditioner appeared to have soaked into my hair and when I rinsed it out about 5 minutes later my hair felt very smooth and moisturized. It provided a reasonable amount of slip for detangling in the shower and it left the hair nice and soft after it was fully rinsed. I like it, I'm not sure if it's a staple just yet (I'll have to see how it stands up to my hair at 8 or 10 weeks post to know if it's really love ;)

Rating: 5/5
Ingredients: Water, behentrimonium chloride, cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, ceteareth-20, glyceryl stearate, glycerin, cyclomethicone, lanolin oil, dimethicone, macadamia seed oil, bamboo extract, cocoa seed butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, aloe leaf extract, panthenol, parfum, DMDM hydantoin, FD&C Red Yellow No. 5, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Blue No. 1
pH: 7
Type: moisturizing

Organix Macadamia Oil Dry styling Oil
I figured I'd buy the whole set to see how they worked together. I don't use serum very often, mostly because I don't use silicone on a daily basis. This serum is quite light, and is nice on straight hair. I tried it on damp hair as well as on dry after styling. On damp hair, it smoothed my hair out a bit, but it didn't do much to help detangle. On dry hair it worked as a nice sealant to help keep my hair soft and moisturized. The smell of the serum is awesome though, it has a great sugary smell.

Rating: 3.5/4
Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, dimethiconol, macadamia seed oil, bamboo extract, cocoa seed butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, aloe leaf extract, panthenol, parfum, D&C Red Yellow No. 11, D&C Red No.17
pH: 7
Type: moisturizing

Overall, it's a nice collection and a great way to mix up your regimen if you want to try something different. I love the way these products smell and they work the way they are advertised. This is also a great moisture based line that I'll probably add to my rotation.

Thanks for reading :),