Product Review- Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner

Hello Everyone!!

Let me first say that I was leery about buying/trying out this conditioner because it contains whipped egg white proteins. As some of you may know from my Hairlista Blog my hair is protein sensitive. Too much protein and it takes FOREVER to get my hair back in shape. But I was at Rite Aid yesterday, killing some time before I had to pick my dog, Scooter, up from the groomer(my life is SO glamorous! LOL), so of course I found myself on the hair care aisle, smelling conditioners and reading ingredients. Before I knew it, this conditioner: Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner was in my basket. I reasoned, that since the conditioner only contains 21 ingredients, and the egg white protein is 14th on the list, it couldn't be that bad. My logic was that since ingredients are listed based on the amount of said ingredient in the product, this conditioner only had "a little" protein in it, and therefore it was safe. Ya'll I was REALLY trying to justify using this conditioner, even though it had protein in it, because I'm a sucker for YUMMY smelling conditioners.

Here are some of your FAQ:

*How much was it? $6.99 @ Rite Aid

*How much is in the bottle? 13 oz.

*Girl, what's in it? Water/Aqua , Cetyl Alcohol , Behentrimonium , Cetearyl Alcohol , Cetearyl Glucoside , Glyceryl Stearate , Glycerin , Cyclomethicone , Dimethicone , Jojoba Oil , Panthenol , Silk Amino Complex , Coconut Milk , Egg White Protein , Coconut Oil , Tocopheryl Acetate - Vitamin E , Tetrasodium EDTA , Fragrance , DMDM Hydantoin , Methylchloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone

*What does it claim to do?

•"Beauty pure and simple.
•Indulge your senses with this exclusive blend of organic coconut milk to nourish your hair, while ultra whipped egg white proteins add strength and elasticity, along with weightless coconut oils to add hydration and balance.
•Sulfate free.
•Organic coconut milk & oils.
•Why We Love it
◦It's like a trip to the tropics in a bottle.
•Why You Want it
◦The luxuriously creamy, foaming, hydrating formula leaves your hair feeling clean, glowing, softly scented and super soft.
•What's in it For You
◦Organic coconut milk and ultra whipped egg white proteins along with weightless coconut oil to hydrate and nourish your hair as gentle cleansers wash away impurities.
•Not tested on animals.
•Made in USA."

*Where can I find it? Organix products can be found at most drugstores and superstores including: Target, Walmart, CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, etc.

*Directions from the bottle: "After shampooing, apply Organix Conditioner generously to hair, working through ends. Wait 3-5 minutes. Rinse hair thoroughly."

*My Personal Review:

I am perplexed and confused by this conditioner. Here's how I used it. First I shampooed my hair twice with Joico Moisture Recovery Shampoo. I've been using products this week with cones in them since I've been wearing my hair straight, so I needed the sulfates in the Joico shampoo to make sure that the conditioner would be able to penetrate. Usually I use a sulfate free shampoo. Anyway, after I rinsed the shampoo out, I towel blotted my hair and squeezed a generous amount of the Organix Conditioner in my palm and applied it to my hair in three sections. By the way, the conditioner was VERY thick and I found it hard to apply, so to make it easier I ran my head under the water and applied the conditioner after that. The water helped it distribute easier. I then clipped my hair up, and continued with my shower. After about 6 minutes I grabbed my shower comb, unclipped my hair, and proceeded to detangle. Using the stream from the shower head, I rinsed the conditioner out, and combed my hair. The comb slid through like a breeze!!!! I was in shock!! I was literally standing up in the shower saying, " WOW! This is AMAZING!" like a fool. I got no breakage, and maybe 4 shed hairs. Then, while my hair was still soaking wet, I squeezed a dime size amount of the conditioner into my hands, rubbed them together, and applied it to my hair as a leave-in.

Lastly, I wrapped my hair up in a turbie twist. After about 10 minutes, I took the turbie twist off and felt my hair.......it didn't really feel moisturized or soft. I began questioning whether I should have used it as a leave in, and whether or not I needed to get back in the shower and cowash with my beloved Aussie Moist. I decided to wait to see how my hair felt when it dried. So I set my new blow dryer to low heat, high fan and proceeded rough drying my hair (I didn't use a comb or a brush, I was just trying to get my hair dry.) After my hair was dry I set my blow dryer to the cool setting and made sure all of my hair was cool to the touch. ( I read about doing this somewhere, and it really makes my hair feel softer. Rather than just waiting for my hair to cool on it's own.)

Now here is the confusing part.....my hair feels soft, but stiff. It feels moisturized, but a little dry. I'm at a loss.......I mean, my hair doesn't feel bad per say, just different. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Will I use it again? Yes. My next cowash I won't use any as a leave in, and see what happens. This is interesting......I always have a definite opinion when I write my reviews, but this one leaves me puzzled.....

To Be Continued.........

OK....it's been a week later, and I have given Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner another try. College has started again, so goodbye daily cowashing, and deep conditioning 3 times a week. I just don't have the time anymore. Thursday, after I got home from class, I couldn't wait to shampoo and condition my hair. I felt like I was washing the whole week away. It felt wonderful!! I shampooed twice with Kenra Moisturizing Shampoo, which I love by the way, and cowashed once with the Organix Coconut Conditioner. My hair felt great, but it didn't detangle as smoothly as I wanted, so I dumped two palm fulls of Aussie Moist Conditioner on my hair, and the comb slid right through. Now that my hair has dried, it feels soft, but strong, and is Hella Shiny!! I didn't use any leave in conditioner because I wanted to be able to judge how effective the Organix was on my hair. It turns out the the egg white protein wasn't too much for my hair at all. Now, my results might be marred by topping off the Organix with the Aussie Moist, but since this combo gave me soft fluffy results, this is the combo that I'm sticking with.

*My Final Thoughts:

I like this conditioner a lot. I will definitely be rebuying. I think I will be using it in combination with my Aussie Moist, since I got the best results with this method. I wish that it came in a larger bottle. I'm heavy handed with my cowashing conditioners and at this rate I'll be going through 2 bottles of Organix a month, in ratio to 1 liter of my Aussie Moist a month. I think this calls for a coupon. I'll be searching for a Organix coupon before I buy anymore of it. After all, all of this stuff is getting washed down the drain anyway, so I might as well save a few pennies when I can. :)

-Southern Bella

It Just Took 8 Words!

Hello Everyone!!

If you've visited my Hairlista Page this summer you've seen my doomsday hot pink countdown. The countdown is literally counting down the days until I decide if I'm going to try "going natural" or if I am going to succumb to the "creamy crack." The countdown ends tomorrow. But I've made my decision today. But before I get to that, I have make something clear. Relaxers have been very good to me. Since I got my first relaxer when I was 8 years old I've never had a chemical burn, or breakage because of one. The only setbacks (breakage) that I have ever had were due to some overprocessed blond highlights (a la Beyonce), using the wrong/bad products, and just plain ol' laziness and neglect. So, the assumption that only women who have had bad relaxers go natural is totally false in my case.

By the way:

( INSERT RANT ------> I think that relaxers have a bad reputation, when really it's women who don't know what to do to their hair once they get it relaxed, so they either do EVERYTHING or NOTHING, and then they get breakage and blame the relaxer. What kind of sense does that make? Now the movement is, RELAXERS ARE THE DEVIL! No......ignorance is the devil. But until Black women learn how to properly take care of their hair, relaxers will get blamed for every broken hair that falls to the floor. It's kinda unfair when you think about it........ But I digress.........<------RANT OVER!!) LOL!!

I first started thinking about stretching my relaxer after my last one in March 2009. I've told this story many times on Hairlista, but since this was the breaking point for me to try to be self sufficient, I'll tell it again. I went to my stylist of 6+ years for a relaxer. I was sitting in her chair and I decided to ask her for some advice ( something I never did before.) Here is EXACTLY how the conversation went:

Me: "My hair is breaking. What should I do?"

The Stylist: "I don't know. My hair is breaking too."

THE END!!!!!

When I picked my jaw up off the floor, I kindly paid her, thanked her for her services, and vowed to myself that I would never darken her door again. That was 23 weeks ago. Her 8 word response is why I am 23 weeks post relaxer. Her 8 word response is why I took the time this summer to get to know my hair. Her 8 word response is the reason why I know exactly what my hair likes and doesn't like. Her 8 word response is what led me to realize that my natural hair is TOTALLY MANAGEABLE!!

I thank her for those 8 words. Without them, I would still be depending on someone else to do my hair (something I HATED!) This summer I've been experimenting with cowashing, twistouts, spiral sets, clips, and bunning. Anything to help me tame this hair. The more products I tried, the more styles I did, the more I realized that my natural hair has a personality. She can be temperamental and stubborn, but she can also be easy going and versatile. She's interesting and challenging. She's friendly and mysterious. She's high-maintenance and has expensive tastes. She's a lot like me. I like her. I'd like her to stick around so I can get to know her better.

Decision Made! I am officially transitioning to become 100% natural. I'm happy with this decision. I've also decided that I will be a LONG term transistioner. At least 2 1/2 years, maybe even longer. I want my natural hair to be at least and inch past shoulder length before I let go of all of my relaxed hair. So I'll only be cutting about an inch off my ends every 3-4 months or so. I'm happy with this decision also. It will feel more like a true "transition" this way. I'm not in favor of sacrificing my length (a la BIG CHOP), I've worked too hard for it. Letting the relaxed hair go, a little at a time will keep me sane, it will make me feel like I'm really not losing any length at all. I like that idea.

So everybody, that's my story. I'm thankful that I took 3 months to weigh the pros and cons before I decided. I'm also thankful that this decision is 100% my own. And lastly, I'm thankful for the emails and the posts, asking me "Girl have you decided yet?" "Girl, what's taking so dang long?" "Girl you know you're gonna have to change your Hairlista screen name if you go natural." ( my Hairlista screen name is Long&Relaxed, by the way.) LOL! Yep, I'm thankful for a lot.

Thanks for Reading!

-SouthernBella

Product Review- Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner

Hello All!!

This is a product review for the infamous Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I bought this conditioner because of all of the great reviews it's gotten on different hair care boards that I frequent. So while I was at Ulta last week I decided to add this to my basket and try it out. All I can say is WOW!!!! I have really been sleeping on this conditioner!!!

Here are some of your Frequently Asked Questions:

*How much was it and where did you get it? I bought this conditioner at Ulta (for some reason they don't sell it in their online store) for $14 for a 10.1 oz container.

*What sizes does it come in? Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner comes in 2 different sizes, the 10.1 oz for $14 and the Liter size for $30.

*Girl, what's in it? Purified Water, Hexadecanol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol (Emollient), Ceteareth-20, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, Isopropylparaben, Benzophenone-4, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Fragrance, FD&C Yellow No.5, FD&C Yellow No.6, FD&C Red No.40, FD&C Blue No.1.

*What does it claim to do? "Improves elasticity and manageability in dry, damaged hair. Wheat proteins moisturize naturally curly and coarse hair. Readily detangles and imparts shine"

*Where can I find it? Kenra products can be found in salons, as well as Ulta, JC Penny salons, and Trade Secret (among other places.)

*What are the directions? "After shampooing, work small amount of product throughout the hair. Leave product on hair for one minute. Rinse with warm water.Additional Uses: Add maximum moisture by applying Moisturizing Conditioner, covering hair with plastic cap and sit under warm dryer for 10-15 minutes."

*My Personal Review:

For full disclosure, my hair is a mixture of 3f-4a, I have been transitioning out of my relaxer since March of 2009, and I am about an inch away from bra strap length. Since I only bought the Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner and not the shampoo, I shampooed my hair once with Joico Moisture Recovery Shampoo. Next, I towel blotted my hair and applied Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner to my hair in sections, I only used a small amount of conditioner in each section. Next, I covered my hair with a plastic cap, and sat under a hooded dryer (set to medium) for 20 minutes. I rinsed the conditioner out with cool water while detangling with my Jillbere Shower Comb, the tangles just slipped right through the comb, I lost nearly no hair at all. Even with my hair being wet, I could feel how moisturized my hair was. I squeezed about 2 streams of the conditioner into a spray bottle, added some water and shook the bottle. I used this as my leave-in conditioner. My hair dried soft, with a sheen, and it felt moisturized and healthy. Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner has a slight coconut smell that fades when the hair dries, and the conditioner itself is very thick with a yellowish color and is very easy to apply. Also it should be noted that this conditioner has Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein as a major ingredient, however I found that without a doubt this conditioner works like a moisturizing conditioner and not a protein based conditioner.

Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner is definitely a KEEPER!!!

*My Final Thoughts

The more I use this conditioner, the more I love it! Anything that can get the 2 different textures of my hair to be moisturized and soft, is worth the $$!! I'll be adding the complete Kenra Moisturizing line to my "MUST BUY list", I'll buy the whole line when Ulta or Trade Secret has a sell. Ha!

-SouthernBella

Appliance Review- Remington T-Studio Ceramic & Tourmaline Blow Dryer

Hello All!

After my old, crappy blow dryer died I began doing research for a new blow dryer that was under $50, and that had tourmaline and ceramic technology. The Remington T-Studio Dryer D-2012 was the dryer I chose. Seriously, it was the best decision I could have made! I bought it at Bed Bath & Beyond, the listed price was $39.99 but I had a coupon (of course) so I paid about $33 for it. The particular bundle that Bath & Body Works sells comes with a paddle brush and a concentrator nozzle instead of a diffuser, that didn't bother me though because I don't have much use for a diffuser.

This dryer isn't as heavy as some that I have used, but it's not exactly "feather-light" either. Thanks to the tourmaline, ionic, and ceramic technology my hair dried in about 50% of the time that it usually takes! That was enough for me to fall in love with it!! Also, because it dries my hair so fast, my arms didn't get tired at all!! The concentrator nozzle is great for blowing out my roots, using a tension-pulling method. Also, it has a cleanable lint trap. That feature was lost on me until I realized how much better a clean blow dryer works compared on an old blow dryer with a dirty-clogged lint trap that can't be cleaned.

Another thing that I like about this dryer is that it isn't very loud at all. It has 2 speeds and 3 different temperature settings as well as a cold shot. I use this dryer primarily on the medium heat setting on high speed. The handle is very comfortable to hold. Also, the dryer is pretty cute to look at, the light pink and grey colors appeal to my girly side. After I use the Remington T-Studio Dryer D-2012 my hair is soft and shiny! Not dried out at all. I LOVE this dryer!!!

So, if you are looking for a new blow dryer that has ceramic, tourmaline, and ionic features, and you don't want to fork over the $85+ for the T3, this is the blow dryer for you!!

-SouthernBella

Hello World!

I am Southern Bella, and this is my first serious attempt at blogging.

I'm really excited to be able to share my opinions and views with others. At the moment, I am very interested in hair care and products. At the beginning of my hair journey I did like so many others, and quickly became a product junkie. After I try new products, I like to write about them so I can keep track of how I felt after using the product. After becoming a member at Hairlista Inc, (member name- Long & Relaxed), an awesome hair care community, I began posting product reviews. I really enjoyed writing them, and thankfully, people actually found them to be helpful. After writing many reviews I began thinking about having a place online to put them all, and also a place were I could post "non-hair" related things that I am interested in. Enter Blogger!

So here I am, and here I'll be. I'll still be posting on Hairlista because I love the ladies there, but from now on, this is my home.

Welcome!!