(Hair) Spring Cleaning: Getting Rid of Products that You Aren't Going to Use

Happy Monday lovelies!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day so far. If you're like me, you probably want to go frolic in the wonderful weather outside. Anyway, this past weekend kicked off the start of my spring cleaning. In general, I like to keep my apartment clean but a good deep cleaning every now and again just makes you feel good about life.

But that is not what is post is about.

In my cleaning frenzy, I decided to chuck all the hair products have I haven't used and wasn't going to use. Yep. I couldn't sit and rationalize why I still had hoards of hair products sitting in my cabinet. I had to be really, really honest with myself and just get to removing products. The end result: I can see the bottom of my bathroom cabinet again and I have space to move things around! This has not happened since 2009--when I first moved into my apartment. Within the next week or so, I plan on doing another product purge. From here on out, I will only use the products that are currently in my regimen and use them until they are empty. Yessir.

With that said, I encourage all you PJ's to do a product purge of your own. Take a large trash bag, go into your bathroom, and look at all the products you have accumulated. Be honest with yourself. Ask if you really plan on using a certain product on your hair again? How did your hair react to it? If your hair hated it, that product has no place on your cabinet shelf. If you have NOT used a product within the past year, GET RID OF IT! What you choose to do with your products after you purge them is entirely up to you. You can just toss them completely, sell them, or even donate them to a women's shelter. Whatever you want to do is cool. The point is to free up space in your own bathroom and to really narrow down the products that are staples in your regimen (and are likely to be used). I know it's tough at first but when you see all that freed up space in your cabinet, you will be glad that you did.


I know this post isn't a hair styling post per say but I think it is something that is important to share. Sometimes, we get so caught up in hoarding products that we forget to GET RID OF THEM if they don't work. Getting rid of products that don't work is essential, in my opinion. If you don't see these products, you won't be compelled to 'give them one more try.' If you don't give these products 'one more try,' you won't potentially jack up your hair trying to use the product up. If you don't jack up your hair, you won't suffer a potential setback. See....it all works together lol. So within the next few weeks, take stock of your products and figure out what has to go!

Wash Day: March 23, 2013

Or "The Wash Day With No Set Style" or "The Wash Day Where I Tried A New Product AND A New Technique"

Yeah. You read that right. With my wash day on Saturday, I knew that I had to wash my hair because my scalp was itching like crazy but I had no idea how I wanted to style my hair. Seriously, I didn't know. But that's ok because I eventually figured it out (read: I bunned lol).

As always, I washed my hair with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo. However, this wash, I tried out a new deep conditioner ( and no it isn't an ORS deep conditioner)! This wash I tried out Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist Deeeeep Conditioner- which I absolutely loved! You guys can check the review I wrote for it on Wednesday but let me just say that I didn't expect a product that costs so little to be such a solid product. It has definitely earned a place in my 'If I'm Strapped for Cash' rotation. Following that I detangled my hair with a sample pack of Taliah Waajid The Great Detangler because I couldn't find my bottle of it. Seriously, how did I misplace an entire bottle of product!?! I'm pretty mad about that. I'm going to have to get a new bottle sometime this week. I then gathered my hair into a ponytail, placed some Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 and Kemi Oyl on my ends and baggied my ends in an effort to get more moisture to them (you can read how I plan to baby my ends here). On Sunday, I found out that whole baggy method actually works! I'm definitely going to include it in my regimen from here on out.



The stars of this wash day: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle and Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1

That was it, that was my wash day. I tried a new product and a new method and it turns out that they work. So this wash day wasn't a complete waste....I just don't have a new style to show you guys lol. How did your last wash days go?

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque: Redux

As you guys remember ( or may not remember), I tried the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque...and wasn't particularly impressed by it.

I mean, as a deep conditioner, it did its job of moisturizing my hair but it left no slip! I pretty much felt -meh- about the product. Lately, however, I have been trying to get rid of products that I have stocked up in my bathroom ( I admit--I am a product junkie) and I realized that I have a tiny bit of this product to use up. On the label, the directions indicate you can use the product as a leave in moisturizer. So, I have been using it in that way for about a week or so. Let me say that I think I like this product more as a moisturizer and less as a DC. It leave my hair very soft and moisturized (something that I wasn't really expecting given my previous experience). So...ladies...I am somewhat eating my words. Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque may be so-so as a DC but it makes for a good moisturizer!

I Have My Life Back!!

Before you begin...I know it has been a looooooong time since I posted. Well, I had my dissertation proposal on the 15th of this month so I kinda had to fall off the face of the Earth. The good news is that I got admitted to PhD candidacy (go me!) and I'm back to posting! :D

So let's begin shall we?

I want to talk about 2 things I have been trying lately. The first is Queen Helene's Garlic Shampoo.

I don't know if I ever mentioned this but um....my hair sheds...a lot. It never really bothered me because I know that's what your hair is supposed to do but gee whiz I had a lot. I had heard about this shampoo before and when I spotted it at the BSS I had to pick it up and give it a shot. I paid about $6-$7 for it and so far....it's a'ight lol.

The plus about this shampoo is that it is unscented so you don't go walking around smelling like a big ol' ball of garlic. However, a drawback is that it has ammonium lauryl sulfate as the second ingredient so it made my hair feel stripped and I had to follow up with a sulfate free moisturizing shampoo. As far as shedding goes, I'm not gonna lie to y'all and say it stopped my shedding---because it didn't. I will say that my shedding has decreased a little bit following this first usage but time will tell how effective it is.


I've also been trying One N Only Argan Oil which I :love:!

I paid $12 for this at my local BSS and it has been one of the best hair finds for me. Now I will say the name is kind of misleading. One N Only Argan Oil is mainly chock full of 'cones and not just 100% oil and oil alone. However, this product is amazing! I have used it for blow drying and flat ironing and found that it makes for a pretty good heat protectant. A little goes a long way with this product and my hair never feels weighed down with this product. I've also used it for air drying and I found that it goes a great job of keeping the frizzies at bay. Really, there isn't enough that I can say about this product. I just know that I love it and it is definitely staying in the rotation!

Return to My Beloved: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner

Happy Hump Day!


The mercury is rising here in Alabama (90 degree weather anyone?) and um....I don't feel like going through the motions of straightening my hair. I just really don't feel like it. So the way I see it, this summer is about to be a huge break from heat for my hair. All right, enough with this rambling.

I've started co-washing again (and right on time too since I plan on getting back on a workout schedule sometime this month) and after months and months of not using it, I used my HE Hello Hydration conditioner. I love everything about this conditioner from its smell to the way it moisturizes my hair (and my hair is a serious moisture junkie). I have no clue why I abandoned it to use that Aussie Moist stuff. It just doesn't compare. <3

I just wanted to share my love for this product with you guys. I guess that's the good thing about staple products. You can stray and try new/different products but you can always come back to what works...and this works! :)

Why I Dislike Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide

I admit. I have tried a fair share of heat protectants in my day. I have my staples: Mizani Thermasmooth, Tresseme Heat Protectant Spray, and Fantasia IC heat protectant. I've even had to revisit heat protectants that I thought I hated (can we say Beyond the Zone Turn Up the Heat?).

However, there is one heat protectant that I absolutely cannot stand. No matter how many times I've tried it. No matter how many different ways I have tried it...it. just. will. not. work. Now, I'm over it. I feel like I've given it a fair shot and now I'm gonna voice how much I do not like it.

The heat protectant in question is Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide. You would think that something that is similar in composition to my beloved Mizani Thermasmooth wouldn't be so awful but it is! I've determined that Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide is just too heavy for my hair. No matter when I use it and no matter how much I use, the end result is heavy, weighed down hair!

Well, I'm listening to my hair now and I refuse to purchase this mess anymore!

Is there a product that your hair simply cannot stand?