Ah Cupuacu....

...I might not know how to pronounce you correctly, but oh how my hair loves you!

Pura Body Naturals is definitely on to something, but something beyond good. This week, I twisted my hair with their Cupuacu Hair Butter and got even better results than I did with Pura's amazing Murumuru Hair Butter.

The Cupuacu Hair Butter left all of my hair baby soft, smelling like lemons and super shiny and bouncy. For me, this particular butter is like Murumuru Hair Butter on steroids. And my curls, oh Lord, I have curls popping all over the place! I most definitely will be using this as a staple product. 

Now, while I'm not used to adding additional product to my hair each day (my Sheacoco Whip keeps me fully moisturized for a full week), I find I do have to moisturize each day when using Pura's hair butters and I've been trying out the Murumuru Moisture Milk and Sapote Hair Lotion samples I bought.

I've learned to embrace the hair lotions, but my hair texture changed as the week progressed. About a day before wash day, the hair lotions almost had the same effect that water has on natural hair, but I didn't mind. It just made my curls and kinks bigger and bolder. I did mind washing them away on my wash day, though.

I might also add that I had no product build-up from using Pura products. Check 'em out at http://www.purabodynaturals.com/.

Murumuru!!

Okay, so all week, I've been using Pura Body Naturals' Murumuru Moisture Milk (try saying that five times fast!).

I normally don't add anything to my hair through the week after my Sunday wash day, but I twisted with Pura's Amazon Hair & Body Butter. I was ecstatic about my results. The Amazon butter not only left my hair bouncy and shiny, but it actually helped prevent shrinkage! I don't really pay attention to shrinkage, but I know that's important to a lot of naturals. 

On day two, I noticed my hair felt a little dry so I decided to try out Pura's Murumuru Moisture Milk sample I received in the hair sample pack I ordered. It smells lemony and is a very thick cream. I applied a quarter-size dollop to my hair, and did a fluff and go. And, again, I really like this product, too. It revived my curls and they were bouncing and shining again. And, I didn't have additional shrinkage!

For the past few months, I've been twisting with Sheacoco Whip, but as much as I love it, the shea butter tends to weigh down my hair and feels "greasy" the first few days. I love my Sheacoco Whip, but I love Pura Body Naturals' Amazon Hair & Body Butter and Murumuru Moisture Milk more. I'm not used to doing any maintenance on my hair through the week, but if I start using Pura products, it might very well be worth it. 

I still have two more Pura products to try out next week, but so far, www.purabodynaturals.com gets two coils up from me!

Exotic Products

Okay, so today is wash day and I've tried something new. I just got my samples from www.purabodynaturals.com and decided to twist my hair with the Amazon Hair and Body Butter.

The Amazon Hair and Body Butter has a light, clean citrus-like smell, and the texture is a thick cream that softens-without melting-in the hands. There are, however, little beads of hardened butter in the cream, but I just put those back in the jar. Essentially, this butter is made of MuruMuru, a Brazilian tree butter. I also have some of Pura Body Natural's MuruMuru Hair Milk and some unrefined MuruMuru butter from another source that I plan to use in the near future.

If the Amazon Hair and Body Butter works as well as I think/hope it will, I will be replacing my (gasp) shea butter with this, cupuacu butter and other oils and butters. So far, so good. Similar to my Sheacoco Whip, the Amazon Hair and Body Butter softened my hair, but unlike shea butter, it did not weigh my hair down or leave behind a grease-like residue. I have high hopes for this butter and will report my results once my hair is dry.

One Sentence Can Change Everything

As some of you might know, I'm opposed to products that contain ingredients whose sources are on the endangered species list. Some of those ingredients include argan oil and baobab extract. A few days ago, I was exploring the KeraCare Natural Textures line, distributed by Avlon. I was very curious until I saw that this line contains argan oil. So, I did my thing and wrote them about my concern. Here is the response I got today:

Thanks for your concern for the Argon Oil as an endangered specie. We will keep this in mind and try to find a substitute for this oil in order to comply with your request.

Dr Syed
Avlon Industries, Inc.

Folks, please do the same. DO NOT use products whose ingredients are on the endangered species list. Comparable ingredients can be used and there is no scientific improvement in our hair if we use argan oil and baobab extract. Other ingredients are out there that produce the same, similar and even better results.

New Product and Update!

If you've been following me for a little while, you've probably figured out that I really don't buy commercial hair products. But, while picking up Yes to Tomatoes for my face (which is working marvelously I might add), I decided to grab this:

On wash day, I misted sections of my hair and applied the Yes to Carrots Hair & Scalp Mud Mask and then braided each section. After all of my hair was braided, I applied Amla oil to my scalp and then sat under my Huetiful Hair Steamer for about 20 minutes.

First, I have to say that I was duly impressed with the mud mask as soon as I put it in my hair. The slip is beyond words and the product is creamier than a smoothie. Think of tapioca pudding without the tapioca pearls. 

After steaming, I washed and conditioned, and then proceeded to finish up my routine as usual. The mud mask left my hair incredibly soft. Even the hair in the back of my hair was baby soft and I've never been able to do much with that patch of hair if ya' get my drift. Granted my hair's been softer than it's ever been before and my curls were popping by the end of the week, courtesy of my first steam treatment a week ago, I definitely will be incorporating the mud mask treatments in my routine. At $12.99 for an estimated four uses, this will be a treat for my hair.

I also ordered samples of babassu and sapote oils, and tucuma, virgin mango and cupuacu butters from mynaturalbliss.com, and the Hair Sampler Pack containing Cupuacu Hair Butter, Amazon Hair and Body Butter, MuruMuru Moisture Milk and Sapote Hair Lotion from a tempting little Facebook ad from purabodynaturals. com. Look for reviews in the future!

Shout Out!

Naturally Me was gracious enough to feature an interview I did with them a little while ago. I've been so busy, I almost forgot about it, but here it is for your reading pleasure!

http://www.na-turallyme.com/My-Natural.html

Ayurveda and I

Okay, so maybe today's lesson is don't implement two new regimens simultaneously. I almost hated my hair today...

I used my Huetiful Hair Steamer for the first time today and loved it, but I also incorporated an Ayurvedic treatment for the first time today too. I used two tablespoons each of Brahmi, Neem, Shikakai and Orange Peel powders, and two tablespoons each of Amla, Vatika, Moringa and Neem oils. To this paste, I added a Palmer's Coconut Oil protein pack.

I applied my paste to small sections of hair and then braided each section. Perhaps that was mistake one. After sitting with this under my steamer for about 20 minutes, I proceeded to wash and condition my hair as usual. I shampooed about four times...until my shampoo water ran clear, but apparently it didn't because when I went to use my Kinky Curly Knot Today, I found a lot of residue.

So, mistake number two...I washed my hair three more times at the kitchen sink. And, I had to undo all of my braids to rinse out the residue...mistake number three. 

By the time I was done, my back and arms were aching, and my hair was a tangled mess that took me the better half of "Daughters in the Dust" to detangle.

I'm twisted now and plan on using this treatment once a month, but we'll see how my hair fairs tomorrow when I remove my twists. Meanwhile, I might concoct a tincture of my herbs and steam with that instead. I'll keep you posted.

Phew!

It's been a while, but I've been busy learning the ropes at my new job. I do, however, have much happy news to report such as the arrival today of my Huetiful Hair Steamer!

I ordered it last Wednesday or Thursday from www.behuetiful.com and it arrived today. I haven't used it yet, but I did put it together in about five minutes. I plan on using it on my Sunday Wash Day in conjunction with my adopted winter Ayurvedic regimen. Friday, I stopped at a local Indian grocery store and got four Ayurvedic herbal powders and three oils for $23 and some change! And, my supplies will last for several deep conditioning treatments. I have pix of everything I got, but haven't been able to upload them.

I also ordered six samples of shampoo bars from www.chagrinvalleysoap.com. 

They have quite a variety, but I chose Ayurvedic Herb, Extra Honey Beer,Mud & Clay, Babassu & Marshmallow, and the Butter Bar Conditioner. Again, they just came today so I won't be using them just yet. I'll let you know how they turn out when I do.

Regarding the Ayurvedic regimen and the shampoo bars, I'd like to thank MopTop Maven at moptopmaven.blogspot.com. I knew I needed to try something different for winter, but wasn't quite sure what to do. But, this feels right. So far, my hair's been doing great with my typical regimen. A summer picture (that also wouldn't upload) shows my afro around my ears, Now, it sits on my shoulders. I've noticed less shedding and tangling, and Wash Day Sunday only takes about an hour. What I do is:

• Working one section at a time without detangling, I apply LeKair Cholesterol with Aloe conditioner (I love this stuff and have used it since I was a little girl) to my dry hair and then loosely braid it. The braids should be loose enough to work shampoo, water and conditioner through but not so loose they come undone. I usually have eight to 10 braids.
• Once all of my hair is braided, I put on a plastic cap and let the conditioner sit for about two hours. Then, I hop in the shower and rinse it all out. 
• Next, I shampoo and condition (with a different conditioner) as usual, with my hair still braided.
• After washing, I work with one braid at a time. I gently take the braid apart, fingercomb Kinky Curly's Knot Today detangler through the hair, comb with my Mebco shower comb, and seal with my Sheacoco Whip. The hair is then twisted, but about halfway down the twist, I apply Uncle Funky's Daughter's Curly Magic gel.
• I then let my twists dry overnight and then take them down in the morning and style.

I've had amazing results with this method and my hair is hardly tangled anymore. I also don't style my hair through the week, but my twist-out stays intact and actually looks better the older it gets. At night, I just put my Sue Maesta Hooded Headband (thank you Carmelita!) over my loose hair and go to sleep! In the morning, I simply fluff and twist as necessary (about five minutes).