Dyeing, Detangling and Conditioning Product Reviews

We're past winter's halfway mark, and I can almost feel the spring and summer air nipping at my curls. Entrenched in my twists for quite a while now, I'm growing antsy for my twist- and blow-outs. So, here are a few products I'm trying out to see if they make the cut for my spring regimen!

I've been dyeing my hair for a little while now, but the store-bought dyes just ain't cuttin' it. Quite by accident, I stumbled upon eSalon, a mail-order hair dye subscription service.

After answering a series of questions, including a few about my hair type and length, I ordered and received my blue black hair dye and accessories kits. First, I will say that the shipping is super fast! While the company doesn't have wild crazy colors like pink or green, eSalon does have a wide array of natural colors, including black with a blue or violet hue.

My dye kit contained instructions and two sets of dye and developer. It also contained two pairs of rubber gloves, stain blocker, stain remover, conditioner and four of those mondo alligator clips used in salons. The accessories kit came with a handled mixing bowl, applicator brush, and a timer w/battery.

I love that my coloring kit came with separate bottles of dye and developer. The first one was for my roots and the second was a gloss for my hair. Let me just say that the quantities are so generous, I didn't even use the dye/developer for my hair. The roots bottle contained enough product to dye all of my hair. 

When all was said done, the color is deep, rich and downright gorgeous! And ALL of my grey is gone. I've never gotten such amazing results from a box...not that I'd expect to. And, the conditioner eSalon provides is the bomb! I didn't think that tiny pouch would saturate my hair, but it did and left my hair softer than any other conditioner I've ever used!

I also am still hunting for a really good detangler. I've tried Kinky Curly Knot Today, et al, but lotion-type detanglers are way too heavy for my hair. I've tried Aussie Hair Insurance, Mane 'n Tail, et all, but they don't work well enough to buy again. So, I tried this!

Pantene's Medium-Thick Hair Solutions' Detangler isn't bad, but it's not the greatest either. It definitely detangles, but it also makes my hair feel squeaky. I'll probably finish this out, but won't buy again.

I also gave Shescentit's Okra Hair Repair Reconstructor a try. Through a contest I won, I was allowed to pick any product of my choice to try. Granted they have quite a few things I'd love to try, this one grabbed me first because LUSH has an okra conditioner I've been too cheap to buy. 

This stuff smells absolutely amazing and has a nice, gelatinous texture. As with any deep conditioning product, I slapped this in my head and headed straight for my steamer. Sadly, my hair didn't feel any different, but it's not damaged either so maybe I shouldn't have expected any tangible results. Nice product, but probably wouldn't buy it...but, I will be trying their other products in the near future.

Is Kinky a Bad Word Now?

One of the numerous blogs I follow, "Thank God I'm Natural," recently posed a question asking readers if they're offended by the word "kinky" in reference to their hair. The question was based on CurlMart's newsletter, intended to catch subscribers' attention. Apparently, they did capture readers' attention as the word "kinky" is perceived as a word with "derogatory historical roots and definitely shouldn’t be used by white people." Note: CurlMart is a white-owned company.

Now, I don't know about you, but kinky or nappy is a pretty good summation of half of my hair. Those words don't make me feel bad about my hair, nor am I offended by them. It's just a fact, some of my hair is kinky or nappy. And frankly, I wish all of it was, but it's not. 

But, I do take offense why its okay for some people, namely brown folks, to refer to our own hair as kinky or nappy but if a non-brown person uses those same words, all of a sudden a capital crime's been committed. For example, is anyone screaming about the much coveted Kinky Curly line and its use of the word kinky? Or, is there any hullabulloo about blog titles which incorporate kinky in their title, such as KisforKinky? NOT. The creators have brown skin! I smell reverse racism!

Shocked I say that? Don't be. Putting it into perspective, this debacle rates right up there with the use of the "n" word which is still prevalent in our vernacular but is deemed unacceptable by anyone else. And frankly, I don't want to have to learn a whole new language just to describe my hair. I share the same sentiments about being called black versus African American. Call me black, please. I'm not an African immigrant who became a nationalized citizen.

I'm just so tired of our petty squabbles...I also read a post on another blog which mentioned that a light-hued sista' with curly hair felt unwelcome when she attended a natural hair event. Seriously?!

Come on people, get the kinks and naps out of your brain! Sporting natural hair is not about being hyper-sensitive and trying to revive the Black Power movement. It's supposed to be about learning how to keep your hair on your head. If you can't see your way through hype and propaganda, or if you think everyone's staring at you and whispering behind your back about your hair, it's time you get off the bandwagon and stop mucking it up for those of who simply want healthy hair.

Naturals not welcome?

For the past few weeks, I've been watching VH1's "Beverly Hills Fabulous," featuring hair stylist Elgin Charles and gang. Initially, I thought we'd get to watch Elgin and his stylists actually do hair, but that's not quite what the show entails. While it is slightly boring, I do enjoy the interactions of the, er, characters.

One character in particular is Sean. He helps keep the drama going, but in one particular episode I was actually offended! Sean threw a hissy fit when a natural-haired woman walked into the salon for her appointment with him! Sean doesn't do natural hair nor does he know what to do with it.

WTF?! Since when is natural hair not welcome in a black hair salon?! How can the "famous" Elgin Charles salon of Beverly Hills have a stylist who doesn't know what to do with natural hair? No matter how you dice it, we all start out natural when we make our very first trip to the salon as little girls accompanying mamas, sisters, aunties and grannies. Think of all the press and curls you got before you got your first relaxer.

Sadly, Sean's attitude is probably reflective of a lot of black hair salons. We've become so reliant on heat, chemicals and wefts, our stylists probably don't know what to do with a head full of natural hair anyway. Given how a lot of naturals are learning how to achieve long, strong healthy hair (something none of my stylists ever helped me achieve in the 20 years I patronized them), perhaps it is the stylists who need to be sitting in our kitchens or on our floors as we show them how to properly take care of natural hair.

Call it a movement or whatever you want, but it doesn't take a genius to see that we are clearly on to something that our salons are not. Natural hair, similar to the introduction of the hair weave, is taking us by storm. So I have to ask, why haven't our salons kept up with this "fad?" Maybe instead of keeping the television permanently tuned to bad BET programming, they should hook up some Internet service and stream natural hair YouTube videos.

If naturals aren't welcome at Elgin Charles or any other salon, that's fine by me. I'll keep my money! They might be the ones with the license, but at least I know what to do with natural hair.