Product Review: Baba De Caracol Hair Conditioners

So would you ever think of using Snail Slime on your hair?

No? Well neither did I until I was sent some hair products from Baba de Caracol, a Dominican brand that recently launched in the UK by Diaspora Hair, and which uses Snail Slime as it’s main ingredient. Not exactly a sexy sounding ingredient but Snail Slime is an ingredient that is now used fairly regularly in some skincare.

It contains a complex mix of proteins, glycolic acids and elastin that nature developed as a way to protect snail skin from damage and infection. So is meant to help to strengthen, repair and soften your hair.

I took out some braids and thought my hair could do with a little bit of tlc and nourishment, so it seemed like the perfect time to try out the products.

The two products I was sent to try from the range were Rinse Regenerativo and Intensive Hair Conditioner

Rinse Regenerativo

I started out with Rinse Regenerativo, which is a conditioner but can also be used as a co-wash (conditioner wash) for your hair

What they say

Bring life, elasticity and shine back to your hair with our exclusive conditioner formula designed to eliminate dryness and split ends with allantoine. Detangles, softens and nourishes dry and damaged hair

What I thought

How to achieve the Braided Look: Autumn Winter Trend 2013

I have recently been looking at all the autumn winter trends, and one of the beauty/hair trends I have fallen in love with, is the braided look.

Here is a video showing the braid trend at some of the fashion shows.

Phillip Kingsley Smooth & Shiny Review

You might remember my post last week on how dry my skin on my body had been…well my hair had been feeling quite similar as well. Ever seem I came back from holiday, it has just felt a bit dry and coarse. I think it was caused by all the lovely sunshine and salty water…. not complaining about that but my hair was definitely in desperate need of a fix.

So I picked up the Phillip Kingsley Smooth and Shiny trial pack whilst I was in the M&S beauty hall on Oxford Street recently. A little off topic but have you been in there? If not you really should check it out. They have done such a great job and have a nice range of brands/products.

Now onto the review. It’s no secret that I have a love affair with the Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer and have written about it in the past. I used to use it back when my hair was relaxed. If you don’t know about the brand, you definitely need to check them out.  Phillip Kingsley is one of the most renowned trichologists and has over 55 years of trichological experience. The retail brand is a trichologically driven hair and scalp range and has won numerous awards. The Elasticizer itself was originally created for the legendary Audrey Hepburn and is a hero product for many people.  However since going natural I have been trying a whole range of new products and thought it might be good to see how an old faithful would perform on my now curly afro hair.

Afro Hair & Beauty Show and Strength of Nature Brit Beauty

What a whirlwind of a week! I was away for half of it which was packed with work, meetings and more work....

The most exciting thing though was the Afro Hair & Beauty show and the Strength of Nature Brit Beauty mixer which happened on the bank holiday Monday. All I can say is that it was a pleasure to meet so many lovely women, followers and bloggers. I had such a great time!!

The Strength of Nature mixer was such an amazing fun filled night...complete with so many beautiful women with gorgeous, gorgeous hair! It was organised by Pelumi of Care For Your Hair and hosted by  Patrice of Afrobella, also fondly know as the godmother of brown beauty blogging! Her blog is one of the first blogs I ever discovered/loved and she is even friendlier and nicer than you could imagine.

I loved that the Strength of Nature team came down from the US to share their brand and future goals with us in the UK. I felt it highlighted that they value us as part of their Strength of Nature customers and community. They have a number of brands which include Beautiful Textures, Elasta QP, African Pride and The Profectiv range. This forms part of their philosophy to provide a wide choice of affordable products to suit the hair care needs of many women of colour.

I left with a lovely goodie bag and will be including some goodies in a giveaway next Month so stay tuned.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

#28 Hair Ye, Hair Ye: Phillip Kingsley’s Elasticizer Review

So over the last few weeks I have been trying out Phillip Kingsley’s Elasticizer- an intensive super moisturising treatment.

They say it’s a highly concentrated moisturising treatment that’s suitable for all hair types and helps to improve suppleness, stretch ability, bounce and shine.
You are meant to use it before shampooing by applying it to wet hair and covering it with a shower cap for 10-20minutes before washing.

Now what’s quite interesting, is it seems to have received mixed reviews – with some people saying they didn’t really notice any difference to their hair's condition or they actually felt like their hair came out coarser afterwards! Personally I loved, loved, and loved it! I think one of the reasons their hair came out coarser was because, wait for it – they just didn’t follow the instructions. You will have noticed that it mentioned leaving it on for 10-20 minutes, well several people were writing about leaving it for 45 minutes, 2 hours and even overnight.

Now the only reason I can be so smug is not because I always follow instructions (I have been known to strut around the house with conditioner + shower cap in my hair for hours much to the distress of Mr Lotions & Potions – who feels this wasn’t part of our marriage contract) but because when I bought my Elasticizer, I bought it in a salon and was lucky enough to be advised to follow the timing instructions carefully. This is because apparently the product works to strengthen your hair and return it to its natural healthier state prior to any damage. Now with this warning ringing in my head and with visions flashing of me washing it out and seeing my relaxed hair revert to its afro state – trust me I was watching my clock with precision.

My hair came out softer (its in the I need to be relaxed state again so this was a big deal), more manageable, silky and with continued use it seems much stronger as well.

You can buy Elasticizer from most salons and it’s also available at www.hqhair.com/ for £23.50