*Sigh*

Once again, Sally’s Beauty Supply has proven to be my downfall. As I was minding my own business purchasing a new vat of deep conditioner, my  product junkie peripheral vision picked up these little gems:

The Hydra Cap

The Hydra Cap is, for all intents and purposes, a conditioning cap that shrink wraps to your head with the application of heat from a blow dryer.  Its benefits (allegedly) include: less mess, conditioner penetrating  better, traps heat more efficiently . Here…you can learn more from this comparison.

See? There is nothing but misery without the Hydracap and then…once you get it…yay! Bliss!

I kid, I kid…before and after pictures are always so funny, no matter if it’s related to hair or weight loss.

So anyway, even though I plan to stick to my plastic bags, I thought this would be fun to try out. The cost was $3.99 and there were  4 in the pack.   Here’s what they look like fresh out of the bag.

I figured that the lady in the picture had more than likely wrapped her hair around her head. Easy enough to do if you are relaxed…a little more work intensive for us naturals (this is probably a lot easier if you have shorter natural hair). I ended up doing what I usually do, which is placing my conditioner soaked tresses in big “plaits”. I then pinned them flat against my head (or as flat as it gets for me).

Conditioner soaked hair before applying cap

I then put the cap on. It wasn’t easy to slip on (though it might be because of my big head) like the regular plastic caps which at least have the elastic around the edges. I got it on shortly, so no biggie.

Ta Da!

Ok so here’s where I screwed up. I didn’t place the cap over my ears. If I’d watched the video (scroll to the bottom), I would’ve seen that the lady placed hers over her ears as well. So I think that’s why I didn’t get a good seal, as you can see below.

Edges left out...bleh

So I realized this after I started blowdrying. It starts collapsing pretty quickly once it’s blowdried, so it took me less than five minutes to get it all done. I started with the edges first, as the packaging suggests. I left it on for one hour.

So, how did it hold up? Pretty well! I felt dripping after about 15 minutes around the ear areas, but not nearly as much as I would from a regular bag. The areas that were flat against my neck did not leak at all.  Did it condition better than with a regular bag? Honestly, not really. Did it trap heat better? A little, but not by much.

All in all, it was nice to visit, but I could not see myself buying these on a regular basis. I don’t know if it would be worth the trouble of digging up the old hair dryer everytime I DC. Also, shelling out the money, however little, would hurt my pride. If you hate the messiness of DCing, this might interest you…or you could get a towel, like I do and wrap it over your head after applying the plastic.

But that’s just me

I know we are all on the lookout for natural tees with some style and uniqueness. Well, I recently stumbled across Dirty Artist- Urban Tees. These designs are incredibly trendy and clever. Check em out! That lady drop kicking the woman trying to touch her hair is the one I’m ordering

Natural hair tees aren’t the only thing they have for sell. They also have quite a few shirts that are just plain cool. Even for the man in your life! (A kids’s line is apparently in the works!)

Someone mentioned this device in a post on LHCF. I was flabbergasted…it looks like magic!! Check out the videos:

Holy moly! I was curious about what lengths this device would work on. I emailed the company and they replied:

Thank you for your interest and your time as well. Nudred has been most successful on hair 1/8-1.5 inches long, however it has worked on hair up to five inches long as well depending on the texture of ones hair. We have done demos on those with longer hair and watched their eyes light up with amazement. Usually with longer hair the style becomes an edgy kinda loose twist.

NuDred

Obviously, I won’t be trying this, but I’m curious to see if any of you ladies have. If it works, it seems that it would be perfect for those with TWAs who want to do more than just wash n go.

Here’s the website, if you want to read more about it.

The Turbie Twist has been around a long time, but I’ve never bought one. I think I considered buying it when I was doing a lot of wash n go’s, but when I found it wasn’t microfiber, I kind of put it out of my mind.I went on eBay and found a microfiber turban towel. That worked great while my hair was shorter, though I usually did have to end up putting another towel around it because it was thin.

Flash forward: I’m in the Sally’s buying perm rods and a new satin pillowcase. Since I can’t find any product worth buying, I have to buy something else I spot the Turbie Twist and put it in my basket.

Here’s the thing. My hair’s too big to stuff into that turban towel anymore.

Old turban towel vs Turbie Twist

On the left, old and busted…on the right, the new hotness!

Seriously, I like the Turbie twist much better. I initially thought that it was made of microfiber too, but the packaging says it’s made of terry. It doesn’t feel like your average towel though. It holds a lot more of my hair and doesn’t get soaking wet as fast. I won’t be using this when I’m doing a wash n go, because of frizz factors, but I’m going to be using it after I wash my hair for other styles.

It’s not bulky at all and it’s got a nice little elastic loop at the back that holds it tight. It stays on securely, even when you bend down to pick up your three year old! I think I left it on for up to 30 minutes and it only got saturated on the sides. This towel is also not a bad price at around 5 bucks.

I also see that they are available in two packs, though I’ve yet to come across this in the store.

Just a side note: I’ll try to post pictures of my rodset tomorrow. I’m also behind on emails again but I’m working this weekend so I’ll have to get to them Monday or so.

See my original post here.

These are available in either long or short. I tried out both, though my hair does not completely fill out the long one. I liked these a lot, as did my husband when I asked him his thoughts. They are very silky feeling on the inside, not as much on the outside. There is a thick band of satiny material that goes around the hair line and it velcroes closed below the nape of the neck.

They look so much cuter than the “granny” bonnets, which I will also continue to wear, but when I don’t want to feel quite so frumpy, this is what I will reach for. Anyway, here is the long one:

I have  twists under it. As you can see my hair does not fill it all the way out, but I was able to do this with it, as I saw on the SS website:

I loved that! In that last picture you can also see the velcro closure in the back. Here is the short one:

So I can definitly come to the conclusion that they are aesthetically pleasing.

Now on to function:

Does it stay on? For the most part, yes it has. I’ve tried this in twists, a ponytail, wash n go, and straight style (oops did I say that?) The only one I found it lacking in is the straight style. It slid off a couple of times that night and I don’t know why. I finally just went and got a bonnet. I don’t know if it works better if you wrap straight hair under it as I saw on the website.For every other style it stayed on.

Does it keep styles intact? Yes, it really does.

Does it look cute for every hair style? Negative, for me.  I did  a wash n go and had a big huge fro of course. I put the SS on and here was the result:

Haha, I look like rocket man! However, it did keep my wash n go intact. All I had to do in the morning was shake it out and spritz on a little moisturizer and it looked great again. If you have a looser hair type, the rocketman effect may not happen to you.

Do men like it better than the granny bonnet? I asked my DH who is brutally honest to a fault sometimes and he said he liked it way better than the bonnets.

Is it easy to get put on? Again, I have thicker, “booyah” hair. When in twists, it was easy to get on. With my fro or puff, it was a bit harder, even following the directions on the website. However, I was able to fit it all in, so no worries.

Other information: There are 4 colors available (rose, slate, platinum, shimmer). I have modeled for you all the platinum and shimmer. I’ve read on the website that it does not come in black. Delivery was fast and it comes in a cute little box with tissue paper in it. The cost is 19.99 so if you’re strapped for cash, like I said in the other post, you might just wanna run down to Walmart instead. Shipping was about 2 bucks I think.

One of the comments on my last post about this said that the velcro loosens over time. I’ve not seen this yet in mine, but it’s something to keep in mind. Velcro also scares me when I think about it getting caught in my hair, but just like a lot of hair accessories I use, you just have to be careful I suppose.

Awhile back I mentioned that I was going to try the Aveda Paddle Brush. A lot of kinky/curly headed folks love this brush and I wanted to see why.

Now I have fallen in love! Yes, I do love the Aveda Paddle Brush for styling. I will still continue my love affair with the Denman brush (or the D12) for detangling, however.

What I love about the Aveda Paddle Brush:

• Smooths curls out without as much shrinkage (or “smooshage”, as I like to think of it…i.e. it smooshes all my curls together) as the Denman does
• Great for scalp massages. I have used paddle brushes in the past and though the humongous balls on the ends are great for the scalp, they get caught in my hair making it a painful experience. Once I saw in the Aveda store that this brush had very small, almost imperceptible, balls on the ends, I was ok with using it.
• Aesthetically more pleasing than the Denman. Unless you like hot pink, alien looking brushes. The Aveda brush is made of wood.
• Wider than the Denman, covering more hair
• Detangles well
• It’s cushioned. I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not, but it sounds nice, doesn’t it?

What I don’t like about it:

• 20 bucks for a brush?! Dang…Makes the 8 bucks (that I grumbled about) for the Denman seem well worth it
• Does not get out as much shed hair as the Denman
• Not good for slicking hair back, I still prefer my boar bristle brush

Here’s my hair after using the Aveda Brush. I’ll try to post some wash n go pictures using it, but this was a low puff that I did yesterday. I used Wet Set Pudding over KBB Hair Milk.

This was after my swimming episode, so I'd already deep conditioned

After rinsing out the conditioner I applied the Hair Milk and combed it through with the paddle brush

I then applied the WSP and brushed once more

Next, I used some Almond Glaze and my boar bristle brush to put it back in a low puff. Look at how great my edges look here!

I used a prestretched goody headband soaked in olive oil to secure the puff

BTW, this is a very conservative style if you are looking for that "executive natural" look

I was pretty happy with the results. Fingercombing gets the best results for curl definition (for me), but the knots and tangles get to be too much. I’m happy I’ve found a happy medium with this brush.

Now, some of you may be saying, Kcurly, I do NOT want to spend 20 dollars on a brush. I don’t blame you. Here are some alternatives that I’ve seen mentioned as good replacements:

The Denman D8

Price: ~$12.00

Spornette ZHU Paddle Brush

Price: ~$16.00

Goody Styling Therapy Jojoba Paddle Brush

Price: $9.99

Really, I would think that any seamless paddle brush would work fine. I think there may be some 2 or 3 dollar ones that work well.

Price:~$80.00

Product Claim:

“MAXIglide is the revolutionary styling tool that makes traditional flat irons irrelevant. It is the result of almost seven years of R & D – and over one thousand prototypes! Its unique design creates smooth, shiny, straight hair up to five times faster, without the need to blow dry your hair smooth first. The key to its performance is its multi-patented design which includes multiple rows of detangling pins, steamburst system, protective ridges, and ceramic technology. MAXIglide is the world’s ONLY straightener with detangling pins, ASTA (Advanced Seamburst Technology), and protective ridges that can take your hair from frizzy to smooth – to shiny and straight – in ONE STEP, with one tool – period! Accept no imitations!”

Website: MyMaxiglide

I got this flat iron a few months ago from a store that was going out of business. Since these usually run about 80 bucks, the 50 dollar price I ended up paying for it seemed like a good deal.

What makes this flat iron unique? It’s got tiny little teeth on it that supposedly help to detangle while you flat iron. It’s got a steam burst option that is supposed to really help smooth out “stubborn” hair and is controlled by the user with a button on the side of the iron. It’s a ceramic iron, which is always good and you can change the temperature setting. It also comes with a smooth (no teeth) plate  if you want to switch them out.

There are three types, I think. One is the Maxiglide XL, which is what I have, and has a 2 inch plate for coarser, thicker hair. The next is the Maxiglide MP with a 1 1/4 inch plate for all hair types. Both of these have the steamburst and the detangling pins.

Maxiglide MP

Then there’s the Miniglide which does not have the steamburst technology, has plate that measure 1/2″x3 1/4″, and is about 10 inches in length. This is meant for touch ups on the go or to just get your roots.These usually come with the bigger Maxiglide if you order the package.

Miniglide

I like the Maxiglide that I have. I did not like the teeth the first time I tried it. Maybe it’s because I just airdried my hair in a fro and then tried to use it. Little teeth for kinky hair that has not been stretched it a no-no (you would think I’d know this by now LOL!) I guess the demonstration on the website of the iron detangling the hair tricked me!

The next time I used it, I just used the flat plate and it worked out well. The last time I used it, I used the teeth plate after having stretched the hair.  Bingo! Good combo and now I like the teeth.

As for the steamburst…I can do without that. I tried it on a few sections before and it seemed to make my hair more poofy. It’s a good iron even without the steam. The steam comes out in these tiny holes that I notice really get gunked up with product when using it.  It’s a pain to clean them.

Something else I don’t like about it is how the temperature setting is from 0-10 and not specific degrees (ie 400 degrees, etc). But supposedly, it can get up to 430 degrees Farenheit at setting 10. I’ve never used above setting 6.

Here‘s an article I found that has good info on how to care for and tips (and warnings) for using the Maxiglide.

Remember, use of heat always comes with the possibility of damage to your kinks and curls. Use a good heat protectant no matter how good the iron is!

As I posted not too long ago, I’ve had my Curls like Us cloth for awhile and have used it a couple of times, but I wanted to make sure that I’d tried it enough to give a proper review. Overall, I liked it.

It’s pretty, simply put. I love to see it hanging up in my bathroom and shower area. I am used to using either my microfiber turban towel or my DH’s t-shirts when I do a wash n go and neither one of them looks as cute hanging up (it has a little loop on it). Okay, the tshirts look downright ugly.

It’s very absorbent. The cloths are sold in packs of 2. I received one sample cloth, which absorbs about as much as 2 of my DH’s t-shirts.

Neat design. I like how the towel is tube like so you can rotate it as you dry your hair. It also makes plopping easier. (If you watch the video below, you can see what I mean by “tube like”)

The feel. It reminded me a lot of a t-shirt, but then it also was a lot different than one. It wasn’t as thin as most are and comparing it to a t-shirt on close inspection, they just looked different. It’s thicker than most t-shirts I have, for one thing.

It comes with instructions and there is also a video that shows one how to use the cloths.

The first time I tried it, I used the method in the video. The results were fine, but I think I can do with less scrunching and more plopping (with my hair type). I do like this towel for plopping. I squeezing the excess water and product out and  then plopped with the cloth. Since it’s tubular and stretchy, it works perfect for plopping. I just had to be sure not to drag it along my hair (which creates more frizz) when putting it on and removing it. Great results!

Oops, had it on inside out

I don’t like the brown color for practical purposes, though I like aesthetically. When I am going for curl definition, I use quite a bit of product and it seemed to buildup on the cloth some as I was drying. By the time I was finished, it was whitish all over.However, it does rinse out easily enough and is dry by the next morning when I hang it up. The creator chose brown for those  ladies who have dyed their hair, so maybe they would be more appreciative.

Also those who have longer or thicker hair probably need more than one, which is okay since they sell them in packs of two. I think one will do it for shorter hair though, say 3-4 inches, if you have really thick hair. I have very dense hair, so when scrunching, I only tried it on one side of my head as to not overwhelm the cloth

The side I used it on was not completely dry after using it, but I don’t expect miracles from any purchase. However, the reduction in the “drippies” was noticeable, especially when I compare it to other side that I used 2 tshirts to scrunch.

The cost may make some wince, but it’s $24 for a pack of 2 and $15 for a single one. When I went to visit the site, I saw that they are having a sale through NaturallyCurly.com: buy one set, get another half price.

I do have some areas, as I’ve mentioned before, that are always frizzing and nothing changes that, it’s just the nature of my hair and I love it. I just need to add (for my newly natural readers), that if you are looking for something to make curls magically pop out of your hair, this is not it. In fact, nothing does that. If you don’t already have curls, this cloth is not going to give it to you. However, if you’re looking for something to reduce frizz in your curls, this cloth does help that, along with proper technique.

So I know this looks like a natural hair nightmare, but I’ve heard good things from other naturals about this comb. This is the Denman 12 comb. I first saw it mentioned on LHCF and then again on NaturallyCurly in the 4a section, so I went ahead and bought it.

I was only about 2 dollars at Sally’s. My initial impression is that it does not have  the flexibility of Denman brush. We will see though. I hope to try it on Monday or Tuesday. WIsh me luck!

I prefer to use a turban towel, but any microfiber towel is a great way to keep the frizzies away if you’re doing a wash n go. If you’re out for curl definition, you probably already have tried to “drip dry” method and loved the results except for the wet mess running down the back of your neck all day. Rubbing my hair dry with a regular towel and watching it frizz up and break off is a thing of the past.

A lot of people with curly hair, both afro textured and other, like to do a method called “plopping“. Plopping was a no go for me. Turning my hair upside down did not yield results that I liked. Instead I just smoothed my hair back or part it (whatever I’m trying to do that day) and place my turban towel around it, usually with the back of the turban in the front.

This particular turban tapers to a long tail with a loop on the end which you can secure to a button. It’s supposed to work like this:

I however find I get better results using it back wards. Like this:

If I’m doing a wash n go, I do this right out of the shower, after applying my products. I get dressed, apply make up, undo the towel gently and I’m ready to go.

Also handy to use is a t-shirt, though I find it harder to secure and it doesn’t seem to soak up as much water as the towel does. You can also usually find microfiber towels cheap in stores like walmart in the car department. I got my turban towel on ebay for a very good price. I’ve tried this with regular towels and I get a lot of frizz.

I don’t know if this method will work as well as my hair gets longer, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.