For those of you who are not interested in experimenting with making your own hair oil, or are having trouble getting a hold of the ingredients then this stuff is for you.

Dabur Vatika Enriched Coconut Hair Oil 150ml $3.99

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Neem Oil, Brahmi Extract, Fruit extracts ofAmla, Bahera and Harar, Kapur kachri, Henna leaf extract, Rosemary oil, Lemon Oil, Fragrance

I used to only see this product in Indian shops in Brooklyn, but I’m now seeing this version on mainstream natural/health store shelves. I’ve used this as an oil rinse, (stay tuned for an upcoming post about this) and as a deep conditioner. For the deep condish, I combed the oil through my wet hair liberally, and then sat under a heat cap for an hour or so. The oil has the same consistency as baby oil and is thinner than I expected, but I didn’t need to use a lot. When I rinsed my hair out it was nice ans soft and stayed that way for DAYS. It has all of the oils I would use to make hair oil myself, and THEN some, and it’s starts at only $3.99!

Autumn

I’ve been a fan of Autumn of Curly Chronicles YouTube Channel for awhile now. She has great natural hair tips and is a fan of natural ingredients in products as well. Check out our interview, and check out her channel here.

How long have you been natural?

I’ve been natural since 2003.

You have beautiful hair. What are your favorite natural hair products?

Thank you! I use Coconut oil, Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner, Shea butter, Vegetable glycerin, Almond oil, and though this isn’t 100% au natural, Bio Infusion Professional Detangling Conditioner because it really does work wonderfully for my hair.

What are your favorite low-maintenance styles?

I’ll mainly wear two strand twists either hanging or in an up do. They’re simple but cute styles.

What’s your opinion of all of the so-called “green” and “natural” hair products out of the market?

Well, unfortunately, it’s up to us, the consumers, to read the labels and make a conscious decision. Since there aren’t really any tight restrictions on being able to use the term natural or green, we have to do our homework. It kinda sucks, but you get use to it and you tend to find the best products for your hair and stick with them.

Fleurzty is the mastermind behind Texture Playground. She is like my blogging “auntie”. She totally gave me my first push back in January with a feature on her blog, Who’s Who with Savvy Brown. I had the pleasure of meeting her last month in VA when I was there for a wedding, and she is really beautiful in person! So are her lovely son and husband. (I think Sexy and him had to plenty to talk about, what with their blog-crazy wives and all). I was thrilled when she agreed to do this interview, and she shares some great advice on everything from low-budget natural hair tips to how to balance a busy schedule with blogging. Fleurtzy has started her own line of natural hair care products that can be found in Boutique de Fleurzty with all-natural ingredients. She even shares how she balances her hectic schedule with her family….

When and why did you decide to go natural?

I went natural in 2004. It was a combination of reasons really that I think started with a comment my now husband made. We had evening plans and I was very strongly considering canceling because I showed up to the salon and it was closed. It was time for a relaxer, so I had a mini-fit and did not know what to do with my hair. He looked at me, and said “Something is not right with this picture. I guess you can stay home if your hair isn’t freshly done” in his very sarcastic voice of course. It stayed with me, and I began to think “well, why won’t I go out with my hair like this. When did I stop knowing how to ‘handle’ my own hair”, especially since my hair had only been relaxed for five years. The thoughts just kept coming, and soon they led to a strong determination to grow my hair out.

What inspired you to start blogging?

I have always documented my hair journey. I began paying attention to what worked and what didn’t early on. I also always had a fascination for good products. With time, I began wanting to share my documentation with others, and hopefully share some of the knowledge I had been soaking up. At the time I began blogging, I was a stay-at-home mom who not only saw it as sharing but also an outlet, and a way to stay busy during my little one’s down times. I had the time and blogging turned out to be a way to use it productively.

Your products at Boutique De Fleurzty are a hit! And they have all-natural ingredients. What inspired you to make your own products?

I love mixing hair concoctions. I love experiments that go well and those that don’t. Very much like any other aspect of my hair experiences, my products began with a thought. A thought that would not go away! I was nervous, and for a while unsure of whether I wanted to commit myself to creating products. I have always thought there are many great product lines out there, so I had to have a vision, a purpose and actually see a need to start my own line. I did not want to have products just to have them! After I stabilized my first few formulas (some of which are not yet for sale), I sent some to my family and their hair were thriving with them.

My goal then became to offer products that work effectively and give great hair days in a few steps. The four products currently available have definitely done just that for many women. I get emails from women who are excited because they achieved fabulous twist-outs or wash and go’s with using one or two products. I believe that’s why the products are a hit. They focus on freeing your time without sacrificing hair health, shine, moisture, definition or softness. All the things that many products achieved when combined.

How do you balance your day-job, the blog and the Boutique?

A few weeks ago I was sent an 8oz. container of Wonder curl Get Set Hair Jelly from Scarlett Rocourt, the creator of the product. I had gotten a few email from Savvy readers asking if I’d tried it, so I was excited to check it out myself. She suggests using the product for a Wash ‘n Go on her Facebook page tutorial.Well I have to tell you, I normally don’t have much luck with Wash ‘n Gos. (A Wash ‘N Go is when you apply a conditioner and then a gel to your curly hair while it’s sopping wet, and let it air dry.) I’ve used Kinky Curly Curling Custard (KCCC) as well as EcoStyler Gel for this method, but I’ve never been able to get good results after one day. That’s not to say that those products don’t work, they do, but I learned a while ago not to try to expect my hair to look like anyone else’s. Case in point, Scarlett’s hair is 3b, 3c, whereas mine is 4a,4b. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised…

Scarlett''s hair after using Wonder Curl

Wonder Curl Get Set Hair Jelly – 2oz. $5; 8oz. $15, 16oz. $25

Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis (Organic Aloe Vera) juice, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel), Phenoxyethanol, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Panthenol, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Alcohol denatured, Carbomer, TEA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Polyquaternium 7, Fragrance

I liked that most of the ingredients are all-natural and similar to KCCC without the hefty price tag.

So loosely following her instructions, I washed my hair using my regular routine, and detangled in the shower. Then I separated my hair into sections, and starting with a small handful of wet hair, I applied a dime sized amount of Clear Castor Oil, and pulled it through my hair with my fingers so it was evenly distributed. (I always use some type of oil under gels, I find that it seals in the moisture and doesn’t allow the gel to leave my hair “crunchy”). Then, I took a quarter-sized amount of Wonder Curl Get Set Hair Jelly, and raked it through the same section on top of the oil. I then continued with the same technique, until my whole head was covered.Here are my results…

Wonder Curl in my wet hair

The winner of the

BEE MINE GIVEAWAY IS…

YVETTE!

After reading all of you guys’ helpful comments on My First Henna, I got some new ingredients and finally got around to doing my henna again a couple of weeks ago and it came out MUCH better this time. Here’s what I used:

Henna Mix 2

Ingredients*:

2 cups of steeped hot green tea (3 tea bags)
200gms of Jamila Henna
2 tbsps milk thistle powder
2 tbsps of almond oil
4 tbsps Suave Tropical Coconut condish
2 tbsps red wine vinegar (I figured it’s acidic and it’s red so why not right?)

*Everything highlighted can be purchased at the Savvy Shop

Directions:

Pour Henna powder into a bowl and add steeped hot green tea and vinegar to the mix. Add milk thistle powder and let sit for 4 hours. Then add the rest of the ingredients until the consistency is like pancake batter.

I then coated my hair just like last time, but this time I only left it in for 4 hours. I also used more Suave condish to rinse it out. (My only mistake? Rinsing my hair in the shower, and not the tub what a mess! I’m still cleaning some of it out of the shower!)

I followed it all up with a deep conditioning treatment of coconut milk, AOHSR Condish and raw honey. (I’ll post that recipe soon!)

This time my hair came out soft and shiny and I think the color was a little richer. I think it might have changed my curl pattern a bit as well. Although I heard about people saying that henna changed their curl pattern, they always said it happened after using henna for awhile. This is only my second time using it! Here’s how it turned out after I did a twitout with Karen’s Body Beautiful Hair milk and KBB Hair Cream. (A review of these products is also coming!)

Here’s the results, you can really see the color change in my puff…

Now you know I’m a DIY kinda gal, but I occassionally will buy things that I can’t make, especially if those things are creative, show ingenuity and I have a little extra spending money. Enter: Tomoka’s Twists. I first heard about TT on YouTube, and I’ve been tracking her ever since then. But it wasn’t until she showed up on the Sunday Nappturalite Radio Show, that I learned her name isn’t Tomoka, it’s Mimi, and the biz is named for a favorite family member). Then I started following her on twitter, I found out how friendly, and down-to-earth she was. Well I finally ordered a “twist” for myself, and every time I wear it I get nothing but compliments! The twist is actually covered wire, that has beads on the end. Here’s the one I ordered:

S. Luxurious - $16 (shipping was free)

Believe it. I went with Sexy (my husband) one day to AutoZone because he needed some things for his car, and as I passed the “Car Detailing” Aisle I stopped dead in my tracks and backed up. There was an entire row of microfiber cloths, chamois and other detailing cloths. First, I thought about how I could use the smaller multi-pak ones to clean with, since we stopped using paper towels. But then, I saw the biggest microfiber cloth I’d ever seen, and all I could think about was my HAIR.

Microfiber is highly absorbent and I kept hearing about these great microfiber towels that you can dry your hair with that will preserve and not break your curls when drying it! But every time I found one I liked, it always cost like $20 per towel, and that, my friends, is NOT in the budget. But here before me, in Aisle 6 of AutoZone, was a microfiber towel for less than $10! And it wasn’t one of those 12 x 12 ones that you dust with either. It was 28.5″ x 40″! I immediately grabbed it and ran over to Sexy and started raving about how fabulous it was and he gave me the same look that I guess most men give their women who start rambling on about a non-masculine subject in an auto-supply store, and just said “OK” and headed off to the register.

Well folks…

I

LOVE

THIS

TOWEL

Vida Starr, a fellow blogger from Life Star Beauty contacted me recently about a Health/Hair challenge that she’s having on her blog starting May 1st! Here’s the scoop…

Many of you know the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and healthy hair. We know the importance of drinking more water, eating healthy veggies and proteins, and definitely getting more exercise. Well www.lifestarbeauty.com has a hair challenge that incorporates them all! This hair challenge will take place in stages because for many of us it is difficult to abruptly start a new routine. Stages help to make sure we slowly incorporate each of these things into our routines!

May 1^st (Stage 1): Drink at least 5 bottles of water (that’s 10 glasses of water at 8 oz) a day. It is recommended you drink 2 bottles before lunch. Also, eat one serving of green veggies per meal. If you don’t want any veggies at breakfast you can swap it for one serving of fruit. Remember to snack on fruits/veggies between meals.

June 1^st (Stage 2): Eat salmon AT LEAST once a week. Salmon is a food that is loaded with omega 3’s, protein, and Vitamin B-12 which contributes to scalp health. A healthy scalp leads to healthy hair. If you don’t like/don’t prefer/can’t afford salmon you can replace it with other fish/foods high in protein. Two tablespoons of ground flaxseed included in your daily diet will also contribute to scalp health.

Hey folks! I’m going to be on the Nappturalite Radio Show on blogtalkradio.com tomorrow 3pm – 4pm PST/5pm – 6pm CST/6pm – 7pm EST. I’ll be co-hosting with show creators Dawn Yerger and Jaye Reliford. I’ll be talking about how ingredients in our diet, beauty and cleaning products affect our health and our hair, and what are some affordable solutions.

The guest on this week’s show will be Mahisha Dellinger, creator of CURLS natural hair products