Purple Hair Don't Care

My husband and I LOVE the show Ink Master. We were watching the other night and there was a girl on the show with some pretty amazing purple hair. My husband is an amazing hair stylist and colorist, but he's not a fan applying the crazy hair colors. Why? Most clients tend to have unrealistic expectations of a) the expense of doing it right, b) how bold the color will come out and c) how long it will last before fading. He's great at it, but he generally avoids it. However, I'm his wife and I begged, so..... the next morning we were in the salon.

Step 1: Covering regrowth.

This means brushing out my curls. It's not pretty. At all.

Step 2: Adding the purple.

This can only be done after a full application of highlights AND re-drying the hair.

Step 3: Washing, conditioning and making me beautiful!

People ask often how my curls continue to be healthy after all of the color treating I do to my hair. Here are my personal tips:

1) Don't wash more than 3x a week and if you can get that down to 2x, great.

2) Avoid sulfates at all costs as they absolutely strip the hair and dry it out. Co-washing is great but a low-poo works best for me in the summer months.

3) Deep condition or use an oil treatment (like Darshana) once every couple of weeks.

I absolutely LOVE my new color. Bold colors are definitely making a comeback and I look forward to seeing how long I can keep my purple this bright. However, if you manage to get a stylist who can fade your color in with this kind of perfection, tip them well because it ain't easy. Also, be prepared to sit in a chair for about 3 hours, because that's how long it takes. Lastly, know that touch-ups will need to be more frequent even IF you take all the necessary precautions to make it stay. Nature of the beast.

Stay curly, girls! Natural is beautiful.

Curly Girl Rant #1 : Gel Makes My Hair Crunchy! HELP!

One of the biggest deterrents to using gel or coiling custards on curls is the dreaded "crunch" that is produced when hair is dry. Nobody wants their hair to crunch, so they avoid these products altogether. And yet, most of the time, curl creams don't get the job done by themselves. Probably the biggest mind-blower of all when I went from daily flat ironing to natural hair is learning this simple truth.

GELS and COILING CUSTARDS are MEANT to create a "cast" on the hair. That "cast" protects curls as they dry. But, when they are dry.... get this... they are meant to be SCRUNCHED OUT.

Hear me again: When your hair is dry, you are supposed to SCRUNCH your DRY curls and BREAK the gel "cast," leaving you with perfectly soft, defined curls. (I spent YEARS of my life not knowing this. Years.)

Once you know this, your product choices will expand and you are now free to get those perfectly defined curls you've been craving!

Gels are actually amazing for ALL types of curls, even wavy 2A's and B's. Here are some of my personal favs (all silicone-free, by the way!)

Miss Jessie's Coily Custard

Mizani True Textures Twist and Coil Jelly

Kinky Curly Curling Custard

I use both of these products with a dime-size amount of curl cream for body and softness with this ratio for each section of my hair (4 sections, 2 front, 2 back):

1 dime-size amount of curl cream

1 quarter-size amount of coiling gel

Scrunch, diffuse and GO! It's time to stop fearing the gel. It is your friend, I promise! And the results are night and day.

Curls on the LEFT: Curl Cream Only. Curls on the RIGHT: Curl Cream/Gel Combo. If you aren't getting the results you want from your current products, try adding a good silicone-free coiling gel and don't forget to diffuse! 

Review: LUS Brands Love Your Curls

***THIS POST CONTAINS UPDATES FROM THE ORIGINAL. UPDATES ARE IN RED.***

It's been too long, peeps! I've been off living my best life in the real world, but I haven't forgotten about you.

Today I'll be giving my official review of the new curl line that's sweeping social media:  LUS Brands (Love Ur Self).

For the benefit of those who have NOT heard about this new product line, it comes with 3 pieces: Sulfate-Free Shampoo, Moisturizing Conditioner, and the All-in-One Styler. The set of 3 is normally $50 USD but (for now at least) if you buy the entire line, it is $45.

It's important to note that ALL THREE products in the LUS Brands curl line are Curly Girl (CG) friendly! So if you're following the CG method, these products are safe. Let's take a tour, shall we?

Step 1: Sulfate-Free Shampoo (for all curl types)

Although this shampoo is sulfate-free, it DOES have some lather, which I liked. I did the no-poo thing for years which is basically using a cleansing conditioner (think: DevaCurl no-poo) to wash my hair, but I still prefer some lather when I wash. The shampoo is completely clear, not pearlized like many moisturizing shampoos can be. I had to use a little bit more product than I would have liked due to the length and thickness of my hair, but overall I liked it. Also, the smell is nice.

Step 2: Silicone-Free Conditioner (for all curl types)

All of the tutorial videos for LUS Brand tell you that "less is more" with their products. Even with the length and thickness of my hair, I didn't feel I needed to use a crazy amount of this stuff. Where I'd probably rate the shampoo at around a 6 out of 10, I'm giving this conditioner a solid 9. It has GREAT slip and fantastic moisture. Also a fan of the smell.

*Keepin' it Real Moment*

Here's the honest truth: shampoos and conditioners marketed as "for curls" really aren't anything terribly unique or special. All you really need is any sulfate-free, silicone-free combo that gives extra moisture. Look for words like moisturizing, hydrating, or for dry/damaged hair. Whether or not it's marketed as a "curl" product doesn't really matter. A lot of times, though, those products are also LACED with sulfates and silicones so you have to be careful. The notion that you need a specific shampoo/conditioner combo designed for curls is false. What you wash/condition with really doesn't have much to do with how your curls are going to turn out as long as you have a good amount of moisture to keep them bouncy when you style. 

That being said.... there's just something about having 3 products with the same packaging that makes a gal feel good. From one product junkie to another, I do like the aesthetic quality of using products from the same line.

Step 3: All in One Styler (available in Wavy, Curly and Kinky-Coily formulas)

Okie dokie.... THIS is where it gets real. In my experience, how your curls turn out after a good cleansing has about 50% to do with your technique and 50% to do with your styling product(s). The LUS Brands All-in-One Styler makes you believe it is the cure-all for the often multi-product life most of us curly girls live. I purchased the Curly formula. I followed the directions and applied this product pretty liberally to my soaking wet hair. I sectioned it off and make sure I had it evenly distributed and started the process of diffusing.

I wanted to love this product. I really, REALLY wanted to love this product. Within 5 minutes of the diffusing process I could see frizz starting to form and by halfway through I was past the point of no return. Not only were my curls not curling, but there was hardly ANY definition to ANYTHING on my head. I kept drying, kept diffusing, and it kept getting worse. By the time I was done I looked like I just rolled out of bed after partying like it's 1999, and not in a good way. The one good thing I can say is my hair smelled great. But it looked TERRIBLE. So terrible that I didn't even take a picture right away.

...BUT ALL IS NOT LOST!

I sprayed my hair down the next morning and added some curl custard, diffused and voila! 

Me, post-panic, quasi-saving what was left of my curls after the disaster. 

Here's the thing: gel may give hold, but rarely does it give much volume. That's what curl creams are for, which I avoid like the plague because they also give me frizz. Adding the gel allowed for the hold I needed and also gave me a volume I've been missing for a very long time. Also, less gel means less "crunch" and I hate crunchy curls.

Final Thoughts: On a scale of 1-10, I'd give LUS Brands a 3. They score points for great smell, lots of moisture and slip in the conditioner, and fun packaging. The lose points in cost ($45/set is steep, especially with the size of the products) and not-so-awesome and not-so-all-in-one-styling. However, the combo of their styler with my gel was wonderful. It also defeats the purpose of an all-in-one, but I still liked what I got. After requesting a refund for the product, the company made it clear that they have a no-refund policy on their products. Any unused portion may not be returned because, in their words:

"Personal care products are considered a hygenic product, and for sanitary reasons, we do not accept opened/used products for return or exchange. All of our products are manufactured in a GMP-compliant and FDA-registered laboratory in Canada. Once a product has left our facilities and has been opened/used, bacterial contamination becomes a serious concern. We take matters of hygiene and safety very seriously, and for this reason, we cannot take products back. We sincerely hope you understand our positioning, and appreciate receiving brand new and unopened products each and every time from our facilities! 

We are confident you will love LUS products as much as our other customers do. If you are not completely satisfied after trying our products, please contact our care team at support@lusbrands.ca to discuss your feedback or concerns. We are here to help!"

This, quite honestly, is ridiculous. I can go to ULTA today and return any unused portion of ANY hygenic product and get my money back. I can't stand behind a company that doesn't back its product with ANY kind of exchange or refund policy. So, buyer beware. They will take your $50+ regardless of whether or not you're a happy customer. In this day and age, that is completely unacceptable. Under normal circumstances I may say that just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for you. Give it a go. I can't, however, in good conscience, recommend anyone spend that kind of money if there is no way they will ever get it returned. My hope is the LUS company will learn from this and change the policy.