Product Review: As I Am DoubleButter Cream

I tried so hard to love you, As I Am DoubleButter Cream! When I say that I tried, I mean, I did every possible thing to try to make this work for my hair.

I went into Sally's, palms sweaty, debit card in hand, prepared to shell out $28.99 plus tax for this product that I seen all over YouTube with rave reviews. Believe it or not, I glanced at the ingredients because I noticed that it contains coconut oil, and my hair doesn't respond well to it.

After about 12 minutes of contemplation and two conversation with the sales girls, glancing several other products for one-third of price, I ran to the register and brought it!


Moisture is essential for great natural coils and curls. When your hair feels a bit rough and dry, and looks that way too, this is the jar to reach for. The power-packed As I Am® DoubleButter® Cream is a rich emollient blend, graced with the finest array of natural butters and organic oils. It gets the job done.

Sounds really good right?







I couldn't contain myself!  Hastily, I washed and deep conditioned my hair. Finally something that would make my hair really soft, great for twist outs, moisture for days, my mind just went on and on. After my deep condition, I prepared my hair for a protective style. I added a leave in conditioner, oiled my scalp, added the DoubleButter Cream and sealed with some castor oil and started to detangle and braid. I woke up the next morning and expected that my hair was going to be super soft, but it wasn't. Ok, no problem, mist with water, add the cream, and seal with some oil. After 3 days, my hair felt drier than ever. It was like I didn't do anything to it at all.

When I removed my braids to wash, my hair was crunchy. Crunchy like I had been putting gel on my hair the whole time--not a creamy moisturizer.

I wasn't willing to give up that easily. I pre-pooed, washed, and deep conditioned again. This time I used the LOC method for sealing in moisture. I added my leave in conditioner, added castor oil, and then the DoubleButter Cream and proceeded to braid it up. The next morning...better! Finally!

Now, I thought to myself, let me try a twist out. The results were ok. Why? Because my ends were dry and crunchy. I used the LOC method and the ends were still dry. The definition was decent for it to just be with a moisturizer, but nothing like when I did it with the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

The bottom line: For the price this product, it just doesn't stack up. My concern is that when doing the LOC method I wonder what is making my hair moisturized--the water and castor oil, or the actual moisturizer. I wanted to say that it was because of the change in the weather and that my hair was just extremely dry, but I think that I was just making excuses to try to love this product after all the hype. The one thing that I do love about this product is the smell, but beyond that...I got nothing.

I know that it was more than likely because of the amount of coconut oil in the product and from what I heard (not sure if this is fact) coconut oil has some protein in it and that could have possibly caused the crunchiness in my hair. I'm sorry but it will be going back to Sally's tomorrow.

I did buy some Qhemet Biologics products as a replacement, and I'm just as excited to get it in the mail as I was to try this one! I also brought another cream moisturizer on Black Friday. The search for the perfect moisturizer continues.

Have you tried the As I Am DoubleButter Cream? Do you like it? Was it worth the price for you?

BioInFusion Curl Pomade Review...

In my prior post, I stated that I achieved my twist out results using Bioinfusion Curl Pomade (in the post, the name is incorrect). Here is my review of this product!





First off let me say that I brought this product when it was on sale at Walgreen's for $4.99. For that price you get 6oz, and a little bit of this stuff goes along way. I actually gave my friend some of this for her daughters hair and I havn't made a dent in this stuff. Oh wait, lets get to the technical stuff first. As per the Walgreens website:

Healthy. Beautiful. Nourished.

This pomade contains moisturizing oils to condition your curls. Protective beeswax makes hair pliable and creates strong styles.

• With soy
• Safe for color treated hair
• Paraben and sulfate free
• This product is not tested on animals

100% satisfaction guaranteed

After cleansing and conditioning hair with BioInfusion Curl Nourishment products, dry hair. Emulsify a small dab of product in your hands to warm it. Apply pomade evenly throughout dry hair before styling. Mold hair into desired look.
 

I used this product on damp, not wet hair, layered with shea butter and castor oil. For the record, I have not tried any other products from this lineI only used a small amount, mainly on the ends of my hair, and twisted. The smell of this product is a little strong, but once it dries, you can barely smell it.

The pros of this product is the price. Even without the sale, its $7.99 regular price. Another thing is soft hold. Any of my 4a/4b/4c ladies out there if you have frizz and no definition, you need to give this a try. It gives you just the right amout of contol and hold. Oh, its moisturizing.

Now on to the cons. Smell. If you are sensitive to smells, this one isn't for you. Also, the ingredents. I'm no professional about this, but its not a natural product. The packaging says no parabens or sulfates, but everything else...I couldn't tell you what's in it.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is a good product to have on hand. Its affordable and it will last a long time with regular use. I think that for any natural out there its worth a try. And like I said if you are looking for a little more hold then give this a try.

Natural Deodorant Review...

My body chemistry is changing...and not for the best. I have been dealing with alot of changes with allergies, tastes, and smells. It's slightly frustrating when you cannot find a fragrance that smells good on you or vanilla makes you smell like garbage due to your body chemistry. One of the things that I have been experimenting with is deodorant. I have been prone to boils and cysts under my arms for about a year now. I used Degree deodorant for years and then all of a sudden irritation. Then came the boils, which I know doesn't come from deodorant, but it can trigger and irritate it.

I have been toying with the idea about going to a natural deodorant for a while now. I downgraded my deodorant to Dove, which works, but I just really wanted to go all natural. Well, I took the plunge and brought some from Chargrin Valley.




The first day that I used it was hard. I felt like you could really smell the essential oils in it but maybe it was just me. The second day, I was with my assistant and I told her that I was trying out a new deodorant and she told me that she doesn't wear any---at all! Cray. She stated that she looked into how they said that it was linked to breast cancer and just quit wearing it (not that she does anything at work anyway...but that is another story). I will admit, I heard these claims about causing breast cancer amongst other things and it swayed my decision about taking the plunge to go natural in my armpits.

It is now five days later and I am still chemical free under my arms! There are still some things that I have to get used to, like the oily feeling of it under my arms. The fear of it getting on my clothes, but hasn't stained anything. And one of the biggest things is that my arm pits will  not be completely dry. Now, let me just say that I started this while the temperatures were well into the 80's.

On the website, they state that your body chemistry has to get used to it.  And that's true, but I think that its worth a try.

I Tried So Hard To Love You...

When I went out last Friday, I decided to put on some make-up and since I was still participating in the Protect Ya Ends challenge, make-up was most definitely something that I need. There are my staple eyeshadows that I normally go to depending on how I am feeling and the look that I am going for. Normally, my two MAC eyeshadows or my Jessie's Girl pigment with Indianwood as the base. Last year, I got suckered in to buying the NAKED Palette by Urban Decay.





Ya'll I honestly tried so hard to love to love this palette, but I just couldn't. Where to start?! When I got it, I went to YouTube and looked at every tutorial that I could. I did the first look. Ok, wasn't too crazy. Nice for everyday. The second time, I tried something with more of a smokey blue eye look. Ok, this is different.

With no exaggeration, those are the only two looks that I can do with it. I mean, for me, every look that I try looks the same. I tried to do something with a little more pink and it looked like shimmer. Tried to do a look with more browns, looked like shimmer. A disclaimer, I used the primer potion--and a cream base. And don't get me started on the fallout and chunks of glitter. Now, it is a good buy for the amount of product that you get, but that is about the only thing that I can really think of that I loved about it.

Sigh. I tried so hard to love you Naked Palette by Urban Decay, but I think that its time for us to break up.

Oh yeah, and I tried my Viva Nicki lipstick and I wasn't really feeling it.....I looked slightly jigg-a-boo-like with it on. Yes, I looked at School Daze a couple days ago.

Product Review: ORS Edge Control

Alright, so keeping with my Protect Ya Ends Challenge, I have been wearing alot of wigs. I recently brought a half wig (throwback) called Keya from Blackhairspray.com. Now, as many of you may know that I am transistioning and trying to stay away from heat, so in order for me to get this half wig to look right, I had to slick my edges down. Anyone who has natural hair, knows that any water based gel will make you hair revert back to its natural state. Meaning, that your hair/edges will be nappy. I did a little bit of research and came up with the ORS Edge Control. I thought that it would be a better choice than my normal QP Glaze.



Now, to be fair, I flat ironed my hair lightly so that it wouldn't be as bad and it would blend better since this hair is basically curly straight hair. I put the front portion of my hair in bantu knots over night. Wait, before I go on, I did wear my hair out one day (The PYE challenge gives you two free passes). So, I had a lunch date I was prepared just incase it didn't work out. The bantu knots were prefect for blending with the half wig. I applied the ORS Edge Control.....nothing. Yes, nothing. It made no difference in slicking down my hair or edges for that matter. I feel like I could have gotten the same thing, maybe better from QP Glaze. It actually didn't spread as well, since its a thicker formula. It left, as some of the reviews that I have heard people say, a grey like sheen to the hair.

Here is a picture of the finish look. (Note: I had to cut the wig to get desired look)

Pros & Cons:

Pros: Thick formula, which may work for some peoples hair. Smells good.

Cons: Leaves a residue/ grey sheen. Same hold as any other gel.

I am going to give it a try on wet hair, maybe slicking it up into a bun and see how it does.

Product Review: Nivea Cream Oil Body Wash

One of the best parts of the day for me is taking a shower. It's the one time of the day when I don't have to be bothered with anyone, I can't hear my phone ring  and its just some short lived me time. Since I am really into skin care, I will splurge every now and again on some good body wash. About 2 months ago, I clipped a coupon for Nivea Cream Oil Body wash. I am already a fan of the lotion, so the body wash must be good.

 

From the first time I used it, I could tell that it was good; It was a creamy lather, smelled good, felt moisturizing, and it was cleansing. Now most of the time when you use a body wash, you have to put on lotions and moisturizers to have soft skin, and for it to stay soft. Not with this body wash! You can forget to put on lotion and you will  not be ashy--at all! Whatever they put in this stuff is good. I suggest this to anyone who is looking for a new body wash for the winter. Oh, how can I forget the price. I got the first bottle for $1.99 with a $2.00 off coupon. So even without coupon you are looking at $3.99 at participating retailers.