Cantu GrapeSeed Shampoo and Conditioner Review

The Cantu brand has a special place in every black girl’s hair product collection. I’ve known of Cantu even from my relaxed days and I have used many of their products.

The new Grapeseed collection features 7 products in total and I received 5. For this wash day, I decided to add the new shampoo and conditioner to my routine.

Conditioner

My hair has been in braids for 4 weeks prior so I wanted to start with detangling first. The conditioner is light and runny and has enough slip. I used a good amount on each section of my hair, using a wide tooth comb from the ends to the roots of hair. The conditioner smells great and does a good job of detangling. Since I was using this just for detangling, I didn’t leave it on my hair too long but after I washed it out, my hair felt softer

Shampoo

The shampoo lathers up well and felt gentle on the scalp.  It’s formulated with shea butter and grapeseed oil. I loved it. It rinses out easily too. I always go in with 2 washes and it didn’t dry out my hair. The lather is produces was ok for finger detangling.

Verdict

This collection is for curly, coily and wavy hair and it worked really well for my 4c hair. It’s a good shampoo and conditioner if you are looking to try some new ones. I’ve had no issues with it. I love the scent and the performance did not disappoint me

Cantu GrapeSeed Shampoo is £7.99 on lookfantastic

Cantu GrapeSeed Conditioner is £7.99 on lookfantastic

The Mane Choice Take Over

20160527_191555

 

Hands up if you have heard of Mane Choice? Mane Choice is one of the bestselling hair vitamins in the US and has finally landed in London! I had been stalking Mane Choice for a while and watched countless of ladies on YouTube on their journey to healthier hair with Mane Choice vitamins and their results were amazing. I finally took the plunge and got myself a 6 month supply during their Black Friday sale last year. (A review will be up soon, I’m just pass the 3 month mark!). But this post isn’t about that..

The takeover party on Friday was for us to meet the Mane Choice team, have a Q&A session and network, network, network! Between the amazing canapes that were on hand (seriously I could not stop eating them lol) I met some really lovely bloggers and reunited with the Black Beauty and Mag crew!

The Q & A session with Courtney Adeleye, owner of Mane Choice was very insightful. She spoke about how she started, gave great business advice and dropped a few hints for stuff in the pipeline! One thing she said that stuck with me was ‘it’s not about balance, it’s about priority’ you can tell how passionate is she about her craft from hearing her talk and which was great to see.

Mane Choice has now expanded to include a full hair care range including deep conditioners, oils, gels and cleansers! They also have styling tools like their professional shears and hair straighteners! I got my vitamins shipped from the US which didn’t take long to be honest but the full range is now been stocked by Beauty by Zara

It was great meeting Courtney and her lovely team and I wish them all the continued success both here and the US! Really excited to work with them again in the near future! For more information on the brand/products, visit the Mane Choice website

P.S- Courtney’s hair is goals lool

‘It’s not about balance, it’s about priority’

 

See you soon,

Sarah

Top 3 online shops for Natural Hair Products

Naturalistas we are kinda obsessed with hair products lol. Sometimes the trip to the local beauty supply store is not enough: they never have our favourite brands or what we want is not in stock: now you wasted your oyster card money lol.

Fear not!

I love online shopping, I mean what’s better than shopping in your PJ’s in the warmth of your bed? Sure there is the annoying delivery charge and the chance of missing your package (we don’t need this type of negativity lol) but finding your fav product online and in stock beats all of that!

These are my top 3 online shops that stock the most for natural hair! Between them they cover all your fav brands from Anita Grant to TGIN (I tried to do A-Z but none of them stocks products from a brand beginning with a Z lool)

In no particular order

British Curlies

british curlies

The first online shop for natural hair I came across back in 2011 and I still use today (I am even part of their bloggers association!) They have recently launched their own natural hair care range: Trepadora and its exclusively available online there!

You can also purchase great British brands like Crown Pride Naturals (check out my review on them here) Boucleme (check out my thoughts on Boucleme here) and Curl Harmony (check out my review) P.S- you can get 10% off Curl Harmony products using my code SARAH at checkout!

They offer free delivery over £50. During this month, they are giving away a free Trepadora deluxe sample when you spend over £25!

 

Beauty By Zara

beautybyzara

I love Beauty by Zara for many reasons! First the stock an extensive range of Shea Moisture products including their hair colours! (Check out my SM reviews: jbco leave in and 10 in 1 superfruit complex). Second they have great brands like Cantu (Cantu reviews) and ApHogee (read my reviews). They also have beauty products like the L.A Girl concealer (girl including that orange corrector!) and the L.A Girl Matte pigment gloss (it’s sold on Amazon for £7.99, thank me later!)

They also stock Obia Naturals haircare which is quickly becoming a fav among naturals.

Free delivery over £60

 

My LUXE beauty

myluxebeauty

Recently launched my Luxe Beauty packs a punch. It stocks well know U.S brands like Mielle Organics Hot Head- Thermal Hair Care (I have been wanting to get my hands on the conditioning cap for ages!) Eden Body Works  and TGIN

You can also get products from other great brands like Giovanni, Kinky Curly and As I am

Do I feel a haul coming soon? Lol

They offer free delivery over £40

 

Where do you shop? X

 

 

 

 

Wash Day Ft Dark and Lovely Alma Legend

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend Collection

You will find an introduction to Alma Legend in my previous post. I have been using these products for a while now and I am totally loving the results. In addition to reviewing the products, I will also let you guys in on my simple wash day routine. Let’s get started

I always try to do a pre poo treatment, especially when its shampoo day. I started with my jbco mix as a hot oil treatment then proceeded to shampoo with the Alma Legend Oil Refill Wash 3 in 1 Shampoo. It claims to neutralize, cleanse and re fill hair. Apart from smelling amazing (all the products do) and looking like mango juice (which I love lol) it works really well. It lathers easily (it contains sulfates) but it really makes my hair soft. I feel like I could get away without using a conditioner afterwards.

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend 3 in 1 Shampoo
Dark and Lovely Alma Legend 3 in 1 Shampoo

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend Shampoo
After shampooing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wash my hair in 6-8 sections. On the first wash, I concentrate the shampoo on the scalp only, using gentle pressure and circular motions then rinse. On the second wash, I apply the shampoo on my scalp again and use the foam to wash each individual section and re twist. I always wash and keep my hair in twists- this prevents excessive matting and tangling!

Following shampoo, I go straight to deep conditioning. The Alma Legend Replenishing Mask has a medium thick consistency. It makes my hair really soft, like butter almost lol. It hasn’t got a lot of slip so I did have to use a bit to make sure I could detangle easily and pass the comb through the hair. I really like this mask, my only issue is the size, its only 250ml!

Dark and Lovely Hair Mask

 

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend Hair Mask

Then after deep conditioning and rinsing out, I will then do an ACV rinse (sometimes) then let my hair rest for a bit before adding my leave in and oils. Then I will either thread or flat twist my hair to stretch it out for the coming week

During the week, I swapped my usual jbco scalp oil for the Alma Legend Billion Hair Potion. It claims to help hair look fuller and feel thicker. It says it’s a serum but it looks watery to me (what’s a serum consistency like? Lol) I haven’t noticed any results yet, I only started using this one but I will come back for a full review after I finish the bottle. I will also bring you a review of the hair lotion then

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend Billion Hair Potion
I totally didn’t plan to match my nails to my hair products lol!

Verdict- I love the range! Everything smells great and I am such a huge fan of nice smelling products (who isn’t) I think the range is aimed at relaxed hair so the full collection has a relaxer but it doesn’t mean naturals can’t use other products. I have thick 4c hair and it loved it! I will definitely recommend it.

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend 3 in 1 Shampoo, £4.69/250ml

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend Replenishing Hair Mask £4.49/250ml

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend Billion Hair Potion Scalp Serum £5.39/100ml

Can be purchased from PaulsHairWorld

Do you still use products for relaxed hair? Or just natural hair products? Let me know!

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend

A new collection from Dark and Lovely is the Alma Legend Rejuvenating Ritual.

Dark and Lovely Alma Legend
Dark and Lovely Alma Legend

It’s a wide range of products that covers everything from styling to relaxing, wash and conditioning. A few of them are available in the UK which I received all of except the relaxer of course. I got the

Alma Legend Oil Refill Hair Wash 3 in 1 Shampoo

Alma Legend Replenishing Hair Mask

Alma Legend Damage Anti-dote Oil Moisturiser

Alma Legend Billion Hair Potion Scalp Serum

Alma Legend 1001 Oils Cream Night Wrap Cream

The main ingredient as you guessed it Alma Oil. Alma Oil has many benefits for the hair and scalp including conditioning properties, to help with dandruff or to soothe dry, itchy scalp. Others use it for hair growth and of courses it replenishing properties! It’s great for all hair types: relaxed or natural.

I have used Alma Oil on its own before, way back when I was transitioning but I can’t remember if I liked it or not. I am really excited to try this range out and let you know how it works! I don’t want to give anything away right now but it smells fantastic! I am still gathering some info like prices and stockists but I will let you know in the review post.

For the full product list check the Dark and Lovely Website 

See you soon!

Palmer’s Manuka Flower Honey Review

2015-10-11 13.05.58

Hey guys! Happy Friday

So I posted on my Instagram, last week on the new range from Palmer’s, the Manuka Flower Honey Range I received from work.

The range promised to deeply moisturise and protect the hair, soothe the scalp and restore moisture. The main ingredients are

Manuka Flower Honey: a natural humectant that moisturises to add shine and lustre while fighting frizz

Cocoa Butter- for conditioning and nourishment

Shea Butter- for deep conditioning and nourishments and protective properties

Amla Oil- for strengthening and conditioning the hair

I received everything in the range, apart from the shampoo

How did it live up?

Hold up! You can read the full review on the BlackBeauty and Hair website >> http://www.blackbeautyandhair.com/palmers-manuka-flower-range/

Make sure you thumbs up and subscribe to Black Beauty!

Check put my previous post on a review on the ORS Curls Unleashed range!

Happy Friday

Shetai Hair Care

Hey guys! I am back with another UK brand for natural hair. Shetai Hair Care makes natural hair butters for Afro-Textured hair. The butter is great for daily use on natural hair and as a leave in for relaxed or straight hair.

shetai

The natural hair butter is made from shea butter, coconut oil, Vit E oil and essential oils like lavender, peppermint and lemon.

Its £4.50/100ml or £8.00/225ml

You can buy it online at https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/235742126/shetai-natural-hair-butter-natural-hair?ref=shop_home_active_1

The cream can be used in different ways: as an everyday cream, hair sealant and deep moisturiser. Details on this can be seen on their website> http://shetai.co.uk/shop

So I have been speaking to the owners, Ruth and Margaret about reviewing the product for my blog and they were able to send me some, yay! It has a light minty scent and fluffy in texture. I haven’t used it yet but I will use it soon (counting down o next wash day) and report back to you! I will use it in the 3 ways they have recommended to give you more info on the cream

natural hair butter

They will also be at the Natural Nights event, so you will be able to get it here and ask the anything you like. For more info on the event please click here>> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-LE

 

Top 10 under 10!

Hey beautiful people, how is everyone doing? Good I hope! So todays post will be for anyone who is looking to save money on some hair goodies! If you’re on a budget, or just looking to try something new without breaking the bank then check out my top 10 products under 10 pounds that do just the trick! These 10 have been tried and tested by me so that you take out the guess work and just purchase, purchase purchase lol. Infact most of these are under £5! As a bonus I will have 5 more products that are worth checking out too

What I did as well is to add some stuff from UK brands ( first 4 are UK brands) as I know from my Laika project survey( if you haven’t taken the survey please do so by clicking here >> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1k9hvKmw3wjICTL-rFAqo3XxF29eO5l9MzJXeI1X1W8w/viewform?c=0&w=1 ) a lot of you would like to try UK brands but find there isn’t enough reviews or don’t know where to purchase.

I will leave links to where to purchase, prices (of course) and reviews, all you gotta do now is get a notepad and pen and start writing! Let’s get started!

  1. LoveShea whipped Shea butter in key lime pie- £8.50IMG_20150810_193255

1st impressions review >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-H1

Full product collection post > http://wp.me/s1uQOd-loveshea

Buy online at http://www.loveshea.co.uk/products

 

2. Mon Shea Shea soap -£ 4.50 sheaso

First look > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-ys

Full review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-AM

Buy online at http://monsheabutter.co.uk/

 

 

 

3. Curl Harmony intensive repair deep conditioner 60ml- £ 4.95

deep conditioner is blue
deep conditioner is blue

Full product collection > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-Bn

1st impressions review> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-CP

Full review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-Fe

Buy online at http://www.curlharmony.co.uk/shop/

 

 

4. SheaButter cottage bentonite clay- £ 3 for 100g bentonite-clay

Bentonite clay experience > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-wg

Buy online at > http://www.sheabuttercottage.com/home.php

 

 

 

5.Cantu leave in creamy hair lotion- £ 5.49

my cantu collection
my cantu collection

Full product collection> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-yF

1st impressions review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-zh

Full review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-D2

Buy online at http://shop.britishcurlies.co.uk/cantu/

 

 

 

6. NuNaat garlic shampoo £ 5.95NAAT_Garlic_Extra_Force_Shampoo_260x260_15537.1411569336.380.380__50936.1423217067.215.215

Full collection > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-yV

1st impressions review> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-Bb

Buy online at http://shop.britishcurlies.co.uk/nunaat/

 

 

7. ecoEco styler gel- £ 2.50

Buy online at http://shop.britishcurlies.co.uk/ecostyler-gels/

 

 

 

 

 

8. Motions pre wash detangling butter- £ 4.69pre wash

Full collection> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-Er

Review> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-t7

Buy online at http://www.pakcosmetics.com/brand/motions/motions/motions-enhance-and-define-pre-wash-detangling-butter.html

 

 

9. ApHogee curlific – £ 3.9911349400_1012397648793566_707707684_n

Buy online at http://www.beautybyzara.com/aphogee-curlific-moisture-rich-leave-in-8-oz/#

 

 

 

 

 

10. Creme of nature leave in spray £3.99leave in

Buy online at http://www.beautybyzara.com/creme-of-nature/ 

 

 

 

 

Bonus 5 products also under 10 pounds!

  1. Try the rhassoul clay from SheaButter Cottage for £ 3.60 for 100g

Review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-us

 

  1. Mon Shea pure Shea oil £ 7.99

First look > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-ys

Full review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-AM

 

  1. Dr Miracle’s conditioning shampoo £ 2.99

Mini review plus other recommendations > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-za

Buy in store

 

  1. Try Love Shea other scented whipped Shea butter, I have the bake well tart scent too

1st impressions review >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-H1

Full product collection post > http://wp.me/s1uQOd-loveshea

 

  1. Cantu Leave in conditioner for natural hair

Full product collection> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-yF

1st impressions review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-zh

Full review > http://wp.me/p1uQOd-D2

 

That’s all folks! This will be the 1st post in my budget series. i hope this is helpful to anyone looking for UK brands or new products to try out. Please check my UK brands page under the natural hair tab for good products from UK brands!

Please comment and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! I usually post mini reviews on my Instagram so check out that under the social tab and follow me!

Let me know what your fav products under 10 pounds are!

See you soon!

ORS HAIRepair

Hey girls! We have another product collection in the ORS miniseries. This product will be for my naturalistas who don’t mind heat and love to wear their hair in straight hair styles!

The HAIRepair collection allows you to go from curly to straight and back. Products in this line has have infused natural ingredients e.g. coconut, aloe vera and wheat protein and no formaldehyde. The full collection is

  1. HAIRepair system containing a clarifying shampoo, foam activator and seal and smooth leave in conditioner
  2. HAIRepair silkening serumors hairepair
  3. HAIRepair nourishing conditioner
  4. HAIRepair invigorating shampoo
  5. HAIRepair vital oils for hair and scalp
  6. HAIRepair intense moisture crème
  7. HAIRepair anti-breakage crème
  8. HAIRepair protect and shine hair sheen spray
  9. HAIRepair polisher

 

 

ORS says the HAIRepair system creates a protective shield that’s locks in moisture and guards against humidity! So what are people saying about HAIRepair? Let’s find out

 

 

 

 

What do you guys think? When I used to straighten my hair, I always has issues with keeping it straight for longer… until I suffered heat damage now I completely stay away from heat. If you don’t mind heat and I think this collection is for you.

I’m sure you can you use the shampoo and conditioner separately (As the kit contains a different shampoo and conditioner) but always check the website or ask before proceeding. Here’s a link to their website >> https://orshaircare.com/en/our-products/hairepair/

That’s all folks. Here in the UK you can purchase the full collection online at BeautyByZara > http://www.beautybyzara.com/ors-1/

That’s all for the HAIRepair collection. We have one more collection in this series which will be their natural hair care collection

 

See you soon!

ORS Monoi oil

Hey loves, I hope you guys are doing well. This will be the 3rd post in our ORS mini-series. The previous two can be read by checking out the links below

Shealicious> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-F0

Curls unleashed>> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-F3

In today’s post, we will be focusing on the Monoi Oil collection. I think this is the latest collection they have released. I may be wrong.  Monoi oil is known for it’s strengthening properties and has become more popular in the recent months. This collection is suitable for both relaxed and natural hair and features 5 products:

ors monoi oil

  1. Monoi oil anti-breakage oil fusion
  2. Monoi oil anti-breakage edge control
  3. Monoi oil anti-breakage leave in conditioning crème
  4. Monoi oil anti breakage laminating spray
  5. Monoi oil anti breakage rejuvenation spray

It doesn’t feature a shampoo or deep conditioner although they say you can use the leave in conditioner for a deep conditioning treatment. Its looks like the products are all styling aids. Let’s see what others are saying

 

 

I was only able to find 2 videos on this in English! And not from the ORS YouTube channel. If anyone is currently using this line, kindly share your thoughts below.

That’s all folks; it’s a real bummer when you can’t find lots of reviews for a product however I hope this helped.  You can purchase this line online at BeautybyZara.com > http://www.beautybyzara.com/brands/ORS.html?page=1&sort=featured

Until next time

Love

Sarah