My Fall Staple Products

After a some experimenting, I narrowed down the products and somewhat of a routine for this season - which has been temperamental to say the least (hurricanes, snowstorms, and sunny 60-degree days, oh my!). Here are the list of products on rotation for Fall/Winter 2012:

Cleanse

Jessicurl Cleansing Cream

Yes to Cucumbers

Pure Curls Clarifying Shampoo

Conditioners

Aubrey Organics GPB

Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle

Herbal Essence Hello Hydration

TreSemme

                                                           La Plancha Deep Heat Reconstructor 

Leave-in/Stylers

Lacio Lacio

Eco-Styler Gel (Green/Olive Oil)

John Frieda Ease Straight Fixation Smooth Creme

Miscellaneous

Apple Cider Vinegar

Bentonite Clay

Champagne & Caviar Curl Elixir

Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment

Ideally, here is my weekly routine:

- Pre-Poo/Deep condition with Aubrey Organics or Burt's Bees depending on my hair's needs. If I find that it needs a bit more strength/protein or just used heat on my hair, the Aubrey Organics. If I just need to focus just on moisture, Burt's Bees.
- Cleanse with any one of the shampoos listed - the Clarifying shampoo will only be used if there's too much build-up (most likely once every six weeks). Bentonite Clay once a month
- Detangle/Condition with any one of those conditioners. La Plancha will be used if I'm prepping to heat style
- Final Rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar  as needed - when my scalp calls for it
- Use Lacio Lacio as my leave in on freshly washed and detangled hair, seal with Curl Elixer (oil) and Burt's Bee's Avocado Butter for extra protection against dry hair
- Use other other products based on hair styles (straight, rollerset, braid outs, etc)

Cool weather for my hair means protecting my ends, diligently sealing moisture in my hair, and keeping my scalp in order. I plan to try out some more products this season as well, but the products on this list are my tried and true favorites of the moment! See anything on this list you use? Let us know!

Sunday Question: Product You Could Never Abandon

Last week, SP straightened and trimmed my hair. Of course it came out really nice because she knows what she's doing - and I went back to curly today with no issues. She used Herbal Essence Hello Hydration to deep condition my hair; the slip, the shine and the softness of my hair made me realize that I've really missed this product and I'm kicking myself for not using it anymore. I don't even remember why! I never had any complaints or issues with it but I just stopped buying it. Cursed me, I plan to restock at some point this week!

I know a lot of us rotate our products but you always have your "tried and true." So which product could you never abandon? Is it a shampoo, a conditioner, or styler? Let us know!

If you have a Sunday Question you'd like us to post, send us an email at yais.nyc@gmail.com!

Sunday's Question: What Products Have You Retired?

I've been looking through our blog archives reminiscing over styles and products that were once used. I remember when I was all about certain products, like a Renpure Organics conditioner, Herbal Essence, IC Fantasia Gel and Kinky-Curly Knot Today, just to name a few. I fondly think of these products but realize I haven't used them in ages for a two main reasons:

A) Too pricey, and found something cheaper with the same results
B) Found something the works better

I used to use Kinky-Curly Knot Today as my leave-in, but have switched to using TreSemme Naturals because of reason A while I stopped using IC Fantasia Gel for reason B, thanks to my sister who introduced me to Eco-Styler Gel.

So we're curious: What products have you retired and why?

Old School: Greasing Natural Hair

There's been seeing a lot of chatter lately about hair grease and how naturals have been ashamed to come forward and say they use it. It's been said that grease is no-no because of ingredients like mineral oil. Here are our opinions on it's usage:

Curly Film Chick: I used to use Indian Hemp all the time for my scalp because it was always itchy and flaking; this turned out to be a bad idea because it made my scalp flake with gross gooey stuff. I found that my scalp is at it's best now because I wash my hair frequently and apply either tea tree or coconut oil to it. Products with mineral oil at the top of the list really clog my pores and leave my hair feeling funky so I tend to avoid. However, I'm open to the idea sealing my hair with some sort of "grease." Maybe I should try Indian Hemp on my ends and see what happens?

SP Styles: I'm in the same boat as Curly Film Chick, growing up on the blue and green Dax & African Pride (you know, the one with all the specks of stuff... what's that about anyway?) which my mom used to use to twist my hair after washing, grease my scalp, or of course the good ol' grease, water, and a brush to slick natural hair into a ponytail. Once I got to junior high/ high school I was using Doo Grow, the light formula for my light strands and optimism in it's promises to grow my hair. It's funny because (secretly) I had started to every once in  while use some of the grease I had in my product closet when my hair was feeling a little dry to seal in the moisture. It's cool sometimes.

So what about you guys? Have you given up on grease? We have a poll set up on the sidebar about hair grease usage so please vote and feel free to let us know your thoughts!

My Color Relapse and the perfect twist-out formula

 Okay... so i know i went through the whole cutting my hair off because it was color damaged last year, but i dyed my hair like a million times in a short period of time last year and I can't live without color!!!!
I realize that probably for the rest of my life I will be addicted to color, so instead of fighting it, im just going to make good, sure choices about my color and take very good care of my color treated hair with loads of deep conditioning and the whole 9... I will no longer deprive myself of color because I know I will always relapse, so as with everything, I will color with moderation.

These pictures are crappy iPhoto and BlackBerry photos so they don't show the true color of my hair  but you can see that it's a little lighter and a lot brighter.. and how amazing my twist out looks!!! I wish you all (had to fight the temptation to write 'yall') could just reach in and feel how incredibly soft my hair is. This is a twist out from 5 flat twists i did last night, taken out, separated and fluffed with loads of Shea oil this morning. Not to mention, i started a new reggie of stretching my twist outs a little more by putting the nozzle on my blowdryer, holding my hair taught from my head and with cool, low air, I blow down the hairshaft.

I really couldn't get enough of my hair today... I've been playing in it like crazy because it feels so soft and conditioned and fluffy and managable. Most of the styles were pinned, and the 2 puffs were done with 2 banana clips

Oh, and my new killer combination for the perfect twist-outs: Herbal Essences None of Your Frizzness Smoothing Leave-in Cream and Eco Styler Gel... OMG! Best Combo to date! My twist-outs come out more like sets because my hair is like straight, but curly, as opposed to being more afro-curly like usual... In my usual twist outs you can sort of see my natural texture where as with these two products it looks almost as if my hair were straightened first and then set on small rollers. I give both of these products 2 thumbs and 2 toes up each and together... a STANDING ovation!!!

For my next twist-out, i will do a video so you all can see how i flat-twist my hair and how much product i use to get my results :)

I Haz An Upset About My Hair

So yesterday's hair day went pretty well. I used bentonite clay and deep conditioned my hair longer then I meant to because I was chilling around the house with my sister, but my hair felt so much better and clean!

Defined curls, curtesy of Bentonite clay!

Recall that I said I would be rollersetting my hair with magnetic rollers. Well, I pulled out my bin or rollers and noted a couple of things. A) rollersetting was going to take me years to do and B) I most certainly did not have enough rollers for my hair. I remember that's why I stopped doing them for a while, and I said I'd do them again if I bought more rollers--which I have not. I've been stuck on curl formers. And since I wanted a relatively relaxing day (which it was) I opted to use them instead. But, I did something a little different--a "ponytail curl-former" set if you will because I still wanted the curly bob look.

Pony-tailed sections of hair

Curlformers out

If you notice, it kind of pulled my hair a little higher. And upon light separation and fluffing of the curls, I really liked this look!! So why am I upset? Because it didn't last! I can never sleep with a set because the next morning my curls are smashed up and my hair is knotted. I was so pissed this morning because I thought tying a scarf very loosely around my head would work, NOT. And in general, while my curlformer sets look good to me I know they won't last because of lack of hold! I have yet to find a product that can provide a strong hold for my hair. I'm about to become a product junkie because of my mission to find great hold for roller sets.

So far my sister has recommended I try eco-Styler gel. She's been using it on her braid outs and I have to admit her hair feels really soft and it looks very defined. I'm definitely soliciting suggestions for products and a way to sleep on roller sets, ugh!

Setting Staples

When it comes to a TWA it's all about learning as you go. One thing that you learn about with hair whether you have a TWA or not is products and what works for you or doesn't work for you. I know i have never fully listed out all the products i use and reviewed them, so i'm going to start by finally making a list of staples.

SPstyles' Staples
Shampoo - Yes! To Carrots C Daily Moisturizing shampoo, Roux Porosity Control
Conditioner- Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, Giovanni Smooth As Silk Triple Moisture, Aussie Moist
Stylers & Moisturizers- Shea Moisture Curl & Hold Smoothie, IC Fantasia Aloe Vera Gel, Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Carefree Curl Instant Moisturizer (summer), Garnier Fructis Leave -in creme, Natural raw Shea Butter
Heat Protectors- CHI 44 Iron Guard, CHI Silk Infusion
Oils- Jamaican black castor oil (edges), Vatika Coconut Oil, Alma oil, Jojoba oil, Shea oil

I have a million other products in my stash which i shall let you into later, but these are the ones that i use all the time and feel like i will always need to re-up on; That's how i knew they were my staples. It's going on 2 years natural for me and i could say it took me about a year and some change to set staples and feel like i'm done looking for new products for a little while

How long did it take you to realize what were the best products for you? Have you set your staples yet?