I went to the gym yesterday, forgot that I had somewhere to go today that required that I actually look decent. So, I got up this morning wondering how the heck I was going to pull off a nice “do” when I was frizzed out to the max. I decided to give curformers another chance, but I did something different this time.

1. I did not completely wet my head.

2. I used a water bottle to spritz each section of hair a bit.

3. I sat under the dryer for 45 minutes.

Slightly dampened hair worked MUCH better than sopping wet hair for me. Wet hair is always the weakest, but since my hair is uber fine, the pulling of the hair through the roller was causing me to lose a lot of strands.

After 45 minutes I had nice curls. There were a couple of frizzy sections, but I think I found a solution for that too.

Although, my hair is fine, I have a LOT Of it per square inch. I originally purchased 7 packs of curlformers, giving me 21 orange and 21 pink. I purchased the last 2 packs of extra-long and wide from Sallys today. As Sara, from curlformers recommended, I may need additional curlers.  So, I’ll try it out again and update you all. Also, got a huge chuckle out of the sales rep at Sallys. She said, “Ever since you came in asking about curlfomers, they became popular!”

I can definitely say that I saved myself a great deal of time by using the curlformers. Installation does take a little longer for me right now, as I’m still learning what method will work best for me, but I cut down 2+ hours of drying time. I set my dryer to a cool temp and was presentable in less than an hour. That’s not bad!

So…the curlfomers are going to get to stay (Sorry to all of you who were making plans for them already…lol).

I think that they are an incredible product, wish I had thought of it first, but….

they are going BACK to Sally’s.

Today was the first time that I did a blowout and noticed that I had a lot of stray hairs. I had a number of short strands sticking up and I’m sure that they are the result of using curlformers. I’m sure that I would eventually get the hang, of installing them, but I prefer to keep my hair on my head.

Also, the use does cut down on having to sit under the dryer for a long time, but I cannot sleep with curlformers, so it still requires that I sit under the dryer, or wear them for a long time in order to air-dry.

I don’t want to completely knock them; they actually do an awesome job, but I have very fine hair and don’t like all the tugging required to get my length of hair through the curlers.

They do a fantastic job at creating uniform, spiral curls that shine, regardless of hair texture. The curls work better in humidity than a blowout, for my hair, anyway. At least when I frizzed up, my hair had some curl, rather than just puff. I’m just going to go back to doing finger curling and may consider flexi-rods as a quick, down-n-dirty way to get larger curls when I don’t feel like going through the entire rolo-blowout process.

I may give them one, last try, but I really don’t know if I want to risk pulling anymore hairs out.

I’m not going to mention the fact that my friend (MICHELLE) knows that I have a weakness for any new hair gadgets. She also knows that I have been trying to find work-friendly styles to combat the heat.

So, why, WHY I ask, did she say, “You know…I heard of these no-heat, quick drying rolos called Curlformers. Have you tried them?”

She did NOT have to say another word. The quest was on.

Then of course, Dany made it even harder to curb the junky in me; she sent me some great links. Before the night was over, I’d ordered not one, but TWO sets of Curlformers.

SIDEBAR: Never order from curlformers.com!!!! I accidentally ordered the long-extra-wide kit, when I really wanted extra-long-wide. I immediately contacted the company via email. I never got a response. I then responded to my order confirmation – still not response. Lastly, I filled out the form on the curlfomers.com and 3, yes THREE days later a I got a reply.

I ended up ordering 7 packs of extra long curlformers from Sallys (they didn’t have them in the store when I went). I had a 20% off coupon, and figured if I didn’t like them, I could march right into Sallys and return them.

I was beyond anxious, could barely get the shampoo out of my hair in order to try these coily miracle workers. I thought that I had an advantage as there were countless videos on youtube (thanks to all the gorgeous gals who share their expertise).
The first few were fairly easy to slip on, but I made a few mistakes:

1. I tried to do a mohawk, just as I would with my magnetic rollers. Not a good idea. Next time, I’ll start at the nape of my neck again, but work from the bottom up to the crown.

2. I tried placing the hook at the scalp, twisting, as I’d seen in most of the videos. This was NOT working when I got to the longer sections of hair. I snatched out several strands before realizing that it might smarter for me to place my hook closer to the ends of my hair and push the curlformer up towards the scalp. This slight change made all the difference.

3. My last mistake was thinking that I could actually sleep with close to 40 curlformers in my hair. Um…NO!

Next time, I’m going to put the curlformers in and sit under the dryer for an hour or so.

All-in-all, I absolutely loved the results. My hair was tightly curled, but not frizzy.When the curls dropped, my hair looked more natural and I was able to do finger-curls, pin-curls in order to maintain my curls.

Pros:
1. Much, much less drying time.
2. No need to use my blower, which means no heat damage.
3. Curls are shiny, crisp and uniform.
4. The tight curls keep my hair off of my body, keeping me cool during the blistering heat.
5. I think this may be a great solution for those of us who work out frequently. We can condition our hair, slip these rolos on and relax while our hair is drying.

Cons
1. Too expensive, but when I consider the cost of some of my other hair appliances, such as my Pibbs Kwik Dri and other tools, curlformers fall right in line. Besides, I save a fortune by doing my own hair.
2. Some reviews mention that they are comfortable for sleeping; this was not the case for me.
3. This is more of a disappointment and suggestion rather than a complaint. I really wish that curlformers came in extra long AND extra-wide. It would be nice for those of us with length and volume to be able to get the big, plush loser curls.

My next test will be able to see if I can hit the gym, put my curlformers in and still look good for work.

Stay tuned…

She always says, “Por qué, mija, no vuelves a Nueva York? No tendrás que hacer el pelo!”

Yeah, yeah…going back to NYC would be great. I could go to my stylist without an appointment; I could find all of my favorite products without effort; I did not have to spend the entire day working on my own head of hair. But, right now…moving back to the Big Apple isn’t in the cards.

Now, despite the efforts my mother puts into trying to coax me to come back home, she always hooks me up. She knew that I had been looking for a Creme of Nature Detangling Shampoo replacement and thought that I should try the companion to my current favorite conditioner. Um…why didn’t I think of this?!

So, the other day I get this little care package from Mami. No note, nothing, just a bottle of shampoo. Ya gotta love moms. On one hand they’re fussing because, we’re away and too far from home. On the other hand, they’re always looking out for us.

Ok, ok…enough blabbering. My mother sent a bottle of Halka Baba de Caracol Regenerative Shampoo. I hadn’t planned on shampooing that day, but you can believe that I cracked that bottle open with the speed of light.

Upon opening the bottle, I notice that it’s rich and thick, just like Creme of Nature. We’re off to a great start. I had tried various shampoos, including kiddie shampoos, which were too thin and watery.

First lather…pretty good.

Second lather…still pretty good and I can pass a comb through my hair.

Impressions? I like it! I like it! But, don’t get too excited yet. I decided a while back that any new product would have to pass the thrice-as-nice test. That means if I like it just as much after the 3rd time, it’s a keeper.

Stay tuned…and if you all have tried it and like it, let us know

Mil besos,

LaNegra

I am a HUGE fan of Humecto and UNA products, particularly the moisturizers. However, I may have to ditch everything in my closet for this one, special product.

I have lots very fine hair and that means lots very serious tangles. I always comb thoroughly before shampooing and avoid pulling my hair up in the shower (ya know that only looks good in the commercials right?). However, I am still left trying to work out tangles before I turn the water off.

Baba de Caracol (snail slime with silk) worked magic on my hair. I applied it after shampooing with my conditioner concoction. I used a quite generous amount, because when you have a lot of hair, like I do, it does no good to skimp on the goods. I’m sure that I used 1/3 of the jar with this first use. More hair, means you use more product, but it means that my hair remains healthy. But, for $9.99 a jar, that is only $3.33 per use and I’d pay three times that, if not more, in the salon. Get where I’m going with this?

Anyway, I applied that product and put my plastic cap on. I had nowhere to go…in case you all aren’t aware, most of us in PA are snowed in. I figured, no better time to pamper myself, like today. There are no directions on the jar, so I just figured that since it states it’s a deep conditioner I’d leave it on for a minimum of 20 minutes.

I got to yapping with my friend on the phone and the next thing you know, 35 minutes had passed.

Here’s the good part…

I turned on the water, grabbed my shower comb and expected to have to work the tangles out. Wouldn’t you know, the comb just glided through my hair, like skates on ice! I did not have to flex a muscle, didn’t have to section my hair, didn’t have pull or anything. My hair instantly felt like silk. Ahhhh!

I also noticed that I didn’t get the normal frizz. Typically, if I wait around and don’t put my rolos in right away, I start to frizz. Not this time. My hair felt a little straighter and a whole lot softer.

It gets better…

So, I put in my rolos and yapped some more on the phone. Another hour passed (yeah, yeah…I know…I chit-chat too much lol). I touched my hair to see how damp it was and was shocked at the feel. My hair felt softer than it has ever felt.

I cannot wait to take out my rolos. I’m under the dryer as I type. I’m sure that this is going to be a staple. Hmmmm….wonder if I can find Baba de Caracol by the gallon.

BioInfusion results are in…after little deliberation, my conclusion is that this shampoo really, really is bad. I first let mi hermanita try it because she’s my gineau pig (im sure i spelt that wrong ) . he normally soft coils and curls, were hard and crunchi even after conidtioner. It really stripped her hair it took almost 3 days to get the moisture back into her hair. Then i made a section in my hair (my hair is relaxed) and washed only a little section…gurl i took that bottle back to walgreen with a quickness.lol, and ran to my secrect beauty supply store, where there are the last 3 bottle of cream of nature that no one knows about, and bought some more of my good stuff. i don’t know what i’m going to do when i can’t find any.

I had high hopes, but I guess that bubble was just bursth

Thanks for the review mija!

Your blower has to meet certain criteria. It needs to have the right amount of power, preferably 4 speeds and it must get HOT. I know some will disagree with the “heat” aspect of it, but for me, this is an absolute.

So, during my trip home to NYC I decided that I would try a new blower. No, there’s nothing wrong with my current blower, but ya never know, right? Besides, when it comes to hair tools, a good blower is the equivalent of me having the best rims on my car…see where my priorities are, right?

Anyway, I stopped in all of the beauty supply stores on the east side, inquiring about the turbos, specifically something with the ionic and tourmaline technologies. The Megaturbo 4000 seemed to be the only ones that had both technologies in one package, unless I wanted to order something online.

Wouldn’t you know, just as I was about to pay for the blower at the first store, I happen to inquire about the return policy and was told, “Store cwedit! No re-fun! Store cwedit onry!”

What the PUCK?! I’m going to spend $90 – $149 on a gadget only to have someone tell me that I cannot return it? THAT STINKS! It’s not like I live in NYC anymore. I even showed my driver’s license and was told, “Sowwy, store cwedit onry!”

So, I kept it moving until I found a store that was willing to let me buy and return within an hour. That’s what I did. I was giddy when I left the store with my Pibbs made MegaTurbo 4000.

I damn near ran home! Quickly opened the box *let’s pause a moment to reflect on the ohhh and ahhhh moment of shininess of the new blower*

I plugged it in, put my setting on Hi and proceeded to blow.

I shut it off. Looked at the buttons, read the instructions *um…how difficult is it to turn on a blower, right?*
Turned it back on and….
nothing.

Oh, it turned on and it blew out some air, but I was completely and utterly disappointed with the results.

I intentionally wanted to try the blower on that particular day, because it was HUMID AS HELL! My hair was one giganormous puff and if a blower was going to prove its worthiness, it would have to be done on that particular day.

My hair laughed at the heat that the Megaturbo 4000 was trying to give off. I think I even offended a few follicles by tempting to tame the frizz with the, dare I say, less than qualified blower.

Needless to say, I packed that baby back up with the quickness and ran back to the store before anyone could say, “deep conditioner.”

I am still a turbo fan, but will have to keep trying to pick out one that is just right for my needs.

So…in the meantime, I’ll just embrace my loyal blower and thank God it still works .

Hello Ladies,
Sorry for the delay. I have been busy, busy, busy. Wanted to let you know about a new product I recently tried, Hask Straight Solution. First off, I love Hask products and when I was looking for something to assist my thick curly hair getting even straighter with a rollerset, I figured I would give it a try.

So, I washed and deep conditioned as usual, then towel dried. I applied the Hask, liberally, because my hair is extra thick and gets extra bushy! I combed it through with a rattail comb and immediately I could tell this product was going to be fabulous. I could feel my wet hair actually straightening as I combed it. The rollers went on easier, and my usual stray hairs actually stayed in place.

After setting my hair and sitting under the dryer for what seemed like forever, I took the rollers out and couldn’t believe the results. My hair was extra straight at the roots, which is great because I don’t perm, shiny and much more manageable than usual.

What I really liked was that even after a few days of wrapping my hair AND working out, the roots stayed fairly straight. Now I say fairly, because like I mentioned, I don’t perm. With all my activities, I don’t expect my blowouts to last very long. However, I know for sure the Hask extended my blowout. And even though my roots were a little bushy, the rest of my hair stayed straight. Hask has yet another satisfied customer.

This product straightens the hair as well as protects from heating appliances. I believe it may be geared more to those who flat iron, but in my opinion it works just as well with rollersets.
If any you have tried this product, please let me know about your experience! You can contact me at anitra@dominicanblowout.com

When I first received my Silk Amino Acid, I didn’t know what to think or how to use it. Eventually, it occurred to me that one of my favorite products, CHI Silk Infusion, contained…silk! Here’s the thing. Silk Amino Acid comes in a liquid form, so I received a bottle and wasn’t too sure how much would work.

After experimenting, I wanted to get my testing down to a more “scientic” routine. I wanted to be able to repeat the results, not just get a hit-or-miss recipe. With this in mind, I used a bowl that hair stylist uses for hair dye, or other products that need to be measured. These bowls are pretty inexpensive; you can get one at Sally’s.

1. I poured a bowl full of my Humecto in and the added a cap full of Silk Amino Acid.
2. I left this mix on for about 30 minutes (was unpacking more boxes, lost track of time).
3. Rinsed out.

My hair felt like…SILK!!! I absolutely love the way my hair felt. It was moist, supple and easy to comb.

Now you all know that I have hair products stashed away for every occasion, so I don’t even know why I was feigning like it was a state of emergency, but I digress.

Anyway, I pulled out my rarely-used-jar of UNA Protein Treatment. I used to swear by this product, but because it’s increasingly more difficult for me to find it, I wanted to salvage what I had for such an emergency, as today. There was about 1/4 of a large jar of UNA left and about a 1/4 cup of Aphogee left, so I just poured the remaining Aphogee in the UNA jar and stirred. Then I added a cap full of silk amino acids that I recently purchased online at lotioncrafter.com into the mix and applied to my hair.

I left my protein “shake” on for about 10-15 minutes, rinsed thoroughly and then applied KeraCare Humecto to my hair. I left that on for about 20 minutes and braced myself for the worse. I expect to have to fight my tangles. However, that wasn’t the case. My hair was relatively easy to comb and that comes as a huge shock, because I haven’t done a relaxer in a very, long time.

When I looked at the ingredients in Aphogee, I realized that the first ingredient is hydrolyzed collagen and most of the protein conditioners that disagree with my hair are keratin based.

Suddenly, I recalled seeing hydrolyzed collagen somewhere, but it’s slipping my memory right now. I’m wondering if I can get this in liquid form, like the silk amino acid that I purchased from lotioncrafter…again, I digress.

The point of this is to say that I think that the silk amino acid really left my hair soft, supple and easy to comb. I’m not experiencing breakage, but combing is a little tough these days and I have to decide whether or not I am going to go natural, or relax again, but for the moment, I think that my hair is thanking me (and Ayanna) for this protein shake.

The silk amino acid is definitely a keeper!

ADDENDUM: As soon as I touched my dry hair, still wrapped around the rolos, I knew it was going to be a good experience.

My hair felt soft, smooth and silky. In fact, it felt like I had just done a desrizado, a relaxer. My “don’t know how long it’s been since a touchup” roots were even soft and easy to comb.

Now, the only thing to do is figure out exactly what worked for me – was it the mixture of UNA with Aphogee,  the added silk amino acids, or the combination. We will investigate.

I took a couple of pics, but my batteries died, so I’ll add them later.