How To:- Give Your Hair A Quick Hot Oil Treatment

I’m not the most ingredient saavy blogger on the block, I might just be the laziest (but the award for that is still pending). I took out my extensions last week as I just wanted to give myself and my hair a break but today everything is going back into cornrows so I thought that I should share a SUPER QUICK DIY Hot Oil Treatment you can do to nourish you hair and beat the cold winter conditions.

While a normal hot oil treatment requires an oil (obviously), it’s worth noting that different kind of oils have different kinds of effects on your hair and in my opinion concocting the right mix takes a lot of time. To fast forward the cauldron process I am going to be using Curl Harmony’s Buttercream, that I received just before the winter break.

Curl Harmony’s Buttercream is a mixture of natural butters and oils (Shea Butter, Kokum Butter & Avocado Oil) that’s conditions your hair to stop frizzing and add shine. It costs £4.95 for 60ml or £14.50 for the 250ml version so is quality for money.  If I was using it as a hair-dress I would use this SPARINGLY as it is so rich it would weigh down my hair but as I’m going to be heating this up with hot water and using this as my main hot oil treatment ingredient.

Step 1 – Heat the Oil

The easiest way is to take off the label from the buttercream container and dunk it in some hot water (yes I am that lazy), but if you want to do it the “right” way I recommend removing the buttercream from it’s container and putting it in a small bowl.

Step 2 – Apply Oil to Hair

Pour a small amount of oil into the palm of your hand and massage it into your scalp. Continue this process until all your hair is covered in oil.

Step 3 – Comb

Using a large tooth comb through your hair to make sure the oil is evenly distributed. Don’t forget to pay extra attention to your ends as they are the driest part of your hair and need the most TLC.

Step 4  - Cover Your Hair & Wait an hour

Cover your hair with a shower cap (or in my case cling film because you couldn’t remember where you chucked your shower cap after being liberated of extensions) and wait an hour.

Step 5 – Wash!!

After an hour, wash everything out and comb your hair to remove any tangles.

I really hope you like my lazy way to do the hot oil treatment. I actually loved using Curl Harmony’s Buttercream as I don’t normally use these oils on my hair and me thinks my hair loves the change. I almost (almost) regretted having to put my hair in extensions but let’s be honest . . . I’m too lazy to deal with my hair without extensions loool.

continue reading "How To:- Give Your Hair A Quick Hot Oil Treatment"

Review:- Curl Harmony Intense Repair Deep Conditioner

It seems that the only hair care products I ever review on my blog are intensive conditioners but to be honest, they are the only haircare product I frequently use and finish on a monthly basis. As I have started become more and more product ingredient focused, I’ve been checking the product list of EVERYTHING I use and choosing more products that are either natural or have natural ingredients in them. Just before the Christmas break; I received the Intense Repair Deep Conditioner (RRP £14.50 for 250ml) from Curl Harmony to test out.

Curl Harmony is a haircare brand that promotes natural products or naturally derived products that are paraben and formaldehyde free with just a small amount of fragrance oils to revitalize and moisturize wavy, curly or afro hair. I really love what this brand is about because they are focused on creating products that don’t include ingredients which are particularly drying for the ladies on the curlier side of life (which just also happens to be the dry-hair side of life).

To really give you and honest view of what this product is like. I am going to be posting mine and my sister’s (aka Bunny) results and opinions on this product. Though we both have the same curl type, my hair is relaxed and in Brazilian hair extensions while my sister has a cropped-relaxed, pixie cut, so I thought it would be a much more honest review to get two opinions on this product as we are both looking for different results.

Smell

You guys know that I am big on smell, more so than Bunny is but both of us were in agreement that the Intensive Repair Deep Conditioner smells like an afro-hair relaxer. It’s not super overpowering smell but it does have that distinct chemical smell which did confuse us at one point (and I receive a lot of ‘Annie, Are you sure this is hair conditioner??’ comments).

Ingredients

The Intense Repair Conditioner is infused with Shea butter, Jojoba oil and Coconut Oil, which are some of the most enriched ingredients known to haircare so I felt very positive seeing this.

With a mixture of oils (coconut, jojoba) fatty acids and protein (wheat) this will definitely rich in terms of moisture. It also contains Behentrimonium Methosulphate which is one of the gentlest detanglers on the market (it is so good it can be used on kids), which made me just love this product even more.

This product does contain Phenoxyethanol which is a synthetic produced organic compound used as an alternative to Formaldehyde and Parabens. This is a bit higher up in the product ingredient list than I would have liked but considering how short the ingredient list is for this conditioner, it is not something I am overly worried about.

Application

Repeat after me . . . 

‘This conditioner is THICK!!!’

While I normally welcome a thick conditioner into my routine, I found that I used a lot of product on my extensions and when applying it to my Bunny’s hair than I would normally use . . .though this might say more about my technique than anything else (as Bunny says I am very heavy handed). I did make sure to coat the hair evenly so it would be very obvious what the effects were but we both felt that the effects were not amazing.

Bunny said her hair did not feel as soft or as shiny as when she normally washes her hair while my extensions felt a lot lighter than when I use my normal conditioner (which honestly is a plus), I did feel my extensions were a bit dryer than normal but once I added a leave in conditioner and my Aveda Hair Polisher, the effects from using this conditioner really shone through.

Comments

Neither one of us were really blown away by this product. While I loved the ingredient list and was very happy at the natural alternative for my hair, Bunny; who is not ingredient-conscious, did not feel that this product was anything special and she didn’t get any amazing results, which would make her switch products.

I think the Curl Harmony Intense Repair Deep Conditioner is a good product for all my natural haircare lovers. Those who are specifically looking for the best conditioner with the simplest ingredient list, which gives them the same effect as their favourite deep conditioner but without the gallons of silicones and preservatives. The Intense Repair Deep Conditioner is basically for the ladies who know a bit better (and this is not a wise crack, with me saying I know better than my sister . . .although I do).

So there you have it. Two different opinions over the same product, what do you guys think? What are you after when choosing your haircare products?

continue reading "Review:- Curl Harmony Intense Repair Deep Conditioner"