Chi Enviro Smoothing Treatment Review - Part 2

Product: Chi Enviro American Smoothing Treatment - Virgin and Resistant Hair 

What the product claims:  It eliminates up to 95% of frizz while making curly hair more manageable. It instantly adds amazing shine, silkiness and condition to the hair.

Retail Purchase Price: varies in salons who offer the service; however, I purchased the product from Ebay for $75.00. I'm a D.I.Y kind of girl :-)

My experience/results: Today was the test to see if the treatment actually could live up to its claims. The weather was expected to peak around 90 degrees with high humidity all day long. 

This was my hair after washing the treatment out with the supplied shampoo and conditioner

This was my hair blown out with a vented brush and a dryer set to cool. I used the supplied Chi Serum to blow dry.
 

Final product after flat-ironing on 370 degrees

So lets compare the results - Flat ironed hair

Before (w/treatment in)

After (w/treatment washed out)

Blow dried hair

Before (w/treatment in)

After (w/treatment washed out)

And here is my hair after spending 30 minutes outside and 8 hours in air conditioning at work

           

Keep or Toss: I think the photos speak for themselves. Who's to say that the product would have worked better if I followed the directions to the letter, however, I was more concerned about keeping my hair on my head and not singed on my bathroom floor. I probably wouldn't try the treatment again even I got it professionally done. My hair wasn't more manageable after washing. I spent the same amount of time blow drying and flat-ironing as if I never tried the treatment at all. The only difference in my hair was that it felt a bit smoother coming out of the shower but I usually get the same smooth feeling if I deep condition. There was no deep conditioning step while using this treatment. This treatment was not worth the time, money, or effort.

Rating: 1.0 out of 5.0

Kinky Curly Knot Today

Ingredients: Organic mango extract, organic slipper elm, organic marshmallow root, organic lemongrass, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, citric acid, phenoxyethanol and natural fragrance.

What the product claims: [It] is a creamy herbal conditioner and detangler designed to smooth the cuticle and remove knots, snarks and tangles from thick curly textured hair.

Retail Purchase Price: $12 for 8oz bottle from Whole Foods.

My Experience: Kinky-Curly Knot Today has a clean, fresh fragrance that is relaxing and not overpowering. The lotion-like consistency of the product goes on your hair very light. It does help in the detangling process by providing lots of slip but it didn't give my hair very much moisture beyond a few hours of applying. I have revisited this conditioner time and time again looking for ways to get it to work for my hair. I have twisted with it, rollerset with it as a leave-in,  flat-ironed with it as a leave-in; and nothing has provided me with enough softness and moisture that lasts.

Keep or Toss: As much as I wanted to love this conditioner, it just didn't seem to do enough overall for my hair. If it detangled AND moisturized, this product would fall into HOLY GRAIL territory. It does perform as suggested, though, so it is a worthwhile product to try if you have issues with detangling. I have found other methods to detangle my hair without needing to use this product so I probably wouldn't repurchase in the future.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream

Ingredients: Posted above

What the product claims: This thick, rich formula leaves extra dry, coarse hair soft and supple for days!

Retail Purchase Price: $16.50 for the 8 ounce jar.

My Experience: I did not find this cream all that moisturizing in the capacity that I used it. I would apply it as a sealant on damp, freshly washed and conditioned hair . The product seemed to just sit on top of my hair and never really fully absorbed into the strands. No matter how much or little product I used, I would be left with rough-feeling greasy hair.

Keep or Toss: This hair butter is rather expensive to not perform as well as all the rave reviews suggest. My hair loves castor oil but seems to not get along with this product at all. I have had dryness issues with products that contained amla and aloe in the past but figured the castor oil and glycerin would balance out any adverse effects. Well, I was wrong about that. I finished the product to make sure I would come to a fair conclusion about its performance and experienced the same lackluster results each time. I will not repurchase.

Rating: 2.0 out of 5.0

Chi Enviro American Smoothing Treatment Review - Part 1

Product: Chi Enviro American Smoothing Treatment - Virgin and Resistant Hair 

What the product claims:  It eliminates up to 95% of frizz while making curly hair more manageable. It instantly adds amazing shine, silkiness and condition to the hair.

Retail Purchase Price: varies in salons who offer the service; however, I purchased the product from Ebay for $75.00. I'm a D.I.Y kind of girl :-)

My experience: I have been very apprehensive regarding the multitude of keratin treatments that have saturated the market over the last few years. I was concerned about the long-term effects caused by some of the chemicals in these products and wanted to find a treatment that would provide sleek results without the possibility of compromising my health. To be honest, I wasn't looking for straight hair or else I would have never stopped relaxing, but I wanted to be able to have the flexibility to wear my hair straightened without losing the style to frizz within minutes of stepping in not-so-optimal weather conditions. There seems to be very few reviews of this treatment on kinky hair on the internet. I wanted to be able to try it and see if it is a viable solution to combating the frizz-factor on my hair type.

The supplies to get started

The directions say to wash hair with the Purity Shampoo, rinse, then towel dry to 50% and add the treatment section by section. I shampooed in about 6 twists, rinsed, towel dried then blow dried each unraveled and detangled twist to stretch my hair a bit before adding the treatment. My hair would have been a tangled mess if I added the treatment right from a fresh wash.

This is my hair after the wash and towel drying

This is after blowdrying one side of my head with the treatment already applied. It felt stiff and very coated.

This is the other side of my head still sectioned with the treatment on it and waiting to be blowdried. The directions say not to section the hair and leave it straight at all times but if I leave my hair unrestricted and up to its own devices, I'll end up with a giant knot. So I sectioned my hair with plastic clips and kept it moving.

Finally finished!

First Impressions: Surprisingly, my hair was very soft and silky although it still felt coated with the treatment. I trimmed about an inch and a half to even up my ends. I didn't have to open any windows or be in a well ventilated area while I performed the treatment. There weren't any fumes that irritated my throat, nose, or eyes. It took me about 30 minutes to blow-dry my hair with a vented brush and 2 hours to straighten with an FHI Runway 1 inch flat iron. The directions say to go over each small section 5 times at 410 degrees to seal the treatment on the hair. I went over each section between 3-5 times at 370 degrees.


To sleep, I covered my head with a satin scarf, leaving the ends out then tucked all of it under a satin bonnet. The next morning, I unwrapped my hair and it was slightly wavy from the way it was tucked inside the bonnet. I didn't bother to flat-iron the hair completely straight as the directions recommend because I feel that is way too much heat in such a short time span. I completed some errands today in 91 degree weather and high humidity levels and my hair didn't frizz one bit! That was a welcomed improvement and I can't wait to see how the hair fairs over the next couple of months. I will wash my hair after the recommended 24 hour curing process and document the results in a Part 2 review.

Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo

Ingredients: Deionized Water , Decyl Glucoside (Sugar Beets) , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Aloe Vera Leaf Juice , Vitamin E , Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem), Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate (Coconut Oil) , Panthenol (Vitamin B-5) , Rosemary Extract , Silk Protein , Lonicera Caprifolium Flower and Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Honeysuckle and Lonicera).


What the product claims:  [It] gently cleanses, hydrates and detangles hair for bouncy and healthy curls.


Retail Purchase Price: $9.99 for 12 ounces.


My experience: I have very dry hair and scalp so the ingredients in this product seemed like they were right up my alley – all natural and scalp nourishing. I primarily wear my hair in stretched styles and wasn’t too concerned with having bouncy curls as the label promises. I just needed an all natural moisturizing shampoo that won’t leave my hair brittle or my scalp flakey like many natural shampoos can. It has a light coconut fragrance that doesn’t smell too sweet or candy-like. The consistency is thick, creamy and pearlescent. Once it is worked into the hair and scalp, it produces a copious amount of lather so you don’t need a lot to get your hair clean. I used about a half-dollar amount for my entire head. I was actually tempted to finger detangle with the shampoo in since my hair felt so slippery and soft, but I rinsed instead. My hair felt clean enough not to require a second lathering.


Keep or Toss: This shampoo is a keeper! It exceeded all of my expectations. You don’t need a lot to get your hair clean, it smells good, and is inexpensive at about 84 cents an ounce. And the most important result – my hair and scalp are happy! No flakes, extra tangles, or dryness.


Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 

How it all began...

In 2006, I had just graduated from college and began working for a news organization in the top five market.    With an insatiable appetite to learn as much as I could and big dreams of the future, I quickly learned how first impressions mean everything, so if you don't look the part, no one will take you seriously. An unfortunate truth, but something had to be done -- and fast. Hoping to find a style that would be easy to care for while I figured out to do with my own hair, yet offered versatility and a professional appearance, I decided on installing micro-braids. The style was similar to the picture below including the highlighted color.

Once I removed the braids, however, I realized I was in worse shape than before I started. My hair was fried, dyed and laid to the side. It was a dry, damaged mess after years of relaxing, mechanical abuse and at-home box hair color. I used a black rinse hoping to conceal some of the damage and was left with was can be seen in the picture below.

I joined a popular message board geared toward learning how to grow long, healthy hair for women of color back around in early 2007 and that is when the product junkie addiction began. I jumped on almost every bandwagon hoping I could grow my hair to beyond my shoulders for the first time since I was kid. With all that bandwagon hopping, I picked up several hundred products, tools, and accessories along the way. Five years later, I have a solid hair care regimen and healthy, non-chemically treated hair to the middle of my back but still can't seem fight the incredible urge to peruse the hair care aisle in the drugstore or supermarket. Even if I need to run in and grab something quickly, something inside of me always says I HAVE to check those aisles "just in case" a product I have never tried is on sale or newly stocked.

*Sigh*

So, that's my story and hopefully this blog can be my happy ending to an expensive habit. I plan to review the many hair and beauty products I have gathered over the years by "shopping my stash". My main problem: I don't even know what I have anymore!

Most of the items in my hair arsenal were impulse grabs. You know...those items that were on the clearance rack, or had awesome ingredients, or was rediscovered in the back of my refrigerator next to the box of baking soda.

Anywho, I hope this blog will help you all in your search for your holy grail products BEFORE committing to a purchase that could fall flat, all the while helping me cure my addiction by seeing what actually works instead of what I think might work.

Being a product junkie isn't an easy addiction to shake...so let's do this together, one bottle of conditioner at a time.

And that's the way it is,

~Amanda