Tag Archives: flat-ironed hair

Apr12

Review: Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist

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HE_tealightfullyclean_blowdryprepmistI have been wanting to really straighten my hair, rather than just doing a light blow out, for a while now. I did a “single pass” flat-iron on stretched hair (no blow-out) in June 2013 for a trim and had done a couple of blow-outs since. But, it had been over a year since I really, really straightened my hair. Part of the reason for this was that I wasn’t really feeling the products that I had been using for straightening (see them here). They worked okay, but my hair would feel kind of stiff and hard after using them. I tried the Nubian Heritage heat protectant leave-in and spray too, but everything was pretty “meh.”

Well, a few weeks ago, Wei and I had lunch with a friend and we started talking hair. Her daughter has tons of curly hair and wanted to have it straightened, but our friend didn’t have any idea where to start. So, I suggested the BaByliss Nano Titanium Pro that I purchased  a little over a year ago. Though pricey, I told her I loved it because it has temperature control settings and straightens very well, without frying the hair. So, we ended up heading over to Harmon and picking up one for her (with a 20% off coupon, of course since the thing is $119.00!). Well, while we were there, I told her that she should also use a heat protectant and we started scanning the aisles. I had seen a couple of people use TRESemmé, so we both picked up the TRESemmé Platinium Strength Heat Protectant. But then, I kept looking and decided to see if Herbal Essences (HE) had one as I love that line. Lo and behold, I found the Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist ($4.49) and decided to pick it up too!

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What They Claim:

Light and easy does it with Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist for silky, free-flowing hair. Invigorate your senses with exhilarating tea tree fragrance as you spritz this sheer mist up, down, and all around to help protect against blow drying damage.

Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist:

  • Blow dry prep for silky, free-flowing hair
  • Sheer and lightweight protection against damage
  • With tea tree essences
  • Spritz on for silky hair
  • Intriguing ingredients
  • Incredible fragrances
  • Irresistibly touchable hair; potent pleasure for all your senses

Ingredients: Water/EAU, Glycerin, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Water, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Amodimethicone, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-11, Fragrance/Parfum, Polysorbate 80, Disodium EDTA, Aminomethyl Propanol, Citric Acid, Cetrimonium Chloride, Trideceth-12, Methylisothiazolinone.

That same day, I washed my hair and put it into two braids. The next day, I decided to spritz the Blow Dry Prep Mist onto my hair and did a super quick tension blow out to stretch it a little more. Oh. Em. Gee. My hair was soft, silky, smooth, light, and flowy! And, I loved the light, sweet smell of the spray! I was WOWed! The claims were true! Seriously, I couldn’t stop touching my hair! That night, I put it into a braid and curl and, the next day, …

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Can you say, “Pleased as punch?” Well, this past weekend, after following my regular wash day regimen, I decided to bite the bullet and flat-iron my hair for real.

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FLAT-IRONING PROCESS

  • Wrapped clean hair in a cut-up tee-shirt to dry to damp (approx. 30 min).
  • Applied a little Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in to damp hair, concentrating on ends.
  • Spritzed hair with HE Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow0Out Prep Mist and finger combed it through hair.
  • Applied a very small amount of Chi Straight Guard (picked up from TJ Maxx on a whim).
  • Applied a small amount of grapeseed oil to each section.
  • Separated hair into 4 sections and did a tension blow-out with the Conair InifitiPro Tourmaline Ionic Hair Dryer I picked up last fall. I used it to finish drying my hair and stretch it, grasping whole quarter sections of hair, halving the quarters at some points, but never doing sections smaller than that (approx. 30 min.).
  • Flat-ironed hair in small 1″ wide sections at 300°, taking two passes over each section. I didn’t let the flat-iron stop on the hair. I  moved down the length at a slow pace, but the flat-iron was always in motion.
  • Did a third pass over the top layers of hair at 340º, moving the flat-iron more quickly.

It took me about 2 hours in total to blow-out and flat-iron. Here are the results.

 

blown-out
flat-ironed

As you can see, my hair was not bone-straight. There was still a little kink in it and that is okay with me as it lets me know that I didn’t kill my hair with the heat. I also know that bunning my hair will smooth it further. And, as was the case the first time I used the HE Blow-Out Mist, again my hair felt great!! It was airy, silky, soft, and felt product-less! And, at $4.49 a bottle? We have a winner folks!!!

So that’s it, my new heat protectant find! I had to do a review on this product as I wasn’t able to find any when I bought it, because the “Tea-Lightfully Clean” line is new for 2014! Of course, now I’m intrigued to try the shampoo and conditioner … but I’ll try to curb my PJ ways … for now. LOL!!

bantuknotwaves(Heatless waves added with 2 big Bantu knots)

Next time on Hairscapades: A Trim, Straight Hair Maintenance, and Straight Hairstyles 😉

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What heat protectant(s) have you found work the best for your hair?

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Dec4

Return of Straight Hair … For a Little Bit

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So, on Sunday, when I washed my hair, I decided that I wanted to lightly straighten it. You see, I  have been dying to try some of the braided styles I’ve seen, especially this flat-twisted bun I posted a while back. Now, I don’t know that my hair is thick enough to accomplish it, but nothing to it but to do it … or at least try it!

Back to wash day.  Since I was leaning towards trying a blow-out or flat-iron, I prepped my hair on Sunday.

Flat-Iron Prep

  • Pre-pooed with Aubrey GPB mixed with Vatika Oil (overnight Saturday into Sunday).
  • Shampooed with Cream and Coco Pumpkin Pie shampoo bar. (Quick Review: This was the first time that I’ve ever used a shampoo bar. I’ve been scared of them for fear of difficulty of application, dryness and tangling. But, I used this and I really liked it a lot!! It lathered quickly, my scalp felt very clean, but my hair wasn’t dried or tangled!! And, it smelled DELISH!!)
  • Finger detangled/conditioned with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration.
  • Deep conditioned with Shea Moisture Raw Shea Deep Treatment Masque.
  • Cooled and sealed with diluted Aubrey Green Team Cream Rinse.
  • Gently squeezed out excess water and blotted hair with Curl Cloth.
  • Applied Roux Fermodyl Leave-in Treatment 619 (porosity correcter/detangler/moisturizer).
  • Applied Aveda Brilliant Damage Control (heat protectant).
  • Placed hair into two braids to dry and stretch.
  • Applied a teeny tiny bit of grapeseed oil to my roots and braids and tied down with a silk scarf.

I went to bed and the next morning, my braids were mostly dry, but not totally. I was surprised that they were as dry as they were given the thickness of the braids! But, anywho, ponytailed and bunned up the braids for work.

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This is the thing. I have a blow dryer at home, but no comb attachment. And, I didn’t feel like doing a tension blow-out as it took  my 2 hours the last time (see here). I actually have a flat-iron too, but it was in the trunk in my “Goodwill donations” bag. It’s one that I picked up at Sally’s a few years ago, but the floating plates always caught in my strands. No bueno. And hence why it’s in the donation bag! So, on a whim, I ran home after work, grabbed a 20% off Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon and headed to Harmon Face Values! I knew that I was probably about to drop a dime on a flat-iron, so at least I could save a little!

I stood in the aisle for a bit, compared a Chi and BaByliss online via makeupalley.com (the BaByliss won), then tried to figure out why the Nano Titanium Pro 1 1/4″ ($119) was so much more expensive than the Porcelain ($50), why there was no lowest temp on the Titanium whereas the Porcelain showed 230° and ended up walking to the register with both. Had the lady open the Titanium Pro for me and we figured out the lowest setting was 300°. So, I decided on that one and walked out with it for $102.71 (after discount and with tax). Taking a page from CurlyNikki’s book and “charging it to the game!!” (Although, I may have to comparison shop and see if I can get this joker for cheaper on Amazon!!)

BaByliss Pro Nano Titanium Flat Iron

So now, it was time to go at it.

Flat-Iron Process

  • I released my braids and separated my hair into 4 sections.
  • I gently combed through the sections from tips to roots with a wide-tooth comb.
  • Applied a little more Aveda Brilliant Damage Control and grapeseed oil
  • I re-twisted each section.
  • Heated the flat-iron at the lowest setting of 300°. (Note: This iron has 5 push-button settings: 300°, 340°, 375°, 410°, 450°)
  • Working from the back left section first, I separated about 1-2 inch thin sections and passed the flat-iron through each section ONCE. I was not going for a bone-straight look. (Note: I didn’t use the chase method. Rather, I just held my hair taught as I slowly passed the iron down the length.) 
  • After I finished flat-ironing each big section, I applied a little bit of Wild Growth Hair Oil light to it and then a little of Bye Bye Parabens silicone-based “Extreme Gloss Oil.”
  • I repeated the process until I was done all four sections.

And here’s a gallery of pics as it appears that WordPress has gotten rid of the slideshow option without telling anyone :/.

shrinkage_straight_comparisonShrinkage is a BEAST!! LOL!!

I was very pleased with the BaByliss Nano Titanium Pro!! It did a good job on one pass, my hair retained a nice sheen even before applying the oil, and I didn’t have that burned hair feel or smell. I’m pleased with how my hair looks and feels … for the most part. I do need a trim (probably about 1-2″) as my ends in the back were feeling rough in some areas (left side especially … my problematic area) and I have some serious gappiness. I do have layers, but the back is looking really janky. I’m not going to cut down to the bulk of my hair as I don’t wear it straight often, curly styles blend the layers and I like to have the length to play with. But, I am going to have the length brought up a little closer to the bulk when I get my hair cut and shaped up in mid-December (yup, got my appointment with Tameeka lined up!). I’m still working towards that elusive full perimeter that I see others achieve *sigh*. I’m hoping that what I’m seeing is the residual of the breakage from lack of protein and excessive shedding that I experienced in 2010 and 2011. Given that my hair grows an average of 6″ a year (maybe only 3-4″ in the crown area … the grey there is always shorter than the grey in the front), that would make sense. So, I’m hoping that I will be able to get to full thickness in a year or two as I feel like, this year, I really have figured out all of the things that I need to have the best regimen for me!

Anywho, I went to bed in a bun last night to smooth it and create some soft waves, hopefully. Given that it’s raining, it may stay in one for the day (I swear, it rains almost without fail when I straighten my hair. I could end droughts with this “gift.”). But, I hope to try a braided bun tonight that I can share with you guys this week *fingers crossed*!!

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Okay, that’s it! Gotta go!

pressed hair

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Do you straighten your natural hair? If so, do you blow-out, flat-iron, both? What products and tools give you the best results?