Hiya,
How's it going?! Hope all is well at your ends! This post is all about the products I have tried all summer long...I have been here in the US since the beginning of July and let's just say it has been a struggle but I managed not to get into full hair product junky mode-I literally refused to walk by the hair/beauty sections of walmart, target and co.; as for Sally and other beauty supply stores, I pretended that they didn't exist until this month's import window opening so I didn't get tempted but I still made sure I tried out a few products that peeked my interest and those that had rave reviews. This past week as the import window opened, you need to see me skipping through the beauty supply sections/stores like a kid in the candy store...the excitement of just seeing what new products are out, what's in them, how they feel etc IS REAL! LOL!!

Now I am here with my own honest reviews of these products; Let's Proceed!

 The YAY's!!

The first Yay product has got to be the first deep conditioner I bought on this trip- The Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner;

THE GOOD STUFF;water, glycerin, safflower oil...the rest of the ingredients were all mega long chemical names...

I LOVE the way this deep conditioner makes my hair feel. I also loved that a little went a long way, for an 8oz tub, I have used this deep conditioner 3 times and there's still enough to use at least twice that's not bad at all-it also helped that I mixed it with other products like henna and hair oils instead of using it alone which would require using more in quantity.

The next YAY product is another deep conditioner I purchased; The CHI NOURISH INTENSE SILK HAIR MASQUE!!


THE GOOD STUFF; Water, glycerin, olive fruit oil, hydrolyzed wheat protein, hydrolized silk...

Just like MIXED CHICKS, this conditioner is LOVELY! it made my hair feel so soft especially after leaving it in my  hair overnight! This is a must have conditioner if only I can keep getting it at the price I got it for at TJ MAXX- $10, I checked online and it's over double the price...booooo!!

The next YAY product is yet another deep conditioner but this one is super cheap and cheerful at $6 for a 500grams/17ounces tub but smells not so great! It the VATIKA NATURALS EGG PROTEIN DEEP CONDITIONING HAIR MASK that I got during my Indian hair products shopping spree;
Aside from the smell, this protein based deep conditioner left my strands feeling stronger which is what you want from a protein treatment!

THE GOOD STUFF; honey extract, hydrogenated castor oil, egg powder, olive oil, there's also marrow extract (don't know what that's for, can't be bothered to research but it sounds good-LOL)!!

 I've used it twice in between conditioning treatments, mixed with oils and I have definitely noticed the different role it plays from the above condition/moisture based deep conditioners. I will repurchase this.

The next batch of reviews are for the products I posted on my Instagram page (if you are on instagram please follow NAIJAHAIRCANGROW also feel free to post your progress pictures by simply typing #naijahaircangrow; remember the 6 INCHES OF GROWTH CHALLENGE IS STILL ON TILL DECEMBER, DETAILS here )

Ok here goes Pic 1;

In this Picture are the following products;

GRAPESEED OIL (First on the left ); Not my first time writing about this ceramide packed oil, read more about it here. Definitely a YAY, its been my go to oil for sealing all summer long!

Beside it is BEAUTIFUL CURLS WAVY TO CURLY SHEA BUTTER FORTIFYING HAIR LOTION; Definitely a YAY!! Except for the quantity (only 4oz) too little for daily use it was really good while it lasted-

THE GOOD STUFF;A bunch of extracts that I'm guessing are good- chamomile, sage leaf, yarrow flower, apricot fruit, ylang ylang flower, Fair trade Shea butter, fair trade virgin coconut oil, sesame oil...

As you can see this product is packed! Loved it, would repurchase a bigger tube if the price is reasonable. It's just now I am writing this review that I am seeing it was just a 4oz tube for about $7- a bit ridiculous!

The next product is GIOVANNI VITAPRO FUSION PROTECTIVE MOISTURE LEAVE IN CONDITIONER; I decided to give it a try since their direct leave in is a fav of mine...well it was a let down and my first NAY product up for review. It had quite a few good ingredients though;

THE GOOD STUFF; Water, vitamin E, Aloe Vera leaf juice, sunflower seed oil, soya bean extract, Some extracts; mallow (?) , lavender, rosemary leaf, clary, thyme, coltsfoot(?), netttle...

Upon all the orishirishi in this product, when ever I used it, I kept asking it 'what do you do again?' It was nothing close to a detangler like my beloved mane n tail (thought it would be since its so watery) and it was not moisturizing enough for a leave in conditioner, it was like using water on my hair, once it dried out my hair was back to square 1- simply dry!! really didn't like it and will not repurchase again!

In the PURPLE bottle is Aussie's HAIR ASSURANCE SPLIT END PROTECTOR. It's a repurchase and unlike BEAUTIFUL CURLS above the size at 5oz is reasonably priced at under $5  and its definitely a big YAY!! The ingredient list is not ideal as its packed with cones but it makes my hair feel really really good, it gets it damp to just the right degree where combing is not a hassle.

THE GOOD STUFF; Water, aloe leaf extract, silk extract...

Not much but as they say, sometimes less is more!! Now if only they would put this in a bigger bottle.

Last in the picture is the CAROL'S DAUGHTER HEALTHY HAIR BUTTER. So you'd think I saved the best for last, well unfortunately that's not the case!! This product was surprisingly the second NAY hair product.

First I'll list THE GOOD STUFF; Water, soyabean oil, corn oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, wheat germ oil, vitamin C, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, orange oil and lavender oil.

This product is packed with lots of great oils however it has beeswax in it making it an extremely thick hair butter! I was expecting a really velvety smooth butter texture but what I got was a hair butter that rubbed on really heavily and is definitely not for my hair texture because such thick products weigh my hair down but I think it will not be too bad if mixed with water in a spray bottle and spritz on. I think ladies with natural hair would love it as a sealant though because of all the hair thickness they have going on.
 Another issue I had with this product is the price- at over $20 for an 8oz tub, it definitely didn't live up to my expectations at all.

PICTURE NO.2-

First up for review;
The VATIKA NATURALS VOLUME & THICKNESS STYLING HAIR CREAM (BLUE COVER) and VATIKA NATURALS EXTREME MOISTURIZING STYLING HAIR CREAM (ORANGE COVER) - I was super excited when I saw these products but they were such a let down- A big NAY!! let me list a few ingredients;
THE GOOD STUFF;
Water, sweet almond oil, aloe barbadensis powder (blue cover)
But surprising the rest of the products were packed with mineral oil (in almost all Indian products), parabens and other chemicals too long to type, it got me wondering how on earth the word 'Naturals' was on their packs! As suspected, my hair did not like these at all, it made my hair dry out instead of moisturized and just had that feeling of being coated with mineral oil, a feeling you don't want your hair to have because it means your hair is not breathing!! Will never touch these two products again with a 10 feet pole!!

The clear liquid in the bottle is ROSEWATER- I will be honest I didn't notice a difference when I used this over when I used normal water but I am guessing if you live in the UK or anyplace with hard water or where water is rusty and dirty then using rosewater would definitely be a great idea, otherwise its nothing special in my opinion.

On top of the Vatika tub with the pink cover is the DREADED NEEM OIL-HATE IT, will never buy it again; read all about my ordeal with this oil HERE if you missed it! Definitely a NAY!

The last two products in this picture are a pack of henna - YAY for HENNA and a tiny bottle of Coconut oil- YAY for this brand of coconut oil, love the smell of coconuts!!


Final Picture;
Now here we have the cream of the crop!! All these products are YAY's!!!!!

First we have a new product by the makers of Chi silk infusion another product I love, its called CHI LUXE HYDRATING WONDER THERAPY HYDRATING LEAVE IN CONDITIONER WITH COLOR PROTECT. It comes in a really chic pump bottle and the product itself is just superb, been using it every chance I get since I got it at the start of this week. It feels just like Giovanni direct leave in; light, absorbs easily, great slip and smells divine!!
THE GOOD STUFF; Water, Aloe leaf juice, kelp extract, hydrolyzed milk protein, hydrolyzed silk,
glycerin ...

 And the price at $17 for a 10oz bottle is not that bad considering how good it makes my hair feel!! I see Giovanni direct leave in and this product struggling for the same spot on my dressing table :)


The next product in the green bottle is the humble but extremely effective GARNIER FRUCTIS SLEEK & SHINE INTENSELY SMOOTH LEAVE IN CONDITIONING CREAM- I first tried this years ago when I was on holiday at my cousin's house, she was using it and when I saw it I teased her about using products for white people but she made me try it and I loved it, then I saw it at the grocery store and was shocked at the price!! That was about 5 years ago!! I decided to try it out again this summer and gladly nothing had changed except they added argan and apricot oils to it!! The product still makes my hair feel great and is super cheap at under $5 for a 10.2oz bottle!!  

THE GOOD STUFF; Water, apple fruit extract, argan kernel oil, apricot oil...

Oh did I add that it smells divine!! Garnier fructis keep impressing with their ability to create wonderful hair products but make them very affordable, I fell in love with most of the products from their sleek and shine line and got some to be stocked in SHOP NHCG when the imports come in, so if you love them like I do then keep refreshing the blog so you know when the shop page is stocked.

The final product up for review is the BLACK QUEEN CARROT OIL SHEEN SPRAY. I got this oil sheen spray as a sealant after reading the ingredients;

Safflower oil, coconut oil, soyabean oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, canola oil, carrot oil extract, vitamins A,D & E, Fragrance.

 I loved how simple all the ingredients were; listed with no long chemical names and also liked that they specified that it was alcohol free meaning even cetearyl alcohol which I have seen in almost every ingredient list is not in this product. I appreciated that and with a price tag of $3.99, I gave it a shot and have used it all week long too and love it, the only issue I have is with the spray nozzle, I rather use an applicator bottle/root applicator to apply oils rather than spray them all over my hair/face.


Whew!!! That was quite long! I have been here since July and I think I have done pretty well with curbing unnecessary product junkism! I made sure the products I got will serve a particular purpose and as you can see I succeeded with some and failed with others but that's all part of being on a hair journey!!

Any of you tried any of the products above? do you share my sentiments? Which products catches your fancy from the list above? Feel free to comment below!! Thanks for stopping by!!


Xxx
Dabs

Hiya,
So Its finally time for my first NHCG Salon Profile!! A Salon Profile is our version of a salon review where we will rate beauty salons on the following ambiance, price, professionalism, skill and overall rating. 


This month, I will be profiling Supreme Beauty Salon, Lekki 1, Lagos. Note this review is an independent opinion and should not be construed otherwise, please readers who have visited this salon should feel free to rate the salon alongside these ratings in the comment box.



AMBIANCE;
When you open the doors of Supreme Beauty Salon, you are immediately welcomed by a large oval mirror to take a good look at yourself before your 'transformation' and then a large vase at the corner holding dried flowers and twigs, kinda chic! I Also like the really high wall that extends to to the roof and forms some kind of balcony where people upstairs can look down. The Salon is spacious and well laid out, work stations neat and put together, dryers put off to one section of the salon so clients are not all cramped up, the manicure and pedicure section well laid out and the braiding section too. Serenity doesn't exactly come to mind when thinking of Supreme's ambiance but it still has something going on and so for ambiance I would rate Supreme Beauty Salon  highly, maybe an 8 /10!!

 PRICE; 
Most times the prices Salons peg on their services are determined by the area they are situated. So you realize that you are paying for the same exact relaxer treatment at a different price because of location! Supreme being in Lekki therefore charges according to the pockets of its mostly buoyant residents. A relaxer treatment will set you back about N2500 (with your relaxer kit) last I checked. But an off putting thing is a simple wash and set cost the exact same amount of money, now that's a rip off considering that the time, skill, energy put into the two processes are not at par!! I think getting a weave fixed there is about N3000-N5000 depending on style. For Price Ill rate them as average because I have visited salons that cost less that do a good job and I have also visited salons that cost more and are nothing special. So 5/10 should be fine.

PROFESSIONALISM;
This and skill are the two aspects that will either keep me coming to a salon or well away from it! At Supreme, most times you are immediately welcomed and attended to by a manager. She will ask for the purpose of your visit and then assign a stylist to you. I think that is really neat! you go to some salons and you stand there for five minutes, everyone's walking past you and acting like you are invisible until you desperately beckon on someone, anyone to attend to you and if you are lucky someone responds, if you are not, you walk out and no one notices! Well at Supreme they have ironed out that issue. In terms of other staff, I still hear the usual Naija bickering and pidgin English speaking in front of clients, don't know if we can ever get that out of the salon system in Naija but in all honesty at Supreme, the presence of the manager keeps things civil! For Professionalism I have to give them a 9/10  

SKILL;
The beauty industry is a recycled industry! In the sense that , the same stylists just keep moving themselves around carrying along the same level of skill from one salon to the other. Supreme Salon is somewhat a 'victim' of this recycling. Most of its staff are male stylists I have seen work in other salons here in Lekki. Most of them don't really have skill  with natural hair besides the basic fixing of weaves in my opinion and the one time I heard one of them give advice to a client, he told her that her hair was shedding so she needed a trim! Now from my previous post on trimming we all know he was blabbing, the poor lady who came in with a bob left the salon with an Anita Baker style hair cut! the guy was just scissors happy and it took all in me not to involve myself that day because the one time I told a stylist at a Lekki  Salon that relaxing to the tips of the hair was wrong, I almost started a fight! Hence for skill ill give them a 6/10 because even their weaves are not always great.

OVERALL RATING; 
My over all rating of Supreme Beauty Salon would be Above Average(7/10) because though they have a few rough patches here and there in terms of skill and price(which is relative), they manage to keep their clients satisfied. The basic cleanliness of the salon, the ample amount of stylists which make for a large workforce and the manager of the salon guarantee that you will always be taken care of once you are in there though I cannot guarantee the level of care you will be given!!

Hope you enjoyed this post. This review should be helpful in directing you on what to look out for in your salon. I will be visiting more salons specifically to profile them and I won't always be sweet and rosy! Here comes Naija Hair Police!!lol. I might even let them know so they check out my blog and see what I and my readers think of their salons!What do you think? Drop a comment, ill gladly respond!!

Stop by soon,
Dabs