Trial & Error - Burt's Bees Hair Repair Shea & Grapefruit Deep Conditioner

The longer I'm natural the more I come to understand that learning about my hair in its natural state takes some serious patience. I've found products that my hair seemed to LOVE only to turn around and have it hate the same product two months later. That has been rather frustrating. How do I know my hair hated the product? Well it laid there feeling tough, not soft to the touch, like straw. It was not a good look and it felt God awful!

After speaking with some ladies in my social circle it finally dawned on me what the problem was - protein! Apparently my hair hates protein! Now, I wouldn't say I can't ever use protein again, but my hair doesn't hardly need it as much as someone elses may. Protein was making my hair feel harsh and disgusting. Everything I was using contained protein from my conditioners to my shampoo, heck, even my styling products contained protein. No wonder I was so baffled that products such as coconut oil did not work well on my hair when others sung their praises to it.

So, this week I pulled all of my products containing protein out of the cabinet and set it aside in a bag to give away. I was then left with...nothing...I had absolutely nothing left that didn't contain protein! So I had to make a mad dash for the store, and ended up picking up some Burt's Bees Shea & Grape Fruit Deep Conditioner. I literally just used it for the first time this morning, so take that for what it's worth.

The smell is great, I love it. It makes me believe my hair will be really clean and moisturized after using it. The feel of the product, however, left much to be desired for me. I need a heavy, creamy, luscious conditioner and...this wasn't it. It was a little thick, a little oily, but it was just...off some how. I worked it into my hair leaving it in for about 5 minutes before rinsing. I lightly towel dried my hair before putting some jojoba oil on the ends, and I waited. I waited for something that didn't come. While my hair felt clean, it did NOT feel well conditioned. I was disappointed. I don't doubt that this product is great for someone elses hair, but for mine? It failed. I will probably hold on to it until I get to try one of the Suave products that I'm being promised has no oil or protein, but as soon as I find something else suitable, I'm ditching it.

The other thing I didn't really like was the price. I paid $8 for this product when I pay less than half that for Herbal Essences Hello Hydration and I get what seems like much more product! For me this goes down as another failed attempt at finding something my hair loves.

However, I must say that if your hair appreciates a lighter conditioner (lighter than what I'm looking for), this may very well work for you, so give it a go.

~HG

LOTD: Just a Pop

Face:

Face Atelier Ultra Foundation in 11 

MAC Mineralize Skin finish in Dark

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot - All over

Sedona Lace 120 Palette pictured above, 4th color up (a light brown) in the last column on the right - lower lid to crease
Sedona Lace 120 Palette, 1st color in last column (a dark brown) - Crease
Urban Decay E/S in Maui Wowie - Inner corner of eyes
NYX Jumbo pencil in Black - Liner
L'Oreals Voluminous - Mascara

Cheeks:
Urban Decay E/S in Chopper

Lips:
MAC lipglass in Hot House

~HG

Ted Gibson Salon & Hela Spa - the Phytospecific Steam Treatment

In October I had yet another chance to indulge in Spa Week. I so heart spa week! This is the one chance for me to get that massage I've been screaming for, AND indulge in a new service I have yet to try for $50 each! Gotta love it, well, my pockets do anyway. This time around I made an appointment with the Ted Gibson Salon & Hela Spa in Chevy Chase, MD.

As soon as I checked in they took me back to an area that had small individual rooms where I was able to put on a robe. Just from that experience alone I KNEW I was in for a high class time! First up was my hair, and that is what I am really excited to tell you about.

I decided to get a phyto steam treatment. After analyzing my hair for a bit I was taken to the shampoo room for a wash. I'm tenderheaded so I was already cringing before my stylist began, but thankfully, she was very gentle, softly massaging and scrubbing my scalp instead of digging in until she got blood! Loves it! After that she put the phyto specific treatment in my hair, and led me to the steamer. Can I just tell you how much I heart that steamer? It even has me looking for one to place in my home! For once I wasn't feeling hot and irritable like a normal dryer has me feeling.

After about 30-45 minutes I was taken from the steamer, my hair was washed out and it was time for the styling. This is the part where I was very hesitant. Being natural, I know how hard it is to to do my hair when you haven't spent a couple of hours detangling it first. Seeing as though my stylist was not african american, and have very straight hair, I feared she would have a horrible time doing my hair.

Le sigh.

It wasn't as bad as I feared. Must say there were some things she had to learn along the way, like how to unravel these tight coils of mine. However, I must say that not once did she seem overwhelmed, or annoyed at the task at hand. She worked on my hair for about an hour and 15 minutes, then voila! It was done and...my hair? FELT AMAZING! If you ever have a chance to get the phyto hair treatment do it! My hair has never in life felt as good as it did then. I was sad because I'm not rich and I need to be so I can go get that done to my hair atleast once a week lol.

I loved my hair! Only thing is, it was windy that day and my hair was soooo yummy soft that those curls didn't last for more than an hour lmao! However, my hair stayed straight for 2 weeks, something that never EVER happens. I've tried phytospecific products before and they're cool, but that treatment + the steamer = you can't lose!

I did not let her trim my hair because I'm so weary of stylist trimming my hair. Too many bad experiences. I was sad to see that I had split ends out the wazoo because I haven't been taking care of my hair like I should be doing. I'm back on it though! I had to chop off an inch or two first though :-/

The last treatment I got was a pregnancy massage. It was wonderful. I heart my masseuse. She totally had me and baby relaxed. The baby didn't move one time during the massage lol. I think she recognized that it was a very special moment.

All in all I give Ted Gibson Salon and Hela Spa an 8 out of 10. They totally would've gotten a 10 out of 10 except there was a minor snafu. They mixed up the times of my appointments to the point that I almost missed getting my massage. That freaked me out just a little since I had been dreaming of that massage forever! Besides that, they did a great job! I HIGHLY recommend them.

~HG