Left Me Wanting More - Lotta Body Moisturize Me - Curl & Style Milk

I am a sucker for conditioners and moisturizers!

If I were to hoard anything it would be them. So when I saw that Lottabody, a product that I have been using to do my roller-sets since God knows when, had a new line out which includes a moisturizer, I knew I had to give it a try.

Today I am sharing with you a moisturizer that I have been head over heels for for the past few weeks. Every time I execute the LOC method, this is what I have been reaching for. What I'm speaking of is the

 

Lotta body

Moisturize Me

Curl & Style Milk (with coconut & shea oils)

 

Claims: Coconut and shea oils deeply hydrate hair from the inside out, leaving hair soft and nourished with brilliant shine. Moisturize dry, frizzy hair for springy, hydrated curls. Detangles, conditions, and controls curls while adding brilliant shine, body, and bounce.

 

Product Benefits: Defines curls. Tames frizz. Adds moisture & brilliant shine.

For relaxed & natural hair

 

How to use:  Apply to damp, towel-dried or dry hair. Distribute evenly through hair with fingers from roots to ends. Style as desired.

 

Ingredients: The main ingredients on the list (in actual order) are water, shea butter, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol & parfum. (Not bad huh?) It contains both natural and manmade properties. It also contains some lovely oils that are beneficial to your hair.

 

 

Loving Lately... (3)

I'm back with another post about one thing I am currently loving, and this post is all about the LOC method.

 

source

 

 

I've talked about this method previously, and I was kind of on the fence about it in terms of the order which worked better for me, how to use it and what products are great for this method.

 

The other day I read a post on BGLH (that unfortunately I can't seem to find to link to this post) and decided to give it another shot.

On My Radar... Max Hydration Method

I love it when new methods are introduced to the hair world. I love to learn new things that could potentially take my hair journey to the next level. My interest has been piqued lately by the myriad of ladies singing the praises of the Max Hydration Method. This method was developed by PinkeCube for ladies with low porosity, type 4 natural hair. What's this got to do with me you ask? Absolutely nothing! My hair is medium to high porosity, and yes it's type 4 but it's relaxed so nothing there. However they had me at Max Hydration. I mean who doesn't love moisture. You may remember that I struggled with dry hair in the past and any regimen which promises optimum moisture levels has my attention.
 

So what is this method?

It consists of 5 steps:

 

 

 

Loving Lately... (2)

This is the second of my loving lately posts. The first was regarding Avene Eau Thermale Spring Water (read more here) and this one is about yet another moisture-based product and that's this deep conditioner here:

 

L'OREAL Power Moisture - Moisture Rush Mask

30 Tips for Moisturized Hair

Moisture is everything to a kinky-haired girl, whether relaxed or natural. Length-retention and your hair journey as a whole hinge colossally on the moisture levels of your hair. Many a curly-haired lass, myself included, has or has had an issue with dry hair. But that shouldn't be the case since there are a cornucopia of ways to get and keep moisture in our hair and prevent dry, thirsty tresses.

 

 

Drought up Top - hAloe Hydration!

My hair is dry again!

I really hate dry hair, so I've been trying out a few things to quench my hair. I don't want to just buy every moisturizer out there, so I've been experimenting and DIYing to find a suitable weapon to combat the dryness. 

First up: hAloe Hydration

DIY hair moisturizer - hAloe Hydration

Getting Steamy - How I Refresh Dry Hair Without Washing

This is just a quick post about how I get my hair uber moisturized without actually washing.

I mini washed on Friday night by Deep conditioning and cowashing. This was done in braids as usual. If you are familiar with my braided-wash process, then you know that after my final rinse I'd rebraid. I was feeling tired that night (I literally fell asleep right out the shower) and so I didn't M&S/ LOC when my hair was nearly dry.

The next day I had somewhere to be so I applied some serum and undid the braids for a braid-out. That night, being tired (AGAIN!!!), I forewent the M&S and just put on the scarf. Needless to say, my hair on Sunday was D.R.Y - dry!!

I had to style my hair for the week and knew that starting with a head full of hay was a no-go. So what'd I do?

refreshing my dry hair with steam

Is it OK to Condition Relaxed Hair??

I was browsing my blog's stats page and realized that this was searched by someone in recent times:

"Is it OK to Condition Relaxed Hair??"

Yes, please! Please condition your relaxed hair!

At first I was a little shocked. Then I realized that uhmm Abbi, not everyone is on a hair journey, not everyone reads blogs and watches youtube videos about hair, not everyone is in the know, not everyone knows how to take care of their relaxed hair. So to my friend who asked this question via a search engine again I say yes...

Love Potion - natural moisturizing & strengthening hair masque

I haven't had a protein treatment in about 9 weeks, since my post-relaxer wash, so I guess I am due for one now. But I am not protein's biggest fan, so rather than going for a strong or even a regular strength, full-on treatment, off to the kitchen I go to whip up a moisturizing hair masque with a strengthening twist. Come along!

ingredients for moisturizing + strengthening hair mask

Finding a Middle Ground - Moisture:Protein Balance

Upon starting our hair journeys we hear that chemically treated heads are the most in need of protein, so we stock up on our protein-containing products to give our hair that much needed boost, only to end up in a situation where it turns out you didn't actually need that much and now your hair is hard and dry. womp!

Now that I have overcome my protein overload, I suppose it is time to speak on the moisture/protein balance. This is the area of any hair 'journey' which is perhaps the most fundamental and yet probably the most difficult to grasp. It certainly was for me. 

Soft, Supple and Smooth - Hair Update

I'm in love. I really am. Here I am at work, my hair is in a half up/ half down style. But I'm conscious about the fabrics and their interaction with my hair, so I decided to pull it up and off my clothes. After doing so, I had to stop and write this post! The hair I gathered to put into a 'bun' was sooo soft and moisturized! and in winter at that! It has never felt softer and more moisturized since...probably ever, but certainly since my hair journey.

Enjoying the soft, moisturized feel a few weeks ago :-)

Too much of a good thing is a bad thing

Left Me Wanting More - Queen Helene Cholesterol Cream

As per website 

Between chemicals, styling and the elements, your hair takes a beating everyday. Reverse the damage and protect your hair with Cholesterol Hair Conditioning Cream. The original alcohol-free deep-conditioning treatment was created to save dry, damaged, chemically-treated and over-processed hair. It leaves a natural healthy shine with extra body and resilience.

Ingredients:

Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Mineral Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Lanolin, Ceteth-24, Choleth-24 (Cholesterol), Disodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Benzyl Salicylate, Fragrance (Parfum), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Red 33 (CI 17200), Red (CI 16035)"

Directions

Sleep in it - Pros and Cons of Overnight Deep Conditioning

There are mixed feelings in the healthy hair world about deep conditioning overnight. Some advocate for shorter periods of deep conditioning with the aid of heat, while others say they get great results from it. Let's dissect it.

Pros:

Can't Sleep at Night with You on my Head - GHE/ Baggying

In trying to get my hair to achieve optimal moisture levels, one of the most integral methods I've been using is the GHE. I love it because it is a double win for me as it keeps my hair soft and moisturized, while providing the added benefit of stimulating hair growth. All was well, until not so long ago, when the seasons changed. I started waking up day in and day out with a cold. Then I realized that the GHE method has contributed to this. Needless to say, I have to find another way. What is a good substitute for the GHE? Baggying of course!

Baggying

What is it?

Piling on the Moisture - LOC method

Today is the first of too many cold days to come here in Nagoya. I am not a fan of the colder months at all. You see, I'm an island girl hailing from Jamaica - land of sun, wood and water, so the cold is just too much for me. It wreaks havoc on everything from my sinuses to my skin and it doesn't bypass my hair in the process. It leaves both my skin and my hair screaming for moisture!

How do I put back what the cold, dry air takes away from my hair? Typically, I'd moisturize and seal, but this won't cut it in the winter. I've got to pull out the big guns, enter the LOC method of moisturizing.

Operation Moisture - Deep Conditioner Mix

So as I said before, I am taking some steps to combat my dry, seemingly protein-overloaded hair. Read more in this post. I am making some changes to a few steps, one of which is my deep conditioning session. I have eliminated the proteins from this step and amped up the moisture. Here's how it went down this past weekend.

moisturizing deep conditioner mix

The Heat is on - Greenhouse Effect

In my post about the dryness I have been experiencing, I said that I will employ this technique to infuse moisture into my strands. But can it also be used as a growth aid? What is this technique all about?

Greenhouse Effect

Well remember, in science class we learnt that this is the natural process by which the atmosphere traps some of the Sun's energy, warming the Earth enough to support life (and obviously growth).

Many also use this technique to grow plants and now, you guessed it, we use it to grow our hair (no surprise there! lol).

The Thirst is Real!! - Dry Hair

I've had dry hair since the start of my hair journey and perhaps even before. I didn't worry much about it as I have never suffered any setbacks because of it. My hair has grown and I have retained a lot of length. I just figured constant M&S was part of the game. I'd moisturize and seal in the morning and in the evening my hair would still be dry!!! So I'd M&S again at night, and still wake up with dry hair. Last summer, I used vegetable glycerin for the first time, it helped, but it's effectiveness waned with time. What's a girl to do?

Recently I started becoming annoyed and discontent with this persistent dryness and got to thinking. Could I be that I'm suffering from too much protein in my hair??

Quickie - Drink your Water!

Many of us obsess about moisture in our hair (or the lack thereof). We pre-poo, DC, use leave-ins etc etc but what many of us don't do is

Drinking water can elevate moisture levels in our hair, and promote growth due to increased circulation. Increase your intake and your entire body will thank you. 

"Milk does a body good"... nuh-uh that's water, water does that!

Drink up!

XOXO,

Abbi