Detangling Tool Showdown + Tool Giveaway [CLOSED]

I recently hosted a detangling tool giveaway on Youtube and whilst I hadn't completely taken a break from all things Social media I most certainly put blogging on hold for a few weeks [explanation here]. 
Well as the blog of course remains my first love, there was no way I was not going to host the same giveaway on here too, so if you missed the Youtube giveaway then there's always the chance you'll scoop something here!
I've used a ton of detangling tools over the past few years and decided it was high time I benchmarked them all against each other. Some have wrecked a whole lot of havoc on my hair whilst others live in a glittery royalty box a.k.a my staples box. Hopefully this will help you decide which tool may just work for you.
 So here it goes, the detangling tool showdown… [giveaway entry below]

DENMAN CLASSIC D3 STYLING BRUSH
Cost | £6.99

Pros | Flexible bristles, great quality, very durable & good handle grip 
Cons | I find the spacing between the bristles is simply not wide enough which can mean more tension and manipulation on your hair when detangling. You can indeed space out the bristles however I would rather invest in a tool that is ready made and does not require altering. I prefer using this in the shower.
Rating | 3/5

FELICIA LEATHERWOOD DETANGLING BRUSH
Cost | £9.95

Pros | Flexible bristles as well as flexible bristle comb sections, great quality, durable & great handle grip
Cons | UK accessibility. I purchased this from Gidore.com but it has been out of stock for a while now.
Rating | 5/5

KENT AIRHEDZ PRO AHP6 PADDLE BRUSH
Cost | £10.20

Pros | Flexible bristle base, large surface area, excellent quality, great handle grip.
Cons | UK accessibility, may be sold in some larger Boots.com stores.
Rating | 4/5

TANGLE TEEZER
Cost | £10.99

Pros | Super flexible bristles, unique ergonomic grip
Cons | Bristles wear easily and can form bubbles which can catch onto your hair. I also think this may have been one of the main causes of a plague of single strand knots which caused me to have to trim not too long after my transitioner chop.
Rating | 1/5

To enter for a chance to win any two brand new detangling tools of your choice all you have to do is comment 'enter me' in the comments section below. Winner will be chosen at random and announced next week Thursday in this blog post!


***
UPDATE
Sorry for the late announcement of the Giveaway winner guys BA lost my luggage whilst travelling which took me off track for a few days. Nevertheless the winner of the giveaway is...

ORIANNA THOMAS
[Please send me an email within 24 hours to claim your gifts]

thank you to everyone who entered
***

Avec amour… Fiona

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New Fave Hair Sealing Tool... Let Me Introduce The Misto Oil Sprayer

In February I decided that the month of March would be a bank friendly one and that unless my Deep Conditioner or Shampoo ran out, (which is unlikely when you have 3 unused bottles of each) that I wouldn't be making any hair care purchases until April! Well, that went out of the the window!

 In my own defence I blame YouTube! I came across a recommended video by mynaturalsistas and #gofigure India was using the Misto Olive Oil Sprayer!

Now you'll be pleased to know I am to some extent disciplined and didn't jump right on the net and order the Sprayer as soon as I saw it, coincidentally at the weekend I found myself on a manic last minute hunt for a Victorian costume for my younger sisters school trip. You wouldn't guess what I happened to stumble past as I made my way through the kitchen department to get to the costume department...the MISTO SPRAYER!!!!!

I think it's fair to say some things are meant to be!

Now unto my thoughts…
I've long wanted a spray bottle that is able like some of my water spray bottles, to disperse oil onto my hair as a mist as opposed to a one directional squirt, and this does exactly that!

It's super easy to use and in my opinion a decently priced investment, heck you can even use it to fry some steak [depending on which oil you fill it with of course!]

The benefits of the mist sprayer are

- Your hair is less weighed down by oils as the mist disperses more evenly than when sealing with your hands -

- Your hands need not get oily  -

- It encourages less hair manipulation... you just spray and go! -

You fill the canister half way and then use the pressure cylinder attached to the lid to pump the canister so that you can get to misting, and that's pretty much it. 

A well spent £10 I think!

Has anyone else had mist spraying success?

Avec amour...
Fiona Facebook ❥ Youtube ❥ Twitter ❥ Tumblr ❥ Pinterest

Ponytail Rollerset & Wrap + 7 month Length Check

I decided to revisit the ponytail rollerset wrap I did all the way in 2009 and double dose it with a length check. 

Since my big cut in November 2011 my hair seems to have thickened out a lil, and I've come to learn that my U/V shape is here to stay, there's no getting rid of it, which is most probably down to the mere fact that different areas of hair on your head grow at different speeds... annoying right!

Anyway my 7 months of regrowth aren't shy at all, and were sure to bulk up the top of my head despite the hardcore wrap I did overnight to get things smooth and sleek! No complaints though I think it's cute!

The ponytail rollerset is definitely the go to option when it comes to achieving smoother/sleeker hair without the intense direct heat from straighteners. The ponytail idea scores top marks from me and I copped the genius idea from Lavendar, one of my hairlista sistahs! Hope you're proud girl! 

By using a ponytail to secure your hair, you reduce the frizz and puffiness often experienced when done with a lot of regrowth using the standard method.

I couldn't find my length check t-shirt anywhere so was real bummed that I couldn't do an official comparison pic, hopefully y'all have a good eye for detail and can see some growth regardless. Before I sign out did I mention I'm thinking of another cut? Yep my front hair is so much longer than the back and I've become scissor happy lately, on top of that I guess I'll be big chopping next year anyway so what the heck right! I'm still undecided just want to give the bob look a go... what do you think?

For products used and more pics keep an eye out for tonight's review on the LYT UK Original Moxie Challenge page.

x Toodles x

Last attempt in 2009! Looks pretty sloppy... cheated by straightening before hand! Why? God knows!

The back of my hair acts and feels like it's completely natural... Denman brush to the rescue!

For every ponytail, two rollers, and so the rolling went on

All ponytailed and rolled up. Now the sheen from the Original Moxie Straight Up Sleek Control is DOPE!

Best pic I could get of my 14 swirls afterwards... getting sleepy now ... Zzz

Pretty impressive beehive wrap for 7 months post don't cha think! Straightened my roots only.

Now to the length pics...

My big cut in November [left] vs Now

Avec amour...Fiona

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Hair Tool Review | Blowout smoothness with a Tangle Teezer

You may often wonder why it is that the products/tools I review, frequently end up being relatively positive. As much as I love receiving/trying new products, I only ever agree to them if I'm confident in the brand/ product itself, and believe wholeheartedly that it will set out to do what it says it will. 

Well, despite being very chuffed with my wide tooth comb and additional detangling tool; the BaByliss Everyday Paddle Brush, I decided to go out on a whim and treat myself to the infamous Tangle Teezer. On this occasion I didn't buy the TT to satisfy any product junkie cravings, I bought it because currently at 5 months post and co-washing+air drying 2-3 times a week, styling my hair has turned into a completely new ball game, and I have come to realise the following:

1| As well as detangling in the shower I now have to engage in post wash detangling. I've been experiencing single strand knots and this is the best way I find prevents them!

2| My wide tooth comb doesn't quite detangle to my satisfaction out of the shower as well as when in the shower. 

3| Though it works the trick in the shower I find the BaByliss Paddle Brush way to bulky and inconvenient when using it to smooth/detangle my hair for styling. I can barely see my hair with this thing in the way!

So... I opted for the Tangle Teezer which profiles as gliding through wet, vulnerable and colour treated hair with no pulling, tugging or yanking. I used the Tangle Teezer on wet hair in the shower and on moisturised damp hair afterwards. 

The Review

Effectiveness | I definitely feel the Tangle Teezer lived up to its claims especially when used in the shower. It detangled just about every strand of hair which I often find a wider toothed comb cannot do as well. The gentle bristles were also fairly easy on my hair and great for smoothing both in and out of the shower.

Size | As mentioned previously I love my paddle brush but find it a tad bit inconvenient for detangling or smoothing outside of the shower. The TT is compact, and minus a handle still allows for a firm grip.

General thoughts | I will be using the Tangle Teezer as a staple detangling tool during washes but not as frequently when styling post washing. Although it gives fantastic smoothing and detangling results, I don't plan on using it 3 times a week because that's way too much manipulation for me, especially considering its narrowly spaced bristles. If anything I'll use the TT just on my ends to specifically avoid single strand knots, otherwise I like my strands in their frizzed/waved state. As long as the surface appeals, who needs to see what lies beneath!  

 R.R.P £9.98 at Black & Brown

Is it me or does my hair not look blowdried here? Another tool makes the cut!!!

Avec amour...

Fiona ❥

Weave 101 Series| Part 3 | Post Installation Weave Take Down

Oh me oh my how late is this post... hopefully better late than never. My last weave take down was nothing out of the ordinary, the large ball of shedded hair and light headed feeling were nothing but normal. The take out, however, wouldn't have been such a breeze had I not spent a good hour or two handling my hair with extreme care. Call me a hair snob but I refuse to be a victim of the no hair after weave syndrome!

So how can you avoid unnessecary breakage, thinning and tangling when taking your weave out?

TOOLS
The type of removal tool you use for each weft of weave can determine the size of your shedded/broken hair ball upon complete removal. Depending on what you choose be it a seam ripper, pair of scissors or a blade [my personal preference], it is always important to invest in a tool that does the job effectively. Your chosen tool does not by any means have to be horror movie #kinda sharp, but sharp enough to do the job properly. You don't want a blunt blade which requires you to stress the weave thread and cause further issues e.g knots and tangles. Finally ladies please for the sake of your hair and my sanity...be careful- you're scalp is way too precious for any scalp boo boo's!


Now onto clips! Hair clips are especially useful during the take out process for the chicas who have leave out hair. It's a good practice to separate your leave out hair from the hair you plan on removing so that it will not be a victim of accidental cutting, which let's face it can happen even with the most careful of hands. Simply twist your leave out hair and use a clip to hold it aside whilst you get to work on weave removal. 

DETANGLING

Spot any tools I missed out in the tools explanation? Of course the trusty wide tooth comb!
I most definitely won't copyright this because I know there's no way I'm the only one who does it, but detangling with oil has been a major aid in reducing breakage during my weave take out process. Once all weave wefts have been removed I caress my cornrows with a light carrier oil of choice before taking them out, this lubricates my hair and makes it less susceptible to snapping or breaking. I remove each cornrow and lightly detangle using a wide tooth comb before moving onto the next cornrow. 

FINAL TIP
Go the full mile and wash and deep condition your hair. Your hair has most likely been hidden under your weave for more than 6 weeks which means it is in much need of serious lovin'!!!


How do you best remove your install? Has anyone tried the oil method too? Do share!!!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Babyliss Ceramic Straightening Brush & weekend hair results [picture heavy]

A week ago I took a trip to Boots and bought the Babyliss Ceramic Straightening Brush and it's compadre the Everyday Paddle Brush. After today I won't be straightening my hair for a while so I wanted super sleek results that would last for up to two weeks, hence where these two brushes came into hand. 


With my transition in full force I find that I often get 'poofy parts' when straightening. Basically, the extra curly sections of my hair [especially the back] tend to need more than one heat pass in order to achieve the results I'm after, because my curl pattern is quite defined and needs more heat to get it straighter! I know that re-straightening is simply no good for my hair, so I figured the straightening brush would be perfect in helping straighten out my curls without heat whilst using heat, if that makes any sense!


Did it work? Err yes it sure did, I did one heat pass and the end results were soft and flowy tresses, my hair would literally fall through my fingers! Here are some pics followed by a review of the two brushes and how I used them.

BaByliss Ceramic Straightening Brush 

Price| £11.22

Claims| When used while blow drying, the ceramic coated plates heat up and retain heat to cut down on drying time. The ceramic coated plates also help frizz to give your hair a stunning silky smooth finish.

My experience 

Frizz control | The Straightening Brush definitely helped tame my frizziness, considering the fact that I airdried after my last wash, my hair was very frizzy. The brush smoothed out the frizz which I was then able to straighten effectively.

Silky finish | As you can see from the pics my hair ended up very smooth and silky, need I say anymore! 

My response | The bristles on the brush may look very harsh but they were not, I was sure to use a tad bit more of my leave-in conditioner topped with serum to ensure that it glided through my hair more easily. I found that if you actually hold the brush on it's handle it gives a much lighter grip, than if you hold it closer to it's head [which I was tempted to do initially for better grip]. All in all I used the brush for straightening rather than alongside my blowdryer, which is how the brush is supposed to be used according to instructions. I checked the brush for broken hairs after use and I barely found any, which means that this has now made a permanent stop on my product staples list.

BaByliss Everyday Paddle brush
Price | £9.18
Claims |  The Professional BaByliss Everyday Paddle Brush is great for everyday brushing and smoothing and works well with straight and wavy, mid to long length hair.

My response | I absolutely love this brush, I will be using it in the future alongside my blowdryer pik attachment but also as a detangling tool. I used this in place of my wide tooth comb and loved it. I will still use my wide tooth comb as this never disappoints, and will continue to observe this brush on my hair because I would like to see if the great results were due to my great co-wash experience, or if the brush was actually an all rounder.


Avec amour...

edF ❥

When Airdrying & Co-washing give extreme Softness | 4 months post relaxer

Having watched FGrogans latest video which mentions her 7 month no heat challenge, I knew and was reminded again of the need to reduce heat in my regime. In fact my friend Toks and I decided to do the 'black girl' observation exercise, and assess what FGrogan does out of the ordinary in her hair regime that may be the reason for those long strands she owns a copyright too!

Conclusion was... she co washes 3-4 times a week and uses no heat! Ka-ching..??? Not quite! Who, especially in the UK, has time to wash their hair so frequently especially given our lovely hard water [I thought to myself]

Well that thought changed today when I experienced one majorly easy breezy covergirl co-wash experience! It was crazy! I thought that washing/co-washing gets messier/harder the further into your transition or stretch you get, but no joke I haven't loved washing my hair this much in 2 years!

Before I break down what I used and why my wash was so great, I've decided as of May, when I embark on my 'May no heat Challenge', that besides not using heat- I will also co-wash 2-3 times a week and do exactly what I did today... pre-poo, airdry, slick the edges, headscarf and voila! 

The wash...

Plan| The plan was simple, pre-poo, co-wash, deep condition, then blowdry and straighten 

What really happened| I co-washed and then was in so much shock at how soft my hair was that I skipped deep conditioning and opted for airdrying instead!

Products used...

Prepoo| Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Co-wash| Used ORS Replenishing Pak mixed with Porosity Control to wash my hair in 4 sections

Styling| I used AtOne Leave-In Conditioner [re-emerged from my product junkie stash] which gave immense slip and softness. I then added 1/2 a squirt of Pantene Serum and gently brushed my hair into a bun using my new Babyliss Paddle Brush [I actually preferred this to my wide tooth comb - it was more effective in detangling]. Finally I used a soft bristle brush and the fab ORS Edge Control to slick my edges down.

Why the soft hair?

1- As ever, I have to say my pre-poo's never disappoint and have given results since I started using them. Coconut oil has been proven to penetrate the hair shaft and definitely nourished my hair pre co-washing

2- The combo of ORS Replenishing Pak and Porosity Control has to be the best thing since chicken wings! I usually DC with the Replenishing Pak and then use Porosity Control for 5 minutes after, but the combo...hot dang, major softness, my hair felt like butter, detangling was beautiful!

3- My new detangling brush [subject to name alteration!]. Perhaps cheeky of me to use a brush to detangle, but considering how soft my hair was I figured the brush would smooth my hair out even more- and it did! Gave great results when detangling in the shower and when brushing my hair into a bun for airdrying

4- Products with slip! I won't completely brush my Joico Daily Care Leave-in Conditioning Detangler  to the side, however I've learned that product suitability works according to which hairstyle you are wearing. In this case, I needed something creamy and almost slimy to cater to my hairs needs- and AtOne was the perfect substitute. If I had decided to blowdry I would opt for Joico more so than AtOne. The reason being that I use lighter products when dealing with heat.

Extra note: It was such a quick wash! I usually spend up to 4 hours doing my hair on wash days, [including DC time] so this was definitely a quick fix! Water bill & housemates would have been happy!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Weave 101 Series| Part 2 | Maintaining your Sew-in Weave Video

Finally edited the second part of the Weave 101 Series, here's a link to Part 1 just incase you missed it ^_^

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Starting a hair regimen part 3/3 : You've made it!

 

When I think about regime building, i'm often reminded of the preparatory process for the first day of secondary school. Mum has packed the biggest and brightest lunch bag, your hair is as fly as you can remember it ever being, and it's time to enter the big world on your own. 

Well it's all the same for starting a hair regime, you have all of the info you need to get started and it's up to you to enjoy it, embrace it, and succeed at it. Of course there will always be guidance along the way, but your fave hair advisor/ blogger etc can't fly across the world to help you wash your hair on wash days!

Before you finally embark on your journey, here are a few more top tips that will help and guide you along the way!

P.s i've included an extensive list of go to hair products which you can apply to 
'Starting a hair regime part 2' 

Heat reduction

Not always the easiest aspect to deal with, especially for sleek straight hair lovers, but heat reduction is vital. Heat breaks down the protein bonds of our hair strands and fizzles out any moisture that was previously there. A few ways to reduce heat damage, in the case that you want straighter hair are:

1| Use a heat protectant - it creates a protective film which coats the hair strand in order to reduce damage caused by heat

2| Lower your heat settings - often we are tempted to apply heat on the hottest setting so that we have straighter results, however, often enough lower heat settings can also give sleek results without you having to re-straighten that segment of hair. This also applies to blowdrying, if you are blowdrying try a lower heat setting. Moreso if you straighten after blowdrying, try and blowdry on cool air so that you use less heat all in all.

3| Natural: If you know you'll be sporting a curly do, try and achieve it through air drying e.g in twists or braids. Relaxed: If you're still rocking freshly relaxed hair opt for air drying. As soon as your new growth begins to peek through, use a headscarf to help flatten your edges.

All in all it is a good practice to reduce heat usage. You can challenge yourself to no more than one heat application per week, and in good time you'll notice healthier hair.

Protective Styles

Weave, braids, wigs - you've heard of them all! Protective styles work a treat if done properly. As stated in the name, they are used to protect your hair e.g in times of extreme weather conditions, on holidays, during exam periods etc. 


Hair Appliances/ Tools
[by no means compulsory but most certainly recommended]
- Seamless wide tooth comb
- Silk/satin headscarf or bonnet
- Shower cap for deep conditioning (+ steamers and hooded dryers)
- Soft bristle brush
- Bobby pins/clips (always come in handy)
- Rollers for rollersetting
- Adjustable setting straighteners/flat iron
- Hair scissors for trimming 

finally...

Have fun, haircare should never be a burden. Invest in a hair diary and best of all get sassy and take those pictures! You'll be shocked at how much you can achieve in a few months! You can also get yourself a snazzy length check t-shirt to make your journey that tad bit more exciting!!!

Here's a list of go to products you can try to get your journey on the go!
[the list could go on forever so I've just added the one's I love and others that are highly spoken of, that came to mind!)

PRE-POO

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Extreme

SHAMPOO

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Cream Shampoo, Anita Grant shampoo bars, Hair One Tea Tree Cleansing Conditioner, Philip Kingsley Moisture Extreme Shampoo, Nexxus Aloe Rid Shampoo, Aveda Detox Shampoo, Eluence Moisture Benefits Shampoo,  Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Shine Shampoo, Shea Moisture African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo, As I Am™, KeraCare Products etc

CONDITIONER / DEEP CONDITIONER

Goldwell Kerasilk Ultra Rich Care Treatment, Kerastase Nutritive Nutri-Thermique Masque, 

ORS Replenishing Pak, Queen Helene Cholesterol, Nexxus Humectress, Philip Kingsley Moisture Extreme Conditioner, Neutrogena Triple Moisture Conditioner, Herbal Essences Smooth and Soft Intensive Mask, Keracare Humecto, Elasta QP DPR, ORS Hair Mayonnaise, Aphogee 2 Min Reconstructor, Anita Grant Rhassoul Deep Conditioner, Roux Porosity Control, Shea Moisture African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner, As I Am Products, Kera Care Products etc

LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER / MOISTURISER

Kinky-Curly Knot Today, Giovanni Direct Leave In, Joico Daily Care Leave-In, S-Curl No drip, ORS Olive Oil Moisturising Lotion, AtOne Botanicals Leave In, Cantu Shea butter Leave-In, Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Cream, Moroccan Oil Hydrating Styling Cream, As I Am Products, KeraCare Products etc

OILS / SCALP FEED

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Castor Oil, Jojoba Oil, Carrot Oil, Neem Oil, ROOT2TIP Energizer Scalp Tonic, Philip Kingsley Scalp Tonic, KeraCare Products, Unrefined Shea Butter, Rosemary Oil*,Tea Tree Oil*, Peppermint*, Lavendar*, Ylang Ylang*, Eucalyptus* etc

(*- must be diluted in a carrier oil, NEVER use alone)

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Blackhair Magazine Feb/Mar 12| Corioliss Red Leopard Glamour Curling Wand

Hey lovelies ^_^

Do you remember these curls from my day 27| 30 days 30 hairstyles challenge? 

I can finally share the secret behind this head of curls... 

 Corioliss Red Leopard Glamour Curling Wand RRP £23.50 

Haha cats out of the bag now! Here's my review in Blackhair Magazine... Have you bought your issue? It's out on shelves already!!!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

BaByliss thermo - ceramic rollers giveaway !!! Have you entered ?

Hey lovelies,

just wanted to give you a final reminder of the fab chance to get your hands on the

BaByliss Thermo-Ceramic Roller set

The giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight so put your bid in before it's too late!

Here's a quick reminder of how to enter!

All you have to do is

1] Be an LYT 'lovely' blog follower (right hand page column)

2] Like LoveYourTresses on facebook

3] Leave a comment on this Blog post saying : I wanna get my curls on!

.:. The contest will end tomorrow @ Midnight .:.

~Entrants must be over 18~
~Worldwide applications welcome~

Avec amour...

edF ❥