Hair Emergency

I recently had to fly out of town to deal with a family emergency and I had less than 24 hours to get out of dodge.  Well I was in the middle of a henna treatment when I had to make plans to leave town.  I also sterilized all my hair tools in preparation to make my own hair care products.  (I planned to make samples for family members and friends to get their input on my products.  More on that later.) Needless to say all my staples were being cleaned and dried and just not ready for use.  I also did not have any of my "hair crack" ready for use let alone travel and had to make some hard decisions.  What would I take with me to do my hair? I had to rely on products that could do multiple tasks, not spill in my bag and make it through security in case I only took a carry on.  Needless to say I had nothing prepared.  Oh did I mention my hair was in turmoil? Those of you who have tried henna treatments know they are a pain to rinse out and you need plenty of time to do so and I had to improvise.  I decided to focus on getting all the henna out because if it is not rinsed out properly it will dry out your hair and you will continue to see residue days later till your next wash or co-wash.  I figured I could do my hair on the plane and hoped for the best.  Since it is winter time I wanted to try a protective style which worked for my crisis because then I wouldn't have to worry about doing it while away.  I went with a two strand twist and this product:

I used this product in the beginning of my natural hair journey.  I did not have much success with this product despite the high reviews given by other curly haired mavens.  See my review.  But in my desperation and the fact that I was not going to wear my hair out I threw it in my carry on and ran out the door.  It was the ONLY PRODUCT I BROUGHT WITH ME! Talk about freaking out, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  My usual regimen is to spray my hair with water and a mixture of oils daily and gel if needed.  I could not perform any of my nomal routines and was surprised at how this product worked on my hair.  This product provided me with great slip and I noticed it defined my curls beautifully as I finger detangled and twisted my hair.  It also moisturized it leaving it nice a soft.  Nothing worse than dry, crunchy hair!

Now I am not sure what made this product work better for me but I cannot wait to see what it looks like in a twist out.  Most of my twist outs look like waves and not the nice coils I see on other naturalistas.  I believe this product might do the trick.

One thing I did differently this time was:
1. Henna treatment
2. Conditioner (to rinse out henna)
3. No oils
4. No gels
5. No leave in conditioner
I believe that all the various products playing on my hair did not mesh well with the Shea Moisture Curly Enhancing Smoothie.  I also let my mother use it on her braid outs and her hair was instantly moisturized.  She also used it on her hair before bedtime and the next day her hair was more controlled and defined.  I      should have taken a picture but take my word for it, she looked great.

Second Chances,
CurlyBeautyBoss





What are your Shea Moisture success or distress stories? Have you given products a second chance and found they worked better for your hair?