yolauralikesbeauty

Don't Touch My Hair

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Mask Review

Don't Touch My Hair, Hair product reviews0

This is my first hair care product review and Blogmas post on my blog!! I’m so excited to share my thoughts on the Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask. I’m going to be calling this hair care series Don’t Touch My Hair because my hair isn’t something to play with just because it’s different and I don’t want to dirty it lol.

I decided to start taking more care of my hair because hair is everything in 2017. Everyone got over the constant straightening and frying of their hair. Everyone is trying to forget those bad ombres and box dyes altogether. We’re onto better hair care regimens and kissing damaged hair goodbye!

The latest in hair care regimens are hair masks. We’ve all seen recipes for homemade ones on Facebook and Pinterest. They’re great,but could be messy and a little too much work sometimes. New hair masks can now be applied after you shampoo your hair and and chill in your hair for about 5 – 10 minutes until they go into effect.

A popular hair care brand is Briogeo and they have a pretty famous hair mask. I got a full-size tube of this hair mask in my August Boxycharm box. I was excited to try a coveted brand and product.

Here’s the product breakdown:

  • Price: $20.00
  • 2 oz
  • Claims: Works in minutes to restore essential hydration and natural vibrancy to dry, brittle, over-processed, and otherwise lackluster hair. Formulated with Briogeo’s unique NOVA Complex, this mask delivers an optimal blend of transformative nutrients from B-vitamins, rosehip and argan oils, algae, and biotin to replenish damaged hair to a shiny, healthy-looking, and lustrous state.
  • Directions: After shampooing, massage evenly throughout hair. Leave in for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing. For even deeper conditioning, cover the hair in a plastic cap to retain moisture while sitting under the dryer for 20 minutes, then rinse.

I’ll be blunt — I hate this hair mask lol. It does the exact opposite for me. I have never dyed my hair; I’ve only used temporary hair color. I would use Manic Panic Vampire Red. I didn’t even have to bleach my hair!

The hair mask is white and not as thick as I anticipated. It felt like it wasn’t creamy enough. I usually put oils or very creamy products into my hair. This felt like a body lotion at most. I still approached the product with an open mind and hoped for the best!

My hair’s biggest concern is that it’s very dry and thick. I need constant moisture. My hair is too dry to wash more than once a week. I do everything possible to preserve my hair’s natural oils. I always looked for anything hydrating. My scalp is also dry, so that explains my dandruff. I basically need my entire head to not be thirsty lol.

With that said, this hair mask made my hair very stiff. I tried this mask for a month and in different ways. When I first used it, I shampooed my hair and then left it in my hair for 5 minutes. It worked and my hair felt nice. The following week my hair felt stiff and was harder to detangle. In the third week, I left it for 10 minutes and it felt stiffer than ever before. During the fourth time, I left it for 3 minutes and it was less stiff, but it barely hydrated my hair.

Never tried the 20 minute deep conditioning recommended on the tube because my hair was already a nightmare for less than half the time I used it. I didn’t want to risk it becoming more stuff and unmanageable.

I was pretty disappointed because this product is so expensive and it’s highly regarded on YouTube. Maybe my hair texture and type wasn’t the ideal one for it. Aside from having dry and thick hair, my hair is very coarse and coiled. Even though I relax my hair, it still has curls.

Sad to do it, but I’m giving this product a 2/5 stars ⭐⭐

Have you tried any of Briogeo’s products? What do your recommend? I’m not totally ousting Briogeo just yet. I’m going to do research and if they have products for my hair type.

Be sure to share your thoughts on my posts with me in the comments below or on my social media pages: yolauralikesbeauty on Instagram and Facebook; yolauraisfierce on Twitter.

*****

Also, tune in everyday for the rest of December for Blogmas! I’m posting a product review every single day!

This was Blogmas Day #1.

Hair is a Wasteland of Boredom So Let’s Dye it | Collab with Carolina

Beauty, Don't Touch My Hair0

I thought I’d kick off my hair care series with tips and a story from my friend Carolina Saco! She dyes her hair often, so I thought it’d be cool to get her feedback on what her hair means to her and how she takes care of it. Plus, she rocks literally every haircut and color she has. Enjoy her collab!

Hair AF

Hair is simply dead cells growing out of the scalp for some people. It represents beauty and tradition for others. They form a connection to their flowing locks. Hair is a wasteland of boredom to me. I love to dye my hair. I don’t think there’s anything more refreshing that dyeing my hair a new color when I’m feeling down. My hair just needs to match my moods. I feel blue some days and some days I feel pink.

Girl with bright pink hair

This may be a difficult concept for some to grasp. Public opinion towards unnatural hair colors has shifted in a positive direction, though. It’s not as positive as it should be, though. I still get stares all day and every day. I don’t care because I love my hair.  Even bleaching my hair and seeing it fall off and having to shave my head doesn’t make me hate it. I even loved it when its color has faded into 100 different shades.

However, I feel like I’m an expert after all of these terrible experiences. I found all kinds of helpful tips and tricks to maintain these colors, or fade them out when I’m tired of them. Plus, I also discovered how to keep my hair from literally falling off my head. I wish I had known earlier, but that’s why I’m here today to share.

Just Dye It

At-home hair treatments and box dyes might seem scary, but I haven’t died yet. That’s a testament to the fact it’s not scary at all, but you need to know what you’re doing. A common misconception is that you must completely damage your hair to dye it a weird color. It’s not true at all.  For example, you can actually only lighten your hair to about a bright orange for a vibrant pink, purple, or red color.

Unnatural shades normally come in semi-permanent dyes. They’re meant to eventually fade back to the shade you bleached it to. I tried various brands and my all-time favorite has to be One n Only Argan Oil. I usually pick up at Sally’s for under $10; prices matter when you switch colors as often as I do.

My Hair Isn’t that Big, But It Still Has Secrets

The trick to getting the most out of semi-permanent hair dyes is leaving them on for way longer than directed on the packaging. This is totally safe because they are completely natural, free of chemicals and actually more akin to food coloring than anything else. Of course, there are brands that cater to those who do not what to bleach their hair but produce a subtler result.

I usually leave the dye on for about 2-3 hours. I’ll sometimes leave it on overnight if I want to ensure that the color will last a couple months. I love using One n Only Argan Oil Hair Dye because the argan oil in this brand leaves your hair feeling great. It feels better than it was before being bleached.

Let’s Be Real

The secret to switching between multiple shades and not damaging your hair is to simply avoid bleach as much as possible. You don’t really need platinum blonde hair unless you are going for a more pastel vibe.

Aftercare is truly important. You must make sure to wash and condition your hair with products designed specifically for colored hair, or else, it will wash right out. Hair masks with avocado or coconut oil left overnight can also help diminish the damage created by the bleaching process, as well.

Ok Next Color

Fading out a color that you put so much effort into making last can be horribly annoying, but it’s easy. Just switch to a regular shampoo. This can take a couple weeks or sometimes months. If you want to rush the process, you can enlist the aid of dandruff shampoo to help dilute your hair color. The Vitamin C method works well, too. Just use Vitamin C to strip the color from your hair as much as possible.

In the end, it’s just hair. It’ll grow back and we’ll still look cute – even if you have to shave your head and cry about it a lot. But in the meantime, use your hair to make a statement, match your mood, match your outfit and match your keychain.

Carolina with blond hair in In-N-Out

Hope you enjoyed this collab!

Be sure to share your thoughts on my posts with me in the comments below or on my social media pages: yolauralikesbeauty on Instagram and Facebook; yolauraisfierce on Twitter.

Thanks for reading! ?

Yes, I Still Relax My Hair in 2017 But That’s Okay | Intro to Hair Care

Don't Touch My Hair, Things are getting hairy0

2016 was all about eyebrows. 2017 is all about hair. This hair movement encompasses embracing natural hair and dismantling beauty standards. It’s about treating your hair with respect and keeping it healthy. It’s more of a self esteem and self love movement. Hair is closely tied to a person’s identity. That’s exactly why I still relax my hair in 2017.

Just cut my hair and got it relaxed! ?

This movement quickly shamed relaxing hair and anything that upholds European beauty standards. It’s totally understandable. People of color are denied opportunities because of how their hair looks. Many of them relaxed their hair because their natural locks were considered unkempt and protective hairstyles were seen as too thuggish.

This movement is a big deal to me because I am someone with coarse hair. I’ve been told I have kinky hair and just overall bad hair. It’s nappy, but I’m happy. My hair is pretty difficult to manage and coils tightly. It’s stiff and very dry.

People didn’t want to accept that I was fair skinned with different hair. I was quickly and constantly told I have N**** hair. I’ve been told I’m ugly for years. I had to deal with comments about my hair since I was in elementary school. You can safely assume my hair affected how I perceived myself.

I begged my mom to relax my hair in the second grade. I was the only girl in my class with my hair type. Everyone had straight hair and I felt like I didn’t fit in. No one complimented my hair. People just wanted to touch it or make weird comments. My mom has thinner and way more manageable hair than I do, so it was a relief for both of us.

My hair, my rules

I’ve never wanted to go back to my natural hair. I wouldn’t give up being able to style my hair how I wish and spend way less time on it daily. I’ve been shamed for still wanting to relax my hair and not go “natural”. What people don’t seem to understand is that everyone likes their hair a certain way and finds empowerment through it however they wish. On study abroad, my roommates constantly questioned my decision to relax my hair. They constantly worshiped one of our peers with curl hair and said I should have my hair the same way. Gurl, you’re NOT in my shoes. Unless you’re going to be the one tending to my hair, MIND YA OWN BUSINESS ?

My hair was never something I liked doing anyway. If I can make my life easier while keeping myself happy, why should I do something differently? Additionally, my roommates were POC with protective hairstyles. Their hair was readily taken care of each day unlike mine. If I were to get a protective hairstyle, I wouldn’t hear the end of it, despite my roots and heritage.

Relaxers make my hair easy to deal with and that’s all I want for my hair. I don’t even know how to do anything besides a simple braid or light curls with a curling iron anyway. How am I realistically going to invest so much time and money into hair if I’ve never really cared about it lol? And to the people that say relaxing solely damages the hair, I do it every 2-4 months and my hair is still soft and luscious ?

I still have curls even with relaxed hair. I can get more if I sleep overnight with a French braid like I did here! ?

Intro to Hair Care Series

I don’t need my natural hair in an afro to love myself for who I am. European beauty standards are detrimental if I were to dress and style myself to uphold them. I present myself however I’m most comfortable. Sure, my hair is apart of my image, but it’s not who I am. Hair is just hair to me. I don’t have to love myself the same way you love yourself. If you’re really about women feeling comfortable in their own skin, you’ll let me relax my hair in peace ✌️

I want to introduce a hair care series to discuss all kinds of important hair decisions. I also want to share hair care for everyone. Let’s embrace the hair care movement without policing someone’s hair choices, unless you’re culturally appropriating. That’s a topic for another day ?

Be sure to share your thoughts on my posts with me in the comments below or on my social media pages: yolauralikesbeauty on Instagram and Facebook; yolauraisfierce on Twitter.

Thanks for reading! ?