My Space Age Bonnet Dryer

So many people have asked me what type of dryer I've used in my Anti Hair Slave TV videos.  Well, here is the answer:  It's a Belson Gold-n-Hot Ionic Soft Bonnet Dryer and I love it to death.  It's available on Amazon.com from a few different retailers ranging from $13-17 dollars.  I've looked for it before and I could never find it, so if you've been wanting one now is the time to get it.  

Yes, it looks very space age but it works great.  It gets super hot and also has a cool setting.  It's perfect for rollersets, deep conditioning, and also pre-pooing with heat.  


Purchase info is there! 

Silicon Mix with Pearl Extract

One of the products I purchased with my Round Brush Hair winnings was Avanti Silicon Mix Proteina de Perla. Most of you are probably familiar with this product, but I'm late on trying it. Tisk Tisk to me for waiting so long to try it. My hair loves this stuff with a fiery passion.

(Silicon Mix Proteina de Perla, $5.99 Roundbrushhair.com)

Product Description: Fortifying Hair Treatment Proteina de Perla repairs and nourishes the hair giving the shine, vitality and softness that it needs to look healthy and smooth. Contains Pearl Extract, a natural marine product that rejuvenates and fortifies the hair and luster finish to create healthy hair, repel humidity and avoids frizz.

AHS: I did my deep scalp cleansing routine (I'll share more on this later) and then deep conditioned overnight with the Silicon Mix Conditioner with Pearl extract. The color of the conditioner is a pretty light blue and it's consistency is pretty thick and creamy. I applied the conditioner to the ends of my hair working up to about 1/2 inch from my scalp, then covered my hair with a plastic cap and a scarf. The next day I rinsed the conditioner out and WOW! During my shower I really didn't notice anything too great. My hair was easy enough to comb through with my Denman, but once I got out the shower and ran my hair through my hands that I really noticed how soft and healthy my hair felt. It felt so soft and strong, I LOVE it! This product will be placed right in the front of my beauty closet.

Hair Mistake: Under Conditioning

If you are relaxed or natural, your hair needs to be conditioned. I like to condition my hair at least every time I shampoo, so that would be once a week. Now I'm talking a deep conditioner, where I apply it to freshly shampooed, damp hair, and allow it to really get in there by adding some heat with my hooded dryer.

I double condition, meaning I use an instant conditioner and then a deep conditioner. When I used to just use an instant conditioner my hair wasn't thriving like it is now. The best way to start is to use a moisturizing conditioner over a protein based conditioner, because most people need more moisture.

White Sands ER Fusion

Lately, I've been on a little bit of a roller-set streak. Instead of air-drying and damp bunning like I should be doing, I've been wearing my hair straight and down. While my ends are not suffering, I still felt like my hair needed a good reconstructive or protein treatment, so I headed to my hair care closet to see what I could dig up and try.

I found White Sands ER Fusion. ER Fusion is an intensive reconstructive hair treatment which restores hair back to its youthful condition. The product creates a clear micro shield to seal in color and softness, while weightless quaternaries balance and self-adjust color in the hair. A complex set of amino cystines repair damage while lemon grass extracts enhance color with a high gloss. ER Fusion’s unique delivery system ensures optimum performance and lasts 30 days after each initial use.

The night before I co-washed my hair with VO5 conditioner and applied Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment to my hair. Then I slapped on a plastic cap and topped that off with my pretty wrap and went to bed. The following morning I shampooed with Kerastase Bain Nutri Thermique Shampoo and followed up with White Sands ER Fusion. I, then covered my hair with a plastic cap and sat under my dryer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes was up my hair was soft and I was able to easily run the comb through my hair as I was rinsing the conditioner out.

Now it's a few days post shampoo, condition, and treatment and I must say I have less hairs in my comb! I'm a fan of this product and I will probably continue to use it once a month.

Jamaican Black Castor Oil Conditioner

(Black Castor Oil Protein Conditioner, $11.99 Oilsfromjamaica.com)

For a while there I was adding some JBCO (jamaican black castor oil) to my conditioners to provide additional softness and help make my hair stronger and healthier. Now there is no need to play kitchen mixtress, I can buy Black Castor Oil Protein Conditioner to help remedy my hair and scalp issues. The conditioner contains black castor oil, cactus oil, pimento oil, mayonnaise, apple cider and other hair friendly ingredients. Together, these ingredients are chock full of Essential Fatty Acids, protein, vitamins and minerals that builds, repairs, energizes and return your hair to a state of good health. It's excellent for dried damaged hair, split ends, hair breakages, dandruff etc. Tropic Isle Living Black Castor Oil Protein Conditioner will leave your hair light, bouncy and with a glow.

This conditioner gets an A+ from me. The only downside is that your hair will feel like it has some oil in it even after rinsing out the conditioner. If you plan on wearing your hair straight this might not be for you, but since I'm avoiding heat and air drying it's perfect!

Miracle Mask Protein Conditioner

(Inova Miracle Mask, $48.00 InovaProfessional.com)

The name Miracle Mask is appropriate when it comes to Inova Professional's all star deep conditioning mask, Miracle Mask. I tried it and my hair loves it.

Product Description: Formulated with avocado oil, keratin protein, silk protein and white carnation oil to provide intensive nourishment and hydration, The Miracle Mask repairs split-ends and other symptoms of dry, weak, and damaged hair, while simultaneously detangling and improving manageability. Hair will be healthier, luxuriously smooth, and with brilliant shine.

Thoughts: We all know nothing will repair split-ends, I'm not sure when hair care companies will realized we won't be tricked by that claim. Although, it cannot repair split ends like it claims it does help out tremendously with detangling and softening. The scent is amazing and it leaves my hair feeling soft and strong. The strength comes from the Silk and Keratin proteins. The packaging is unique and you get a lot of product for your money, 17.6 oz. to be exact.

Deep Conditioner Review: Milk Protein & Olive Oil Really Deep Conditioner

This week temperatures are expected to reach almost 100 degrees in my neck of the woods, so I'll be hitting the pool on a daily basis.  I actually might even venture to a waterpark or the beach, but one thing I plan so doing this week is deep conditioning every other day.  That might seem like overkill, but with heat comes dryness and dryness can result in breakage. 

To make sure my hair is thoroughly moisturized, I plan on doing four key things: 

1. Deep condition every other day 
2. Apply  my water and glycerine based moisturizer twice a day 
3. Avoid heat styling 
4. Keep ends damp and tucked into a bun  

As a matter of fact, as I type up this post I'm sitting here with my Heat Therapy Wrap on my head doing my first deep conditioning treatment of the week using SofnFree Milk Protein and Olive Oil Really Deep Conditioning Treatment.  The consistancy is similar to that of mayo and as soon as I applied it I could feel my scalp tingling, which caught me off guard but it's actually a bit refreshing.  There is no real fragrance that I've noticed with the product and the price is right at $1.99 for a packet.  This product is also paraben and sulfate free, but it does contain mineral oil.   

For the full review .... keep reading


Alright so I just rinsed out the SofnFree Milk Protein and Olive Oil Really Deep Conditioning Treatment from my hair.  Next, I added Wave Nouveau to the entire length of my hair.  Put some Design Essentials Gel to the edges and put on my scarf, I plan on letting my hair air dry and then before work I'll re-moisten my ends and tuck them into a bun.  As far as the conditioner goes, my favorite part is the tingly feeling.  I associate tingling with increase circulation to the scalp which helps out the follicles and has been linked to increased hair growth.  Once I rinsed it out, it felt like my hair had actually absorbed a great deal of the conditioner, the slip wasn't as great as I'd expected but my hair was easy to detangle regardless.  Bottom line, I'd re-use the conditioner but mainly for the tingly feeling. 

Pantene Clarifies Conditioner Myths

While at the Pantene Pro-V breakfast the conditioner stories just kept pouring out.  Like most of  you, the women at the breakfast confessed that we love to leave our conditioner on long.  The directions say let sit 5-10 minutes?  We leave it on for at least 30 minutes with heat and sometimes even overnight, with the idea that if 5-10 minutes is good well 1 hour plus heat is even better.  Well guess what ladies?  Pantene Scientist Jeni Thomas says it's not true.  If the conditioner is not formulated to be heat-activated then adding heat is just a waste of time and enegry.  Another big mistake?  Using too much conditioner.  The directions say a dime sized amount?  We take fists full and glop it on our hair.  Guess what?  We are wasting product.  Celebrity stylist and Pantene user, Tippi Shorter says we only need enough conditioner to coat our strands and a dollar coin sized amount should do the trick, because remember you don't need to condition your scalp, in fact Tippi warns against it. 

Product tip:  The newest Pantene products are specifically tailored to different hair types.  Just because you are  a black woman doesn't mean Relaxed & Naturals is for you!  Keep your eyes peeled for more posts on more Pantene News.