Clinique 3 Step System

Ever since 4th grade I have suffered with acne. It wasn't until 8th or 9th grade that I started to use drugstore cleansers on a daily basis every morning. It wasn't until 10th grade year that I started washing my face twice a day while still using drugstore products. They did help with getting rid of some pimples but my skin was never really clear. About two weeks ago I bought Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit Cleansing Scrub and hated it. I now figure drugstore products aren't working for my skin and its time to step my skin-care-game up. The first thing that popped into my head was 'Clinique'.
So on Friday I went to Dillard's and walked straight to the Clinique counter. The lady took a quick glance at me and told me I had oily skin. I never knew I had oily skin. I actually thought I had normal skin, then I thought I had dry-combination skin but apparently I have oily skin. Any who..I left the Clinique counter because I didn't want to pay $41.50 for some facial soap. After that I continued to walk into the mall and stopped at Wet Seal and spent about $30 on clothes. It wasn't until I woke up the next day and realized that I spent almost the same amount of money on clothes as I should have spent on the Clinique. I sat at the computer and Youtube'd 'Clinique 3 Step Review'. Juicystar07's video about her experience with Clinique was the first and last I watched before I made my decision. Not because she used it and liked it, but because she said something that made me think. She said: "My skin is something I'm willing to invest in". Ever since I've gotten my job at Target, I've spent a lot of money on clothes. If I can spend $12 on a shirt, couldn't I spend the same amount to better my skin?
That same day I bought the Clinique system. I got the bar soap (you can choose bar or liquid- the bar costs less but you get more), clarifying lotion #3 and the dramatically different moisturizing gel. I haven't used it for that long now but I can form some opinions on it.
1. I don't like the clarifying 'exfoliating' lotion. I always thought exfoliation had to be a scrub, but this is more like a toner. It smells terrible (like witch hazel) and stings even worse.
2. The moisturizing gel doesn't moisturize enough. I always have to use another moisturizer afterwards so my skin won't feel so tight.
3. Using a bar soap doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Especially since it comes with a soap dish.
As far as how well it works and a review on it, that'll be coming later but so far it's okay I guess. Even if I hate the toner, I'm still happy I bought the system. I feel the same way as when I bought the Silk Elements. I mean, even though Silk Elements didn't work out for me very well, I felt like I was taking the first step in bettering my hair care and was on the road to a new journey and chapter in my life. The same way I feel about my skin care. :)

Clinique Facts:
1. they say your skin will get worse before it gets better because it's pushing all the 'gunk' out of your face, so whiteheads might appear. Yuck!
2. It's sold at department stores. (Macy's, Sephora, Dillards, ect.) Also sold at kiosks in the mall.
3. It's allergy tested. (They test 600 people 12 times before the product goes on the market. If one time one of those people have an allergic reaction, they reformulate their product--that's 7200 applications!)
4. No Fragrance is added to it.
5. There are 4 different 3-step lines which you can choose to match your skin. (Type 1= very dry skin, Type 2=dry combination, Type 3= Oily combination, Type 4= Very Oily)
6. They also make makeup, sunscreen, fragrance and a lot of other stuff.

For more information visit Clinique.com

Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner

I just washed my hair with the HE Reconditioning shampoo and conditioner. I really loooovvvveeee it! I thought the conditioner was just okay last week, but with the shampoo, it was amazing! Actually, I think the shampoo was more conditioning than the conditioner. Weird, huh? When I very first put the shampoo into my hair I loved it. It just felt sooo moisturized. A feeling I never got with Silk Elements and obviously not with Aphogee. It was not stripping all. The conditioner complimented the shampoo well and I'm already considering these to be staples. This was really surprising to me because normally I don't like products the first few times I use them.

So now I'm deep conditioning my hair with Silk Elements Olive Oil Moisturizing Treatment. It's okay, but I got my  eye on Shea Moistures conditioner. Honestly it doesn't matter which one because they all seem like they would work well. As long as its high moisture and low protein or none at all, I'll buy it.

I want to find a curl definer. Since I'm going to do so many braid outs, I need something to make my curly hair curlier and not frizzy. I'll look at the Herbal Essences Tousle me Softly line.

Lastly, as for as the pre poo, I used the Suave Shea Butter and Almond. It was pretty good, nothing amazing.  How much can you really expect when you pay less than two dollars for it though?

*Sigh*...

just a quick follow-up from my last post: yes, Friday was another snow day. -_-

Anyways... I'm starting to feel discouraged about my hair. I don't think I can make it anywhere past neck length. I really thought that at this point in my hair journey I would be shoulder length. I was so wrong. Maybe my regimen is too simple?

Should I try co-washing? I want to, but then what? I'll have to flat iron it because I don't know how to do braids to achieve a braid out. Its one of my goals to learn how to cornrow my own hair to lessen the amount of heat I use on my hair, so until then I feel stuck with flat ironing. I've tried twists outs- they never really look 'right'. (more frizz than curl) I've tried bantu knot outs. (they only work well  when my hair is flat ironed and they only last a few days) Braid outs always look great, but I can't keep hassling my sister or mom to braid my hair every night. I moisturize and seal every night but sometimes it still feels a bit dry and never really looks 'shiny' like it did at the beginning of my journey. Lately I've even stopped wearing my hair down and put it in a lot more ponytails to protect my ends better.

Is it the products I use? I know during the winter months Aphogee isn't the best thing to use because of the protein content, but Silk Elements doesn't make my hair feel as soft and smooth as when I use Aphogee. Does it matter how my hair feels? Or does it matter more that my hair needs moisture instead of protein? I'm still confused weather I should use Elasta QP or Herbal Essences. EQP might have mineral oil in it, I'm not sure because I've never read the ingredients. Maybe I should give up on both brands and research a new one that is more common?

Every time I watch a 'hairspiration' video on YouTube, by the 3rd month they always have some extreme growth, I started my HJ 4 months ago and can barely tell a difference.

I really don't want this to be a phase I go through. My first few posts were about me trying to get in shape and stay fit-that didn't last a month. I stopped because I didn't see any results and stopped caring. I hope that the same thing doesn't happen with my hair as well. I've basically been trying to care for my hair well during my whole 11th grade year and nothing has changed. Maybe I was dumb for believing that I could actually have long hair. :(

December F A V O R I A T E S ! and small update

1. Lustrasilk Mango Butter
At first I did not like this stuff. But that was before I realized that I needed to use a product a few times before I rated it from 1-10. I use this stuff briefly after I rinse out my Aphogee 2 minute reconstructor and I also mix it into my DC's. It makes my hair super soft and I now know the hype about it. The next time I go to the store I'll get 2 tubs of it to make sure I don't run out.

2. Silk Elements Megasilk Olive Moisturizing Treatment
My mom bought this and called it 'A no-name brand deep conditioner with olive oil in it' on a car ride home. Little did I know she actually got something really good. I mix this into my DC. I use this and my hair is always soft afterwards. Since I ran out of the intense conditioning mayonnaise this will be a great replacement. (Maybe better)
 
I know for a fact that by the end of January I will be shoulder length. I can't wait for it. My hair has grown a lot and it's only the beginning. Besides that I love how soft my hair is lately. As far as the bunning challenge goes I'm not sure if I like it or not. It may be protecting my ends, but I really don't like the way I look with a bun. I won't have to do this for much longer anyways thank God. When I do reach full SL I'll experiment with better looking buns and hopefully I'll get into protective styles more but I'm not making any promises.

super late hair update pic...oops. :)

11/08/10

So i took this picture on 12/9/10. it doesn't look like much growth from the last picture I took but when I brush it to the front it looks a lot longer than it did before. I think some of it had to do with the relaxer getting rid of my shrinkage. I believe I will definitely be full shoulder length by February 2011. I went to the salon to get my relaxer but this time I don't know what kind of relaxer she used. All I know is that it was in a white bottle with pink writing. I really liked the relaxer because it didn't burn and it made my NG lay down extra flat.

Friday I washed my hair:
Pre-pooed for 30 minutes with Pantene curly hair series DC. I really liked it.
Aphogee shampoo- 1 wash
Aphogee 2 min recon. (i used it as a regular rinse-out conditioner and didn't leave it in for two minutes or put on a plastic cap)
lustrasilk shea butter and mango- 2-3 minutes
Then I DC'd for about 2 hours:
lustrasilk mango butter
Silk elements mega silk olive oil moisturizing treatment (NEW)
SE intense conditioning mayo
fantasia frizz buster
Eucalyptus oil
coconut oil
When I DC I put saran wrap around my hair then put on a plastic cap. Then I sit under the dryer for the last 20 minutes.

The newest thing that i have bought for my hair is One n Only argan oil. I've been wanting to try argan/morrocan oil on my hair since omgitsvictoriaXD (youtube) said she used it on her hair and liked it. I used it last night as a sealant and liked it, but i want to try it more before I give a full review on it.

1 month since I've gotten my relaxer

It's one month since i've gotten my relaxer and i really don't feel like i need another one. I used to think I needed to get it every six weeks but my roots are still manageable. I might stretch for 10 weeks or longer because I don't think I need it all he time like i used to get them. I remeber last year I got a relaxer and some girl told me 'You shouldn't have got it, you didn't need it.' and I said 'Yes I did, it's been six weeks.' lol. Just shows how much I didn't know at that time.

And I was thinking that when I run out of my Silk Elements I'll use a Aphogee regimen. I want to switch b/c SE is only availble at Sally's and Sally's is no where near my house. And I'm not going to continue to pay $5 shipping and waiting 5-11 business days for my products to get in the mail. Aphogee is sold in a store right across the street from my school so i can get that anytime i want.

With aphogee, I heard that you have to watch out for your hair drying out because its a lot of protein in it.
I moisturize and seal every night so i shouldn't have a problem with that and i DC every time i wash. But if i do have problems with dryness I could always use a moisture based shampoo every now and then and I'll be fine. But its only a thought and I'm not sure if i want to actually use it.

HJ- FINALLY got my relaxer todayy! And SALONS DON'T MAKE YOUR HAIR HEALTHY!

AHHH! i finally got my relaxer today! yayyy! i got there at about 4 and ain't leave until 9:30. but it was worth it b/c my hair is cute! I even used a silk elements relaxer so its like i'm still on the Silk Elements regimen when I go to the salon. (SEMS relaxer w/ shea butter in normal- brown tub) My hair is super soft and 'like silk'- but i don't think I would use that relaxer at home b/c it BURNS so bad. I didn't itch my too much for it to burn that bad. but 8/10 times i go to the salon for relaxers any ways so its not that big of a deal. I just got a trim and a simple wrap- I used to get detailed styles but then I figured out that wraps are easy to take care of b/c all you have to do is wrap it at night and it'll look good. But styles with twists and curls and lots of hair spray don't last as long when you go to sleep. Now its time for an 8 week stretch! And I said before that I thought my hair grew, after the trim its about the same length but thats okay b/c it'll benefit me in the long run!

P I C T U R E S ! :


look at them roots! lol



cute lil flip!

Salons Don't Make Your Hair Healthy (well, not all of them):

All of the salons I've been to (including the one that did my relaxer) focus mainly on looking nice instead of healthy hair. Like I've never been to a hair salon and the stylist used a heat protectant. And they use a lot of gel in the hair that can eventually break it off. (another reason why I only get wraps) Just b/c you come in with broken off hair and leave with it looking shiny and what-not doesn't mean your hair is healthy. They just are trained to make it look that way. So if you come in with unhealthy hair, you're still leaving with unhealthy hair. It just looks better.  (if you put a dress on a pig, its still a pig). I used to think going to the salon would make my hair healthy, but the only way to know for sure that your hair is at its peak health is if you take good care of it at home as well. Not that salon is a terrible place, but it definantly isn't want you want to rely on to make sure your hair is healthy.  I'm not saying that all salons are aimed for looks instead of heath, b/c i haven't been to all of the salons. But out of the ones i've been too, this is what I think.

-I'm still going to MS my hair, but i'm going to use very little SAO (b/c its a light oil) and use very little moisturizer (HE LTR).
-SEMS- silk elements mega silk
-SAO- sweet almond oil
-HE LTR- Herbal Essences long term relationship leave in conditioner

Hair Journal- Silk Elements, bantu knots, Herbal Essences

So for the first time i tried the regimen I've been talking about for months and it was..eh. not great like i expected it to be. my hair didn't feel like 'silk' afterwards. not that my hair was rough. I just guess my expectations were too high. the pantene made my hair super soft, but this didn't. my hair was soft though. just not suppper soft like i wanted it to be. Also, it looks good. it still has a nice shine to it, but that could be b/c of the M&S that I do. All together it took about 3 hours.

However, I didn't mix anything with the oils that I use, next time i'll mix oils with the conditioner and DC and see if it makes a difference. I wanted to see how it worked straight before i started using a variation of it.
And i did notice that there was NO dandruff. but then again that could've been the M&S.

When i finished DC my hair I tried to do a bantu knot out and I hated it b/c it was frizzy, so i flat ironed it and it looked okay. Super flat with no volume. Then that night i re-bantu knotted it and it looked good in the morning, but the curls didn't last long at all so I went to target and got herbal essences totally twisted curl scrunching gel and the curls lasted all day and didn't frizz. :) I'm really starting to like herbal essences. (i'm hoping i dont jinx myself) When I first took out the bantu knot, it was  lil crunchy but through out the day the crunch went away. Not only that but it smells good and is alcohol-free!

PROS FOR THIS WEEK:
-The SE shampoo was good, it didn't dry out my hair like Dark and Lovely.
- I finally started the regimen I wanted to, even if their are some kinks
-The Wave Nouveau finsihing lotion is a really good moisturizer if i need a lot of moisture.
-I 'discovered' HE scrunching gel and bantu knot outs
-no dandurff
-hair is really moisturized (hallelujah!)
-none of the products stink
-exicted for a new oil (coconut)

CONS FOR THIS WEEK:
-I need a different regimen (specifically conditioner and maybe a different deep conditioner)
- I forgot to get SE megasilk moisture treatment. :( I really liked that stuff in the little packet.

RANDOM:
-after i buy the coconut oil i'm going to stop buying hair products for a while, i don't want to be a junky and waste money on products I won't use
-I won't use this method this week b/c i plan on going to the salon and getting a relaxer and to get my ends dusted, so i won't need to wash it.

-if i figure out cute styles w/o heat, then i'll bump up my reggie to once a week instead of every two weeks.
-I put the HE on the shaft of my hair, banut knotted it, then sprayed the knot with SE styling spritz, so that could've been the cause of the stiffness.