Hello….my name is Original Diva and I am a product junkie.

Circle of junkies respond: Hi Original Diva

When I first went natural back in 2003 I was all over any and every product that was supposed to be for “natural hair.”  One of my problems is that I had no idea what I was doing and another was that I didn’t embrace my hair.  Original Diva envisioned an Angela Davis style afro with some fly ass shades on walking down the street.  Yeah  well Original Diva doesn’t have afro hair….SO SAD.  I didn’t give up on trying to have afro hair until about a month ago….if then.  I didn’t do a big chop…I just cut the relaxed ends as they grew and kept it moving. I thought it would be cool to share the products I’ve tried/am trying  and the results I achieved.  I preface my list by saying 1) Remember I had no clue what I was doing and what my hair was doing so who knows what kind of result I would get now if I tried again and 2) I’ve never come across a product that was absolutely HORRIBLE for me (except one)….so they all get at least mediocre reviews.

My list will be in order of brand because I think it’s easier.

Curls Pure Curls Clarifying Shampoo
Curls Quenched Curls Moisturizer
I tried the Curls line in a sample pack at the recommendation of Cool AC. There was nothing special about it to me and it doesn’t stand out. I don’t remember the shampoo being super moisturizing or the moisturizer doing anything special. I’d suggest the sample pack to anyone.

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Sheer Leave in Conditioning Glaze

During my very first wash n go phase I heard that this product was great for frizz and frizz is definitely what I had. Did it work? Nope. It didn’t do anything spectacular to my hair either. I ended up giving it to Rollo.

ABBA Moisture Scentsation Shampoo
ABBA Moisture Scentsation Conditioner
ABBA Nourishing Conditioner (Leave In)
My girlfriend Janetta recommended this line of products to me back in 2003. I finally tried it in 2007 when I saw it on the shelves of my local Fred Meyer in Oregon. I LOVE IT. Abba is the best product I have ever used in my entire life. You want moisture….then you want Abba. The shampoo cleans thoroughly and the conditioner is a savior. The mint makes my scalp tingle and makes my hair super easy to detangle while wet. What really sold me on Abba products aside from the moisture was the fact that it is TRULY all natural (vegan) and when I straighten my hair…and sweat it out later….it’s still easy to manage! I could sweep it back in a ponytail and re-curl the next day or wear it down. I ran out of my shampoo some time again and recently ventured to Ulta in Las Vegas to replenish. There I was introduced to Abba’s new packaging. The line is now called Pure Abba and has made a few insignificant changes. For example..the Moisture Scentsation Shampoo is now called Pure Moisture. While in Ulta I ran across something that I hadn’t seen before…
Abba Pure Curl Shampoo
Let me tell you about these ingredients!
INGREDIENTS: Water (Aqua) (Eau), Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate (*Coconut Oil), Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Glycerin (*Vegetable Oil), Myristamine Oxide, Glycol Stearate, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract (*Comfrey), Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Flower/Leaf Extract, Echinacea Angustifolia Extract, Equisetum Arvense Extract (*Horsetail), Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/PVP Crosspolymer, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil (*Lemongrass), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil (*Orange), PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate (*Vegetable), Polyquaternium-10, Sodium PCA, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid (*Sweet Potato), Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol
Notice it has orange peel and orange oil in it….the scent is amazing! My hair was soft, manageable, and I notice a lot less shedding! I swear by Abba products and I doubt that I’ll ever use another shampoo or conditioner again.

Pantene Relaxed and Natural Intensive Moisturizing Shampoo
Pantene Relaxed and Natural Intensive Moisturizing Conditioner
I used Pantene in college and my hair was never softer. So when the new relaxed and natural line came out…I rushed to it. It still makes my hair super soft. I’d love to replenish it and alternate it with the Abba. Right now I have so much product that it would be a waste to purchase anything else….but as soon as I empty some of these bottles out I’ll be going back for some Pantene. It doesn’t tout any special skills or tricks for “enhancing your curl pattern” or any other key words that us naturals use…but it makes my hair soft and provides moisture. What could be more important!

Carol’s Daughter Khoret Amen Shampoo with Sea Moss
Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Leave in Conditioner
Hated it….no other words necessary.
That’s not fair….in all fairness, everyone I have ever known to use the products rave about the Black Vanilla Leave In Conditioner. I have never met another person who did not like it besides myself. It dried my hair out unbelievably. The shampoo was very lackluster. It didn’t lather and it stripped my hair of all of its nutrients….very harsh.

Carol’s Daughter Tui Hair Oil
Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk
Did they smell nice? Yes. Did they feel okay? Yes. Do I still have them? No. Again…nothing special here…and AGAIN this could have something to do with the fact that it was early in my natural education and I was still new to what worked best for me. I would definitely try the hair milk again.

Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter
Carol’s Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey
Now these two I still use. Typing this up just made me realize how long I’ve had these jars….hmmmm I wonder if the product loses some of its effectiveness over time. I need to look that up. Anyway…these two products are a good combination for my newly found twist n curls. I’ve only done it once and I liked the way it turned out. I use the hair butter any time I am combing out or picking out or blowing out my hair. Anytime there will be some stress on my hair I provide protection and moisture to my dry hair using the butter. The hair honey is definitely a good product for sleek and frizz management. A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY. Over these 5 years I have not even broken all of the surface yet…that is how little I use each time. When I flat iron my hair I use the hair honey for a sleek and shiny finish.

Cream of Nature Red Clover and Aloe Soothing Shampoo for Dry Hair and Flaky Scalp
I won this in a product giveaway on Afrobella’s site. I’d love to post the name of the conditioner too but I don’t remember it and it’s gone. I go through conditioner much faster than I do shampoo…..I use entire palm fulls. This new line from Cream of Nature is definitely a winner. I alternate the shampoo with my Abba Pure Curl. They both smell wonderful and do a great job of cleaning without stripping. I’m not as fanatic about it as my Abba because it’s not all natural. So if you’re not on that kick like I am…I think you’ll like it just fine.

Ojon Hydrating Thickening Shampoo
Ojon Hydrating Thickening Conditioner
Ojon Hydrating Thickening Spray
Ojon Animated Styling Cream
So Janetta tells me that if I like the Abba she suggested then I’d love Ojon. So while I was living in Oregon I went to my trust Sephora website and ordered the starter kit. She was wrong. I got the hydrating line because I felt like I wanted my hair to be thicker. I still have full bottles of the spray and cream. I have more styling success with my Carol’s Daughter products.

Aveeno Nourish + Moisture Shampoo
I was recently sent a sample of this shampoo to review. It is a horrible shampoo. It left a very harsh film on my hair and each time I tried it I had to shampoo my hair again to get it off. It even left the film on my hands. Don’t do it.

Now let’s get down to the detangling. I use the Mebco Detangling Shower Comb. I found it in my local beauty supply store years ago and I love it. The teeth make a difference. The key to detangling is to grab a section, hold it firmly in the middle and start at the ends…working your way up to the roots. Keep grabbing sections until you’ve done the entire head…be patient. Not only will I swear by this comb but it’s less than $3 everywhere I have looked.

Here is another bloggers review of the comb as well.

After becoming more in tune with the natural blogs and sites on the web I decided to try this Denman brush that people have gone ape wild over. I didn’t go to the website and find out what was best and order one online. Nope…there is a Sally’s around the corner from me and I bought the one they carry. Naturals say that our kinky hair needs the wide D41 or D31. I wasn’t about to spend that much on a brush when the narrow D3 was on sale at Sally’s for $4.99. This is what it looks like.

When I saw it in the store I knew what the rage was about. Any other paddle brush you find will have those little balls on the end that yank out your hair (I speak from experience) but this one doesn’t. The bristles are hard and smooth and also do a very good job of detangling. The added bonus is that the bristles feel wonderful on my scalp as I work the conditioner through.

That is the best way to detangle…while your hair is soaked with conditioner.

I will be adding to this list as I try other products and recall some of the ones that I’ve forgotten.