Product Review: Pantene Relaxed And Natural Moisturizing Conditioner

So...I have been using nothing but conditioner on my hair this summer. My holy grail CW conditioner that I have also been using as a curl agent is Pantene's Hydrating Curls. Well after reading Honey Brown sugar's review of Pantene Relaxed and Natural's Moisturizing conditioner, I decided to give it a try.

Well we all know that what works for one does not work for all. The conditioner was OK but does not at all measure up to Hydrating Curls or my beloved Hello Hydration or Totally Twisted (but by Herbal Essence)

So....I went back to my Tresseme Conditioner for my conditioner wash and I used the Pantene Relaxed and Natural Conditioner as a leave in.

Mizani Moisturefuse - A straight gal's boo

So..I decided to straighten my hair last night. I was getting bored with the same ole curly puff. As I mentioned earlier, I do not use the same hair care products when I wear my hair straightened. When I am kinky, I prefer one set of products and routines.

When I decide to straighten my hair, this is my regime for full, bouncy straight hair.

1. Wash with Creme of Nature Shampoo (will be replaced soon as it has been discontinued)

2. Deep Condition with Mizani Moisturefuse. I tried this on a whim one day. I must say that it was not a mistake. Mizani leaves my hair super soft, moisturized, light and full of body.

3. Blow dry with a light creamy leave in. Lately I have been using either Lacio Lacio or Neutragena Triple Moisture.

4. I blow dry in four sections. I just added this to my regime..thanks to henna. Henna has my hair feeling SUPER thick..and hard to dry. No complaints here.

5. I then take teeny tiny sections and flat iron.

6. I put a nickel sized amount of Chi Silk infusion in my palm and rub it thru the finished product.

7.I either roll on satin rollers for MORE volume...and end up looking like the Cookie Monster's grandma....or wrapping and have nice bouncy hair the next day.

The above is my regime for straight silky natural hair. 90% of the time I do not even press my roots. I try to use as little heat as possible. Hmmm maybe next time I will create a Youtube video?! Hmmm thoughts.

Battle of DevaCare and DevaCurl Conditioners

DevaCare One Condition VS DevaCurl One Condition

For the past few months I have been using DevaCare One Condition as a leave in. I LOVE it. It is thick in consistency with a light citrusy smell. My hair DRINKS conditioner and product so I need something somewhat heavy. Although DevaCare One Condition is a heavy conditioner, it doesn't weigh my hair down. My hair dries to be super soft and moisturized and fluffy. This is always a plus.

Well I was about out of my DevaCare One Condition so I headed to Ulta to pick up another bottle. As I was reaching for the product, I noticed DevaCurl One Condition. You would think I would take a second to read the labels and determined what the difference was....but I didn't. In my mind...I wear my hair kinky 80% of the time...so why NOT try DevaCurl One Condition. So...I picked it up...and decided to go ahead and try it out on my puff.

My first experience with DevaCurl One Condition was not positive. I was not please at ALL. It's consistency was similar to DevaCare One Condition as it was also creamy...and the smell was a little different...more perfumy(which I liked). However, though it was creamy, it did not seem to coat my hair like the DevaCare product did. I was about to get discouraged and give it up...and I decided to try it again. This time I used MORE product and I LOVE it. I have decided since to stop using my beloved Kinky Curly and use conditioner only.

The Verdict
Overall I think they are BOTH great products. As far as consistency of the conditioner, they are tied. They are both rich and creamy. A DREAM for porous hair like mine. In regards to smell, I am going to go with DevaCurl One Condition, it smells like I am wearing a fragrance...and I am not. LOL I even got complimented in the elevator on my fragrance. LOL! As far as softness, I am slightly partial to DevaCurl One Condition. My hair and my curls are thriving. So...next time I am in Ulta...I will be reaching for DevaCurl One Condition. However, if it isn't available, it will not be the end of the world if I have to take it's back up instead, DevaCare One Condition.

Look Ma! No Gel!

I usually load my hair with a couple of conditioners each morning. Then on top of that I add Kinky Curly for definition. I recently added DevaCurl Set it Free to the mix. I would do ALL of this...and then add Aloe Vera Gel to my edges. NO DEALS.

I am a follower of Curly Nikki's blog and her hair is very inspiring. Aside from Henna, one other thing that I have learned from her that the LESS product (excluding your conditioners) the better. Being that I ONLY do conditioner washes 90 percent of the time and only use shampoo when I am performing a Henna Treatment or about to straighten...I really don't need all the gook in my hair.

So today I was brave. When I washed my hair this morning...I decided to ONLY put conditioner (DevaCurl One Condition and Pantene Hydrating Curls) and a leave in (KC Knot Today) in my hair. NO gel NO Kinky Curly Curling Custard. My hair was just as curly as it is with all the other gunk if not MORE.

My only complaint is...though I have definition and minimal frizz(thanks Henna) my hair is not as big as thick as I would like. My hair lacks volume. It is very little. I literally went in the ladies room took down my puff and SHOOK it. It was still small. Not sure why this is...Perhaps I should go back to weekly Henna treatmnents versus bi weekly? Did I make the switch too quickly? Who knows...I am going to go ahead and henna this weekend with a mix of Dulhan and Reshma. I am curious to see if maybe I am not getting the bulk because of Jamila. Stay tuned for my results.

All in all I think I will start just wearing my puff and curly styles with conditioner only. Tomorrow I am going to try using ONE conditioner only. I will more than likely stick with Pantene Hydrating Curls. My hair loves that stuff. Set if Free? I will only use that when I am twisting my hair. If your hair is thin...or lacks volume...you may not want to use this on a wash n go. This stuff made my puff more like a "poot" than a Puff. LOL Really soft...but REALLY shrunken. LOL So....no more Set it Free until I am in twists. The Set it Free along with Shea butter made my hair feel like silk.

Pantene Relaxed and Natural Breakage Defense Mask Deep Conditioning

Pantene Relaxed and Natural makes one of the BEST deep conditioning treatments. When I first chopped back in May, I had a tough time because of how dry my hair was. When natural hair gets dry, it is a frizzy birds nest that is very hard to work with. Well I hit the hairboards and started reading. I read allot about Pantene's Mask so I decided to give it a try. I fell in LOVE. This stuff has my hair moisturized and feeling like butter. I deep condition with it once a week.

Well, some of you know that all good things do not last forever. Rumor has it that this product has been discontinued! I have started purchasing every jar that I lay my eyes on these days. For those of you that have not been as fortunate...here are a few Amazon sellers that have the product available. One of them even sells 3 jars at once for 14.94! That's great being that I just paid 6 bucks for my last jar! At any rate...stock up and get moisturized curlies!

Straight vs Curly

So I get questions about what I products I use on my hair. I decided it would be better to document them all here. I don't use the same products for everything that I do to my hair...
For one...when I wear my hair straight I use a different set of products.

When I am planning to straighten I shampoo with Creme of Nature (the one similar to the green label). This is the ONLY time that I use shampoo. I shampoo so that I can have that light flowy hair once I flat iron. I then condition with Mizani Moisturefuse. It leaves my hair super soft...yet it doesn't weigh my hair down.

I blow dry using Biosilk's Thermal Spray...just a little goes a long way.
Then I rub a dime sized amount of Chi Silk Infusion thru my hair....and I start flat ironing in tiny sections with my Chi Iron. Once I am done, I wrap my hair...and BAM! Silky straight weightless hair!

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She's a Maniac!!!

So...this morning for my conditoner wash I used Bed Head's Moisture Maniac...

And the verdict is....
It is a KEEPER.

It smells GREAT and left my hair amazingly soft. It was also very easy to finger comb in the shower...which is important because I try to stray from combs. So...I will continue with this HUGE bottle and see if it continues to be moisturizing...as some conditioners start that way and end up drying you out over time. So for now...I will add this to my regime.

Calm, Cool and Conditioned...

So. I had a bad day. I was a little sad...so I went SHOPPING!

Retail therapy at it's best. I got LOTS of clothing.... I will post pics of that when I actually put them on...but until then...I got more CONDITIONER! I have been reading allot on naturally curly and I have read about Giovanni Tea Tree Invigorating Conditioner and Moisture Manic Conditioner....I will be back wit a review after I have used them.

OH...and I did my deep conditioning treatment last night with my Elucence (yes I went back...well I sent my friend and they teed her off as well...that's another blog.) and my Vatika Oil...My hair feels GREAT today. I also did a bentonite clay treatment last night...so my hair is nice, clean, moisturized and SOFT.

Here is a recent pic of how I am wearing my hair...and two of my many recent purchases...

Until Next time.....