In Review: As I Am Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner

Hello beauties.

This is my review and experience with As I Am's Hydration Elation deep conditioner.

What As I Am says about their product:

Scheduled maintenance with this deep-down hydrating and fortifying treatment is a must for strong, shiny, soft, springy coils and curls. This rich penetrating conditioner is an exceptional formula that moisturizes the dry places, smoothes the rough areas, strengthens the weak spots, and gives shine where there is dull. Treat your hair every 2 to 3 weeks (or even more frequently, depending upon the condition of your hair and what you do to it).

Ingredients:

Key Ingredients: Coconut, Sugar Cane, Green Tea, Apple, Lemon, Vegetable Glycerin, Shea Butter and Vitamin E

Aqueous (Water, Aqua Purificada, Purified) Extracts: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) and Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine)¹, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil², Coco-Caprylate², Quaternium-91, Cetrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Esters, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin¹, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Phytosterols¹, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract¹ (Green Tea), Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract¹, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract¹, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Stalk Extract¹, Fragrance/Parfum, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glucose, Lactoperoxidase, Glucose Oxidase, Abies Balsamea (Balsam Canada) Extract¹, Limonene
Source: 1-Natural, 2-Coconut

My Experience:

I was so excited about using this product, especially when I read the list of yummy key ingredients. I tried it for the first time, and was utterly disappointed. But I wanted to love it, badly, so I continued using it week after week for about two months. Unfortunately, my hair doesn't like it. There are no adverse effects or anything crazy but it doesn't do anything special for my hair, neither does it give the moisture that I was previously accustomed to enjoying.

The consistency of this conditioner is fairly thick but creamy. When applied to wet hair, it adheres nicely so there's not much of a drip. It smells faintly of strawberries...if they were processed and mixed with lots of chemicals. The price is listed as $16.00 on As I Am's website, for 8 oz. In my opinion, that's a little expensive for the amount of product you're getting. I still have half of my jar left, but I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet since I now have a new staple deep conditioner. (Read about it here.) I may give it away to someone, and hopefully their hair will like it.

I hope this review was helpful! If you have tried this product, share your experience with me! Did you like it? Or was your experience similar to mine?

xo,

Rita

Style Catalog: Modified Frohawk

A few days ago, I was getting restless with my hair so I decided to try a style that I used to do on my longer tresses. It's something like a frohawk but with a personal twist on it.

All I do to achieve this look is to pin back the sides, as you would with a frohawk. That's all I do. I don't pin the entire side, just the part above my ears (as pictured above).

Products I Used:

• Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
• IC Fantasia Hair Polisher Olive Styling Gel
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• Bobby pins

I pulled a piece of hair from the top, going downward to cover the bobby pins, and pinned it at the bottom. My hair came out cute, although it looks weird in these pictures. The style lasted throughout the entire day, and that's always a plus!

I enjoyed this style and I'm excited to see what the future of it looks like as my mane grows and develops.

xo,

Rita

Love, Rita Lynn

Hello all.

Because there is more to me than just hair, as you may already know, I have decided to create a second blog entitled Love, Rita Lynn. I wanted to do this for a few reasons. I, personally, feel that the range of this blog is too wide. The focus of this blog is supposed to be on natural hair and I believe that all of the other aspects outshine and overshadow that. I will still post some things that don't have to do with hair, but the focus will be on natural hair.

My new blog will be a more personal blog. You will get to see more of who I am, and what my likes and dislikes are. So far, I plan on sharing poetry, fitness tips, life inspiration, my life adventures, food recipes, and fashion spotlights. I'm really excited about this blog so I really hope you all like it.

Go on over, check it out, and let me know what you think.

Much love, 

Rita

Eight.Ten.TwentyTwelve.: Wash Day x Greek Yogurt Deep Conditioner

Hey y'all!

Yesterday was wash day for me and I deep condition my hair every wash day, once a week. I was unsatisfied with my current DC by As I Am (review coming soon) and I had a tub of Greek yogurt that needed to be used, so I decided to try Kendra's Greek yogurt deep conditioning treatment.

What I Used:

4 tablespoons of yogurt

2 tablespoons of honey

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

Although Kendra's hair is much longer than mine, I decided to follow her recipe exactly to make sure I had enough. I ended up having half of the mixture left after I used what I needed, so now I will know how to modify the recipe to fit me.

Keep reading to see my experience.

Glowing Green Smoothie

Hey y'all!

I'm trying to incorporate a healthier diet in my lifestyle. So, for the past few days I've been drinking this smoothie that I made. I got the recipe from Heather Lindsey's blog and I'm so excited about it.

Ingredients:

A handful of organic spinach

1 Fuji apple

1 Asian pear (both peeled & cored) - I used an Anjou pear because I couldn't find an Asian one

1/2 cup of ice

1 banana

1/2 of an avocado

3 stalks of celery

1 cup of cold, filtered water

1/2 the juice of a fresh lemon - I used concentrated lemon juice

When I made this smoothie, there were no instructions with it. So, I put the spinach and a little bit of water in first. Then added everything else randomly. The recipe did say to blend low to high, which I did.

Smell:

The smell is not bad, it smells like fresh fruit and vegetables mixed together.

Texture:

The texture was a little weird to me. It was a bit more textured than I am used to my smoothies being. I didn't mind it too much though.

Taste:

Now, let me say, it is an acquired taste. The first sip is the hardest. I didn't know what to expect when tasting it but somehow I was still caught off guard. It's not sweet. You do taste the vegetables. You also taste the fruit though. After a few sips, it tasted better. My taste buds adjusted to the taste of the smoothie and I began to enjoy it. It is yummy but if you're not used to drinking vegetables it will take a little time to get acquainted with it. I must say, it tastes clean and it feels good knowing that what I'm drinking is so healthy for me.

What I Would Do Different:

Next time, I will definitely use two stalks of celery instead of three. I thought three was a bit much, especially for me because I greatly dislike celery, but I wanted to follow the recipe. Also, I found this green smoothie recipe last night which is very similar to the one I used to make my smoothie. I will probably follow that one tomorrow when I blend my smoothie or I may use a mixture of the two recipes.

I really enjoyed this experience and I definitely plan on continuing to drink these. I drink mine for breakfast but you can drink it any time of the day. I'm on my way to being a healthier, better me. Join me on the journey!

xo,

Rita

Eat Mor Chikin!

Okay, so if you've ever eaten at Chick-Fil-A, you probably noticed at least one sign with the cow who is holding up a bulletin board that says "eat mor chikin". I personally think it's hilarious.

From what I understand, the CEO of Chick-Fil-A, S. Truett Cathy, was recently asked his opinion on same-sex marriage. He replied by letting them know that he did not agree with it. Now, one must understand that this is a Christian-based business. Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sundays to honor the Sabbath day. I can't fathom why Mr. Cathy's response was a surprise. Some cities were trying to keep Chick-Fil-A from opening a restaurant there and everything. From my knowledge, people were really trying to shut the place down because of the CEO's opinion. So, on August 1, there was a National Appreciation Day launched for everyone to go out and show their support for Chick-Fil-A. (Keep reading for my experience!)