Camille Rose Natural Almond Jai Twisting Butter

Well I'm late to the party where Camille Rose is concerned, but I wanted to wait before reviewing this product to give it a fair chance. It's been a while and I have tried it on a few occasions styling my hair in various ways that I feel I can review it. Please keep in mind this is based on my very tightly coiled, fine, densely packed type 4a hair.

Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Twisting Butter ($16.99 US, $24.00 CDN)

Promise: The best twisting butter ever! Achieve the ultimate soft fully twist out with a combination of almond milk, almond oil, jojoba, hemp and a drizzle of honey. Your style will be elongated, silky and held in place.

Ingredients: Deionzed Water, behentrimonium methosulfate, cetearyl alcohol, almond milk, almond oil, pumkin seed oil, sesame seed oil, jojoba oil, rice bran oil, macadamia oil, oilve oil, hemp seed oil, slippery elm, castor oil, aloe vera leaf juice, honey, green tea leaf extract, phenoxyethanol/caprylyl glycol, sorbic acid, scent and love!

Results: well this product is not 100% natural, so it loses a few points for that, but it makes up in other areas. Overall, I was pleased with this product. For the most part it did what it stated it would and my hair felt pretty good. I applied it to both damp and dry hair and in all cases my hair was elongated, felt soft and it had nice curl definition when I unravelled my twist. Bonus, it smells great. The only issue I had was the fact that it did not keep my hair moisturized. I found I had to reapply after a few hours, which isn't something I would expect from a product with such a huge price tag. Keep in mind, my hair is highly porous in the front and sides. Therefore, it is hard for me to maintain moisture in these areas. With that said, the back did feel a bit better, but it still needed a reapplication of the product to maintain the moisture level. When I modified the product (e.g. added lemon juice and aloe vera) lowering the pH to a 4.0, it worked much better on my hair. My hair was still elongated and held great definition, but it also had great shine, which it did not have using the product alone.

I am new to the product, so I do not have anything to compare it to, but I understand the formulation has changed somewhat, which has received mixed reviews. I personally think it is decent as it is. I have really been at a loss for products that will give me the look I desire. This is the first time in a very long time I have been happy with my results, so it's a keeper for now.

                                 

Progress...

Well it's been a while since I "chopped" my hair and began to work through the damage ends that I had. To clarify, I did not cut my hair, only trimmed a few inches every few weeks as it continued to grow out. I was already 100% natural at this point, but had scaggly, broken off ends. I still do in some sections, but this is the state of my hair so far.

For the length check I simply twisted, then retwisted my hair and then used a hair straightener on a low setting to stretch it out a bit in the back, rather than press it out completely. I did not want to straighten my entire head because the goal was merely to check my length, as I will putting my hair in a protective style for the next two weeks (twist). It's getting cold and I am getting lazy and I do not want that to negatively impact my progress. In the process of stretching my hair two things became very apparent. First, the left side of my head is much thicker ( and a bit longer) than the right side. Not just on the back, but in the side and front as well. I am really puzzled by this discovery. I can understand the sides of my head being different length and thickness because I sleep on my right side. This tends to stunt hair growth a little bit. However, the back and the front *scratch head*? I don't get that at all. I will try rubbing some JBCO on that side to see what happens. I actually planned to do a 6 month JBCO challenge between Oct 12-Mar 28 (details to follow), so I need to figure out how to adjust that for this issue if I hope to see a difference. My hope is that it will help thicken up my hair some since I do not think it really works as a growth aid.

The second issue I notice with my hair is the fact that I have a "gap" around my nape. If you look closely, you can see it looks thin right in the middle. That is because the nape is spotty. I am not sure how to fix that, but I will do some research and see what I can do. Beyond that, I am pleased with my progress. I completed a hot oil treatment this weekend and my hair felt really good after I did my final rinse (e.g. shampoo, DC, etc). Changing my regimen has done wonders for my hair. It feels softer, looks shinier and I am experience less breakage and dryness. 

                                 

Hits & Misses 2014

As a new year gets underway I am thinking about my future hair goals. I have had some success with products in the last year, but I need to keep it going if I hope to reach BSL by January 2016. Here are a few products (and techniques) that created magic as well as a few disasters for my hair over the last year (note: some of these products have moved around as the ingredients seem to have changed slightly and my hair appears to be changing)

Hits

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo (modified)
Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner (modified)
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner (modified)
Aubrey Organics White Camellia Ultra-Smoothing Conditioner
Homemade Banana/Coconut Milk Mask

Weekly Herbal Hot Oil Hair Treatment
Herbal Scalp Oil Treatment

Detangling prior to shampooing

Adding oils and hydrolyzed protein to my conditioners 
Finger combing 

Sleeping with a satin scarf and satin pillowcase

Washing hair in twisted sections

Deep conditioning based on porosity levels
Protective styling for 99% of the time (to reach goals)

Misses

Applying and aloe vera juice as final rinse

Neither Hit nor Miss/Just There:

Argan Oil (+in conditioners - as a sealer)
Qhemet Biologics Amla and Olive Heavy Cream (modified)

What I learned about my hair and products in general over the last year:

• Treating hair based on porosity level makes a huge difference 

Well that's me and my journey thus far. Happy New Year to all my subbies...and may you achieve all your many hair goals in 2015!!!!!!

                                 

Mini Hair Goals Revisited

I was reviewing a few of my older post while I was cleaning up some of the bugs on the blog and I came across a post that I posted at the beginning of my journey (when I was relaxed) and that it helped me a lot when I was trying to get over that hump from jaw length to shoulder length. I am currently stuck at SL at the moment and I really want to move on already! 

Anyway, the process requires me to sit down and really organize my thoughts . What am I trying to achieve? What are some of the issues I have with my hair right now? Basically, what I was trying to do was come up with some mini goals, so that in time I would be able to achieve my overall goal of beautiful healthy hair. 

This is what I came up with:

1. Increase moisture 
2. Retain length
3. Reduce single strain knots and breakage
4. Improve and maintain a healthy scalp condition

When broken down in this way, it really isn't that hard. So how do I achieve success with each goal? What products or tools will I use?

Increase Moisture

1. Drink more H20  (minimum 2 litres/day) 
2. Use a moisture balance shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner at a pH of 5.0
3. Spritz hair with a specialize mix for porosity level every other day 
4. Apply a protein conditioner as needed (biweekly for high porosity; once a month for low porosity) to fill in gaps in hair shaft
5. Apply herbal oil treatment once a month
6. Use a moisturizer with a pH of 4.0 and seal with shea butter on high porosity areas 
7. Use a hooded dryer to assist in deep conditioning

Retain Length

1. Finger detangling. My hair is just too tightly coiled to comb through, even with a wide tooth comb.
2. Minimize manipulation by utilizing protective styles 100 of the time for longer periods of time (e.g. 2 weeks) for a period of 6 months.
3. Tie hair with scarf and sleep on silk pillowcase

Reduce Single Strain Knots and Breakage

1. Minimize manipulation by utilizing protective styles 100% of the time for longer periods of time (e.g. 2 weeks) over a period of 6 months.
2. Finger detangling.
3. Allow for enough time to do hair routine to avoid rushing

Improve and Maintain a Healthy Scalp Condition

1. Apply herbal growth every other day
2. Daily 1 min scalp massages

I'll keep you posted on my hair progress.

Happy Hair Growth!