Tag Archives: haircare

Snm Salon experience

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hey hey hey everyone, I hope all is well.

Sorry its been a while since my last post, work got incredibly busy and I inadvertently had to take a break from blogging! But now that its now back to the normal busy pace I can get back to doing things I love again and I have a few exciting posts coming your way!

To kick things off I have a healthy hair check in and I went to a new salon! Whilst I love my usual salon, its far from me, the parking is too expensive and I spend too much time waiting around! I decided to go to Snm hair salon which is only a few minutes from me. I have heard of this salon and been following them for a while, so it wasn’t completely new to me. I decided to book a wash, treatment & blow dry with a clip in install as my new clip ins arrived!

I had a late appointment simply because I could as the salon is very close to me – a huge plus and because it was after 5, parking was free- another huge win for me! After waiting for a few minutes, I was asked about what style I wanted for the clip ins and it was then we came to the conclusion that I needed to book a silk press package not the blow-dry and because it was close to closing time, I couldn’t unfortunately change the booking. I was a bit disappointed as I really wanted to get my clips in done but it was understandable. We couldn’t agree on a suitable day and time so I just decided to go ahead with my service without the clip ins.

At the shampoo bowl, the lady mentioned my hair was dry to touch which I found somewhat surprising. My salon appointment was on a Thursday and I had washed my hair on Monday albeit I did use more of a strengthening conditioner plus K18 ( I have lots of thoughts but I will use it a few more times before sharing). Anyway she proceeded to wash my hair 3 times which I absolutely loved and quiet frankly I had never had any salon do that. After washing she mentioned my hair was quiet dry and whilst I booked a moisture treatment I would benefit from a more intense steam treatment which would be £5 extra and I agreed to. After applying the treatment, I went under the steamer for about 20 minutes. I haven’t had a steam hair treatment before and my hair felt incredible after but it was also a really warm day so I was so hot under there hahaha

My hair was detangled again before it was rinsed out then we proceeded to blow dry in sections. I was familar with the 2 keracare products she used prior to blowdrying then finished off the service with my 2 plaits.

Thoughts on the service

I arrived very early for my appointment but it didn’t take too long before we started discussing my service and the lady really did try to find me another time but we just couldn’t find a suitable time. The clip in service was promptly cancelled and taken off my final bill which I liked. I loved how my hair was handled during the shampoo process: she really focused my massaging my scalp making sure it was clean and shampooing 3 times to ensure build up is effectively removed. I wish my hair was detangled more after she applied the treatment but my hair wasn’t that tangled anyway as I had only washed and blowdried my hair 3 days prior so maybe I didnt need it. She did detangle in small sections.

After the steam treatment I did have to wait about 10-15 mins before I was seen, infact I had to go around and mention it was finished before I was seen again. This isn’t that unusual as I have had to had in between services at my usual salon however I did feel slightly more forgotten here because I was in a different room and because there was only one other customer there with all the staff in the next room I did feel forgotten. The other staff that rinsed out the conditioner and blow dried my hair did seem younger but I think she did a good job. She used the Keracare leave in conditioner & the silken seal liquid before the blow dry. These 2 products do contain heat protection but I would have preferred a dedicated heat protectant too. She blowdried in larger sections using the tension method but went in smaller sections with the paddle brush. Again I would have preferred she fully stretched out the hair in smaller sections using tension before going in with the paddle brush as I have 4c fine hair prone to breakage. The blow dry did turn out great so I’m not too bothered by this. She said my ends were a bit tangly and mentioned it could be because my last trim(last month) didn’t quite catch all my split ends however I don’t think its down to that but the way she stretched my hair prior to going in with the paddle brush. My last trim was pretty much a hair cut because I neglected my trim routine( more on this later in another post!) and also because she was drying my hair in larger sections which for my 4c fine hair mean tangles.

I didn’t appreciate taking a personal call with the other staff member whilst she was doing my hair but I will put this down to her been younger as I thought that was unprofessional.

Verdict

Will i go to Snm salon again. Yes simply because it much much closer to me and the service wasn’t particularly bad. I loved the shampoo and blow dry and my hair felt incredible after the steam treatment, I just didn’t like a few bits. I am debating if I go back there for the silk press or somewhere else. But I will definitely go back there for a wash, treatment and blowdry when I don’t feel like doing my hair

This year I do want to try out other salons especially if they are closer to me. Maison style will always be my go to but I think its time to start experimenting again.

My service: wash, blowdry and intensive steam moisture treatment came up to £65 which is what I usually pay. It would have been £60 without the extra £5 for the intensive moisture treatment. It was pretty easy to book online via their website which is a huge plus. The salon is in Croydon.

I have a few posts coming up! catch you laterrr

Keracare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo Review

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Hihi everyone, I hope all is well. Keracare was one of my favourite haircare brands last year and I really enjoyed getting to know the brand and discovering their products.

One of the products that came highly highly recommended by my hair stylists is the Hydrating detangling shampoo. This is part of the naturals textures line from the brand

What is it
A shampoo formulated to remove excess oils from the scalp without stripping the hair. It makes combing easier and leaves the hair moisturised.

Experience
I’ve been using this shampoo as part of my wash days for a few months now, started around summer 2024. It’s a thick shampoo but it lathers up really well and features the same scent as the other products in the line. I always wash my hair twice and with that I don’t find this shampoo stripping at all. It does well with cleansing the hair. Now that I’ve switched to washing my hair every 2 weeks, I still think it does a great job of removing the product build up. I’ve even done 3 washes and it didn’t strip my hair.

The shampoo does have some protein in it- hydrolysed wheat protein. It’s fine for my texture released hair. If you’re protein sensitive do some further reading/research.

Does it work?
I determine how hydrated my hair is with how many curls/coils I feel when I’m washing it or after washing . Whilst this shampoo is nice & hydrating, it’s definitely not the most hydrating shampoo I’ve ever used. Infact the shampoo I was using before this (Curlsmith essential moisture shampoo) left my coils more hydrated and clumped together than this one.

Is it detangling?- I don’t think that it leaves my hair any easier to comb through after shampooing. I don’t usually have tangled hair to begin with and I wash my hair in sections so I don’t really have an issue with tangles on a weekly basis. To test the shampoo, I did have one wash day where I refrained from my usual wash method. I washed my hair without any sections and I know this causes more tangles for my 4c hair. Using the shampoo didn’t make any difference to the amount of time or ease needed to detangle my hair compared to other shampoos.

Conclusions
This is one of Keracare’s more popular products but for me it’s not worth the hype.  It is  not a bad product, I like the shampoo but I just don’t think it’s worth the hype. I didn’t find any more detangling benefits than any other shampoo. I like that it suds up, I love that it cleanses the hair without stripping and absolutely love Keracare.
Will I recommend this shampoo? yes but I will highlight not to depend on it too much for it’s detangling properties. I prefer the cleansing cream from Keracare over this tbh. I have a full review here

PS I absolutely love that Keracare states the ph of their products and it’s numbered according to your wash day steps. E.g 1 for shampoo etc.

If you want to try this, it’s available from hair shops or Amazon.

catch you laterrrr

PS you guys, I’ve been seeing a lot of vids of people saying the hair shops sell fake products! Ermm what? because whilst Boots & superdrug have upped their offerings some products/brands are still not available so what do we do? is this true? The one product I’ve gotten recently from the hair shops is my African pride pre poo and it was fine but chile! I’m out of my edge booster edge control and amazon don’t sell them anymore so I have to get it at the shops! gosh

Favorite hair products of 2024

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How’s your January going so far? Good , I hope! We’re almost at the finish line!

Today I have a shortlist of some of my favorite products I discovered & used last year. 2024 was my year of healthy hair, so I spent time & effort researching & trying new products.

1. Briogeo don’t despair repair deep conditioning mask- when I thought to do this post, this was the 1st product that popped up in my head! I love this product so much that I kinda overused it and it broke off my hair lol. It is a protein rich mask so just be mindful how many times you use it. I love this mask because it’s detangling but helps to reduce shedding, strengthens and conditions the hair! If you find your hair just feels limp & it’s shedding a lot don’t despair! try this mask! My advice will be to balance this mask with a moisture treatment too, so use once every 2 weeks/monthly depending on your hair needs. It broke my hair because I was using it right after getting a texture release and as that is amino acid based, it was too much protein on my hair and too much protein causes hair to be brittle & easier to break off. This is not the fault of the product but mine which is why I still love this product and will recommend it.

2. Affirm Light Creme hair dress- I was first introduced to this product when I went to Elite hair lounge in Feb 2024. I loved how light it felt on my hair. Fast forward to May, I did my texture release and the stylist recommended the same product to use as my Keracare buttercream would be too heavy. I got it and fell in love with it. Its lightweight as the name suggests and it does well to add moisture to the hair. It’s a nice ‘hair cream’ I used during the week to add moisture.

3. Tgin honey miracle conditioner- this product went viral in the natural hair community when it first arrived but I never got to try it because it was never available in the UK. Last year as I was looking for moisture deep conditioners, the girlies were still raving about the conditioner so I decided to finally try it. This deep conditioner is amazing and I will be writing up a full review soon

4. Olapex 4c shampoo- everyone knows how I feel about Olapex by now, and this product? This clarifying shampoo is no different! It leaves the hair clean but not stripped! I use this on a monthly basis to clarify and chelate my hair. It works for 4c hair. If you want to read my full review of all the Olapex products I have used, check it out here

5. African pride moisture miracle pre poo- another viral product in the natural hair community and it deserves all the hype & more! if you’re looking for a moisture pre poo treatment this is it! I’ve been through 2 or 3 tubs of this! My full review is here

6. Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™Moisture + Damage Defense Leave-In Treatment– This one came in the gift set with the don’t despair deep conditioner and I love it just as much. It really works to soften the hair. I find that some leave ins just leave the hair ‘wet’ but don’t really soften it. This doesn’t do that.

These have been my top 6 products of last year and I will/ have repurchase/d everyone of these again. More products worthy of a mention is the Paul Mitchell skinny serum which came recommended by my stylist. I don’t know how but this helps to dry my hair faster! and it doesn’t weigh the hair down or cause it to revert. You literally need a tiny bit. If you use a lot like I did when I started using it, you will feel the difference after the hair is dry. it feels a bit sticky?( lack of a better word). Another product I have to mention is the Cantu protective styling hair freshener. I call this hair perfume because it smells absolutely amazing. We all know how braids can get a bit musty after some time, get this! Just get this if you want amazing smelling hair.

That’s all folks! This year I’m focusing more on length retention but the search for better products/brands is still ongoing. I learnt about many brands last year, I’m just patiently waiting to finish up my batch before getting new products.

laterr

Healthy Hair Check in

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Happy New year! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday break and a well deserved rest.

Starting 2025 off with a healthy hair check in. This post is a bit late but I know you will forgive me because it was Christmas!

So 8 months after my texture release and 12 months of a healthy hair routine, what has happened to my hair? And what have I learnt so far

Back in Aug I noticed some breakage around my crown area but I thought it may be due to the braids I had just taken out so I didn’t think too much of it. However over the next month, I kept noticing more breakage so I decided to visit the salon for some expert help. After speaking to my stylist about my routine, it became apparent that I was using too many protein rich products on my hair and since I wasn’t doing much to my hair during the week + my TR which was amino acids based it was protein overload and causing the breakage! I was using my Briogeo don’t despair repair too often! I decided to switch my routine and focus more on moisture and conditioning instead of strengthening. I booked a follow up app in Dec, 12 weeks time to see any changes.

I’m happy to say when I went back in Dec, the breakage was growing back and no further breakage! my hair also felt much better.

2024 was my year to rediscover my hair, focusing on restoring the health of my hair. I’m also happy to report my hair is back! look at my before & after pictures. I started my healthy hair journey in Jan 2024 with my 1st salon app in Feb, look at how dry and crusty my hair was! and this was after a deep moisture treatment! look at my hair now in Dec 2024! my hair looks and feels so much better!. My hair has improved so much! Whilst it may look like my hair didn’t grow much- it did! I had 4 trims in 2024 to get rid of a lot of dead hair

I reviewed a lot of products and you can go check them out but my routine was as follows:

wash- 7-10 days

deep condition with my thermal cap every 3 weeks focus on moisture.

deep condition every 6 weeks with a strengthening treatment OR olapex

clarify every 4 weeks

blow dry after every wash with a leave in, blow dry lotion and heat protectant

For 2025 i want to focus on length retention. My challenge is to grow my hair to waist length- I don’t have a time frame because I’m not going to sacrifice health over length so if I need to switch to focus on something else I will do so. Since its winter I’ve also gone into protective styling mode- no braids! From now until April I will be washing my hair every 2 weeks.

Conclusion

I’m really happy with the progress of my hair. Its so much healthier than 2023 and I can really start on my hair growth journey. I’m going to take the good practices I developed last year and keep on caring for my hair. Going to the salon once every quarter also helped tremendously and I will carry on with this and encourage my natural girles to start going to the salon if not already!

In 2024 I learnt braids as a protective style is not just my friend! even with human hair so I’m going to try to go this year without it. Also can I just say how proud I am of myself for having my hair out most of the time last year! I experimented with a lot of half up & downs thanks to Royale ponytails ( you need to check them out) here are some styles I loved PS that cornrow ponytail is actually a draw string ponytail! and I don’t even remember the last time I wore my own hair to a wedding! let alone 2!

After a year of blow-drying my hair, I did not experience any heat damage my hair grew and felt so much better when dried- no more AIR DRYING FOR ME! I did ‘backslide’ after one wash day back in the fall and airdried my hair(threaded) and never again! the difference was ALOT. My blow drying routine and products post will come soon!

Anyways, I don’t want to bore you with a super long post! Please check out my previous posts for more info and all the reviews of the products I’ve loved last year. I will carry with discovering better hair products so more reviews coming soon!

Here’s to 2025! May it be filled with favor, blessings, good hair & skin

catch you later