The Bleached Blonde Natural Hair Survival Essential: Yes To Carrots Leave In Conditioner with Argan Oil

Don't worry, Giovanni Direct Leave In, I still love you. But I have found a very close second, if not tie, for a leave in conditioner for natural hair. 

Every since dying my hair blonde, my hair has turned extremely diva -- it's is now temperamental, flakey, very thirsty, brittle, and dry basically all the time. I also find my hair to be happiest when it is straighter and/or wavy rather than curly. The problem is...I am fairly lazy, so straightening my hair everyday is not a realistic option.

Lately, for a serious boost in moisture and maleability, I've been LOVING Say Yes To Carrots' Leave In Conditioner with Argan Oil. I love everything about it -- the texture, consistency, feel on my hair (and even on my skin), and the smell. It feels like a creamy, heavier lotion. It is not has heavy as an oil or butter, but thicker than the Giovanni Direct Leave In. It has a light, fresh, powdery smell as well as a powdery finish so it doesn't dry so oily. Even if you run it into your fingers, it dries a bit more powdery soft than oily. It really does leave my hair feeling as soft as it was prior to dying, especially when I wear it in a straight style. 

The only possible negative I've found with this product is that it does not always mix well with gel based styling products. I would not suggest mixing this with heavy amounts of Kinky Curly or Eco Styler, for example. If you do cocktail this product, go lighter with the products and use a lot of water.

Anyway...this has definitely been a bleach blond survival staple in my natural hair toolkit as of late. And I highly recommend this product! 

Of course, you can't know if this will be good for your hair type until you try it for yourself...

I am upset to hear this...but I've heard this product might be going away soon. Not sure what I will do without it...it is currently on sale here on yestocarrots.com  for a little over $5. A great price! 

This product is 96% natural with a rediculously long slew of natural extracts and few hard to pronounce unfamiliar ingredients. I also like that it is paraben free, petroleum free, SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) free, & cruelty free! If Yes to Carrots is actually bidding this leave in farewell, it's a big mistake!! 

Contains:

• Argan Oil
• Sea Kelp Extract
• Keratin 

Ingredients:

Water, Cetearyl alcohol, Behentrimonium chloride, Safflower seed oil, Candelilla cera wax, Olive oil, Shea butter, Argan oil, Macadamia seed oil, Coconut oil, Radish root ferment filtrate, Pomegranate extract, Green tea leaf extract, Carrot root extract, Sweet potato extract, Spirulina extract, Orange extract, Honey extract, Sea kelp extract, Soybean seed extract, Hydrolyzed keratin, Hydrolyzed soy protein, Tocopherol, Glycerin, Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, Capric Triglyderide, Glyceryl stearate, Citric acid, Dihydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, Sodium hydroxide, Sodium borate, Potassium sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance. 

*Many of the extracts and oils are organic 

This is definitely up there on my top leave in list with Giovanni and Kinky Curly Knot Today. I liked it before I dyed my hair, but find that it works particularly well on dyed damaged hair. If your hair is undamaged  then its possible you won't notice much of a difference between this and your already favorite leave in. 

Tell me how it goes if you try it out!

Biotin Verses Vitamin B-Complex for Hair Growth

My little sister and I decided to try out taking vitamin B supplements for healthier hair growth. We were browsing through one of my favorite natural/organic grocery stores with a very dense aisle of natural hair products and another very dense aisle of supplements, when we stumbled upon biotin and figured why not? 

Only a few weeks ago, I actually picked up a bottle of Stress B-Complex. Because I'v heard that B-Complex (a mix of multiple B vitamins) is good for hair growth -- and the bottle I picked up claimed to also boost energy, productivity, and immunity. So it sounded like a win-win. 

To my dismay, the Stress B-Complex I picked up was a bit of a let down. Not so much because of the results -- or lack thereof -- but more so because I just can't get past the horrible smell and taste! When I take the vitamin B complex I literally start to feel sick. 

But the Biotin pills that my sister found were so tiny and unassuming. Also, maybe because they were in a natural/organic food store, they seemed less intimidating. So we're trying them out! The brand we chose was Country life. We picked up one bottle of 1000 mcg (100 tablets per bottle) and one bottle of 5000 mcg. We split the bottles so we each have half and half. The plan is to alternate daily from higher to lower dosage--don't want to get carried away. 

Country Life Biotin Tablets:

My first impression:

• Both the 1000 mcg (round) and 5000 mcg (capsule) are very small.
• Smells like nothing.
• Doesn't taste bad.
• Doesn't make me feel sick.

These are all good things. Compared to my previous experience taking Stress B-Complex:

Nature Made Stress B-Complex:

My first impression:

• Makes me feel sick.
• Smells HORRIFIC.
• Pills are HUGE.
• Tastes as horrific as it smells.

These are not so good...but after doing a tiny bit of reading, I've heard that it's most beneficial to take biotin and stress B-complex not in place of each other, but at the same time, as biotin can sometimes cause acne and B-complex can help counter the acne. 

So now I've decided I may take one pill every day, alternating between Biotin and Stress B-Complex and see what the results are. I suggest taking B-Complex on a full stomach to avoid getting sick because it smells and taste like fermented chalk. 

The difference between Biotin and Vitamin B Complex is a bit confusing...because Biotin is actually vitamin B7 and is present in most B-Complex pills, which are obviously then not as potent (with B7/biotin) as are Biotin pills, and is one of the more important and widely used B vitamins in hair products and hair care. 

My hair is severely damaged and breaking off...(I'm still mourning)...so while I don't at all expect this biotin and B-Complex medly to reverse the damage and heal my broken hair...I figure at this point, it can't hurt! Even though I vastly prefer the Biotin pills over the B-Complex...it looks like I'm stuck taking both unless I want to deal with excess acne and...'aint nobody got time for that. Sigh.

My goal is 2" hair growth -- and length retention -- by 2015. Think I can do it? We will see...