So do you guys know I make it a point to buy everything I review on here? I started this blog in part because of this article last year in the New York Times--it pissed me off to learn that a lot of the blogs I read were supplied by publicists, and that a lot of the bloggers I was looking to for information were pretty much just in it for the loot. The thing that really got me was the bloggers' insistence that "everybody knew" the products they reviewed were freebies. I didn't. I didn't think much about it one way or another, actually, but it made sense once I found out. I bought plenty of crap products that had received beauty blog raves. I think even the most honest blogger is more likely to praise--or at least not trash--something she didn't spend her own hard-earned cash on. The stuff she hates, she just won't post about. Soooo...it was with some trepidation that I got a freebie myself the other week. Batia and Aleeza are two sisters who run a hair salon in Beverly Hills specializing in curly hair. And they offered me a travel-sized kit of their shampoo, conditioner, and styling gel to review on this blog. Now their offer hit close to home. My own hair is wavy and flat but both my kids are super-curly. Here's a shot of my son (below- click on the picture to get the full effect!).
And his equally curly 14-year-old sister has been flat ironing her nearly-waist-length hair--and living in fear of getting caught in the rain--since she was in the seventh grade. I put the Batia and Aleeza products out in her shower and waited. And wow. They totally eliminated frizz (Check out this video). Her hair went from giant dry poofiness to smooth, shiny ripples. Bear in mind that her hair is extremely damaged from three years of flat-ironing! Then her brother used the stuff, and it did the same--which dismayed him, since he likes having a large orange afro, and now his hair is cascading in ringlets down his back like Jesus' in that picture my grandmother had in her living room that had eyes that followed you around the room.Anyway. Even though I got the shampoo, conditioner, and gel (which are cruelty-free, hooray, and smell awesome) as a freebie, I can still feel secure in my "I buy it" blogging policy. My kids have so much hair that they used it all up, and my daughter has ordered me to purchase more. She's actually willing to give up flat-ironing since this stuff makes her hair so pretty! Unfortunately she refuses to be photographed for this blog but maybe she'll let me show the back of her head. Maybe I'll refuse to order more Batia and Aleeza until she cooperates.
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7 comments:
No need for pics, the Jesus curls imagery does the job!
I'm also very very curly (POOFS into candy floss if I'm not careful)..so this is a relevant tip. Will check this stuff out..thnx!
Hmmmm. Hmmmmmmmmm.
Ask 'em why you have to shampoo twice. That's my only question.
Also: for your flatiron-dependent girl, you might try convincing her to get a Ouidad carve & slice cut. You can still straighten your hair after one, and it doesn't look weird, but it makes a huge difference in the manageability and poof of curly hair. I had a c&s done about five months ago (it's time for another) and it literally changed. My. Life. Doing my hair now takes seconds rather than half an hour.
I'm gonna check out this shampoo etc. as well.
Actually, neither of the kids shampooed twice and it came out fine. Also, my son did not use the gel--just the shampoo and conditioner--and his hair still was amazing. The gel is very nice, by the way, very light and noncrunchy when it's dry. We don't have a Ouidad salon that I know of in our area (Washington, DC) but I have tried the Ouidad "no-poo" products with my daughter and she was not a fan. One of the reasons her hair is so long is that it's so hard to find somebody who knows how to cut curls!
Oh gosh, I can go on and on and on and on s'more about curly hair. But to spare you all, I'll just recommend you hit up naturallycurly.com. There are product reviews (to see how products work for people with curl types like yours) and message boards. I've gone from hating my fluffy wavy hair to luvvvving my curls.
OMB - your son's hair is how curly my hair is (and how red it used to be ~ sigh)! I just use stuff to make it not afro.
Now I have to try the magic stuff...
**sigh** Do straight haired people just suffer in silence? Am I the only "grass is greener"/"I'd kill to have your problem" person? OK. Maybe not the 'fro thing.
For wearing curly hair curly, I'd recommmend Jessicurls. http://www.jessicurl.com/
A girlfriend of mine swears by this stuff and the associated application techniques. After hearing about it for a year, I relented and tried it. I don't know why I waited. I'd suggest it to anyone who wants to wear the curls. My hair tends to get flat and this really added spring.
PS: I'm completely not paid by them. But you know, if they'd like to give me free product, I'd take it!
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