Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner: A Review

Man I love Trader Joe's.

This conditioner is 3 bucks. It smells fabulous, it is organic, cruelty free, and it makes my hair soft. My scalp loves it.

The "tingle" is very mild, so don't expect to feel like you're washing your hair with Listerine. The peppermint, tea tree, and eucalyptus ingredients make for a really pleasant fresh fragrance that guys won't think is too girly and girls won't find too masculine.

I use it as part of my curly girl method routine in conjunction with Shea Moisture Restorartive conditioner (as a leave in). The one thing I learned about adopting this no poo/ curly girl lifestyle is that you really have to experiment to figure out what works for you. Be patient and talk to your girlfriends. If you can find a hair twin, use her wisdom!!

I feel like Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle is one of those products that will work great for a variety of hair types... and the price is right.

TWO THUMBS UP!!

Curly Girl Method: The Dry Cut

I cut my own hair. When it's dry.

GASP!

I'd obviously rather have it done professionally, but my bank account says no way. Also, I've NEVER been to a stylist that was trained to work with curly hair instead of against it. Don't get me wrong, until very recently I felt like naturally curly hair was my dirty little secret.

Think about it, how many celebrities, politicians, models, or athletes can you think of that rock their naturally curly hair? (I have to let actresses off the hook because part of what they do is adopt new identities for a living.) From news anchors to governors to Miss America... from CEO's to the ladies that grace magazine covers.... even the knucklehead reality TV monsters... curly hair is just not seen as professional or desirable.

I've always done my own thing and not much cared for mainstream hoopla, but I realized I was a total sucker for the straight hair envy pushed on women in our culture. I still think straight hair is gorgeous and I love a great sleek bob, but I realize I'm no more a sleek bob girl than I am a small boned size 0.

I have wild hair. It's who I am. Hair identity is a REAL THING. It's powerful.

And I was hiding mine.

Now that I embrace my curls, I also refuse to destroy them with shampoo or have some stylist tell me I'm nuts for wanting my hair cut dry. So since I can't afford a stylist and can't find one that knows and loves the curly girl method, I cut my own hair. Dry. As needed, which is hardly ever. Need instructions? Allow me to introduce Lorraine Massey, the Deva Curl Queen....

Coconut Oil Hair Mask

You can't log onto Pinterest without seeing the gazillion amazing uses for coconut oil. Weeeellll... I'm a total CO junkie, so I kinda buy into it all. Like the Dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding & his Windex.

Total cure-all.

My mask is simple: Coconut oil, Lavender, and Tea Tree Oils

If you don't do your research, you can end up with a mess. Here are some tips that I think a lot of the DIY hair mask posts are missing:

1. Use organic (duh)
2. Don't nuke it! Your body heat will be enough to melt it, so just use your hands.
3. Apply to dry hair (refer to oil vs water)
4. Cover your head to trap some heat. This will open your hair shaft and your hair will drink up the goodness!
5. To rinse out, DON'T GET YOUR HAIR WET before applying your cleansing conditioner (or shampoo if you aren't on the bandwagon yet). 
6. Also, don't use cool water because the coconut oil will become solid in a hurry.
7. Use warm water and cleanse, hydrate, and style as usual.
8. I do this weekly, but just experiment & see what works for you!

The Curly Girl Method: Advice to Newbies from a Newbie

Curly hair is a science. Don't believe me? Ask any curly girl to show you her arsenal of hair care potions and products.

I'm no expert in the curly girl world. I am an expert in how to fight and destroy your curls with chemicals and heat to achieve a fleeting moment of sleek straight hair.

I'm moving into my 5th month of no shampoo, no curling irons, no flat irons, no chemical laden products, so I have a bit of knowledge to share about how to start the process. I've listed a few very important things to keep in mind .... because reading the gazillion forums/posts/articles can be a tad overwhelming.

*this book is a great place to start!

Curly Girl basics are cleanse, hydrate,  & style.

This means you cleanse first with no sulfates <--- curly enemy #1
Some people use a "low poo" or fancy sulfate free gentle shampoo, but I just use conditioner.
Next, you hydrate. Again, I use a conditioner. Some people use a leave-in instead, some in addition to... it's all a ton of trial and error. Unfortunately there is no simple step by step miracle, but even the worst results are better than going back to destructive chemical abuse!
Finally, it's time to style. Gel, cream, whatever... again, you just have to experiment.

Forget about suds, squeaky clean, and obsessing about rinsing out all your conditioner.

Suds are for dishes. Squeaky clean is just weird... why should my hair make noises? Don't fret if you don't get all your conditioner out. In fact, most curly girls I know either leave it in completely or barely rinse it out. Once your scalp adjusts to the no poo thing, your thirsty curls will never betray you by becoming greasy with conditioner.... it just doesn't happen. It's possible that your curls could get limp, but that typically means the product isn't for you. 

 

What works for one curly girl will not necessarily work for you, even if you seem to have the same hair type. 

I have type 2c hair (find out your type here  so you know what the heck everyone is talking about with this type stuff). That said, I can tell you it's not 2c all over and not even every day. It's currently pretty short- growing out an asymmetrical pixie- so I'm going off of memory and old photos where I was on vacation and didn't have access to my curl fighting weapons. A product or routine that works great for one 2c probably won't work that well for me. I have a different background... consider the variables: hard water, type/frequency of coloring, humidity, porosity.

 

Speaking of porosity, it matters!

Determine your porosity here. Porosity describes how well your hair holds/absorbs moisture, so knowing your porosity can help you decide what products/routines will work for you. I have low porosity, which means I should stay away from protein rich products and use a bit of heat with deep moisturizing treatments.

 

No sulfates, ever.

Become a label reader. My solution? Check out the brands dedicated curly girls like DevaCurl and Shea Moisture.

 

Apply product to soaking wet hair.

This one was hard for me to get used to. My hair holds water for days, so adding gel to soaking wet hair just seemed ridiculous. BUT... I have to admit it prevents friz like you wouldn't believe.

 

No towel dried hair, please.

Don't reach for the towel! Instead, use an old T-shirt (don't buy a special curly hair towel for $12... that's just silly). 

 

Hands off! 

Don't touch your hair while it's drying. Just leave it alone. This one is tough for me too, but makes a huge difference. 

DIY Flaxseed Hair Gel

Say what?

A classmate told me about this back when I first went no poo.

Simply boil 2 cups filtered water with 1/2 cup flaxseed. When it gets frothy, strain and add your choice of essential oils if you want some fragrance.

I keep mine in the fridge in a mason jar. Super cheap, super easy....... and super crunchy.

Two thumbs up!

No Poo Bandwagon

All aboard!!

I have wild, wild hair. I've battled it my entire life. As a kid, I sat on the corner of my Mom's bed and she battled it/me on a daily basis. Back then it was straight, but always long, thick, and unruly. As I hit puberty, I was horrified to notice the curls. I wanted stick straight hair with a mini fringe of bangs like the girls in Teen Magazine. Where were these curls in the 80s when people paid to get bad perms? UGHHH

I have dyed my hair every color imaginable. I have had ultra short sleek bobs, long wavy layers, ombre mid length curls, stacked bobs, pixies, and everything between. From bleach blonde to jet black to peak-a-boo pink highlights, I was never afraid to try a new look because I was sure it couldn't be any more of a disaster than my natural hair. I also had the extra fun "go gray at 23" thing going on, so my hair budget has been out of control my entire adult life.

A few months ago, I decided my bank account put the breaks on my fabulous visits to a great stylist. She was amazing... and affordable. But I still couldn't afford her. I loved my blonde asymmetrical pixie, but the upkeep was too much. What's a girl to do?

Get back to her crunchy roots. Literally.

I stopped dying my hair for the time being, I threw out my curling irons and my trusty flat iron and all products that weren't sulfate & paraben free (which was all of them). Since I stopped seeing my beloved stylist I started growing out my asymmetrical pixie by default... ugh I really didn't think that through before taking the no poo plunge... but hey, at least when it grows out it will be healthy hair! 

Here it is... my stylist was a miracle worker. I loved it (not sure why I look so pissed).  But it was a struggle to blow dry, flat iron, and curl.... all that effort and it was only a few inches long. Something not quite right about all that fuss.  Maybe that explains the sour look. Anyhoooo...

Truthfully, my hair felt extremely dry and humidity was more of an enemy than ever. My young nieces remarked at how my hair "felt like straw." Out of the mouths of babes. Hmmph.

Maybe it was the bleach, the crazy amounts of heat daily, and all the wacky chemicals. Just maybe.

As I started to do some research, I realized women everywhere were sick of being told they needed to wash their hair. The little old ladies I take care of in the hospital? They go to the salon once every two weeks for a wash & style. This is a generation thing, girls... these ladies are older than shampoo. Shampoo is HARSH. It is also totally unnecessary. Google pictures of women in the early 1900s before shampoo was even a thing. Hair looks pretty fab, if you ask me.

Won't my hair feel disgusting? What about the dirt and oil?

OK, so for the first month I used 1 Tbsp baking soda to 1 cup water twice a week. Massaged it into my scalp and I really felt like it removed build up. I missed the bubbles and fragrance at first, but that didn't last. In my opinion, baking soda is kinda harsh and since my hair is curly, I decided to switch to cowashing (fancy word for using 2 conditioners and no shampoo).

This is after a month of baking soda and bye bye blonde.

It's been 14 weeks, and I'm thrilled with the results. No heat, no parabens, no sulfates, no shampoo. Just organic conditioner and products.

It's not as curly as it used to be, but I think that has more to do with the fact that my hair tends to be curlier when it's longer. The point is, for the first time in my life it's NOT FRIZZY!!!!!! Miracles do happen. I'm on this No Poo Bandwagon for good.