Darcy's Bontanicals Review

So this review starts off with a little anecdote, last spring I went to the 2010 natural hair expo in Atlanta Georgia, and of course I had a blast, but nevertheless I was on my search for a "perfect" twisting cream. I walked around the whole expo twice before purchasing any items. BIG MISTAKE, I walk around before purchasing for two reasons 1) To make sure I visited every booth, and 2) To hear the reviews of the booths from the other lovely ladies at the expo.

When I got back around to the Darcy's Botanicals Booth, they were sold out of the twisting cream I wanted but I received a coupon code to use online and I picked up Darcy's Bontanicals Peach Kernel Hydrating Milk, which leads me into the first review:

Darcy's Bontanicals Peach Kernel Hydrating Milk:
When I say I love this product I mean I love this Product, It takes a lot for me to love a product due to the fact that I usually have unrealistic ideas about a product but this milk took the cake for me. 1) I first tried it as a leave in under Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic, and my WnG's not only lasted a while, but stayed moisturized through the style 2) I also tried it as a refresher for my twist outs, it kept my twist out looking nice while keeping it 3) and lastly a couple times I used just to twist my hair

The Hydrating Milk comes in 8oz bottle for 12 dollars, The ingredients include: Distilled Water, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Peach Kernel Oil, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, and more. The milk moisturized when needed and was not greasy at all, and a little goes a long way, In my opinion you get your bang for you buck. And Lets not forget this product smells awesome!!!! :)

I actually liked this product so much that it led me to purchase the next three, the Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme, The Avocado and Honey Twisting Cream, and the Juicy Peach Daily Leave-in Conditioner. Now I'll do these products in order in which I've used the most.

Avocado and Honey Twisting Cream; So in order to know if you like a product you need to know two things 1) What does your hair like? and 2) What do you want out of a product?
my answers to those questions are, my hair likes a thick water based cream, and what I want out of a twisting cream is something that moisturizes while giving me a defined twist out,and something that keeps my twists intact throughout the week or weeks that I keep them in. and if you ask me if this cream satisfies my needs I'm gonna say well...yes and no......

When I received the box in the mail housing my awaited Darcy's botanical goody's the first thing I did was smell them all now to say the least the twisting cream didn't smell as sweet as the hydrating milk it has a hint on honey smell but it was more on the musky side in my opinion. Now the great thing about this cream is that I got killer twist-outs from it, I got twist-outs that lasted for a week and if I wanted it could even last a little longer. Now the Downside this product gave my hair a greasy feeling more than a moisturized feeling, in fact when I rub my hands in my hair, my hands comes out greasy, and after a fresh application I wouldn't dare lay my head on my husband for fear of a grease stain on my hubby's shirt....this factor alone makes me want to end my relationship with the twisting cream. So once again if you ask me if I like the product I'm gonna say well.......yes and no

The twisting cream comes in a 8oz jar for 12 dollars and the ingredients include:Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Distilled Water, Avocado Oil, Organic Palm Oil, Emulsifying Wax, vegetable glycerin, Pathenol and more.


next up is the Juicy Peach Leave-in

Now my purpose for purchasing this product was because I didn't want to become a slave to the Kinky Curly Knot Today but as the saying goes don't fix it if it ain't broke lol I purchased these products in September,it is now march and I still have have 3/4 of a bottle, I hate to compare a new product to an old but hey it happens, I need alot more of this product to get the job done than I do of the KCKT and also it doesn't detangle as well the KCKT, but as far as smell goes I love the way this smells and unlike the KCKT the "peachy" smell lingers throughout the day which is what i love the most about this leave-in.

The Juicy Leave-in comes in a 8oz bottle for 12 dollars the ingredients include Distilled Water, Olive Oil, Yarrow leaf Extract,Sage Leaf extract, Nettle Leaf Extract, and Lavender extract just to name a few.

last but not least is the Madagascar Vanilla Styling Cream

I bought this cream because while I was doing my research I read that I could also use this as a twisting cream in conjunction with styling, and right of the back I'm not gonna lie, I just didn't like this Cream at all, for me its just greasy, and no moisturizing factors at all,but keep in mind its not for moisture it is for styling but using anything underneath it scares me because it tends to make the experience more greasy, but on a good note after a fresh hair cut my husband loves to put this on his head.

The Styling Cream smells like vanilla, it is not an overpowering smell at all, and as a plus it is also vegan. The cream comes in a 8oz bottle and is 12 dollars the ingredient list includes: Organic Palm Oil, Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Organic Madagascar Vanilla Extract, Emulsifying wax, and Castor Oil Just to name a few.

Thanks for reading,

KinksnWinks

p.s. All products mentioned in this post was payed for with my own income, I was not payed to do this review and this is my honest opinion.

p.p.s Please do your research before purchasing any product, what may or may not work for me, may or may not work for you!!!!

Thanks again!!! xoxoxo

Hair Update

So I guess I owe you all a hair update, after some protective styling and a few hair experiments, some good and bad, I've come to the conclusion that:

-braid outs will never work for me but braids are the best way to stretch my hair
-never forget my tried and true styles and products when traveling
-I don't need a new protective style, maybe just new ways to style my protective style
-never forget why a staple product became a staple product
-and be confident in your hair you never know who's watching........

In the past few months i've reached collarbone trimmed to shoulder length and have protective styled my hair back to collarbone. and oh yeah I've dyed my ends auburn.

My updated routine:

Since my hair is longer I've been wearing my two strand twist for a longer period of time, ive still haven't find the perfect twisting cream yet but I'm still searching,I generally don't go that long in between washes maybe two,two in a half at the most, Since I think the kinky Curly Come Clean is to drying on my hair If and when i have to use I will do an oil rinse with jojoba oil first, i still condition with Aubrey Organics Island naturals Conditioner, and my staple leave in is Kinky Curly Knot Today. I still detangle in the shower but I now I do it with the proclaimed Tangle Teaser!!! and than after that I twist my hair up for the next two weeks.

I maintain my twist with a spritz mixture of 1/2 water,1/4 Aloe Vera juice and 1/4 coconut oil, and when I get ready to take my twist out, I untwist my hair for a twist out with coconut oil only than I fluff and go.

Since I'm trying to reach APL before the end of summer, I'm taking the less is more approach to my hair.

Thanks For staying tuned,Love,

KinksnWinks

Long Time No See!!!!

Hey Guys sorry for the hiatus, the hubby came back from deployment,and with him being home everything got busy and out of control, but for the last few months that I've been gone, me and my hair have experienced a lot, so stay tuned I have lots of reviews to do, and I've even changed my hair routine a little,

Thanks for hanging around, KinksnWinks

Hair Therapy

Whether we forget to sleep with a satin cap or pillow case, or whether we forget to seal and moisturize for a week. Whatever the situation maybe there is a point in a natural girl's life where our hair had to take the back seat for a few days.

This past week I decided to do a "Wash n Go", now normally after a "Wash n Go", I twist my hair up usually for a few days, but this past week has been quite hectic to say the least, and my hair has been getting the short end of the stick.

Usually when this happens, I pamper my hair with a good deep condition, and baggy overnight for a few days. I baggy with damp hair, and olive oil. Then I make sure my hair stays moisturized, and I seal properly. After a few days of low maintenance styles my hair usually bounces back to its healthy self.

What is your hair therapy? Hope my suggestion helps!! :)

Til Next Time
~L~

A year in Progress

Its always nice to see the progress of the Love, Time, and Care you put into your hair, Here's mine after a year!

My BC 9/2009

My Nappiversary 9/2010



If you ever feeling frustrated with your hair, look back at old photos and see your progress, I promise it will make you instantly feel better : )

My Hair Regime

Creating a regime for the first time can be a bit overwhelming but starting from a basic format, can help ease you into the adventure of learning what your hair likes, and what your hair dislikes. I am a firm believer of keeping it simple. Here's my Weekly Regime.

Thursday night I start of with a baking soda deep conditioner treatment, I leave the treatment in for a half an hr to a hour. After running around for about an hour with a plastic cap on my head, I proceed to rinse my hair, Then I condition and detangle with either Aubrey Organics Island Naturals for dry and frizzy hair or with Aubrey Organics Rose Mosqueta for color treated hair. Once I'm done detangling, I use Kinky Curly Knot Today or Darcy's Botanicals Peach Kernel Hydrating Milk to style my hair through the weekend. Once my hair is styled, I massage my edges with a mix of Castor oil and Tree Tea Oil, and then seal with a mix of Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil, and Tea Tree oil

Friday, Saturday, Sunday Nights I moisturize with my water spritz and seal

Monday Nights I co wash, style and seal

Tuesday and Wednesdays I moisturize with my water spritz and seal

The following Thursday, I do an ACV rinse and a Deep Conditioner. Then I style and seal, and start my hair week all over again

Do you lovely ladies have a set regime? Or are you still looking for the perfect fit?

While searching for a good way to start my eleven yr old sister's regime I found this article:

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/how-to-create-your-hair-regimen?utm_source=curlynikki.com&utm_medium=CNArticlePost&utm_term=bloggers&utm_content=CN&utm_campaign=CN

Check it out, Let me know what you Think, And I hope it was helpful!!!!

Til next time,
~L~

Getting to know you

Hi, my name is L. KinksnWinks was created to learn, to share knowledge, and inspire other women, and men to embrace their god given hair. We all know that hair has a direct correlation to how one feels about themselves, so if you understand and love your hair, you have a better chance of loving and understanding yourself. At first I was apprehensive about starting a hair blog, because of the many wonderful hair blogs out there, but i figured hey why not open up another source to learn from.

I am natural kinky curly gal, I'm not big on the whole hair typing system, but from my understanding my hair ranges from 3c-4b I big chopped 9/1/2009, so I have been fully natural for a year and ten days. I transitioned by micros from May to August unintentionally. When I took my micros down, I had a ton of new growth, and I fell in love with my waves, coils and curls. I knew I no longer wanted to relax my hair but I knew I didn't know what exactly to do either so I started researching and thats when I found the natural section at Blackhairmedia.com I was instantly inspired by their confidence, knowledge, and love for their hair. My first intention was to try to experiment with transitioning for as long as possible and then do the BC, and also to remain relaxer free for a year, but that didn't last long. I BC'd a month later and as of right now I'm pretty sure I'm a natural for life.

That's my mini introduction, because if I tell you everything now what will I have to talk about later lol. Well now that you know a little bit about me, tell me about yourself? where are you in you hair journey? are you natural? are you considering going natural? are you transitioning? Let me know in the comments

For those that have concerns or suggestion you can email me at noaveragebook@aol.com I have two blogs one on hair(of course this one) and a book writing blog http://notyouraveragebookwriter.blogspot.com/ my email works for both

Thanks for coming by, til next time
~L~