LRM REVIEWS: ARTNATURALS ARGAN OIL HAIR CARE

ABOUT THE PRODUCTS: 

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER - This duo is sulfate-free, natural, organic and full of botanical extracts. It hydrates and restores damaged, dry, and brittle hair. The shampoo blends Moroccan argan oil, herbal extracts, Vitamin E, and phytokeratin to rejuvenate hair's natural gloss and growth. The conditioner absorbs quickly into the hair's shaft which renews hair's manageability and provides protection from heat damage.

HAIR MASH -  Add volume and moisture with this treatment that uses argan oil, jojoba oil, and other all-natural botanical extracts that work together to rejuvenate hairs luster and texture. Keratin and amino acids target frizz and flyaways while strengthening the hair shaft. Green tea extract protect the hair follicles and preserve color. Sage extract improves blood flow to the scalp and ivy extract help control dandruff, eczema, and psoriasis

ART NATURALS IN REVIEW:

I used the artnaturals products on both my own hair and my son London's hair. For my own hair I wore it naturally curly and I also straightened it as well. I liked the final outcome more when I straightened my hair versus when I wore it naturally curly.

CURLY

Here is a photo of when I wore it curly. Now, if any of you are naturally curly girls as well you know there are a lot of products involved with the day-to-day upkeep; particularly if you wash-and-go like I do. So, it is important to note that no matter what hair collection I use on my hair I have two products that remain constant which are Hollywood Beauty Olive Cholesterol and Organix Renewing Moraccan Argan Oil; in the below photo I did use the artnaturals collection as well as my usual two products. In addition, I used the Dare Care Candy Crush Curl Definer Conditioner as a leave-in.  The atmosphere that this photo was taken was very hot and borderline steamy. So much so that the windows were fogged up and had condensation dripping on them and my hair did not frizz up at all. I was very impressed with that.

First impressions on the shampoo was that the scent is a little masculine and I felt like it stripped my hair of a lot of oil. However, that was corrected as soon as I used the hair mask and the conditioner. I could feel the moisture immediately returning to my hair as I worked it through. When I used the collection on my son's hair I was able to get more detailed photos of the process, see below:

(London's hair before applying the shampoo).

(Shampoo produces a lot of lather).

(London's hair during shampoo and detangling process). 

(London's hair after shampoo is rinsed out). 

(London's hair sitting with hair mask).

Because London has SO MUCH hair I hardly ever wash-and-go his hair. After all of the artnaturals products were used I also used the Organix Argan Oil and then I braided it in large plaits with Eco Styler Krystal Styling Gel. He wore his hair in plaits for a few days and then we took the plaits out for a photo shoot he had and his curls came out amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better hair day for him. 

(Photos by @picturebylj)

STRAIGHT

I loved the outcome of my hair when I straightened it after using my hair care cocktail featuring the artnaturals Argan Oil products. I used everything above with the exception of the Dare Care conditioner however I did use the Dare Care Heat Protectant Spray when I flat-ironed it. My hair felt very light weight and since I have started using the All Caps Shower, Sleep, Spa cap in the shower my hair actually lasts longer in between washes because my roots don't swell up as quickly. Here's a photo of my straightened hair using the artnaturals Argan Oil products: 

(This photo was taken about 2 weeks after washing). 

One other thing I have noticed since using the artnaturals products is that my hair color seems to be lasting longer as well. I've been dying my hair black because I hate my natural dirty brown color. The black color has lasted me a few months now and I still do not need to touch-up my color. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I would definitely recommend this collection to anyone as it is great for all hair types. If I had to choose one of the three items as a favorite it would be the conditioner because of how quickly it works to return moisture to your hair. If you want to use the shampoo on a child I would just say to be mindful of their eyes when rinsing the shampoo since it does lather quite a bit. 

PURCHASING DEETS: 

Price: $13 - $26

Where to buy: https://artnaturals.com/collections/hair-care 

#MANI MONDAY : SWEET MELON

 

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I hesitated on trying this color of polish for a few weeks because I thought it was too nude; like it wouldn’t look right against my skin tone. However when I tried it I was surprised at the color – it was more orange than I had originally thought which is great. It reminds me of an orange cream sicle. The polish is NYC New York Color In a New York Color Minute Nail Polish in 002 Sweet Melon.  It’s described as being a glossy polish that goes from wet to set in less than 60 seconds with a special control-flow brush that dispenses just the right amount of color for perfect application. 

I personally would have to disagree with the products description because I actually felt that the polish took FOREVER to really dry. I typically polish my nails in the wee hours of the night while up blogging or doing other work on the computer before going to bed. I wore the same polish in a different color last week but neglected to upload a #ManiMonday post – well because I suck. BUT, I probably stayed up between one and two hours before calling it a night and going to bed and when I woke up my nails had impressions on them indicating that they were not fully dry and that was again, after waiting about two hours before calling it a night. So I did the same thing last night only this time I stayed up later, about four hours later before turning it in and when I woke up this morning I didn’t have those impressions in the nail polish as I had last week. 

In regards to the brush, I actually feel like the brush picks up too much nail polish and I have huge nail beds so you know it really has to be a lot of polish on a brush for ME to feel that way. But every nail polish brand and every brush applicator is different so it’s just a matter of figuring out what application works best for the product you’re using at the time.

The reason why I opted to try the same nail polish a second week in a row is because despite the impressions that were left on my nails I didn’t take the nail polish off. I kept it on for the whole week and what I really came to like about the polish is that I had little to no chipping at all. And chipping is a very important factor when dealing with nail polish. 

So if you are in a rush and need a quick drying nail polish I would not recommend this brand (I’m a huge fan of the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri for that) however, if you have some time to spare to really let the polish dry and set I think you’ll be happy with the low-chip-factor and the price. 

Available for about $2 at retailers nationwide (Rite Aid, CVS, WalMart, Duane Reade and Target)

Have any of you ladies tried this nail polish? What  are your thoughts? 

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PRODUCT REVIEW: IT&LY ADVANCED COLOR PROTECTION

Towards the end of summer (lets say August) I was ready for a change with my hair and although I was 6 months pregnant I wanted COLOR. So I spoke to my doctor who gave me the green light (coloring your hair while pregnant is completely fine as long as you do it in a well ventilated space so outside or somewhere where the windows are opened). I didn't go completely bold I opted for the ever popular "ombre" trend. I achieved the look by purchasing two different colors of Textures & Tones colors from Target. One color was a chestnust brown and the other was a honey blonde. My "hair guy" put the color in and styled me up and I fell in love.

Shortly after my curls dropped and the puppy love phase was over I noticed that my ends looked completely different. Now with the added color my ends looked fried and dried. They had static and frizz and did not look healthy at all. When you have color in your hair it is extremely important to wash and condition your hair but because of complications in my pregnancy in September I couldn't even THINK about washing and treating my hair. This is completely gross but I actually did not get a chance to wash my hair again until October!!! (I know don't judge me).

When I did end up washing and treating my hair I opted for something specifically for color treated hair, IT&LY Hair Fashion's Advanced Color Protection line. I used the shampoo, conditioner, and a product called Color Loc. Check out the product details and my thoughts below...

First up, here are IT&LY's 4 Causes of Hair Color Fading...

1. Shampoo – Because a significant percentage of permanent hair color attaches to the outer cuticle layers of the hair, even the gentlest surfactants (surface acting cleansing agents in all shampoos) dislodge or loosen hair color pigment. The action is further supported by the use of hot or warm water that is necessary for proper cleansing but softens cuticle layers leaving them less supportive of color pigment when cleansing.
2. UV Rays – UV rays are the second most damaging contributor to hair color fading. The entire A.C. P. System contains the most advanced UV filters available to protect against UV fading.
3. Mechanical & Heat Styling – Mechanical and heat styling causes a breakdown of the outer layers. As a healthy cuticle layer seals and protects colors, cuticle abrasion leaves color more vulnerable to each of the remaining three culprits of color fade.
4. IMPROPER CHOICE OF HAIRSYLING PRODUCTS – A leading and often under-emphasized enemy of hair color. Certain cleansing, conditioning and styling products while delivering specific benefits, wreak havoc on hair color. Waxes, oils, sprays and even specific botanical ingredients can actually strip color from the hair or impede proper color penetration and hold.

My hair, before and after...