WAHL Afro Styling Range By 5ive

"The power of professional styling in your hands"

Today I have a really exciting review guys, I will be reviewing WAHL's afro styling range by hair celebrity stylist and former afro stylist of the year- 5ive! I am sure I am not the only one who grew up using the WAHL hair dryer on the left in the picture below, in fact, I don't think I ever had a hair dryer from another brand. Therefor I was very excited an honoured to have WAHL send me these products to review. This styling range was created in order to give you the confidence to create salon worthy styles at home and is described as follows:

"Suitable for every hair type and texture, this range provides full styling control with a variable heat straightener, a powerful hairdryer for unlimited styling capabilities and a root styler to effortlessly smooth out frizz"

WAHL Afrostyling PowerPik 3000, £24.99

So the hair dryer I am reviewing, PowerPik 3000 is the one one the right in the picture below.

Description from WAHL's website (link above in title):

"The Powerpik 3000 delivers 1800 Watts of powerful performance for ulta-fast drying results. With 3 heat and 2 speed settings to provide maximum styling control and a cold shot to set your style. Includes a pik attachment designed for reaching hard to dry areas and 2 concentrator nozzles for precise styling. Fitted with a hanging loop, 3m salon length cable and removable air filter for easy cleaning"

In the box you will get the 1800W PowerPik 3000 hairdryer, pik attachment, two concentrator nozzles and an instruction booklet.

As I had an older version of the WAHL PowerPik hair dryer I thought it would be interesting to do a comparison between this and the older version. So the first thing you'll notice is the design which I personally think is an improvement with the PowerPik 3000 but I don't mind the previous designer either. The first noticeable thing when it comes to actually using the hair dryer is that the buttons are different and placed differently to before, as you can see in the image below. The PowerPik 3000 has two different speed settings and three heat setting for improved control- this is a feature that is missing in the previous model. The cold shot is present with both models and is definitely useful as I usually will use it once the section I am working on is completely dry or in between to prevent over heating. When using the old dryer, I've found myself pressing some buttons by accidents due to where they are placed- and I had less of this problem with the new PowerPik 3000 version.

WAHL Afrostyling Hair Straightener, £32.99

Description: "The Wahl Afro Hair Straightener which, endorsed by top Afro Stylist – 5ive, has variable heat temperature and ceramic coated plates which helps create a sleek and smooth finish"

Now I am not an expert when it comes to hair straighteners, I've always had one and I straighten my hair once in a while. My old one looked pretty rough so I was super excited to try this. Since I received this product I haven't straightened my whole hair but I tried a section for the sake of the review. The website described the ceramic plates as a technology which makes the straightener reach your ideal temperature quicker, maintains a constant heat which in turn allows even heat distribution throughout the length of your hair for a perfect finish! Also, as you can see it has rounded edges which in my experience is great if you want to use your straighteners to create curls/waves.

The design is super sleek with this digital display showing the temperature the straightener is set to. The minimum temperature you can use is 150°C and the maximum is 230°C. This is going to be really useful for the next time I straighten my hair, I've never had a straightener with different heat settings before.

WAHL Afro styling Root Styler, £29.99

This is a product type I've never tried nor really heard of before. I did a Google search and I can't find another product like these- so I think it's safe to say this is quite unique and innovative.

Description: "Designed to work close to the root, the styler will smooth out coarse and frizzy hair whilst adding volume and lift. The heat protectant double guide comb system provides a safe way to style by enabling you to get the ceramic coated barrel extremely close to the root. The variable temperature settings ensure this styler is suitable for afro and mixed textured hair"

So I think this was pretty forward to use (that is if I am actually using it correctly), but at least I was able to get it to work. When I first tried them I actually used them during a youtube video I was filming so I've included some stills which hopefully give you an idea of how the product is used and the results. I had blow dried my hair using the hair dryer and then tried the root styler on blow dried hair. The pieces I tried turned out really straight, very close to the root. I can see this being useful if you're doing a sleek bun or any style where you want sleek and straight edges.

I tried it two different ways but I think the way I did it below, putting the hair "on top" makes more sense and was more effective.

What styling tools do you use and how often do you use them?

Have you tried this range?

x

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(*) These products were sent to me to review

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Nylah Hair Care Products Review- Super Botanical's Conditioner, Strength and Shine Shampoo Cream, Magic Star Comb and Herbal Hair Tea Growth

Hi everyone!

Today I will be reviewing some hair care products from the UK brand Nylah: the Nylah Super Botanical's Conditioner, Nylah Strength and Shine Shampoo Cream, Nylah Magic Star Comb

and the Nylah Herbal Hair Tea Growth. 

Let's start with the obvious, the packaging! The packaging is amazing and that was actually the first thing that caught my attention when I first came across this brand, the name is nice, the logo and design looks luxurious and clean but with some nice patterns included which I think represents the heritage part beautifully(their tagline is Heritage, hair and science). 

Here is a little bit of information about the brand from their website: 

"Named for my beautiful daughter, for her wonderfully kinky, afro hair that delights and inspires me. For the people who need haircare products that are safe, gentle and effective. For people who believe that their hair says something about them and their backgrounds, their heritage their roots. For women who love to simply be ourselves: creative, inspirational, strong and beautiful."

So the brand is a UK brand which caters to afro hair and it is also a black owned business.

Nylah Super Botanical's Conditioner, £14

"Super Botanical's Conditioner Restore and protect your hair’s natural moisture with our rich and creamy double strength conditioner. Loaded with essential amino acids, and super botanicals, this fast-acting formulation softens and moisturises hair to help prevent breakage. Carefully formulated to a P.h 4.5 to help re-balance your hairs cuticles and lock in moisture."

So as you can see above, the key claims for this conditioner is that it is moisturising and strengthening. It contains humectants, some detangling agents and a lot of natural emollients such as Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil and Crambe Seed Oil. The latter is one which I had not heard of before (INCI Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil) but the packaging says it is Ethiopean Crambe and after some quick research I found that it is known for its high Erucic Acid (omega 9 fatty acid) content and for being a very stable oil. It is definintely very creamy and softening and it smells of sweet orange oil, which is one of my favourites. I always detangle with my conditioner and my hair seems to be extra tangly compared to others, therefor it is very rare that I found a conditioner to have amazing slip. The first time I used this conditioner my hair was especially tangled and I after trying it a few times I found it to have medium slip, in other words I would prefer it to have a bit more slip for my particular hair type. In terms of the price point, I know smaller and start up brands have to have higher price points- it is understandable. However, I am personally a bargain queen when it comes to cosmetics so I would have liked it to be a bit lower. However, a lot of high quality ingredients are in the formulation- so you would definitely get your money's worth.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you'd know that I always try to include the ingredient list as I myself find it quite annoying when it's not included. For some reason I took the picture of the product information and not the ingredient list (although you can see the ingredient list a little bit. I would refer to the website but the ingredients are not listed there. If you want to see the full ingredient list feel free to send me a dm on Instagram (@Yolandaas) or comment on this blog post and I will send it to you.

Nylah Strength and Shine Shampoo Cream, £12

The second product is the shampoo cream. I personally have never tried a product marketed as a Co-Wash, but I'd like to think such a product would be similar to this one- which is marketed as a Shampoo cream- in case anyone was wondering what the difference is. This is a really nice formulation which definitely is very creamy- and will still clean your hair properly. The cleansing agent, or surfactant is a mild syndet (synthetic detergent) called Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate. It has been shown to be more gentle to the skin barrier, than soap and other surfactants. I did get some lather the first time I tried it, and a little less the second time, which probably was due to how much product that was or wasn't in my hair at the time of washing it. The shampoo cream also contains humectants and emollients like Glycerin and Shea Butter which is great for natural hair. I believe the scent is the same as for the conditioner, sweet orange- but I could be wrong. Either way it is really pleasant and not overpowering.

Now to the Nylah Magic Star Comb and the Nylah Herbal Hair Tea Growth (both linked). Despite planning to quite a few times- I kept forgetting to use the herbal tea, which is a hair rinse. I was very excited to try it but I've been keeping it in my food cupboard with my regular teas, so when it's time for wash day I always forget. However, the herbs it contains (Nettle, Rosemary, Peppermint and Horsetail) are all known to have great benefits for hair. Nettle is said to naturally inhibit DHT (hair loss causing hormone), Peppermint and Rosemary are said to stimulate hair growth and Horsetail contains Silica which is supposed to strengthen hair strands. There is not that much to say about the wide tooth comb as I am sure you are all familiar with this hair tool. It is good for detangling tightly coiled afro hair. I see a lot of naturals with tightly coiled hair types mention different detangle tools as their favourites so make sure you try different ones to establish which one is the best for you. I have recently found a paddle brush to work well for me. I use this wide tooth comb if I have to detangle my hair slightly between washed, but for my wash-detangle session I need the paddle brush to make sure all tangles are removed.


Overall I really loved using these products. They all contain a lot of strengthening and nourishing natural ingredients and none of the products contain Parabens, Mineral Oil, Synthetic Fragrance, Artificial Colours, Formaldehydes, SLS or SLES which is good if you are sensitive to any of these. I have to add as well the the founder is very nice and she has done a great job creating this brand!

Have you tried these products, and if not, will you be trying them out?

xx



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(*) These products where sent to me to review

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Natural Afro Hair Tutorial: How to style Ankara/African Print Scarf || Side Swept Flat Twist Out with Scarf & Nefertiti Earrings

Natural Afro Hair Tutorial: How to style Ankara/African Print Scarf || Side Swept Flat Twist Out with Scarf & Nefertiti Earrings

Hello everyone! My laptop keyboard was broken for ages and now it's finally fixed, I have a lot of posts coming up, this one being the first one. The African print/Ankara print scarf (and clothes in general with African prints) can be seen everywhere at the moment. A lot of my fellow UK natural hair blogger friends wear them and it really inspired me to try one out. Instagram is also a great source of inspiration for African print scarves!  

When I attended Natural Hair Week 2015 I came across this brand called Anaisarts, it's run by a lovely lady who not only sells a ton of amazing African print scarves, but also Afrocentric type jewellery. I bought three scarves and these brown, wooden Nefertiti earrings- check out my video below to see all of them and for more information.

If you have followed me for a while you'd know that the side swept flat twist out used to be one of my favourite hair styles, especially during my transitioning days (check out my transitioning posts here) so I decided to revisit this hair style, but with a twist (literally lol).

Please watch the video to see how I got this hair style or follow this short tutorial in writing:

• Make a side parting, and either cainrow, flat twist or just tuck in the remainder of your hair.
• Try on the scarf to make sure it looks right with the parting
• Remove the scarf, and start flat twisting the hair that you have left out
• You can either twirl the ends, put perm rods & do a hanging bantu knot
• Put your night time scarf on and leave at least 12 hours to dry

Please let me know what you think about this hair style and how would you, or have you styled the African print/Ankara print scarf?

xx

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Braidout Video Tutorial For Natural 3C/4A/4B/4C Hair || UK Blogger || #MotionsBA

Braidout Video Tutorial For Natural 3C/4A/4B/4C Hair || UK Blogger || #MotionsBA

I am back with another Youtube video guys. I actually filmed it over a month ago but because I was still stupidly playing music in the background while filming, it kept getting copyrighted and I re-edited and re-uploaded three times. Anyway it is finally up. I would love some feedback on how I can improve my videos and or video suggestions! :)

I didn't mention any specific products for this tutorial only because I use different products all the time at the moment. I still don't really have a favourite combination and I have been reviewing a lot of different products. However, as you can see in the video I do use Eco Styler gel for my edges (I took the pictures before I did my edges, I forgot lol) and Dove Serum to prevent frizz while taking the plaits down.

Do you remember my first ever braid out post from last year (here)? My hair almost looks shorter & tbh I think I prefer my results from last year. I mean we all know what shrinkage is but I can't fully understand how my hair actually looks shorter even though it's grown a lot, oh well!

Thanks So Much For Reading 
& Watching

xx

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28 Months/ 2 Years and 4 Months Post Relaxer Wash & Go & Texture Shot- Mixed Roots Curl Custard

26 Months/ 2 Years and 2 Months Post Relaxer Wash & Go & Texture Shot- Mixed Roots Curl Custard

I actually posted a picture of this look before on my Instagram, I took the pics when I had just tried out a wash and go using the Mixed Roots Curl Custard- I think the results are great. Also, now that I have done more wash and go's using other products- I must say I think this product gave the best curl definition out of all the products I tried (review coming soon).  Check out my Youtube video when I am using the product here.

Also, here is a little texture shot for those who are interested to know my curl pattern. In my youtube videos I usually say "3c/4a/4b/4c hair" because I have such a mix of curl patterns. In my Instagram selfies (follow me here), you usually see my hair at the front and my curls are looser there. In this picture you can see that they are pretty tight. What would you say my hair type is?

What's your favourite product for a wash and go?

Have you tried Mixed Roots hair products?

xx



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How to stretch/ do a heatless blow out for natural afro hair (3C/4A/4B/4C)

How to stretch/ do a heatless blow out for natural afro hair (3C/4A/4B/4C)

So today I have got a tutorial for you. It is how to achieve the heat less blow out for natural hair. You might want to try this still because you like the blown out hair look, or because you want stretched hair for the purpose of styling.

• So after washing your hair, while it is still wet you want to braid it up as if you were doing a braid out (see the second video below). Then once it is fully dry, take it out. If it is still a little wet when you take it out, it's gonna be more frizzy and it is going to be harder to achieve the heatless blow out.
• Now you can go straight to brushing your hair out at this stage (see video below), or- for better results, put it in a sleek bun and where it like that for one or two days (second video below).
• Take out your bun, and divide your hair into four sections. I would use a leave in conditioner and a hair butter/oil.
• Apply the leave in (not too much, just focusing on the ends) and start brushing your hair out, leaving your with no "curls"- this is what gives the blow dried effect. When you are done brushing. Apply the butter/oil to seal, again focusing on the ends. Repeat for each section.

Let me know if you decided to try this style and how you got on! :)

xx




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Wash and Go Routine for afro hair 3C/4A/4B/4C using Mixed Roots Curl Custard

Wash and Go Routine for afro hair 3C/4A/4B/4C using Mixed Roots Curl Custard

Hi Guys! Had a long break from my blog unfortunately, I haven't had WIFI since January this year and it was just too hard to blog when I didn't have an internet connection in my flat. However, my WIFI was just installed so I am back! :)

Last week, I started my Youtube channel again. It will mainly be about natural afro hair and some fashion and beauty as well. I would love it you check out my videos, here is my channel. I have already uploaded three videos, and I consider them my first proper videos as I didn't make any "talking" videos before.

For this look I filmed a wash and go for afro hair tutorial as well.



I would love some feedback from you guys and suggestions for videos to make?

xx



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