5 leave ins under $10

For my Coily Queens on a budget. Here are 5 decent leave ins under ten dollars. These products are great for those with normal hair. If your hair is chronically dry, see my list of leave in conditioners for extra dry hair. 

This one is getting RAVE reviews. ORDER HERE!

True Nourishing leave in $9.99
If you love mango butter you will love this leave in.  

• Lotion consistency
• Full of mango, aloe Vera, glycerin.
• Awesome detangler
• Shea butter FREE (none listed in ingredients)
• Strengthens as it moisturizes, from hydrolyzed keratin.
• Not tested on animals.
• Filled with sage to promote hair growth
• Scalp soothing from chamomile extracts.  

ORDER HERE

Elasta QP Olive oil and mango leave in $8.99
This is a personal fave. This product functions as a leave in and a styler. It creates great twist outs. It is thick creamy and rich. (okay for normal hair)

• Mango butter no shea.
• Good definition
• Smooths frizz
• Olive oil (growth)
• Good for breakage

ORDER HERE

Cantu leave in Shea Butter leave in repair cream $5.97
This leave in works similar to the shea moisture curl smoothie. It functions as a leave in and styler. Good styler for normal hair. 

• Strengthens strands
• Good definition
• Long lasting
• Does not mix well with most gels
• A little goes a long way

ORS olive oil moisturizing lotion $6.74
Gets good reviews. For normal hair.

• Delivers moisture to your hair
• Protection against breakage
• Provides shine
• A little goes a long way
• Long lasting

Curly Curl Cream

Taliah Waajid Shea Curly curl cream $7.99 
This is a personal favorite! It gives your hair moisture and hold. It creates awesome twist outs.

• Great styler
• Combats frizz
• Elongation of curls
• Rich and creamy, lasts a long time
• A little goes a long way

5 ways to add Aloe Vera to your hair care regimen

SCALP SOOTHER PH BALANCER

Got a dry itchy, tight or irritated scalp? Aloe Vera is very healing and will help to restore the PH balance of your scalp and hair. Aloe vera will soothe and heal scalp irritations.  Anti bacterial, anti fungal & anti inflammatory. Tea tree heals minor scalp irritations and keeps infection from forming. 

1/2 cup ALOE VERA GEL
1/4 cup SPRING WATER
 1tsp TEA TREE OIL

GROWTH SERUM

Massage this serum onto your scalp every other night. It kills bad bacteria and fungus. Cleans our your hair follicles. Removing these issues will allow the hair to grow at optimum speed. 
1/2 cup of aloe vera  
1 tablespoon Jojoba  
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
1/8 tsp tea tree oil

ALOE VERA SPRITZER

RESET AND REFRESH YOUR HAIR,  mid week with this spritzer.  Mix 1/2 cup of aloe Vera gel with 1/2 cup of spring water. Use this aloe spritz to reset your style at night. Use it alone for light moisturizing or over your moisturizer to lock in moisture. You will notice how vibrant and defined your style is. 

DYNAMIC DETANGLER

Spray hair lightly with warm water. Smooth a handful of aloe Vera gel onto your hair strands. Use your fingers to gently remove tangles. You will notice that your tangles melt to the touch. Your tangles are easy to separate. For even better detangling, cover hair with a plastic cap and scarf and let it stay on overnight.  

CUTICLE Strengthener SMOOTHER

Smooth  through out your hair strands after washing and conditioning. Follow with a leave in conditioner if needed.  
1/4 cup of aloe vera
2 tablespoons jojoba oil
1 tablespoon cold pressed avocado oil

How to create better twist outs

The twist out is probably the most popular style for naturals.  No matter your curl pattern, the hunt for the perfect twist out is always on. Some people get lucky the first time they create their twist out. But for most naturals it takes several attempts in order to get a desired twist out style. To perfect it takes even longer. But it does not have to be all trial and error. Here are some very helpful tips to help your achieve your best twist out. 

12 TIPS FOR BETTER TWIST OUTS

1.  Healthy hair styles the best. Work on the health of your hair first before trying to perfect your twist out. This is very important for new naturals. Trying to create great looking styles on hair that does not retain moisture well, can be very deflating to your natural hair joy. 

Need a good regimen to whip your hair into better shape? 
Start today on the Coily Queens Regimen. 

2. Find a great style product. You want a product to give you hold and moisture, without flaking. Start with a style cream. Here are some winners: As I am double butter cream, SM curl enhancing smoothie, Camille Rose Curlaide, Camille Rose Almond Jai butter, Jane Carter's curling curl cream.

3. For better hold combine a style cream with a gel. Be aware of products conflicting with one another and causing white balls. Mix your two products on the back of your hand, to test and see if they ball up and clump. If it does so, on the back of your hand then that combination is not a good one. Try another combo. Good gels for natural hair especially 4C hair: Kinky curly curling custard, Eco olive oil gel, Miss Jessie's Curly Custard.

4. During cold weather, seal your twist out with coconut oil. It will help your hair hold its shape longer. 


5. Instead of single two strand twists, create small to medium flat twists. You get way more volume per flat twist, than you will with the same size section of a regular two strand twist. Your first night sections should be 2 inches by 3 inch sections, flat twisted. 

6. For a fuller look, end your twists with a bantu knot or use a flexi rod. This gives your twist out more flavor and fullness. 

7. Flat twists also give you more stretch, this gives you more hang time.  

8. Gain more hang time, by not using a water based product after the third day of  your twist out. You will need  moisture for day one and two, but if you have healthy hair your should be able to retwist with a non water based product. Here are some suggestions: As I am double butter cream (has water but it still gives you stretch), Regular shea butter.

9. On day one of your twist out, after you have set your hair, seal your hair with a cold water rinse. This will give you great definition. You can also seal with half aloe vera juice and half filtered water. Put mixture in fridge and let it get really cold. The cold and aloe vera helps to flatten the hair cuticle. The gives you more definition and hold. 

10. For more stretch, reduce your product use in half. Less product equals less shrinkage. 

11. Allow your hair to air dry in large braids at least 75%, then create your two strand twists. This will give you way more hang time. 

12. Afro hair is like memory foam. The more you shape it into a style the better it will form that shape. So do not try a style once or twice then become frustrated. Continue to do that style over and over for a few weeks. Each time your hair will twist better and better. You will also find you can create the style faster. 

3 mistakes that are damaging your natural hair

1. USING A HAIR PICK
Many naturals use a pick to fill in the gaps of their twist out style. They will pick the roots to fill in the lines and make the hair look fuller. Doing so causes breakage mid shaft and eventually your hair will look thinner.

SOLUTION:
When you set your twists, make your sections smaller. Untwist your hair and allow your parts to disappear on their own. When you untwist your hair,  walk around, put on your makeup and give your hair time to swell naturally on its own, Only use your fingers to fill in the gaps gently, no type of pics or tools.


2.  USING BAD INGREDIENTS
If you frequent hair forums, youtube or hair groups, you will see some naturals rave about, aussie moist conditioner, hello hydration, tresemme and V05. Some naturals use these products for cleansing and conditioning. These products are usually full of bad ingredients. Those ingredients will instantly soften the hair and make it feel healthy. But repeated use of those ingredients will dry the hair out and slow your hair growth. The temporary instant benefits are not worth the long term bad affects. 

SOLUTION:
Stay away from products that contain these cheap ingredients. Invest in products which contain more natural extracts, oils and butters. Look for natural ingredients, that you can easily pronounce. These products will nourish the hair and not slow your hair growth.  

3.  RELYING TO MUCH ON FAKE HAIR
Crochet braids, weaves and extension braids are okay in moderation. Some naturals hid behind fake hair by calling it protective styling. The fake hair used is made of a type of plastic. As this plastic sits on top of the hair, it dries the hair out. When the extensions are removed the hair breaks and shed excessively from the chronic dryness. So while your hair grew, you lose all that length from excess shedding and breakage. 

SOLUTION
Stop relying on fake hair so much. Style and grow your real hair. Follow a healthy hair care regimen for the first few years naturals. This gives you time to get to know and style your hair well. Once your hair is hydrated and healthy then you can get extensions in moderation.

CHECK OUT THE BRAID RETAIN AND GROW METHOD FOR THE BEST WAY TO GROW AND RETAIN LENGTH FROM EXTENSION BRAIDS OR WEAVES. 

Natural hair care on a cheap budget.

A cheap hair care regimen for those on a very limited budget. The unemployed, fixed income, struggling single mom or just those who are cheap. Here is a good hair care and style regimen for you. Some of the items listed here you already have in your cabinet. So to upgrade it should take you no more than $20.

Cleansing your hair:  BLACK SOAP
You can purchase black soap from those who make it from scratch. Depending on your city you can find an African or Jamaican seller who sells it at a very good price. Authentic black soap comes in cream and brown chunks. You can find black soap sold online or at your local health food store. Be sure to read the label not all black soap on the shelf is pure black soap. 

Black soap by itself is a deep cleansing soap not one I would use on a regular basis. However you can add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your liquid black soap to help lower the PH. You can also add pure aloe vera to it and that will lower the PH. 

Purchase black soap here

Black soap shampoo 1

1 cup of filtered water

1 tablespoon of liquid black soap

1/2 tablespoon of ACV

Black soap shampoo 2

1 cup of filtered water

1 tablespoon liquid black soap 

1/4 cup of pure aloe vera gel 

DEEP CONDITIONING: Extra Virgin Olive oil + pure honey +glycerin + filtered water

2 tablespoon of pure honey

1/2 cup filtered water

2 tablespoons of glycerin

1 tablespoon of EVOO

Get raw honey here!

Best EVOO here! 

 
LEAVE IN CONDITIONER:  Shea butter + glycerin

APPLY TO HAIR WHILE SOAKING WET

1. Add one tablespoon of glycerin to your desired amount of pure unrefined shea butter

Pure shea butter

2. You can use the shea butter just by itself.

3. You can also just use a single oil for your leave in conditioner. 

You should be able to create your styles with just your leave in conditioner. If you need a harder hold a gel is recommended.

CHEAP PRODUCTS FOR STYLING

Styler 1
You can do your twist outs with simply water and grease. Yes water and grease. Try it. You will have great definition.

Styler 2:  Flaxseed gel
Purchase flaxseeds from the grocery store. Be sure they are organic. Search youtube for videos on how to easily make your own flaxseed gel. 

Styler 3:  Aloe vera gel
It is best to buy pure aloe vera leaf from your local international or Mexican grocery store. You will find it on the produce isle. One stem will last you 2 to 3 months. You can freeze what you are not currently using. One large stem is around $3 or $4. 

When you buy or order aloe vera gel be sure it is pure aloe gel. No alcohol. 

NEED HELP? ORDER ALOE VERA HERE


CONDITIONING CAPS
For your deep conditioning collect extra produce bags when you grocery shop. The produce bags are made to hold naked fruits and vegetables. The produce bags are better than grocery bags. Grocery bags are not made for holding naked food. 

As you can see hair care does not have to cost a lot. So no more complaining about the cost of natural hair. Natural hair can be as expensive or as cheap as you make it.