All Na Packaging

Hello my beauts!!!

Allow me to wish you a brilliant new year! During my reflecting on 2015 and gazing into 2016 with new eyes, one sentence has stuck with me. Mother says it is a message for me, dropped into my heart for a purpose. I have decided to wish this to all who care to accept it. And so, for you and you and you, today, I say, May your path be yours!

Ok. Ok. Ok. Why have I brought you here today?

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For the Nigerians here, how many times have you heard the expression “all na packaging” and dismissed it as bull? I know I am guilty of doing that. Translated directly, all na packaging is pidgin for “it is all in the packaging” or “it all lies in the packaging”.

Well, I have come to realize, in the spirit of introspection, that I am a very visual consumer. Mmmm, MeeMee, but who isn’t?! Right? Who isn’t? Continue reading

Leaving Is The Hardest Thing To Do…

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“…but being left is harder, yes it’s true.”

Tell me about it. I have been left y’all. Or “jilted” as Nigerian newspapers like to say.

By the ones I thought had my back. The ones I thought were my ride-or-die. It’s a cold world, no snuggie. *sniff* Continue reading

Clearance Sale! x Introducing Elizabeth Cress Bonnets

Hello beautifuls!

How is the going going?

Early this year, we started a small project, a little shop on the blog, with some of our favourite products. It has been a learning experience, and we are really really grateful to every single one of our customers. Thank you so much for your support! 🙂

In addition to our favourite things, we also have these cute Ankara-Silk bonnets handmade by Elizabeth Cress, in-store. If you don’t like the look of plain black bonnets, and you want to go to sleep in style, you should definitely try these out. They are pretty solid and built to last. The insides are satin/silk, with the print on top. Official retail price for each bonnet is 2000.

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2000 Naira Only

We are running a clearance sale on blog shop items, so you should totally email us asap. 🙂

**Click on each product to read the ingredients, to see reviews**

Nothing But Intense Healing Mask: Formerly 3500, Now 2500.

Shea Moisture Frizz Free Curl Mousse: Formerly 3200, Now 2500.

L’Oreal Ever Creme Sulfate Free Shampoo: Formerly 2300, Now 1800.

Our accessories remain the same: for 1500 Naira, you can get a 12-pack of Scunci Hair Combs or an 8 pack of Goody Ouchless Hair Bands in Neutral Colours.

Goody Ouchless bands are known for being very stretchy, long lasting bands, great for creating killer puffs. The Scunci hair combs are pretty durable too. I’ve been using one pack of each since the year began, and they will definitely see me into next year. Very small investments to make in your hair arsenal!

To order, email: thekinkandi@gmail.com. Delivery rates and information about our process are also on the shop page here.

Love,

AB,

xx

Products & You: Shine Your Eyes!

Hey guys,

Happy Hump Day!

The word of the day is Green Washing. Natural Nigerian wrote about Green Washing on her blog yesterday, it’s a really brief one, do read it here, if the term is new to you, and for more context. NN wrote about the dangers of Green Washing, and today I’m sharing an experience with you about one of the times I let false advertising get the better of me.

With products, I think I am adventurous. Sure, I always scrutinise ingredients lists to know what I’m using and to get my money’s worth, but apart from those things called texturisers & relaxers & the new “texture manageability systems”, I’m not absolutely averse to any ingredients or products in particular.

When I started my hair journey, I stayed away from the ‘big bad 3’- Silicones, Sulfates and Mineral Oils. My first haul was all natural and all organic- whipped shea butter, coconut oil, essential oils, a spray bottle, and an Aubreys Organics conditioner from The Kinky Apothecary. Though now I’m wilin’ out lol, I still advise people to try the safe way when starting, free from the ‘Big Bad 3’ if they can afford it.

Let me tell you a story. Continue reading

Product Review: Creme of Nature with Argan Oil from Morocco Perfect Edges

Gah! All these products and their lengthy names… We’re just gonna call this one Creme of Nature Perfect Edges, shall we?

Hey beauts! I hope that those of you who made it to NITC10 had a blast! I did! Remember that time when that woman did the thing? That was so hilarious. (If you weren’t there, I don’t know what to say to you… smh).

Today, I will be reviewing one of the products that was picked out by you guys from my stash.

What fun, bogus, tongue-twisting ingredients are in it?

Err… none? At least that’s what you would think looking around the container of this product. I don’t understand why there is no ingredient list on the tub (except they put it on the box it came in… but why do that?). Anyway, a quick search on trusty ol’ uncle Google and:

Aqua (Water) , Ceteareth-25 , Propylene Glycol , Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate , Glycerin , Oleth-20 , PEG 7 Hydrogenated Castor Oil , Polysorbate 60 , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond) , Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil , Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil , Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol , Keratin Amino Acids , Fragrance , Linalool , Phenoxyethanol , Ethylparaben , Methylparaben , CI 19140 (Yellow 5), CI 17200 (Red 33)

Curly points for water as the first ingredient! To be honest, I think that this is a pretty decent ingredient list… nothing too chemical-y in here.

What does it claim to do?

To keep your edges laaaaiiiiid.

“Perfect Hold, Exotic Shine & Makes Hair Stronger”. Get this, they trademarked ‘Exotic shine’!

Now, what did it do for me?

See, this is the second tub of this product that I’m using. That should automatically mean that I love it to the moon and back, right? Wrong. I am really unsure as to why I have replaced this product once and am already planning on replacing it again. There are a number of great attributes I have found with it:

– It does give “exotic shine” (whatever that means). You know the way hair shines when it is well moisturised (and sometimes when it’s greasy)? Yes, that’s the result I get on my edges with this product.

– It does not flake. I don’t think I have come across edge control that flakes. One reason might be that I use them sparingly. However, I have used this product as a holding gel for installing marley twists and it did very well and did not flake.

-It has a likeable smell. It doesn’t smell like roses and rainbows. The best way that I can describe it is that it smells like a hair product. *shrug*. But I like the way it smells. I like to catch a whiff when I open it and put it in my hair.

Having said those, the main selling point of this product – which is its ability to lay your edges like a Stepford wife – was missing for me :(.

Oh I don’t mean that on initial application it did nothing to my edges. Au contraire. What typically happens is that my edges look great when I first use it but in about an hour, my edges go from looking like sleek, exotic baby hairs to looking like shiny scalp with some sprinklings of coco pops. But. But. But. Nowhere in all the words scribbled around the packaging of this product does it promise long-lasting perfect hold. Sooo… I am inclined to cut it some slack and say well yes, for me, it did do what it said. But that’s disappointing.

Remember how we hear over and over about products not acting the same way for different hairs? Well, when AB was here, she used it once and if I remember correctly, she had a much much better experience than I did. I also had a friend (with relaxed hair) use it once and it laid her edges perfectly for the entire day. So, perhaps this product wasn’t made to love my hair. It hurts. It really does. Because I am obviously drawn to it. Sigh.

How can you use this product?

Going back to when AB used this product, I learnt a new technique regarding how to apply edge control to my hair. 3 steps:

1. Wet the area. I usually use a mix of leave-in conditioner, water, and oil droplets.

2. Take a generous serving of edge control and apply it in a unidirectional motion to the area.

3. Immediately take your toothbrush of hair brush and pull the hair in the direction you would like it to fall. You would typically do this in one or three motions. However, make sure that you are not brushing the hair. The idea is to use the bristles of the brush to lay the hair flat and straight, rather than to fluff it off as is typical of hair brushing.

Review score

I give this product a 6. I love it, I do. I just wish it gave me perfect hold for more than a few minutes in the day.

There you have it, my thoughts in the Creme of Nature perfect edges. Have you used this product? Are you currently using this product? What has your experience been? Would you recommend it? If not this, then what would you recommend?

– MeeMee

xx