Pantene Curl Shaping Gel



My name is Cheney and I'm a product junkie.  I am always on the look out for a product that makes my hair style exactly how I want it.  Most products let me down and a few, very few, have made the cut.  Once I find a product that works for my hair, it becomes a staple in my hair products.  And what do you know, Pantene Curl Shaping Gel has made the cut!

I absolutely LOVE this product and what is does for my hair.  It takes a special product to tame the thickness that sits on the top of my head.  And this gel does the job. According to pantene's website;

"Pantene Curly Hair Series Curl Shaping Gel can be used in wet or damp hair to define curls and protect styles from frizz. The customized styling and shaping gel formula boosts curls for healthy volume that is extra soft and shielded from humidity.
Pantene’s customized styling gel tames frizz and fly-aways, resulting in soft, healthy curls. Advanced, fast-acting polymers help provide moldable support for curly hair’s structure, allowing you to add definition and shape to your style.?

I've used the gel on my hair, both wet and dry and both results have been fabulous.  The directions state, "
"Start by dispensing styling gel and spreading in palms, work through hair from roots to tips. Scrunch and twist your curls for relaxed definition when air-drying, or use a diffuser to shape curls when blow-drying. For hair that’s bouncy and healthy, use with Curly Hair Series Dry to Moisturized™ Shampoo and Conditioner."  I don't exactly follow these directions.  Instead I use the gel to two-strand twist my hair.  On wet hair, I shampoo, condition, deep condition, add a leave-in conditioner or coconut oil and then add the gel to a section of hair and then two-strand twist that section.  Once my hair is dry, usually the next day, I put coconut oil on my finger tips and take the twist down and then separate each twist into 3 or 4 twist (makes my hair look fuller)  On dry hair, I mainly use it to revitalize twist that are few days old.  I will grab any sections that look dull and re-twist it with the gel. 

Pantene hit it on the head with this gel and it is a must have for those that are looking for a great gel that defines your curls and make them shine.  I may just be tempted to try other products by Pantene.  Yes, always the product junkie!

day 1 of twist out with pantene curl shaping gel (that's me on the right and my beautiful mother, standing)

look at those curls pop (and the little lovely with the curls is Keyani)



Don't get it twisted. Twisted Sista got it right!

Yep, this is it!  I am a product junkie and I'm not ashamed to say so......Hello, my name is Cheney and I am product junkie!  Most of the products I've used have been okay.  With some I've had success and others, well, not so much.  I have been a long journey to find that product that curls my hair exactly the way I want, without a lot of shrinkage.  Either I can fiind a product that gives me great curl definition with too much shrinkage.  Really, sometimes I'd have 85% shrinkage.  Other times, I find a product that elongates my hair (where it looks wavy) but no curl definition.  I've never been able to find a product that gives me both.  Until now.............the gates of heaven have opened and the angels are singing.......YES, thank you, Lord for sending me Twista Sista curl activator (from Urban Therapy).  This stuff is the bomb and may have cured by product junkiness, though I'm not really sure about that.  I may be a product junkie forever. 

So having just moved to New York, while most of my hair products hadn't been moved from Chicago, I was in my local Duane Reade and saw this product.  Not sure of how it would work, I thought, from the packaging alone that it was worth a try.  And man oh man, am I glad I tried it.  The curl activator both elongates my curls and gives me GREAT curl definition.  The top 5 ingredients (water, paraffinum liquidum, glycerin, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil) and cetyl alcohol), are all LOVED by my hair.  This will definitely be my staple product.  I also like the 30 second curl spray for my roots.  I haven't figured out if I'm using the curl spray correctly because it doesn't do anything if I spray it on the entire length of my hair, but my thick roots seem to love it. 

So there you have it.  If you haven't tried Urban Therapy's Twista Sista curl activator and 30 second curl spray, you better do so NOW! 

Top 10 Natural Ingredients for Your Hair

At some point we all want to have healthy, beautiful hair. I've spent so much time on natural hair care forums, you tube and lately I've read quite a few books to educate myself on what I think my needs to grow strong and stay healthy. Surprisingly most of the things I've come across I can buy myself and use them, without mixing them with the extra ingredients that manufacturers often use in their products. Take a look at naturallycurly.com list of Top 10 Natural Ingredients for Your Hair. I must admit, all of these ingredients are regulars in my natural hair care.

Learning to love my hair

I’ve been natural for almost 6 years now. However, when most people see me they think I’ve just done the BC (big chop). My natural hair story began in October 2004, the last time I got a relaxer. In December 2004 I decided I would not get another relaxer. My hair stylist thought I was crazy because my hair was too thick (“it’s like a mop,” she would sometimes say) and because I am totally unskilled in the matters of hair, she believed there was no way I’d be able to control my hair. Despite that, I moved forward in my journey. It took me 1 year and 2 months to completely transition. It was February 2006 when the last of my relaxer was clipped from my hair. During this time, I wore my hair in micro-braids, rods, corn rolls and sometimes got it blow dried straight. I liked the protective styles (braids, rods, etc.), because it was easy to manage and it was like a horror movie trying to deal with the two different textures of hair. Then the unthinkable happened…..my stylist, who’d been doing my hair since high school, was moving to Georgia. What was I going to do? Back to braids, it was. For almost a year straight, I wore my hair in braids because I couldn’t find anyone to do my hair the way I wanted. As soon as I sat in most stylists’ chair and they’d touch my hair, that familiar face would soon show, followed by the question, “do you want a relaxer?” If not that, I had to pay extra to have my hair blow dried straight because I had natural hair. I never understood (and still don’t) the rationale behind charging someone extra because they don’t have a relaxer! After a few years of frustration, I finally found a stylist, in Chicago, that did natural hair (I was referred to her by another natural sister that wore her hair straight). Even though my hair was natural, I still continued to wear it straight or in rods, because I still hadn’t figure how to fight that beast of humidity or sweat that would make my hair swell up to an untamed afro.

Fast forward to July 2009, I saw a picture of Halle Berry’s pixie cut and less than a week later I was sitting in my stylist’s chair getting my hair cut. With scissors in hand, she kept saying, “are you sure you want to cut your hair that short?” I was positive and confident in my decision. I figured its only hair so it’ll grow back. So as I’m sitting looking at all my hair on the floor I’m thinking, “Damn, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.” But when she turned me towards the mirror I couldn’t help but smile because this cut looked good on me. This style usually only lasted a week before my roots would wave up so after that I’d wet it and just wear it in its curly state. After about 7 months, I was tired, not of the cut, but getting my hair blow dried straight. So I returned to my dependable braids. As my frustration continued to build I knew there was something that had to be done about my hair and my ability to take control of it. Enter the world of YouTube and natural hair care blogs. And thank God I discovered them because I begin to learn so much about natural hair, which led to my own research on what worked for my hair, different hair care products, different styling techniques, etc. I’ve never read so many books and done so much research I felt like I’m back in grad school working on my master’s degree project. But I realize that caring for my hair is mine to own and no one is responsible for it but me. It’s still a work in progress and I continue with my research, trying different products and regularly logging onto different forums and blogs, as well as checking out YouTube.

I’ve never been as happy in my hair life as I am right now. My family and friends have begin to call and e-mail me about what to use in their hair, why their hair looks a certain way, what oils works and why and the list goes on and on. And not to mention, I’m becoming a pro at mixing stuff together for my hair using the stuff in my kitchen. While I am happy where I am now, I do wish I had this knowledge and known about the different forums and blogs, like Curly Nikki, in the past. This would have prevented years of hair frustration and hating my hair because I didn’t know what to do with it. So now I am wearing my hair short, in its natural state, and caring for it while it grows out. I used to think I am not my hair because I didn’t believe my hair defined who I was but I realize now that YES I am my hair, because it is everything that I am…..strong, confident, bold, natural and beautiful.

Here’s a few pictures of my hair over the years (in each photos where my hair is straight I don’t have a relaxer, instead it was blow dried straight.)

Me today