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Note 1 (10-Nov): the Kindle book is no longer free (Amazon only allow 5 free days per quarter) but the insane giveaway is still on, read on...
Note 2 (11-Nov): we've expanded entry. If you've reviewed any Queen of Kinks product send a link to the review. We are getting so many rave reviews that we feel those people deserve giveaway entries. 
For the third year running the $500 giveaway is on!
This time around we won’t be giving away cash but the newly launched and highly anticipated Queen of Kinks Product Line. We will be sending out 3 full boxes of the super nourishing Queen of Kinks box set (worth $119.99 each) and 5 fantastic tubes of the popular Detangler/Conditioners (worth $29.99 each). This means there will be 8 lucky winners in total. Start: Sunday 8 November 2015 (Sunday) Close: Midnight on 13 November 2015 (Friday) Winners announced: Sunday 15th November live on YouTube . How To Enter
The Paperback is up at a super-discounted price.
How to collect the link to your review:
On Sunday 15th November, 8 winners will be announced at 4pm EST / 1pm PST / 9pm London / 3pm Chicago time on a live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kDSddWI0Aw8 Entry open to citizens of all countries: your prize will be shipped anywhere. However, if your local customs charge you a fee or duty, you will be responsible for paying that yourself. By entering the Giveaway you are agreeing to this condition. Click to get the book on Amazon - there is no other way to get the book!
9 Comments
 Heather's hair caddy
This is an FAQ for sure!
To answer the question, I have an Amazon store with the products that I think work well for hair based on: a) my own usage b) usage by other naturals and most importantly c) reading the product list. Note that I am not the seller of most of these products. Hair care management is most important when you're trying to grow long, healthy hair but products are just as important because the wrong ones will spoil all your efforts. To avoid information overkill, at any one time I'll only ever have a maximum of 9 recommended products in a given category. There's no single product that will work well for everyone because we all have different hair textures and needs. Here's how to shop for good products:  Click for Queen Dominique's hair styles, journey & regimen
SHAMPOO
A GOOD DEEP CONDITIONER
After deep conditioning your hair it should feel soft, springy, strong and "fresh". LEAVE-IN CONDITIONERS (aka Moisturizer)
OILS You want high grade oils, even when they are not organic you will get a better quality product if it has been cold pressed (i.e. refined without heat). I'm naturally going to recommend my awesome hair growth oil blend - you can use it for hot oil treatments and scalp massages: 
 Click for Queen Teshna's hair styles, journey & regimen
BUTTERS
I would go for something shea butter based. Butters are great when applied to wet hair. CHEMICALS TO AVOID There are certain chemicals natural black hair does "not like" because they dry hair out or coat hair in a film that makes moisturising diffifult. Some chemicals, e.g. Parabens aren't bad for hair as such but have been linked to cancer. Whenever I buy hair products I go for those that are 100% made from natural materials. I would avoid anything with:
You don't need: a protein conditioner You would only use one if you had hair damage or periodically on relaxed hair where the protein has been depleted. Protein conditioners:
TOOLS The picture below shows all the basic tools you'll need to take good care of your hair. Every product is available in the Neno Natural Amazon Store. I talk about each tool in: 9 Essential must-have tools for natural hair management 
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Rating: 1/5 (Dark & Lovely)
I finally had to say it! I think the big brands have jumped onto the growth in natural hair keepers not to serve us but to make money out of us. I was disappointed with both of these lines. My hair is:
The products were lacking in slip and my hair remained quite dry. Going forward, if I don't have time to whip up my own recipe I am going for brands that were developed specifically to solve the issues of natural hair. The tangle-struggle is so real! Oh, why am I rating them 1 out of 5 if they are so bad? Well, Au Naturale by Dark & Lovely gets a point for pretty packaging and Dr Miracle's Curl Care gets a point for not being quite as bad as Dark and Lovely. 
Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.
Two years ago when I first went natural it was so challenging to get good products for my natural hair in the UK, even in London.
Nowadays, whilst you can't get some products that are available in America (including, for the moment, Neno Natural's stuff) availability has improved a lot. Here are products that you may want to try. I haven't tried all of them but they all have great reviews. I'm currently using Orgain Root Stimulator Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner and although it is so cheap, it is very good. High price does not always mean, good product! Shampoos
Conditioners
Moisturising Butters / Leave-In Conditioners
Fabulous Oils
I first tried to use KCCC when I was transitioning and I looked silly! The relaxed ends looked like a wet chicken's bum hairs! That was 2 years ago. I decided to see how it would look on my hair now.
1. It allowed a wash and go The main benefits is that it allowed me to wash and go without twisting or plaiting my hair. Normally I don't do this because my hair shrinks to much make it much harder to handle on day two. Importantly keep in mind that KCCC does NOT change your curl pattern. If your hair is kinky it will still look kinky NOT curly. My hair at the back is wavy not curly that's why you may have noticed the hair flopping into my neck whilst the hair at the front stands upright. I get A LOT of email from people complaining that their hair is not developing a good curl pattern. Lots of 4C hair doesn't curl, it kinks and that is A-okay, learn to love it! 2. Dries fast and doesn't leave residue I like that it dried reasonably fast without leaving white residues. 2. Reduced wash & go matting KCCC also reduced the degree to which my hair gets matted when I go to bed especially when I wash and go. That said, if you will need to do a protective style don't use KCCC because despite my beyond-shoulder length hair I could not bring my hair together. I need to re-wash an stretch my hair.
Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo Bar This is only the second shampoo bar that I've ever used. The first one foamed up really quickly. Mahogany Naturals Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo bar took longer to foam up but it softened my hair in a way no other shampoo or shampoo bar has ever done before. In addition, it loosened my curl pattern making it easier to handle my hair. I assume it's the apple cider vinegar that's doing that. Finally, it boosted shine. My hair glistened. I will definitely be using this shampoo bar again. 
Mahogany Natural's Restorative Hair Treatment
Next, I used the Mahogany Naturals Restorative Hair Treatment. If it were food it would be described as "rich". It's thick, luscious and smells delicious. My hair just soaked it up. At first, I was applying too much conditioner to a given section of hair and therefore using a lot more product than was actually necessary. I realised that the most efficient use of the conditioner would be to apply it all over my hands then dab at my hair. This cut down product used by a lot. By the time I finished conditioning my hair didn't look very white because most of Mahogany Naturals Restorative Hair Treatment had been soaked up. Given how much is left in the jar I think this should last 6 to 8 deep conditions. If your hair is thin or short it will last longer. The Restorative Hair Treatment itself can be used as a leave-in conditioner. The bottle says you only need to rinse half of the conditioner out of your hair but I rinsed it all out so I re-applied a finger-full afterwards. 
Daily Moisturising Leave-in Treatment
The leave-in treatment has a water-like consistency so I'm going to use it for spritzing my hair when it's dry instead of using plain water to benefit from all the stuff that's in it like glycerin. Hair and Body Butter The hair and body butter is a good consistency and smells just like the rest of the range, that is, delicious. I like to wear my hair in updos (as below) rather than loosely so I made large twists and I didn't apply anything like gel to enable a twist out. My hair feels soft and strong. Overall, my favourite part of the set is the conditioning treatment which I plan on making a staple. You'll understand exactly why when you use it. Get it on the Mahogany Naturals website. 
At the moment there only seems to be one natural hair product box in the UK, Rosebox. As with all product box companies, you subscribe in order to receive a box filled with products for natural hair. Rosebox offer the option of a one-off box if you're not sure about subscribing and an on-going subscription which can be cancelled at any time. Rosebox sent out their first box in December 2012. From what they have sent out so far I think they are worth the money if you're relatively new to being natural or if you haven't discovered your staple products. I recently ordered my first one-off RoseBox and I have fully subsscribed to GlossyBox for makeup!
 Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.
You might also like: Kinky and Curly Natural Hair Product Boxes in the United States (US)  The first thing that hit me when I opened my delivery from Naturally Nadine was the beautiful pineapple-esque smell. This is what I thought of the products: Pina Colada Shampoo Bar I had never used a shampoo bar before so I was a little anxious about using one for the first time. I have never liked soap on my body so I didn't know what I would think of it on my hair. I thought I would have to manhandle my hair to get a lather but quite the contrary, the Pina Colada Shampoo Bar lathers very fast with minimal rubbing. I slid the bar along the outside of my hair in the direction of the hair fibres all around the edges and that was enough to form a lather that penetrated the entire periphery of my head. I have very thick hair and the only area that hadn't foamed up was the very centre of my head so I simply repeated the process there. My hair didn't feel stripped at all so I was happy. I asked my husband who has type 1 (very straight) hair to use it as well and he too was first astouded by how quickly and easily the Pina Colada Shampoo Bar foams up and then how great it smells. We both really like the shampoo bar. Pina Colada Oil The Pina Colada oils blend combines oils that are in Neno Natural's top 6 best oils. I love argan oil, coconut oil and avocado oil and they are all in there. I would, however, like to know what the fragrance is. None of the oils listed have that smell so I don't know if it's an essential oil or something else that is responsible for the great fragrance. All these products are available on the Naturally Nadine website.  Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.
What Are Product Boxes and How Do They Work? 1. You subscribe! 2. Each month, the company sends you a selection of product samples and possibly full-sized products. You don't know what you will get in advance but the box includes a selection of shampoos, moisturisers, conditioners and other hair-related paraphernalia from well-known brands as well as emerging gems. 3. You are normally auto-billed monthly and you get the box like clock work. Curl Collection bill once every two months. OvernightNatural.com say they don't auto-bill you so every month you have to remember to pay for your box. I don't know how that works but I would prefer to be auto-billed and unsubscribe if I don't like the service. How Much Product Do You Get? It varies. Read the website carefully to find out how many samples you'll get before signing up! If you feel you're not getting your money's worth, unsubscribe. Is it a good idea? I think so; if you're new to being natural or if you simply want to sample more products. If you completely stop buying hair products outside of the "box" you're sure to save money. Natural Hair Product Boxes In the UK...coming.
 Natural Hair Product Boxes In the UK...coming. Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair. Other Product BoxesIf you want makeup, body products etc. Here are some other product boxes:
 Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.
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I now blog about wealth creation - so if you have any money questions meet me there, you can do all sorts of cool things like leave me a voicemail.
By Heather Katsonga-Woodward
I was a natural hair blogger and mixtress living between London & Chicago from 2012 to 2017. I always thought I was 4C but some say 4B; images below - you decide! Heather xx
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