Product Review: Komaza Califia Styling Pudding, 1st Impression.

This pudding promises to define curls and eliminate shrinkage with dryness so I was intrigued, as I noticed that quite a few reviews by type 4 coily-heads only had good things to say about this product.I bagged this through a cross-Atlantic swap on a hair forum at a good price. Yes! :D

Price: £27.95 for 16oz/ £16.50 for 8oz at British Curlies.
Ingredients: Distilled Water, Shea Butter, Aloe Butter, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Oil Dipalmitoylethyldimonium Chloride (A derivitive of Palm Oil) aloe vera, hydrolyzed collagen, acrylates, alkyl acrylates, Sodium Benzoate,Vegetarian Fragrance, Potassium Sorbate, Polysorbate 20, Cinnamom Cassia, vegetarian fragrance.

Smell: reminds me of Toffee.

Texture: definitely like pudding that one would eat. Or a lighter "nutella" It took a lot of resolve not to take a tiny bit and taste it! Smooth and very creamy.

On my hair: I think this product delivered. I used a light leave -in conditioner (TIGI love, peace etc) initially as I wanted to see what the pudding would mostly do by itself. Application was very smooth. Dafro seemed to gobble it right up. I smoothed it on from the roots onwards sparingly. Taking about an index fingers worth of product each time and applying to 0.5 inch thick sections.I say it absorbed very readily because by the time I applied the product from my roots to about half my length the product was gone. So I would scoop out more product and apply to the remaining half down to my ends. I wasn't too crazy about seeing brown marks on my towel. Where I had wiped my hands during application.

Pros: It elongated my coils and they almost dried looking the same way they did when wet.My "bangs" were not stiff but compliant and fluffy without being too frizzy?  I had a lot of volume on day 1 hair?! Smells really nice and seems to apply sooo smoothly!

Cons:  Towards the end of the day I still noticed, lighter brown patches on my hair. Maybe I hadn't applied it sparingly enough or the product just didn't dissolve as readily as I initially thought. Delivers no manner of shine/sheen/glint/sparkle. Nothing.

Now on day 2, I became really disappointed with this product. One, my hair felt soooo dry!! Two, All manner of little definition I got on day 1 was gone. My hair was a straight up Fro. (I don't have a problem with afros for aesthetic reasons but have a problem with them more for maintenance reasons. Frizzy coils = more tangles.)
                                                                                           



The bottom line for this product on my hair is that it didn't really define my coils, but almost eliminated shrinkage and kept the moisture in for a day only.


I think this is one product I would reserve for days when I want my wash & go to look very controlled but not too obvious. At least I know I would get a consistent result by the end of the day with this. i.e. leave it to dry with the assurance that Dafro would stay mostly controlled through the course of the day.With that said, I would not expect it to last past day 1 on it's own.
I am in the middle of the road with this product and nearly gave it away,but have decided to try it with AVG/castor oil mix and my beloved curl activator at a later date. So stay tuned... 
If you have any tips for making this pudding work, do drop them in the comments box.

Five Ways To Deal With The Oily Grease Stained Pillow Situation

                       

Do you notice a grease spot on your pillow where your head lays? Do you have to frequently wash your pillow cases sometimes up to 2-3 times a week to get rid of grease stains? Then you have an oily pillow ‘situation’

The oily pillow can be a common occurrence amongst ladies just trying to keep their hair moist. For naturals the frequent use of butters, pomades, oils, creams and similar emollients in order to keep the hair moist is usually the culprit.

As a kinky, coily headed natural I NEED my emollients 24/7 because my hair gets ridiculously drier than sand. As a result the issue of stopping the use of my trusty combinations of castor oil and curl activators can’t even be considered. Applying this mix at a certain time, wouldn’t make a difference for me because that combination is the business and lasts on my hair for at least two – three days before I need to re-apply again. I also have acne-prone skin that does not share the same love for castor oil as my hair does.  So dark coloured pillow cases would not be enough, because that would only solve the appearances factor. Here are some useful measures to take against the O.G.S.P.S! (It’s patented baby! ;))

How To Manage The Oily Pillow Situation (Temporary basis)

1. Put an old t-shirt or towel on top of your pillow.

2. Put more than one head covering on your head to absorb any excess oils.

3. Do both 1.) + 2.)   *_*

How To Stop The Oily Pillow Situation (Permanent basis)

4. Apply your pomade’s with a lighter hand! If you have a routine of applying your emollients just before bed, try to apply your emollient sparingly and even a couple of hours before bed. (This maybe helpful to those that prefer to use lighter emollients or oils with shorter life spans)

5. Sleep with a plastic cap on your head, and put your bonnet or scarf over that. (This is my favourite method, because it keeps Dafro very happy too).

                        

Now if you can’t stand the crinkling of the shower-cap. Which like myself I couldn’t handle, then consider purchasing shower caps made with a thicker more substantial durable material.

                        

 I love this particular brand because it not only comes with a thicker material but also comes in larger sizes for the big-haired ladies amongst us. Saving us the need to have to use  more than one typical shower cap at a time.These particular shower-caps do not crinkle half as much as the typical disposable caps and last twice as long for me. Or if you want to preserve the sexy and stylish self all the way to bed for the beau. How about this one by soap and glory I found at Boots for about £6?

6. A waterproof pillow cover may also help to increase the longevity of your pillow.

And for the stained pillowcase…

Getting out oil stains can be difficult. So here is what you can do.

You could wash the pillow cases with:

-       Bleach

-       Lemon juice

-       Vinegar

-       Or even just wash and lay the pillowcase directly under the sun. (For the sun to bleach naturally).

So... How do you deal with your O.G.S.P.S?