Introducing Syntonics Edge Define Hairline Smoother - My 1st Product Review (PR)

Hey All,

So I had the greatest and busiest week last week and had little time to blog. My bday was on the 27th and so the hubby threw me a huge bday bbq on the 24th during the holiday weekend. Food, fun, friends, family and drinks, what more can a girl ask for??? I'll tell you - Syntonics Edge Define Hairline Smoother. This new product from Syntonics is awesome. I almost missed out on receiving it see I was on Dr. Ali Syed's sight and apparently there was a contest that I completely overlooked. My cousin caught it and entered me just as I was complaining about my peach fuzz patch in the back from alopecia. I received it, have been using it and I absolutely am in love.

With its pomade consistency, not only did it slick down the nape section in a way like no other, at the end of the day my hair was soft, non greasy, non flaky as if I had used a regular old moisturizer. It slicks down my kitchen with the rest of my hair w/o that hard "gel" feeling. Just to show the effects - yesterday I had to run out at the last minute, the humidity was ridiculous and I absentmindedly didn't use it and ended up with an embarrassing bush in the back of my head. So yes it makes a huge difference. Ladies if you need to slick edges, napes hairlines etc, run not walk and get this product. Nape control and slickness like no other. I am soooooo addicted!!!

Ingredients: Aqueous (Water, Aqua Purificata, Purified) Extracts: Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf and Calendula Officinalis Flower, Ceteareth-25, Glycerin (Natural), PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Propylene Glycol, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Menthol, Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate.

Moisture, Moisture, Moisture

Okay so I may not have mentioned before that I was heading for a protein overload.  Being that I was stretching so long this time I was trying to keep my hair strength up.  I may have overdone it.  The good thing is it's not by much....but it is at the "I better fix it now before there's damage" point and we can't have that.  Soooooooo the next couple of weeks I am focusing on Moisture, Moisture and more Moisture.  I will alternate my deep conditions between Pantene Relaxed & Natural Condish, Keracare Humecto Condish and Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose.  I've been using Hair One to wash and not doing as many co-washes but needless to say I purchased a whole mess of Vo5 moisture milk condish to get my co-washes going again.  I've added Amla oil and honey back into my pre-poo regimen as well.   Tea Tree and Peppermint oil are my staple EO's for both pre-poos and deep condish treatments but again, since I've gotta step my game up so I began adding Bergamot, Grapefruit, Rosemary and Eucalyptus oils back into the mix.  I will be experimenting with a couple of other oils to see what else works.  I will start my light protein back in a couple weeks around mid June, depending on the state of my tresses.  
We'll see how it goes...wish me luck!

Hey All,

Hooray for me!  I got great results with relaxing this weekend and I can't say I was disappointed.  I actually hit right on target of where I thought I would be although I was secretly hoping, wishing and crossing my fingers for more growth.  My hair has def made a come back since Dec (my official I'm not playing anymore lol) start date.  It's thick again, strong and healthy with a great shine of its own and I'm sooo happy.  I am currently shoulder length and just have to work on getting my length back and my alopecia patch eradicated once and for all so it's back to my no messin round regimen.  I will be going extra hard for the next couple of month's and as such I've decided I won't be adding anything new to my regimen.  Just can't risk any setbacks from here on in.  I'm sticking to what works!!!  Unfortunately i don't have my plug for camera so I cant post photos now but will as soon as I can.  I didn't trim just snipped a lil off of one side, a small patch, that was significantly longer than the other.  That's it. I'm all tied up in my scarf and bonnett and ready for bed.  I've been sick in bed for the past 2 days so I'm going to catch up on some much needed sleep hopefully w/o the every 30 min wake ups to coughing attacks.  

Ciao Bellas

Alopecia Areata & Anemia--Very Important

Hello All,

Today's post is quite long but well worth.  I am relaxing 2morro and very excited with all the growth I've gained however the ordeal is going to be bittersweet.  I suffered from alopecia areata for many yrs and  up until recently had no clue what I was suffering from.  It always reared its ugly head on the left side of the nape heading up to the ear.  I chalked it up to 1)Wools fabrics 2)stress 3)products.  Over the yrs my stylists couldnt figure it out as I was a wkly patron and my routine hadn't changed.  "Why is your hair breaking, are you on new medication?" I alo saw a well accredited African-American dermatologist who said it was "damaged" and gave me some injections which landed me a visit w/an ENT specialist b/c I ended up with a backup of fluid in my earl canal as a "side-effect" from the injections.    When I really began to pay attn was in cosmetology school.  If I was experiencing damage/overprocessing etc why was the damage localized to one area?!  Everytime?!  It just didn't make sense.  I still didn't know what direction to turn.  

Fast forward a couple of yrs and I went for a colonic.  Well after analyzing the feces (ik it sounds gross but it's what they do....lol) she told me I had low iron and needed and supplement (your guess is as good as mine as to how they know from looking at poop).  She referred a liquid herbal supplement and I immediately began taking daily.  I noticed so many improvements in things that I didn't know were related to low iron counts and I was feeling great but after I would run out I would become very laxed about replenishing my supply.  So right b/4 I was about to hit APL the thinning and falling began again.  One day I looked up and I was damn near bald and while in tears the hubby says "let's back track, what've you done differently, what foods are you eating or have you stopped eating, it has to be something!"  I thought long and hard b/c as above 1)It was summer no wool 2)I wasn't stressed at all 3)Hadn't switched products in forever and again was almost APL.  We looked at my diet, exercise habits and then came the supplements.  Whaddya know, I hadn't taken my iron supps in a couple of months.  And guess what when I went for the colonic I was wearing a weave b/c of the same issue, it was after the supplement that my nape was growing to its longest lengths.  When I would stop for months at a time it would start again.  I never made the connection.  I never even knew I was actually anemic!!!  I called my mom right away b/c I know she's anemic and asked her was it hereditary and could I possibly have it.  Her response "Chile you've been anemic since you were about 12 or 13 yrs old, where the heck you been".  Well that's when it all began!!!  Again bittersweet, the sweet? - I felt I finally could conquer this issue once and for all and retain length w/o any pitfalls - the bitter - Why the hell am I just finding this out about 18 years later.  Why didnt' the stylist and the dermatologist hell even my physician do testing of hormonal imbalances etc related to alopecia areata or at least suggest one of these things as a possible cause.  My allergist tested me for thyroid last yr b/c she thought that was the culprit and thank God it wasn't (and didn't even know it could've also been a factor) but she took more steps than anyone ever did leading me to step my game up!!  

Long story short, or not so short lol but I am officially on the road to recovery.  I cut my hair in an EL bob in Dec 08 and so my hair journey began.  Ladies, I hope this helps somebody out here.  I am writing about this b/c it has affected me for so long and during that time I felt like nobody understood what I was going through.  It's been very hard and sometimes emotional, don't get me wrong I'm not one to trip over lenght, I've had Halle Berry, T-Boz cuts and longer hair as well.  But the point is I want it cut when I chose to cut it, not when I'm forced because of problematic areas and point blank I don't like unhealthy hair anyway you slice it.  If you find that you have similar issues, esp if they are localized to one area, please listen to that gut feeling and push your doctor!  If they say it's nothing, see a specialist and another and antoher until you find out what's wrong. Do your own research if you have to but it's not normal by any means! Again how can hair have localized damaged when it's structured the same?  You would see various breakage in different spots all over your head.  But the same spot all the time!  It's a sign of something deeper but it's up to you.  I've atttached some links for you to check out but don't stop here.  Hair's to knowledge and healthy hair growing!  I hope this helped.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2207

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/alopecia/alopecia-areata.php

http://health.abqjournal.com/ConditionFactsheet.aspx?id=3&topicid=0&pg=1#S2 (check out the causes.

The Countdown Begins!!!

Ladies I am so very excited.  I am eagerly yet patiently waiting for Sunday to come so that I can relax the heck outta this new growth.  I am eager to see how much its grown and that's the main reason I am so impatient.  I have about a 1.25 inches of new growth and its soooo thick although I have been taming it really well..... Especially for my 1st 10 week stretch!!  

I've been on point with my supplements and I've done the 1st castor oil challenge with Hairlista and am now on the 2nd.  Both have really helped in the growth of my hair.  I've been using Jamaican Black Castor Oil since Feb 09.  It will always be a part of my regimen from here on in (although I may have to exclude summer mo's b/c of it's thicknessm to hot for all that...lol).  I am trying to hit APL by December 09 the latest so I've got to get on it.  I am actually adding Biotin back into the mix but at a slow pace b/c I don't do to well with it i.e. sore breasts (if only  it made them bigger ha!!) and breaking out (I'm not an acne sufferer at all).  Anywho, am about to walk my pups and get a lil exercise in while doing it.  I'll keep you all posted as I go along.

P.S. My supplements incl - Herbally Pure Liquid Multi-Vitamins

  MSM

B Complex 100 (Vitamin Shoppe)

Biotin 5 mg (1-2x/wk for now)

      Floradix Iron+Herbs Liquid Herbal Extract Formula(anemia)

What a Difference a Day - Uh - 9 Wks Makes!!!

Hey Girlies,

I have never, ever, gone 9 wks w/o a touch up.  Prior to my hair journey and all these new beginnings I've never gone more than 6 wks.  As I'm here airdrying a sense of nostalgia has come over me. I remember many yrs ago when I tried to see how far I could strecth, my hairstylist got upset w/me when I went in for a wash and set.  Her words "Oh my, what are you doing, you can not wait this long to get a relaxer, you don't have that type of hair.  You're causing waaaaaay too much breakage."  Well from what I can see on ALL the blogs, a WHOLE lot of people have type 4a hair!  That day she made me feel like the nappiest person in the world, the world Craig!!! lol.  Seriously, I am proud to say next Sunday, I will be relaxing at 10 wks post and I feel soooo dog on good about myself.  My hair feels thicker and stronger since I haven't been relaxing as often.  I could even go a lil longer but have a couple of events and thangs coming up and besided my hubby is looking at me cross-eyed so I better add some chemicals b/4 he files for divorce because of napdom....lol.