Sometimes when I lean my head back to relax and close my eyes for a bit on the subway, when I lean forward again, sometimes the metal edges of the walls of the subway car steal a hair or two. The violation of my hair follicle always makes me grasp my head, and the area that was leaning against the wall always feels a little flatter. I know that this happens from the two objects leaning against each other, and pressure, bla bla bla. All I could really hear in my head though were my mother’s warnings to take care of my hair or risk losing it all with age.
A lot of my personality is encased in my hair. Is that weird to say? Anytime someone asks me to describe myself or how I would like to be described, ‘curly’ inches it’s way into the picture – and by all means I am not one to object. So at times when I feel like I have been neglected the curls – well it kind of makes me feel sick to my stomach. Melodramatic, maybe – but absolutely true.
My mission has become to be the ultimate caretaker of my scalp and hair. As I pay closer attention to freshness and youth retention in my skin (moisturizing, SPF, and limit sun exposure), body (exercise and eating right – though I haven’t done much of either well in a while – and you didn’t hear that from me – but I did improve on regular vitamin consumption!), and most importantly my hair and scalp, I find that there are certain measures that need to be taken to continue maintenance. You know – so that if you could compare my body to a vehicle without regular checks under the hood and maintenance, it would just sputter and give up in the middle of the road. Yaya is not giving up in the middle of the road.
Before I took to the army of products itching to be deployed to battle on the shelves of drugstores, department stores, and salons, I sought to declutter my own stash. I found my pot of Yes to Carrots hair mask from the StyleFixx Girl’s Night Out goodie bag (see what was in it here) and brought it with me to the shower.
From the site:
“C is for Hair Care – Hair and Scalp Moisturizing Mud Mask 250ml – 8.45 fl.oz
Experience gorgeous hair like never before with C is for Hair Care.
Moisturizing, softening, detangling, shining, volumizing… need we go on??
C is for Hair Care contains extracts of organic carrot, organic pumpkin & organic orange, rich with Beta-Carotene, Alpha-Carotene, Vitamin E and other enzymes that keep your locks in tip-top condition.
Key Ingredients: Extracts of organic carrot, pumpkin, orange & honey contain Beta-Carotene and Vitamin E to keep your hair moisturized and full of shine.
Instructions: Apply to towel-dried hair and massage thoroughly. Leave on for 12-15 minutes (no cheating!) and rinse with lukewarm water. Use 1-2 times per week.
Tips: For maximum nourishment use twice a week, concentrating on roots and scalp.“
First may I point out to the court (that’s you!) that I love things that include carrots and all sorts of other natural ingredients. I like stuff that I have heard was good for you since I was able to understand. I remember when my grandma used to lovingly force-feed me (I was a stubborn child) baby carrots and slices of apples. She would say this one is for mommy, etc. Then she would tell me there were a thousand vitamins in the fruits. Yep. Grandma Yaya made a good sell.
Let me also bring attention to the fact that after I shower I don’t like to walk around with a mask full of product only to go back in to wash it out. So I cheat just a bit. I wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner, brush it out, rinse, and then turn off the shower. Then I put on the Yes to Carrots mask in my hair, cover my hair with a shower cap (it’s more for making sure that my hair won’t sneak into my eyes or stick to my back like a wet sock) and continue with other duties like scrubbing my legs, shaving, doing a facial scrub, sometimes even dancing (but careful – the floor is wet). Then I turn the shower back on, wash away my face scrub, soap up, and once all that is done, I remove the shower cap and wash away the mask.
This might have affected my results with the product, but I can tell ya it still does a good job. I don’t know if I would call it a mask, because it feels like a short spout of deep conditioning. The mask smells awfully good (I wouldn’t mind a lotion with that smell) and is creamy – so don’t expect it to come out in glops or to dry up your head like dried mud. It definitely makes my hair feel softer and my scalp more moisturized after use, but to be perfectly honest, I also don’t see it making any miracles happen.
Something else to consider? After several uses of the mask (twice a week as prescribed – I follow directions sometimes!) and using my Hydroveil scalp oil before I leave, my scalp may not be in need of a miracle. For everyone who has hair that requires higher than average maintenance like mine, it is understood that you don’t leave your hair to fend for itself. You tend to it on a regular basis or pay the consequences.
I really like this hair treatment and recommend it for people who would like to continue to maintain conditioning their hair with a treatment once or twice a week. Have a super dry scalp and super dry hair? You might need to invest in a scalp oil for every day application at first, but this would be a great buy too. I guess for cases that require more attention and more of a miracle, this would be step two as opposed to step one. Make no doubt about it though – this baby is no slouch.
The Yes to Carrots line of products is sold in drugstores and online for $12.99 (for a full list of locations, click here).
Have you ever tried a hair mask?
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Very rarely can you spot a celebrity walk the red carpet and find an (inexpensive) identical match to the methods used to construct their hair or makeup (unless they’re spokespeople for drugstore brands – that doesn’t count!). More often than not, there is a “steal and splurge” comparison of the real to the steal and how you can ‘pull it off.’ So when my a little birdie told me that Kat Dennings strutted her stuff (check out the cleavage!) on the red carpet to the Thor premiere with her locks maintained by super wallet friendly Suave, I was impressed. The products are almost completely all cheaper than a five dollar footlong!
addition to the Marvel series.
, and basics like the 
in 
or 
. Use it sparingly so that you don’t start looking like you are emulating the male cast from the Jersey Shore.
or 
). Pin this piece a bit under the rest of the hair in the back so that the twist disappears flawlessly.
– it’s less than five bucks!). All the gel and putty you used is going to harden a bit, so some oil sheen on the top will soften the hair and add some natural shine.
Sometimes Yaya 