trader joe's (nourish spa) new & old formula

Hello everyone! It feels like it's been forever since I've posted, my life has been quite busy. That will hopefully change now that I'm finally on summer break. I've gotten very lazy with my hair, too. Not so much neglectful, but I've really been doing 24/7 protective styling and been doing a lot of short wash days. I know I have a lot of things I have to update on, but today I wanted to talk about my favorite conditioner: trader joe's nourish spa!

NEW FORMULA

(or rather, 'changed' formula)



The company has changed the conditioner's formula. I'm probably late on this subject, I think they changed the formula two months ago. When I first saw they changed it I was a little worried, I was thinking 'first herbal essence's hello hydration, now this'. Researching the topic online, I saw a lot of girls were also worried, so worried that they were protesting to have the conditioner changed back without even trying the new one. I was worried, but I wasn't that upset, and picked up a bottle of the new conditioner last week. Here's a comparison of the old and new ingredients:

old formula - purified water, rosemary oil, orange citrus, mango, lemongrass, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea, willow bark, sea kelp, chamomile flower, textured soy protein, lavender, grapefruit citrus, vitamin e, acetamide mea, cetyl alcohol, cirtic acid, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance

new formula - purified water, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, citric acid, vitamin e, dimethicone, argan oil, rosemary leaf extract, orange citrus, mango, lemongrass, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea Angustifolia, willow bark, sea kelp, chamomile flower, soybean seed, lavender, grapefruit citrus, acetamide mea, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, fragrance

Now here are some things to note...

• Not too much has changed, the ingredients in italicized are the same and in the same order. There are also same ingredients that have just changed position in the ingredients list, for example, cetyl alcohol, vitamin e, and cirtic acid.
• I think the main reason the company decided to change the formula was to add argan oil, which has been very popular lately. They even changed the front label to mention argan oil is an ingredient.
• Some of the new first ingredients, like behentrimonium chloride, might not look too attractive to some. But despite it's scientific, chemical-looking name, it's plant-based. according to the blog honesty, it "conditions, detangles, fights static, softens, restores, and rebuilds damaged hair. since it’s plant-based and not petrochemical-based, it doesn’t coat but penetrates the hair shaft for potent conditioning effects. (In some applications, it also acts as a preservative)." The site also mentions that there is misinformation about behentrimonium chloride, people mistaking it as unnatural.  

MY EXPERIENCE

So really, there hasn't been much of a change to the product. I've only tried the formula once, and so far my hair hasn't been able to tell the difference. I worry a little bit about the dimethicone, (which some healthy hair girls have a problem with because it can accumulate on the hair is not washed out properly) but it isn't that big a deal to me. I understand what some girls went crazy and got worried but the conditioner's sudden change, but I would advice at least trying it first before complaining to the company to change. It might even be better then the old formula.

roots-only applicator review

I’ve been using the roots-only applicator a lot recently and it’s really been helping me out on my stretch. What is it? Instead of the typical applicator with one nozzle, the roots-only applicator has many nozzles in the shape of a comb like in the image shown. This makes applying product to the scalp much easier. You just press the tips of the nozzles against your scalp and gently squeeze the bottle as you comb your roots. I often use it while my hair is in a bun or ponytail.



As you can see from the pic, the bottle size is rather small. The applicator, however, can unscrew and fit on other, bigger sized bottles. I have several bottles that the roots-only nozzle fits, so the thing is always getting traded around. I use the roots-only applicator for applying growth aids, shampoo, and tea directly to my scalp.

• growth aids - When applying things like sulfur oil with a normal applicator nozzle, you usually have to part your hair before applying for even distribution. This process can takes about a half an hour, but with the roots-only nozzle, it only takes five minutes!
• shampoo – The key to healthy hair and growth is a clean scalp and moisturized hair. For us dry haired girls, shampooing our hair too often can dry it out, but we also shouldn’t neglect our scalps. This is why when shampooing the proper technique is to focus on massaging the shampoo in your scalp and then using the suds to gently cleanse the rest of your hair. The roots-only applicator takes this another step further. It makes cleansing your scalp more precise, allowing less product to be used. Also, there’s less shampoo suds to rinse through your hair, making it like a cowash. This is a good way to keep your new growth from drying out and tangling.
• tea – I’ve been using black tea more often to combat shedding. Most girls use it by doing rinses, but since shedding takes place in the scalp I’ve been using the roots-only applicator to coat my scalp more effectively. When I want to use my indian powders, and want to minimize their strengthening or drying effects, I’ll also make them into a tea and apply them with the roots-only nozzle.

Bottom line, this applicator is very useful and makes life easier.     

my top 5 cheapie conditioners

The title might be a little misleading because not all the conditioners I'm listing are exactly "cheap" per say. The price range going from $1 to around $10. When healthy hair journey girls say cheapie conditioners, we're usually talking about non-expensive moisture conditioners we mix with other things (like homemade deep conditioners or leave-ins) or for cowashing. The following conditioners are ranked by price, quality, and accessibility. They're not exactly ranked from my least to most favorite, but by how significant they are to my regimen.

5. AUBREY ORGANICS WHITE CAMELLIA

• price : $10
• quality : 3 out of these 5
• accessibility : Only available during my odd visits to Vitamin Shoppe
• review : I bought White Camellia after finishing and being wowed by Aubrey Organic's Honeysuckle Rose conditioner. It was good, did what it promised, but didn't quite meet my expectations. It's a great conditioner, left my hair with a great fragrance, but I feel that Trader Joe's Nourish Spa is slightly better and with a much cheaper price. It's a conditioner I only used once, but might buy again on a whim.

4. V05 CONDITIONERS 

SUAVE ALMOND AND SHEA BUTTER

• price : $1-4
• quality : 1 out of these 5
• accessibility : V05 is available at just about any dollar store and beauty supply; Suave at any pharmacy or department store
• review : V05 and Suave's conditioners are like the representatives of cheapie conditioners. you really get your bang for your buck. Suave might seem not that cheap, but it is when you consider the size of the bottle. I hardly ever use them alone, but use them in recipes in association with one of the other conditioners in this list. They're like helpers.

3. AUBREY ORGANICS HONEYSUCKLE ROSE

• price : $10
• quality : 5 out of these 5
• accessibility : only available during my odd visits to Vitamin Shoppe
• review : The greatest conditioner in the world. No, I'm not exaggerating. the only reason it's lower in the list is because it's on the expensive side compared to the others. When I use it I feel like I have to use it sparingly, and I don't like that feeling. I don't keep this conditioner on hand, But it's my go to when I feel like my hair is leaning into protein overload or needs some kind of saving.

2. TRADER JOE'S NOURISH SPA

• price : $2
• quality : 4 out of these 5
• accessibility : only available at Trader Joe's, but I go to the grocery at least once a month.
• review : Not the greatest, but my favorite, does that make sense? It's just so cheap and great quality at the same time! And it's easy to get my hands on. The only problem that makes it imperfect is one ingredient: organic textured soy protein. It's not like I'm one of those girls that's so afraid of protein that I won't use anything with protein in it. It's not like the ingredient is high in the list. And it's not like the protein is hydrolyzed, so it can't properly stick to the hair after being rinsed. But that one ingredient just restricts me sometimes. For example, I'm afraid to use it in my kimmaytube leave-in because the protein isn't being rinsed and can accumulate on my hair. Another example, I'm afraid to use it the week after a medium or heavy protein deep conditioning.

1. HERBAL ESSENCE HELLO HYDRATION

• price : $5 (update: price increased to $9 around my local stores)
• quality : 2 out of these 5
• accessibility : available at just about any pharmacy, department store, and beauty supply store
• review : My third favorite, after Nourish Spa and Honeysuckle Rose. just like Nourish Spa, it's easy to get my hands on and so cheap for it's great quality. The quality might not by as good as Nourish Spa, but it only has moisture ingredients. Well, coconut can kind of be considered protein. It's also a big bottle for it's price like Suave, But last time I went to Walgreens I didn't see the normal 23.7 fl ounce bottle again, but a smaller one the same price. Did herbal essence increase the prices for each bottle size, or was it just that walgreens? I sure hope not. This conditioner was my most recent addition to my regimen, we were just becoming good friends. 

clear rinse review

WHAT'S A CLEAR RINSE?

A clear rinse is used to prolong and give back life to color treated hair. Think of it like the clear coat you paint your nails with after the colored coat. It's like a color rinse or semi-permanent dye, but clear. It coats the hair and is completely safe to use, having no unhealthy chemicals. It works best with any type of chemically treated hair as it was designed to work with dyed hair and acts like a porosity corrector. 

BENEFITS

In a way, you can say a clear rinse it like the ultimate oil. 

It does everything a hair oil can do, but ten times better.

• acts like a mild protein treatment and porosity corrector because it coats the hair strand.
• really silks your hair, giving it a healthy shine.
• helps reduce frizz and really smooths your hair stands, which leads to easier detangling. 
• helps keep your hair's health in the condition it had before the rinse; this is why it's good to do a clear rinse when your hair health is stable, as it'll help keep it in stable condition, locking in your current moisture/ protein balance. 
• it's literally like a coat for your hair, protecting it from the weather.  

REVIEW

Trying out clear rinses is something I've been planning to do for a while. I finally got to doing it my last wash, and boy do I wish I had tried it sooner! Usually I don't do reviews on things so quickly, but I loved it so much. it made my new growth and relaxed hair so smooth. My relaxed hair looks like it was flat ironed without the volume loss, and it camouflages better with my Japanese straightened areas. It really gave my hair a natural looking shine and smoother feel, this is definitely something I'll be keeping. 

The cons is that it kinda tangled my new growth during the process. My new growth wasn't properly detangled when I applied the clear rinse, and after it sat on my hair for about 15 minutes my hair felt more 'structured'. Because of this there was more tangles I got more breakage. On the positive it did help reduce my growth's frizz and the tangles only occurred during the rinsing process. Next time, I'm probably only going to apply it on my chemically straightened hair.

Since this review is so early, I'll make a part two that will probably includes before & after pictures and how long the clear rinse lasts. I also used aveda's black malva conditioner before the rinse to see if it makes the color last. I'll also be writing about this in part two.

( I completely forgot to take pictures, 

but had luckily took one for a different reason. )

( FIRST CLEAR RINSE ) WASH DAY

• I waited to use it after my hair was in the most stable health. And that's what really happened as during the wash I only last a couple strands of hair, that's the smallest amount of breakage I ever got while so long in my stretch. 
• I moisture deep conditioned on dry hair with a random mix. Can't remember what I put in it, but I did use a little Hesh Rose Petal Powder. Something new I just bought at the Indian market as I was restocking on Vatika Coconut Oil. I then steamed for 30 min, but it stayed on my head for another 2 hours out of laziness. 
• I shampooed with my last bit of Hairveda Shikakai Swirl. 
• I then used my Aveda Black Malva conditioner alone for the first time, and that had ended up sitting on my head for 3 hour mostly due to laziness, too. 
• After rinsing it out and toweling drying, I used Jazzing's Clear Rinse for 15-20 minutes. 

my vatika coconut oils

Coconut oil is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, hair oil used by healthy hair journey girls. Why? Coconut oil is commonly mistaken as a moisturizer, but in reality oils can not moisturize the hair because oil is not water soluble. How can something that doesn't contain water moisturize the hair? Moisturize means adding moisture--the presence of water. The reason coconut oil is commonly confused as a moisturizer is because of it's unique properties. Out of all the oils, coconut is the most penetrating and nourishing, the closest thing to an oil being moisturizing.

Another unique benefit of coconut oil is its ability to retain the protein in hair. This is great for anyone with chemically treated hair. This is because protein is lost during chemical processes, especially with hydroxide relaxing. Regular protein treatments must be done in order to restore our hair's keratin and using coconut oil helps make the protein fillers last longer.

There are two brands of coconut oil I use: Dabur Vatika Coconut Oil and Hairveda Vatika Frosting.

vs. 

DABUR VATIKA REVIEW: You can say that Dabur Vatika is the original, because Hairveda's was created as an alternate and improved version made for afro textured girls. Dabur Vatika is an Indian hair oil that can be found at almost any Indian market. It's made with a ton of ayurvedic goodies like neem, brahmi, amla, henna, milk, rosemary oil, and lemon oil. This coconut oil is also known for it's distinct smell. To me, it smells like a coconut soap. While it bothers some it doesn't bother me at all. I quite like it! It smells natural--not like a coconut fragrance, but actual coconut. Dabur comes in different sizes, but I usually get the one like in the picture above.

In room temperature coconut oil is solid. how do they expect you to get a solid out of a bottle? The Dabur bottle is microwave safe so that the oil can easily be heated and turned to liquid. I usually heat mine for 15-20 seconds, more if I'm doing a hot oil treatment. The Dabur Coconut Oil I mainly use as a hot oil treatment and prepoo ( before shampooing treatment ). Everyone's hair responds to products differently, and I believe my hair likes it better as a hair treatment and with heat rather than as a sealant. I also like the application of the bottle. it's made so that the oil comes through a tiny punctured hole. This is good because a little oil goes a long way. I only need a drop or two of oil to lightly coat my strands, and that's coming from someone with a lot of hair. The other, more important reason I like the bottle is because it works as a dropper so I can pour it directly on my hair without it getting messy. Putting product directly on your hair, rather than from your hands, has a better effect. I can always feel the difference. This is how I see many girls of Indian heritage oil their hair.

VATIKA FROSTING REVIEW: Hairveda's Indian inspired products are more suitable for dryer and curler hair types. Like Dabur it's completely natural and made of ayurvedic goodies, like amla, henna, and lemon. Unlike Dabur Vatika their container is in a jar and not microwavable safe. But there is no need to heat it, just take a scoop of the solidified oil with your finger and lightly spread it in your hand before your hair. It will melt instantly due to your body temperature. Also the smell is greeeeat! It smell's like homemade cake frosting! One of my best smelling hair products. All of Hairveda's products have great smells. and also like Dabur Vatika, a little goes a long way. I've been using the first jar I bought for more than a year now, maybe even two? It also lasts longer than my Dabur Vatika. but that might be because I use it as a sealant rather than for oil treatments, and treatments take more product. Though I might use Dabur as a sealent when I need something lighter or when my hair is getting too shiny, I prefer Vatika Frosting as a daily sealant because it gives my hair more shine and moisture retention.

apple cider rinse

MY RECIPE:
2 CUPS water
1 CUPS rose water
4 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP any oil
1 TBSP honey

DIRECTIONS: Rinse out regular or deep conditioner out 50-70% then pour apple cider rinse throughout hair, making sure all of it gets saturated. Also be sure to get the scalp as it gently cleanses and restores the ph of the scalp. Leave in for a couple minutes, then half rinse out. Dry hair as usual.

REVIEW: This has had great results on my hair, the main benefit has been shine. Apple cider has a low ph, so it seals the cuticle and traps moisture in the hair strands. But remember, it's not good to do it too often. Apple cider has clarifying-like affects, so it can cause dryness when used too frequently. I started experiencing this when I was doing this every time I washed. My hair was not necessarily becoming dry, but I was no longer getting the same effects I once was. I've also read that using a ACV rinse as a final rinse leave-in will have a better effect on your hair. I've yet to really try that, the most I have done is rinse it out un-thoroughly so that some of it remains in my hair. I would think that using an apple cider rinse as a leave-in would also lead to dryness, and that an aloe vera juice leave-in would be a better substitute since it also has a low ph of 4 and with moisturizing properties. but I can't say because I have not tried it yet.

homemade castile shampoo

RECIPE:
2 TBSP dr. bronner's castile soap
1 TBSP jojoba oil ( or olive oil )
3/4 CUP water
4 TBSP rose water

 DIRECTIONS: pour over hair like a rinse, letting it soak down and throughout the hair. follow up with a conditioner. castile opens the hair's pores for better deep conditioning, so it's best to finish off with an apple cider rinse, which also has slight clarifying properties, or roux ph corrector so that the pores close back.

REVIEW: the kind that I've used is the liquid peppermint one. they also have one already mixed with rose water, which I might try in the future. I add rose water to my mix as a light moisturizing ingredient. but the peppermint one is nice with a tingling feeling. castile soap is the only natural and sulfate-free shampoo that deeply clarifies hair. usually to really clarify hair sulfate ingredients are needed. even with the peppermint, high ph, and clarifying properties, when mixed properly castile soap isn't drying at all. my hair would feel very good after shampooing with this.

according to the label, the Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap is made of... water, coconut oil, potassium hydroxide ( none remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin ), olive oil, hemp oil, jojoba oil , peppermint oil , mentha arvensis extract, citric acid, tocopherol

even if it makes your hair feel nice, castile shampoo should not be used too frequently, at least a month gap. this is not only because castile shampoo is a clarifier, which can dry hair, but because it has a very high ph of 9. this is the reason people with natural curly textures notice their curls lay down more. when using castile shampoo, it's best to take advantage of the open cuticles with a great protein deep conditioning before using a ph corrector, like Roux Porosity Control. if your hair is normal or high porosity, it would help for you to know that protein treatments are more effective when the cuticles are lifted because the molecular protein can enter the hair strand easier. castile shampoo is even better for hair that naturally has a low porosity since it opens the cuticles so moisture can enter easier, and does not sit on top of the hair strands.

black henna gloss ( without indigo )

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-4 TBSP henna 
• 4 TBSP cheapie conditioner 
• 1-2 TBSP aveda black malva 
• 2 TBSP vatika coconut oil 
• 3 TBSP honey or molasses 
• rose water (optional) 

DIRECTIONS:

• Detangle, dampen, then oil hair. 
• Mix 2 tbsp of henna with cold (rose) water in plastic container until the consistency turns pudding like. ( Do not use metal utensils ) 
• Add conditioners, oils, molasses and honey. 
• Put on old t-shirt and gloves; and apply to hair immediately. 
• Pile hair on head and put on plastic cap. 
• Sit under dryer for 30 minutes on moderate setting, or let it sit on hair for 1-2 hours. 
• Rinse out and condition, rinse out and condition. Gloves still on. 
• Follow with deep conditioning. 
• Clarify hair following week or wash. 

STORAGE:
Henna paste can freeze, but for better color deposit.

PRE-REVIEW:
After doing ALOT of research I finally found a way to darken my hair with a gloss and without having to do a two step with indigo. Thanks to LadyChe, a member that of LHCF who shared the idea. Aveda black malva is a natural conditioner that darkens hair. It's on the expensive side if used alone, but it's life gets extended when using as an ingredient in a glass. I can finally stop looking for hendigo glosses that go darker than dark brown, which doesn't seem to exist. Plus the conditioner diminishes red tones, making it a good match with henna. 

I have yet to try this, so stay tuned.

kimmaytube leave-in

INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP hairveda's whipped ends (or any conditioner)
2 TBSP trader joe's spa conditioner (or any conditioner)
4 TBSP aloe vera gel
2 TBSP shikakai cocasta oil
1-2 TBSP jojoba oil
water until desired consistency.

REVIEW: deciding I wanted to stretch my products and use a more liquidy conditioner, I decided to try the kimmaytube homemade leave-in. it's usually used on naturals and used as a leave-in. I use it as a a leave-in and moisturizer. for relaxed heads, it's best to cut the recommended amount of oils in half, like I've done in my recipe above. due to the low ph of the aloe vera juice, or gel, it has good porosity correcting properties. I've been using this a couple months now, and it's been great! my hair feels softer and looks shinier. since it's liquidy, it also doesn't give my hair that greasy, laid down look at the end of the week due eo product builds up.

For those of you who don't know, Kim Love, the inventor of this recipe, is a very popular natural hair guru. Click here to go to her youtube channel called Kimmaytube.