Added: May 26, 2009
From: ShidaNatural
Duration: 10:10
Day 24 of "No Cone" Challenge As a curly girl, when looking for a gel to define & hold your curls, a clear one is preferable; It's the last product you put into your hair before it dries; and you want your own color to shine through (white or yellow-tinted gel can leave a film on hair &, over time, make it look dull). If the gel feels sticky on your skin, it will feel sticky on your hair. Look for a gel that doesn't contain alcohol and that has little to no fragrance. It should contain the ingredients PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) and PVP/VA (vinyl acrylate). Both the Quantum & Giovanni L.A. Natural styling gels do not contain alcohol, and they both contain the PVP ingredients. The Quantum also has Glycerin, Sorbitol & Aloe gel, but the Giovanni L.A. Natural has many natural ingredients such as: Rosemary Oil, Nettle oil, Thyme Oil, Birch Leaf oil, Chamomile oil, Clary, Lavender, Coltsfoot leaf, Yarrow oil, Mallow, Horsetail oil, Soybean Protein, Vitamin E, & Grapefruit Seed As a curly girl, when looking for a conditioner (preferably a no-cone one), the conditioner should contain Emollients to reduce frizz by smoothing cuticle; Proteins to coat hair & protect it; Humectrants to absorb water & hold in moisture; & Moisturizers to add softness & control curly hair. The Lustrasilk Olive Oil Cholesterol contained all 4 of the absolute necessities in a conditioner. I do have to say that the Lustrasilk Olive Oil Cholesterol left my hair very soft, and the Giovann L.A. Natural styling gel side felt softer than the Quantum styling gel side. I will later do full reviews on both gels separately. examples of Emollients: shea butter, veggie oils, wheat germ, olive oil, walnut oil examples of Proteins: wheat, wheat germ, soy protein examples of Humectrants: panthenol, veggie glycerine, sorbitol examples of Moisturizers: amino acids, aloe vera Some of the information I provided was obtained from "Curly Girl, the handbook" by Lorraine Massey with Deborah Chiel. I just purchased this book from Borders today, and I must say, the information contained in this book is AWESOME!
Channel: Howto
Tags: product review natural curly kinky hair
Rating: 4.7419353' max='5' min='1' numRaters='31' rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#overall ( ratings) Views: 8838 Comments: 33
notsoshy28 Says:
May 26, 2009 - I like the giovanni side and i agree i don't no if i would want to spend $9 every two days, and i use a lot of gel also and my hair isn't nearly as long as yours is but like you said you never no
ShidaNatural Says:
May 26, 2009 - I used the Giovanni gel to define & hold my whole head of curls today, and I have to say, I love the results! You know I will be doing a video tonight to show you guys.
cecillbill Says:
May 26, 2009 - I didn't get the white balls. I did overuse it once and got a filmy feel to hair, but no white balls, even with gel on top. But, yeah, 3/4 commentors with white ball issues likely means it's not good as leave-in, lol.
cecillbill Says:
May 26, 2009 - That gel works for my son, 3b3c corkscrew curls, but wasn't great for my daughters or myself. Will check out your vid to see how you used it and the results. Maybe I applied it to long hair wrong (my daughters) and used too much on my hair.
ShidaNatural Says:
May 26, 2009 - I need to see pics of ur kids... seems like u have an interesting household of hair... lol
SheSingsLovely Says:
May 26, 2009 - I bought that olive oil cholesterol the other day and was only used it once. I saw that it didn't say to wash out...but I didn't like it as a leave in. I became flustered and confused so I just stored it away lol
ShidaNatural Says:
May 26, 2009 - I tried using it with my co-wash, leave-in this morning and I don't think I like it much as a leave-in. I may incorporate it with my deep conditioning treatments... maybe mix it with my Amla powder.
boriquachula4 Says:
May 27, 2009 - i haven't tried this product but it sounds like maybe you can use it like cynthiarf does. she's got a video about finger combing or something like that (its one of my favorites) and she uses a cholesterol conditioner similar to that one.
ShidaNatural Says:
May 27, 2009 - I'll check out cynthiarf's vid about the cholesterol & see how she incorporated it in her styling... Thanks
ShidaNatural Says:
May 27, 2009 - It has a small section about African American hair but mainly it's about general care for curly hair. Talks about not using shampoo, & if ur a person that has 2 use shampoo she explains which sulfates r the harshest & which are less harsh. She talks bout what 2 look for in hair products. She gives scientific breakdown on the hair strand. The Curly Girl Hair Care Styling Program Routine. She gives hair recipes for moisture and such. I think any curly type can gain some knowledge from this book.
ShidaNatural Says:
May 27, 2009 - I haven't used the Quantum all over my head yet. I'll prolly continue to use the Giovanni gel the rest of this week, then switch up and use the Quantum gel next week.
ShidaNatural Says:
May 27, 2009 - Get the book... I think you'll gain some knowledge for sure. I'm looking into purchasing some other hair books too, and you know I will share with you guys what I picked up.
sinceremami Says:
May 27, 2009 - if u like the olive oil cholesterol and want more they sell it at dollar general and most dollar stores for $2 so u won't have to pay almost $4 for it
ShidaNatural Says:
May 27, 2009 - I'll try it out a few more times to determine if I want to buy it again, and if I do, I'll def check out the dollar stores... Thanks!
JAmiE3V Says:
Sep 14, 2009 - I used the Olive Oil Cholestrol too! its awesome!
MsCrocker1 Says:
Dec 18, 2009 - Hi I just brought the cholesterol I think its will work great.I saaw ur video u put alot of things in ur hair how come?
ShidaNatural Says:
Dec 20, 2009 - I like to put on some kind of leave-in conditioner / moisturizer to prevent hard crunchy curls after putting in gel. I need gel to define, hold, and elongate my curls.
olutunu4 Says:
Jul 24, 2010 - have you tried using giovanni's direct leave-in conditioner? just wondering if it'll work better than the olive oil cholesterol...i haven't tried either.
TJSismines Says:
Oct 16, 2010 - In my opnion the lustrasilk cholesterol works A LOT better on dry hair. on wet hair i feel like it doesnt moisturize at all but on dry hair is makes my hair really shiny and soft.
soxxyfox Says:
Nov 4, 2010 - I tried it wet and as I put it in I feel it making my hair coarse and my hair started breaking... so no whoever say it's awesome is lying... lying lying this lustrasilk cholesterol didn't help my hair at all...I know it's conflicting but trust me :( It had all the good ingredients that should go in your hair but it just didn't do anything it promised...sigh I need a good conditioner but it's so hard to find
soxxyfox Says:
Nov 4, 2010 - okay tried it on my dry hair and it makes my roots really soft that's strange
tamedshrew4u Says:
Dec 24, 2010 - Is there an expiry date on the bottle of the Lustrasilk Olive Oil Cholesterol? I've had one, but haven't used it for a little while and I realize that the colour is a little darker. It still smells and feels the same way so I really don't know
MrSexxxy20 Says:
Dec 29, 2010 - I started to use Givonni products an my hair loves them! I've gotta get those gels lol
0legacyking0 Says:
Jul 8, 2011 - I need an all natural product that really promotes hair growth.
ShidaNatural Says:
May 26, 2009 - We shall see. ;-) Thanks