If you're anything like me, you've probably tried a ton of curling smoothies promising bomb results. Or perhaps you haven't tried any because you have no clue where to start. Either way, the struggle to find good hair products is real.
That's why I'm sharing all the details on the ones that have delivered. Check out the list below and tell us about your personal faves in the comments section below. We love hearing from you.
Writer Kandice Guice/xoNecole
Rico Images
Maui Moisture Curl Quench + Coconut Oil:
You'll love the rich consistency of this curl smoothie as it defines your curls. This creamy formula is made with natural ingredients like coconut oil, papaya butter, and plumeria extract. Use it to minimize frizz and bring thick hair to life.
As I Am Coil Defining Jelly
As I Am Coil Defining Jelly is perfect for adding hold without stiffness. Apply it to individual strands of your hair for an ultra-defined look that will help maintain your curls for days. This jelly is especially designed for tightly coiled hair textures but works wells on most other curl patterns.
Cantu Coconut Curling Cream
Made with 100% pure shea butter, this curling cream deeply moisturizes hair while leaving curls soft. Cantu does a great job of conditioning hair without weighing it down. You'll be impressed with the fact that a little goes a long way.
Mielle Pomegranate & Honey Curling Custard
Get ready to shine with this curling custard. It's perfect for popping curls that are shiny and held in place with a heavy hold that won't crunch or flake. Pomegranate, honey, coconut and babassu oil all come together in an organic formula that smells heavenly.
Writer Kandice Guice/xoNecole
Rico Images
As I Am Coil Defining Jelly
As I Am Coil Defining Jelly is perfect for adding hold without stiffness. Apply it to individual strands of your hair for an ultra-defined look that will help maintain your curls for days. This jelly is especially designed for tightly coiled hair textures but works wells on most other curl patterns.
Writer Kandice Guice/xoNecole
Rico Images
Cantu Coconut Curling Cream
Made with 100% pure shea butter, this curling cream deeply moisturizes hair while leaving curls soft. Cantu does a great job of conditioning hair without weighing it down. You'll be impressed with the fact that a little goes a long way.
Writer Kandice Guice/xoNecole
Rico Images
Mielle Pomegranate & Honey Curling Custard
Get ready for your hair to shine with this curling custard. It's perfect to create popping curls that are shiny and held in place with a heavy hold that won't crunch or flake. Pomegranate, honey, coconut and babassu oil all come together in an organic formula that smells heavenly.
Writer Kandice Guice/xoNecole
Rico Images
Photography by Rico Images.
The mother of one reached her breaking point after failing to continue her 685-day blue-dot streak on Peleton due to having a busy day with her daughter. Achieving the beloved blue dot was like receiving a gold star for her hard work, and it meant everything to her. So, once she lost it, she literally lost it, breaking down into tears. However, that vulnerable moment helped her to reexamine her life and inspired her to write Stop Waiting For Perfect. While writing the book, she had to face another perfectionist trait: procrastination. As a fellow journalist, I can relate. The term deadline junkie didn’t come from anywhere. L’Oreal explains how procrastination relates to perfectionism.
“I think there were seven different types of perfectionism I read about (you can take a quiz to see what type of perfectionist you are here), and when I found out that procrastination was one of them because, I never thought of myself as a procrastinator. I would just sometimes wait until the last minute, right before the deadline,” she says. “So, I was like, okay, that's not that, but then when I started to think about okay, like, because when you're procrastinating, at least for me, and for a lot of perfectionists, it's like, well, when I sit down in front of this Google Doc like for all the writers out there, I have to know exactly what I'm going to say and I have to say it perfectly. There's no room for error. There's no room for experimentation, and what that does, though, is it prevents us from just putting words on paper.”
Photo courtesy of L'Oreal Thompson Payton
She continues her explanation by sharing a tweet that became her aha moment in her writing process. “There was a tweet that came across as I was writing the first draft of the book that said, ‘you're, or you can edit bad, but you can't edit enough,’ and that really unlocked for me like, okay, my job is to put words on a paper.”
In other words, waiting for the perfect moment is holding you back, but as I mentioned earlier, we are here to help. L’Oreal provides a few tips on letting go of perfectionism while still maintaining success in your life. you can set mini goals and have people you can trust hold you accountable. “If our dream is to launch the podcast in January 2024, what then can you do right now in September 2023, and then October and November, etc., to set yourself up for success because I think that a lot of times we go into it– it has to be perfect on the first one,” she explains.
“I have to come out the gate with this, you know, like masterpiece, and that is just unrealistic, and it's not even holding yourself to a high standard. It's holding yourself to an impossible standard and so giving yourself some grace along the way, allowing for experimentation to try something, and then pivoting when it doesn't work. But first, you have to put it out there, and finding people that you know and trust and who are going to support you along the way is really important.”
What’s on the other side of managing perfectionism? Freedom. Thanks to what she refers to as her “wake-up call,” she now prioritizes rest and no longer beats herself up for not meeting certain standards, and yes, that pertains to receiving a blue dot on Peleton.
“It's been a process and very much progress over perfection because there are moments where I slip, but forgiving myself and then trying again, I think, is like the whole point and purpose of it,” she says. And in the midst of unlearning these unhealthy habits, she’s having healthy conversations with her daughter about boundaries, self-love, and listening to her body.
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Feature image courtesy of Chuck Olu-Alabi
