If you're a product junkie like me (trust me, I'm getting better), then you might want to consider making room for one more product or two.
As a natural hair girlie, I have tried many lines that claim to soften your hair, help it grow, or do all the above, and while some of them have worked, others, not so much. Recently, I had the pleasure of trying the new collection from Flawless by Gabrielle Union, a line that she teamed up with celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims for, and I have to say, I enjoyed the experience.
The line primarily uses Brazilian bacuri butter, which, according to the site, softens hair, increases its ability to absorb moisture, adds natural shine, and promotes overall hair health. I'm all about finding products that will help with the health of my hair, especially after experiencing dryness, excessive shedding, and hair loss from dying my hair blond.
I tried five products in total: the 3 Minute Restoring Conditioner, Styling Glaze, 5 Butter Miracle Leave-In Conditioner, Elongating Custard, and Repairing Edge Control.
After taking down my braids, I shampooed my hair and followed it with the 3 Minute Restoring Conditioner. I was instantly entranced by the scent, which reminded me of being on a tropical beach.
3 Minute Restoring Conditioner
Freshly washed hair.
After three minutes, I rinsed the conditioner out, and my hair felt soft and revitalized. Next, I detangled and sectioned my hair and applied the 5 Butter Miracle Leave-In Conditioner. The five butters used in the conditioner are shea, cupuacu, murumuru, bacuri, and mango.
5 Butter Miracle Leave-In Conditioner
How my hair looked after applying the leave-in conditioner.
I followed that up with the Elongating Custard, which is supposed to define curls and minimize frizz without crunch or flaking. Both the leave-in and the custard had the same scent as the conditioner, and I was in heaven. It has a light scent that hits you when you turn your head or even walk, and the best part is that it lasts for days.
Elongating Custard
How my hair looked after applying the elongating custard.
I used the Repairing Edge Control to lay my edges down, and I love that it's infused with biotin and creatine to help grow and strengthen the hair.
Repairing Edge Control and Styling Glaze
The finished look.
A few weeks later, I tried the Styling Glaze to give my curls a little more definition, and I liked it. However, I will have to try it for a slick-back look such as a ponytail as that's what this product was intended for.
Overall, I think Flawless is a good line. What stands out for me is the ingredients used in the products, such as the many butters, rice oil complex, and lilac leaf extract, which all promote healthy hair. And, of course, I can't forget about the inviting, beachy scent.
I'm still relearning my hair after having to cut a lot of it off because of color damage (blond isn't worth it, y'all), so I still have a little frizz where the blond is, which is no fault of the Flawless line. However, I can see myself continuing to use some of the products, especially the conditioner.
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In an xoNecole exclusive, the mom of two opened up about many things, including starting her wellness journey at 13 years old. However, a near-death experience during a procedure at 20 made her start taking her health more seriously.
“There's so many different levels, and now, I'm in a space of just integrating all of this good stuff that I've learned just about just being human, you know?” Dreka tells us. “So it's also fun because it's like a journey of self-discovery and self-mastery. That's what I call it. So it's never-ending.”
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If you follow Dreka, then you’re familiar with her holistic lifestyle, as she’s no stranger to promoting wellness, self-care, and holistic living. She even lives part-time on a Mississippi farm, not far from her grandmother and great-grandmother’s farm, where she spent some summers as a child.
While her grandmother and great-grandmother have passed on, Dreka reflects on that time in her life and how having a farm as an adult is her getting back to her roots. “So the farm was purchased back in 2017, and it was like, ah, that'll just be a place where we go when we're not touring or whatever,” she said.
“But COVID hit, and I was there, and I was on the land, and I just started remembering back to going to my grandmother's during the summertime and freaking picking peas and going and eating mulberries off the freaking tree in the bushes.
“And she literally had cotton plants. I know some people feel weird about picking cotton and stuff. She had cotton plants and I would go and pick cotton out of her garden. And she had chickens, and I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots.”
"I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots."
You can catch glimpses of Dreka’s farm life on Instagram, which shows her picking fruit and vegetables and loving on her animals like her camel Eessa. Her passion for growing and cultivating led her to try and grow all of her ingredients for her wellness brand, Dreka Wellness. However, she quickly realized that she might be biting off more than she could chew. But that didn’t stop her from fulfilling her vision.
Watch below as Dreka talks more about her business, her wellness tips, breaking toxic cycles, becoming a doula, and more.
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As many “church kids” can attest, the altar doubled as a stage for nurturing natural talent, and Angel’s experience was no different. "Growing up in the church, they’re going make you sing in the choir — so singing was a part of my life, probably even before acting became a part of my life." Angel's role as the youngest of four also played well with bringing out her comedic sensibilities. "It kind of became my role, an unspoken role, to bring levity to my family. I was always the comedic little sister that lightened up the mood," she says.
Angel’s trajectory into the industry may not have been the one she imagined, but is far from unexpected.
Credit: Ted Sun
Her formal training in acting, including earning an MFA from the University of California, Irvine, led her to explore musical theater and eventually stand-up comedy. This instinct for humor created a non-linear yet harmonious path, landing her in roles on hit TV shows like Black-ish and A Black Lady Sketch Show, preparing her for what would come next.
Last summer, her spontaneous freestyle launched Angel into her second act: a hit-making rapper. What started with a TikTok video of a preacher warning Louisiana State University students of the supposed dangers of women in Mexican restaurants, soon turned into an instant summertime anthem.
She debuted a freestyle on her podcast Here's the Thing, co-hosted with Kevin Fredericks (KevOnStage), asking Fredericks for a beat, and began freestyling what is now “One Margarita.”
While she admits that she usually “can’t land the plane” doing freestyles, this time it stuck. Producers Casa Di and Steve Steven Terrell blessed the track with a beat that took flight, transforming a cautionary sermon into a chart-topping hit.
Moore has since gone from interviewing celebrities on the NAACP's red carpet to becoming a recipient of the NAACP’s 2023 Outstanding Social Media Personality award, what she notes as a “full circle moment.”
At times, life can feel like one long dress rehearsal, but That Chick Angel is proof that when it's your time to take the stage, no one can stop your shine.
xoNecole: You’ve shared that a lot of the inspiration behind your songs is to just have fun. Has that always been your motivation as an artist/entertainer? Or have you ever dealt with any perfectionism that can stall the flow of fun?
That Chick Angel: “In the very beginning of my content creation career, I was trying to do this ‘perfectionist’ type of thing, and I quickly stopped because nothing was getting done. I was waiting for perfect, but perfect wasn’t showing up. Eventually, I got to a place of, ‘Girl, we’re not going to worry about perfect, we’re going to worry about done,’ and I was able to focus on my true purpose: bringing joy into the room.
“That's where you get the ‘funness’ behind the songs and content I create online or even in my podcast. Not to say that we can’t have deep moments — I will never try to belittle my intelligence or my experiences for a joke, but I also want to speak the truth about situations as well.”
You’ve been creating content since 2009. In what ways has the power of social media played a role in your success?
“I started making content when I got pregnant with my first baby, and it was just a creative outlet. This is my 15th anniversary of [creating] content, so I am blessed to be one of the OGs that started before we knew what the heck was going on.
“At the time, I was very adamant about keeping my professional acting life separate from my content life because I didn't know the value of my content. I remember telling my friends when I would be recording stuff, ‘I don't know why I'm doing this, but I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this.’ I continued to make content, not knowing what it would all amount to. What it has amounted to, career-wise, is that I’ve gotten to establish my brand and say who I am before someone else even had the opportunity to fix their lips to tell me who I am in the space.”
"I continued to make content, not knowing what it would all amount to. What it has amounted to, career-wise, is that I’ve gotten to establish my brand and say who I am before someone else even had the opportunity to fix their lips to tell me who I am in the space."
Credit: Ted Sun
You're a wife and mother of four boys — how do you find balance between the demands of motherhood with your entertainment career?
“I'm a card-carrying member of the Beyhive and I remember seeing the clips of when Blue Ivy started performing with Beyoncé. I'm not an emotional person, but I remember tears welled up seeing Blue Ivy on stage with Beyoncé. It wasn't so much about Blue Ivy in that moment, it was seeing Beyoncé be a consummate performer and a mother at the same moment, at 100 percent. That’s what I long to be: to not have to shrink what God has purposed in me and all the gifts He's given me while being a mother. And not have to shrink being a mother to be all the things God wants me to be.
“Are there times when one has to take precedence? Absolutely. But I feel like I have created a life where I get to do both things: be a family woman and be a businesswoman and not having to sacrifice one for the other.”
One of the things I appreciate about "One Margarita" is how it playfully embraces sexual freedom. How have your personal experiences, including growing up in the church, shaped your views on sexual freedom as the woman you are today?
“It creates safety for a woman to be able to clearly and unashamedly say what she wants. When we have conversations around consent, it’s two people saying, ‘This is what I like, would you like to do this with me?’ And the other person saying, ‘I would like to do this.’ Until we make women know that it is okay for them to verbalize what they want, we're constantly putting them in unsafe places if they don't feel like they can say yes or no.”
"That’s what I long to be: to not have to shrink what God has purposed in me and all the gifts He's given me while being a mother. And not have to shrink being a mother to be all the things God wants me to be."
Credit: Ted Sun
Your latest single, "I Just Wanna Shake My," captures your fun and audacious spirit, and with your EP coming this fall, what can new and existing fans expect from your debut EP?
“They can expect me to walk through whatever door God opens. In 2023, I didn’t know I would have a trap song that has over 20 million streams, but I'm sure the Lord did. My ultimate goal is to release this EP, create a one-woman show around the songs, and tour it in 2025 so I can bring out more of my comedic elements and acting. Whatever doors are going to open, Angel is going to run through and say, ‘God what do you want me to do with it?’"
For more of That Chick Angel, follow her on Instagram @thatchickangel.
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Featured image by Ted Sun