Donna's Blog

Walking into the New Year with great determination to achieve your resolutions, is amazing! Whether it’s being more active, trying a new diet, or just having a positive outlook on life, you should applaud yourself. Having a resolution isn’t an easy task, but have you ever considered having a healthy hair resolution? Creating curl habits to follow throughout the year can be extremely helpful for  a healthy hair journey. Here are some easy healthy hair resolutions you’ll actually want to stick with. 1. Deep condition weekly If there is one obvious thing we could all do more often (especially during the winter season), it’s deep condition! A lot of curly and coily heads struggle with dryness, so deep conditioning at least once a week will make a huge difference. For 2022, a healthy hair goal is to deep condition at least 3 times a month for hydrated, bouncy, and shiny curls! With using a deep conditioner, simply apply it thoroughly to wet hair and let it sit for 5-20 minutes before rinsing with cool water. For extra hydration, use a heated shower cap so the heat will boost the moisturizing magic! 2. Say no to traditional shampoo If you’re still using shampoo packed with harsh sulfates and alcohol, it’s finally time to make the switch! Harsh sulfates, silicones and parabens can dry out hair and lead to color fading, frizz, and flakiness. When using a curl friendly shampoo, make sure to saturate your hair with water and scrub the product in and out of your scalp. This will ensure the product is moving through your scalp and hair to gently cleanse. Your curls will thank you for it, trust!  3. Experiment with different hairstyles If you’re feeling bored with your waves, curls, and coils, don’t worry! Look through Instagram and Pinterest, or ask your hairstylist for new hairstyle inspiration. It can be easy to get into a hair rut, but in 2022, try experimenting with new and exciting styles! Have fun with it! 4. Get regular curly hair cuts and trims If you aren’t maintaining a regime with your haircuts and trims, now is the perfect time to start! In between each haircut, your hair can to form dry, split ends which can lead to breakage. To avoid this, get a curly haircut approximately every 12 weeks and a trim every 6 weeks for healthier curls! Plus, who doesn’t love a bit of pampering every now and then?! 5. Lay off the heat We know, avoiding heat tools to the curb seems impossible, but it’s really not. Believe it or not, your curls will love you for it in the end. Using heat on your hair can be the most damaging and can even permanently change your curl pattern. Try minimizing heat styling tools as much as possible and always remember. If you are using them, use heat protectant and keep it on the lowest heat setting. 6. Stimulate your scalp If you’re wanting hair growth in the new year, you should be massaging your scalp often. Daily actually! Gently massage Donna’s Hair Strength Oil into the scalp to increase the blood flow thus promoting hair growth!   7. Stop striving for curly perfection Please quit comparing your curls to others and stop worrying about having the perfect curls in your block. This will only make your life harder and lead to low self-confidence. Caring for your curls should be fun! The very first step to healthy hair is embracing your own crown! 8. Spread the healthy hair love Try inspiring other fellow curly cousins to embrace their healthy hair journey! Talking to other curlies means expanding their knowledge, supporting one another, and most importantly, making new friends! If it’s on social media or in person, spreading healthy hair love is something everyone should try to do more of in 2022. 9. Don’t be afraid to rock your curls Last but definitely not least, never be afraid to rock your curls. Whether you’re starting a new job, new school year or getting married, never be scared to embrace your natural locks.  Do you have any healthy hair resolutions on your list? If so, what are they? Let us know in the comments below!

The holidays are fast approaching. It’s time to start thinking of how you’d like to show your curly-haired family and friends all the love and appreciation they deserve. Let’s be honest: Do they really need another candle or pair of leggings? Probably not. So, if you're looking for the ultimate gift for your curly-haired loved one, here are some curly hair must haves for this holiday season! Enjoy!    Silk Scrunchies  Not all ponytail holders are created equal. As those with textured hair know, standard hair elastics pull on the strands and cause breakage. Those rubber bands just won’t do.  Thank you 1980s, as hair scrunchies have made a comeback! What’s amazing is that silk scrunchies don’t pull on curly hair because they’re soft and adaptable. Scrunchies are wonderful for the holidays because they’re easy to pop inside a stocking. You can even get playful with the colours for that extra taste of holiday cheer.  Satin Lined Beanies and Baseball Caps Super ideal as a holiday gift for friends and family! The temperature is falling, they need to bundle up, keep warm, and still look fly’. Typical hat materials like cotton are known for absorbing water, which includes the moisture in your hair. This is problematic for curly, kinky, coily, and high-porosity hair, which can lose moisture easily, leading to frizz. Hook up your loved ones with a satin lined beanie because this fabric won’t tug on or damage their hair.  Silk or Satin Pillowcases Silk pillowcases don’t just look luxurious in a bedroom, they’re also incredible when it comes to keeping curls smooth. Upgrade your loved one’s pillowcases to silk or satin and you’ll never hear them complain about frizzy bedhead again. Made from natural fiber, this pillowcase reduces frizz, locks in moisture, and preserves the shape of curls. And bonus, silk pillowcases are thought to keep skin glowing and promote deeper sleep. Scalp Massager Scalp care is a big part of a healthy hair journey. A healthy scalp is one way to help ensure a strong and healthy hair growth. A scalp massage, especially when done with beneficial hair oils, like Donna’s Hair Strength Oil improves blood circulation on the scalp. Give a scalp massager to a curly bestie so she can enjoy its relaxing AND stimulating benefits. Edge Brush Give your loved one’s baby hairs the TLC they deserve with an edge brush. They have soft boar bristles for styling the hairline of all types of hair. It’s definitely not an expensive gift but it’s one of those thoughtful holiday gifts for best friends and family members who love laying and slaying their edges. Microfiber Towel Wash day won’t do much unless curls are dried with the TLC they deserve. That means no harsh rubbing with rough cotton towels. Curls need gentle materials, like microfiber, to thrive. A durable microfiber towel is gentler on fragile curls than traditional terry cloth. This magical material absorbs up to seven times its weight in moisture. A microfiber towel is an amazing gift for your loved ones so they can reduce their frizz and protect the shape and vibrancy of their precious curls. A Wide-Tooth Comb or Detangling Brush Are your close ones seeking to add volume to their lack-luster curls? A wide tooth comb creates fuller, thicker hair without frizz that traditional hair brushes create.  While a detangling brush is a necessity for styling wet curly hair, a wide-tooth comb is essential for creating definition, volume and curl separation when hair is dry. A wide tooth comb is suitable for dry or wet hair, which minimizes hair breakage and maximizes curls.  See any items you have your eyes on for you or your loved ones? Which one? Tell us!

You’re looking in the mirror and you know something just isn’t right. Where did your lovely curls and your natural curl pattern go?! This is the moment that you realize it's the result of repeated flat ironing, blow-drying, perm after perm, dyeing, and bleaching. Your curls that were once defined, bouncy, and happy are now stringy, limp, and lifeless – almost like they forgot how to curl! Now you’re wondering, “How can I undo all this damage? How can I get my curl pattern back?” Well, the truth is – you can’t jump in a time machine and travel back to its original state of health. What you CAN do is restore its strength and train your new growth coming in. First and foremost, the most important step to embracing your natural curls is to make the decision that you want to commit to loving your curls no matter what. Applaud yourself and give yourself credit for having the courage to do this!   1.  Avoid heat, please! Burnt hair can’t be restored or repaired. The only solution for excessive heat damage is the growth of new hair. So, put the heat-styling tools down, right now! Or simply just throw them away. For drying your hair: Instead of a blow-dryer, use a microfiber towel or cotton t-shirt. It will remove excess water from your hair without irritating or drying out your strands.  If possible, try to air-dry your hair after using the microfiber towel. A good air-drying tip is to add leave-in conditioner, styling cream/gel and Donna’s Hair Strength Oil to your damp hair, quickly do your hair in a protective style or wash & go, and let it dry while retaining moisture.   2. Physically train your curls when styling If you're transitioning, more than likely, your ends don't resemble your natural hair texture or curl pattern of your roots. Therefore your ends need to be trained to curl and spring up again. When it's time to style your hair, finger coil and scrunch each loc of hair. Yes, it may be time consuming, but this will subconsciously tell your curls they need to start curling up again. They won't curl back immediately, but they will naturally make it a habit to curl on your own in due time!   3.  If you must use heat – do so wisely. Limit how often you use heat and when you do, use the lowest and coolest setting possible. If you must use a blow-dryer, flat iron, or other heat styling tools, remember to ALWAYS use a heat protectant. A heat protectant forms a protective layer around each of your strands guarding the cuticle from extreme heat. Another helpful tip is to avoid using heat-styling tools on your wet hair. Water molecules can absorb a lot of heat, so frying your strands from the inside will cause all the moisture to evaporate. Make sure your hair is only damp (not soaking wet) before you turn that blow dryer on (if you MUST).  4.  Give your hair a deep conditioning boost. Whether you lost your curl pattern to damage caused by heat or chemical processing, moisturizing your hair is and will always be key. The best way to do that is with weekly deep conditioning. Deep conditioners or hair masks are excellent ways to hydrate and moisturize your strands, scalp, and follicles. They also are nutrient-rich to help boost hair health. To ensure you get all the goodness from your deep conditioner, consider using a clarifying shampoo before deep conditioning. This will help to remove buildup so your deep conditioner can actually get to your scalp and cuticles to work its magic. Damaged hair tends to be dry and brittle, so use a leave-in conditioner to hydrate and moisturize your hair on a daily basis.    5. Lay off the dyes, bleaches, and relaxers for a while. At this point, coloring, highlighting and chemical straightening your hair should take a back seat. Your hair can’t take more manipulation. Dyes and bleaches are notorious for damaging and weakening your hair. Relaxers chemically change the structure of your stands, therefore changing your curl pattern.  If you still choose to color your hair, at least avoid any color that will require you to bleach your hair. Instead, go with a tone that matches your natural color to avoid bleaching.     Finally, transitioning your hair back to its natural curl pattern will take time, patience and LOVE! Use this journey as a way to get to know your hair type and texture better. Take the time to find out which styles and products work best for your hair. Develop a hair care routine that helps you nourish your strands into thicker, healthier hair as you proudly show off your natural curl pattern!    

Caring for your own hair is already a job, so when you have a curly kid it’s double the effort and work caring for two heads of hair. Here are a few must have parent tips and tricks when caring for your curly kids hair.     1. Use a Pre-Poo Using a pre-poo like helps to detangle their hair before shampooing to help melt all of the knots and tangles. A Pre-Poo is used before you wash the hair, and it helps to detangle the curls. This saves so much time and is really a game changer when it comes to detangling your little one’s hair.      2. Wash Less Often Believe it or not, you can wash your kid’s hair as little as once a week or every other week! Try to keep your hands out of their hair so often. Make sure you create a wash day routine that works best for you. If you feel the need to wash more often, consider trying a co-wash. In short, co-washing just means that you're replacing your shampoo and conditioner with only one product that can simultaneously cleanse and moisturize your hair without stripping away the natural oils. So look for products that say “Cleansing Conditioner”.            3. Detangle The Hair While Wet! Also always make sure to detangle their hair wet not dry. This will save you tears on both ends! Use either a denman brush, a detangling flexi brush or any silicone brush with nylon bristles. They all work wonders! NEVER, detangle dry hair.        4. Try Protective Styling Mini twists or braids are super cute protective styles for my daughter and son. They last long and both serve as a two part hairstyle! Try to keep the mini twists or braids for about  a week or two, then have them wear as a twist out or braid out for a few days, and then follow with a bun. Keep it simple and keep your hands out of their hair as much as possible.       5. Use The LOC Method Let's face it, curly hair tends to get dry and that is no exception with our curly kids. However, using the LCO method can help keep their hair moisturized. The LCO method is an abbreviation for leave-in conditioner, cream and oil. It is also a way you should apply the products to you and your kids' hair. This specific order of products helps to maximize moisture retention. Especially ending with Donna’s Hair Strength Oil to really help seal in all of the moisture.            6. Always Protect The Hair At Night Keeping your curly kid’s hair protected at night is very important to keep their hair healthy. Make sure that your son or daughter sleeps in a satin bonnet or on a satin pillowcase. Cotton can dry out the hair, so it’s important to keep the hair covered while sleeping. What are some ways that you care for your curly kids hair? Let us know in the comments what your top tips are for your little ones.

Yes it’s understood that the holiday season can be the most wonderful time of the year. However, it can be one the most stressful times as well. That stress can weigh heavily, not just on our mental and emotional health but our physical well-being; which includes our hair. It would be unfortunate that, once the new year starts you’ve got some excessive shedding, breakage or other issues going on with your own crown. Here's some guidance on how to protect your scalp and hair so that you can walk into 2022 with your hair feeling as amazing as can be!   1. Grab Some Pine Essential Oil Ah yes. What would your home, or your health, be without the fresh smell of pine this holiday season? Pine essential oil can actually do wonders for your hair!  This oil contains antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and detoxifying ingredients. These can help rid your scalp of fungus (like the kind that leads to dandruff),  and it can also help soothe any eczema-related scalp breakouts.  2. Treat Yourself to a Scalp Massage When’s the last time that you actually treated yourself to a scalp massage? The holiday season can definitely be a busy time of the year, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cut yourself short of relaxation either. Hopefully you’ll get at least a couple of days off, so you can use that time to rest and sneak in a few scalp massages. These massages are great and super essential because they help calm your nerves, increase blood circulation to your hair follicles, and can help to strengthen the roots of your hair. Also, make sure to add in a few drops of Donna’s Hair Strengthening oil before starting your scalp massage, as all the ingredients are curl friendly! 3. Eat Some Foods That Are Currently in Season Taking good care of your hair on the outside is great, but that also means you have to take extra care on the inside. I know holiday foods and treats can be tempting but try not to go overboard with sugar. The reason why is because sugar can cause bodily inflammation which then results in hair damage and possible hair loss.  ​​On the bright side, turkey (the signature holiday meat) is loaded with protein which is something that your curls will love! Other seasonal foods that are healthy for your hair include apples (biotin), collards  (a multivitamin for your hair), cranberries (antioxidants and if you put some pure juice into your shampoo, it can actually help to repair your hair follicles), pumpkin (which has Vitamin A to help your scalp to stay moisturized), pears (feeds nutrients to your hair follicles), sweet potatoes (reduces hair thinning) and mangos (powerful moisturizing ingredients). 4. Keep Your Cuticles Sealed When your cuticles are not sealed, the rest of your hair is extremely vulnerable to weather changes, which results in frizz, dryness, and dandruff. Some steps that you can do to keep your cuticles protected include adding a teaspoon of Donna’s Hair Strength Oil to your deep conditioner, rinsing your hair with cool water on wash days, diffusing your hair on a cooler setting with the nozzle pointing downwards, and clarifying your hair with an apple cider vinegar rinse, every third wash, in order to remove buildup. 5. Dig Into Your Closet Honestly one of the best things about the holiday season is how it’s perfectly normal to cover up your curls from all of the extreme weather changes. So, on the days (or nights) when you’re just not in the mood to style your hair, grab one of your cute hats, head scarfs or scrunchies in your closet. Just make sure that they are lined with satin; otherwise, you could end up irritating your roots.  6. Put It into a Protective Style A protective style helps protect your hair, so that you aren’t manipulating and styling it as much as you usually do. Yes, this means that wigs and weaves fall under this category as long as your real hair is still being maintained. However, if you want to try a new protective style, some include marley twists, faux locs, knotless braids, large box braids and jumbo twists. These styles are amazing and definitely low-maintenance. Which  will keep you less stressed out, so that you can focus on other things this holiday season. Enjoy!  

Hello cousins! I guarantee that the part us curly cousins don’t look forward to is detangling our hair. Am I right? I know it can be time consuming and seeing hair shedding can be scary.  But wait, what if I told you that you can detangle like a pro to reduce breakage and to grow your hair as long as possible? Wet Hair The first thing to do is thoroughly wet hair in the shower. Just drench it! When your hair is wet, bonds naturally break within your hair, and this actually makes your hair more flexible to comb. Just remember wet hair is more prone to being damaged or broken off, because it is now in a more vulnerable state. This is why you must be extremely gentle whenever you’re detangling wet hair. The benefit to detangling wet hair is that it is softer, more flexible, and easier to manage. So you end up getting less breakage, and in the long run...longer hair.  When applying your shampoo, it’s incredibly important to focus on your scalp. Your scalp is where you accumulate the most build up . So apply, work on the scalp, massage your scalp, then rack the remaining shampoo towards your roots.   Section Hair After cleansing and rinsing your hair out, the next step is conditioning. A key factor is to section your hair. Depending on how thick your hair is, section your hair into 2-4 sections. If you have tightly coiled hair or hair that is prone to tangles, this allows you to focus on each section more thoroughly, which also helps reduce breakage.    Keep Hair Wet When applying conditioner to each section, continuously add water so the conditioner can distribute evenly or more smoothly. Conditioners work best on dripping wet hair (your hair should already be dripping wet since you’re in the shower *wink emoji). Don’t allow your hair to start drying up while you're detangling, because it will be A LOT more difficult to detangle when dry.     Finger Detangle  Start to finger detangle from the very ends and work your way towards your roots. I know a lot of people really hate to finger detangle because it can be time consuming. However, if you can continuously add water and conditioner while finger detangling, the process will shorten. Also, the one time you want to be super patient with your hair is during the detangling process. Remember, your hair is at its most vulnerable state when it’s wet, so it needs a lot of TLC. When you finger detangle, you’re actually feeling for the tangles as opposed to possibly ripping them through with a comb or brush.      Grab a Detangle Brush After you're done finger detangling, use either a denman brush, a detangling flexi brush or any silicone brush with nylon bristles. Please avoid any brushes with little ball pins, as these can cause breakage for curly hair.  Use your detangling brush from the ends towards your roots to catch any smaller detangles or shed hair you may have missed while finger detangling. When you encounter a knot, don’t just rip through it with your fingers or brush. Really isolate that section of hair and try to remove the hairs one by one. This process not only significantly reduces the amount of breakage, but it will also make it a lot less scary to see less hair shedding. Rinse with Cool Water Once your brush is easily able to glide through your hair without any resistance, twist each section up before moving on to the next to prevent any possible new detangling.  Once you’re done with the entire detangling process, untwist each section of your hair, and rinse out 80-90% of your conditioner in COOL WATER! If you rinse your hair in warm or hot water it will detrimentally dry out your hair and cause frizz (and we don’t want that). So colder water will help seal in your moisture and help reduce the amount of frizz.  Once you hop out of the shower, pop in one of Donna’s Recipe Biotin Vitamin Gummies to keep your hair strong after detangling it! Thank you for taking time to read  about my shower process. Now you’re ready! So go ahead and jump in the shower to start detangling like a pro!!

Hey cousins! We’re back with Keeping Up Kurls With Kiana! Even if you are using the exact same styling products, you could  get completely different results based on how you choose to dry your hair. Drying is all about PATIENCE!  First things first. Let’s talk about the products that you’re using. If you’re a no product, water only and splash of coconut oil type of girl, this unfortunately can cause tons of frizz and your curls will only last a day or two. If you want your curls to last longer, have a strong hold and be frizz free, you’ll need to incorporate a styling product, or two, or three (leave in conditioner, cream, or gel...the combinations are endless!). Great tip* You can add 2-3 drops of Donna’s Recipe Strength Hair Oil to your leave in conditioner to add provide moisture & seal in the moisture.  Such ingredients in Donna's Recipe such as avocado, castor and olive oils offers great moisture.  Just a couple drops will be good.   Did you know there’s a thing as diffusing too early? Diffusing too early is like touching your nail polish when it’s still wet. If you diffuse immediately after applying your styling products, this can actually cause frizz throughout your hair. Instead, before you start to diffuse your hair, let your hair AIR DRY until it has that slight caste on it. Let your hair air dry for about 15-30 minutes until you start to feel a hold or crunchy-ness to your curls. This is your curls way of telling you it’s time to start diffusing so they can be frizz free!  Here are the Pros and Cons for Diffusing: PRO: Diffusing dries your hair so much faster compared to air drying. You’re looking at 30 minutes versus 3 hours! Diffusing will automatically break away the caste in your hair, leaving it extremely soft. With diffusing, you’ll get a lot more volume, drama and pizazz! CON: The downside to diffusing is that you will get more shrinkage to your curls, because when placing your curls in your diffuser and diffusing upwards, you’re subconsciously telling your curls to spring and curl upwards.   With gaining more definition, it all depends on your curl pattern. If you have wavy hair or bigger looser curls (2a-3b), and your hair looks straight when it’s wet, using a diffuser will make your curls or waves look more prominent, because diffusing your curls will train them to curl upwards. Here are the Pros and Cons for Air Drying: PRO:  If elongation is your goal, then air drying is the way to go! Definition is more guaranteed Less frizz! CON: When air drying, it will naturally leave in the caste, so you’ll have to crunch out the caste with your hands. Can take HOURS to dry! Maybe even a day or two. If you choose to diffuse your curls, make sure you know how to properly use the diffuser. Even though we want our curls to dry as fast as possible, setting your diffuser to the hottest level at full blast will detrimentally dry out your curls and lose all of its moisture. So make sure to pace between the lowest and middle setting, and between the cool and warm setting. Now let me know what method you use to dry your curls! Are you Team Air Dry or Team Diffuse?!   Order below and enter code: MONDAY (Cyber Monday 40% off)    

Our edges are the most vulnerable and needs special, consistent care. Here are some healthy hair habits to follow for our loving edges.   1.  Stop all that pulling Our edges can't take that long term.  Over time, the tension and pulling can cause permanent damage and you know we don't want that.  So, look into styles that doesn't require as much tension like twist outs, wash and go, minimum heat styles where you straighten and can wrap.  Also, let your stylist know when a style is too tight and pulling your edges beyond comfort.  Your edges are counting on you to be their advocate since they can't speak for themselves.  Yes!  Very good!   2.) Apply Oil A good oil that has moisture and sealant oils are great for our edges.  Oils that provide moisture is avocado, olive and coconut oil.  Sealing oils are best to seal in the moisture provided from the moisturizing oils.  Good sealing oils are jojoba and grapeseed oils.  Donna's Recipe Strength Oil  has you covered with both the moisture and sealing oils to apply to your edges.   3.) Mist water on edges Water gives flexibility and moisture so edges aren't so easy to break while styling.  When you use edge gel, it makes your edges hard and more susceptible to breakage.  Misting on water is great before applying styling products.\   4. Don't touch or rub them Some people have made it a habit of rubbing your edges and this is where eventually a clean bald spot or very little hair will result in this habit.  Replace this habit with something else such as rubbing your sleeve. Whatever you do, leave that rubbing alone on your edges!   5.) Use a satin/silk pillowcase and head wraps I know you've heard this before but we're going to keep saying it because cotton can cause friction and pull out our poor edges.  We need them, you hear.     6. Eat protein rich foods and take supplements to strengthen edges.  Great items for your grocery list include almonds, quinoa, lentils, pumpkin seeds, and brussel sprouts.  These are some high protein rich foods to snack on and add to meals.  Also Donna's Recipe Set includes 10,000mcg of biotin gummies that are great to add to your list to help a healthy hair routine for your edges.   Thank you for taking time to read healthy habits.      

Donna said put those flat irons down but we know some of her cousins still may enjoy using them.  So, here's some heat hair crimes to avoid when using heating tools. Let's get right into it!   1.) Setting heating tools on the hottest setting This is a big NO as it will cause severe damage to your hair and most hair strands simply can't handle that high of heat even on one use.  Talk to a stylist that specializes in healthy hair on a setting that is acceptable for your hair type.   2.) Not using a heat protectant This is necessary on so many levels and so many people skip out on using a heat. protectant before heat styling.  It's important to help protect from moisture loss which works to prevent hair breakage.   3.) Using flat irons on dirty hair The best time to flat iron hair is on clean hair right after shampoo and conditioning.  Flat ironing on dirty hair from the oil and dirt will "burn" your hair making it more vulnerable to more damage than standard heating.  4. Passing the flat iron too slow When you’re sliding the flat iron down your hair it’s imperative to keep it moving. Don't move too slow because you are simply frying your hair out. If you go super slow thinking you are getting it straighter, you are actually overheating your hair and causing major irreversible damage.    5. Not giving your hair a break There's no other way to escape this.  You have to give your hair a break.  Allow moisture to absorb in your hair and be restored from being dried out.  You can wear your hair in it's natural state (check back soon with easy natural hair styles) or use a protective style like twists or braids.  Make sure to keep up your healthy hair routine with Donna's Recipe Strength Hair Oil and Donna's Recipe Biotin.      Share some other heat crimes that can help your fellow cousin.