IC Fantasia

ok...i am trying to look into products made my ic fantasia. right now i am using eco styler olive oil gel, but i hear that mayb ic fantasia could be better?? i have kinky, frizzy, curly, wavy, hair, but it is not coarse or fine. i don't want something that leaves my hair crunchy or hard like spritz i prefer something w/ a soft hold that leaves my hair with a "wet" look and sheen and defines my curls and waves so i can wear my twa out when i get ready...any suggestions???

Indi, I feel for you. I really do, but I'm about to grab a switch for you. I read your posts and you are always in a frantic state concerning your hair. You don't like your hair, texture, and you constantly hide it because you say that you have low self-esteem. I've seen that many of the ladies here have given you awesome advice, but it seems as if you haven't taken it. First, do you have a healthy diet? Take vitamins? Drink water? All those things are key. Learn to moisturize your hair first instead of finding the perfect curl. Like someone posted earlier, find what product you like and jot down the first 5 ingredients. Find a simple regimen to start yourself off. Also, you are not going to learn anything about your hair if you keep hiding it. Learn to maintain it before wearing the weaves, so when you take it out, you'll know what your hair needs to replenish itself. Now go back and read all the threads from the folks that gave you good advice. Hey, I am still learning new things about my hair as it is growing. Hang in there and give yourself some self-esteem! That does not come in a bottle. *giving you a BIG hug*

And to answer your question, IC is nice but for me it leaves a heavy feeling afterwards. Now I mix it with my homemade conditioner spray and it helps with moisture and softness.

ty for the advice...it's much appreciated, but it's not like i don't take ne one's advice, i do take their advice...there's been MORE THAN PLENTY advice thrown out there for me but i understand what ur saying. it's not that i have low self-esteem either, it's just the simple fact that i don't really like the way my hair looks when it's short. as i've stated many times before, i am not used to short hair. however, right now i am trying to conquer that problem by looking for a product that i will be happy w/ whenever i do decide to wear my hair out. i am looking for products....not saying i am unhappy w/ my hair in this particular post b/c i know all ppl can do is give me advice lol they can't really do ne thing about it, but i need to get feedback on certain products i am curious about so i can try them and other products if those don't work. i now know sometimes u have to just try product after product until u find what works for u and that is what i'm doing. i am at a point now where i'm going to try product after product until i get my fix lol so until i do find a product or something i am happy w/ from time to time i will ask for product feedback or advice

Have you found anything you like yet?

um...just the hello hydration conditioner, which i heard has alot of glycerin in it and waxes that make ur hair "feel" like it's moisturized and such and the eco styler olive oil gel, which i am trying to replace w/ something else b/c like i said it leaves my hair crunchy.

If your hair likes it, you shouldn't be overly worried about the ingredients in it. When ingredients are taken into consideration and deemed as "bad" it's because if you were to ingest it it probably wouldn't be too healthy, and if it were soaked into your skin in large doses it probably wouldn't be too healthy. But I will say that on the flip side, some people notice that certain ingredients don't sit too well on their hair, and this is all through trial and error. There's nothing wrong with glycerin at least not in the way I've heard it described. Do your own research on "problem" ingredients and make the decision for yourself. I still use products with "cones" and "sulfates" because my hair doesn't mind them.

Now, I'm not saying that everything we pick up in the store and put in our mouths and on our head are okay because they're sold in stores, because even I am looking into making my own moisturizer to get away from unknown ingredients (because I don't understand them), and keep it simple. I am just saying don't jump on bandwagons without knowing why. On top of that, everyone's head is different, so while I may like my sulfates (or tolerate them), some other curly may know that they are damaging for their head. And Oils are all natural and highly revered but not everyone loves them like the truth.

As for Fantasia, never tried it.

Adding oil to EcoStyler helps remove the crunchy feeling, whenever I do my braidouts I add Hawaiian Silky, and Organix Shea Butter and then the EcoStyler (I use Krystal), and I don't get crunchy hair in the morning.

Great points made.

I have not used IC in a looong while- and when I did use it I wasn't natural.
At that time it was very slick- feeling ( I think it contains glycerin & I don't like glycerin),
but held down my edges pretty well when I wore buns. But I didn't love it.

As far as crunchy- I feel you on this. Adding oil does help with this problem.

Again this is truly trial & error- what works for some may not work for you.
I have read about the more costly products alot swear by, but I refuse to pay alot of money for stuff Imma wind up rinsing down the drain! So I use the cheapie condishes and they work great! I have even taken cheapie DCs and added oil and wound up with something similar to a pudding- works great for me, but others frown at the brand or the ingreds. It's just your personal preference.

HTH

Im a supporter of finding what your hair likes and sticking with that. I know some naturals are big on not using certain products with particular ingredients but you have to stick with what works for you. I like hello hydration but i like aussie moist better because my hair feels more moisturized with that. I listen to my hair and let her decide

Good job ladies! We're here for you, Indi!

I agree with my sisters here.

My suggestion is to find products that work and worry about ingredients later. What I mean by that is, once your happy with your hair and the products your using and it's perhaps grown out some, then you can begin to seek out alternative products that are more natural if that's what you want to do. I say that because that is what I've done. I found a gel that worked great for my hair. Herbal Essence Set Me Up Gel (#3). It defines my curls like crazy. It dries crunchy but once I spray it with my refresher it softens right up and I can rock moist, curly, hair for days. After I got good results from that, I decided I wanted to try something more natural (truth be told it was the PJ in me), so I purchased Donna Marie's Miracurling Jelly. I happen to like that also. It does almost as good a job as the HE Gel. But if I didn't like the Donna Marie I could always wash my hair and go back to what I know works and be happy. So, that's my suggestion. Start with inexpensive products (so you're not spending alot) and work your way up if you care about ingredients. It's all trial and error but at least you won't break the bank working it out initially.

All the best to you.

ty sooooo much i really appreciate everything that u ladies have offered me as advice and i am going to take the route in seeing what my hair loves most, but i am going to have to stay away from certain ingredients, but not all b/c mind u, i do have a sensitive scalp....and again, ty for all the great advice

i am going to have to stay away from certain ingredients, but not all b/c mind u, i do have a sensitive scalp

Which ingredients are irritants for you? I am experimenting with excluding cones, sulfates and parabens. I also don't knowingly use products that contain mineral oil or petroleum.
Also, something that helped me minimize scalp problems is making sure I completely rinse products out of my hair including anything that isn't designed to be used as a leave- in.

yea..um stuff like lusters pink oil lotion for hair in the pink bottle, um stuff with alot of perfume or fragrance, stuff with dyes in it, can't use permanent color, um idk wut else right off the top of the brain, but thas all i can think of right now