Captured Curls: Maya

This curly girl is a ball of joy and love from what I see via InstaGram and her YT videos. I came across this beauty and her head full of curls about a week ago via Kinky Kurly Queen and FELL IN LOVE! Maya has amazing hair and a seemingly great personality to match. I think you all will really enjoy her story as a biracial curly girl. 

Please, Introduce yourself!

Hola!!! My name is Maya Washington aka Shamelessmaya and I'm a NYC based artist with a forte in photography and voice over acting. I began this social media experiment on myself on how to #beshameless back in April 2012 to annihilate my inhibitions and attitude towards self promotion. part of this experiment includes making YouTube videos. One particular video, The Ultimate Curly Hair tutorial has been a hit with the curlies hence this interview :)

What is your current hair care regimen?

My current hair regimen? currently with this humid weather it's wash less. My curls don't stand a chance! I've resorted to buns and corn rows. I do wash with the Shea Moisture line and moisturize with Inter Cellular (IC) and Vatika coconut oil. When I plan on wearing it curly I use Shea Moisture's Curl and Style milk.

Protective Style: Box Braids

I am braided up again and so happy to have such a low maintenance style! Next Wednesday is my 23rd birthday and I treated myself to a 5 day trip to Los Angeles, CA. I wanted my hair to be easy to manage and protected while on vacation and I didn't wait to bring ANY products with me that I may have had to toss because of flight regulations. 

I am satisfied with the outcome but the whole process took way too long! I was sitting in a salon chair for about 7 hours, maybe 8. To be honest, the shop I went to was terrible and the workers were very unprofessional. I will withhold the shop's name because the experience was THAT bad and I would not recommend them. My normal braider was not available so I had to shell out $180 for these braids. Ouch!

I will be making a YT video and taking some pics to show you all what I look like with them. Even after a horrible braid shop visit, I will say that the finished product is gorgeous! 

In Review: Chatto's Hair Products

About a month ago I was contacted by the folks who make Chatto's hair products for a review. After checking out their site I was indeed interested in giving the products a try. They are made with great ingredients that are awesome for the hair and skin. I was sent quite a few items but I decided to review my top three choices. 

Aloe Moisture Hair Mist- $20

(Description:  All natural unique blend of leave-in moisture spray formulated to repair and condition the hair follicles, repairs the hair fibers, bring a reservoir of strength and help stop breakage. Restores and reinforces hair weakened from twisting and twining, brittle hair, dry scalp, and brings daily moisture to hair.)

Growth Leave In- $16.95

(Description: Improves the structure of the hair, treats severely damaged hair, rebuilds split ends, repairs, reconstructs, and rejuvenates dry damaged hair. Stimulates the hair follicles, fortifies the hair shaft, adds volume, keeps the scalp clean and promotes hair growth. With its minty smell, it does not just stimulate your scalp but wakes you up.)

 Botanical vitamin shampoo -$20.50

(Description: Vitamin rich shampoo effectively promotes growth, softens hard to manage hair and supplies nutrients to the scalp to bring hair back to its proper PH. Promotes growth, cools the scalp while preventing dry scalp, and preserves optimum moisture to Straight, Dry, Curly, or Wavy hair. Hair retains its original moisture & brings life back to the hair.)

For the past few weeks I have used the above Chatto's products religiously. The  are AMAZING! If you are looking for a good hair mist I would definitely recommend investing in this one. The mist is light and refreshing to the scalp and also restores moisture. It is packed with great ingredeints like, Aloe Vera, horsetail, lavender, olive and argan oils! How great is that?  I liked using this product and then sealing with raw shea butter. My curlies were amazing and my puff ball was super soft.


Mist Ingredients: Deionized Water, Aloe Vera, Horsetail, Argan Oil, Olive Oil, Lavender Oil, Jojoba Oil, Chamomile, Sage,Rosemary, Burdock Root Oil, Vitamin b5 (Panthenol), Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Hydrolyzed Collagen,Lanolin, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Vitamin E


I am sure a lot of your are weary because of the high prices and that's understandable BUT I will say, I am very satisfied. I think it's safe to say that the products are worth the money. I will definitely purchase more items from their shop once I run out of my complimentary ones. 

Captured Curls: Leila

Oh, how I love social media! I met the beauty below while in NY a month or so ago. She is actually friendly with the friends I was staying with and to my surprise had been following the blog and my InstaGram for quite some time!  Of course, I needed to have this beautiful head of hair featured on the blog. I swear that's the first thing I say to someone natural... "Ummm, I'm a natural hair blogger and I would LOVE to feature you!" LOL, anywho... I hope you enjoy Miss.Leila's story. Her hair is amazing, definitely hair porn!

Please, introduce yourself!

Hi! My name is Leila Jean. I’m a recent graduate of St. John’s University in NYC. I studied advertising but my goal is to get into public health and nutrition and be a role model to young adults in my generation. I love anything that promotes a better way of living and that is creative and brings pure joy.

What is your current hair care regimen?

My current hair regime is first picking a day when I’m not busy or in a rush so that I can be patient with myself. I separate my hair in about 10 twists then I dilute Jane Carter’s shampoo or any co-wash conditioner and apply directly to my scalp with an applicator bottle. I rinse deep condition. I recently revisited detangling on hair saturated with Jane Carter’s deep conditioner and it works well for me these days. My hair remains in twist throughout this whole process. I rinse add Giovanni’s direct leave-in and seal it with a butter my favorite is Anita Grant’s whipped butter. I let it air dry and style in the morning. When my hair is moisturized and stretch it decrease breakage and makes my mornings super easy.

What is your hair type and what works best for your texture?

I don’t get into hair types. My hair is a mixture of really tight cork screw curls to really loose ones in the front and back. For my texture the most important thing is moisture without a doubt.

Anita Grant's Rhassoul Deep Condish Cube DC Recipe

These cubes are my favorite! Anita Grant's Rhassoul Clay Cubes are super easy use, great for the hair and quite fun to mix together. I've tried these magic conditioning cubes before and I loved them. The lovely folks at AG sent me a few more to try and I think I just might love them more! See below for how I use and mix my rhassoul clay cubes...

large storage container

1/2 cup of coconut milk

3 Anita Grant Rhassoul Cubes

1/4 of a banana 

(I recommend using jarred baby food banana. It's less messy and easier to rinse out.)

1/3 cup of Agave nectar or honey

1/2 of Castor Oil

Step 1: Mash up or puree your banana until smooth

Add your agave nectar and castor oil and mix together well with the banana.

Step 2: In a microwave safe bowl add your coconut milk and heat for 1.5 minutes

Step 3: Add your clay cubes. I ended up using all 3 because my hair is thick.

Captured Curls: India Benet

This week's Captured Curls is featuring the lovely India Benet! Some of you may know her as Eric Benet's daughter, others may be a fan of her beautiful voice but what captured my attention to the stunning songstress were her beautiful curls. India and I started following each other a few months back on Twitter and OF COURSE I tried my hand at getting her on the blog. When she agreed I was super anxious to read and post her curly girl story. I think you ladies will really enjoy India's simple approach to hair care! 

Please, introduce yourself!

Hey! I’m India Benet. Singer/Songwriter, LF Stylist and USC Student!

What is your current hair care regimen?

About every other morning I apply Shea Moisture African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner. I run it through my hair in the shower with my fingers until it’s even, and then I wet my hair and crunch my curls with my hands from the bottom up. I towel dry and diffuse a little, but only until it’s about half way dry. After that I just let it air dry! It took me a long time to figure out a system that works perfectly for my hair!

What is your hair type and what works best for your texture?

My hair has ringlet curls with varying curl patterns all over my head. It’s also dry. I need to make sure that I get the right amount of moisture. The Shea Moisture African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner is my FAVORITE. It gives me moisture without my hair looking oily or greasy.