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Welcome Temptalia's Hair Care Contributors!

Welcome Temptalia’s Hair Care Contributors!

Have you ever despaired of the lack of hair care and product-related posts here on Temptalia? Fear not, we have three amazing women who will be contributing their two cents (and then some!) on all things hair. They each have different concerns but all share a passion for hair, which they hope to pass on to you! You can expect to see posts from them in November 🙂

Amanda Allington, Washington D.C. | Amanda Allington was born in Vancouver, B.C. in Canada but her family moved to southern California when she was just five years old.

She’s lived along the west coast, including Hawaii but has just moved to Washington D.C. Amanda has been married to her husband for four years and they have a two-year old son. Her husband is part of the military, so she and her family move around often, but she really enjoys it, because she can experience different places and people! Luckily, no matter where she has moved, she always finds other people who are as beauty obsessed as she is!

Leili, 19, New York | Leili is a 19-year old New Yorker who is obsessed with beauty, chocolate, and celebrity of the trashiest kind. Her drawers look like the stockroom of a hair salon! She’s currently enrolled in her second year of college but still trying to decide on her major.

When she’s not worrying about that, she’s either at home with a good book, baking scrumptious goodies for her family, or exploring new restaurants with her friends. Check out her blog, Materialistic Musings!

Marla Oddoye, 23, Georgia | Marla is based in Atlanta, Georiga. Having been on a healthy hair journey for the past few years, she has learned the ins and outs of hair care through research, product sampling, and trial and error. Marla is a recent graduate of Emory University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and minor in English. Her interests include spending time with family and friends, reading, volunteering, the arts, and cooking and baking.

Since her family is originally from Ghana, West Africa, she hopes to take a much needed vacation to visit for the first time soon. And while in the midst of applying to medical school and working as a freelance writer, she is a beauty and fashion lover – simple, feminine, and sophisticated aesthetics – who won’t leave home without a good lip balm and mascara. Marla is also a writer for the beauty and fashion forums on AskMissA.com, an online women’s magazine where “charity meets style.”

Get to know our trio of hair mavens! 

Q&A with Amanda

  1. Where did your passion for hair come from? As my passion for makeup grew, I started to become more interested in hair and fashion too. I used to think that my mane was a tangled unmanageable mess, but as I have learned about hair care and products, I have learned how to style my hair into something that is easy and beautiful. I think a lot of women find self-confidence by being proud of their looks and makeup and hair care help us to look the way we want to.
  2. What are five hair products that you can’t live without? Redken All-Soft Shampoo & Conditioner, Thermafuse Dry Oil Serum, Big & Sexy Volumizer, Ceramic Straightener.
  3. What kind of hair do you have? What are your hair-related concerns? I have fine, mousy brown hair of a medium length. My hair is very easily dried out which causes it to be come frizzy and tangled easily. It also can become weighed down with products easily giving me that flat top with a bushy bottom. I want soft, touchable hair that looks healthy and styled so dealing with the dryness, frizziness, and volume without my hair getting heavy or oily are concerns for me.
  4. What can we find you doing in your free time? I love to cook and bake and am especially into organic, all-natural foods. I regularly visit local farmers markets for inspiration and food treasures, am part of a CSA and occasionally find satisfaction in helping on the farm. I also love makeup and researching the latest color trends, then experimenting with shadows, lipsticks and polishes. I like fashion, especially window shopping for it, although I usually come home with a sweater or shoes. I’m very social and enjoy meeting new people and visiting new places like restaurants wineries and farms.
  5. Who makes up your family? Any pets? I have one younger sister who is just as much a fashion bug and makeup addict as me. I have a wonderful husband of 4 years and we have a beautiful 2 year old son. One brown dog (they call him a brown island dog in Hawaii) whom we rescued from the Humane Society in Hawaii and named Tobi. I also have a giant fat cat named Jerry who was my original main man for over 6 years now.
  6. What’s your favorite quote? “Virtue is insufficient temptation.” — George Bernard Shaw. “If I were to die and I could come back as anything, I would want to come back as one of your tears. What girl wouldn’t want to be conceived in your heart, born in your eyes, live on your cheek, and die on your lips.”
  7. What’s your favorite color? Red, like OPI’s I’m Not Really A Waitress red.
  8. What’s in your makeup bag? Dior foundation, MAC eye shadow in cork, vanilla and mystery, Buxom glosses, Eternity roller ball, and always a different type of mascara, still looking for that “one” for me.

Q&A with Leili

  1. Where did your passion for hair come from? This is a little pathetic, but when I was going through the awkward stages of middle school, I was uncomfortable with the way my face and body looked—so I figured if there was one area that could look nice, it ought to be my hair. I’m over those self-esteem issues today, but my love of hair care is here to stay!
  2. What are five hair products that you can’t live without? Batiste Dry Shampoo, Biosilk Silk Therapy, Redken All Soft Conditioner, Bed Head Ego Boost Split End Mender, and either the Davines NouNou Nourishing Repairing Mask or the Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque (can’t quite choose between the two!).
  3. What kind of hair do you have? What are your hair-related concerns? It’s about 4 inches past shoulder length and usually pitch-black but is now accidentally color treated (the results of a funny/embarrassing experiment with Sun-In). Texture wise, it’s wavy and somewhat full, but very flat on top. It seems my hair has just about every type of problem it could naturally have: oily scalp, dry shaft/ends, frizziness all around and limpness at the crown.
  4. What can we find you doing in your free time? Aside from reading and eating, I’m also an avid fan of karaoke, despite not having any talent for singing, dancing or even shaking a tambourine. I might be the most sedentary person you’ll ever meet, so my so-called “hobbies” are frightfully inactive. I’ve probably wasted several weeks of my life watching movies on my computer in bed and I bake with what might be called fanaticism.
  5. Who makes up your family? Any pets? Not one of my own, but I have an older brother, my mom and dad, and hordes of cousins I’m very close to.
  6. What’s your favorite quote? “The right thing to do and the hard thing to do are usually the same.” It’s not the most eloquent or inspirational of quotes, but it’s served as a good moral compass for me. “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”—Confucius. I think this is something everyone needs to keep in mind at some point—that it’s not about what you know so much as it’s about what you don’t know.
  7. What’s your favorite color? Gray or black. (How cheerful!)
  8. What’s in your makeup bag? E.L.F Translucent Mattifying Powder compact, EcoTools Retractable Kabuki Brush, Dior Addict Lip Glow, Almay Makeup Removal sticks, a small bottle of Paul Mitchell’s Super Skinny Serum, a lip gloss (or three!), blotting papers, bobby pins and hair elastics.

Q&A with Marla

  1. Where did your passion for hair come from? Having struggled to maintain healthy hair after frequent heat use, years of relaxers treatments, and just not really understanding my hair, I decided to learn more about it a few years ago. In the process, I came across the YouTube hair care community and a couple of hair care websites that taught me the science behind hair and how to really achieve and maintain the health of my particular hair texture. Since staring my “healthy hair journey,” my hair has become longer and healthier than ever. Last year (2010), I decided to take the natural route to rid my hair of all harsh chemical processes – no more relaxers! My journey continues and has changed, but that’s what makes it fun. I owe all my hair care successes to all the YouTube “hair gurus” I’ve watched, organic hair oils and products, trial and error, protective/heatless hair styling, patience, and time. If a woman’s hair is her crown of glory, I might as well understand it, love and nurture it, and have the best crown possible for me.
  2. What are five hair products that you can’t live without? 1) Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave-In Conditioner, 2) Suave Naturals Conditioner, 3) Hair oils, 4) Shea Butter, 5) CHI 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray
  3. What kind of hair do you have? What are your hair-related concerns? Thick and coarse. My hair is a ball of waves, curls, and kinks and I love it all. I’ve always wanted thick hair. Even though I’ve learned how to maintain healthy relaxed hair, the process still slowly wears and thins your hair over time. Because of my thick hair desires, I hoped for the best and started to grow my relaxer out in hopes of having naturally thick hair. My dream came true! So in the process of transitioning to my natural hair texture after years of relaxing, I’m slowly cutting my straight ends off as my natural hair grows in. I’m so used to long hair that a drastic cut is just too scary for me. Breakage, shedding, and split ends are issues I’ve managed to overcome. I’ve recently been researching the benefits of aloe vera for hair.
  4. What can we find you doing in your free time? Hanging out with friends and family, volunteering, watching movies, reading, finding new music to listen to, or working out!
  5. Who makes up your family? Any pets? My immediate family consists of my parents and younger brother. My extended family is huge. My brother bought a hamster recently and somehow I ended up handling all the care taker responsibilities, so he just gave her to me, and I’d have it no other way. She’s the cutest and sweetest girl with a VERY curious spirit. Her name is Brownie. I’m hoping to get a puppy soon.
  6. What’s your favorite quote?  I love a good quote and there are too many. I’d say a recent beauty/fashion favorite is “Strength is built by one’s failures, not by one’s successes.” – Coco Chanel
  7. What’s your favorite color? Purple!
  8. What’s in your makeup bag? Pangea Organics lip balm, neutral color Lancome quad, Cargo Lash Activator Mascara, Fashion Fair foundation (as an eyelid base), Wet n’ Wild eyebrow brow. I’m very minimal these days.

20 Comments

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AS Avatar

Cool! Three totally different hair textures! Amanda’s is just like my hair from her description. I look forward to learning all of their tips and opinions!

maria Avatar

Temptalia can I just say how pleasently surprised I am to see you adding a beautiful black natural youngwoman to your list of contributers! Im a fellow natural myself and I will be reading and commenting!

Susanne Avatar

Great! Hair care is a great addition!
I would love to get some advice and recommendations from Marla. May I?
I am caucasian (is that the correct spelling??), my husband is African-American and our daughter has one unruly and very dry hair mess on her head. She is 14 and starting to become self conscious about it. Any suggestions??

Maria Avatar

Susanne, hopefully, you’ll read this. Google and youtube is your friend. And yours daughter. With a little research she too can have bouncy natural hair. Temptalia, I hope it’s okay to post some links..

I don’t know your daughter’s texture, by for dry curly hair, it’s basically the same approach MOISTURE, MOISTURE, LOCK in the moisture.

It would take a book for me to type all I’ve learned, so I’m going to recommend some people..

http://www.curlynikki.com She has hundreds of articles about haircare and productreviews.

http://moptopmaven.blogspot.com/2010/07/tried-every-moisturizing-product-under.html

On youtube (Sometimes it’s helpful to see something)
I recommend googling Kimmaytube or Taren916. Especially their older features. On Curlynikki you could join the forum and as for tips.

http://www.naturallycurly.com is also a great start.

Marla Avatar

Is her hair very curly and thick, Susanne? If so, curly hair tends to be drier largely because the natural oils from the scalp don’t reach the ends of the hair as easily as they can in straight hair. The best way to solve this issue is to retain and/or apply moisture to her hair directly. A good moisturizing shampoo (no sulfates or alcohol!), a deep conditioner, a leave-in conditioner and daily moisturizer, and an aloe vera spritz are all helpful products. Also curly-textured hair may not need to be washed as often as straight hair, since the process can be drying. Finally, if she straightens her hair at all, a heat protectant is a must. Heat is not so great for hair, especially if dryness is already an issue. Hope that helps!

Susanne Avatar

Marla, thank you very much for your tips and web recommendations, I will check them out.
Actually, we have a aloe vera spray at home. This will immediately be put to he use you recommend.
Again, thank you.. I am happy to have you here. 🙂
Susanne

Amanda Allington Avatar

Don’t worry Alice! Since my hair is kind of a one dimensional brown, I tend to dye it darker or add highlights. I’m sure between the three of us we’ll find something that will make your hair look great!

Alice Avatar

Thank you for your reply. When I read the description of you hair, it reminded me a lot of mine and it also was(past, now a red-head) a mousy brown, so I relate a lot to you. I’m eager to read all hair care posts!

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!