Heat Free Hair:: Color, Install, First Impressions

Heat Free Hair 2/1/15

Hey Beauties!!

Happy FierceFitFoodie Friday to you all! It has officially been two weeks since my color/trim/straightened and one week since my Heat Free Hair install, and I am here for a first impression review with lots of pictures! I was really hoping to make this a video review but I need some things for my camera but I may still do one once I get everything I need. Anyways lets get right into it starting with my color.

 

As many of you know I coloured my hair last year, first an over all light brown, then I went back in a got blond highlights. Since that time, I had not retouched the colour (or gotten a trim). So two weeks ago I got my colour retouched, straightened, and a much needed trim, shown below:

I've gotten a lot of questions lately about this colour so I want to mention a few things about it. You may have noticed that the retouched portion appears quite a bit darker than the rest of my hair. Summer and all that sun exposure lightened the original colour over time. Second important note is, I got this colour and the highlights professionally done. I do NOT, I repeat I do NOT apply colour/chemicals on my real hair. I know plenty of people who do (and successfully), but it is a risk that I personally do not feel is worth taking. My actual point here is it was a custom colour & highlights, so you can't just 'buy it'. Coupled with the changes over time and the highlights, if this is a colour you'd like to achieve, I'd recommend showing it to your preferred stylist.


I waited two weeks between my colour and my install to allow my hair some time to sort of recover from the processing. This picture below is right after a wash, my best deep condition EVER (which I explain here), and blow dry.

On my way to install

For this install, I opted for a side part (part is on my right side), and of course very minimal leave out. This picture below is while I was getting braided up but you can see the amount of hair left out. The portion at the top with the pink/white clip is my part to cover the track, and the bit by my ear to cover my edges on that side. DASSIT. There is no leave out anywhere else along my perimeter.

Leave out

If you're familiar with sew-ins you know you typically arrive with washed/blowdried hair, which is this case doesn't match the flow of the hair I installed. Instead of a heat style we did a simple wash and go. After installing the hair she wet it all down, applied some conditioner and rinsed. Then she did a light towel dry, applied product to my leave out to 'hold' the curl, a very light trim to frame the face, and a bit of edge control on one side and that is it!

So again, I have two bundles of 16" Heat Free Hair from the "For Kurls" Collection that I had coloured to match my natural hair as shown above. I really really love my color. By the way, shoutout to my stylist @beautybycyndi_lajuan for the great work and these photos. Check her out on instagram!


Now here is my review of the hair thus far:

• I LOVE it. I can't tell you how many people (especially people I see on a regular basis) who think this is my real hair. It looks so natural. I received a lot of compliments from men and women this weekend.
• The colour doesn't seem to have changed the curl pattern at all and it is still as soft as when I first received it.
• Unfortunately there aren't a ton of reviews on Heat Free Hair online but from the ones I did see I saw a few mention tangling in the nape area (which is common for curly hair in general), and this collection vs "For Kurls" requiring more time and attention. Obviously I don't have both collections but I haven't experienced a problem with tangling. I have rinsed it once since the install and I found it very easy to deal with. Detangles quick and easy.
• The bundle lengths are measured straight or extended, as in if you get 16", it isn't 16" in its curly unstretched state. That being said, this seems to me like longer than 16" considering where it falls curly. But maybe it's because I'm short. *Kanye shrug*
• As I mentioned in my previous post, Heat Free Hair is pretty expensive (in my opinion) but I have to admit the quality is outstanding. Would I recommend it?? Definitely---depending on your intended use. If you are someone who will use hair for protective styling (whether it is the clip ins, wigs, or wefted hair) a few times throughout the year--Heat Free Hair is definitely worth considering. If you wouldn't wear it more than once or twice it may not be worth the investment.

 Again, if you're interested in finding out more check out the Heat Free Hair website, check out
 their instagram account @heatfreehair to see the different collections/products and styling on people, or their page on facebook.

I will do another review maybe after a month. Is there anything you'd like to see me cover? Questions you have? Let me know in the comment section.


Have you tried Heat Free Hair? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments below and don't forget to like and share!


Here are a few more pictures from this weekend:

Post install

Fresh Wash & Go

Heat Free Hair --Initial Review

Hey Beauties!

As you may be able to tell by the title, this post is an initial review all about Heat Free Hair! If you aren't familiar, Heat Free Hair is a line of 100% Virgin Hair (created by DMV stylist Ngozi Opara in 2012) designed specifically to match natural hair textures and curl patterns. The Heat Free Hair Movement is an educational campaign for women seeking the benefits of healthy hair via protective styling. They provide a range of product offerings; wefted hair, clip in extensions, closures, and wigs, in several textures from 3B (elongated S-curls) to 4C (tightly coiled kinky curls): For Kurls, For Koils, For Kinks.

I had been on a search for some curly hair that actually looks like my hair for quite some time now, and although I had heard about Heat Free Hair, I had initially dismissed it due to the price (thumbs down). Luckily, towards the end of December 2014, the company hosted a "12 days of Christmas" sale where each day a different sale was offered toward the purchase of their products--perfect timing. I decided to give it a go. Aside from settling on the lengths I wanted, I had the hardest time figuring out what curl pattern to get. I kept going back and forth between "For Kurls" and "For Koils". Naturally, my hair is pretty curly (and super thick), but I didn't think it was quite as loose as "for koils," and it would require more blending so I selected the "for kurls" collection. And after stalking their instagram account to check out looks/lengths, I finally settled on 2 bundles of 16" "for kurls." My package arrived a few days short of two weeks which seemed to me to be an excellent turnover considering the very high volume of orders the company seemed to be experiencing during this sale period. So thumbs up there.

Here is how the package arrived:

How the package arrived.

Inside the package there was a care card (specific to the collection I purchased) and two satin bags containing each bundle as pictured below: 

Contents of package

 

Close up of Satin bags containing each bundle.

If you know me you know I'm a stickler for presentation and details, and while the satin bags were a nice (and good for future storage) and different touch to package bundles (instead of those long plastic bags), I feel this hair is entirely too expensive to be in a bag with stickers haphazardly placed and bundle lengths written with a sharpie. I fully acknowledge this has nothing to do with the quality of the hair, but again, for the price... I do expect better presentation...I'm just saying. So thumbs down here.

So what you've anxiously been waiting to see...the Hair!! Ta Daaa! These are pics of how the "for kurls" collection looks. I'm no weave expert, but the few times I've purchased hair they don't always smell the greatest...but this hair...all types of UGHMAZING. Yaaasss hunny. Aside from the ever important smell, the hair was extremely soft and appears to be very high quality. So 3 thumbs up here.

Satin bag, care card, 16" bundle from "For Kurls" Collection.

Finally, there was the care card. Can we have a moment for the slayage (yes I made that up) that this beautiful woman is on the front? Major thumbs up for this photo and the care card itself--very helpful.

Front of Care Card.

Back of care card

On the care card there is tons of information like recommended products, daily maintenance, wash day, and things to remember. Not to mention there is also a Heat Free Hair Youtube channel which has videos walking you through different techniques, styling, and wash day. Again this was a nice touch, very thorough and detailed--thumbs up here.

Overall I have good things to say about Heat Free Hair (other than the packaging and the price) initially.  I'm having my bundles colored to match my current hair color and installed at the end of this week, after which I will be able to share a more comprehensive review and pictures. If you are interested in learning more about Heat Free Hair, you can visit their website here, or follow them on instagram @HeatFreeHair.

Have you tried Heat Free Hair? What did you think? Sound off in the comments below!