Use monistat on my hair?! Whaaaa?

Have any of my Naturalistas heard about this? I hadn't until a former coworker texted me some questions about how to care for her hair. She's transitioning and was looking at videos on YT on products, ingredients and how to mix her own products.

I'm going to say this with as much love and care as I can.... Do NOT mix OTC topical [drugs] that are generally meant for one thing, and use them for another UNLESS you've spoken to a dermatologist about its safety in doing so.

Okay, now....in looking at the ingredients, the inactive ingredients are generally okay:

Inactive Ingredients: Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil Base, *Benzoic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Myristate, Polysorbate 60, Potassium Hydroxide, Propylene Glycol, Water (Purified), Stearyl Alcohol

*Is considered a preservative and inhibits the growth of yeast and mold, so while I wouldn't necessarily want this on my hair, it's a derivative of Benzyl alcohol, which is non-volatile and shouldn't affect the texture of your hair.

You can fine most of these ingredients in many of your hair care products. BUT, the MAIN active ingredient is Miconazole Nitrate, an ingredient used to treat the fungal infection(yeast). It's defined as the following(via WebMD):

Miconazole is used to treat skin infections such as athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, and other fungal skin infections (candidiasis). This medication is also used to treat a skin condition known as pityriasis (tinea versicolor), a fungal infection that causes a lightening or darkening of the skin of the neck, chest, arms, or legs. Miconazole is an azole antifungal that works by preventing the growth of fungus.

Now, upon doing a little more digging on WebMD, I also found additional information concerning uses for the ingredient:

Ringworm of Groin Area, Athlete's Foot, Ringworm of the Body, Fungal Infection of the Skin with Yellow Patches, Skin Infection due to a Candida Yeast.

If you have issues with dermatitis, then it's recommended to consult with a dermatologist for adequate treatment, NOT consult YT. And if my memory serves me correctly, the active ingredient in most shampoos used to treat seborrhea dermatitis is salicylic acid!!

While many of our fellow Naturalistas are helpful and mean well, many are not qualified in doling out advice of this nature. Especially if they aren't cognizant of the potential side affects of combining certain ingredients or the application of said ingredients/products outside of its/their intended usage.

You should NOT be using this product on your hair. NOT AT ALL. And if you're using this product and mixing it with other ingredients not knowing how the ingredients will respond because no pH test has been administered, or because you have no prior knowledge/information on the ingredients in general, this can potentially be a recipe for a hairtastrophe!!!

So ladies, before you go trying to play kitchen chemist, be careful and wary of every video telling you to mix PRE-FORMULATED [medicated] products with other pre-formulated products or other ingredients. It can be the difference between a head of healthy hair, and damage that canNOT be repaired.

Natural Urbanista

Twist Like This.....A Product Review

After a long and unintentional hiatus concerning natural hair blogging, I'm BACK with my first product review in a few months.

As you all know(or most of you), I like getting more bang for my buck. In terms of natural hair products(or products in general), if I'm spending over $15 bucks PER product, it needs to last longer than 3 months, and it must deliver in its claims. And if it can be substituted for more expensive and less readily available products....SCORE AGAIN, as I really don't like ordering online but my current staples aren't available state-side.

Anyway, back to my review....This past weekend, I went shopping for a product for my twists since I had just run out of my Ori Organics stylers(my curl styling buttercream specifically, as I still have more than half an 8oz jar of the moisture balancing buttercream since purchasing in JANUARY). Went to my local BSS and found a local line I already had familiarity with, as I had used their custard many years ago for my WnG's(with success). The product purchased is called, Twist Like This Herbal Putty by Barry Fletcher. Came in multiple sizes, but the 16oz jar at $17.99 was the better deal. As per the labeling:

Penetrates, holds and protects natural hair(jar had grammatical errors....I corrected them, lol)....Can be used for braiding, texturizing or natural setting.

Jar also states that it provides a "firm, glossy finish." Ingredients can be seen in Picture 3, which are all natural, which I like.


Pros:

• This jar could last me through August, if not September. I barely skimmed the surface of this jar doing more than 70 twists. The ability to spread out usage is a HUGE deal, as I'm all about getting my money's worth and using products that last for more than 3 months.

• Hair felt moist/soft. Now, considering it's SUPPOSED to provide a "firm hold", I'm actually glad that it didn't. I don't really need hold for my twists, I just need it to seal in moisture and help to keep my twists looking good for at LEAST a week.

• Easy application. It goes on smoothly on each section being twisted.

• Works well over my leave in. No dreaded hair product balls!!!! LOL!

• Ingredients are natural. And pretty simple. Sometimes simplicity is a good thing. The aloe (if juice or gel) is humectant-based, which means this product will be good for use during the spring and summer(if your hair isn't highly porous and you don't live in a high-humidity region) in that it'll help to draw in and HOLD moisture.
  

Cons:

• I'm a stickler for products doing what they say, and it DIDN'T provide hold. Now, the hair may have needed to be more than just damp for there to be moderate hold, but if your claim is that the product provides x, y and z, then it should.

• Semi-vague ingredient listing. Is "African butter" shea butter? And is the "oatmeal" oatmeal powder, or the "aloe vera" the oil, gel or juice? Because its shelf-life will be reliant upon this knowledge, and water-based products(if indeed aloe juice OR gel-based) NEED an antimicrobial based preservative to prevent rancidity and bacteria growth. I had to put that in bold because this is very important.

• Non-important con, but it looks like their relaxer. LOL! It even smells somewhat like a relaxer. I was ready to cut some folks if it indeed wasn't what it was labeled as. That's most Naturals worst fear....using a product and finding out it's a relaxer.

All in all, it's a good product. I haven't had the opportunity to use it over other styling products that I use, and I'm hopeful they will work well with them. And if they don't, I will update this review accordingly. So if you happen to see this on your local BSS's shelf, I say it's worth a try. And considering I've paid $10+ for 8oz for OTHER products and this is double for less in terms of $$ per oz, it's a win-win (although I will say those 8oz products can last me a LONG time. :P)

Natural Urbanista