Q & A with Design Essentials

I've had the answers from Design Essentials for quite some time. However, I was trying to wait and see whether or not they were going to allow me to post any of their curly perm pics on the blog. Natalie has explained to me why this might be a difficult decision and basically I understand. But if they end up sending me some pics, you know I'll post them.

Here goes...


Will you please give a brief history of the Wave by Design line?
Mr. Cornell McBride, Sr. founded McBride Research Laboratories (MRL) in December of 1990. As a chemist and former owner of M&M Products Company, Mr. McBride brought decades of scientific and hair industry experience to MRL. Wave by Design was the first brand launched under the MRL family and introduced two products: Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion and Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray. These two products were designed to refresh, refine and moisturize permanent waves, texturizers, dry and natural curls. Today, Wave by Design offers a suite of products for creating and maintaining permanent waves. The Wave by Design brand also continues to experience great success while 2N1 consistently holds steady as a top selling MRL product!

What makes Wave by Design different from other curly perms?
Wave by Design is a professional strength permanent wave system that can only be applied by a licensed cosmetologist or professional hair stylist. However, Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion and Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray are available for consumer use and purchase. All Wave by Design products are formulated with gentle, non-drying ingredients to create beautiful, healthy permanent waves on multicultural hair textures. These products infuse moisture-rich conditioners which is essential for permanent wave styles. Most importantly, Wave by Design is ensured with the MRL Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back philosophy.

I read/hear a lot of complaints about the fragrance or lack thereof when it comes to curly perm maintenance products. Have you ever considered or would you ever consider a different fragrance for your maintenance products?
Historically, permanent wave products do not offer cosmetically appealing fragrances. Fragrances can increase the cost and interfere with the performance of the product. MRL understands this challenge and has specifically formulated the Wave by Design Professional Strength Rearranger and Permanent Wave Booster with a low thio fragrance so that it is not as harsh on the senses as traditional permanent wave chemicals.

Do you have a recommended maintenance routine for Wave By Design wearers?
Absolutely!
1. Visit a licensed, professional hair stylist for a hair consultation about your desired permanent wave style. Be sure to discuss your hair history, current lifestyle, maintenance requirements/techniques, and future hair aspirations.
2. Your hair stylist should follow MRL instructions for Wave by Design application. We recommend using the entire system for best results: Professional Strength Rearranger, Moisture Wrap Wave Booster, Wave Lock Conditioning Neutralizer, Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion, and Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray.
3. Apply Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion, and Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray daily to seal in moisture and sheen. Shampoo and condition weekly with Design Essentials for at home maintenance.


Excessive dryness is a chief complaint among curly perm wearers - do you have any tips for combating this issue?
Dryness is the NUMBER 1 CAUSE OF HAIR BREAKAGE. MRL recommends several tips to keep hair hydrated and healthy:
1. Eat a well balanced diet of fruits and vegetables and lean proteins like fish and chicken. Reduce the intake of fried foods and foods high in unhealthy fat and cholesterol. Remember, you are what you eat.
2. Drink WATER, WATER, WATER to hydrate the body from the inside out. This will increase the hair’s moisture level too.
3. Your hair stylist should follow MRL instructions for Wave by Design application. We recommend using the entire system for best results: Professional Strength Rearranger, Moisture Wrap Wave Booster, Wave Lock Conditioning Neutralizer, Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion, and Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray.
4. Apply Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion, and Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray daily to seal in moisture and sheen. Shampoo and condition weekly with Design Essentials for at home maintenance.
5. Sleep on satin or silk pillowcases to retain the hair’s moisture level.


How important is it to exclusively use Design Essential maintenance products when wearing a Wave By Design?
MRL recommends the use of other MRL brands (Design Essentials, Therapeutics Rx, Colaura) on permanent wave styles. As a company, we stand by our products and have thoroughly researched how Wave by Design permanent waves will respond to other MRL products. MRL products work together to create the healthiest, most stylish hair possible. However, we also recommend visiting a professional hair stylist for a customized MRL product prescription that will suit the needs of your hair type, texture, and lifestyle.

Is it okay to wear your hair straightened while wearing a Wave By Design? If so, do you have any advice when it comes to straightening curly permed hair?
Yes, it is okay to wear your hair straightened, but not too frequently. Hair that has been processed with an ammonium thioglycolate permanent wave is designed to stay moisturized for curl definition and separation. Heat or straightening hair utilizing heat will remove moisture from hair which can lead to dryness and breakage. As a general guide, only straighten hair no more than once a month, maintaining that straight style for no more than three days. Weak or damaged hair should be straightened even less frequently.

When straightening permanently waved hair, be sure to use an ionic blow dyer like the pHusion Express Tourmaline Blow Dryer, and a ceramic iron like pHusion Professional Ceramic Styling Irons which helps hair to maintain moisture while using heat.

AND THE WINNER IS....!!!

I'm a few days overdue in my recent giveaway.

So we had four participants.


I cut each name into separate strips and placed them in my nice Tupperware bowl. (:-)



Then I had my teenage son do the drawing. The back you see is my other teenage son that didn't want to be in the picture because he hasn't had a haircut. ((rolls eyes))

AND THE WINNER IS....ZARA a.k.a. LOVES2LAUGH
Zara, please e-mail me your mailing address & I will send your prize out to you right away. Thanks to everyone that participated. I will be doing another giveaway in the very near future.
Also, I will figure out a way to post the list where it's visible all of the time & subject to updates.

MY NEW DO

Today I went to see Natalie for a protein treatment and to get my hair flatironed. This is the first time that it has been straightened since I first got my curl. Also, I don't plan to straighten again until the Christmas holidays for my final length check of the year.

Right now I am APL unstretched. These pics are of my hair blowdried but not 100% straight. Honestly, I'm lazy & don't feel like taking a pic with it stretched. However, I will say that it is touching the pointy part of my shoulder blade, if that makes sense. Basically, I'm less than an inch off from BSB.

Here is a pic of what the finished product looks like.

NO TAKERS ON THE GIVEAWAY?

I tried to make entering the contest as simple as possible. All you have to do is leave the name & contact information of the stylist that does your curly perm. I would like to compile a list of stylists for future reference for those that may be in need.

Also, I just received some products from Avlon but if I can't get y'all to participate in this, how will I get you to participate in another contest? SIGH...

PRODUCT GIVEAWAY

Hi ladies. Forgive me that I haven't been updating as much as I would like to. I won't lie, I've been so absorbed with this new diet that I haven't been doing much else. But what better way to make it up to you than to do a giveaway?

Have you ever heard of the curl cloth?(See below) Well Curls By Us came up with this cloth that's supposed to help with curl definition. It's somewhat hard for me to review because maybe it isn't reviving my curls simply because I don't have any. However, I will say that it is a good towel to use to towel dry your hair without frizz.



I ordered two so I have an extra that I would like to share with you all. For all ladies that leave comments to tell me the name & contact info of their curly perm stylist, I will enter you into the drawing. On next Friday, I'll pick one winner from all of the ladies that leave comments.

Also, I will be taking the information that you all give me & starting a post/curly perm stylist directory that I will update as I receive new information.

Good luck & I hope you all have a GREAT weekend. Take care...

LOOKING FOR A GOOD STYLIST IN MEMPHIS

Anyone know of a good curly perm stylist in the Memphis area? If so please leave their information in the comments or e-mail me. Thanks in advance...

HI DIVAS...

Well, I know I haven't been posting regularly & I'm sorry. I have a lot going on. Though I'm technically a housewife, I'm also a real estate agent & I've had a little bit of business lately. Plus, I have some entrepreneurial fires going.

But no excuses! The biggest problem is I keep looking back at the pics of when I first got my curl done & I could kick myself for not listening to Natalie. I want my curls back like yesterday. Guess I'm in a bit of a hair funk.

So...I've decided not to wait 6 months to retouch. I will be getting my retouch on June 3rd. I'm counting down. 4 more weeks! I've been so disgusted with my hair that I just moisturize it daily & pull it back into a ponytail or a bun. I still try & baggy every night but that's about it.

Since no one has really responded on being a feature, I thought maybe I should just ask for pictures of your curls. If you don't want to be a feature, don't want to answer any questions but you don't mind submitting pics, please e-mail them to me at nakia@curlykitchronicles.com. If you want to remain anonymous, that's fine, too. Just state that in the e-mail & I won't include your name.

I'm waiting on a product I read about on another blog. I ordered three. If it works for me, I will be giving at least one, maybe two away. Still can't decide what would be good incentive for the giveaway...

Well to start it off with pics, here are some pics of DivineMom47. She says, "I used large rollers so that I would get a wavey pattern but no real curls."

I'll be honest when I first received the pics, I had no idea that this was a curl. I guess this just shows the versatility of the awesome curly perm!

Hair That Inspires Me - Part II

Told you I was going to start a movement! LOL


Don't know if this look could be duplicated with a curly perm but I love how her hair is wavy at the roots & curly on the ends.


Can't really put my finger on it. I just like it!


I'm really playing around with the idea of coloring my hair. What do y'all think?


I love her length & her waves/slightly kinky look as well as the color.


Even though I'm leaning toward color, there's a part of me that will always love jet black hair!

MY NEW WEIGHTLOSS BLOG

Hi there divas. Just wanted to share my weightloss journey with those of you that are interested. Don't wanna read any jokes about my before pics. LOL

So check out my new blog when you get a chance.

Thanks...

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY, PART II

Hiyas ladies. I hope your weekend is going okay thus far. The weather is bad here & I've been on the web all night. I'm about to launch another blog tonight & I've been working on that (will post the details later for those that are interested). I don't know if any of you have ever heard of the hCG diet but I will be starting on it tomorrow with the hopes of slimming down alot. I have seriously slacked off on the running but plan to get back in the swing of things. My new blog will document my weight loss journey.

Anyhoo...I decided to show y'all what I look like when it's time to go to bed. Except for the nights that I'm extremely tired or extremely lazy, I baggy my hair. To keep the baggy on, I tie a faux silk (polyester) scarf around my hair. My real silk scarf always comes off in the middle of the night.

Just want to credit CurlyNikki (one of my fave bloggers) for this idea. I don't remember when & the exact content of the series but I know she has done something on her blog about nighttime routines.




I'm thinking about doing a giveaway. Don't know what would be good though, being that there are so many different curls represented on here. Can someone tell me what is a universal item for curly perm wearers. I can't think of it since everyone doesn't baggy & of course everyone doesn't use the same maintenance products. Any ideas?

Well ladies I may be out of the loop until Monday. The hubs & I are supposed to take our 2 year old to see Thomas the Train up in Tennessee this weekend & I may not have time to post anymore until Monday.

As always, have a FABULOUS weekend! Cya...