Search Results: Resa B. Luster
No matter where you are in your curl journey, you’re going to want to focus your attention on healthy natural hair growth.
Photo — Jessica Felicio
From the most seasoned Naturalista to the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed big chopper, you will need natural hair products that are specially formulated for your texture.
Follow Luster Products on Instagram today!
So, let’s get you set up for success!
You can use the following steps every week to enhance your texture’s appearance and stimulate growth.
How to Build a Natural Hair Regimen to Promote Growth
My expertise is in maintaining the health of your tight curls and kinky hair with Luster Products. Many of you have told me how much you love our new Pink Shea Butter Coconut Collection, and I’m so happy to help you build a natural hair regimen to promote growth with every item.
Follow me on IG for more natural hair tips!
Shampoo, condition, and detangle
I know you’ve most likely heard that healthy hair starts with a clean scalp and moisturized strands, and I agree. According to natural hair expert Evelyn Ngugi there’s a reason why we must shampoo our hair.
“When we use shampoo, the focus should be on our scalps, since that’s where the dirt’s at,” Ngugi states, “Apply the product to your roots and scalp, scrub with the fingertips, and the lather will make its way down your hair.”
For a fresh start, you’ll want to cleanse your curls with Luster’s Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Sulfate-Free Moisturizing Shampoo. If you have bleached or color treated curls, you’ll love that this shampoo contains Luster’s Color-Save Protection so that you can keep your super cute color intact!
Follow up with a Moisturizing & Smoothing Conditioner to not only add nourishment to your curls but to detangle them. With the conditioner saturating my curls, I use a wide-toothed comb to detangle them, from ends to roots, because it gives every strand slip and a hearty dose of Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that deeply moisturizes the hair strand.
Deep condition and strengthen your curls.
After rinsing out the conditioner, I like to deep condition to ensure every one of my curls becomes supple enough for future styling.
One thing I always recommend is steaming your hair while deep conditioning. When you steam your hair, you’re causing the cuticle layers to lift up and allow the deep conditioner’s ingredients to penetrate the strand.
Steam the hair between 5-15 minutes, depending on the type of steamer you have. If you’re using a DIY-method to steam, you may want to steam a bit longer (20-22 mins”>. Always thoroughly rinse out the deep conditioner.
Then, apply Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner to your hair. Depending on your hair’s texture and porosity, adjust the amount of the leave-in you need. I recommend starting with a small amount. If you can feel that your hair need more leave-in, apply more.
Moisturize every hair strand and seal your ends.
Your wash isn’t complete without moisturizing every hair strand with a nourishing formula that won’t create a film on your hair. My favorite natural hair product to use for this step is our Moisturizing Hair Milk. It’s lightweight and contains argan, avocado, and olive oil, all of which every Naturalista needs for her textured hair.
Since my hair is bleached and I’ve been experimenting with protective styles such as fishtail braids and braided ponytails, I absolutely must use this moisturizer to keep my hair healthy. You’ll love it, too!
Photo — @resabluster
To continue facilitating growth, always seal the ends of your hair. Since the ends of your natural hair are the driest, sealing them with a reliable oil is essential. If you find that the hair milk is enough of a sealant for your curls, especially for those of you with high porosity natural hair, that’s great! I believe that you’ll absolutely find that it works wonders for your texture.
Now that your wash day is complete, it’s time to set your hairstyle for the week ahead.
What’s so wonderful about our natural hair is its versatility. However, we need to ensure that every curl is thoroughly hydrated when setting hairstyles like Bantu knots, twist outs, and cornrows. So when you style your hair, make sure you’re using natural hair products that provide hydration and bring out the best in your texture.
Photo — Jessica Felicio
I recommend our Super Moisturizing Curl Definer to enhance the natural sheen of your hair, and the Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Curl & Twist Pudding for your fingercoils and braid outs. Make sure you wrap your hair with a satin scarf or wear a satin-lined bonnet to sleep so that when you wake up in the morning, you can style your curls and lay your edges with Smooth & Hold Edge Gel.
This post is sponsored by Luster Products.
Excited to try this regimen? Tell me about your #hairgoals here and on my Instagram @resabluster!
Follow Luster on Instagram today!
It’s summertime 2018, and I’m ready to wear super-cute protective styles to keep my platinum blond curls shielded from the heat and humidity. But before I pick up a couple of bags of Kanekalon to finally get those stunning, jumbo Bantu knots I had my eye on all last year, I need to get my hair prepared with a protective-style regimen.
Protective styles are fantastic, and that’s why you need a regimen that is simple and focuses on low manipulation and minimum styling. I make sure that my hair is ready for summertime protective styling by using hair milk, conditioner and much more from my Luster’s Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil collection. You can, too! Keep reading to learn how this regimen helps keep your curls hydrated and how it promotes hair growth.
Photo — Jessica Felicio
Protective Hairstyles for Natural Hair Growth
Box braids and Goddess locs aren’t the only protective styles you’ll want to rock for growth and length retention. So first, let’s learn what protective styles are and why you need them for summer 2018!
According to Curl Centric’s Kenneth, “Protective styling is a concept that reduces ongoing manipulation of your hair, encourages growth retention and protects the ends of your hair strands, reducing knots and tangles.”
What I love most about Kenneth’s definition is that it further encourages those of us who like wearing flat twists, plaits, French braids and Bantu knots to continue doing so — with or without extensions or braiding hair! While this is a great way to protect your hair strands and your ends, you still need to care for your hair and scalp regardless of which style you wear. That’s why you need my regimen!
Photo — Mike Fox
Low-Manipulation Protective Styles Regimen
Now that you’ve chosen your favorite style for the summer, you’ll need to maintain a low-manipulation regimen that helps your hair grow. The key to this regimen is to wash and apply leave-in and then minimize styling. Here are my recommendations:
Before you go to your braider or stylist, you need to do this for your wash day routine at least two days before your appointment:
- Cleanse hair and scalp – Make sure your hair strands are free and clear of product buildup and dirt before going to the salon by using our Luster’s Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Sulfate-Free Moisturizing Shampoo. Then follow-up with our Moisturizing & Smoothing Conditioner to deep condition or steam curls. You will notice an instantaneous softness that will ease the detangling process.
- To detangle your curls with ease, use our Leave-In Conditioner. For all braided and twisted styles, you’ll want to plump your curls with a moisturizer. The Moisturizing Hair Milk is the one you’ll want for this step. I recommend steaming your curls after combing the product through, from ends to root. This will help ensure that your hair stays moisturized beneath your protective style.
- Once your protective style is in, wait at least two weeks, if not longer, before you start wearing those braided and twisted updos, ponytails, and pulled-back looks. Although these looks are super cute, they can create a ridiculous amount of tension on your hair strands and scalp. This tension can lead to hair loss, traction alopecia, and other issues. That’s why you need to make low manipulation a part of your protective style regimen.
Photo — Giano Currie
How Long To Wait Between Protective Styles
If you want to switch up your look, let’s say from Havana Twists to cropped and colored faux locs, you’ll want to ensure that you treat your hair gently between styling sessions. The primary tools you will need during your two- to three-week waiting period include the following:
- After taking down your protective style and washing your natural hair, apply Luster’s Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner to add all-day moisture to your curls.
- To add nourishment back to your hair when locking it into a protective style like flat twists and plaits, apply either the Luster’s Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Curl & Twist Pudding or Super Moisturizing Curl Definer for the ultimate hydration experience.
- If you’re interested in a protective hairstyle that uses a little bit of braided hair, like an extended ponytail or stacked Bantu knots, you need to use an edge-control gel that nourishes and moisturizes as it holds. I recommend our Smooth & Hold Edge Gel.
Photo — Tammie Allen
By reducing the manipulation of your hair when you wear protective styles, you’re letting your hair grow with ease! When you take the style down, you will see longer hair strands and will be able to retain that length over time. That’s why I am so thrilled to share this regimen with you! You need to wash your curls, set them with our Shea Butter & Coconut Oil collection, get your hair styled, and go on about your beautiful day!
Excited to try this regimen? Tell me about your #hairgoals here and on my Instagram @resabluster!
Luster Products, Inc. is the sponsor of this post.
Your child’s curls are precious. Treating them well is the first step in keeping them healthy, strong, and soft. However, there are so many parents that ask me about why their children’s curly hair breaks off and won’t grow. Inspired by the need to answer parents’ questions to this curly hair conundrum, I created a full range of products as a solution to these issues.
The Luster Pink KIDS collection is the perfect solution for your curly kids’ needs. So, let me take a moment to tell you just how easy it is to use and why you need it in your child’s hair curly care routine.
Problem Child: Curly Hair Concerns
When I came up with this collection, I wanted to make sure that I addressed two issues that I hated the most as a child:
DETANGLING
The detangling process was excruciating for me because it was just annoying! It was something I dreaded every day, whether my mom would have to style my hair for school or not. Children and their parents shouldn’t have to suffer through this process.
That’s why Luster’s Pink KIDS offers two different detanglers for various texture types. For children with fine to medium texture, choose the Pink Kids Detangling Spray for moisture and easy absorption for detangling and styling needs. For children with coarse textures, the Pink Kids Easy Comb Detangler is a more concentrated formula designed to soften, moisturize and smooth hair to easily release tangles.
LONG-LASTING STYLES
Having a cute style for a day is fine, but maintaining week long hairstyles is even better. That’s what I wanted to address when I created this collection for moms that wanted their child’s hair to hold long-lasting styles throughout the school week, not for just a day or two.
Depending on the type of hair the child has, certain products in the collection will work best. Children seeking wash’n’go styles will love our Pink Kids Frizz Free Curling Cream for ponytails and pigtails. While parents seeking to achieve long-lasting Two-Strand Twists, braids and Bantu knot styles would love our Pink Kids Curl Creation Custard for twists & braids. And, because of its firm hold, children with a tighter curl patterns (Type 4a-c”> would prefer our Curl Creation Custard, especially for wash’n’go styles.
The Secret to Healthy Curly Hair Growth for Kids
Theoretically, hair grows ¼ to ½ inch per month. A healthy scalp produces healthy hair. Parents can create a healthy environment for hair growth by maintaining a clean and moisturized scalp. Also, healthy hair growth depends on the child’s diet and overall health. Make sure that they stay hydrated and eat lots of vegetables.
It is also important to make sure you have your child’s ends trimmed! I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been at events, and parents approach us with concerns about their child’s hair breaking off. The first thing our stylists tell parents is, “You need to make sure that her ends are being trimmed regularly, and make sure you’re conditioning your child’s hair.”
I would also love to stress the importance of properly detangling curly hair. It is important that a parent take their time and begin detangling the hair starting from the ends and working their way up to the scalp. This method will help to eliminate breakage and damage as well.
It’s All About the Kids!
In addition to creating the Luster Pink KIDS collection, we’re focused on giving back to the community. We held a Black Panther premiere in both Chicago and Philadelphia for inner-city youth, buying out movie theaters and providing parents and their kids with free popcorn and beverages.
Last year, we did the same thing when Hidden Figures premiered because we really want our youth to see all the things they can achieve. We wanted the children to see that they can grow up to do more than just “get by”. They all can go above and beyond; and look at the rewards they will get!
We also hosted a Pink Kids Power Tour at 7 different Walmart locations across the country. The tour consisted of dance contests (1st place won $1000 and 2nd place won $500″>, Pink Kids hair makeovers, and meet & greet time with our celebrity dance contest judges. We also gave away our signature Pink Kids lip glosses and basketball sets.
The Luster Pink KIDS collection is more than a product offering.
It is my commitment to making parents and their curly kids’ hair journey easy to navigate and, most of all, healthy. There’s no need to wait for moisturized hair for your child; get the Luster Pink KIDS collection you need today!
This post is sponsored by Luster Pink KIDS collection.
Many of us in the Natural Hair community have been reluctant to dye our curls because we have heard tens of hundreds of horror stories. Whether it was from your trusted stylist or from your mom’s best friend, you have heard the worst color tales and have promised yourself that you will never, ever bleach your hair.
Well, I am here to tell you that there’s nothing to fear.
Resa B. Luster | Photo by Glenn Parson
Essentially, if you really want to go blonde, you need my secret to bleached natural hair success. My signature bleached curls are healthy, strong, and still retaining their pattern after several years of lifting color!
Want the secret to my bleached natural hair success?
Well, how about we start from the beginning? I have been experimenting with my hair color since I was 18 years old, starting with box hair color in red. From that point on, I just kept playing with hair color! Eventually, I found a stylist that I trust, and let her color my hair.
For a while during college, I decided to go from jet black to blonde, jet black to blonde. After graduating, I just kept lifting the color until it became platinum blonde.
The secret is in the timing!
Because bleached hair is fragile due to the lifting process, it needs a lot of moisture and consistent deep conditioning. That’s why I highly recommend moisturizing products from our Shea Butter and Coconut Oil collection. I cleanse my curls with Shea Butter Coconut Oil Sulfate Free Moisturizing Shampoo and follow up with our Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Moisturizing & Smoothing Conditioner. One to two time a month I will cocktail our the conditioner with our and Pink 10-N-1 Hot Oil Treatment. The deep level of moisture ensures that every hair strand is nourished to the core!
For even deeper levels of hydration and to retain all week long, I will sit under the hooded dryer or a hood steamer or hooded dryer for 30 minutes.
As mentioned, the secret to healthy, thoroughly moisturized bleached hair is in the timing. You must deep condition your natural hair weekly, especially if you have bleached hair. You HAVE to! I cannot stress this enough. If you don’t go that route, you might as well have not bleached your hair.
Book the appointment. Clip the ends. Lift the color. Repeat.
To keep my blonde vibrant, I bleach my natural hair every three weeks. To keep it healthy and to reduce over manipulating my hair strands, I style it myself. Since I’ve been in the industry for so long, and I know colorists that are also stylists, I ask them questions about the best ways to maintain and style my hair. For instance, every time you see my Mohawk, I’ve styled it!
Every three months, I have my ends clipped by a professional stylist because I am bleached. If I were not bleached, I would get them clipped every 6 months.
Recommended At-Home Regimen for Bleached Curls and Natural Hair
Since bleached hair is susceptible to breakage and dryness, I recommend cocktailing Shea Butter Coconut Oil Moisturizing and Silkening Conditioner and PINK Hot Oil Treatment from the original collection. You can both of these on LustersPink.com. Use this cocktail to deep condition your bleached curls every week, and never skip this step!
Using a 100% cotton tee shirt, dry your hair. Then, apply the Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner followed by our amazing Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Moisturizing Hair Milk before using the most appropriate styler for your hair. For instance, if it’s a Twist Out you want to achieve, use the Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Super Moisturizing Curl Definer or the Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Curl & Twist Pudding.
Are you still on the fence about bleaching your natural hair?
Believe me, I understand. Once you do make the leap into bleached natural hair and color-treated curls, I would definitely advise that you have patience! Do not try to go from dark, dark hair to platinum blonde in one sitting. It takes a couple of months to get there, and that’s if you’re consistent with going to the salon.
I was bleaching my hair myself for a little bit, but as it was growing out, I was kind of damaging my ends. Fortunately, a trusted friend recommended that I go back to the salon to let them continue bleaching my curls. If I had stayed out of the salon, I would have caused more damage to my hair. That’s why I want to make sure you understand that it’s all about moisturizing your bleached natural hair, as well as keeping your ends clipped!
You don’t have to look further than the Luster Pink Shea Butter and Coconut Oil collection for great conditioners & moisturizers that lasts for days. Get your moisture regimen essentials on LustersPink.com today for perfectly hydrated and styled bleach blonde curls.
Follow me for more hair care tips and all things Luster on Instagram @resabluster!
This post is sponsored by Luster.
