January 2016

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Product Review: Blended Beauty Happy Nappy Styles (The Braiding Files #4)

Ingredients: Aqua, Sunflower Seed Oil, Shea Butter, Behentrimonium Methosulfate and Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate and Cetyl Alcohol and Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 20, Vegetable Glycerin, Methylheptyl Isostearate, Parfum, Soy Lecithin, Cetyl Esters, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Preservative (Phenoxyethanol and Caprylyl Glycol and Sorbic Acid, Rosmarinus Officinalis, Aloe Barbadensis, Chamomilla Recutita

Promise: From the website - A rich and moisturizing styling cream for kinky curls and dreads, or highly textured hair. Style and define your curls or twist locs, while naturally hydrating. Perfect for finger twisting curls! Create defined curls, with maximum moisture and softness. Dries touchably soft and satiny, not sticky or greasy.

Scent: Snickerdoodle Cookie

Consistency: Very thick, like buttercream frosting

Results: I’m so torn on this product. When my hair is wet or damp, this product works well for moisturizing and sealing. However, when my hair is dry, it just sits on top of my hair and feels greasy. In other words, this product has to have separate moisture to work properly on my hair. When it does have moisture, my hair feels soft and stays that way for a little while. It does not give my hair alot of sheen, but it does give it some. I used it on my daughter’s hair, and it was amazing for her, even more than mine. When I spritz her hair and apply this, her curls pop, have a lot of sheen, and even have some shine. I think this butter would be really good for someone with high porosity or more coarse strands, unlike my low porosity/fine hair. The Blended Beauty Curl Quenching Conditioner was definitely a better fit for my hair.

Love it, Like it or Leave It: Like It

blended beauty , braid out , braiding challenge , braidout , like it , product junkie , product review , protective styling

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Product Review: Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Nourishing & Conditioning Styling Pudding (The Braiding Files #3)

Price: $12 for 8 oz

Ingredients: Water, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glycerin, Fragrance, Agave Tequilana Stem Extract, Aminomethyl Propanol, Shea Butter, Carbomer, Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba, Guar Gum, Dioleyl Phosphate, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Oleth-5 Phosphate, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Avocado Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, PVP, Jojoba Seed Oil, Methylisothiazolinone, Potassium Sorbate

Promise: From the jar - For curls, coils, kinks and waves. Deeply moisturizes. Improves softness. Prevents frizz.

Scent: Chemical

Consistency: Very light and thin, feels like watered down lotion

Results: As background, I got a really good deal on this product and I saw a few positive reviews, so I decided to try it. Normally, I would not have picked up this product because the ingredients are not great. As I’ve stated in prior posts, you should typically look at the first 5 ingredients in a product to determine what is doing the heavy lifting. In this product, it is a red flag for me that fragrance is the third ingredient. Most products put fragrance as one of the final ingredients, plus I am sensitive to strong smells. It is also a flag for me that this product is packed with chemicals and most of the natural ingredients are towards the end. If the ingredient list is accurate, there is less Avocado Oil in this product than there is aminomethyl propanol. Aminomethyl Propanol is typically a pH adjuster, and it needs to be used carefully (more on this in another post). Glycerin, is third on the list, which is not necessarily bad, but does limit the weather conditions in which I can use this product. Finally, to top it off, when I tried this product, it gave my hair moisture for all of about 10 minutes before my hair dried out like the desert and became hard. In short, I am not a fan. Thankfully, the store I bought it from has a great return policy.

Love it, Like it or Leave It: Leave It

braid out , braiding challenge , braidout , carol's daughter , leave it , product junkie , product review , protective styling

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Product Review: Uncle Funky’s Daughter Supercurl Miracle Moisture Cream (The Braiding Files #2)

Price: $22 for 8 oz

Ingredients: Water, Soybean Oil, Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Honey, Polymide-1, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Shea Butter, Fragrance, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Glyceryl Stearate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Olive Fruit Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Macadamia Seed Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Caramel.

Promise: From the website - Dry curls have no fear, extra moisturizing Supercurl is here. This creamy hydrator has dual-power abilities to stretch out and detangle curls in very kinky, tight textures, yet define curls in medium to loose curly textures.

Scent: Possibly papaya, definitely a sweet citrus

Consistency: Lightweight cream

Results: I like this product. The Polymide-1 gave me pause because I had never heard of this ingredient before, but the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database has it rated low on the hazard scale, which is good. The cream moisturizes some, but not a lot. It does leave my hair soft, and it provides my hair with a lot of sheen and definition. It also absorbs fairly quickly into my hair because it is so lightweight. Also, despite the price, a little goes a long way. I had a sample size that I got from an event, and it lasted through several braid styles. However, I would like to buy a bigger jar.

Love it, Like it or Leave It: Love It

braid out , braiding challenge , braidout , coconut , love it , low porosity , product junkie , product review , protective styling , Uncle Funky's Daughter , Uncle Funky's Daughter review