Hey beautiful people!  I have been trying to keep my product junkism at bay, and I have been doing a pretty good job at it.  However, courtesy of a tip on Long Hair Care Forum, I got wind of a clearance sale on Mielle Organics products, and picked up a few items.  Here are my thoughts:

Detangling Co-wash - 8 oz. ($11.99):  This co-wash is more of a conditioner than cleanser.  It has amazing slip and did a great job detangling my hair, but it didn’t clean it.  My hair felt coated before I used it, and it still felt coated after using it.  As a low porosity girl, I need a real cleanser.

White Peony Ultra Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner - 8 oz. ($12.99):  As the name suggests, this product is moisturizing.  It is also light-weight, which is good for low porosity hair.  I just like my homemade spritz better, and it is cheaper.  Also, the spray nozzle on this product bothers me.  It comes out as a stream, rather than distributing across my hair.  I actually ended up transferring it to another bottle to make it easier to use.  However, in looking at the Mielle Organics website, it looks like they have changed the top to a spray pump, so that should fix this problem.

Avocado Moisturizing Hair Milk - 8 oz. ($12.99):  This is very moisturizing, and is probably my favorite product in the line.  My hair felt so soft after I used this.  Unfortunately, it doesn't absorb into my hair right away when I first put it on, but few things do.  The other downside I notice is that it clumps when I mixed it with EcoStyler gel in my hands, which is what I usually use to bun my hair.  Nevertheless, because of how wonderfully moisturized it makes my hair feel, I would repurchase this product.

Mint Almond Oil - 8 oz. ($12.99):  This is a very nice oil, and my second favorite product in the line.  It is lightweight enough for my low porosity strands, and the peppermint smell is heavenly.  The oil essentially has three main ingredients -- Sweet Almond Oil, Soybean Oil and Peppermint Oil, so you could make it yourself if you consider yourself a mixtress.  I would definitely purchase it again at the $7 price point I purchased it for, but it is not a repurchase for me at the regular price.  That being said, this isn't overpriced.  Peppermint oil is expensive.  I have seen a 4 oz. jar sell for $11.  It's just that I already have a bottle of peppermint oil that I haven't been able to use up in the past 5 years, and I typically buy a 32 oz bottle of avocado oil (my favorite straight oil) for about $15.  I do thank this product, however, for teaching me that I can add more peppermint oil to my other products without irritating my scalp.

Honey Ginger Edge Gel - 4 oz. ($12.99):   While I had high hopes, this edge gel suffered the same fate as many others.  It initially slicked down my edges, but that did not last long.  Thus far, it still remains that Eco Styler is one of the few things capable of slicking my edges long term.

I still want to try the Brazilian Curl Cream and the Honey & Ginger Styling Gel.  I guess I will just have to wait for another great sale.

Do you like this line?  What products do you use from it?

Hey, beautiful people!  Happy Thanksgiving!  This post is long overdue, so I decided to type while I am waiting for all the things in the oven to finish cooking, may daughter is taking a nap and my hubby is watching football. 

As you already know, Silk Dreams Haircare is one of my favorite brands.  So, when they had a sale a while ago, I picked up three of the moisturizing butters:  the Who’s That Curl? Buttersilk Balm; the Satin Smooth Hair Cream; and the Almond Buttercream.  There is also a Mocha Silk Bling Butter, but I prefer a butter that has water as the first moisturizer and it has mango butter as the first ingredient, followed by a series of other butters and oils.

I have been using all three butters for a few months to see how my hair reacts each one.  Surprisingly, the ingredients are very different, but my hair reacts similarly to two of the butters and not that much different for the third.  I wanted to make sure that they remained similar long term.  They did not.

Hey, beautiful people!  As I went through my braiding challenge, one of the creams that I came across was Uncle Funky’s Daughter Supercurl.  Then, because I liked Uncle Funky’s Daughter’s shampoo, gel and Supercurl, I decided to purchase a sampling of other Uncle Funky’s Daughter products and do a head-to-head between the Supercurl and the Extra Butter.  I’ll do a power product review of the other products from the line at a later date.

For my head-to-head, I did a few braided styles, that later turned into braid outs, with Supercurl on the right side of my head and Extra Butter on the left.  Both the Supercurl and the Extra Butter give me a lot of shine and some hold.  However, I noticed that the moisture level in my hair, after using them, really depended on the leave-in I used under these products.  I needed a heavier, moisturizing leave-in because these are both very light.  For example, when I used Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter, my hair was incredibly soft for days, in addition to having shine.  The day after I used the products with Camille Rose, I kept touching my braid out because I literally could not believe how soft my hair was.  For my previous review of Supercurl, I was using the Silk Dreams Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner, and you can see how great my hair looked here.  When I used Oyin Hair Dew, which is a little lighter, my hair was not as moisturized and the shine was a little less.

I also tried using them together with Oyin Hair Dew because I read a couple reviews where people mixed the two together.  This made my hair much softer than using either product alone.  The downside to this, however, is that I would have to buy two products, instead of one.

Consistency:  The Extra Butter wins in this category.  It is a cross between a light butter and a cream.  The Supercurl has the consistency of goop or paste, without the stickiness.  Also, when I rubbed Supercurl between my fingers and when I put it on my hair, it was very thin and watery; so, the first time I tried it, I wondered if it would be able to do anything.

Ingredients:  For me, this is a tie.  The ingredients in both are ok, though there are a couple that give me pause because I just don’t know as much about them:

Scent:  Supercurl wins this category by a slim margin.  It has a slightly sweet smell, while Extra Butter is a more chemical smell; but, both smell ok.  

Verdict:  They are very similar in how they make my hair look and feel.  If I had to pick one, however, I would pick the Extra Butter because of its consistency.  It is a little thicker, which makes it a little easier to smooth out potential flyaways. 

Hey, beautiful people!  I have loved Camille Rose’s Almond Jai Twisting Butter since the early days of my natural journey.  Then, when I discovered the Aloe Whipped Butter Gel, I really liked that too, so it was only fitting that I do a head-to-head as part of my braiding challenge.  However, since I also bought the Camille Rose Coconut Water Style Setter as part of my Black Friday haul, I decided to a head-to-head-to-head.

All three butters left my hair feeling moisturized, but they each gave my hair a different feeling.  The Coconut Water Style Setter left my hair more frizzy and feeling coarse. 

The Almond Jai Twisting Butter worked best with my hair either already damp or spritzed with water first, and it took longer to absorb into my hair.  My hair stayed moisturized longer with the Almond Jai than with the Coconut Water Style Setter, but the Almond Jai takes a long time to absorb into my hair.

The Aloe Whipped Butter Gel is definitely my favorite after this challenge, but Almond Jai is a very close second.  The Almond Jai and Aloe Whipped Butter Gel give my hair the same amount of sheen.  However, the Butter Gel is the lightest of the three butters, and it absorbs easily into my hair.  The only downside is that, despite gel being in the name, there is very little hold.

Hi, beautiful people!  As I mentioned in my Black Friday post from last year, I’ve been thinking about transitioning to almost exclusively using one product line.  If you followed my blog during my wash n’ go challenge, you know that I really like the Camille Rose Curl Maker Gel.     

LOVE IT:

I’ve also reviewed a few other Camille Rose products on my page, so feel free to check those out too.  I also hope to do a battle of the Camille Rose butters soon.

Hey, beautiful people!  As I mentioned last year, I purchased a single Curl Collection box when they featured Koils by Nature.  As part of the box, I received the Ultra Moisturizing CocoAloe Deep Conditioner, the Moisturizing Shealoe Leave-in Conditioner, the Peppermint Herbal Soothing Curl Defining Gel, and the Marvelous Mango Hair & Body Butter.

Ultra Moisturizing CocoAloe Deep Conditioner with Argan Oil ($18 for 12 oz) - I love this product!  This and the leave-in are my two favorite products out of the box.  It is a lotion consistency (not overly thick).  It goes on smooth, has a lot of slip for detangling.  It actually makes a great pre-poo.  I was able to use this to detangle my dry hair without any water.  It also revived my hair within a couple weeks, after I had been neglecting it a little.

Moisturizing Shealoe Leave-in Conditioner with Argan Oil ($20 for 12 oz) – I love this product.  It has a creamy consistency, which seems to be best for leave-in conditioners for my hair.  It goes on smoothly, has a lot of slip and is moisturizing.  I’m not sure why, but it smells a little like citrus fruit.  It is a very light scent.  I would definitely re-buy this.

Peppermint Herbal Soothing Curl Defining Gel ($14 for 8 oz) – This was my least favorite product in the box.  I tried it on a wash n go.  I also tried it on a bun.  It smooths on easily, and has a lot of slip (probably because of the marshmallow root and slippery elm), but it has little to no hold and it flaked a little on my wash n go.  My wash n go also shrunk A LOT and frizzed.  My favorite part of this gel was the peppermint.  It smells strongly of peppermint, and leaves a cooling tingle on my scalp, so I know the peppermint is not just fragrance.  Because I couldn’t find a way to use this that worked for me, it is a “leave it”.

Marvelous Mango Hair & Body Butter ($25 for 4 oz) – I took one look at the butter, and knew that I could not use it on my hair.  However, I love it for my hands and elbows.  It is kind of creamy and melts easily, leaving my hands baby soft.  I keep it in the diaper bag, and use it whenever my hands get dry.  In complete disclosure, I also used it on the baby’s legs once when I noticed they were a little dry at the pediatrician’s office.  Do not buy this if you do not like the smell of mango, however, because it does have a strong mango scent.  This would be a “love it”, but my hubby thinks the mango smell is too strong and it is expensive.  Thus, this is a “like it”.

INGREDIENTS:

Ultra Moisturizing CocoAloe Deep Conditioner with Argan Oil (pH 4.5-5.0) – Distilled Water, Aloe Leaf Juice, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Coconut Oil, Aloe Butter, Argan Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Mango Alphonso Powder Fruit Extract, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Potassium Sorbate , Willow Bark Extract, Vitamin E, Pro-Vitamin B5, Fragrance, Citric Acid.

Moisturizing Shealoe Leave-in Conditioner with Argan Oil (pH 4.5-5.0) – Distilled Water infused with Organic Calendula Flower Whole, Burdock Root, Organic Horsetail Shaved Grass, & Organic Nettle Leaf; Aloe Leaf Juice; Cetyl Alcohol; Behentrimonium Methosulfate; Organic Marshmallow Root Powder; Organic Burdock Root Powder; Organic Calendula Flower Powder; Organic Slippery Elm Bark Powder; Chamomile Flower Powder; Shea oil; Rice Bran Oil; Organic Olive Oil; Macadamia Nut Oil; Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Seed Oil; Argan Oil; Aloe Butter; Grape Seed Oil; Mango Alphonso Powder Fruit Extract; Kosher Vegetable Glycerin; Potassium Sorbate; Willow Bark Extract; Vitamin E; Pro-Vitamin B5; Essential Oil & Fragrance; Citric Acid.

Peppermint Herbal Soothing Curl Defining Gel – Distilled Water infused with Organic Calendula Flower Whole, Organic Burdock Root, Organic Horsetail Shaved Grass, & Organic Nettle Leaf; Aloe Leaf Juice; Carbomer; Organic Marshmallow Root Powder; Organic Slippery Elm Bark Powder; Chamomile Flower Powder; Shea Oil; Organic Olive Oil; Macadamia Nut Oil; Jamaican Black Castor Seed Oil; Grape Seed Oil; Mangifera Indica; Potassium Sorbate; Willow Bark Extract; Peppermint Essential Oils, Citric Acid.

Marvelous Mango Hair & Body Butter –Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Kokum Butter, Mango Seed Butter, Avocado Butter, Aloe Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Jamaican Black Castor Seed Oil, Illipe Butter, Vitamin E, Pro-Vitamin B5, Organic essential oils & fragrance.