Hair & Beauty Empties (March & April)

Hi loves,
Welcome to my first empties post. let me tell you about how I found the products and whether or not I would repurchase.

1. Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil 236ml
I've been using JBCO for over two years now; I use it for my hair in a number of ways:
* with a cheapy conditioner (Tresemme Naturals) as a pre-shampoo/detangling treatment.
* with a hair masque/deep conditioner after shampooing.
* mix it with grapeseed oil (herbal infusion) and essential oils for my hair and scalp oil
I started using this oil during my transition period and it made the whole process so much easier; my hair is definitely stronger and thicker. JBCO is the one staple in my hair regimen since I'm a bit of a product junkie so I'm always trying out new shampoos and conditioners.

 

Would I repurchase? Hell yeah! I already have a second bottle. 

Price: ZAR 269.00 from www.african-flair.co.za 

2. Dark & Lovely Au Naturale Knot-out Conditioner 250ml
Dark & Lovely launched a hair care range for natural hair in South Africa late last year. I've already reviewed some of the products in this range (Click here for the link). I don't really use rinse-out conditioners after shampooing, I prefer to use deep conditioners and hair masques. I use rinse-outs for pre-poo and detangling (mixed with JBCO); this conditioner is perfect for this it's got tons of slip and it's super affordable. It will never replace Tresemme Naturals in my heart but it's an acceptable replacement. Also 250ml is only enough for 3 pre-poo sessions (I've got a lot of hair).

Would I repurchase? Yes. Until they launch the Tresemme Botanique range in South Africa.

Price: ZAR 39.95

3. The Body Shop Honeymania body Butter 250ml
I'm a sucker for a good body butter; I've got dry skin, so I can do with the extraness. This tub lasted a year, and I love how it made my skin feel. It locks in moisture without making things greasy which is awesome. It was a little difficult ot use in the winter beucase it gets a little hard and it feels cold in the winter (who else has this problem in the winter? My mission after a bath is to jump into PJs as quicky as possible and then bed. Butters and lotions feel really cold in the winter, so it becomes a chore). The scent was a bit too sweet for me at times, but other than that it's pretty good.

Repurchase? Probably not. I prefer the Brazil Nut and Atlas Mountain Rose Butters.
Price: ZAR 170.00


4. The Body Shop Seaweed Oil-Balancing Toner 250ml
This toner has been part of my skincare regimen for almost a year now. It's light and refreshing, and gives my face that one last clean before my serums and moisturisers. One bottle goes a long way; at least 3 months (even when using it twice a day), which is really good for the price.

Repurchase? Always
Price: ZAR 120.00


5. The Body Shop Seaweed Oil-Balancing Clay Mask 100ml
Another one from The Body Shop :-) I've only been using face masks dilligently for the last 6 months and I bought this mask, because I use the cleanser and toner from the Seaweed range. It's based on kaolin clay which is really good for purifying and detoxing the skin. It's got a slight cooling effect when applied, the tingling only comes afterwards, after rinsing. I found that if I used the toner straight after rinsing off the mask, then there's slight burning sensation, but nothing bad happens.

Would I repurchase? No, only because I've found something better. The masks from the Recipes of Nature range.
Price: ZAR 190.00


6. Fountain  - The Hair Molecule
I've talked about this beauty supplement in my favourites post (here); I've been using for more than a month. It's got a sour berry flavour that's a bit powdery but I don't find that off-putting. I'll do a review on it, after my 3 month trial period.

Would I repurchase? For now...Yes I'll talk about that in my full review soon. But I'm currently on my second bottle.
Price: ZAR 712 (Bay One for Africa) $39 (Deciem)

I can now throw these into the recycling waste bin. Done!

See you in my next post, 

xoxo, 

Build a Hair Regimen with locally available products

Hey loves,
I've asked my cutlfriends, the Llozanne (Rozanne and Lloyd) to help me compile a list of products available in South African beauty supply stores; Clicks and Dischem. Rozanne and I are certified product junkies; always looking for that perfect shampoo, conditioner etc. Between the two of us we've tried enought products over the years to come up with a list of local products that we liked enough to repurchase. Lloyd has been kind enough to let Rozanne try out stuff on his hair, since starting his hair growth journey over a year ago.
Here goes:

 

 

 

Most of these products are available at Clicks and Dischem stores. Most are suitable for relaxed, transitioning and natural hair.
Cold-pressed Castor oil is available at Durbell pharmacies or online at faithful to nature. 

I hope you find this list helpful my fellow hair health enthusiasts.

See you in my next post,

Love,

Hair Review: Dark & Lovely Au Natural Range ft. the BFF

Hi loves,
I' was so excited about the launch of Dark & Lovely's Au Naturale range in South Africa (Designed specifically for the South African market, there's a plaiting pudding cream...), which couldn't come soon enough. I can't believe how long it's taken them to launch a natural hair care range considering how long they've been operating in South Africa....tsk.tsk.. But let by gones be by gones...
I'm happy to say that this review will be done in collabo with my BFF; we're both on a natural hair journey and certified product junkies. We got the products from Clicks and Dischem when they first launched (So for slighlty cheapper than the recommended retail price). She reviewed the shampoo and condtioner, and I reviewed the condtioner and mositurizing butter.

Shampoo 

Her Review:

The Moisture-Replenishing shampoo is egg yolk yellow in colour and slightly runny. It’s got a strong mango and tropical fruit fragrance, not unlike the Mango range from the Body Shop; A bit strong for my liking, but I’ll live. I used it as a clarifier after a protective style and as a weekly shampoo since purchasing. From the first wash, it lathers quite well (yay for suds!!) cleanses my fine strands clean without stripping; which is what I want, from my shampoo. I have shampooed my hair with this product both with and without pre-pooing and it delivered the same results. My strands are quite fine and dry out quickly so this is a win in my book. I just would recommend only shampooing twice if you really need to (i.e. you've been rolling in mud and/or attended the colour run). In my case, a moderate amount went a long way so I think this bottle may last me about two months.

Price: ZAR 39.95


Conditioner

My Review:
The Knot-out conditoner in this range also has a strong Mango fragrance but I'm not complaining. I must confess I'm more of a deep condtioner girl, so I used this conditioner as a pre-shampoo treatment/detangler.
The Verdict? It's great! It's got a ton load of slip which is what I need. It really made my from more manageable and removing knots easily. (I finger-detangle and follow that up with my Denman brush).
For pre-poo, I normally mix my conditoner with Jamaican Black Castor Oil and this condtioner works really well with JBCO (so that's another plus).
I feel like this is a great alternative (It's silicone-free) for those of us who miss Tresemme Naturals something fierce (I'm still mad about that by the way...How could they take it away from us?)

Her Review:

It’s light and with a creamy spreadable consistency. The fragrance was something akin to mango and tropical fruit smoothie; a bit overpowering for me, but bearable. Plus it doesn’t linger.

I first used it as a detangler on my 4b strands and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It has SLIP. As in you can detangle with your fingers or paddle brush with ease (provided your hair isn’t extremely tangled). So that passes the first test. The downside is that you have to use quite a bit of product to saturate your hair. But as it’s fairly inexpensive, I don’t mind it.

I also tried it as a deep conditioner and left it in for 20min. Here.... ja, it’s not a deep conditioner. It’s not bad but it left my hair wanting a bit more. I tried again but added some of my favourite oils for extra extra-ness. This time it did a better job. But since I hate doing that, I think I will just stick to it as a quick conditioner or a detangler.

Price: ZAR 39.95

Afro moisturizing butter

 My Review:
I decided to go for the moisturizing butter instead of the plaiting pudding cream because I have a strong aversion to pink creams. Why must you be so Dark & Lovely? Pink? Really?! NO!
The moisturizing butter is quite firm with a smooth texture, which I really like (no dripping all over the place). The fragrance...I don't like at all. It's very chemical (trying to be herby..I don't know) It smells a little like Sunlight dishwashing liquid to me. That being said I really like how it feels in my hair. It's super mosturizing; great for use as a the moisture component in conjunction with an oil to seal. Also gives great slip if you're detangling your hair post-wash. I also used it on my hair with my whipped mafura butter when I installed Marley twists.


For those who are silicone-sensitive, it does contain dimethicone. So despite the not so awesome fragrance, we're keeping it! 

Price: ZAR 79.95

My final verdict: All three of these products are super affordable. They're available in selected Dischem and Clicks stores. Also, Clicks has an online store, you can order there too.
So Dark & Lovely, well done! Took you long enough.

Her final verdict:

All in all, this combo is great and budget friendly if you’re looking for good, cheap products that do the job well. Will I repurchase? Yup! It’s worth it.

What's your verdict on the Au Naturale range? Yay! or Nah!?

See you in my next post,

xoxo








*Product images are from www.darkandlovely.co.za