Haircare Review: TRESemmé - Naturals vs Botanique

Hi loves,
I'm back with another hair product review; this time it's TRESemmé, they recently launched their expert selection botanique range in South Africa...
Now I need to rant just a little bit, TRESemmé discontinued the Naturals range two years ago and thne just left us high dry and dry no bye, no explanations. Meanwhile everywhere else, the Botanique range was launched and we had to wait for 2 years...why?

TRESemmé Naturals was the holy grail of conditioners for curlies and coilys everywhere; it's sulphate-free, silicone free and multipurpose. It could be used as a co-wash, a pre-poo, a leave-in or just as a regular rinse-out conditioner. My preferred use for this: Pre-poo detangling, I add some Jamaican Black Castor Oil to my conditioner and use it to detangle my hair on washday.
Anyway, let's not dwell on by gones.

I recruited my closest curlfriends so that we could do a  comparison review:
New vs. Old - Naturals vs. Botanique

We all had a bit of the old formula because we love it so much, we've been hoarding. I compared with Naturals - Radiant Care to the new Botanique, and the Llozanne and Cynthia compared the new conditioner to the Naturals - Nourishing Moisture.  I picked up a bottle of hte new conditioner at Pick n Pay for R 79.99.

Here's the list of the ingredients
TRESemmé Botanique Nourish and Replenish
Water (Aqua, Eau), Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Behentrimonium Chloride, Dipropylene Glycol, Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

TRESemmé Naturals Radiant Care
Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Fragrance, Caprylyl Glycol, Aspartic Acid, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Lauryl Lysine, Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Cymbopogon Schoeanthus (Lemongrass) Extract (Organic), Citrus Aurantium (Orange) Peel Extract (Organic)

TRESemmé  Naturals Nourishing Moisture
Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Fragrance, Lauryl Lysine, Caprylyl Glycol, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed)/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Aspartic Acid, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Persea Gratissima (Avacado) Oil (Organic), Citric Acid, Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice (Organic)


Cynthia's Review: (compared the new condtioner to Naturals Nourishing Moisture)

1. What do you like about the product?

I love the strong smell of coconut...mmhm yummy 

The slip is good too 

It's quite cheap for the size you get 

All the ingredients we as naturals like 

2. How does it feel on your hair ?

It makes it soft and easy to comb through, especially for my kinky 4C hair

3. Botanique vs Naturals
It's runnier as compared to Naturals and so will finish quicker than the Naturals

The slip is also not as good as Naturals

But I love the fragrance more than Naturals 

I kinda like the packaging more as well lol - it's prettier with the writing haha 

4. Price 5/5

5. Effectiveness 4/5

6. Repurchase? I would definitely repurchase it

The Llozanne Review:
(Botanique vs Naturals Nourishing Moisture vs Dark & Lovely Au Naturale Knot-out Conditioner)...My bestie does not do anything in half measures

Photo Credit: #thebestie

1. What do you like about the product?
it's moisturising and thick

2. How does it feel on your hair ?
it sits on the strands; it seems to get absorbed if you work it into the hair.Leaves the hair feeling filmy, it might be the coconut oil (not a fan).

3. Botanique vs Naturals vs Knot-out
vs Naturals  - it has less slip than the old formula and more product is neededfor detangling.
it's not as moisturising as the old formula. On the upside, it gives his curls crazy definition and curl clumping.

vs Knot-out - it lost! knot-out slip is way superior, especially with added JBCO. However, curl definition from the Botanique conditioner was way better than knot-out conditioner.

4. Effectiveness 3/5. It does the job.
5. Price 5/5
6. Repurchase? If its only sale yes, and only if my others were out of stock and I had no choice.

Final thoughts: I don't forsee myself using this as a rinse-out conditioner because it doesn't soak into the hair and it leaves a residue on the hair. Detangling wasn't great, it was more of a hassle than I'm accustommed to.


My Review:
Compared Botanique against Radiant Care for pre-poo/detangling
I divided my hair into two sections, one side Botanique and to the other I applied Radiant Care.

Botanique vs Naturals

Right off the bat the big diffrence for me is the consistency...
Radiant Care: thick and creamy with slight tackiness
Botanique: it's creamy as well but runny

Fragrance: (this is not really important to me, I have prodcuts that smell like after shave)
Radiant Care: faint citrus
Botanique: coconut (but not as strong as Palmers)

How it feels on my hair...
The old formula absorbs and adsorbs to my hair strands really well, coating my hair strands for easy detangling (finger detangling followed by Denman D3 brush). The Botanique conditioner feels like a co-wash on my hair, it coats my hair strands in a layer that doesn't seem to get absorbed and detangling is not as easy; there was defintely a bit of snagging and snapping of hair strands .
The advantage the Botanique conditioner has over Naturals is that  it elongates my coils, so there isn't as much shrinkage.
I keep the conditioner on for 30 minutes before I rinse out. After rinsing out both sides were soft and manageable, so in that regard the results from both condtioners are similar. The definition and clumping of my coils with the new formula was amazing. 
I like that they've removed the alcohol and isopropyl alcohol, which can be drying on the hair 👏👍. Cape Town Curly has a post on alcohols in hair products (Click here for the link)

My Final thoughts: It's an ok conditioner and it's decently priced, but I've found better alternatives (for pre-poo) to TRESemmé conditioners since the Naturals range was discontinued; I especially love the Baylis & Harding Coconut Conditioner R 59.99 for 500ml (Dischem) and the Garnier Ultimate Blends  Conditioner - The Nourishing Repairer R 59.99 for 400ml (Dischem and Clicks).


Condtioner and shampoo are both available in Pick n Pay, Dischem, and Clicks stores for R 79.99 each. Dischem currenlty has a special, you can get them for R59.99 each.

That's it from me, thank you to my curlfriends for saying yes to the collab, 💜💜💜💜💜

See you in my next post, 

xoxo

Let's Talk About...My Hair!

I've been mulling over this post for more than a month. I wasn't sure about what to talk about or how...meh so here goes
History
I had a big *ss fro up until I was 21, at which I point I decided I wanted straight hair. I relaxed and then texlaxed for about 7 years.

Afro puff at 3 years old

 In the last 2 years before going natural I cut my hair for the first time in my life into a Cleopatra bob...I loved it but as you all know manitaining hair cuts is a mission. So I grew it out and then in April 2014 I did my last relaxer and decied to transition (for 24 months) back to natural hair. 

December 2010: My hair had already started breaking.

I wasn't happy with the texture or the feel of my hair. It felt dry and brittle, I couldn't retain length and truth be told..I just MISSED MY AFRO!
So fast forward 18 months (I couldn't take it anymore); I chopped off the relaxed ends. Best. decision. ever. 

Braidout, 8 Months post big chop

I've been natural for 8 months and I'm in love with my hair once again. For the most part, I keep my hair in box braids and twists. It's just easier that way (I get lazy).

Kinky twists

Silver box braids

Before relaxer, I had bra-strap length hair...so my immediate goal is to get it back to that. 
I'm currently at armpit length (I've already had one trim this year, and I'll probably do another in November).
 
So below is a summary of my current hair regimen, which contiunes to evolve as I discover new products. Also, I've linked to the products to the supplier websites for more information. I haven't included any of the products that I use to straghten my hair. I'll deal with that in a later post (it's not something that I do very often).

Hair regimen
Co-wash (I'm trying not to shampoo every week, so I alternate: shampoo every 2 weeks)
As I Am Coconut Cowash
Shea Moisture African Black Soap Purification Masque
 
Pre-shampoo/detangling (I like to detangle my hair before I wash it. So I mix my cheapie conditioner with JBCO and add that to sections of my hair before detangling with my fingers, wide tooth comb and finally denman brush).
Tresemme Naturals Vibrantly smooth & Colour radiance conditioners (No longer available in South Africa :-( I've got 1and 1/2 bottles left).
Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil
 
Shampoos (every 2 weeks)
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Grow shampoo
Giovanni Ecochic Wellness System shampoo
 
Deep conditioners (every week)
The Body Shop Rainforest Radiance Butter
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Grow deep treatment masque
 
Leave-in conditioners
Cantu shea butter for Natural hair Leave-in Conditioning Cream
African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner
Jamaican Black Castor oil Strengthen & Grow leave-in conditioner
  
Styling products (I use these after adding my leave-in for a braidout or a twistout. I prefer braidouts because I get better definition and longevity).

Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Styling Milk
Jamaican Black Castor oil Strengthen & Grow styling lotion
Shealoe butter mix (Shea butter, Coconut oil and Aloe vera juice)
Ecostyler Argan oil gel 

Protein treatments (I've lightened my hair and I use semi-permanent colour, so I need all the help I can get).
Light (Once a month): CHI Deep Brilliance Silkeratin 17 & Moisture Treatment
Heavy (Every 8 weeks): Aphogee Two-Step Protein treatment


Done! I'm feeling very accomplished :-)

See you in my next post, 

xoxo, N