Christmas with Cashmere Curls! A Review.

 Hello hello hello guys!

I hope you're enjoying this holiday season.

Remember to enter the giveaway contest for your chance at winning some free goodies!
  One of the prizes that three lucky readers will receive, is a set of Cashmere Curls by Curls.  I promised a review for this duo in my last post, and was eager to test drive it right before Christmas day. 

Note:  Normally, I'm against experimenting with new products/styles the day before a major occasion lest disaster befalls my hands, and I'm cursed with straight up jacked hair, but I had some extra holiday down time and I felt a bit brazen.  So I decided to give these new products a whirl!

Post curly fro, I finger detangled with coconut and almond oils, deep conditioned with 

Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Deep Conditioner
  and shampooed my hair with liquified black soap from Amazing Botanicals.

I moisturized with 

Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner, 

and sealed with whipped shea butter.  If your texture is similar to mine (4a/b/c) and you're currently searching for a creamy and lightweight moisturizer that still imparts slip as it rehydrates; really think about trying this.  I used it to comb detangle my hair, a few months ago, and was a bit startled by how well it performed.

Good stuff!

Afterwards, I put my damp hair into six jumbo braids, which were unraveled the next morning.  Finally, I gathered the loose hair into a side swept bun, and wore my hair that way until Christmas Eve.

  The Review
An ambitious endeavor. 

Mission: Recreate Naptural85's cocoon curls for a stretched out curly fro.
Status: Fail.  Mission aborted. 
My first cocoon got stuck and refused to slide out of its knot.  The more I tugged, so that the twist would slip and the knot would pop loose, the more and more snug the knot felt.  I hyperventilated a few shameful times when the image of six inches of rashly scissored off hair, thudding to the floor, flashed before my eyes.  
Mercifully, I was eventually able to tease the knot out.  

Recovery mission: Flat twist out.
Status: Success!

  My loosened hair was moisturized with the Cashmere Curl Leave in-conditioner mixed in with Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in.  Then, I applied the Cashmere Curl Jelly to sections of my hair, and flat twisted. 

The Ingredients

Cashmere Curls Leave-in Conditioner

Botanically Infused H2O, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Keratin- Cashmere Extract, Certified Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Certified Organic Anthemis Nobilis (Flower) Extract, Certified Organic Coconut Extract, Bean Tree, Lactamide MEA, Acetamide MEA, Polyquaternium-7, Polysorbate 80,Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Lactic Acid, Diisopropyl Adipate, Polyquaternium-10, Phenoxyethanol, Natural Fragrance

  $20.00 for 8 oz. jar ($40.00 for set)

Cashmere Curl Jelly 

Purified Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Lactamide MEA, Acetamide MEA, Polyquaternium-7, Polysorbate 80, Cashmere Extract, Cerifiied Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Certified Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Water, Certified Organic Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract,PEG-40 Castor Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyquaternium-10, Certified Organic Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Polyquaternium-11, Lactic Acid, Bean Tree Palmitate, Diisopropyl Adipate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance

$25.00 for 8 oz. jar ($40.00 for set)

 

Initially, I was doubtful about using these products on my thick hair.  The gel isn't as solid as I prefer, and in fact, feels more like jello that still needs to congeal further in the fridge.  The leave in conditioner appears to have a water-like consistency, at first glance, but is actually, pretty viscous; like a syrup.  

My reservations about using products with these sorts of consistencies were also compounded because of the sizes of the bottles, and their expensive cost.  My hair greedily absorbs liquids, which means that I'd have to be quite liberal in their use, which would inevitably mean that with consistent use, I would exhaust 8 ounces of liquid fairly quickly.  

When I purchase hair products, I always consider their amounts and textures.  My hair demands it.

The Product Claim

Cashmere Curl Collection 

Transform dry kinks into shiny curls! 
"... The Cashmere Curl Collection includes an 8oz Cashmere Curls Moisturizer and an 8oz Cashmere Curl Jelly Curl definer... formulated with pure cashmere extract clinically proven to repair damaged hair ... improving its strength and elasicity and restoring depleted keratin.  

 I allowed the twists to set for the night, and gently unraveled them on Christmas day. 

The Verdict
My resulting flat twistout was exceptional- soft, loosely defined, and fluffy.  Perfect hair! 

 The directions for the Cashmere Curls leave in mention mixing it in with a styler of choice.  I mixed it with a dollop of the Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave in, as I flat twisted.  I noticed that the product was indeed syrupy and smelled like a fruit; guava?  Udara?  It was reminiscent of something out of my childhood in Naija...
 I know it'll bug me all week until I remember.

   I didn't care much for the bottle top applicator, as I had to squeeze the bottle for the syrup to emerge- kinda messy, so I transferred some of the product into a small spray bottle, and spritzed my hands with it before I proceeded to apply it to my hair.  I also squirted about three quarter sized amounts of Cashmere Curl Jelly into a small container cap.  At the end of each twist, I'd dab my fingers into the cap, and coat the ends of the twists with the gel.  Then, I wrapped them around cold rods. 

Beautiful though, right?

The leave in also smelled great.  
Wait o... like almond fruit!!!  
Yes!  This set smells exactly like almond fruit.  

I predicted that I'd have to use a lot of the leave in, and I was right- I'm already halfway through the bottle after the first use.  At $25.00 per 8oz bottle, it's too light and expensive for my hair budget.  However, if it were creamy in texture, it would be a contender as a luxurious hair treat.

The jelly promoted curl clumping, and the hold at the ends of the twists was firm, but very soft.  I absolutely loved that.
It also promised twist out elongation, however, since my hair is grazing waist length these days, elongation isn't exactly on my radar.  Lol.

The leave in would probably work really well in textures that perhaps are silkier or aren't as dense as mine.  I'll continue using it mixed in with my with my stylers.  As for the curl jelly; I really really like it.  I do wish it were a bit cheaper, or offered more in quantity, but I would recommend it as an awesome gel that offers hold without the crunch.