My Two Cents - Beautiful Curls by Alaffia

I mentioned a couple months back in My Faithful and Favorite Products post, that Beautiful Curls products are one of my favorite product lines.  I regularly use their Shea Butter Curl Activating Shampoo, Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment,  and Shea Butter Curl Activating Leave-in Conditioner.  I've occasionally used the Curl Control Custard.  They also carry a curl cream, lotion, oil, and sculpting wax...but since I haven't used any of those, I'm not able to make any comments just yet :-)

I love the story behind the Beautiful Curls products.  The shea butter is handcrafted by the Alaffia Shea Butter Cooperative in Sokodé, Togo West Africa. The products are Certified Fair Trade, which means that the members of the Cooperative are guaranteed to receive fair income.  Also a minimum of 10% of sales are returned to West Africa to fund community empowerment projects.

Here are my thoughts...

Shea Butter Curl Activating Shampoo

Rating: 4 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• Lathers really well 
• Cleans scalp and hair well without any harsh ingredients
• Last a long time - You don't need to use alot
• All natural ingredients
• Smells great
• Price is reasonable
• Nice creamy/smooth texture
• Non-drying - Does not strip the hair
• Curls pop and hair is left feeling moisturized
• Incredibly moisturizing for a shampoo

Cons:  

• None really, with the exception that I've only been able to find this product line at Whole Foods (not sold everywhere). That's a ditto for all 4 products that I am reviewing.

Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment
I normally apply the conditioner and then sit under my heating cap for 30-45 mins and then rinse out.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• All natural ingredients
• Smells great
• Price is reasonable
• Creamy texture
• Pretty good slip
• Leaves hair feeling very soft and moisturized 

Con:  

•  Not a fan of the tube that it's packaged in.  Not always easy to get the products out of the container. I would prefer if it was in a jar instead of the tube.

Shea Butter Curl Activating Leave-In Conditioner

Rating: 4 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• All natural ingredients
• Smooth texture is very easy to apply
• Great at coating my hair - coats very easily
• Smells wonderful
• Great moisturizing properties
• Curls pop
• My hair loves this stuff.  It really does my hair good.

Cons: Can't really think of one

Curl Control Custard
I apply this to wet hair after I have applied my leave-in.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Coils
Pros:

• All natural ingredients
• No alcohol
• Decent curl defination
• Great hold on Day 1 and Day 2
• Day 1 and Day 2 hair looks really good

Cons:  

•  Smell is kind of perfumey (not my cup of tea)
• Consistency is runny, which can be somewhat messy to apply
• Hair has a bit of that hard/crunch factor
• Leaves hair dry
• Around Day 3 the frizz starts to take over (I like gels that last at least 3 days)

So in  a nutshell I absolutely love the shampoo, deep conditioner, and leave-in, which is why they are on my favorite products list.  The custard (aka gel) is on my honorable mention list, as I have others that I prefer.  So if you're interested in trying any of these, or any of the other products within their line, visit your local Whole Foods, or you can also order online.  To learn more about Alaffia's mission and Beautiful Curls products, you can check out http://www.beautifulcurls.com/

My Faithful and Favorite Products

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is….“What products do you use in your hair?”

Before I go any further, let me make my disclaimer :-)   These are products that "I" like.  Everyone’s hair is unique and these items may or may not agree with your mane.  Using these is not a guarantee for success.

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled program....

Although I sometimes experiment with different products, there are those products that I am faithful to.  These are the ones that I can always count on to do me right.  My faithfuls tend to be “all-natural” products.  It’s just a personal preference of mine that the items I am repeatedly using are healthy and natural.  Yeah I know…I’m a bit of a health fanatic.

Here's my list....

Shampoos:

Kinky Curly’s Come Clean

Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Curl Activating Shampoo
Terressentials Pure Earth Hair Wash
Giovanni’s Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo

Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balance Moisturizing Shampoo

Conditioner:

Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balance Moisturizing Conditioner

Honorable Mention Conditioner:
Giovanni's Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner

Deep Conditioner:

Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment

Protein Deep Conditioner:

Aubrey's GPB Balancing Conditioner

Leave-in Conditioners:

Kinky Curly’s Knot Today
Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Curl Activating Leave-in Conditioner

Honorable Mention Leave-in Conditioner:

Giovanni's Direct Leave-in Weightless Moisture Conditioner

Gels:

Kinky Curly Curling Custard
Eco Styler Krystal Styling Gel

Honorable Mention Gels:

Beautiful Curls' Curl Control Custard
Homemade Flax Seed Gel

Cream:

Donna Marie - Dream Curling Creme

Honorable Mention Cream:

Shea Moisture - Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Oils & Butters:

Unrefined Shea Butter

Coconut Oil

Nourish & Shine by Jane Carter ***Been using a few months now.  I think it may be favorite worthy.

Pomade:

Giovanni’s Wicked Texture