Curl Junkie Products

I had the opportunity to test out a variety of Curl Junkie products. Once again, I started off with the smell test. It's always the first thing I do with a new product. Two thumbs up for the scents, especially the Coffee Coco Curl Creme and Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner. I already had the Sulfate Free Gentle Shampoo and Curl Assurance Daily Hair Conditioner which came with a My Pretty Pink Box I had ordered a couple weeks ago. Marsha, of Curl Junkie Hair Products, was nice enough to send me Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair conditioner, Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner, Coffee Coco Curl Creme, Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel, and Curl Assurance smoothing gellie.

Whenever I review products, I try to keep and open mind even if I've already read reviews on those products but, I still can't help but have certain expectations for products that have a lot of positive reviews. I figured I would test out three different combinations of styling products, each time using the the Sulfate Free Gentle Shampoo and Curl Assurance Daily Hair Conditioner.

I really like the Sulfate Free Gentle Shampoo. Its consistency, which is similar to just plain water, is kind of unusual for a shampoo. I usually expect shampoos to be thick and creamy. I was pleasantly surprised to see that you still get a lot of sudsing action even though the shampoo is not thick at all. As for the Daily and Moisturizing hair conditioners, both did condition my hair, but the results were average and typical of other conditioners I have tried.

Test#1 - Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel

This combination didn't really do much for my hair. I didn't get good clumps and using a gel to hold the non-clumping just left me with limp semi-wavy hair. It also made the more straighter sections of my hair even straighter. I might have to try this combination again but, use different amounts of each product and see if my results differ.

Test #2 - Coffee Coco Curl Creme by itself

I was expecting this to be my favorite of the bunch because of how heavily it's been discussed on naturallycurly.com. It's also supposed to do the job of both a leave-in conditioner and a gel which I love because it cuts down on the amount of products I have to buy and apply. The Coffee Coco Curl Creme moisturized my hair and gave me good clumping, but the clumps were falling towards the end of the day. I think next time I'll have to use more product. I used a light hand this time thinking too much would weigh my hair down.

Test#3 - Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance smoothing gellie

This was my favorite combination of the three I tried. It gave me lot of clumps and good hold without the crunchiness. I even tried it out at a birthday party picnic with high humidity and temperatures close to 90 degF. By the end of the day, I did have some friziness but, this combination still responded better to the humidity than other products I've tried. I'm still searching for a product that totally protects my hair-do from humidity.
Sooo..in order from my most favorite combo to my least favorite combo..I would have to go with Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance smoothing gellie, Coffee Coco Curl Creme by itself, and finally Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner + Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel.

I spoke to Marsha of Curl Junkie about the results I got (she's really great about discussing issues you might have with Curl Junkie products and giving recommendations) and she said she normally doesn't recomend the Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner as a leave-in for people with my hair texture because it's usually too heavy but she's happy it worked for me. She also suggested trying the Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel alone on wet hair or Coffee Coco Curl Creme + Curl Assurance Aloe Fix Hair Styling gel. If you have these products and you aren't getting the results you want, you might want to try Marsha's recommendations.

Another thing I really like about these products, other than the scents, is that some of them are multi-purpose. For example, the Hibiscus and Banana deep fix - moisturizing conditioner can be used as a rinse-out, deep or leave-in conditioner. I'm definitely one for saving money and getting the most out of a product.

I also mentioned to her that a lot of people, including me, dislike buying products online because of shipping costs. She said she's "slowly but surely" adding retail locations where Curl Junkie products can be purchased. Currently, they can be purchased at Back to the Lands Natural Foods in Brooklyn, NY, Lin's Beauty Supply in Little Elm, TX, and Honeyfig in Ontario, Canada but, be on the lookout for a retail location close to you in the near future.

Curl Junkie + Mixed Chicks

I had ordered March 2009's Pretty Pink Box with my main motivation being the Curl Junkie products. When I received it, I didn't have any Curl Junkie products. I wasn't sure if I was missing them or if that was just the way products were distributed among the boxes. I asked Linda, who operates Pretty Pink Box, and she replied that she usually tries to distribute the products evenly among the boxes but, each box is different. She kindly offered to check if she had an extra Curl Junkie products, which she did, and sent them to me.



On the same day I received the Curl Junkie products, I received a package from Mixed Chicks. They had sent me a box full of samples of shampoo, deep conditioner and leave-in conditioner to review.

For my first experiment, I tried Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Gentle Cleansing shampoo then conditioned with Curl Junkie Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair conditioner. The cleansing shampoo lathered up more than most sulfate-free shampoos which was a plus because sometimes I do miss the suds. The moisturizing hair conditioner was light but still moisturizing. I knew my hair was going to squish when I applied products after my shower.

The only product I used after my shower was the Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner. I didn't use any other gel, creme or mousse with it and was happy about the results. It gave me pretty good clumping and hold without any crunchiness. It was so easy to only have to apply one product too. My hair was still slightly wet when I took these pictures.
My second experiment was with the Mixed Chicks shampoo, deep conditioner, and leave-in conditioner. This shampoo does contain a sulfate so I was expecting the suds. The deep conditioner was very moisturizing also but, I would use it solely as a deep conditioner not as a rinse-out conditioner. I'm really liking this routine of only having to scrunch in one product after my shower. Once again I used only the leave-in conditioner and no other products.
My hair is completely dry in these pictures. I don't like the way my hair looks as it's drying but, I'm too lazy or don't have enough time to diffuse my hair and would rather let it air dry.

Ingredients for Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Gentle Cleansing Shampoo:
Water, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, CocamidopropylBetaine, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Glycerin, Lauryl Glucoside, PE G-150 Pentaerythrityl tetrastearate, PE G-6 Capric/Caprylic Glycerides, Laureth 4,Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Panthenol, Matricaria Recuitita (Chamomile) Flower Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Sambucus Nigra (Elder) Flower Water, Quaternium-79 Hydrolyzed Silk Protein, Sodium Chloride (Dead Sea Salt), Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Oil, Citrus Aurantium (Neroli) Oil, Citrus Aurantium (Petitgrain) Oil, Brown Rice (Oryza Sativa) Powder, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA ,Tocopheryl Acetate.

Ingredients for Curl Junkie Curl Theory Moisturizing Hair Conditioner:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol*, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate*, Glyceryl Stearate*, Panthenol, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Matricaria Recuitita (Chamomile) Flower Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Sambucus Nigra (Elder) Flower Water, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA. *Vegetable derived

Ingredients for Mixed Chicks Shampoo:
Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Tea Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Disterate, Panthenol, Avocado Oil, Silk Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Ginger (Zinglber Officinale) Extract, Malvasylvestris (Mallow) Extract, Borage (Borago Officinalis) Seed Oil, Cinnmidopropyl Trimonium Chloride, Polyqatermium 10, Allantoin, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Yellow #6.

Ingredients for Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Octamethylcylotetraxiloxane, Safflower Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate and C14-18 Perfluoroalkyethyl Thiohydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride and Benzoic Acid and Glycereth - 2 Cocoate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance

Ingredients for Mixed Chicks Leave-in Conditioner:
Water, glycerin, Amodimethicone, emulsifying wax, hydrolyzed wheat protein,/pvp crosspolymer, methylgluceth-20, hydroxypropyl trimonium choloride, octyl methoxycinnamate, hydroxyethyl celloluse, jojoba oil, safflower oil, primrose oil, wheat amino acid, crosilk, hydrolyzed collagen (marine), phenoxyethanel, methylparaben, proplyparaben, butylparaben, FD&C red #40, FD&C yellow #5, fragrance

You can order Mixed Chicks products from http://mixedchicks.net/ (make sure you go to .net NOT .com. Dot com will take you to a much more different website) or from http://www.curlmart.com/

I liked all of the Curl Junkie and Mixed Chicks products that I tried but, the Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner takes the cake for me (you know I had to throw in a food reference). I like how it's like a curl creme that encourages clumping and gel all in one but without the crunchiness. Both of the Curl Junkie products listed above do NOT contain silicones or harsh sulfates for those following the Curly Girl Method. The Mixed Chicks Shampoo is NOT sulfate-free. Both the Mixed Chicks deep and leave-in conditioner contain Amodimethicone which is a slightly soluble silicone that some have found a cowash can remove.

All the products had subtle fragrances. I remember liking them but, can't remember exactly what they smelled like. When I get a chance I'll have to take a whiff of all these again and edit this post.

I think it's time for a haircut too. I can tell my ends are getting a bit stringy.

P.S. I finally ran 5 miles yesterday and was only in a slight bit of pain so I was happy about that. I bought some of those shock absorber insoles which seemed to help. I'm still waiting on my Kinesio tape. I've been taking a break from running for the past couple of weeks so it felt really good to finally run almost pain-free.