Product review: Creme of Nature vs. Keracare Sulphate-free Shampoos

I have been meaning to do these reviews for a while since these are the most frequently used products in my product stash. Anyway, better late than never...

Prices
Creme of Nature: 800 KES (+/- 8.50 USD)
Keracare: 1850 KES (+/- 20 USD)

Sizes
Creme of Nature: 12 oz.
Keracare: 8 oz.

Purchased at 
Super Cosmetics Store, Nairobi

Promises

Creme of Nature: "Sulfate-free moisture and shine shampoo is a sulfate-free formula that hydrates hair and adds exotic shine, while gently cleansing without harsh moisture stripping agents. It strengthens hair while optimizing the moisture balance of the hair and scalp."

Keracare: "Gently cleanses hair and scalp while neem leaf extract helps eliminate scalp bacteria leaving hair healthier. Shikakai proteins naturally moisturize and nourish the hair and scalp. Amla extract plus Argan and Abyssinian oils add natural shine to the hair."

Directions

Creme of Nature: Apply a generous amount to wet hair and massage into lather. Rinse thoroughly and repeat. Follow with Creme of Nature with Argan Oil Intensive Conditioning Treatment. Tip:Combine a small amount of Oil Treatment with the Moisture & Shine Shampoo for increased moisture supply to damaged, dehydrated hair.

Keracare: Wet hair thoroughly. Rub a generous amount between palms and distribute throughout hair. Lather product throughout hair and massage into scalp.  Gently detangle hair with a wide-tooth comb and leave lather on 3-5 minutes to eliminate shedding scalp debris. Rinse well. Repeat when necessary to remove excessive product build-up. Follow with Natural Textures Leave-In Conditioner.

Ingredients

Creme of Nature: 
Aqua, Trideceth-7, Carboxylic Acid, Decyl Glucoside, Glycol Stearate, Polyquarternium-10, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Quaternium-15, Perfum (Fragrance), Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, CI 14700(Red4), CI19140(Yellow 5).

Keracare: 
Aqueous (Water, Aqua Purificato, Purified) Extracts: Azadirachta Indica (Neem)1, Phyllanthus Emblica (Amla)1, Acacia Concinna (Shikakai)1, Cetrimonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol2, Cetyl Alcohol2, C12-15 Alkyl Lactate, Polyquaternium-37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Glycerin1, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil1, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil1, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil1, Poyquaternium-10, Piroctone Olamine, Potassium Sorbate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance/Parfum, Benzyl Benzoate.

My review

Price: Creme of Nature is definitely cheaper, the question is whether it is good value for money..
Winner: Creme of Nature

Ingredients: As you can see Keracare does not have any of the ingredients that most naturalistas stay away from. Creme of Nature does have parabens, although they are quite far down the list. Keracare also shows its pH level which is awesome if you are trying to use specific products with a specific pH to maintain the right pH balance in your hair.
Winner: Keracare

Cleansing power: With Creme of Nature, I feel that my hair is cleansed well despite the fact that its a sulphate-free shampoo. It also lathers which is a plus (although I think it's just psychological to associate lather with cleansing power).

Keracare does not produce any lather no matter how much I put in my hair. However, if i leave it on my scalp for a few minutes, I do feel that my scalp has been cleansed and my hair is still feeling very soft. But I do not feel that it removes product buildup as well as Creme of Nature.
Winner: Creme of Nature

User-friendliness: Both shampoos are thick in consistency but I have a harder time trying to get the Keracare shampoo out of the bottle.
Winner: none

Promises made: Creme of Nature definitely delivers on its promises. My hair always feels softer and easier to manage after using this shampoo. My hair also feels clean afterwards, but after towel drying for a few minutes the softness does fade.

Keracare on the other hand delivers on the moisture from the moisturizing proteins. My hair feels soft even after towel drying for a few minutes. My only issue with this product is that my hair does feel a tad oily after using it, and my scalp does not feel as clean as when I use Creme of Nature. I have tested this by slightly scraping my scalp with my finger after using the shampoo and there was still some product buildup on my scalp.

Overall Winner: I prefer Creme of Nature because cleansing ability with minimal harsh chemicals is more important to me than a shampoo that moisturizes more than it cleanses.

Have you used any or both of these products? Which one is your favourite?

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A Blue Roze Beauty Wash Day

Have you ever heard of Blue Roze Beauty??? I have not seen any of the hair bloggers I follow talk about or use these products. Actually I came across these products through a sample of their Chai Hair Tea treatment that I received from my last online purchase at sizzelle.com. Here is how my wash day with this product went:

0.) Did a scalp massage with Castor Oil and pre-poo'd the length of my hair with Coconut Oil.

1.) Clarified with Profectiv MegaGrowth Stimulating Shampoo, by applying the shampoo to my scalp only. I let the lather run down my strands as opposed to applying the shampoo directly to my strands.

2.) Towel dried for 10 minutes and applied Blue Roze Beauty Chair Hair Tea + a little bit of Olive Oil.

3.) Deep Conditioned under my hooded dryer for 45 minutes.

4.) Rinsed the conditioner with cold water.

5.) Towel dried for 10 minutes before applying Kinky Kurly Knot Today and detangling my hair. Put my hair in 12 flexi rods and left them in overnight.

6.) The next day was church and my hair was still a bit damp.. Damp hair was not going to make me late for church, so I decided to remove the rods before my hair completely dried and yes... some of them flopped :-((( An updo saved the day for me and the lesson I learnt is that the fewer rods you put in your hair the longer it takes to dry.

Thoughts on Blue Roze Chair Hair Tea:

I was really impressed because this conditioner does two things which I have not found any other conditioner do  as yet: 1) reduces shedding from the tea ingredients and 2) provides moisture & softness from the aloe vera juice and BTMS ingredients and a bonus is that it smells divine which is always a winner for me. It is abit runny, so it's not so easy to apply to my hair and it does not sink in to my hair as well as other conditioners that I have used (e.g Silk Dreams), but I love the fact that I have actually seen almost immediate results as my shedding has reduced quite alot.

Have you tried any Blue Roze Beauty Products?

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Length check 1

This post is 2 weeks overdue but better late than never :-)

I did my second self relaxer two weeks ago (super proud of myself), although I do vaguely remember self-relaxing when I was in my early teens. But the stakes are higher now, I wasn't on a conscious healthy hair journey then.

Based on my length-check tee, my hair grew by about 2 inches which is really awesome given that I dusted about 1inch of my ends during my stretch and I was only 15 weeks post. Here are the things which helped me grow and retain my length:

1.) Castor oil scalp massages: I have been on the Hairlista Castor Oil hair challenge which required me to oil my scalp 3 times a week (advanced level). I had been using castor oil for scalp massages since December so the challenge just helped me to keep consistency and I have definitely seen results of thicker new growth. My hair is also softer after an application, but it does not last long.

2.) Moisturizing and sealing: I cannot emphasise how much this step has helped me to retain length! I doubt that I paid attention to my ends before, by default I think it's easier to moisturise the front of your hair or haphazardly without really focusing on all areas especially the ends. This has probably been the biggest help in retaining my ends...

3.) Protecting my ends: I did this by ensuring that my ends were always moisturized and tucked away 95% of the time. The 5% was when I would do flexi rod or roller sets. I spent about two months in wigs and one month in box braids. I think the wigs were the better protective style as my hair was easily accessible but also protected when the wig was on.

4.) Groganics hair vitamins and water: it's hard to say whether the vitamins contributed to my hair growth as I was doing other things as well such as castor oil scalp massages, inversion method etc. but I definitely saw the growth in my nails and I'm believing the same happened to my hair from taking these vitamins.

5.) Using a comb only on wash days: it's now become a habit yayy :)

Things that didn't work:

1.) Box braids: In the two weeks after removing my box braids, I experienced a lot of breakage and I think this was due to the fact that I moisturuzed them often, but no protein was going into my braiding regimen. This was disappointing because the whole point of doing box braids was to protect my hair and my ends. Will I do them again? Probably in winter, which is around June, but this time I will do thicker braids and incorporate protein treatments into the regimen.

Product faves during this stretch:

1.) CON argon oil moisturizing sulphate free shampoo: it does what it claims to do
2.) OGX coconut anti-breakage serum: it's hard not to like this product just because of its lovely scent, but I did also notice less breakage after wash days when I would use this product.
3.) Elasta QP & Hairveda Moisturizers: I used Elasta QP throughout most of the relaxer stretch, but it has now been bumped out by Hairveda red tea satin moisturizer :-)
4.) Pure Shea butter: my favorite sealant to date :-)
5.) I have used so many deep conditioners that I can't really say which one has been my favourite, but the conditioner that has had best results on my hair so far is Silk Dreams VMCD and Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner.

I'm looking forward to the next stretch, hopefully I can stretch for 5 months, but I shall play it by ear :-)

What are you growth and length retaining steps?

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Product Review: Hairveda Nourishing Red Tea Satin Moisturizer

Price: +/- 12.5 USD  

Purchased at: Sizzelle Online Store

Size: 354ml

Promises:

Red Tea Moisturizer is our newest blend. Rich with argan oil and rooibos tea, Red Tea moisturizer is sure to please. Red tea moisturizes all hairtypes effortlessly adding a satiny feel and softens throughout the day. 

• Handwhipped
• Made to Order
• Curly Friendly
• Types 3 & 4
• Halal
• Moisturizing

Ingredients:

Water Aqua, African Red Bush (Rooibos Tea), Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Nut Oil, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, Lauryl Laurate, Olive Fruit Oil, Hydrogenated Castor oil, Beeswax, Emulsifying wax (Ceteareth 20), Carnauba Wax, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Pomegranate Extract, Capsicum annum (Paprika) powder, Candelilla Wax, Paraben-free Preservative, Phthalate-free Fragrance. 

Directions:

Pump a small amount and apply to wet or dry hair. Use daily for added moisture, softness and shine. Use before braiding and twisting. Do not use with a flatiron or curling iron.

Pros:

I have used this product for about 4 weeks now, and I must say that it has bumped my previous moisturizer Elasta QP out of the park! It is a really good moisturizer with benefits from the herb and natural oil extracts. For me, the main benefit is the fact that it does not sit on my hair, but actually penetrates it, although this process takes a few minutes to overnight.

It has a rooibos mixed with herb type of scent, but the scent is light which is awesome. I can hardly smell it on my hair after applying it.

It has a medium consistency, and applying it to my hair has been very easy.

It does take about an hour to overnight before I can feel the softness that they promise, but it does come around in the end. I have seen best results when I moisturize with this product at night and seal with shea butter afterwards.

The moisturizer comes with a pump, which is awesome because you can measure the amount you use daily and stick with the same amount every time. Plus, I think it also helps to make a little go a long way, I feel like I am much more conscious as to the amount I am using when I am pumping it out of a product than when I have to turn it upside down and squeeze it out lol!

Cons:

The moisture retention does not stay for long, as I usually have to moisturize my hair daily. However, it is abit hot where I live, so this could have an impact on my hair's moisture retention regardless of which product I would use. 

I am not sure which ingredient it is, but there are times when my ends feel straw-like at the end of the day. There does not seem to be any protein in this product, but it could be the rooibos tea that causes this effect. However, this has not caused any breakage so for me it is not a deal breaker.

I have used it on wet hair as well, but I do not get the moisture retention that I get when I use it on dry hair...

Overall it is a keeper for me, but the real test will be how it works when I have 10-16 weeks of new growth. I am hoping that it works just as well during the last few weeks of my stretch.

I give this product a 9/10, it would be a 10, but it takes some time before it moisturizes my hair and it gives my hair a straw-like feeling at times.

5

Wash day: Week 1 after my latest relaxer

First of all this has been a sad week for our country, losing so many young people to merciless murderers. May God be with the families of those who are bereaved from the Garissa attacks #147isnotjustanumber.

Onto my wash day, which I am posting 1 week later...

I surely missed how wash days with no growth were a breeze, being able to glide a comb through my hair was a nicety that I am glad to have back for a few more weeks...

My last wash day (2 weeks ago - *hiding face in hands* - but finding time in between work, marriage and studying just to wash my hair is soo hard*) was very simple:

0.) Pre-poo'd with coconut oil
1.) Shampoo'd with Creme of Nature Moisture & Shine Shampoo
2.) Deep Conditioned under my hooded dryer for 45 minutes with Silk Dreams Mocha Silk Infusion. Can I say that this DC is just the bomb.com it left my hair softened while putting some strength in it.. It's a light protein DC that is here to stay for me.. More so, after using what I thought was alot, the jar is still almost full... the joys of hand-whipped conditioners!

3.) Air Dried for 20 minutes and then detangled with Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Split End Protector and OGX Anti-Breakage Serum.
4.) I really enjoyed the sleekness and smoothness of my hair from the flat-ironing on my relaxer day... now I am getting used to the texture that remained after relaxing my hair, I actually did not overprocess my hair and I'm sooo happy I didn't!

What was the hero product of your washday? Mine was definitely Silk Dreams Mocha Silk Infusion!

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