My hair is a big part of my life. Wild, curly, complicated and often messy, I find it represents my personality perfectly. Due to the volume and length and obviously the landslide of curls, it takes time to wash, dry and style and can often feel like a pain in the backside. It takes a whole day of preparations and an evening of effective action to reach the point where I am satisfied with the control that various products I use can have on my hair. Which is why I was hesitant to try a new range of curly hair products that was gifted to me. I had already found a rhythm and flow, a system that works so why mess with the system? Well, the reason is simple and straightforward: all the products I use on my hair are full of sulphates and silicone. The ones I have been using these past three weeks do not contain any of these ingredients yet they are designed and created to give some of the best results I have ever noticed. Here’s my curl hair detox story.
Before I get into reviewing these products, I wanted to talk about the not-always-great relationship I have had with my hair. As a child and as a teenager I hated my hair. It was different, out of control, it would not obey my commands and wishes of being straight, perhaps with a nice floppy fringe and a slight curl towards the end. I still remember arguing with my mum on the morning of a school photo day when I was 6 or 7. Living in the UK, surrounded by blonde, straight-haired kids, my mum tried to convince me to let my curls down for the photo headshot. I wouldn’t have it. I stuffed a bunch of hair clips in my apron dress and just before I sat down for the picture, I clipped as many curls as I could in place. Growing up my hair never looked clean and shiny, I could never comb it dry the way girls and women would do on the telly, sitting beautifully in front of a mirror, brushing their soft locks. I spent ages straightening it, pulling it, forcing it to take the form I was happy with.
I became a fully grown woman in my late 20s when I found out I had extraordinary hair, when I discovered that my hair was beautiful and it could become something so special that I would receive a phonecall from a hair stylist in New York asking me to go and do a photoshoot. That was my turning point, not the NY makeup artist or the fan blowing in my face, but the fact that I had found someone who knew exactly what my hair needed. And that is probably my number one piece of advice for anyone struggling with curly hair: Find a hairstylist who specialises in cutting and styling curly hair. The way your hair is cut is the cornerstone for any great curly hair style. It is the absolute foundation.
Products matter too of course, so on with the new ones I am currently using. Sent to me by the beautiful Sama at Boucles Project, Flora & Curl’s logo is ‘natural care for natural hair’. They contain no chemicals whatsoever, no sulphates, no silicone, they’re also free from synthetic fragrances, which ultimately means they are free from harsh, harmful and barrier-forming ingredients that are found in many conventional hair products.
I was gifted a set of Flora & Curl products from Boucles Project specifically designed for my type of curl and what I look for in a product. I prefer a natural look, no stiffness, no flaking, a good hold and the ability to restrict frizziness, a nightmare for curly-haired girls like me especially on hot summer nights.
I started detoxing my hair by using my regular sulphate shampoo because my styling products contain non water-soluble silicones and only sulphates can remove those silicones. When the time came to use the Flora & Curl organic rose and honey shampoo I had to double check that it was in fact the shampoo. From the little bottle out squirted a light creamy texture which could have easily been mistaken for a conditioner. I guess that’s why it’s called a cream shampoo. It didn’t lather which felt weird but it also didn’t leave the crown and back of my head feeling like a bird’s nest. I could sense the instant hydration that comes from moisturising oats, organic rose flower water and obviously the honey but this product is also packed with pro-vitamin B to hydrate dry and dehydrated curls.
Then it was on to the conditioner. OMG. When I first looked at the travel size gift set I was given I almost laughed. There was absolutely no way that teeny tiny bottle of conditioner would be enough for my thick and plentiful hair, let alone be able to impress me more than once. That’s one of the reasons I never rely on the ones at hotels when I’m on holiday. I used up one third of a bottle on that first go and combed through knots and tangles surprisingly easy. I’ve just washed my hair for the third time using the Flora & Curl conditioner, which, with a combination of antioxidant benefits from camellia green tea along with 9 other oils and butters, including avocado and olive oil and shea butter to strengthen and restore moisture, still gets a little audible wow out of me when I finish applying it.
Now onto the styling part. Please check out this blog post I wrote a couple of years ago on how to style curly hair as it contains great tips on how to care for your curls. Sectioning your hair is important when you have curly hair. It can be time-consuming so I’m not always up for the task especially after a long day with the kids when all I want to do is wash my hair, apply my styling products quickly and curl up in bed with a good book. But when I do set some time aside to divide and conquer, that’s when the magic happens. Because by sectioning your hair, you’re avoiding unnecessary tangles, reducing hair breakage and gaining better product application.
Flora & Curl’s Curl Activating lotion and Curl Defining Gel are a strong and effective duo you absolutely need if you have my type of hair. I am used to applying a silicone-based hair cream which means that my hair tends to be quite sticky even when it’s dry, which ultimately means that I would avoid having my hair come in contact with my sensitive skin as it would cause breakouts and irritation. Besides I hated the sense of stickiness on the side of my face. All that is no longer an issue with these two amazing products.
The curl activating lotion is a botanically packed curl styling cream with a frizz-combating formula, it delivers instant curl enhancement with immense shine and a soft hold. The activating gel adds body, shine and control with the help of a deeply nourishing blend of pure botanicals, Panthenol and rice protein for extra conditioning, pure marshmallow root for unprecedented slip and sweet almonds. The combination of the two creates moisture and a curl support I haven’t noticed in a while. Even my hairstylist, whom I only visit once a month or so for a root touchup and some highlights, noticed a massive change in my hair. He said he was able to dry-brush it much easier than before – no tangles so no pulling therefore no breakage- and it seemed my hair was more susceptible to the dye as it didn’t have to penetrate the remains of silicones that covered my curls thus taking less time to go lighter. I found myself saying more than once how crazy it is that these hair products could create such a drastic change.
I’ve been writing this article for the past three weeks, adding points I have noticed over the course of three hair washes. I was hesitant about trying the hair products out and after the first two times, I felt they weren’t working for me. As I mentioned in the beginning, I thought I had found the perfect way to style my complicated hair so there really was no need to go in search of something different. I underestimated them ALOT, thinking there was absolutely no way anything natural could tame the mane let alone make it look even better. I was wrong. Very wrong. These hair products are pure magic, they do not cost an arm and a leg and they are good for the environment and good for you and your kids. My hair detox story just found its happy ending.
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To order the Flora & Curl products and other curls hair brands available at Boucles Project contact Sama on Instagram or Facebook where you can actually purchase the products online including bandanas, headscarves and curl towels.
This post was sponsored by Boucles Project, a small local business I fully support.
