**This is an honest review of this item and record of my experiences with it. I have purchased all items with my own money, unless otherwise indicated. I have not been asked to do a review of these products, unless otherwise mentioned. -mdp**
I was sent the Coffee Burdock Root Twisting Cream from Cheryl Kelly- Moye, the facilitator of the Thinning Hair Project on Facebook. Cheryl is a part of another Facebook group that I am involved in (and from my hometown) and was offering samples of this product for feedback. I was not asked to do a review on my blog, I offered, and I was not paid for my opinion, nor did I pay for this product.
Ingredients: I am not sure, as they were not listed on the package since this is the testing stage. I am sure that Cheryl would be more than willing to provide them if contacted.
Cost: Contact Cheryl for prices. From my understanding, she would like to have this product available for sale by Black Friday.
Likes: consistency, smell, produces good shine and moisture
Dislikes: This isn’t a dislike, but I wish that there was a thinner version so that I could use it during the summer months.
Smell: There is a very faint coffee smell to this cream. Cheryl asked my opinion on the coffee smell and I told her that I thought that it was just right, as most coffee smells are too strong for my liking. Upon the second usage, I realized that the smell could be a tad stronger, not by much at all, just my preference. For my next usage (and will probably be final), I think that I am going to add in a drop of vanilla oil just to see what happens.
I intentionally waited to take a picture of the product after I used it so that you could see the texture. This is very fluffy and creamy, yet heavy enough that it weighs my hair down. I didn’t have a problem with getting it to emulsify, and it coated my hair with ease.
All of my trials were done on freshly washed and conditioned hair.
Round 1:
For my initial application of this product, I used Curl Junkie’s Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion on damp hair as my leave in, and then applied the CBRTB on top as a sealant/styler. I put my hair in 12 twists and let it air dry for 2 days. My chunky twist out was fluffy and moisturized, but my hair felt a little greasy. Let me state that the greasiness was totally user error. When I have previously used CJCASM on my hair, I have loved the results, but it always flaked on me, which was why I decided to use Cheryl’s twisting cream over it- and I was heavy handed. I wore the twist out for two days, then for the rest of the week, I would wet my hair in the shower, lightly finger detangle, and pull my hair back into a clip (not adding any more product). My hair feels as though it has product in it- but not too much, and my curls are staying clumped together. My hair has small ringlets on the ends (which really only appear when fully saturated with water) and are shiny. Score!
Round 2:
So, I skipped the CJCASM all together and went back to my previous routine. After I rinse conditioner out of my hair, I use a mixture of aloe vera juice and water throughout my hair as a leave in. I try to catch the mixture and repeat until my hair is fully saturated. Then, I blot some of the excess water out and continue with setting my hair. This time, I just put my hair 6 large twists and let it air dry. Bingo- that was it! Soft, well moisturized and shiny! I usually have a problem with detangling my hair after a few days, but this product made it easy- I just dampened with water and separated. My hair was refreshed and there wasn’t a need to reapply the product, except for at the roots just to lay down some unruly hairs.
I plan on purchasing this product when Cheryl released it because this is honestly, one of the better products that I have used on my hair that was handmade. I want to put my hair in mini twists for the winter, and I am anxious to see how this product would do with them.
Thanks Cheryl and keep up the good work!
-mdp