Curl Junkie Beauticurls Daily Conditioner

Beauticurls Daily
IMHO this one has the BEST SMELL of all the new products from Curl Junkie. YES it is exactly like strawberry ice cream! It does not smell identical to Curl Rehab though--it has its own distinct fragrance.

This is meant to be the workhouse daily conditioner. For us it works best as my daughter's leave in. I cannot tell you how great it works for that..or I guess I can. SUPERB! It has alot of slip so it is a real assist with detangling out of the shower. It goes on very smoothly and spreads easily. You won't need a ton of product either--we used about 2 quarter sized for her hair. While this works great as a leave in for her as a rinse out it just wasn't strong enough. However she very strongly prefers the Hibiscus and Banana Honey Butta Leave In since she is one of those people who hate to experiment (I KNOW..how could I have a kid like this??)

It worked pretty well as a rinse out for me -- but honestly it got beat by the new CJ Smoothing Conditioner for my hair. Who knows why as the Smoothing is supposed to be for hair much coarser and thicker than mine. What can I say--bit of my teenage rebel never left my hair (although, thankfully, it has left the building for the rest of my body!). The Smoothing Conditioner is a bit heavier and my hair likes it more. If you have thin hair or hair with low porosity I would recommend you give this one a try--it seems like it soaks in very well and is a good formula for that hair type. My porous hair just slurps products in like an Icee and when I found my hand reaching always for the Smoothing Condish I moved it to my daughter's side of the shower. She later decided she much preferred the CJ HB Honey Butta so when one of my very good wavy friends said how much she liked it we did some product swapping. From all accounts it is doing wonderfully for her -- as if it was made for her!

My sense is that this conditioner might get overlooked in all the new CJ products--I hope that it gets a little attention as it is quite nice if you've the right hair for it.

Curl Junkie Curls in a Bottle

Curls in a Bottle

First let's get the smell out of the way. Yes some of you will think it smells like orange furniture polish. Others will say it smells lemony/citrusy. Whatever way you hang it is most definitely a smell--it lingers only slightly though if you're worried. I'll admit it took a bit of getting used to -- I haven't smelled a product that was quite that potent before (except CJ Aloe Fix Gel). Once I put it in my hair it was just fine--but there were a few moment's where I flashed back to cleaning vacant apartments in college for extra money!

So how does this work? Well the first time I used it I got amazing 3A curls all over. AMAZING. Nothing else could touch it. After a few uses though my hair felt dry and I have not found it to be as consistent as some of the other CJ products for curl enhancement. I'll give you a couple of ideas if this happens to you: One is to mix it with a gel before you put it on (like BRHG)--this helped me a lot. I've also mixed it WITH BCLI and had that work well. I could not use this product without leave in--for some reason my hair did not find it moisturizing--although others have said they do. The other way that this works PHENOMENALLY is as an after the fact frizz fighter and general all around good "goo" product--that means after you put all your stuff in (including gel) and start to diffuse scrunch some of this bad boy in--SWEET--works like a charm.

I will say this is likely a product which, if it does not immediately work, you should experiment with -- it's got a broader range of uses than it might appear at first so vary where you put this in your product lineup. Don't be afraid to try it before a leave in either - that worked good for me too. Get a little creative and I think you'll find this one a very versatile styler!

Curl Junkie Beauticurls Leave In

CJ BCLI

I am a big fan of CJ's Curl Assurance Leave In. It has been a wonderful leave in conditioner for me--but it's going to go away (for some specific reasons that Marsha has posted on her blog). So what's a curly girl to do?

Firstly the scent of this is divine. I'm not sure what exactly it smells like but me likey! It does linger (that's good..I like smelly products LOL!). This is lighter IMHO than the CJCALI. It is less thick than the Curl Assurance one as well.

Overall I like it - but it's not quite as good as the Curl Assurance one for me--I initially bought it and swapped it out but I recently repurchased and have been happier with it--I use it in combo with the CJ Smoothing Conditioner and it s flawless with that conditioner--as if they were meant to work together. It does work very well for my son and he likes the smell too (don't tell the other 10 year old boys in his class!). I think if regular leave in's are too heavy you will like this one a lot.

Curl Junkie Coffee Coco Curl Creme Lite

CCCC LITE!

I've been waiting for this product for EVER it seems. In reality it's not that long it just seems like it is!

This is for all of us who thought CCCC was too much -- too rich, too heavy, too whatever. I did have success with CCCC provided I used it in a very certain way. For my daughter it is her HG (Holy Grail) product. The pictures in her Pikistrip above on the right are with CCCC. I think you'll agree they look awesome. And YES it is as soft as it looks. No gel needed as CCCC has some hold.

So CCCC Lite (hereafter Lite) had a lot to live up to! I am happy to say that it is as good as I thought. Many of us use a bit more of this than we initially thought we would--so try varying amounts. It is much like a leave in (creamy) so you may/may not use a leave in with it. These days I always use a leave in and this works great for me with a leave in. I have not yet tried without. I'll update this post when I do.

I put it in after the leave in and then layer gel over the top. Depending on your situation you may or may not need gel--this has some hold. I put this in on wet hair--not dripping wet--but still soaking. That means I squeezed the water out with my hands AFTER my leave in. I had tried it before on dripping wet and it didn't work as well. I like it better when I do the water squeeze first. This is similar to other cream type curl enhancers (Mop C Curl Cream, AG Re:Coil, etc) but it is not sticky (Mop C is) and it does not have mag sulfate (Re:Coil does). I pixie diffuse and that worked very well with this.

The smell is good and underpowering--nothing here that will clash with another scent. It also does not linger in the hair. This comes in a bottle (not a jar) but it comes out just fine--it is thick but when you rub in your palms it quickly spreads.

This is an outstanding option for those that thought CCCC was too heavy or weighed down their fine hair too much. It is absolutely the level of quality that you expect from Curl Junkie.

Bravo Marsha!

Edited to add: this product and Duchess of Curls work amazing together--if you've got both (or the Essential Wholesale Aloe Jelly) give it a shot! I got wonderful hair with volume and body!

Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Conditioner

Smoothing Condish

This condish is a powerhouse for those that want something protein free. Although I normally like my products with protein when I combine this with a protein filled leave in or curl creme it works fabulously for me. It has a good amount of slip, not as much for us as the Beauticurls Daily Condish, and smells great. I think it has the same or similar scent as the CJ Smoothing Gellie. You do not need a whole lot and I've found you should leave it on for at least 5 minutes to get the best effect. Although my hair loves shea butter in products (not straight!) I find conditioners with this as a more prominent ingredient take a little bit longer to sink in and work well. I have pretty porous hair and not many things do this.

When I first used this I left it in my usual 3-4 minutes and it just wasn't as effective. Although I don't think 15 minutes is necessary if you first use it and don't notice it works as well as you think leave it in a bit longer. Worth a try.

For my daughter this does help with frizz. It works better as rinse out (did not do it for her as a leave in) but AS a rinse out it's really excellent. We tend to use it or the CJ Hibiscus and Banana Deep fix as rinse out followed by the CJ Hibiscus and Banana Honey Butta Leave in and get very good hair for about 4-5 days.

Overall a very good value as the size is a bit larger (12 oz) and you don't need a ton. I think those who watch their protein intake on the hair would really like this--it is hard to find conditioners that are protein free!

Curl Junkie Daily Fix Cleansing Conditioner

Curl Junkie Daily Fix Cleansing Conditioner

Where have you been all my life?

From the moment you open the cap this cleanser will seduce you with all its properties! It smells excellent and fresh--minty and appealing. It is super thick and has a very smooth consistency--so you add some to your hand and then add a bit of water to distribute. You control how much you use--no worries about this cleanser slipping through your fingers!

Immediately upon first touch to your scalp you can feel just a slight cleanser working and its very soothing. It doesn't clean with tons of suds--rather it REALLY gentle cleanses and leaves your hair as if you'd both conditioned it AND shampoo'd it. I can use it without needing another rinse out! An all in one!

Because it is concentrated I don't have to use as much--and that gives me value for my money. The fact that it doubles as a conditioner also makes my pocketbook happy.

No stripping, no too clean squeaky feeling, nothing but wonderfully conditioned hair and scalp. A bonus for me is it helps with the little bumps I get when I use clips (allergy to nickel) and it really seemed to calm my scalp down as its normally a bit itchier than average.

I LOVE this product. I think any curly girl/guy who wants to cowash only or would like to alternate a low poo with a conditioner wash owes it to him/herself to check this one out. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

The Poo Review 2

It is time for the next installment of The Poo Review by Solidgold from naturallycurly.com

Sweet Nature by Eddie Inspiration Shampoo

Ingredients: Purified water, Decyl Glucoside (Naturally Occurs in Sweet Orange), Avocado Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine (Naturally Derived From Coconut), Coco-Glucoside & Glyceryl Oleate, Citric Acid (Fruit Acids), Natural Fragrance Oil. *No Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) or Sodium Lauryl Sulphates (SLS), which causes drying and damage*

$10.00 for 6? oz – can’t tell from the website how many ounces the bottle is.

What I like about this low poo is that it has few ingredients. It lathers nicely and has a pleasant mild scent. Unfortunately, for me, I got some squeakiness as I rinsed. I don’t have a real complaint against this low poo, but given that it is not available on the ground and it’s a little more expensive than other low poos, I won’t be buying it.


Naked Naturals Awapuhi and Lavender Shampoo


Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Lauroamphacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG 150 Distearate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG Propyl Silanetriol, Hydroxypropyl Bis Hydroxyethyl Dimonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Helianthus Annuus Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Extract, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropylamine Oxide, Polyquaternium 10, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Fragrance

Around $6.99 for 12 oz. Available on the ground.

I really like this low poo. I feel like it gets my hair clean but doesn’t strip it. It has a very mild scent that’s quite pleasing, and a light lather. One strange feature of this low poo is that it is quite thick, like a gel, and is hard to squeeze out of the bottle. I wish it was a tiny bit thinner, but overall, it’s such a minor point that it won’t prevent me from re-purchasing. It does have some protein and oils in it, and I’m not sure if there will be long-term effects from these, or how these ingredients combine with conditioners with protein and/or oils. It’s something I’ll think about as I keep using this product!