Komaza Hair Care Cleansers and Shampoo's

Komaza makes several cleanser/shampoo's but I've only tried 2.

Komaza Almond Milk Cleansing Conditioner:

This was my favorite cleansing conditioner until it was discontinued early this year. I loved the smell (almonds, milk, sweet...mmmm) and it worked very well as a cleanser that did not strip my hair. It is an in between cleanser that provides some moisture but not so much as to make a rinse out redundant. I have heard that the children's Sweet Pea line shampoo/cleanser is very similar to this but have not tried it yet. I really loved this stuff for how soft it made my hair without that over conditioned feeling--and it cleaned pretty well. I don't use cleansing conditioners to get out oils but on my regular daily dirt it worked fabo. No lather of course as its a cleansing conditioner.

Komaza Moku Shampoo:

This is a pretty clarifying shampoo. There is nearly no lather--which is kind of strange as because it is a shampoo and usually I can get some lather going but not with this one--no siree bob. I actually used about 3 quarter sized blobs--much more than I normally do as it is a bit hard to distribute. Anyway it seemed to clean fine--did not leave a residue. My hair was not squeaky but it was definitely more clarifying than other low poo's I've used. It rinsed clean out. It did seem to give me some volume. I can usually tell with that (even when I use other products) because after shampooing my hair feels fuller and almost foamy but without foam. I was fortunate to find this on the swap board but it would be a repurchase for me.





Komaza Coconut Care Shampoo:

I got this off the swap board on nc.com from a lovely curly. Consistency wise this is much thinner than the Moku shampoo. It has more lather and spreads easier. I like the smell (not sure its coconut though--smells more just sweet). However this shampoo most definitely is *CLARIFYING* in a major way. My hair was very clean when I finished. It didn't feel dry but it did feel squeaky. I would consider this a clarifying shampoo--much more heavy duty than the Moku for me. Of the two I prefer the Moku still.

Komaza Hair Care Stylers

Komaza Stylers

I've tried several Komaza stylers but have not had the greatest results. A lot of folks on the nc.com website love Komaza and their puddings and stylers but for me they tend to pull my curl out a bit and give me some frizz. On the other hand they provide pretty good definition to my hair and leave it very soft and touchable. My favorite of the three I've tried is definitely the Califia Styling pudding although it is pretty heavy.

In the immortal words of one of my naturally curly's board mates "I need to be touchable, and any product that doesn't let my curls spring back after some solid rolling around, fuggedaboutdit." ...so you might want to consider giving these a try (*wink*)

Komaza Coconut Hair Pudding: 

I've tried this about 8 times--initially it was ok but my curls just fall out and elongate by mid day. I like the smell (coconut'y) and the consistency (its sort of between a gel and a cream) but I haven't been able to get it to work consistently for me. Even with a hard hold gel on top of it. I do seem to be in the minority though--as many absolutely consider this their HG. Komaza has samples available on the website at a *VERY* reasonable price so this is one time I'm going to advise you to pick up a few samples and see what you think.

Komaza Coconut Curl Lotion:

Theoretically this would be a better choice for me than the pudding since it is supposed to be lighter. For me though all it did was give me a frizzy undefined mess of curls that fell into barely there waves by about 11am. The pudding was much better. It smells a little strange to me so I wasn't overly fond of the smell either--but I could have handled it if the result was better. This is not for me.

Komaza Califia Care Styling Pudding:

I absolutely LOVE the consistency and smell of this--it is like chocolate latte mousse--looks so good you want to eat it! It's thick and more creamy then gel'ly but once you get it on your hands it actually feels more gel like than cream like. It almost seems to coat your hair--for me it had no slip but did distribute well. I've never had anything go on my hair like this--took about a minute or two for my hair to absorb and I could tell when pixie diffusing that my hair was already going to be soft. It did provide very nice definition and soft touchable hair (see above) but I didn't find it curl enhancing. I don't think it is meant to be but that is what I like to see in a curl pudding--since I'm always trying to get more curls!

Overall the Califia pudding for me would be the only full size purchase (I used samples on all of it and glad I did so!). I do think that those curlies who have a stronger pattern such as 3B/3C/4A/B or strong 3A might do better with this since it defines well.

Komaza Hair Care Conditioners

Komaza Hair Care 

A hair care line designed for natural hair

They have a new website for you to check out: http://www.komazahaircare.com/ (where you will find ingredient listsing as well!)

On to the products:

Komaza Aloe Conditioner: This is one of my favorite conditioners but unfortunately has been discontinued. The smell is strong--sweet but with a hint of spice or musk. It has a fair amount of slip but seems to do best with those of us who don't need slip who want grabby conditioners. Grabby means that they "hold" your hair and don't make it slippery so the curls fall out. I find this one to give me a bit of volume but where it really shines is in thickness--it makes my hair appear noticably fuller and thicker. In terms of moisture it would be about average--if you had dry hair I don't think this should be a first choice as it provided some but was not ultra moisturizing. I was quite disappointed to hear it was being discontinued.

Komaza Califia Conditioner:

This is designed for more highly textured hair than mine and hair that needs a lot of moisture punch. I actually quite liked it although regular use would weigh my down. It is very moisturizing and I actually liked the smell--sort of spicy, sexy musky. It is very different than most scents. Its thick and a bit tough to get out of the bottle. I did feel almost like there was a residue left when I used it--although I didn't notice it next day when I went to do my low poo. This would make an outstanding conditioner for someone whose hair was very dry or that required a lot of moisture. It is also very concentrated so a little goes a long way..in fact that is a good motto for Komaza as a whole--a little goes a long way.

Komaza Califia Leave In: This has really good slip and is, like its sister conditioner, extremely moisturizing. It is thinner than the condish and has more of a sweet smell mixed with the spicy musk. They complement each other very well. This is a heavy leave in IMHO--not for finer haired folks or gals/guys who get weighed down easily. It works very well in T's hair and we found it fairly easy to distribute.








Komaza Moku Conditioner:

This is the new condish that is meant to replace the Komaza Aloe Conditioner. It smells similar (not exactly the same..the Moku is more understated). It works fairly well for me--has o.k. slip but not too much and is moisturizing but most likely would be best for those that do not require a lot of moisture. Normal to Oily hair would probably do well with this. It isn't a "wow" conditioner but it gets the job done. I do not get as much lift and volume with this as with the Aloe conditioner which is a bummer since that was a primary reason to purchase the other. Overall though of the Komaza line it is my favorite currently available product.

If I ever get up to Sacramento I am going to stop in and say "HI" to the Komaza folks!


Komaza Coconut Conditioner:

This is actually the conditioner that should work best for me given my hair type. It smells like a lighter version of the Califia conditioner. The difference between them is night and day. I did not find the Coconut Condish to be ultra moisturizing. It did a fine job and I was able to pair it with a heavier leave in without any problems. I think it will make a nice conditioner for me when I don't need ultra moisture. I think my favorite of all of the Komaza is, unfortunately, still the Aloe Conditioner which I found the moist moisturizing but not overconditioning. If your hair is super dry go with the Califia but if you have hair that can get weighted down you might want to try the Coconut or Moku--performance wise I did not notice much difference at all.

THE POO REVIEW III

More poo reviews from SolidGold (from naturallycurly.com)

You're getting three reviews for the price of two today!

Curl Junkie Daily Fix Cleansing Conditioner


About $19 for 12oz from various online resellers



Ingredients: Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetrimonium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG -7 Olivate, Guar Hydroxypropytrimonium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydrolyzed Oat Flour, Mentha Piperita (Pepperment) Leaf Extract, Matricaria Recuitita (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Yucca Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract, Melissa Officinalis (Melissa) Leaf Extract, Polysorbate 60, Equisetum Arvense (Horsetail) Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance.



This product is not technically a poo, but it is a cleanser, and it may be a game-changer for me. I have never gotten conditioner-washing to work for me: my hair never felt clean after and always felt weighed down. But this! This product cleans like a shampoo and conditions like a daily conditioner. My hair felt clean and full of volume after I used it for the first time. I can’t believe my thick, finicky hair could use one product for washing/conditioning! I’m willing to pay the retail price and shipping for this one, so it has to be good!



SpiralSolutions Gentle Cleansing Cream

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpiralSolutions

No image or price information yet--coming soon!

I had the privilege of trying out a sample as the mixtress was developing the product, and I loved it! The GCC cleaned my hair really well without stripping. It had a very light lather and mild scent. All things I like! This product is currently only available at the etsy link above and I am waiting to purchase it because I liked it so much. It definitely compares to Jessicurl’s Hair Cleansing Cream in functionality, and I think the price is about the same. Again, if I’m willing to pay the full retail price and shipping, it’s gotta be good. Get it if you can!



Mop C System Hydrating Shampoo

About $15 for 10oz from various online sources

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Sodium Myristoyl Sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Glycerin (*Vegetable Oil), Sodium PCA, Ethylene Glycol Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Ascorbyl Palmitate (*Vitamin C), Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (*Vitamin C), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract (3), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract (3), Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract (3), Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Polyquaternium 10,**Myristamine Oxide, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid (*Sweet Potato), Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Ricinus Communis Oil Extract, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil,**Methylparaben,**Propylparaben. *Source.**Food Grade. (3) Certified Organic by Quality Assurance International.



This shampoo is a thick, opaque, creamy cleanser. The scent is a pleasant citrusy mint that seems to be typical of MOP C products. I was afraid it would be too moisturizing for me, but I had no complaints after the first few uses. After a couple more uses, I didn’t feel like it cleaned as well as I wanted. I’m not sure what to attribute that feeling to; it could be the various other products I used and not a fault of this particular poo. This product ranks somewhere in the middle for me—I would purchase it if I didn’t have anything I liked better, but there are several other products that I would choose over this.

What's smell got to do with it?

In honor of finding the WORST smelling product EVER I want to take a moment to chat about smell.

Yes I have seen the other side of smell--Aubrey Organics Sea Buckthorn Leave In and Curl Activator Spray -- the worst smelling product. In fact so bad I had to re-poo and condish and start over completely--TWICE! Aubrey has several products in the worst smelling category--I guess they think if it's natural no one is going to complain about the odor?

In hair care the importance of product smell (or odor in some cases!) cannot be understated. Regardless of how well a product works if you absolutely hate the smell you are probably not going to use it or at least not repurchase it.

I generally classify hair product smells into one or more of the following categories:

1.  Sweet (fruity or berry like or tropical)
2.  Food (smells like cake batter or ice cream or hard candy)
3.  Hippie Stink like patchouli or other earthy herbally scents (the type that would disguise other less legal scents..not that I would know or anything)
4.  Floral (no need to explain this one)
5.  Chemical or artificial smell (to me common with many store bought products under $5)
6.  Citrus scents (e.g. lemon, orange, etc)
7.  Sour scents including bitter type
8.  Natural of undetermined origin

Now my favorites are 1, 2, or 6 for the most part. I don't mind the patchouli herbally scent if it smells more sexy than stinky and the floral scents if they aren't for a flower I don't like the smell of. My sniffer is really sensitive to some perfumes so much so that if I get in an elevator or walk down a hall after someone who has laid on the perfume really heavy I will have a sneezing, watery eyes, allergy type attack.

Here are my favorite and my worst products based on scent

Top 12 favorite products due to scent (not in any particular order) -- note products from the same company that have the same scent are classified as one product total:

• Darcy's Botanicals Pumpkin Seed Conditioner (#2 and pumpkin/spice--YUMMY!)
• Spiral Solutions Deeply Decadent Treatment and Repairing Protein Treatment (#2 chocolate latte--OMG)
• Spiral Solutions Firm Hold Gel and Curl Enhancing Jelly (#1, 3, 6, and 8 notes)
• Curl Junkie Curl Rehab Smoothing Conditioner and Smoothing Gellie (#1-tropical fruit!)
• Sweet Nature by Eddie Dream Moisturizing Cream and Inspiration Shampoo and Growth Spray (#1  Berry like)
• Jessicurl products (any) in Island Fantasy scent (#1 but tropical)
• DevaCurl One C (#6 citrus but sweet as well)
• Darcy's Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly (#6 citrus)
•  Afroveda Shea Amla Cream (#3 plus musky-sexy!)
•  Curl Junkie Hibiscus and Banana scent (#2 and 1--banana bubble gum)
•  Oyin Whipped Pudding or Sweet Nature by Eddie Wisdom Cream (chocolate--nearly identical smell #2)
•  Oyin Juices and Berries spray (#1)

So you can see from the list that I predominantly like #1, 2 and #6 as I mentioned)

So what made the list of my worst smelling products and am I still using them (I've marked NO or YES to whether I am still using them) ?

• Aubrey Organics Sea Buckthorn Leave In and Curl Activator Spray - #8 Simply horrific NO
• Aubrey Organics Island Naturals Conditioner and Shampoo - #8 NO
• No Frizz Styling Cream - #5 NO
• Simply Curly Conditioning/Styling Pudding (#6 and #8 -- smells rancid to me) NO
• CHS Tweek and Curl Keeper (#5 in a major way) YES to CK and NO to Tweek
•  Boots Curl Creme's (pink and white--very strong #5 and maybe #4 a little) YES
• Terax Crema and Life Drops (#5) YES
• Tresemme Silicone Free Conditioners (#5, #4) YES
• Curl Junkie Curl Rehab Gardenia scent (#4) YES
• Curls Ecstasy Asian Tea Conditioner (#8) YES

So you can see in many cases I will still use a product even if the scent turns me off. However the ones marked NO I would not use if they were my "Holy Grail" products--the smells to me are that bad.

So what do you think? What's the worst smelling product you use or don't use? Best smelling? I'm curious....

Resurrection from the Product Graveyard

So, if you are like me, you have lots of products. Every once in a while I *remember* I have a product and resurrect it from the pile. In honor of this phenomenon I've decided to create a regular column highlighting products that have been saved from the brink.

Today that product was Curls Asian Tea Conditioner

I'm not sure when I stopped using this--likely last fall sometime--but I gotta kick myself for doing so. Although the smell is kind of unappealing (especially in comparison to the rest of the Curls line which smells delectable!) everything else about this conditioner is top notch.

It's billed as a deep treatment but I use it both as a deep treatment AND a rinse out conditioner. I haven't tried it as a leave in (yet). It does have protein even if its further down the list. The ingredients, other than that, aren't too special save the tea one. For whatever reason I have always been in love with tea. I drink all kinds of it hot, use it on my eyes when they are tired, like to drink Green Tea smoothies and have used it in other concoctions over the years. It's a very multi purpose product! About the only thing I don't like about it is that it does stain the teeth...but with all the whitening stuff nowadays that's pretty much fixable.

On to the conditioner--so its very thick and rich. Mine is an older version that has a flip top cover but the new one (pictured) looks like it's a pump bottle. Either way is fine. I usually leave it on in the shower for about 5 minutes--it makes my hair very soft and leaves no residue or film at all. It is not super slippery so I'm not sure about it to detangle (I don't have enough hair to detangle). It does not cause my hair to be over conditioned nor is it a light conditioner. After using it my hair is very soft but not so much as to lose the curl (which can happen with some conditioners and styling products). I'm not sure again exactly what is in here that lends to all that but whatever it is this remains an outstanding condish that you really ought to try.

Highly recommended. It has just been placed in my shower amongst my other regular rotation products!

BLOG GIVE AWAY WINNER!

And the winner is....Diana!


Congratulations and thanks to all who entered.

 I did a video but haven't been able to upload it-sorry!