Above: Carols Daughter Black Vanilla Collection
Prior to the Carol's Daughter Launch in South Africa which you can read all about it HERE (the first launch in Africa with the rest soon to follow in the rest of Africa) I was lovingly gifted some products from the collections/ranges that are available in South Africa and asked to share my thoughts. As much as I prefer to trial out a product for 2-4 weeks and more if its something that promises things like growth or thickening, I find that often, products like shampoo and conditioner really should do what they say they will do the first time and worst case the second time (ignoring product build up etc which may affect the behavior/effect of the shampoo/conditioner the first time). In other words, results from some products must be immediate and I will delve into this and when to give up on a product in another post. I just mention it here as for me it rings true and if I have less than 2-4 weeks to try something I know what needs more time and what does not, especially when assessing and watching for results.
First Impressions:
I wanted to share my first impressions and herewith:.
The Black Vanilla Collection - Moisture and Shine
For Dry, Dull, Brittle Hair
Each item in the range promises to:
- Replenish moisture
- Improve manageability
- Add shine
I as well as my hair, absolutely LOVE the smell/scent/fragrance of this whole collection. It is not an overpowering vanilla smell but a luxurious scent that I wish I could drench my whole body in.
Black Vanilla Sulfate-Free Shampoo - My hair found it to be one of those shampoos that not only lathers up nicely but one can detangle their hair whilst having this shampoo on if they wanted to. I advise on ALWAYS detangling before shampooing but this is one of those that would have mercy on you if you were in a rush and had not fully detangled the hair as this shampoo improves manageability. It gently softens the hair whilst strengthening the hair at the same time. Hair and scalp felt cleansed and still manageable. Did it do what it said it would do, YES to replenishing moisture and YES to improving manageability, I did not notice much about shine and will do so next time.
Would I use this product again - YES it is now added as part of my staples.
Black Vanilla Hydrating Conditioner
Have you ever heard the impression - 'like butter'? Well Urban Dictionary refers - 'super smoooth or really easy when things go your way' OR have you heard 'runs like butter'? Urban Dictionary also refers - 1) Something/someone that works efficiently 2) The act of performing a task in a flawless and smooth-like manner 3) It just works 4) melted butter
That's how I describe my hair when using this conditioner - 'like butter'. Hair felt soft and moisturized and curls were 'popping'. Did it do what it said it would do, YES to replenishing moisture and BIG YES to improving manageability and I did notice some shine.
Would I use this product again - YES, and just like that, it is now added as part of my staples.
Black Vanilla Hair Smoothie
At first glance I thought this was a styler/cream so please ensure that you read the How To section of any product before buying it. This is actually a hair treatment that one must rinse out. One can keep it on for 5-7 minutes or 7-10 minutes if using a plastic cap and sitting under a dryer. I did the 5 minutes and will keep it on for longer next time. The hair felt manageable and strengthened at the same time. Please note that when I say strengthened, I don't mean hard, I mean elasticity is improved, there was less breakage if any whilst hair still felt soft and tangle free. Did it do what it said it would do, YES to replenishing moisture and YES to improving manageability, YES to some shine. An immediate difference was seen and felt in the hair and I will try using it under a hair steamer next time.
Would I use this product again - YES indeed. I would use this as part of its collection.
Black Vanilla Hair Leave-In Conditioner
My hair struggled to assess this Leave-In and this is something I would need more uses to make a proper assessment. No I will not give up on it as I feel it has its place and it does help define curls to a degree. It is lightweight and smells absolutely yum but my hair found that it took some of the softness achieved from the wash process away. I also found it to give the hair a dry/stiff or slightly coated feeling or some slight crunch - hair can be moisturized and look moisturized but feel dry especially as the day wears on - this is not a bad thing just means one has to really watch how much of this product they use. Used on its own as the final product after cleansing the hair, the curls in my hair were defined, it had some volume and was lightweight AND SOME HOLD but my hair did not like the dry feeling it had. (maybe its just my hands that did not like the feeling but kept going to my head and playing with my defined curls). I tried this on its own as mentioned and also after applying the Hair Milk Original Leave In Moisturizer where the hair felt much better with some more softness maintained. On the other hand what I liked the most about this product is the Shine factor - it gives the hair shine. I used this Leave in on dry hair and hair felt some softness and yes I could actually detangle but still felt dry/coated once it had dried. I would spray it in sections if using this to help detangle although I would use the conditioner instead for more slip. Also a little goes a long way so start off with just one or two light bursts/spritz of the product on the hair.
Did it do what it said it would do, Hmm the jury is still out on replenishing moisture part and Yes to slightly improving manageability but it reduced my hairs soft feeling, it gets 100 points on the shine factor.
Would I use this product again - For now I will try it a few more times a few more ways and I think it would actually work quite well on its own on a flexi rod set but will try this for myself soon. It also works well as a light hair fragrance as I used one long range burst for this (o: oh and funny thing I notice is that the hair did not feel as dry in the evening so I know this attracts moisture to the hair...see my struggle.
Not yet available in South Africa and hopefully will complete the range on our shores soon is the following:
Hear more about this collection from Lisa (the Founder of Carol's Daughter) HERE
Overall on the Black Vanilla Collection - as mentioned me and my hair LOVE the scent. I think one can get away with not using the Leave-In but ending off with a little natural oil (something light with not alot of scent) which will provide some extra sealing as the rest of the products are quite moisturizing. I also did notice less breakage if any at all and will update this accordingly. Still exploring the leave-in before giving a final verdict.
Have you tried the Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla range yet? Did YOUR hair like it? What do you do when something does not work for you the first time you use it?
As always listen to your hair and try something new.
Find out what my first impressions on the HAIR MILK collection were here.
**I always state when a post is sponsored and this is NOT a sponsored post**
Find out what my first impressions on the HAIR MILK collection were here.
Above: Hair Prior to using the Black Vanilla Range
Above: At the End of the Day having used the Black Vanilla Range incl. Leave-In Spray and light oil blend
Above: Having used the Black Vanilla Hair Spray alone
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