**REVIEW**' Silk Elements Pure Oils

Okay, this is actually a review of 2 products, but they are both from the Silk Elements line of "Pure Oils".

I could have sworn that I had already done a review for the Hair Butter. Oh, well, I will do a quickie about how much I love the stuff.

The Hair Butter is a "thin". It moisturizes the scalp without a lot of weight. I don't use it on my hair just because I don't like oils on the hair, but I could see this being used by some people to protect the ends. I think that even people with Caucasian type hair could use this on their ends and flyaways.

I'll get back to this in a moment, but I now like using the Butter very heavily on the roots of my hair while they're damp and when I am using the Marmalade.

The one thing that I noticed right off about the Butter is that there is little to no smell to it.The Marmalade, though, has a really wonderful fragrance that I wouldn't have placed without looking at the label:

I spotted "honey" in the list of ingredients but had to look harder for the "Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil".

Anyway, the Marmalade smells delicious. The scent fades as soon as the product dries so there isn't a problem for people bothered by conflicting fragrances.

The Marmalade has an odd texture. Right out of the jar, it's super moist and has a slightly slick and slime-like feel. (Not like something gross, so no worries.)  In my book, this was a Plus for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it takes very little product to work with my hair and, the other thing is that it really helps the twisting process. It's a little bit like Eco styler in the way it applies.

Do I like the Marmalade? No. I love it. It defines my twists like crazy and the hold is serious. Now, do I have any negatives to report? Yep. One.

The Marmalade is very moist going on the hair but, boy, when it comes time to unwind my twists... That stuff is like hard glue. I had to be really careful not to tug and break aloose the hair when I was untwisting it. That was a little alarming. I mean, how could this be that moisturizing when it dries so hard???

Well, there's an upside to that downside. Once I went back and studied the label, I saw the suggestion to use some Pure Oils Moisturizer with this Marmalade - "for softer hold and definition". (Tip: when you're ready to untwist/style your hair, use a moisturizing spray if you forgot to add something when setting your hair. I used some StaSof and it softened my curl right up.)

So, yeah. I'm not even mad about that. For one thing, I love so much how this does hold and define my twists that I'm going to be playing with other styles. For another thing, the label did warn me! LOL

When I added a little bit of my Mizani Moisture Stretch while twisting my (damp) hair, the Marmalade still defined well and without the over-strong hold. I don't yet have any of the Pure Oils leave-in, but I can't wait to try it. For now, it seems like the Mizani - or any other good moisturizer - will do the job. There are going to be times when I need the stronger hold of this Marmalade, but it's nice to know that I can add another moisturizer to lighten things up.

So, to sum up a bit:

• The Butter is fantastic for light scalp and ends use
• The Marmalade will hold you like Teddy Pendergrass would have and it will define like a dictionary.
• The Marmalade has a nice (light) fragrance that I like. The scent fades with drying.
• The Butter has no noticeable fragrance.
• Both products work well, but the Marmalade is for getting serious definition and hold. The Butter could work for all hair types, depending on what you're looking for.

By the way, a long while back I used a little of the Butter on my hands. I had washed dishes without using gloves and, for some reason, I wondered what the Butter would feel like on my skin. It feels really good but, since that's not what it's labeled for, I'm not going to suggest anyone else use it that way. (But it did make my hands feel really good! LOL)

All in all, I really do like both of things. As I type this, I have just done my scalp with the Butter and I did my twists last night with the Marmalade. 

Still hard to tell. Take my word, it looks and feels good.

Is that a freaking double chin???
What the heck!

They make a nice hair styling duo. I just have to get me some of that Pure Oils Moisturizer to test out...

Peace

--Free

*REVIEW* Keratin Power "Hair Tamer"

***UPDATED***

Okay. I did the wash (no shampoo, though) and a deep conditioning so that I could see what the "curly" look was going to turn out like. Honestly? Not so good.

My hair is so dry at this point that I have to fall back on products I'd tucked away in a bottom drawer. When I say my hair is dry, I don't mean it's a little bit dry. I mean my hair is dry to the point of being horrible to touch. The look isn't bad, but who wants the look if it's killing the hair?

The straight look was a pain to achieve because of the extra flat-ironing to be done. Also, adding that heat to hair that the product already dried out... Whoo! Sahara Desert dry!!! 

The curly look is (to me) not as bad looking, but that dryness is still there. I liked my curls, texture and manageability better with the texurizer I had. I could do everything with the texturizer that I can (or should be able to) do with the Keratin product - plus, my hair feels and looks a lot better.

Yeah. I'll pass and stick with Soft & Beautiful's "Just For Me" product.

_________________________________________________________________

This was a campaign Bzz Agent invited me into. (I have told you all about BuzzAgent before, so don't look all lip-hanging sad when I talk about all the stuff I get to try - for free.)



The product we were given to try is actually called (take a deep breath!) "Smooth 'N Shine Keratin Power Semi-Permanent Hair Tamer."

Long name for a looong (but simple) process of smoothing the hair - without harsh relaxers.The no-harsh-chemicals bit is what nabbed me.

Lately, I've cut my hair very short. Prior to the Keratin Power, I have been using a texturizer and am wearing a short "Natural" (some folks used to call it as Afro). Texturizers do have chemicals, although they seem to be a lot more gentle on the hair than relaxers. This Keratin Power is a good solution that will let me keep my curls or wear a straight style occasionally. At least, it will allow for curls after the initial 3-day period of wearing it straight and not washing.

This process seemed super-long to me - what with the 8-minute rinses and the waiting required between steps. (I can have a relaxer or texturizer done in under 40 minutes.) The Keratin Power instructions are very well-written and very precise (though this caused a bit of confusion later on) down to when and when not to shampoo.

First step is the Strand Test which takes around 45 minutes. Next, a 5-minute shampoo. The rest takes just over forever - correctly applying smoothing treatment (wait then rinse for 5 to 8 minutes), applying neutralizing Milk (wait then another long rinse). This is not to mention the time it takes to apply the different parts of the product. 

At the almost 2-hours mark, I was personally wishing I'd been able to have this all done at a salon, letting someone else do the work because, guess what? I wasn't done.

The last part of the process is to blow-dry then flat-iron the hair. Even if you (like me) are opting for the curly style, this initial straightening has to be done - and worn for at least 3 days. I can't wait for Saturday so that I can get back to my wash-and-wear routine (I know, I know, I should wait until Sunday, but I have pics to take with the family). (I abhor - yes, abhor - flat-ironing my hair. Number One: I'm lazy. Number Two: It's stress on my hair.)

Summing up about the product, I'll say that it's a great system with some drying I really don't like. The instructions were excellent - except for the fact that there was no mention of the included pack of "Nourishing Deep Recovery Conditioner." The instructions were so precise about advising when and when not to use shampoo that I was surprised there was no mention of using the conditioner or when to use it. I stayed true to the product's directions and did not use the conditioner. Because it is a "deep" conditioner, I assume I should use it after this initial 3-day "curing" period. It is odd, though, that not only is the conditioner not in the directions but (I just checked) shown nowhere on product's entire packaging. It's not even on the list of  items enclosed. Odd. Probably just an oversight.

I would recommend the product to someone looking for a way out of using harsher products. (Actually, I already have. I've even handed out one of the coupons BuzzAgent provided. I am not sure what the general pricing is going to be but I have heard reports of it being somewhere in the $9.50 - $10.00 range, which is about average for such products. It will probably, as usual, be a couple dollars higher here in Alaska.

--Free