**REVIEW** Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla

Black hair (race, not color) tends to be drier than that of other ethnicities. My hair is probably some of the driest of dry black hair. And I wear it natural - no softening relaxers or smoothers to leech out my natural curl pattern.

So.

I am always up for products that soften my hair, moisturize it and, with the best luck of all, make it smell nice. When I saw this at Target the other day, I was a little reluctant to try it out. For one thing, I have tried other products from the Carol's Daughter brand and mostly what I liked about them was the story of Carol's daughter. Then, of course, I am gun shy of many products that claim to be made for my kind of hair. I will thank Miss Jessie for that...

This time, it was the price that convinced me to try the product. I can't remember exactly, but I think I paid around $12 for this:

I'm glad I took the chance.

This stuff does what it says. I sprayed on just a couple spritzes around the outside of my 'fro, then scrunched it in to moisten the undergrowth. Boy, what an instant difference.

Of the 3 claims made right there on the label - to replenish moisture, improve manageability, and add shine - the only one I didn't notice with my use was the shine part. There's some shine, but mostly from the lack of crackling dryness that my hair had been suffering from.

If you keep up with this blog, you know that one of my favorite natural hair products is StaSofFro by Carson. It still is a favorite, but this Black Vanilla leave-in by C.D. is a whole other kind of  niceness.

StaSofFro gives me shine and softness. It's great for using in addition to other products that tend to give me extra curls or styling options. The StaSofFro was always a counterbalance to the drying properties of other products. Also, depending on the weather, I need to give StaSof a little time to work away the dryness. Sometimes, to get full softening results, I have to treat my hair 2 or 3 times with StaSof (letting it soak in between treatments). The Black Vanilla is great on its own and at the very first treatment.

The driest time for my hair is also the time that I achieve the perfect curliness: right after I was it. I always wished that I could freeze-frame the state of my natural hair to that point where it's almost-but-not-quite-dry from a fresh wash. It's the right kind of curly, but not dry. Until, well, it does finish drying. Then it's super-dry. That's when I have to start using the StaSof.

The Black Vanilla works as soon as I spray it on. There's no waiting for the product to work, and there's no need to keep re-applying. The best way to use it, I find, is to part my hair into sections of 4 - just like when I used to apply relaxer. I then spritz the root and scalp along each part-line, and add another spritz to the top of each section. I scrunch each section of hair to let the leave-in absorb and, done.

Best thing ever about this product is the smell. I love a nice vanilla scent, and this one is so glorious. It's not loud enough to be offensive or clash with any other perfume, but you just know that your hair will smell yummy should someone get close enough.

You can see (of you squink) the ingredients

I noticed that, like in StaSof, glycerin is a main ingredient. I think it's just a good combination of the other ingredients that makes this work so nicely.

Also like what it doesn't include

Another great use I love this product for is detangling. One of the reasons I'm not diligent about putting my hair up in twists overnight is that I hate hassling with the dryness. It seems that I do more damage from overhandling my hair - for twisting, arranging styles and general care - than I do from product use. I noticed that this really does make my hair much more manageable.

All in all, if I had 5 stars to give this product, I throw in 10. It's good stuff. It's so good that I'm going to have to check out some of the other products in the line.

Peace
--Free

Miss Jessie's and the Cost of Being Ethnic

(*Make sure to read the bottom of this post before you leave)

On a quick run to Target's yesterday, I noticed that they carry a better variety of "ethnic" hair products than the Anchorage Walmart and Walgreens. At first, I was all "Oh, nice!" I haven't even seen most of these products at the local Sally's Beauty Supply store.

Walmart & Sally's also carries these
  (check that per pint price)

I've tried Carol's Daughter hair balm before. It was okay, but had a strong smell. I'm sort of impressed by the reasonable-for-Alaska prices here:

I envy Carol's Daughter. Yes, I do.

Anchorage is finally catching up with the rest of the States in decent hair products for us nappy gals. I'm always amused to see how stuff is marketed. Mixed Chicks stuff is not only for "mixed" chicks. Anybody with a lot certain hair texture would like it, but my "mixed chick" niece finds it's too heavy for her hair. I'd love to see something marketed for "rowdy" hair, but that's just me.

What's with the gold level prices on this stuff???

And when I saw this,

I'd love to have both of these products

I broke into a big smile. Hah! I can buy Miss Jessie's hair products? In Anchorage???

I tot I taw a pwetty tag!

And what  is that little silver marking on the tube? I was thinking it was a type or rating or designation for a great product, but...  Wrong! It's a store security tag to prevent theft. I put on my glasses and realized why the product needs that tag...

$41 & $67 by the pint! Highest darned price, for real!

Is it just me, or does that  price seem a little bit high? The Canon printer I was complaining about in this post only cost 10 bucks more than this hair product. I have a very nice blender that I will be using for years that cost about 10 bucks more. With a warranty.

I almost threw that tube of Miss Jessie's back onto the shelf! I was afraid I'd be charged just for reading the label.

My hair was suddenly talking to me, like a devil on my shoulder  head, trying to get me to buy the Pillow Soft. Thing  is, I have read mostly (but not all) great reviews about Miss Jessie's. Didn't hear about her finances, but I'm sure her family's now rich.* She wouldn't have to sell many of her products to make it onto a Forbes list, that's for sure. (Notice the price Amazon has for the Pillow Soft.)

I looked, but did not buy. The only way I could afford  some Miss Jessie's is if I want to suffer miss-meal cramps for the next several weeks. Guess what? I miss enough meals just trying to pay my bills. Plus, I noticed on the product description (and in the reviews) that the Pillow Soft "marries" fabric care technology into the hair care. That concerned me so I looked up a list of the ingredients. Maybe I will  just try out some trial sizes to be safe.

Or... Maybe not.

Again with the to-Alaska shipping costs!

That right there is not the fault of Miss Jessie's. That is just the way things usually are when trying to have anything shipped to Alaska. I'm going to contact Miss Jessie's to see if there is an alternate way to get my trial sizes. Maybe they can just stick the stuff in a regular mailer and calculate postage. Or - and this just occured to me - maybe they can supply Target and Sally's with samples for the Alaska customers? It's worth writing an email and making the request. I will get back to you folks with the outcome.

Peace
--Free

* I have to add here that I am not down on the folks behind Miss Jessie's. Some of my post is done out of silliness and humor. While the prices for Miss Jessies products are higher than I can afford, so are the prices on a lot of long-time corporate brands that never catered to minorities until recently. Revlon, L'Oreal (and a bunch of other companies) are suddenly on the "natural hair" ride, but I still can't find a decent shade of foundation to use on my "ethnic" skintone. I wish I could buy more  products marketed by the people behind the need, and I recognize the folks behind Miss Jessie's probably have to charge higher prices to see a profit. If I ever can, I will buy all my products from mom-and-pop ops. I applaud them for their courage in entering the game.