**REVIEW** Miss Jessie's Leave-In Condish

Yes, I know. I have had very poor results with a couple of Miss Jessie's products. Very poor. In fact, the only reason I decided to give yet another Miss Jessie's items a try at all was because I cannot believe such a successful brand is all bad.

Let's recap the instances I've had my feelings hurt, hopes crushed, and hair (and wallet) left in need:

• There was the time I tried "Pillow Soft Curls" only to discover that the 'pillow' referenced had to be a stone one from Wilma Flintstone's bed... (although, as a conditioning treatment, P.S.C. worked better.)
• Then I mentioned (or ranted) about the high cost of such products.
• Latest was when I obviously wanted to believe in Miss Jessie's the way I once believed in a bad relationship... Yeah. Pillow Soft Curls didn't teach me nothing; I just had to try the "Jelly Soft Curls" because, you know, "Baby, I swear I won't_____ anymore." (And you can fill in that blank with whatever the last lie is that you were told...

And, by the way, falling for the lies of that dang Miss Jessie didn't teach me quite enough. I rebounded by running into the arms of Miss Jessie's less well known cousin, "Aunt Jackie". sigh.

If this were a history of my past romantic entanglements, I'd be swearing off men and entering a convent. Really. Seriously. HOWEVER... I might have a cold heart when it comes to certain men, but I'm warmer blooded when it comes to my hair. Which is why I did pick up the "Leave-In Condish".

 Also, the 8-ounce bottle was cheap. And I'm on write-cation. And I can spend $10 on a hair product when I am on write-cation and not really writing as much or as well as I thought I would be. So there.


I picked this up for about $10.00 at a Target here in Texas. I've never seen this item in Anchorage stores but, no doubt, the price would go up by two or three bucks on those shelves.

As usual, the first thing I did when I got the product was to smell it. It smells like that plain old bath bar soap that you get when you stay in cheap motels. Just so plain and funky that you automatically think that it's either really cheap stuff or that it will strip all the sebum right out of your skin and hair.

Maybe the mix of ingredients???


Of course, the smell had me thinking that I was about to be disappointed once again... But, nope. Once I got past the smell to give the product a try, it wasn't half bad.

I think I already mentioned that the air here is extremely humid. I have been calling it "no-lotion" weather. The thing is, it's great for my hair and skin but it also makes my hair resistant to styling. The only way I can get my hair to hold a nice twist-coil wave is to wash it. That's because my hair tends to dry out when I wash it (which is why I am careful about using the right shampoo).

Since the Leave-In Condish is to be used on damp (not wet) hair, I did a co-wash with the cleansing conditioner I told you about yesterday, then I let it go from wet to damp. I applied the Leave-In and waited for that to dry.

Result: quite stiff.

I then used a spray bottle to fine-mist on some water that I massaged into my hair.

Result: much better. Actually, my hair felt quite soft and moisturized.

Next, I did my twist-coils and let them dry.

The final result was not bad at all. My hair was not stiff or sticky at all, though it was a little bit over-dry. Since it is so humid here, I expected better. However, I do have very dry hair after washing.

Overall, I have to give this Miss Jessie's product a 9 out of 10. I'd even give it a 10 if not for that icky, soapy odor. (I will resolve that by adding to my water mister a touch of the yummy-smelling Pomegranate Cleansing Conditioner, or some of my Vanilla Grapefruit Fragrance.)

Also, please notice what is not in this particular product: sulfates and other no-no's for (especially) natural hair.

So, yay to Miss Jessie's for finally having a product that lives up to the labeling & goes easy on the average wallet.

At some point, I will compare the results I'm getting with products here to the ones I get in Alaska's drier climate.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Aunt Jackie's Quench Moisture Intensive Leave-In Conditioner

If there is a really good hair moisturizer out there, I haven't found it yet. And I have tried several. This is the latest:

                                                       

That's Aunt Jackie's Quench Moisture Intensive Leave-In Conditioner. Let me break that label down in light of my personal experience -

Moisture - Well, it's wet, so I suppose that's where that came from. It's wet in the bottle and still wet when I apply it. Wet = Moisture. Until it doesn't.

Intensive- I'm kind of mad that that word is even in the label next to "moisture". I am intensively upset with that.

Leave-In - That's true. You can leave it in. I could also leave talcum powder or dry rice in my hair. Same effect.

Conditioner- I dunno. Between this one and Miss Jessie's, I'd have to say that M.J's at least left my hair feeling conditioned once I washed it out. This one just washed out.

I think that my hair actually made the sound "quench" once this stuff dried...

I mentioned to someone that I will probably never stop looking for a moisturizer that actually works, but I have now actually put together a list of requirements:

• Must actually leave my hair feeling moisturized once the product has dried.
• Must not require that I take out small personal loans in order to purchase the product.
• Absolutely cannot leave my hair feeling as if it's been shellacked so that it can double as a combat helmet.
• It would be helpful if the product worked at least 1/2 as well as described.

Maybe the next product will be one by "Mama Sue" or "Sister Betty" but, hopefully, whoever produces it will be selling something that really works instead of just having a folksy name and nice backstory.

By the way, I'm irritated by the rave reviews I read about Jackie's on Amazon. I really wish that more people would be clear and honest when they do those reviews. Or that (for hair products) they are grouped by hair type. Or something.  I'm not saying that most reviewers don't play the honesty game, but I sometimes wonder if some reviews are written by people with some kind of agenda. (Or just really good hair.) I get products for free to review, yet I will tell the good, bad and ugly, no matter what. After all, that is the purpose of reviews, right?

Whatever.

You know what? Maybe I  should come up with a homemade formula under my Cosmetic Kitchenista line. Hmmm...  I could call it "Your Play Cousin's Remedy That Actually Works".

~sigh~

Seriously, about this Aunt Jackie's Quench (or, as I call it "Crunch"), it wasn't as bad as Miss Jessie's. Matter of fact, when I applied to to my towel-dried hair, it felt so good that I had high hopes. Then my hair dried and I was left with that slightly crunchy-not-soft result.

I wasn't ready to give up on good old Aunt Jackie yet. Since applying the product straight didn't work out, I decided to mix some in a spray bottle with a bit of water. Water = moisture. Result: Fail.

Still not ready to disown Jackie, I added a couple of drops of argan oil to the spray bottle. Result: slightly better - not because of Jackie but because of Argan.

I finally did give up on Jackie. Here's the thing, I am so disgusted that I'm not even bothering to return the product. I'm going to start a museum of failed product. Jackie's going right to the left just behind Jessie's.

The best thing I can say about Jackie's is that it is at least more affordable that M.J.'s product. It also didn't leave my hair feeling like a helmet, but it sure didn't satisfy my hair's thirst.

As a last word, I have to say that I am starting to get a complex about my hair. Maybe my naps are just so dry that I will need to walk around with a spray bottle of water? Or - and this is what is keeping me from total disappointment with products - I can just keep stocked up on this product (available at a local big box retailer):

                   

I love other Aussie products (I've used the shampoo and 3-Minute Miracle), but had never noticed this one. When I saw it (and its price) at the local Walmart, I whipped out my phone and did a quick search of reviews.  (Then DJ accidentally knocked my phone out of my hand, so... )

Whatever. I went ahead and snagged a bottle of the Aussie Hair Insurance anyway. (Because, I can always return it easily). It was under $4.00 and I won't have a hard time restocking if I like it.

Verdict: This black and nappy sista just disowned the Jackie's and Jessie's to adopt my new favorite cousins from Down Under.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls

Well, shame on me. Isn't that the way the saying goes? "Fool me once..."

~sigh~

Here's what happened: I was strolling through one of the local malls and, since I was having one of those days when my hair couldn't decide whether it wanted to curl or coil (and, yes, there is a difference), I let my feet take me into one of my favorite beauty supply shops. Damn feet.

If you remember, we Alaskans just received our annual Permanent Fund Dividends. I can't go crazy and spend mine like most people do/did, because I have too much financial instability going in my poor, pitiful, nothing-like-Oprah life. What I can do though is combine 3 months of my normal pittance of a budget for miscellaneous expenses into a lump sum without starving. With Christmas and some birthdays in the family coming up, this is perfect. And I gave myself a small allowance. So...

As I'm browsing the store and asking the clerk (who knows a little something about black haircare) if she can recommend anything for the current state of my hair which seems to be off its medication, she points out two products: Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls and Mizani's Curl Stretch Cream. (I hope the Mizani's will be as good as the other stretch cream I've used!)

Now, I have tried (and liked) a couple of Mizani products. They are expensive so I only get them on deep sale or on that Burlington's Coat Factory shelf where just about everything is discounted. I hadn't ever tried this particular Mizani product though and it was priced at $19. Oh boy. The Jelly Soft was $17.

Of course, I have tried (and not loved to death) Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls. I didn't like the same way most folks hate skin on their pudding. After using that product, I spent too much time wondering what the hell kind of prison-issue, stiff and crunchy pillows Miss Jessie slept on.

I relayed all this to the clerk. She told me that she did nt carry Pillow Soft but that she had heard back from other customers that they liked Jelly Soft. And since I didn't have access to any handy Amazon reviews just then, I hemmed and hawed. The clerk promised that I could return and get a refund on any product I didn't like. I stopped mid hem-haw and went for it. I got both. 

I will review the Mizani in another post, but let's talk Miss Jessie's, shall we?

Obviously, Miss Jessie has as much of a problem with understanding the softness of jelly as she does pillows. Pillow Soft was not as horrible as Jelly Curls. In the case of Jelly Curls, at least the name fits. After I applied the product (according to the directions) and let my damp hair dry, I wondered if there wasn't actually a little bit of jelly in the ingredients. Jelly, yes. Soft, no. Not soft, but dry. Dry as if I had sat with a hair bonnet connected to a dehumidifying machine that could suck all the moisture from an ocean.

Lies, lies & more lies

Take one more look at the pic and read that description of Jelly Soft again. Know what's missing? The word "DON'T". As in:"For people who don't want..." all that soft and touchable hair that the product is promising.

Damnit.

What the hell is with all the hype over Miss Jessie's products? Was she ever one of Oprah's favorite things or something? I mean, how did these products get so much positive recognition? So far, all I can tell you about them is that they are expensive and don't live up to the descriptions on the labels. 

truth-free hype

After using the gel, my hair felt gunky and stiff. I had to wash it out and deep condition just so that I could detangle the desert that was my hair. Thank goodness I can return this mess.

With the Pillow Soft, I could at least say that I found a way to make it work. And it seemed to function as a conditioning agent. Once I rinsed that product out, my hair seemed as if I had retained some moisture. With the Jelly Soft... nothing good. I wouldn't have wanted to let anyone touch my hair because it was so stiff and icky feeling.

***Forgot that I got a pic. This is after using Jelly Soft. My hair has dried & you can almost hear the crunch through the photo***

Shame. Shame on me. 

So, all after the fact, I went over to take a look at some Amazon reviews.

Guess what? Only 7 bad reviews, but they all echoed my sentiments. Of the good reviews, I am thinking that maybe some folks have never experienced a good hair day. (That was mean of me, but Miss Jessie's does not deserve any good thoughts from me at this point.) Even for reviews that were positive on how Jelly Curl worked for them, the complaint was that the same results could be had with more reasonably priced products. 

With the returned funds I wasted on Jelly Soft, I picked up 2 other products (and had change left over). Even though I got my refund, I am holding a grudge against that other store and made sure to buy my replacement products at Sally Beauty Supply. They have never mislead me about products before.

I will soon be reviewing the Mizani and the other two products I got. For now, I have to go and release my hair from the ICU into rehab. Damned Jelly Curl almost put it into flatline...

I have learned and been burned. No more Miss Jessie's for me.

Peace

--Free

***REVIEW*** Well, Well, Well... Miss Jessie's, I Got Ya!

***UPDATE May 14, 2014: When I shampooed my hair last night, I discovered that where Miss Jessie's is only so-so as a styling product, it is TOPS as a conditioner. I failed to take a photo, but I almost cannot describe how wonderful my hair felt and looked. I had tons of big, soft curls. I washed my hair prior to dyeing it, but I really hated to mess with those curls. I have now re-applied Miss Jessie's (my way) and can't wait for my next rinse-out to see if I get those same luscious, soft curls.***


So... 'Memba when, a while back, I was interested in trying out the products by Miss Jessie's? And remember how I mentioned there was no way I could afford the products? And how, even if I could find samples to purchase, that I couldn't afford to have them shipped to me?

If you remember all that, then you remember that I never heard back from Miss Jessie's when I emailed them trying to find another way to get samples for purchase. I pretty much wrote off the company. I figure that, if I don't deserve a customer service response, they don't deserve what they want to charge for a product.

I was done with Miss Jessie's.

~dusts hands~

Until yesterday.

Apparently, no one in Anchorage is willing to pay the originally marked price for a product most of us up here are unfamiliar with. Miss Jessie's products were marked down a bit at Target. Not much (just 5 bucks off for the Pillow Soft Curls), but enough that my sister surprised me with a tube for an early Mother's Day gift.

Still about 18 bucks - on discount! Hmmph.

(You might be thinking that this is a strange Mother's Day gift, but, to me, it was perfect. That's the way we roll, my sister and I. Flowers die, cards get lost, but curls are a beautiful thing!)

Now, is Miss Jessie's worth the price? Well... Not really.

The instructions are to apply a "capful" of the product to "damp, freshly washed, conditioned and detangled hair". When you have "good coverage", you are to scrunch your hair to "encourage" the curls.

Maybe I'm still pissy because of my pre-ownership experience with Miss Jessie's. Right off, I'm irritated that I'm going to have to wash and condition my hair three days after my last wash. That's my own doing for being so anxious to try this stuff.

Next, I'm thinking, "What capful?" There's no cap to fill. (Yeah, so I am being really pissy about this!)

Like I said, I'm determined to make this last (or have as full a tube as possible when I return it to the store), so I'm careful not to over-saturate my hair. I do the scrunching thing and wait for my hair to air-dry.

Results: super-crunchy hair. I mean Cheetos-crunchy.

My dried hair felt like it had a light coating of shellac. Seriously. And I hate that. Crunchy hair is the one of the enemies of a naturalista. (Amen, girls?)

The worst thing about products that crunchy-coat hair - any type of hair - is not just the icky feel, but also the breakage. One of the reasons I went natural was to be good to my hair, to encourage its health and growth. Okay, and because I love the look and feel. Crunchy is not the feel I'm going for. Crunchy is for snacks, not hair.

Because I didn't want to damage my hair, I had to spend long minutes massaging the curls to loosen that shellac-like coating. Then I spent another fifteen minutes or so gently combing through in sections. The whole process kind of defeated the "Pillow Soft Curls" thing. When I finished, there were no curls. I had a big, dried-out looking pillow-puffy 'fro.

~sigh~

Since I had already washed my hair more in three days than is good for it, I didn't even want to do a rinse. What I ended up doing is babying my scalp with my good old reliable Jamaican Black Castor Oil, and easing up my dried out hair with some StaSofFroand and a gentle massage.

By now, it's dang near bedtime. I've neglected my laundry and cleaning for longer than I intended. I decided to just braid my hair for overnight. I was thinking that, maybe in the morning, I can apply this expensive crap to my dried hair to "encourage" the curl and (hmph!) actually have some "pillow soft" results.

Here is a pic taken before Miss Jessie's

It's dry, as you can tell by the part behind my ear

And here is one I just took (post MJ)

I really need to get a better webcam, but...

I know that bottom pic is not the best, but I think you can tell that my hair does look softer and more moisturized. The downside: By touch, you can tell that there is product in my hair. If StaSofFro could get therapist certified to "encourage" more curl, it would be my choice over Miss Jessie's. It's waaaay cheaper, very softening and non-greasy to the touch - plus you can find it almost anywhere.

About 4 bucks & available at most retail stores

By the way, StaSofFro is one of the products I used frequently for a couple of months while growing out my hair from this stage:

Looking like mugshot...

Summary: Miss Jessie's did "encourage a nice curl; left my hair soft and moisturized. Of course, I had to tweak the directions a bit, and I can feel the product in my styled hair. Is this product good? Yep. Is it worth the price? Nah. I could get a cheaper curl cream to use in conjunction with the almost SIX bottles of StaSofFro.

I'm thankful to my sister for the gift, and I will use it up, but I won't be purchasing any more of this particular item in the future.

Peace
--Free

***UPDATE*** Miss Jessie's Products & Shipping

When I posted recently about wanting to order samples of Miss Jessie's products the other day, I mentioned the outrageous shipping costs of items to Alaska.

I contacted the company with the following email (sorry, but I can't enlarge it more):

Asking for alternative (reasonable) shipping methods...

Maybe I was asking too much. This is the response I received from the company:

Yep. If I'm asking for them to read the email.
They thought I was mooching for free stuff... smh

I guess customer emails are just scanned for key words before a response is sent out.

I did reply, but I don't expect a response, and I don't really care anymore. I'm not going to bother calling the number they provided. Why should I? They provided the email contact form and look what happened. I'm not going to work this hard to spend money.

This all lets me know that I don't want to buy products from a company with such impersonal responses to inquiries. Businesses have improved ways to market and make money, but they don't seem to put as much effort into customer service. I can recall when, (about 15 years ago) I contacted Dell Computers about concerns with a PC I'd ordered. I received a phone call from one of Michael Dell's personal assistants. In this case, I didn't expect anything but a response that indicates someone in customer service actually read my email. Why do they even bother to have a "Contact Us" button on their website?

So...

Unless I find a way to get hold of Miss Jessie's without going broke, you won't be reading here about how "darned good" the products are!

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.