At the start of my product junkie-ism (sp?), I was spending money like a Trump. Every few days a parcel would arrive at the post office for me and I would excitedly jaunt over there, ready to try out something new.
During one of my product hauls, I purchased Blended Beauty’s Soy Cream shampoo ($18 CDN) and Curl Quenching conditioner ($18 CDN). I had received samples from Honey Fig, which I used and liked. I thought they would be good additions to my ever-growing stash of hair products.
Here are the ingredients:
Soy Cream shampoo
Soy Cream Shampoo Ingredients: Aqua (enriched with/enrichi avec Aloe Barbadensis), Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate*, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Distillate, Glycerin, Capryl Isostearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine*, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Soy Lecithin, Cetyl Esters, Perfume, Preservative [Propylene Glycol (and) Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate], Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein (and) Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein (and) Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Silk Powder, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein.
Curl Quenching conditioner
Conditioner Ingredients: Aqua (enriched with/avec Aloe Barbadensis), Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol*, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Distillate, Capryl Isostearate, Glycerin, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Polysorbate 20, Behenoyl PG-Trimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetyl Alcohol (and) Butylene Glycol, Perfume, Preservative [Propylene Glycol (and) Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate], Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary)Leaf Extract, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein (and) Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein (and) Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Silk Powder.
*Bolded ingredients are coconut-based. Strangely enough, cetearyl alcohol hasn’t bothered my scalp. I was doing a bit of research on cocamidopropyl betaine and it’s known to be an irritant for sensitive people. Maybe it has more coconut oil in it or something.
Anyhoo… Blended Beauty products have a wonderful cherry scent – it’s sweet and yummy. It’s not powerful or overwhelming and it doesn’t linger, which is a bit sad. The shampoo came in a pump bottle, which unfortunately became very slippery in the shower. The conditioner was in a plastic jar that was not meant to be used in the shower. The last time I ordered, the packaging for the conditioner was in a pump bottle as well. Sadly, it was still slippery.
The shampoo cleans really well and doesn’t strip your hair. It’s sulfate-free and, as you can read in the ingredients, has a lot of protein. That can be a positive if your hair is weak from chemical treatments (relaxed girls) or over-manipulation (natural girls). If your hair is already strong, too much protein can make it a hard or brittle. That wasn’t the case for me – the proteins weren’t overwhelming. I washed once a week or so with this and my hair felt strong, soft and healthy.
Next up, the Curl Quenching conditioner. My hair instantly fell in love with this stuff. The conditioner is rich and provides good slip (easy to run a comb through your hair with conditioner in it). I liked the ingredients and so did my hair. This conditioner is too darned expensive to use as a co-wash conditioner – I’d be buying a jar every week. It remains a wash-out conditioner that I use after I co-wash or shampoo my hair.
After using both products, I had happy, strong hair with some curl definition. I was able to comb through it in the shower and that’s always a plus for a curly chick.
What’s my verdict? If I wasn’t allergic to coconut-based ingredients, I would probably continue to use the Soy Cream shampoo. It’s a good, solid shampoo that will cleanse your scalp of any build-up without drying out your hair. In my book that equals good shampoo. My mom now owns this one (and all my other shampoos that I’ve stricken from my regime) and she likes it too.
The Curl Quenching conditioner is still in my arsenal. Due to price, I use it every so often when my hair needs something thick and rich and I don’t have the time to do a deep condition.
The only con that I have for these products is price. Spending $36 in shampoo and conditioner PLUS shipping is hard on a person’s pocket. My advice is – if you don’t want to or can’t afford to spend that kind of money – don’t! There are cheaper alternatives that work just as well. Just because you’ve decided to be kinder to your hair doesn’t mean you have to spend a mint.
The Accidental Natural 
Would love to try more products from this line. The price is a bit…pricey…lol. Great review on the Shampoo, I’m slowly making my way back to them, sans sulfates of course!
Quick question, how do you determine if you’re allergic to coconuts or not? I’m finding I’ve developed a few allergies over the years, and coconut has remained in my diet consistently.
Thanks!
I’ve been allergic to coconut since I was little, but it was more of a sensitivity when I was younger – it didn’t really bother me too much. As I got older, the reactions became stronger and stronger. When I started investigating natural hair and reading the ingredients on my products, I realized that there are many coconut-based products in hair care products, especially shampoos. When I stopped using shampoo in May 2009, I saw a definite reduction in flakes, itchiness and redness in my scalp. It made sense – if I can’t ingest coconut without having an allergic reaction, most likely I can’t slap it onto my scalp without something bad happening. If you’ve been eating it and it doesn’t give you a reaction, I’d bet you’re not allergic. Do you have any food allergies? I’ve also found that some of these ayurvedic remedies that people are swearing up and down about, like amla oil, are no-nos for me. Had me scratching and flaking like no one’s business.
I do have food allergies, and I combat a bit of eczema during the winter, and it spreads annoyingly each season that passes. I have a slight allegy to Wheat Protein or Gluten. Wrecks havoc on my digestion, and I notice it does the same to my scalp…yet this ingredient is in some of the best DC’s I’ve tried since going natural. It really is an easy dilema for me to fix…lol, but it’s especially hard when you’ve found something that’s worked so well! I’ve also noticed that these products also have a high concentration of coconut bases, so that’s where my other question came from. But you make a lot of sense, there’s no reason to put something on your skin, that you’re allergic to if ingested. Eventually I’m going to do some trial and error in order get to the heart of the problem…thanks for the tips/answer;-)!!
I’m happy if I can help! Keep dropping by!
“At the start of my product junkie-ism (sp?), I was spending money like a Trump. Every few days a parcel would arrive at the post office for me and I would excitedly jaunt over there, ready to try out something new.
During one of my product hauls…”
Oh honey, you and I should have gone to rehab together!! With $$ being tight right now, my curly products addiction has been (temporarily) squelched. No longer are the parcels coming once a week, filled with new goodies (and many baddies!) to try out. Sigh… What’s your reason for no longer purchasing every product you can get your hands on? Did you just get smart and said ENOUGH?! Sadly, I’m not there yet. 😉
LOL! It was all about not having the money to spend and finding cheaper products — that are still good, but just not as expensive. Once I saw my hair thriving with olive oil, aloe vera juice, rosewater and Giovanni Direct Leave-in I was done spending money out the ying-yang for Miss Jessies, Blended Beauty (which I still love), Curl Junkie and whatever else I was buying.
Don’t get me wrong – there are still some products that I want to try like Qhemet Biologics Amla and Heavy Cream. That will be in my life at some point this year 😉