Reader Review: Ouidad

Big thanks to reader Natalye for sharing her review on Ouidad’s curl product line with us!

OUIDAD CURL CO-WASH

Price: $30.00

What’s in it?
Aqua, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Hydroxypropyl
Starch Phosphate, Ricinus Communis (Castor Oil), Nigella Sativa Seed Oil, Rosarinus
Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Fragrance/Parfum, Citric Acid,
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Liminene,
Methycloroisoisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

How did your hair respond to it?

The curl co-wash is a low-lathering sulfate, paraben, and silicone free cleansing conditioner. This product is marketed as co-wash but  has a cleanser in the product (Sodium Lauroamphoacetate). This product has nice slip and felt soft in my hair, but once I rinsed it out, my hair felt dry. My hair also felt weighed down and didn’t feel clean. I tried this product because of the rave reviews from other low-porosity Youtubers, which proves even though we are low-porosity our
hair is still different when it comes to what it likes and doesn’t like. My hair does not
agree with the oils in  this product.

I would not repurchase this product.

OUIDAD MOISTURE LOCK LEAVE-IN

PRICE: $23.00

What’s in it?
Water, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetyl peg/ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Amodimethicone, Cetearyl
Alcohol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Behentrimonium Methosulfate,
Polyquaternium-59, Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Arnica
Montana Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana
(Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Opuntia (Prickly Pear Cactus) Tuna Flower Extract, Parfum
(Fragrance), Butylene Glycol, PVP, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, Diazolidinyl Urea,
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.

How did your hair respond to it?
I use this product as leave-in. I apply this on damp hair. This product provides moisture to my hair without weighing  it down. My hair feels soft and it gives my fine hair more volume. This product does contain silicones. My low porosity hair loves silicones and humectants. The only con with this product is that it does not work well with other non-Ouidad products. However, I can combine it with the Curl Junkies Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion with no
problems. I have applied other non-Ouidad products over this leave-in conditioner and I was left with a white residue.

 

OUIDAD CURL QUENCHER HYDRAFUSION INTENSE CURL CREAM

Price: $26.00

What’s in it?
Water/Aqua/Eau, Polyquaternium-37, Phenyl Trimethicone, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/
Dicaprate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Decyl Oleate, Polyquaternium-11, Hydrolyzed Silk, Prunus
Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Fruit Extract, Silybum Marianum Extract, Glycine Soja
(Soybean) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Retinyl Palmitate, Cetrimonium
Chloride, Lecithin, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Polyquaternium-46, Propoxytetramethyl Piperidinyl
Dimethicone, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, C11-15 Pareth-7,
Trideceth-6, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Quaternium-80, Benzophenone-4, Bisamino
PEG/PPG-41/3 Aminoethyl PG-Propyl Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Aminomethyl Propanol,
Citric Acid, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, DMDM Hydantoin, Butylphenyl, Methylpropional,
Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Fragrance/
Parfum, Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI77891)

How did your hair respond to it?

This is product is a styling cream specifically designed for tighter curls. This is my wash n go hair product. I have yet to accomplish the traditional wash n go without dry and tangled hair. I spritz my hair lightly with water before I apply it to my hair or I apply it after my leave-in conditioner. The result is soft defined curls, without the stickiness or crunch. My low-porosity hair prefers creams to gels.

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Natalye thanks again for your informative review! Has anyone else tried these products, were they a hit or miss?

If you have a product that you tried and would like to share your review, please feel free to contact me.

Moisturizing Tips

So your hair has been freshly washed, deep conditioned and now you’re ready to moisturize! Moisture is essential, my hair craves it and well moisturized hair means healthy hair. For low porosity hair this can be a challenge.

Here are a few tips to help you moisturize your hair:

Apply your leave-in to damp instead of soaking wet hair.

After you’ve washed and conditioned your hair, either let it air dry until it’s damp or wrap it in a cotton t-shirt for 3-5 minutes. Applying your leave-in to damp hair will allow your hair to absorb the moisture. When hair is soaking wet and full of water, it’s a lot more difficult for your hair to accept extra moisture.

Water

Make sure your leave-in has water as the first ingredient. My leave-in, Kinky Curly Knot Today doesn’t have water, so I dilute it with water.

Use light heat (optional)

I sometimes partly dry my hair on low heat, I find it helps my hair absorb the leave-in, especially, when I style my hair in twists.

Stretch

When possible, try to allow hair to dry in a stretched style like twists. After I moisturize, I usually twist my hair. When I release my hair from the twists, it’s supple and soft.

Remoisturize

Water is the key here. During the week if your hair starts to feel dry. Dilute some leave-in with water and apply it to your hair.

Note:

I didn’t mention oil, because it doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes, I seal my ends with oil and sometimes I seal my hair with a very light oil. However, sealing with oil isn’t an essential part of my regimen, so I often skip applying oil. Also, moisture always start with water. So, sealing your hair is a personal choice.

What are your key steps to moisturized hair?

Reader Question: Bentonite Clay

Recently, I received this question from a subscriber: “What do you think about using Bentonite on your low porosity hair?  What suggestions do you have?”

I have heard rave reviews on bentonite clay. I’ve yet to try it, but do plan on testing it out in the near future. When I do, I’ll be sure to write a review.

Bentonite clay is derived from volcanic ash. It has a PH of about 8.3-9.1. It is made of (from Mountainroseherbs.com):

Silica- 61.4%
Aluminum- 18.1%
Iron- 3.5%
Sodium- 2.3%
Magnesium- 1.7%
Calcium- 0.04%
Titanium- 0.02%
Potassium- 0.01%
Moisture- 7.8%

Like many clays, bentonite clay is known for its absorbent properties. The clay, once mixed with water and applied to hair, is supposed to pull toxins from the hair. Like rhassoul, bentonite has a negative ionic charge.

I’m not a scientist, but here’s my explanation of ionic charge. Ions are atoms or molecules that have lost or gained an electron (-), which carry a negative charge. Positive ions have lost an electron and negative ions have gained an electron. Molecules are constantly seeking balance. Thus, if an ion has an extra electron it will try to balance this by taking an extra molecule from the surrounding environment (e.g. hair), or by losing its extra electron.

From Braun.com: “positive ions are created through friction – like brushing your hair. They repel each other – making your hair static, frizzy and dull-looking. Negatively charged ions are attracted by positively charged ones, immediately neutralizing them and leaving your hair static and frizz-free.”

As mentioned in an earlier post, products with a positive ionic charge  tend to give the hair a more compact structure. Acidic products (aloe, vinegar, many conditioners) are positively charged, while alkaline products (rhassoul clay, bentonite clay, Terressentials hair wash) are negatively charged.

Based on this information and some rave reviews on the web from other low porosity naturals, I believe that bentonite clay should work on low porosity hair as well.

Again, I’ve never tried it, but when I do try it in the future, I’ll be sure to post results.

In the meantime, here is a short and nice video review on bentonite DIY mudwash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQhSOGLAwU

Have you tried bentonite clay? What were your results?

Remember, never mix clays with metal spoons or in metal bowls.

Wanted! Your product reviews or hair stories!

In order for this blog to be an informative resource for low porosity hair, I think it needs more diversity.

I can write about everything I do for my hair and that’s fine, but hair is unique and what works for one person may not work for all. To help others understand the characteristics of low porosity hair, it would be great to hear from you all.

If you have low porosity hair and are interested in doing a product review. Please email me your entries.

You can write about any products that you absolutely adore or that you can’t stand. Send me an email with the following info:

1. The name of the product.
2. Your opinion (was it moisturizing, did it do what it promised, did it meet your expectations)
3. On a scale of 1 -7 (1, awful – 7, fantastic) how would you rate it.
4. How you apply it.
5. Cost.

That’s all. This type of review could help others selecting products or maybe avoiding certain products.

On another note, it would also be great to get your hair stories. This can be completely anonymous, if you prefer. For more information on hair stories please click  here.

Look forward to hearing from you!