Tangle Tamer: A Review of Beautiful Textures’ Leave-in Conditioner

Tangle Tamer: A Review of Beautiful Textures’ Leave-in Conditioner

Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in ConditionerPop! Bounce! Sway! That’s the sound of my tresses doing their dance the minute they’re caressed by Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner. I have used this leave-in consistently for the last month, and … I am a fan of this product!  Attention! Attention! Here lies a product that actually lives up to its promise. Yes, curlies. We have lift-off.

Here’s the rundown. A few months ago, I discovered Beautiful Textures on a trip to one of my go-to beauty supply stores (BBS). I entered the store with the intention of purchasing my previous staple, Silicon Mix’s Leave-in Conditioner. I turned the corner toward the Dominican section. You know the aisle with Lacio Lacio, La Bomba, and the other major Dominican players?

Well, on my way towards that area, I heard audio coming from another aisle. I walked over and was nearly blinded by a sea of bright yellow and orange. The colorful packaging of Beautiful Textures’ entire product line was on display, accompanied by a looping video of apparent biracial women swinging their pretty curly manes (some curls looked much better than the others that were featured).

Why biracial babes? Beautiful Textures is marketed as being “for mixed textures,” which made me pause and question if any of the products would work for tighter textures like my own. I also questioned the quality of the packaging and some of the model’s hair, but that lasted for a minute, as my curiosity and product junkism reared its ugly head again. Within a few seconds of scanning the product line, I swiped the Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner (approximately $6), Curl Control Defining Pudding, and Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Créme—all of which I will review just for you!

Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme

A preview of my hair with
Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner and Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme. Read my review of this butter.

Let’s begin today by focusing on the Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner. I’m still surprised to admit that I’m hooked on this bad boy! Yes, I have fallen hard, but I don’t want to be too hasty! I’ve got to let the love affair take its steady course. 😉

Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner has a thick, creamy consistency, so gauge your application according to your strands. I apply a generous amount to my freshly washed hair, basking in its fruity scent. Not to worry. The smell isn’t overpowering, at least not for me. If it does bother you, take comfort in the fact that it doesn’t linger for long.

The minute the cream touches my hair, it melts into it. I instantly notice a difference. My strands curl and spring into place, easily becoming defined. This isn’t a chemical reaction. Rather, it’s my hair soaking up the yummy goodness that the leave-in provides. The slippage this product gives is amazing. It allows me to easily separate my curls for finger combing and styling. It also works well with my stylers (aloe vera gel included), possibly even enhancing them.

While the distribution is impressive, this tangle tamer clearly nourishes my tresses from the inside out. After using it, my hair is much softer and moisturized compared to other products. In case you don’t already know, naturally curly hair thrives with moisture. Without it, you’ll quickly spiral into the land of hair breakage.

This product is jam packed with oils upon oils as well as aloe vera gel, which my hair loves. Other ingredients include: Aqua, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil/Olive Oil, Argania Spinosa Nut Oil/Argan Oil, Glycine Soja Oil/Soybean Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil/Coconut Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit/Shea Butter, Mangifera Indica Seed Butter/Mango Butter, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract/Rosemary Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract/Aloe Vera, Dimethicone, Panax Ginseng Root Extract/ Ginseng Extract, Polyquaternium 37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Glycerin, DMDM Hydantoin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth 20, Polysorbate 20, Propylene Glycol, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Phenyl Trimethicone, CI 15985/Yellow 6, Parfum/Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, d-Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Lyral, Methyl Ionone Gamma.
It is free from: paraben and protein.

Beautiful Textures’ product line, as seen at my local beauty supply store. Can you spot the sea of orange, yellow, and blue?

Pull the brakes! If your hair hates oils and aloe vera, sadly, this one may be a no go for you. Stick with whatever product your hair likes best and ignore me … well, just this once! LOL!

I really do hope that someday there will be one miracle product that fits all curlies, and we can skip along together, curls bouncing along into the sunset. Of course, that would mean that all of our curly manes would be the same, and what a boring world that would be!

Beautiful Textures has finally launched its Web site. You can learn more about the product line and catch those videos that piqued some of my interest by visiting: http://www.beautifultextures.com

Product Battle: Miss Jessie’s vs. III Sisters of Nature

Product Battle: Miss Jessie’s vs. III Sisters of Nature

He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious.” ~ Sun Tzu

With tons of theatrics and a classic performance by the Spice Girls (sadly no signature natural curls by Scary Spice), the summer Olympics came to a close. Sniffle, sniffle. The games will be missed. In honor of all the stellar athletes who inspired and amazed us, I present to you another epic Hair Battle!

On the left, we have Miss Jessie’s Original Curly Pudding. This all-star has been saving many a curlies’ tresses by offering a variety of styling options. Some have regarded it as among the best curly hair products. From spiraling twist-outs to bouncing shingles, this product delivers. According to Miss Jessie’s packaging, “This curl creme was specifically formulated to stretch out and elongate your curls for soft, maximum curl definition. Amazing for natural curls, kinks & waves, finger styling, TWAs, coiling, transitioning, kinky weaves and more. Excellent for combating curl shrinkage!”

On the right, we have III Sisters of Nature Curly Whip Pudding. Marketed as comparable to Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding, this newcomer has a few tricks up its sleeves. According to its packaging, “III Sisters of Nature Curly Whip Pudding is formulated to bring dull, frizzy and tight curls to life with moisture, shine, and length. Our cleaner and natural blends are reduced to the smallest molecule for maximum penetration and definition of curls, waves and twists, and kinks. Compare to the more expensive brand and save.” This knockoff is an all natural curly hair product.

On left: Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding. On right: III Sisters of Nature Curly Whip Pudding.

Remove the packaging; open the jars; and you’ll notice that both products are nearly identical. But are they really? Let’s put them to the test.

The Rules

Both products will be measured according to My Curly Mane’s criteria. A full point will be given for successful completion of each category. A half point will be given for satisfactory results. The categories are: price, ingredients, scent, application, look, feel, and the wild card—ability to produce second day hair. Final scores can range from zero to 7 (perfect) points.

Let’s get ready to battle!

1. Price

  • Miss Jessie’s = approximately $22
  • III Sisters of Nature =  $13

There’s not much of a battle here when it comes to price. III Sisters has purposely set its price point much lower than Miss Jessie’s. As a result, the sisters easily skip and twirl their way to a quick and easy full point.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 0 /Total = 0

III Sisters
Point = 1 / Total = 1

 2. Ingredients

Once you learn how to understand product ingredients, it will save you a lot of headaches … and money! Here’s the breakdown on our contenders:

  • Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding contains mineral oil aka parafinium liquidum, which can either dry out your hair or help it to maintain moisture. You will need to shampoo your hair to remove the mineral oil. Typically, mineral oil doesn’t affect my hair, but I’ve noticed that this is changing as my hair grows. When using this product, my hair tends to shed. I’ve even had whole strands come out while washing the product out of my hair! However, I’m hesitant to write this off, as Curly Pudding saved me while I was rehabbing my curly mane. I didn’t have this problem when my hair was shorter. Instead, I’m advising you to pay close attention to your hair when using this product.

My curly mane’s definition with Miss Jessie’s (on left) and III Sisters of Nature (right).

Curly Pudding (unscented) also contains water, parafinium liquidum, glycerin, dipropylene glycol, Ordenone™ Triethanolamine, carbomer, PEG-12 dimethicone, wheat amino acids, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, avocado oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil, jojoba seed oil, macademia seed oil, oleth05, ethylhexyl methoxycinnanate, disodium EDTA, DMDM hydantoin, lodopropynyl butylcarbamate.

Pros: This product is free of sulfate and paraben

  • III Sisters of Nature’s Curly Whipped Pudding prides itself on being naturally made.

Curly Whipped Pudding contains Deionized Water (Aqua),Polyquaternium 10 and PEG 14, Glycerol, DMDM Hydantoin, PEG 33 and PEG 8 Dimethicone, Triethanolamine, Sodium Polyacrylate and Ethylhexylstearate Trideceth-6, Fragrance (Parfum), Aloe Extract ( Aloe Barbadensis), Soybean Oil (Glycine Soja), Babassu Oil (Orbignya Oleifera), Honey, Macadamia Nut Oil (Macadamia Ternifolia), Papaya Extract (Carica), Avocado Oil (Persea Gratissma), Bay Laurel Extract (Lauris Nobilis), Sweet Almond Extract (Prumus Amygdalus), Chamomile Extract (Anthemis Nobilis).

Pros: As written on the label, Curly Whip Pudding is a “natural product containing no alcohol, no waxes, no silicones, no petrolatum, mineral oil, parabens, formaldehyde, carbomer, gimmicks, and hype. Just style and savings.”

It’s just hard to beat anything that delivers in the style department and contains all natural ingredients. III Sisters takes a leap towards another full point.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 0.5 /Total = 0.5

The view from the back of my curly mane with Miss Jessie’s (on left) and III Sisters (on right).

III Sisters
Point = 1 / Total = 2

 3. Scent

  • Miss Jessie’s pudding has a strong, signature smell reminiscent of grape flavored bubble gum. Love it or hate it, you definitely won’t miss it. You can probably smell Curly Pudding from a mile away, which is just too much for my sensitive sniffer. The good news is that Miss Jessie’s is aware of this potential headache-inducing trait and provides an unscented version, which I prefer to use.
  • III Sisters smells … the same! Since they’re strategically competing against Miss Jessie’s, the sisters must realize that some people do enjoy Curly Pudding’s scent in doses. They’ve formulated their pudding as a lighter scented version. You’ll still get the grape candy smell, except the nasal volume is turned down a notch.

Despite their similar aroma, Miss Jessie’s stands out by offering an unscented version, earning a full point.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 1 /Total = 1.5

III Sisters
Point = 0.5 / Total = 2.5

4. Application

Both products are applied in the same way–on damp, freshly washed hair. They each have a thick, cake batter consistency, which is what I love about puddings. They just seem to work better for braid-outs and twist-outs (with the exception of aloe vera gel). The difference lies in their penetration. Miss Jessie’s coats my hair strands, while III Sisters lightly absorbs into the hair shaft, causing less product build up and feel (see details below). III Sisters gets the edge.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 0.5/Total = 2

III Sisters
Point = 1 / Total = 3.5

The look of my curly mane’s 2nd day results with Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding (on left) and III Sisters of Nature’s Curly Whip Pudding (on right).

 5. Look

I have not used these items for wash and gos, as I would go through them much more quickly than desired … particularly given the costs. If used for braid-outs or twist-outs, both products will amaze you. They produce mirror image results–shiny, defined styles. The only difference is that my braid-outs with Miss Jessie’s have more shrinkage on the 1st day (see attached photo), while III Sisters gives me a softer, more relaxed hold. For their identical results, these twins somersault their way to a full point.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 1/Total = 3.5

III Sisters
Point = 1 / Total = 4.5

6. Moisture & Feel

This is where the two find their individuality.

Moisture

Second day hair results with Miss Jessie’s (on left) and III Sisters (on right).

Miss Jessie’s requires the use of its Baby Butter Creme to maintain moisture. I have had hits and misses with this one, as it (combined with the pudding) leaves my hair feeling oily and weighed down by waaaay too much product. III Sisters makes my hair a bit more moisturized on its own, but this may be credited to its natural ingredients.

Feel

I can definitely feel Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding on my hair, as it also coats my hands when running my fingers through my hair. III Sisters of Nature’s Curly Whip Pudding gives a similar, but lighter coating.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 0.5/Total = 4

III Sisters
Point = 1 / Total =5.5

 7. Wild Card/Tie Breaker: Second day hair

You can get second day hair with both products, provided that you pineapple (gather your hair at the very top of your head) the night before, re-braid or re-twist your hair, or stuff your hair in a satin cap. I have to admit, I prefer my second day hair results with III Sisters because my hair isn’t as oily or masked by products. It’s also a bit more elongated.

Miss Jessie’s
Point = 0.5/Total = 4.5 out of 7

III Sisters
Point = 1 / Total =6.5 out of 7

And the winner is: III Sisters of Nature’s Curly Whipped Pudding! This newbie has surprisingly taken the medal from Gymnastics Artthe champ.

If you are looking for a product that will deliver on the look (and don’t mind the scent), both products serve that purpose. As I mentioned before, Miss Jessie’s has saved this curlie many a times (specifically Curly Pudding and Quick Curls). I still have 3 full jars of Curly Pudding in my stash, so you will see its cameo in my routine. However, when it comes down to look AND feel AND hair health, III Sisters wins the gold.

UPDATED 6-10-13: III Sisters of Nature’s Curly Whipped Pudding is renamed as its Spiral Pudding.

Nay’s Product Staples

Nay’s Product Staples

MyCurlyMane.com Product Staples

Nay’s All-Star Products in June 2012

Click here to view the most recent products that I am using and recommend.

All-Star products that I consistently use are indicated by an asterisk*. You can find my product reviews on this blog.

If you are interested in purchasing items, click on the links below. If you’ve tried these items, please share your thoughts, tips, and experiences!

Shampoos:

  • Creme of Nature Detangling Ultra Moisturizing Conditioning Shampoo*
  • Dabur Vatika Sweet Almond Moisturizing Shampoo
  • Miss Jessie’s Creme De La Curl Cleansing Creme

Conditioners:

  •  Herbal Essence Hello Hydration*
  •  Herbal Essence Hydralicious

Leave-ins:

  • Silicon Mix Intensive Leave in Hair Shine and Conditioner 8oz
  • UPDATE (8-17-12): I now adore Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner*

Stylers:

  • Miss Jessie’s Quick Curls
  • Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding
  • Hair Rules Kinky Curling Cream
  • Fantasia Polisher Gel With Sparkles 16 oz. Olive Oil
  • UPDATE (9-22-12): I now adore Fruit of the Earth 100% Aloe Vera Gel*and have great results with Eco Styler Gel*

Oils & Butters

  • Dabur Vatika Enriched Coconut Hair Oil*
  • Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil
  • Jane Carter Nourish and Shine