| Read this review at your own risk! |
I don't want to spoil all my feelings about the new Eco Styler Black Castor & Flaxseed Oil Moisture Rich Leave-In Conditioner in the opening paragraph, so let's just dive on in to this review.
Cost
$10.99 for 8oz (make a mental note of this for later)
Where to Buy
Your local beauty supply store might have it, and here on Amazon.
Active Ingredients (stick a pin right here too)
- Water
- Dimethicone Copolyol: Conditioning polymer made from dimethicone and polyoxyethylene. Used in hair preparations to enhance slip and smooth the hair for combability.
- Stearyl Alcohol + Cetyl Alcohol + Ethylhexyl Isononanoate + Quaternium-82 + Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine (yes this is ONE ingredient): Also known as STEPANQUAT® DC1. This is a concentrated blend made specifically for hair conditioners to provide detangling and wet and dry combability properties. It leaves the hair shiny, full of body, and static-free.
- Castor Seed Oil: Thick, highly viscous oil with antibacterial, antifungal, and humectant properties. It is also a great moisture sealant, and promotes hair thickening and growth. It's important to note that the INCI name (International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient) listing for castor oil and black castor oil are the same.
- Linseed Oil: Flax seed oil, which is omega-3 rich. Benefits the hair by improving elasticity, smoothing the cuticle, nourishing hair follicles and stimulating growth, easing dry, flaky scalp, and increasing hair strength. [more on omegas in hair]
- Phenoxyethanol: A glycol ether preservative alternative to parabens
Protein Free?
No. The Eco Styler Leave-In Conditioner contains Hydrolyzed Milk Protein.
No. The Eco Styler Leave-In Conditioner contains Hydrolyzed Milk Protein.
| Their packaging gives me Sally's Generic Line vibes... |
Curly Girl Friendly?
Not by a long shot. 😂
Not by a long shot. 😂
The Good
It's taking everything in me to not reverse the order of this review and list the bad before the good. But good news first, right?
The fragrance (although I am by no means a fan), does not linger in the hair for long. Because the consistency is not super thick, it soaks easily into my hair but doesn't altogether disappear. I can definitely tell there is a leave-in conditioner at work on my curls. The slip ability is decent, although less than I thought it would be. I've had slippier leave-ins (like all of these), and then some.
<End of backhanded compliments>
I'ma just come right out and say it. The stuff WORKS. I don't know how. I don't know why. But it does. I paired it with my favorite Eco Styler (Argan Oil), and the results literally befuddled me. Not a frizz in sight on day 1 and day 2. My hair was shiny. Gel cast a little softer than normal without sacrificing hold. My hair felt moisturized, so much so that I didn't need to refresh on day 2.
By day 3, there was some frizz in my disrespectful areas (front/center and crown), but nothing that made me throw the wash & go away and start over. I've never been so disappointed that my hair looked so good. I was confused and excited at the same time.
It's taking everything in me to not reverse the order of this review and list the bad before the good. But good news first, right?
The fragrance (although I am by no means a fan), does not linger in the hair for long. Because the consistency is not super thick, it soaks easily into my hair but doesn't altogether disappear. I can definitely tell there is a leave-in conditioner at work on my curls. The slip ability is decent, although less than I thought it would be. I've had slippier leave-ins (like all of these), and then some.
<End of backhanded compliments>
| Do y'all see that definition?! Like, what the heck yo?! |
By day 3, there was some frizz in my disrespectful areas (front/center and crown), but nothing that made me throw the wash & go away and start over. I've never been so disappointed that my hair looked so good. I was confused and excited at the same time.
The Bad
:::cracks knuckles:::
Let's start with those two items I told you to remember earlier. First of all, I am absolutely, completely, and wholeheartedly offended that Eco Styler, who notoriously sells gel by the tubful for banana peels and leftover chicken nuggets would dare set their price point for this leave-in at $10.99. Maybe I got swindled in the hood (I went to a beauty supply in Inglewood), but I fully walked in expecting to pay $5.99 at most for this leave-in. But there it was on the shelf, in all of it's $10.99 splendor.
Which takes me to my next point.
Deep down in my spirit, I know there is nothing on this ingredient list that justifies the price point. Don't get me wrong - I regularly pay over and above $10.99 for hair products. But they're often handcrafted, or produced by small, Black owned businesses and contain superior natural ingredients that are elusive and expensive. I thought maybe it was the STEPANQUAT ® DC1 stuff that drove up the price. I even called the company that makes it, but no one got back in time before I published this review. So my feeling stands - the price point is not justified by the ingredient list. And when I look at the rest of the Eco Styler products offered (there's a deep conditioner, beeswax, edge control, and oil), pricing holds at $9.99 and higher.
The only other product I was interested in was the deep conditioner, but the fragrance was so off-putting, I just walked away. I have no time for deep conditioners that smell like Sis. Gladys that sits on the 2nd pew every Sunday morning after a cigarette. Speaking of fragrance, I hate the way the Eco Styler Leave-In Conditioner smells. It smells like an even more chemical-laden version of that God awful Victoria's Secret purple Love Spell spray everyone (myself included) wore in high school thinking we were cute and grown.
I'm not impressed by the slip either. I thought for sure a product so rich in silicone would give me the benefit of the slip. It was kinda there, but not enough for me to consider this a detangler. And while we're at it, let me just say I find the packaging to be an absolute waste. The label is ugly. I legit hate looking at it.😂 And the spray nozzle was a bad call. Trying to spray on leave-in in the shower with wet hands and wet hair was a struggle, to say the least. After two sprays, I unscrewed the top and squeezed it out to apply. Not only did it coat my hair better, but it took less time and energy than spritzing all over.
:::cracks knuckles:::
Let's start with those two items I told you to remember earlier. First of all, I am absolutely, completely, and wholeheartedly offended that Eco Styler, who notoriously sells gel by the tubful for banana peels and leftover chicken nuggets would dare set their price point for this leave-in at $10.99. Maybe I got swindled in the hood (I went to a beauty supply in Inglewood), but I fully walked in expecting to pay $5.99 at most for this leave-in. But there it was on the shelf, in all of it's $10.99 splendor.
| The nerve. |
Deep down in my spirit, I know there is nothing on this ingredient list that justifies the price point. Don't get me wrong - I regularly pay over and above $10.99 for hair products. But they're often handcrafted, or produced by small, Black owned businesses and contain superior natural ingredients that are elusive and expensive. I thought maybe it was the STEPANQUAT ® DC1 stuff that drove up the price. I even called the company that makes it, but no one got back in time before I published this review. So my feeling stands - the price point is not justified by the ingredient list. And when I look at the rest of the Eco Styler products offered (there's a deep conditioner, beeswax, edge control, and oil), pricing holds at $9.99 and higher.
| First of all, who needs a full 8oz of 48-HOUR HOLD edge control?! |
I'm not impressed by the slip either. I thought for sure a product so rich in silicone would give me the benefit of the slip. It was kinda there, but not enough for me to consider this a detangler. And while we're at it, let me just say I find the packaging to be an absolute waste. The label is ugly. I legit hate looking at it.😂 And the spray nozzle was a bad call. Trying to spray on leave-in in the shower with wet hands and wet hair was a struggle, to say the least. After two sprays, I unscrewed the top and squeezed it out to apply. Not only did it coat my hair better, but it took less time and energy than spritzing all over.
| But these day 3 curls...😖 |
The Bottom Line
The packaging is an eyesore, and poorly thought out. The fragrance sucks, although it doesn't linger. All the good ingredients (argan oil, grapeseed oil, willowbark extract, mongongo oil, olive oil) are at the bottom of the list. The price is too damn high. But even with all that said - the Eco Styler Black Castor & Flaxseed Oil Moisture Rich Leave-In Conditioner works. My hair looked and felt amazing. Are the results worth it to waver on so many other things I care about? To be honest, I'm not really sure.
I mean, I love a good hair day as much as the next natural. But at what cost (literally and figuratively)? I could say it's a terrible leave-in, and that would be factual. I could say it's a great leave-in, and that would hold true, too. I can't call it y'all. All I can say is try it at your own risk.
The packaging is an eyesore, and poorly thought out. The fragrance sucks, although it doesn't linger. All the good ingredients (argan oil, grapeseed oil, willowbark extract, mongongo oil, olive oil) are at the bottom of the list. The price is too damn high. But even with all that said - the Eco Styler Black Castor & Flaxseed Oil Moisture Rich Leave-In Conditioner works. My hair looked and felt amazing. Are the results worth it to waver on so many other things I care about? To be honest, I'm not really sure.
I mean, I love a good hair day as much as the next natural. But at what cost (literally and figuratively)? I could say it's a terrible leave-in, and that would be factual. I could say it's a great leave-in, and that would hold true, too. I can't call it y'all. All I can say is try it at your own risk.
Would I Buy it Again?
All things considered, no. Eco Styler did not come out the gates swinging with this one. I hope they go back to the drawing board and revisit this thing from the ground up. I'll be finishing out my bottle for sure, but not going back for a re-up. I can think of better businesses to spend $10.99 with - that don't result in me calling a random chemical manufacturer. 😂
All things considered, no. Eco Styler did not come out the gates swinging with this one. I hope they go back to the drawing board and revisit this thing from the ground up. I'll be finishing out my bottle for sure, but not going back for a re-up. I can think of better businesses to spend $10.99 with - that don't result in me calling a random chemical manufacturer. 😂
Aiight y'all. That's the good, bad, and ugly about the new Eco Styler Leave-In Conditioner. Will you be giving it a try? Let me know in the comments below!
from The Mane Objective http://ift.tt/2mrckOn
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