You have all seen the
beast that is my hair and I'm always up for trying the newest items in the haircare world. So when
Beauty Stat sent an e-mail mentioning easing frizz and improving curls, I was absolutely up for the challenge.
Not like trying out a new hair care range is challenging, especially when it comes tied to the tried and true (Mint Julep Masque anyone?) Queen Helene's range.
Their new Royal Curl line, hits the web and Whole Foods this week and comes with the very reasonable price of $8.99 a product.
I am going to come right out and say that while I was intrigued, I wasn't sure this was going to work on my hair. While it is dry, frizzy and curly; it is not truly coarse. I can't use anything too heavy as it will weigh my hair down and my hair
is capable of getting greasy.
The line comes with 4 different products:
Royal Curl Stay Clean Shampoo 12 oz.
Royal Curl Moisture Rich Conditioner 12 oz.
Queen Helene Royal Curl Shaping Crème 15 oz.
Royal Curl Smoothing Oil 4 oz.
All items are free of sulfates, petrolatum, parabens and phthalates
The Stay Clean Shampoo lathered well and made my hair feel clean, yet not stripped. The scent took me back to the neighborhood pool for some reason. I can swear it smells like old school Herbal Essences (back when they only had one "flavor"). My only issue is the fact this isn't anti-dandruff and I can't use it most times I shower or else I have to bring out the dreaded T-gel, which makes my bathroom, hair and towels smell like tar for a good 12 hours. Otherwise, if you have no dandruff issues and have drier hair, I'd pick this up next time you need a good moisturizing, yet not heavy shampoo.
I was really impressed by the Moisture Rich Conditioner. Again, I was kind of expecting something super heavy and something that weighed my hair down. The texture of this is so light, almost like a gel and it is not heavy or greasy. A lot of moisturizing conditioners are thick and creamy in the shower, which is nice every so often, but not for a daily conditioner. This is something that I could use each time I washed my hair. The telltale sign for me of something being too heavy is if my curls don't start to spring right out of the shower, when the hair is still fairly saturated with water. This passed that test.
The Curl Shaping Creme terrified me. It is a giant massive vat of bouncy gel-like goo. Ok, that might not be the most appetizing, marketable description for this product, but they were my first thoughts! I was nervous, yes, but I did notice some of the ingredients. Things like aloe vera which I've used as a frizz taming product in the past, agave nectar and green tea. All good things. My first fear was that it was going to be thick and sticky. It's actually very light and not sticky at all. You are instructed to apply it to slightly wet hair and then style as usual. I felt this did a good job of cutting down the frizz. It reminded me of one of my favorite products, the
Garnier Smoothing Milk which has a similar texture (though this is more liquidy). To deal with the yuck of sticking fingers into the pot, I give it a little shake so some of the product winds up on the lid and grab the product from that. I will say even if the huge pot is generous with the product amount, I'd rather have a squeeze tube like the Garnier comes in. But this will last forever. I use about an almond's worth of product and start from the ends and move up.
The Curl Smoothing Oil is pretty similar to the other oils on the market (Morrocan, Argan, etc.) with slightly different ingredients and the same scent as the others in the Royal Curl line. I don't find this heavier than any other oils and I like the fruity scent this has. And of course, the price can't be beat. My only complaint would the pop top lets out a bit more product than you need, as it's fairly liquidy. Otherwise, a great alternative to other more expensive oils. This one has corn, meadowfoam oils and green tea.
I was pleased with this line, but not blown away. The price point, given the quality and the amount of product is very reasonable. The packaging is quite simple and plain but works. My favorite product was definitely the conditioner. I loved the scent of the full line and thought the products worked well together, though I would definitely choose either the oil or the curl shaping creme, not both and I'd chose the shaping creme more if it came in a squeeze tube! If I happened to find any of these on sale, I'd probably pick them up again but I'm not sure I'd seek them out to repurchase.
For more information on the Royal Curl line of products and where you can buy them, please visit
www.queenhelene.com
Disclosure: These products were received for review purposes from Beauty Stat as part of their Blogger Network.
