Company Name: Aveda

Product Name: Be Curly Curl Enhancer Lotion

Price: $18 6.7 oz

Consistency: Lotion like

Ingredients: Aqueous Extracts: Linum Usitatissimum Extract, Althea Officianalis Extract (marshmallow-natural hold), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Behentrimonium Chloride, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, Fragrance, Geraniol, Linalool, Citronellol, Amly Cinnamal, Limonene, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium 11, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol (reformulated late 2006)

Purchase from: Aveda stores/salons, Aveda website

Review:

Oh gosh, how long has it been since I used this? Ages. But I remember it well.

I used this during my frantic days when I desperately wanted curl definition and nothing else. It was available locally so I moseyed on down to the Aveda store and, after being assured by the sales lady that this and only this would give me the curls of my dreams, walked happily out of the store with this product (minus 17 bucks!)

The smell is…what’s a good word? Too much. It’s not the worst I’ve ever smelled, but not pleasant at all.

It did give me some curl definition with a good deal of frizz, but left a greasy feeling. I also had to use a ton to get the desired results, so money-wise, it just was not worth it. When finally dry, my hair never felt moisturized when using this, even when paired with a leave in conditioner.

Even for someone like me who is cone sensitive, this was still quite drying.

Company Name: Aveda

Product Name: Brilliant Anti-humetecant Pomade

Consistency: Thick, greasy

Color: beige

Scent: Hard to describe, not terrible

Ingredients: caprylic/capric triglyceride, isopropyl palmitate, c18-36 acid triglyceride, bis-diglyceryl polyacryladipate-1, bis-diglyceryl polyacryladipate-2, rincinus communis (castor) seed oil, phenyl trimethicone, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, glyceryl laurate, oryza sativa (rice) bran oil, fragrance, amyl cinnamal, hydroxycitronellal, geraniol, limonene, citronellool, linalool, eugenol, evernia prunastri (oakmoss) extract, citral

Price: 2.6 oz 20.00

Purchase from: Aveda stores and website

Review:

The claim for this product:

This satiny pomade repels moisture from your hair, helping to prevent frizziness and flyaways. Tames curls to give hair a polished look. Excellent in humid weather. Work through hair before or after styling.

I mentioned in my last hair straightening post that I used this pomade along with the Damage Control. This is definitely an awesome combo.  Though the damage control acts as a heat protectant, it does not really help out with reversion. It just doesn’t stand up very well against humidity.

The pomade, on the other hand, really did the trick! I was very pleased that in the 90% humidity, that I did not have any reversion that I could tell. My hair had a lot of shine and movement.

I used a good deep conditioner before hand to ensure my hair was moisturized since this keeps moisture out of your hair. It also has a monster ‘cone in it which can be horrible on my hair.

Now…when I think of pomade, I think of hair “grease” and this is essentially grease. It’s pretty heavy, so keep that in mind. Also, this stuff is danged expensive. I had a sample of it from a friend, but I will wince when buying this again. However, a little went a long way for me, so it may be worth the price.

But the results are fantastic.

Product Name: Brilliant Damage Control

Company Name: Aveda

Ingredients: aqueous (water/aqua/eau) extracts: anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, camellia oleifera leaf extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, polyquaternium-16, polyquaternium-10, hydrolyzed wheat protein, hydrolyzed wheat starch, cocamidopropyl pg-dimonium chloride phosphate, peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil, glycine soja (soybean) oil, oryzanol, tocopherol, panthenol, pvp, maltodextrin, fragrance, geraniol, linalool, benzyl benzoate, citronellol, eugenol, hydroxycigtronellal, limonene, amyl cinnamal, sodium gluconate, potassium sorbate, chlorphenesin, phenoxyethanol

Price: $15.00 8.5 fl oz

Consistency: Liquid, spray

Purchased from: Aveda Store

Review:

I’ve only used this once, but over all I liked it. It’s a heat protectant that also is supposed to prevent sun damage. It’s a very light product, a big change from the usual serums that I’ve used in the past when straightening my hair. However, it does not offer very much humidity protection. I had bad reversion with this product once the humidity really got to my hair. My area of the country is extremely humid (93% today for example).

I didn’t notice any heat damage. The spray bottle made is easy to apply with even distribution. My main draw to this product is the lack of cones, though it does have a lot of other things in it that I can’t pronounce LOL. I hate having greasy hair so that’s another draw. It left my hair super soft.

Will I buy this again? Probably

Awhile back I mentioned that I was going to try the Aveda Paddle Brush. A lot of kinky/curly headed folks love this brush and I wanted to see why.

Now I have fallen in love! Yes, I do love the Aveda Paddle Brush for styling. I will still continue my love affair with the Denman brush (or the D12) for detangling, however.

What I love about the Aveda Paddle Brush:

• Smooths curls out without as much shrinkage (or “smooshage”, as I like to think of it…i.e. it smooshes all my curls together) as the Denman does
• Great for scalp massages. I have used paddle brushes in the past and though the humongous balls on the ends are great for the scalp, they get caught in my hair making it a painful experience. Once I saw in the Aveda store that this brush had very small, almost imperceptible, balls on the ends, I was ok with using it.
• Aesthetically more pleasing than the Denman. Unless you like hot pink, alien looking brushes. The Aveda brush is made of wood.
• Wider than the Denman, covering more hair
• Detangles well
• It’s cushioned. I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not, but it sounds nice, doesn’t it?

What I don’t like about it:

• 20 bucks for a brush?! Dang…Makes the 8 bucks (that I grumbled about) for the Denman seem well worth it
• Does not get out as much shed hair as the Denman
• Not good for slicking hair back, I still prefer my boar bristle brush

Here’s my hair after using the Aveda Brush. I’ll try to post some wash n go pictures using it, but this was a low puff that I did yesterday. I used Wet Set Pudding over KBB Hair Milk.

This was after my swimming episode, so I'd already deep conditioned

After rinsing out the conditioner I applied the Hair Milk and combed it through with the paddle brush

I then applied the WSP and brushed once more

Next, I used some Almond Glaze and my boar bristle brush to put it back in a low puff. Look at how great my edges look here!

I used a prestretched goody headband soaked in olive oil to secure the puff

BTW, this is a very conservative style if you are looking for that "executive natural" look

I was pretty happy with the results. Fingercombing gets the best results for curl definition (for me), but the knots and tangles get to be too much. I’m happy I’ve found a happy medium with this brush.

Now, some of you may be saying, Kcurly, I do NOT want to spend 20 dollars on a brush. I don’t blame you. Here are some alternatives that I’ve seen mentioned as good replacements:

The Denman D8

Price: ~$12.00

Spornette ZHU Paddle Brush

Price: ~$16.00

Goody Styling Therapy Jojoba Paddle Brush

Price: $9.99

Really, I would think that any seamless paddle brush would work fine. I think there may be some 2 or 3 dollar ones that work well.