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I have a long, long list of products that I want to try. And that list is constantly growing as I learn about new brands that are popping up specifically geared to those with kinky, curly, coily hair. Once I find something, I tend to stick with it and use it over and over. I also don’t like buying something new until I have run out of the older products.
I finished with my recently discovered holy grail styler Oyin’s boing, and I promptly headed down to Ecodermis in Crown Heights (check this place out for all your natural hair needs) and I picked up the Darcy’s Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla Styling Crème Natural Hair Butter.
Upon opening the container, the product was filled to the brim! No air pockets so that you are definitely getting a good quantity!
The butter is vegan and 100% natural. It claims to be the best super rich moisturizing styling butter for natural twists, braids, locs and curls. The styling crème is off-white in colour and contains a bunch of great ingredients for adding and holding moisture including Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Jojoba Oil and Castor Seed Oil. This product is thick and has a very slight scent. Very thick! It has a consistency of a wax rather than a butter. It is probably because of the two waxes it also contains – emulsifying wax and candelilla wax. It reminds me of those loc butters than contains beeswax that some people use to re-twist their locs. I would recommend scooping out a small amount of the styling crème and emulsify it in your hands i.e. rub it between your palms to melt it a little and warm it up. It did not completely liquefy in my hands and remained as a thick cream. I applied this to my freshly washed hair after my leave-in conditioner. After twisting my hair, I was left with a slightly waxy texture to my strands. It definitely was not oily as some other heavier oil-based products would. I left my hair twisted for about a week and a half, only misting my hair with my Oyin Frank Juice and using some of the Styling Crème on my ends. After unravelling, I was left with an amazing twistout with an incredible hold!
My first twist out with Darcy’s! Look at the definition!
My hair was shiny, but felt moisturized. I was able to get 4 days with the twistout and I could have gotten more but it was wash day. The hold was quite impressive! Most products don’t keep the frizz at bay for that long.
This is Day 2 hair!
So, how does this compare to the boing? Boing is a much creamier product, while the Vanilla Styling Crème was waxier. Also I think the boing is a little more moisturizing and more shiny than the Styling Crème. My hair felt more hydrated but it was not a significant difference. Also, I think that the Styling Crème had a slightly firmer hold. Again, not a significant difference. This is going to stay in circulation as holy grail #2 with respect to styling products. This is a fantastic product! I loved it! One thing though, I would not really recommend this for loc’d hair as I could see it dulling locs and leaving a residue that would be hard to wash out, unless that does not matter to you. Also, for those with wavy or straight hair, because I think it will be way to heavy. Both of these products are pretty much neck and neck!
You can get this and other Darcy’s products at darcysbotanicals.com, Ecodermis & Wolfberry, and other natural hair retailers. I need to pick up some other products from them as they look delightful! The Vanilla Styling Crème costs $12 for a 8 oz. container and that will last a very long time, at least 3-5 months.
