A few weeks ago I attended the Blissful CURLS Tour in DC with a few of my curlfriends. The DMV (DC,MD,VA) Naturalistas were out in full force sporting their beautiful locs, curls and fros. I had the opportunity to meet one of MY FAVORITE natural hair bloggers/vloggers, Naptural85! Whitney is incredibly genuine and is so down to earth…just a beautiful person inside and out. I also had the opportunity to meet another awesome natural hair blogger/vlogger, Yolanda Renee. She also has a pretty dope online boutique loaded with natural hair tees, jewelry, etc. If you haven’t already, check out my post HERE, rocking one of Yolanda Renee’s super cute natural hair tees.

Of course we had to get a couple of selfies! 🙂

I got my hands on a CURLS swag bag and was excited when I peeked into the bag and saw a few full-sized CURLS products. I couldn’t wait to try them on my tresses. First up…

CURLS Creamy Cleanser Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Product Description: “Sulfates (the drying detergents found in traditional shampoos that create lather) are extremely drying to the hair. This sulfate free cream cleanser will gently remove dirt and debris while nourishing your needy tresses. Great for chemically altered/color treated hair. No animal testing.”

My thoughts:  This cleanser is definitely creamy and thick; so much so that I began applying it like it was a conditioner. LOL I had to catch myself because I was damn near down to half the bottle. I mean let’s be clear here – this is shampoo NOT conditioner. LOL I worked it into my scalp and through my strands, and noticed that it didn’t have too much of a lather like most shampoos. I personally love a nice lathering shampoo, so I wasn’t too pleased with this. After working the shampoo into my hair, I rinsed each section thoroughly and was left with pretty clean hair and scalp, but I also felt my tresses were kinda dull and dry.

Let’s be real here. Most of us need a shampoo to serve one main purpose…cleanse our hair and scalp. But after experimenting with several sulfate-free shampoos, I realized that you can get a lot more out of a shampoo other than its cleansing properties. Some sulfate-free shampoos thoroughly cleanse your hair, but also doesn’t leave it feeling stripped, dull and dry. This shampoo; however, did.

CURLS Coconut Curlada Conditioner

Product Description:  “Super hydrating and luxurious rinse off conditioner contains certified organic ingredients. Contains no silicone or mineral/petrolatum oil, paraben-free, sulfate-free. Effortless, frizz free curls for multi-ethnic women and girls. This conditioner softens, detangles, moisture and hydrates your dry curls in a snap. Coconut Curlada conditioner is the most moisturizing conditioner on the market.”

My thoughts:  This conditioner is soooo creamy and smells soooo good. I loved the consistency…creamy, thick, rich and goes on really well. I applied it in sections and sat under my steamer for about 20 minutes. Detanging was…..NOT a breeze and not as easy as it normally is with my staple conditioners. I just didn’t get the slip that I’m used to and it took a lot longer to detangle. After rinsing I also noticed that my hair was not that moisturized, still pretty dull and not soft at all. Hmmm…I’ll say that my hair didn’t feel horribly dry, but this conditioner left a lot to be desired.

Stash it or Trash it?

I’d give both the shampoo and conditioner a C-. They weren’t horrible, but they weren’t that great. The shampoo definitely cleansed my hair and scalp but left it dull and dry. I really wanted to like this conditioner, but it did not give me the slip I needed. It seemed to have slightly penetrated my strands but it didn’t do a good job of moisturizing and softening my hair. These products were free; however, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing either of these products to add to my stash of staple products. I really wanted to love these products but they just didn’t seem to work for my picky ass hair!

Have you tried any of the CURLS products? How did they work for your hair?