This weekend, I tried a couple of new products to style my WnG … and neither of them was a gel!! So, TLC Naturals is a small UK-based company that contacted me about trying some of their handmade, natural products. They gifted me with their Hibiscus Rose Moisturizing Leave In Conditioner and Choco Shea Decadent Hair Butter.

via TLC Naturals

Hibiscus Rose Leave In Conditioner (250 ml/£11.00)

With coconut oil, panthenol, and our own herbal formula, consisting of Irish Moss, Hibiscus & Organic Rose petals, amongst other ingredients, the Rich & Creamy Hibiscus Rose Leave In Hair Conditioner, which is lightly scented with the hibiscus and rose ingredients, is PH balanced natural hair care product and hair treatment that can help to detangle your hair, as well as strengthen, hydrate, moisturise, soften and smoothen your strands.

This hair treatment formula was specifically created to combat the harsh cold and wintery months, although you can use it throughout the year. It is thick and rich to coat every single strand, yet light enough to penetrate the hair shaft, root and follicles. PH balanced to smooth down the cuticles, whilst also aiding in detangling, this product adds instant softness and moisture to your hair.

Helps with dry hair, thinning hair, weakened hair, damaged hair, hair regrowth and more.

Ingredients: Aqua with Hibiscus Sabdariffa, Rosa, Chondrus Crisspus, Althaea officinalis, Equisetum Arvense & Arctium Lappa Root (Herbal infusion with hibiscus, organic rose, irish moss, marshmallow, organic horsetail and burdock root), Aloe Barbadensis (ALOE VERA), Helianthus Annuus (ORGANIC SUNFLOWER) seed oil, GLYCERIN, Butyrospermum Parkii (ORGANIC SHEA) butter, Benhentrimonium Methosulfate & Cetearyl Alcohol (BTMS), Cocos Nucifera (COCONUT) oil, SILK AMINO ACIDS,PANTHENOL, HYDROYSED WHEAT PROTEIN, Tocopherol (VIT E), Rosmarinus Officinalis (ROSEMARY) extract, Citrus Grandiss (GRAPEFRUIT) seed extract, Guarhydroxypropultrimnium chloride (GUAR GUM), potassium sorbate, citric acid, cetrimonium chloride, Parfum (TLC Naturals fragrance), Phenoxyethanol & Caprylyl Glycol & Chlorphenesin (PARABEN & FORMADELHYDE-FREE PRESERVATIVE).

Choco Shea Decadent Hair Butter (100 ml/£9.00)

A deliciously decadent mix  of organic cocoa butter, organic shea butter & organic honey, combined with our organic hair nourishing and hair strengthening herbal formula, and added wheat proteins, our PH-balanced Choco Shea Decadent Hair Butter is a natural hair care product that smoothes down your cuticles, strengthens and softens your strands, whilst also imparting luxurious goodness into your hair.  The fragrances of the cocoa and honey makes this sumptious orgasmic hair treat smell almost good enough to eat!

Ingredients: Aqua with Uritca dioica, Salvia Officinalis & Equisetum Arvense (Herbal infusion with organic nettle, Organic sage and organic horsetail ), Theobroma Cacao (Organic Cocoa) seed butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (ORGANIC SHEA) butter, Mel (HONEY), Persea Gratissima (AVOCADO) butter, Helianthus Annuus (ORGANIC SUNFLOWER) oil, Ricinus Communis (CASTOR) oil, Cetearyl Alcohol (VEGETABLE-DERIVED emollient), Behentrimonium Methosulfate (VEGETABLE DERIVED EMUSLIFIER), Triticum Vulgare (WHEATGERM) oil,SILK AMINO ACIDS, PANTHENOL, HYDROLYSED WHEAT PROTEINS,  Citrus  Grandiss (GRAPEFRUIT) seed extract, potassium sorbate, citric acid, cetrimonium chloride, Parfum  (TLC Naturals fragrance), Phenoxyethanol & Caprylyl Glycol & Chlorphenesin (PARABEN & FORMADELHYDE-FREE PRESERVATIVE).

Wash Day Routine
Now that you have the specs, here are the deets ;).

• On Friday night, I pre-pooed/DC’d, finger detangled and placed my hair in 6 twists with a mix of Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner and Vatika Oil. I also applied some Wild Growth Hair Oil (WGHO) to my scalp … sparingly (lesson learned from last week!).
• I left the pre-poo/DC in for 1 hour with heat and then slept in it overnight.
• On Saturday morning, I washed my scalp and hair with diluted DevaCare No Poo and rinsed.
• Then, I applied Aubrey Green Tea Finishing Cream Rinse, finger detangled again and rinsed under cool water.
• After I got out of the shower, I released the twists, divided my hair into one section on either side and applied the Hibiscus Rose Leave In Conditioner.
• Then, I used the “Rake and Shake” technique to apply the Choco Shea Hair Butter. I re-wet my hair with a spray bottle, as needed, to ensure my hair was damp/wet before applying the product.
• Finally, I lightly diffused my hair, while holding my head upside down, for about 10 minutes. There were still damp spots, but I was mostly diffusing to scrunch and dry my ends.
• Once my hair was almost completely dry (I’m so impatient! I can never wait for it to be totally dry!! That’s bad! Don’t do that;), it had a little crunch. So, in order to “break the cast,” I emulsified a little Aveda Anti-Humectant pomade in my palms and smoothed it down my hair while holding it like I was going to pull it into a low ponytail.

And voilà! Here were my results on Day 1 (click to enlarge pics):

On the evening of Day 1, I applied a little WGHO Light to the length of my hair, placed it in a pineapple and hit the sack (satin pillowcase, of course ;)). On the morning of Day 2, I applied some Wonder Curl Butter than Love Pudding to refresh my situation, fluffed and kept it moving. In case you forgot, this is how my WnG looked on Sunday (you’ve already seen more pics here, but including this one as a reminder. :)):

Oh, almost forgot! I also applied a little of the new, heavenly smelling Wonder Curl Polishing Pomade after Scarlett gave me the sample at the event! PJ Powers Activate!! 

On the evening of Day 2, I used a little Pooka Hair oil on my scalp and pineappled again. And this is Day 3 hair, which also got a touch of WC Polishing Pomade applied to it!

Review: Initial Thoughts
As you can see, I got some pretty nice results from using the Hibiscus Rose Leave In and Choco Shea Hair Butter. So, what did I think overall? Here goes.

Ingredients: Partial lists of the ingredients are listed on TLC Naturals website, but are not fully listed on the packaging. I like to know all of the ingredients in my products and know that many naturals feel the same. So, I think there is room for improvement in the labeling of the products and the ingredient listings on the site. However, overall, these products appear to contain high-quality organic and/or natural ingredients. My one concern was that both products contain wheat protein, of which my hair is not a fan. Leave-ins and stylers with wheat protein often leave my hair feeling a bit dry and crispy. These products were no exception. However, a little oil and/or pomade seemed to quickly and easily remedy that issue.

6/29/12  “EDITOR’S” RETRACTION: The full list of ingredients are included with the products. Both products were shipped with tags attached to the containers. I removed those tags without really reading them!! Bad Shelli!! These tags did contain a list of all of the ingredients in each product and I have corrected the ingredient listings above! Thanks TLC Naturals for clarifying that and directing me to where I could find the list of all of the ingredients in your products!!

Packaging: No frills and functional. As this is a newer and smaller company, this is totally fine to me. I prefer not to spend my money on expensive packaging and cheap ingredients, though I know some appreciate “shelf appeal.”

Pricing: Speaking of not spending money on packaging;), these products seem to be priced in the mid-range compared to similar products in the USA. I used a currency conversion site and £9.00 is approximately $14 and £11.00 is $17. That’s more expensive than, say, Shea Moisture products, which run around $10. However, the prices are pretty comparable to a line like Qhemet Biologic.

Scent: I’m not a fan of floral smells and the Hibiscus Rose Leave In definitely had that type of fragrance, though it wasn’t overpoweringly strong. The Choco Shea Hair Butter smelled a lot like the Qhemet Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee, which has a strong chocolatey smell that I like better, but chocolate is also not one of my favorite scents. I prefer fruity berry and/or citrusy smells. However, the odd thing is that, when these two products were layered together, they were complimentary and somehow created a new scent that I actually liked! I don’t know how to describe it, but the scent almost became fruity. I guess the smells combined tempered each other! Regardless, they didn’t seem to linger once my hair dried … though, I also don’t have the strongest sense of smell.

Consistency and Application: The leave-in was pink with a rich, creamy consistency, but not so thick as to make is difficult to distribute. The butter had a thicker whipped consistency with a creamy, bit light feel. Both the leave-in and butter applied very smoothly and spread easily. They quickly absorbed into my hair and blended well, leaving no white chunks, flakes or residue.

Appearance (Hold/Definition) & Feel: Although these products aren’t touted for their hold or definition, they provided me with both! I felt that the clumping, definition and hold were very comparable to my gel/CD Healthy Hair Butter combo! In regard to the feel of my hair, it felt a little dry prior to the application of a pomade or oil. So, I don’t know that it felt well-moisturized once dry. But, it wasn’t hard, tacky, flaky or overly crunchy. In fact, it felt pretty product-less. In regard to the shine factor, my hair didn’t appear duller or shinier with these products once dry. The application of the oil and pomades over the leave-in and butter kicked the shine up a notch.

Conclusions
So, will I use these products again? Absolutely! Based upon my initial results with the TLC Naturals Hibiscus Rose Leave In and Choco Shea Hair Butter, I will definitely be use them again! I did have the anticipated dry, slightly crispy feeling due to the liquid wheat protein in both products. However, both the WGHO Light and both of the pomades seemed to quickly “soften the situation ;).” I think the hold and definition were great for products that are not specifically formulated for that purpose and have so many good ingredients.

But, if you live in the UK, TLC Naturals may be a great local option for handmade, organic/natural products for your natural hair! If you don’t live in the UK, but are in an area where natural products are few and far between and love what you’ve seen and read, TLC Naturals does ship internationally and even provides an invoice payment option for those in areas without access to PayPal!! How sweet is that?

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If you live in the UK, do you think that you would try TLC Naturals? If you live elsewhere, would you pay international shipping for high-quality products?