So, remember my “Flash Post” from a couple of weeks ago? I told you guys that I got gifted a few goodies from Cream & Coco and couldn’t wait to try the Curls for Days Hair Pudding. Well, this past Sunday, I took the pudding for a test drive!

via CreamandCoco.com

Curls For Days Hair Pudding ($15 for 16 oz.)
Soothing botanicals and avocado oils nourish curls giving definition, body, hold, and shine. This pudding is thick & rich, perfect for stretching out curls that want to shrink up and rolls with naturally wavy hair patterns. It gives fabulous hold without making hair hard or crunchy. Defines almost every curly hair type with beautiful results.

Directions: Scoop a small amount of pudding and work through soaking wet hair, evenly distributing. Use a paddle brush or comb through and scrunch to define your, well, curls for days!

Ingredients: pure water, avocado oil, cetearyl alcohol, coconut oil, shea butter, glycerin, aloe vera juice, beeswax, xanthan gum, fragrance, panthenol, hydrolyzed oat protein, horsetail extract, slippery elm, optiphen (natural preservative)

Now, when Victoria, the owner/creator behind Cream & Coco, contacted me about sending some products, I was all set to decline. You see, I was feeling like I had more stuff than I could try for the rest of the year! But, after reading the information on the Curls for Days Hair Pudding, the PJ in me could not be denied!! The promise of defined curls with fabulous hold, sans hardness or crunch, had me super intrigued!!

So, this past Sunday on wash day, I put the claim to the test.

Wash Day Rundown:

• Pre-pooed dry hair with Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner mixed with Vatika Oil. Lightly oiled scalp with Wild Growth Hair Oil (WGHO) Original formula (approx. 1 hr).
• Shampooed with diluted DevaCare No Poo.
• Detangled with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration.
• Deep conditioned with Darcy’s Botanicals Pumpkin Seed Conditioner.
• Cooled and sealed DC with Aubrey Green Tea Cream Rinse.
• “Plopped” hair for a few minutes in a Curl Cloth until damp.
• Applied modified Kimmaytube leave-in (1 tbsp Kinky Curly Knot Today; 1 tbsp Aloe Vera Juice – whole leaf).
• Made 7 braids by applying a fingertip full amount of Cream & Coco Curls for Days Hair Pudding to each section before braiding.
• Applied a small amount of EcoStyler Olive Oil gel to roots and braids to lay down “halo” and provide additional level of hold.
• Before going to bed, applied a tiny amount of WGHO Light to ends and tied hair down with a hair net to allow for air flow to aid drying.

On Monday morning, my braids weren’t dry … surprise, surprise ;). So, I sat under my hooded dryer for about 40-50 minutes. As my braids still felt as if they were not fully dry, I pinned them up into some type of pseudo bun for the day. I added a little more Eco gel to my roots and tied the edges down with a satin scarf for the drive to work.

It might not be glamorous, but it was functional ;).

I left the braids in until yesterday morning, when I released them after smoothing a small amount of Wonder Curl Polishing Pomade down length.

I need to do a better job of fluffing out that center part next time! LOL!!

Initial Thoughts
As you can see, my braid-out is nicely defined and shiny. There was a little precipitation on Tuesday and some light sprinkles throughout the day. But, my hair barely frizzed at all and all of the above braid-out pics were taken at the end of the day after work!!! So, what did I think of the Cream and Coco Curls for Days Hair Pudding overall? Here goes.

Ingredients: Looking good Mr. Cah-tah!!! LOL! So yeah, I think the ingredients are great. I recognize and can pronounce all of them easily and none is longer than three syllables. That’s usually a good sign;). Also, the product is free of petrolatum, mineral oil, parabens and sulfates.

Packaging: The packaging was also good. The 16 oz. Pudding comes in a plastic amber lidded container with a glossy and well-secured label. The product name, claim, ingredients and directions all appear on the one label. That being said, the print is very small and this includes the brand name. So, the far-sighted might need to check this post or the site or break out the reading glasses to read it all ;).

Pricing: At $15 for 16 ounces, the cost of this product is mid-range. It’s slightly more expensive than, say, Shea Moisture products, which run around $10 for 12 ounces. However, the price is pretty comparable to a line like Qhemet Biologic.

Scent: Okay, now this is where the Hair Pudding gets bonus points!!! OMGosh!!! I love, love, LOVE the smell of this stuff ♥♥♥!! To me, it smells like Pixie Sticks!!! You know, those sugar-filled straws?! Wei said, “Lik-a-Stix!” LOL!! Now, if you don’t like sweet or candy smells, this may be too much for you upon sniffing the contents of the jar. But, the scent does fade to a very light scent once dry and by Tuesday night, it had dissipated entirely.

Consistency and Application: Though the claim on the pudding is that it is rich and thick, I felt that it had a light, airy, but creamy consistency. It had a whipped appearance and feel to it. It applied smoothly and was very easy to distribute. I only needed to use a little bit for each section. And, once applied, it disappeared into my hair, leaving no white chunks, flakes or residue when layered over my modified Kimmaytube leave-in.

Appearance (Hold & Definition) and Feel: So far, so good! As it’s only been a day, I can’t provide a full review on long-term hold and definition. However, I can say that day one went well, especially given the weather! My braid-out was defined, firm and remained almost frizz-free throughout the day. In regard to the feel of my hair, LOVE it! My hair feels soft, light and product-less! It feels moisturized without feeling producty, greasy or sticky and has a nice sheen without being shiny. When I used the Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and then the Aveda Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade on dry braid-outs last week, my hair was moisturized and shiny, but left residue on my hands when I touched it. This also meant that I had a lot of lint and dust stuck to my hair, which gunk up my strands and contribute to SSKs and difficult detangling sessions. #Notcool. But, with the pudding, I got a soft, moisturized, defined, sheeny set without hard, crunchy, tacky, flaky, greasy or crunchy hair. Nice!

Conclusions
So, will I use the Cream & Coco Curls for Days Hair Pudding again? Absolutely! Based upon my initial results, I will definitely be using it again! I think the moisture, hold, shine and definition were great and I love the smell and the ingredients! Also, as I only needed a small amount of product, I can imagine that this 16 oz. container could last for several months. So, the cost is reasonable. And, of course, love to support small black businesswomen doing their thing ;)!!

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What properties do you look for in a curl pudding, cream and/or butter? Which one(s) have you found to deliver?