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21.11.12

Product Review: Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Collection

I am finally reviewing the Carol's Daughter Monoi starter kit! I bought the starter kit from Macy's at the end of August for $24.00 and I do not regret making this purchase!


The starting kit includes:

  • Monoi Repairing Shampoo, 2 fl oz
  • Monoi Repairing Conditioner, 2 fl oz
  • Monoi Repairing Hair Mask, 2 oz

  • The kit promises:
    • 96% Less Breakage. After 1 Use, 13x Stronger Hair.
    • Stronger, longer, invincible hair for over-processed, overheated and over-stressed brittle hair. 
    Highlighted Ingredients (full list of ingredients at the end of this post):
    • Monoi Oil: Intensely conditions hair.
    • Bamboo Water: Helps to reinforce hair's structure.
    • Hydrolyzed Silk: Helps fortify hair against future damage.
    • Hibiscus Extract: Helps to quickly detangle any hair type, but especially delicate, damaged hair. 

    At first I felt like the sample sizes were way too small but I got about three uses out of the hair mask, about five uses out of the conditioner, and I just recently finished the shampoo (I am not heavy handed with shampoo) after definitely more than seven uses. Overall I am extremely happy with the kit but I will break this review down into pros and cons.

    Pros: The smell of the products is absolutely amazing! In my opinion it has a sort of tropical relaxing smell. I know that can mean different things for different people, but whenever I smell the product I think of being in the Caribbean. The smell might be my favorite aspect of the products. The shampoo is sulfate-free which is always great because it does not strip the hair, but this does mean that there was no lather. After shampooing my hair it felt so moisturized! I didn't even feel like I needed to deep condition afterwards because my hair had a good amount of slip and it felt super hydrated. I have never come across a shampoo that has made my hair feel so soft. 

    I also really liked the hair mask. It had a very thick consistency and went onto my hair really nicely. After washing the mask out I could not get over how soft my hair was! The mask also gave really great shine to my  hair. While detangling in the shower (which was a breeze), after washing the mask out, I got very little breakage and my hair did feel very strong. I really appreciate the combination of monoi, bamboo, hydrolyzed silk, and hibiscus because they all seemed to work well together to get my hair soft and manageable enough for me to avoid damage. Days after my wash day with the Monoi products, I still got whiffs of the tropical scent which I loved! 

    The products also have no parabens, no sulfates, and no mineral oil, and no artificial coloring!

    Cons: I don't think the conditioner did too much for me. When I used it after the shampoo, my hair felt soft but no softer than the shampoo had already made my hair feel. In my opinion, I could've done without the conditioner. In fact, once the shampoo ran out and I had to use the shampoo alone, my hair was super soft. I didn't need to follow up with a rinse out conditioner after using the shampoo. 

    Measuring the claim of "96% less breakage and "13x stronger hair" is pretty tricky, I don't know how Carol's Daughter expects their customers to measure such a thing, but it seems like a great way to get people to buy the product. I did experience less breakage and my hair did feel much stronger after using the products but I don't know if I would go so far to say that I got 96% less breakage and 13x stronger hair. 

    The kit was sort of pricey and the full size products are even pricier. It makes me want to search for products that work just as good for a cheaper price.....put the amazing smell though....

    Overall: I would definitely repurchase the Monoi shampoo and repairing mask but I would hold off on the conditioner. The great smell that the products have and the strength that it gives my hair makes it worth spending the money. 


    Ingredients:

    Monoi Repairing Hair Mask: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glycerin, Cetyl Esters, Dimethicone, Fragrance (Parfum), Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oiol, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isohexadecane, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Oil, Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice, Hydrolyzed Hibiscus Esculentus Extract, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccaride, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Extrac, Panthenol (Pro-vitamin B5), Cetrimonium Chloride, Cetrimonium Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethiconol, Octyldodecanol, Ceteareth-20, Quarternium-91, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Methylisothiazolinone.

    Monoi Repairing Shampoo: Water, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, PEG-150 Distearate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Coconut Oil Glycereth-8 Esters, Shea Butter Glycereth-8 Esters, Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Helianthus Annuus(Sunflower) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Hibiscus Esculentus Extract, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Hydrolyzed Silk, Panthenol (Pro-vitamin B5), Glycerin, Glycol Distearate, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Quaternium-91, PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance.

    Monoi Repairing Conditioner: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glycerin, Isododecane, Fragrance (Parfum), Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Isohexadecane, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Oil, Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Hydrolyzed Silk, Hydrolyzed Hibiscus Esculentus Extract, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Panthenol (Pro-vitamin B5), Cetrimonium Chloride, Cetrimonium Methosulfate, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Octyldodecanol, Ceteareth-20, Quaternium-91, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sorbic Acid, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Methylisothiazolinone.

    18.8.12

    Wash Day: Carol's Daughter Monoi Collection, Clear Rinse, and a Failed Ponytail Roller Set

    This wash day was interesting. I broke some rules. I had some success, and I had some failures.

    Broken Rules
    I tried a new product. Two actually. I just recently told myself that I did not need to stray from my staple products because I know that they work well...So what had happened was....I was walking through Macy's and stopped by the Carol's Daughter section to look at some products (just out of curiosity..I had not intentions on buying anything). My mistake was taking one of the products form the Monoi line and smelling it. This line smells amazing!! It also had some great ingredients (Monoi Oil, Bamboo Water, Hydrolyzed Silk, Hibiscus Extract). And I had a gift card! :-) I was hooked...so I bought the starter kit. Bad bad girl. Well the deed is done. I'll tell you how the kit worked for me later.

    Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Collection 3-Piece Starter Kit

    The second product I tried was Jazzing Clear Rinse. I bought this product a while ago after reading EbonyCPrincess's post about it, but I never used it. I kept it in the back of my cabinet..that is until I couldn't find plastic caps and I was digging for them in the back of my cabinet. I saw the rinse and thought "oooo I could use some shine and sealed cuticles..mhm." Smh..

    Anyways... here is how the wash day went..

    1. Shampooed with Carol's Daughter Monoi Sulfate-free Shampoo (2x)
    2. Conditioned with Carol's Daughter Monoi Conditioner and left it in my hair for about 3 mins and rinsed.
    3. Applied Keratin 2 min for about 5 minutes and rinsed. 
    4. Towel dried and then applied the Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Hair Mask and left in on for about an hour and a half (30 mins of that time under my hooded dryer). Rinsed.
    5. I then applied the Jazzing Clear Rinse to my hair and processed it under my dryer for 15 mins and then rinsed.
    6. After t-shirt drying for 5 mins, I applied Aphogee Keratin & Green Tea Reconstructorizer and Aphogee Pro Vitamin Leave-In Conditioner. I then applied a quarter size of Gernier Fructis sleek and shine serum to my hair for the next step which was...
    7. I attempted a ponytail roller set and then wrapped my hair. 

    It was actually a really long wash day...

    Success
    My first impression of the Carols Daughter Monoi line was great! The product promises 13x longer life after one use and prevention of breakage by  96%. Because of such a huge promise I was excited to try the product! The shampoo made my hair feel so soft and manageable which is not something that is often said about a shampoo. The shampoo is sulfate-free so it did not sud up but it did a great job at cleansing my scalp. The conditioner gave my hair a good amount of slip. I was able to run my shower comb through my hair with very almost no problem. After towel drying my hair I felt like I didn't even need to deep condition! But I went ahead and used the Repairing Hair Mask. I liked how thick the product was and I didn't have to use a lot of it to coat my hair. After rinsing out the mask my hair felt so strong! But soft at the same time! I loved it! Let me not forget to mention that the Monoi line smells so good! The smell definitely tops any hair product I've ever used. I wish I could have the sent as a body splash or a wallflower or something. Lol. But I don't want to go into any more detail until I try the products again. My first impression was a great one though!

    The clear rinse also had my hair feeling extremely smooth! Detangling was a breeze. There was nothing to detangle really. It also gave my hair a very nice sheen! To see more details on the benefits of clear rinses, read EbonyCPrincess's post about it! I will try this product again in the future and do a full review.

    Failures
    The ponytail roller set was definitely easier than the traditional mohawk that I fail at very often. I put my hair into six ponytails and placed 2-3 rollers on each ponytail and then went under the dryer. I spent 2 hours under the dryer which I didn't mind because I was also doing some crochet braids for my mom while I was under there.

    Seemed like it was going fine..

    After 2 hours I took out the rollers and the ponytail. Most of my hair was dry. The back to ponytail were still pretty damp though. I think this is mostly due to how horrible my hooded dryer is. 


    My hair didn't come out as planned. Some part were smooth and others weren't. I probably need to use more rollers. Ugh. I cant even get roller sets right when I cheat! Lol. I just wrapped my hair and went to sleep. :-/

    Not exactly the look I was going for..I'll keep practicing.

    Enough about me.. how did your most recent wash day go?