In September I met the lovely Andrea Lawrence, Founder of Tou Lou Organics. I had the opportunity to talk at length to Andrea at the J’Ouvert Boudoir Lounge and I dipped into this organic aromatherapy range with some hair products.
TROPICAL COCONUT HAIR SHAMPOO BAR
I have never washed my hair with a shampoo bar so I was curious. I have to say, as persuasive as Andrea is, it was not her amazing knowledge that convinced me to buy this bar – it was the smell. To me, it is like a lemon frutella sweet. It literally makes my mouth water. I don’t smell coconut at all even though that is a major part of the bar. The colour is like very milky weak tea and coming from TouLou, it is organic and full and beautiful ingredients (shea, jojoba, avocado and castor oils and coconut milk.
I have used this several times and my conclusion was always the same. It is great for my roots and my scalp, but I did not find it effective down the length of my locs. I found that rubbing the bar against the length of my locs did not produce enough lather to saturate the locs, unless I did it for a long time, which was time-consuming and tiring, for all of my locs, but at my scalp, it was great for lifting build up and providing a clean root area. As someone who suffers from an itchy scalp due to stress this was great. It rinsed out easily and left my hair clean but moisturised. If Andrea could make this into a liquid soap (HINT HINT) I would definitely buy it.
But, as I have a sister who sports a teeny-weeny afro (TWA), I cut the bar in half and asked her to try it. I have to say – I found the half bar easier to manipulate when I was washing my hair. I never really thought of myself as having tiny hands but the half-size bar was great. Anyway, here is what my sis had to say…
The shampoo bar is gorgeous. It has a lovely sweet smell, like confectionary – actually it smells exactly like the pink and white Nougat bar from back in the day. You just rub the bar between wet hands like you would a bar of soap and wash in the usual way. It doesn’t produce thick foam like shampoo does but it does lather. Neither does it strip your hair to within a millimetre of its life, leaving it feeling ‘crispy’ the day after. It just gently lifts the dirt and impurities that build up out. It’s so gentle that you could use it every day. I really like it! My hair needs gentle care at the moment and I can use this bar with confidence. Washing my hair is a pleasure again!
Conclusion from the Patent Purple Life Siblings: – great on natural hair and scalp, not so good on mature locs
SAPOTE & MONOI DE TAHITI NOURISHING HAIR BUTTER
This hair butter is jam packed with great ingredients, jojoba oil, avocado oil and monoi de tahiti – coconut oil infused with gardenia flowers… how lovely is that(?) for me though the most interesting ingredient is the sapote nut which Andrea explained to me is can assist in the reduction of hair loss.
So – I have been using it to retwist my locks and it has been BRILLIANT. The butter can be used on the scalp as well as the hair so post washing, I can apply as much as I need and start to retwist immediately. It provides a twist that is as secure as any petroleum based loc gel product and as I generally dont use heat on my hair, it dries without being stiff. I love it. As a hair dress it is also great on my scalp and the length of my locs. It provides a sheen without being greasy. If any excess is on my face, it does not cause a break out as some hair products do. Once my sister realised that I had another product from Tou Lou Organics, she wanted some of the butter too.
Here is what she had to say.
My hair is not its best at the moment. There’s evidence of breakage, thinning and it’s also very dry. So, as well as working on the stressors in my life (…Can I get a witness?) I had to eliminate the chemicals that I put on my hair.
Previously, I have used 100% Shea butter, but had to stop it because even though I warmed it thoroughly in my palms before applying it, it had the effect of dragging on my delicate hair and I found I had to be too rough to work it through the hair. Before that I tried using olive oil, but found that it just sat on the hair. When touched my hair during the course of the day, there would be a film of oil on my hand but my hair still felt dry.
I experimented with the way I used the hair butter. The way that suits my hair in its current state is to wet my hands, then shake the water off and effectively, dry my hands off on my hair before applying a modest amount of product. As the product absorbs, it locks in the moisture and leaves a light sheen on the hair, acting as a barrier to the elements and preventing dehydration.
This preparation is whipped, like a pomade, and semi-solid at room temperature. It is not heavily perfumed; rather, it has a very pleasant, light fragrance that suggests natural and organic. I love the way it melts in my hands almost instantly, then glides from my hands through the hair with ease and no tugging at all. I don’t think it is too soon to say that the rate of hair loss has reduced, but I’m still watching it. However, what I can declare from the roof tops is that my hair feels soft, it’s easy to comb and I just feel butter is nourishing and doing my hair good. Just fantastic!
Conclusion from Patent Purple Life siblings: great on natural hair and locs and great for retwisting
My sister is not a subscriber to my blog (outrageous but true) so it is safe for me to say that she will be getting a Tou Lou organics hair and body hamper at the end of the month…. and since I will be buying products for her… I might as well pick up a few bits for me as well.
Have you used any TouLou Organics products?