Most of you know that I’m a member of Nappturally Me!, a natural hair Meetup group here in Columbus.  Being a part of NM has allowed me to meet some pretty amazing people like M. Michelle George, a natural hair education virtuoso and author of “The Knotty Truth” which I will be reviewing in the next couple of days.  Well in addition to Chele and a handful of other cool ladies (shout outs to AO, Rhonda, DaiRita, Denise, Kendra and MC) I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Camille McClesky, owner and head mixologist of Yonnea’s Natural Beauty.  What’s funny is, a couple of days before I attended my first NM event I’d done a Google search for natural hair resources here in Columbus, but had no idea the lady with the beautifully full head of hair was indeed Camille.  It wasn’t until a couple days before attending my next NM event that I put two and two together and did a feature on her for the Examiner.  I had planned to purchase some of her GPS oil once my budge allowed for it, but was glad just to be able to share her products and natural progress with my readers.  Well a couple of months went by and I decided to purchase a couple bottles of her Honey Hibiscus Leave N Condish for a giveaway and as luck would have it, Camille threw in a small bottle of GPS oil as a show of appreciation for me being a Nappturally Me! member (I so love my natural hair cipher… Free goodies!).  As luck would further have it, no one entered the giveaway I sponsored so I was able to keep one of the bottles of conditioner for myself!  Can you say woot-tastic?  I knew that you could. *lol*

Since I’ve been wearing washout as my staple style I was able to beginning trying the conditioner out right away when I spritzed my hair in the morning.  My very first impression was one of amazement at how the product “misted” from the nozzle instead of sprayed, which allowed me to lightly coat my hair instead of drenching it.  A definite plus considering it doesn’t take a whole lot of product to do what I need to have done to my hair and will save money in the long run (less product used, the longer I can go without replenishing it).  My next impression was how much the product smelled like peppermint and tea tree oil, not heavily flowery and perfumy.  Another plus because it leaves the hair smelling clean and not overpoweringly so.  Once I’d covered all of my hair with the condish I massaged it over my tresses to make sure the product was distributed well.  To the touch my hair was very soft and springy feeling.  There was a slight coating of product left on my fingers after combing, but nothing in the way of excess and what was left wasn’t tacky like some other leave-in conditioners.  So it smelled good, didn’t weigh my hair down and didn’t leave behind a sticky residue.  Now came the test on how it would leave my hair feeling once it dried.

Since I allow my hair to air dry shrinkage can be a bit of a concern when using different products.  Because the condish goes on to the hair so lightly it was able to dry at its regular pace (~30 minutes – score another one for the condish) and there was virtually no shrinkage to speak of.  In addition to the drying and non-shrinkage, the condish left my tresses feeling very soft, relatively free of tangles (I finger comb while it’s wet) and manageable.  As far as curl definition I can’t really say this product makes my coils pop, but it works well with my texture and gives it the right amount of fluff.  Since I’ve returned to my avocado-coconut milk co-washes I only use the Honey Hibiscus Leave N Condish once every two or three days so that I don’t have a lot of product on my hair.

Camille is a mixing Goddess when it comes to combining ingredients that grant the best results for promotion healthy hair, and the components that make up her Honey Hibiscus Leave N Condish are a testament to that: Aqua (Purified Water), Hibiscus, Honey, and Botanical Infusion, Nettle, Chamomile, Marshmallow Root, Slippery Elm, Horsetail, Dulse, Ginseng, Green Tea, Ginkgo, Hops, Birch, Buckthorn, Tea Tree Oil, Neem, Pumpkin Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Soy Bean Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Basil EO, Peppermint EO, Lemongrass EO.  And in addition to there being organic goodness inside the bottle, Camille’s excellent customer service is demonstrative of the organic goodness that’s outside the bottle as well.  When I originally placed the order Camille whipped up the mixture on the spot, but since it took about a week for us to meet up she was more than willing to make a fresh batch of the condish to ensure it was the best possible quality. 

And the JB2M rating?

Honey Hibiscus Leave N Condish

I think even Stevie Wonder could have seen this rating coming. *lol*  With a list of all natural ingredients and terrific customer care, this product is economically priced at $10.00 for 8 oz.  The only drawback might be that it’s only available here in Columbus or via ordering through the Yonnea Natural Beauty Website, but with free shipping on ALL orders and Camille’s commitment to prompt delivery, potential clients can feel free to stock up on this natural hair care gem so they’ll always have it in stock.

Healthy Hair Wishes,