Dark N Lovely Au Naturale Anti-Shrinkage Range Review

Hi Guys,

Today I’m FINALLY going to review some products that I got at the last Naturals in the City meet up. At first I was a bit confused because
the only thing I ever knew Dark and Lovely for was their relaxers. As a kid
growing up that purple box was one of the only relaxers I used. But it’s very encouraging to know that so many beauty brands are realising the importance in developing products for natural hair.

So here are all the products I got:

Shampoo Ingredients

Coil Moisturizing Souffle (yellow) Curl Defining Creme Glaze (pink)

Hydrating Soak Shampoo

Hydrating Soak Shampoo
This shampoo has sulphates in it. I typically use sulphate shampoos every 4 to 6 weeks to clarify my scalp from any product build up so that’s fine for me. The smell was just so delicious. You only need a small amount to get a huge lather. I washed my hair twice with this and it didn’t feel too dry so I was happy with this.

Knot-Out Conditioner
I think a lot of companies can shoot themselves in the foot by calling their conditioners a “detangler”. This conditioner claims to offer “the slip you want making your hair a piece of cake to comb though”. Not for me unfortunately. This product offered no slip for my hair and I definitely wouldn’t be able to use it as a detangling conditioner. I didn’t feel that it left my hair particularly soft. Considering that it’s to be used after a sulphate shampoo this was pretty disappointing.

Curl Defining Creme Glaze and Coil Moisturizing Souffle 
I wasn’t really sure what the point behind these two separate products were. They are both to be used after conditioning and detangling with the Knot- Out conditioner. You’re supposed to apply a generous amount to your hair and finger comb the product through then allow your hair to air dry. I could only guess that the glaze is a styling product and the souffle is a moisturizer. So I used the souffle in my hair and decided to use the glaze on my Nazuri Afro Kinky Curly extensions. Both products left my hair smelling wonderful but I felt like they could be more moisturizing.

Sheen Sealing Nectar
I used this product on my extensions for sheen. The shine you get from this is AMAZING. It does leave your hair feeling a little sticky at first but once it dries this goes away. I haven’t been able to find another product that can beat the shine of this product.

10-in-1 Styles Gelee
This is supposed to be used as a styling product for twist-outs, bantu-knots etc. I found it a bit too thick.


Overall Opinion 
If you don’t like overwhelming sweet smells then this range isn’t for you. I personally LOVE it! The whole range smells like Skittles, its got mango oil and its very strong. I love the bright packaging, the afro head is really pretty and there’s a lot of information on the labels. Unfortunately, this isn’t an all-natural product range. The range contains no mineral oil, parabens or petroleum. However, The shampoo has sulphates and bunch of other chemicals that I typically wouldn’t like to use on an every day basis in my hair. At the meet-up a lot of the ladies in the focus group expressed some discomfort with the range being called “Anti-Shrinkage”, it honestly didn’t bother me. I did think if anything it’s just a marketing ploy really because all the products contain water which is the main reason for shrinkage in any case.

All in all my favourite thing about the range was the smell. I found the ingredients list a little overwhelming for me with a bit too many chemicals than I’m typically comfortable with. The stand out product for me would definitely be the shampoo and the sheen sealing nectar. I’m not sure if this range is available in Nigeria yet but if it is I will definitely be repurchasing those two products.