The wait is finally over, and I’m excited to share with you my thoughts on Whitney White’s new product line, Melanin Haircare.
If you’re not familiar with who Whitney is, “girl, you better GET YOUR LIFE!” in my Tamar Braxton voice. No, but seriously, Whitney, who is also known as Naptural85 on YouTube, is everything under the sun; a Graphic Designer, a Vlogger, a Blogger, a Natural Hair Enthusiast, a wife, a mother and, now, the Co-Founder of Melanin Haircare alongside her sister, Taffeta White.
Naptural85 on YouTube:
On August 2009, Whitney made her first appearance on YouTube. The content of her channel consisted of short clips of her natural hair journey; transitioning from relaxed to natural. Her channel garnered a lot of positive response from viewers all over the world: people who were inspired by her story. The positive responses encouraged Whitney to continue to upload more videos and use this platform to develop her content. Whitney was one of the first YouTubers I watched and subscribed to. Her content inspired me to take my hair journey seriously in the later years, and still does today. With her straightforward and helpful tips, informative tutorials, how-to styles, and natural DIY treatments, it comes as no surprise that she is the “OG” of all the online natural hair channels.
Naptural85 Introduces
Melanin Haircare:
On October 2018, Whitney made a public announcement, introducing the launch of Melanin Haircare (which she kept a secret for six years)! Her love for DIY hair product recipes and the overflowing requests from her online community, inspired her to share her passion on a much larger scale.
Melanin Haircare is a Haircare and Lifestyle brand. It is also a family and black owned business that focuses on high-quality, natural and safe-synthetic ingredients (yes, “safe-synthetic” for the people in the back who didn’t catch that) to ensure products are shelf stable and performance dependable. All the ingredients have been ”meticulously” evaluated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to ensure product safety. Melanin Haircare products has no silicones, parabens, mineral oil, sulfates, phthalates, petroleum, and formaldehyde. Finally, Melanin Haircare products deliver on quality and affordability for the everyday woman, man and child.
Melanin Haircare ProductReview:
So, now that you know a little bit about Whitney and her product line, Melanin Haircare, we can get into my review on the products I have used. The Melanin Haircare Signature Collection includes: styling products; the Twisting-Elongating Style Cream and the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend, and Melanin Merchandise; the Melanin Logo Wrap and the Melanin Stretch Logo Visor. For the purpose of this review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the Twist-Elongating Style Cream and the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend. If you’re interested in any of the other products that were not discussed, you can check them out at https://melaninhaircare.com.
I pre-ordered the collection during the soft launch and received my package the second week of February, as promised. Inside my package contained the following items:
● Twisting-Elongating Style Cream x1
● Multi-Use Oil Blend x2
● Two postcards and a Melanin lollipop
My initial reaction to the product packaging was positive. The Twisting-Elongating Style Cream and Multi-Use Oil Blend comes in a clear transparent jar and applicator bottle, respectively. The packaging aesthetic is simple and clean. Lastly, I found the typography helped to set the tone of the brand messaging.
Twisting-Elongating Style Cream
16.99 (USD) | 16oz
W/ Shea Butter + Natural Oils
The Twisting-Elongating Style Cream is designed to instantly hydrate and seal the moisture into your hair, making it more manageable (But does it really? Keep reading to find out).
My first impression of the product itself was the amount of product you get in the 16oz jar. Honestly, you will not be disappointed – It’s nothing compared to when you buy a bag of chips only to find out it’s half filled with chips and the other half air. This cream is filled to the brim so you’re getting an ounce for every dollar you spend on this product 😉 .
The Twisting-Elongating Style Cream has a thick and luscious consistency. This consistency made it easy to spread over my hair ensuring each strand of my hair absorbed the cream at a slow to medium rate. I won’t get into the discussion of hair porosity (which simply refers to you hair’s ability to absorb and maintain moisture): I’ll save that for another post. As someone whose hair porosity would fall under the low porosity hair spectrum, in reference to product absorbency rate, I noticed that when my hair had been freshly washed and I applied the product to my strands, it absorbed quicker than it would have when my hair was completely dried.
Verdict:
What I like about this product is that it’s non-greasy and lightweight which makes it buildable upon application — meaning you can apply as much product as you desire at a time. As someone with fine hair, a small amount goes a long way without weighing my hair down.
I purchased this product not only to support Whitney, but also to find a holy grail product that would address the sporadic hair problems, namely, dry, brittle and dull hair. I don’t know if I would classify this product as my holy grail product, yet. However, being that I have low porosity hair, this product did hydrate my hair at a moderate rate and retained moisture when applied with an oil, making it more manageable with a healthy sheen.
The Twisting Elongating Cream is a product I’d definitely purchase again in the future!
Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend
17.99 (USD) | 8oz
W/ Baobab Oil, Argan Oil + Vitamin E
If you read My Hair Regimen post, you might be aware that after applying a moisturizer, I always follow up with an oil for moisture retention. Because of this, it was only right for me to purchase the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend to apply as a sealant after moisturizing with the Twisting-Elongating Cream.
Much like the name itself, this Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend serves more than one purpose. For example, it can be applied as a hot oil treatment, an ingredient added to your own DIY hair recipe, and as a body moisturizer. I purchased two FULL 8oz size bottles of the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend. One solely to apply to my hair as a sealant and the other as a body moisturizer.
The Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend is designed to soften, nourish, and seal. As well as, detangle, restore and improve the manageability of your hair. This product contains a variety of nourishing oils that are packed with vitamins and minerals that benefit the hair and skin, with a subtle floral scent.
Similar to the Twist-Elongating Style Cream, the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend is non-greasy, lightweight and easy to spread over my hair (a little goes a long way with this product).
Verdict:
As excited as I was to finally get my hands on the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend, I was quickly led to disappointment. I had high expectations that this product would be one of my staples, serving one of its many purpose, as a sealant. I hate to say that it didn’t deliver, but, it didn’t (for my hair at least).
The application of the product wasn’t the issue: it was how my hair felt afterwards. My hair felt hard, dry and stiff to the point that I had to rewash my hair, reapply the Twist-Elongating Style Cream and then seal it with oil, this time using olive oil.
It’s unclear why my hair didn’t take a liking to the oil. You would assume that an oil blend, like this, which has a variety of nourishing oils packed with vitamins and minerals, that can be used for all hair types, would soften, nourish, and seal my hair. Unfortunately, I did not get my desired results even after giving it another try.
What may work for others may not necessarily work for you
On a positive note, even though the expectation and experience that I hoped for with this product was not fulfilled, all was not loss — as I was able to use it as a body moisturizer.
Final Thoughts:
All things considered, I am happy with the Melanin Haircare line and Whitney’s (Naptural85) accomplishments over the years.
The Twist-Elongating Style Cream definitely performed well; it left my hair hydrated and retained moisture when sealed with the right oil. Also, it increased the manageability of my hair.
As for the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend (as a sealant), let’s just say my hair didn’t want it to be great. Although, I’m certain that the product is designed to soften, nourish, seal, and improve manageability of the hair, it didn’t do so for mine (and that’s OK)! What’s great about the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend is that it can be used for multiple purposes.
Although I don’t intend on using this product on my hair moving forward, it performs just fine as a body moisturizer.
I’m looking forward to the expansion of Whitney’s product line and I’ll definitely keep supporting!
But wait, there’s more . . .
Blog Giveaway |
Multi-Pure Oil Blend
If you made it to the end of this review, I’ve got some exciting news for you! I mentioned before that I had purchased two of the Multi-Use Pure Oil Blend; one solely to apply to my hair as a sealant and the other as a body moisturizer. As you know, the bottle that was used as a sealant did not perform well with my hair, and I’m now using it as a body moisturizer. Thus, I am left with one sealed bottle that I’d like to giveaway to one blessed person!
How To Enter :
Either (1) leave a comment below or on my most recent post on instagram of the type of oil(s) your hair responds well to OR (2) leave a comment below to share your thoughts if you purchased any Melanin Haircare Signature Collection items.
Giveaway winner will be announced Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 6:00 PM (MDT). Make sure to check back to see if your name has been drawn.
Edited (November 24, 2019) : If you are interested, you still have a chance!
Goodluck!
-xo
Hi! I used the cream and the oil, and it took two tries before I loved the cream. I think my hair wasn’t hydrated enough to give it the full benefit of the sealant. Because I’ve been taking better care of my hair recently and moisturizing every day, the cream and oil performed better! I don’t know if that’s your experience or not, but that definitely helped me.
Great blog!
Hair moisture is pivotal in our haircare regimen. I’m glad the products worked for you after taking the necessary action. The only issue I had was how my hair felt after using the oil as a sealant – it made my hair feel dry, hard and stiff. It’s unclear why but my hair didn’t respond well to it.
And thank you!!
xx
Hi There, Just a note on multi-purpose pure oil blend – I used it for first time on 5/9/20 and it made my hair rough and stiff. By the way my silver natural hair is fine with waves. I was hoping for a positive result , needless to say didn’t happen.
Thanks,
xx