Product Review: Eden BodyWorks Coconut and Shea Natural Curling Jelly on Type 4 Natural Hair

I was first introduced to this product when it was part of the swag bag given at a natural hair event i attended a while back. Being the product minimalist that i am, this has been the primary way that i would discover new products to try. Swag bags are the best! Definitely nostalgic of those party bags we used to leave with  as a kid, just a more practical grown up version haha.

Getting a swag bag of new products to try out is only half the battle. Some lucky somebody gets to use them but it's usually not me, since more often than not they get gifted to a family member or friend. At this point i can't eem remember what made me reach for the product, but when i did i was immediately impressed with its Ahh-mazing SLIP! It's goupy consistency reminds me of natural aloe vera gel, the slimy stuff you get when you scrape the fleshy insides of the plant. 

I thought i would put this product to the test on a WashNgo. Usually when i style my hair  in a washngo i start off on freshly washed, throughly detangled hair! I layer my products using some variation of the loc method( L=liquid or leave in, O=oil of your choice, C=Cream, usually a heavy styling product) using whatever products i have on hand. For my leave in i try to use one that absorbs well into my low porosity hair without leaving a white residue. I am deathly afraid of running the risk of that residue not drying clear so i hold off from using white opaque products till i get to the C in the LOC method. I had some Mixed Chicks leave in laying around that i was trying to finish up so that is what i used as my L.

For my O, my oil of choice is always castor oil. TropicIsles Jamaican Black Castor Oil with the lavender scent is bae af! Castor oil has always been linked with encouraging hair growth. I can't say if the oil has had anything to do with how dense my hair has gotten over time because it's been my day one oil! Used it in my regimen since my transitioning days! 

How i used this product

I split my hair into three equal parts, parting horizontally. Clipped away the sections i wasn't working with, then i would separate that section further into three. I always use this strategy when styling my hair! It has been instrumental in helping me retain length and reducing breakage caused by parting and manipulation and you can see me demonstrate it here. 

I had never tried a jelly type product before and i was very skeptical. Although i have fine strands, i've always preferred heavier products to tame my coils. Using a heavier product allows me to have more control on how much frizz i create while fluffing  after my hair has dried. Whenever you're trying a new product you should always start off with a small amount of product to test out how well it works on that section and gradually  add more to your liking! So after i prepped my section with my leave in and my oil, i squeezed a dime size amount of the jelly to apply to my hair. I distributed the product along the section and was blown away by how slippery the product felt against my strands! Like, do you understand how much of a game changer this product is?!!! Washngo's are synonymous with knots! Naturals with type 4 hair fear washngoes the way dudes fear getting their side chicks pregnant! So to be able to slip and slide your fingers through your strands with a styler while defining your curls makes this product nothing short of heavenly! 

The definition the Eden Bodyworks Natural Curling Jelly gave my hair was too good to be true! I didn't want to risk having puffy root after my hair dried. So i followed my instinct and recruited my ole faithful EcoStyler Olive oil gel to hold me down. I applied enough to my roots to where i felt would ensure my curls clumped and spread the residue down the length of my hair down to my ends. If the section felt more sticky than slippery i would spritz some water to make it juicy. And when it dried... Oh Baby!!! My curls was on poppington and that aint eem the best part!!! 

It don't matter how long it takes you to wash and detangle and style your hair. We all gotta suffer through it! It's non negotiable! Healthy hair is in the habits ( ooouuuu you should tweet that haha and make sure you give me credit for coming up with it hahaha). But after we've send hours doing our hair we usually gotta wait a while for it to dry. Especially for a washngo, that can take anywhere from 2 hrs to a day depending on if you diffuse or let it air dry. Ya'll! My hair dried in TWENTY MINUTES!!!! You read that right, 20 mins! If you follow me on snapchat you would have seen me post the snap with the time stamp of what time i started to diffuse and 20 mins later it was dry! ( high heat, medium speed, safe distance)! 

Ya'll, this product combination has been my winter wasngo routine for two winters! But because it dries so damn fast it's perfect for year round! I mean, if you don't have to spend forever and a day waiting for your washngo  to dry then why would you? With the consistent results i get by using this Eden Bodyworks Natural Curling Jelly i have repurchased and will continue to purchase it! The results of getting three fast drying, non crunchy, super defined washngo's has earned Eden Bodyworks Natural Curling Jelly as a go to styler for a product minimalist like myself! I -am-obsessed!

Tips

The only con i have with this product is the slight flakes i get in the front of my hair but i honestly don't think its due to the Eden Bodyworks Natural Styling Jelly. I haven't found any product that doesn't leave white flakes in my bangs area. Even shampoo and conditioner leaves some amount of residue. Thats another struggle for another post. If you are leary about whether or not this product in combo with any other will create flakes you can try my girl Rose's method of mixing a drop of each on the back of your hand and seeing if they create white clumps. Also, really saturating your hair with water is also a tried and true strategy to diluting white residue from your strands, but the trade off is the drying time. Play with those to determine how it will work on your hair. 

Those are my thoughts on this bomb product! I will be posting a video showing you how i use this product.Let me know what you think of my results? Thank you guys for checking out my spot! Feel free to be nosy and take a look around 🤗.