Product Review: Alikay Naturals

Photo Credit: BlackOnyxWord

Hey all, so its time for another review and i could have sworn i did one on Alikay Naturals, LLC before but i guess not. So Alikay Naturals, LLC is a natural hair & body product line based in Florida, and smells heavenly. So far i have tried their lemongrass leave in conditioner (spritz), the honey sage deep treatment, the shea yogurt moisturiser, the creme brulee curl custard, and the essential 17 hair growth oil. (click on links to head over to the Alikay Naturals, LLC page for product information and price)

*review free of choice and products from my own money or my monthly curlkit subscription.. same thing*

PhotoCredit: CurlyandLovely

The first product i ever tried from them was the creme brulee curl custard, some time last year and it did wonders on my curls. They popped out gorgeously but i didnt like how my hair felt. It was a bit stiff and crunchy and my hair shrunk... a lot. Now this was in the stage of me still learning about my hair and what it likes. Also i dont think i used it in a way to really bring out the best of the product so i didnt write it off completely. I just saved it as something i would use as a later date. Especially since it smelled so heavenly. I think i spent more time sniffing it than actually wanting to use it in my hair lol

Photo Credit: AlikayNaturals

The second product i tried was the shea yogurt moisturizer. This was such a tiny sample that i only had enough to use on my ends only. At the time i was still working out a good moisturizing routine and shea butter worked great on my dry brittle ends, so i kept using it as such while i worked custards and cremes on my hair directly. Like i said my moisturizing routine was a work in progress and i had not discovered the LOC method yet. But my hair did like wjat the shea yogurt did i just wished i had a bigger size to see how my hair would really take to it.

Photo Credit: BlackOnyxWorld

Now, since the takeover last month for my CurlKit subscription, the only product i used was the lemongrass leave in.i used this product almost everyday while i had my marley hair loc extensions in. And yes the spritz did leave my hair smelling like lemons but it was a sweet scent that i could take any day. I continued using my own oil mixture for the duration of the time i had my twist in and kept spraying my hair with the spritz. It was lightweight and i really didnt have to worry about any product buildup since it was not heavy or a cream leave in. This stayed in my bag and continues to do so. Im making it stretch by adding water to it.

Photocredit: MyCurlyMane

Over the weekend i used the honey sage deep conditioner, the essential 17 hair growth oil, and the shea yogurt moisturizer. The honey sage conditioner had a thick but airy consistency, like it was whipped and and  a bit grainy. It went on my hair nicely and provided a good slip for my to finger detangle/comb my hair. The scent... hmmm... well in the bottle it was light but a bit musky, on my hair im sitting in the chair wondering why am i smelling pine sol... not not the lemon scent but the original, you know the amber liquid looking on. I was not happy. Im guessing it was the sage since honey does not smell that way to me in my hair. I love they way my hair felt afterwards -soft, moisturized, lush. The only thing is the smell... that pine sol smell, lingered... joy.

PhotoCredit: MyNaturalHaven

I sprayed the leave in, used the oil (i really like that it came in a mini applicator style... tube bottle with screw applicator top) and i realized the scent was stronger. Sniffing the oil mixture i knew why... seriously that pine sol scent was so strong.  my brother says it smells like Dettol (if your Caribbean you know what it is!) so it wasn't the deep conditioner but the oil. I went back to smell and compare the two, the conditioner and the oil. And i really do like the lightweight sweet but musky scent of the honey sage i dont know why it smelt liked pine sol in my hair but the oils... despite how good it may claim to work it (first time user), I would not purchase it ever, simply because the one i got smelt like straight pine sol. Hey first impressions are important. I looked at other reviews of the oil and saw that again with those that got it from CurlKit it smelt similar but purchased full size from website, it smelt like peppermint... hmmm.

Ill see if i can doctor it up with some peppermint. I think its the rosemary (never did like how that smelt on its own) and the emu oil (though i should smell it before i throw it under the bus). so i let you guys know later how it turned out after i 'fix' it. Other than the emu oil this is exactly like my own oil blend but my own smells so much better!!! So there really is no need for me to purchase this mix.

I would like to know what the rest of the ingredients are in the 'Herbal & Botanical blend' that they put on the labels. Also if they notice the double rosemary listed on the growth oil label. I'm not a stickler for these (just want to stay away from mineral oil, parabens, and sulfates... which it does) but you would think spell check and grammar would be put into use when mass producing something. also a complete listing of product for those that are product Nazis.. i mean what if there is something that someone is allergic to or gives a bad skin reaction?.. (you never know!)

So i have my hair twisted with the shea butter (will post pics tomorrow), i didnt use any gel like i normally would after the LOC method to lock everything in and give my extra hold. I wanted to see how my hair would react to all the Alikay Naturals, LLC products as is. Would i recommend, the stuff i used... absolutely. And if anyone can get over the scent of the essential 17 oil then by all means go for it. But like i said before not everyone experienced the same scent, just the one the takeover CurlKit from what i've heard online. If not then do like i do, buy the oils separately and make your own mix.

Heres a the store listing link for those that would like to find it somewhere other than online.

Enjoy.

A. Soul