Boucleme is one of those brands I’d heard about for months, but never really paid any attention to. I rarely wear my hair out. In between braids, it gets a deep conditioning treatment and it’s back in a protective style before you can reapply your lipstick.
I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about, when I left my hair out ‘to breathe’ for a few weeks.
A Britsh brand, created and manufactured here in the UK, Boucleme is the baby of founder, Michele Scott-Lynch, who grew frustrated with the sulphate and silicone based curl products available. She found they stripped away moisture and weighed down her hair.
Boucleme natural hair care was born and its simple 3 step system cleanse, condition, define will give you beautiful, shiny and frizz free curls. As nature intended, it’s free of nasties, only boasting natural ingredients and cruelty-free too. They also aim to use fair trade ingredients, wherever possible too.
I recently tried the Curl Cream (£19) and the Organic Curl Towel (£25). Now stocked in Space NK, the brands price point in comparable to many of the other brands available in the store – so not exactly cheap!
Firstly the Curl Cream which acts as an all in one leave-in conditioner and styler.
Key Ingredients:
Coconut Fruit Extract – reduces protein loss and has a high moisture retaining capacity.
Kukui oil – an ancient oil used in Hawaii for its moisturising properties. It will help lock in moisture and is an effective humidity repeller.
Coconut oil – scientifically proven to be able to penetrate the hair and strengthen from within. Coconut oil can prevent breakage, add lustre, shine and softness to the hair.
Shea Butter – has antioxidant properties and contains vitamins A & E
Castor oil – contains omega 6 & 9 fatty acids, vitamin E and minerals.
My hair is stubborn as hell and does not hold its natural curls well. Its texture is very soft and I believe my curl type is a mixture of 4A/4B – how accurate that is, I don’t know. I really don’t pay much attention to curl types and find the diagnosis process thoroughly confusing to be honest! My hair is prone to immense shrinkage when wet and due to this, I’m very reluctant to wear my hair out in its natural state, once air-dried. For the purpose of this review, I applied the curl cream to my damp hair, but brushed it up into a pony tail.
Touted as being suitable for medium and tight curl types, my curls were initially separated. My hair felt lovely and soft but the shrinkage just annoyed me and my hair sat on my head like an untamed mop. It didn’t take long for the atmosphere to take effect and the curls in my pony tail had fully disappeared within the hour and were replaced by an afro puff – literally. I don’t think it worked to the best of its ability on my hair type, but this didn’t surprise me. My hair is resilient and I’m yet to find products which will stop my hair reverting into a ball of frizz.
When drying my hair, I’m always careful not to ruffle the towel through my weat hair. Afro hair is fragile and the last thing I want to do is cause breakage by manhandling it, especially when it’s wet. The Organic Curl Towel is super soft and ideal for keeping hair Made from 46% organic cotton, 46% bamboo and 8% elasthane this absorbs excess water only allowing your hair to retain moisture. I love the novelty of having a special towel for drying my hair and I still use this 3 months down the line. In all honesty I don’t know if it makes an actual difference to my hair, seeing as I’m alwasy careful when it’s wet but the towel itself feels nice and I’ve found it’s easy to manage when I take it off and prepare it for a blow dry. At a cost of £25, would I have bought this myself had I not have the opportunity to try it free of charge? Hmmm it’s unlikely.
Don’t let my experience put you off. If you’re of mixed heritage or have european hair then you’ll most likely get on with these products like a dream and find they really help to define and show your curls off in all their glory. Depending on the end result you want and what texture your afro hair is, this brand may be hit and miss for you. If anything, I think I’d have most success with the shampoo and conditioner, rather than the actual styling products themselves.
Boucleme is available to purchase from SPACE NK.
*PR samples
