Let's talk about stretch, baby

 Living Proof has come out with a new curl line. It contains a low lather shampoo, a conditioner with an ingredient list pretty similar to that of the reformulated restore mask (and frizz mask and whatever 3rd mask they came up with to charge people more money for less product; since the curl conditioner is much larger than the masks, it's a pretty good deal), three different curl defining products (waves/curls/coils), an all purpose gel, and an oil (just stop it with the oils already, Living Proof, you suck at them).

Any products which promise to elongate curls have been tried and tested by me. The old standby is KCCC. I have used DevaCurl Super Stretch with mild enthusiasm to displeasure. I tried the really bad smelling one from Shea Moisture. It was better than nothing, but it didn't compare to DevaCurl or KCCC, and it smelled, um, not pleasant.

I recently found out about Melanin Twist Elongating Style Cream. To my knowledge, it is only available at Ulta, where it had been out of stock since I discovered it. I tried, to no avail, to purchase it in stores where it was "in stock." It was not in stock. DC, Maryland, Virginia, Chicago, Skokie, Niles, Northbrook. Nothing. Lo and behold, Wheeling had one in stock. I had never been to Wheeling. I know absolutely nothing about it. I was quarantining, and that was where my hotel was located. 

I found another pretty awesome thing there - the Matrix knock-off of Olaplex 2 on clearance. It's way better than Olaplex 2 (or 3).

Anyway.

The Melanin product (one of only three in the entire line, the other two consisting of a shampoo and conditioner) blew me away. It's great. I felt wasteful purchasing it - not because it was a bad deal - it's $16 for just over 16oz, but because, given the ingredient list, I know that there is no way I can use up this whole tub before it expires/goes bad. I mean, I don't feel that bad...

The only drawback to the Melanin product is that it does build up. If you reapply it after using it the previous day, your hair will not do the gorgeous stuff it does after washing and using the product. It will get gunky, sticky, you know the drill; however, if you wake up with crazy curls going everywhere messy tangle madness, just rinse. The product doesn't seem to rinse out easily; it needs at least something low-lathering in order to remove it.

Your milage may vary, but I'm impressed.

Oh, wait! This was about Living Proof's new curl line, and more specifically, the curl elongator (I can't speak to the other styling products). Check out my photo. Notice anything similar?

Wow. They're the same color. Wait! There's more. The ingredient lists are surprisingly similar, not only in that they contain nearly identical ingredients, but in that they contain nearly identical ingredients in nearly identical orders. Living Proof uses fragrances and a few more preservatives, neither of which I take issue with. Truth be told, the Living Proof elongator smells nice-ish. The Melanin product smells, well, like what it is - a bunch of ingredients that don't necessarily smell bad combined. It doesn't have a lasting fragrance, but strangely, it's easy to detect? Who nose (puns!). I am overly sensitive to fragrance; most people wouldn't notice any fragrance at all in the Melanin product.

I digress. To recap - packaging, color, ingredients, and wait! There's more! Both are out of Boston. Is something afoot? I may have been watching a few too many mysteries during quarantine. Or have I? You tell me. I'll post pictures with each product later this week. Spoiler alert: I think Melanin kinda wins apart from the whole fragrance thing. I'm going to test out the Living Proof product a few more times before making a final judgement.

Full disclosure, I have never been given a product to test. Sometimes, I don't even get products when I pay for them. Shocking as it may be, I'm pretty sure no one has ever seen this blog.

Love,

Henna Much