Hey everyone! It's liz and I am back with not a "new" brand, but rather an in depth review that ya'll may or may not have already seen via instagram. I posted a cute wash day video, and even hosted a giveaway with this brand (congrats again to the three winners!), but I haven't yet gave you all a full review on my thoughts of each individual product that I've tried. That's what I'll be doing today. I know sometimes y'all see brand influencers doing those cute wash day and styling videos with products with those big smiles and flawless faces and you think to yourself "well how do you REALLY feel about those products?" Well, I'm going to keep it real with y'all (as I always do but especially for this time), this is not a paid review so if you weren't sure about my honesty any other time, be sure to be sure now (lol). There is no filter with or without payment (ya'll know this), but you know for the new comers I thought I'd just put that out there.
Lets talk about the Brand...
With its royal blue and gold embellishments and that beautiful side profile of our Ancient Egyptian ancestor, the most beautiful Queen Nefertiti, Nefertiti's Secret gives us a reminder of our rich history and sets the standard very very high for themselves in terms of quality and efficacy. Naming your brand after such an important figure, and emulating such luxury, says to me that you are extremely confident in the quality of your product. Do you think the brand cracked up to what it's supposed to be? Keep reading!
Here I have a full wash day regimen of products by Nefertiti's Secret. It includes the Sulfate-Free revitalizing shampoo, the complete hydration conditioner (which can be used as a Co-wash, rinse out conditioner, and leave in conditioner), the Ultimate rejuvenating treatment (a deep conditioner), and their Moringa oil. The brand also offers a separate leave-in conditioner. It is a very simple wash & style regimen for the simple naturalista who looks for one brand to satisfy all of her needs. Later on in this blog, I'll discuss what curl type I think this brand works best for.
WASH DAY STEP 1 & 2: Sulfate Free Revitalizing shampoo & Complete Hydration Conditioner
As you all may know already, rarely do I ever pre-poo my hair or detangle my hair before washing. I just dive right in to my shampoo. I section my hair into 2-4 parts (depending on how lazy I'm feeling), and go to town. The texture of the Sulfate-free revitalizing shampoo is pretty normal. A little-moderate amount goes a long way and the shampoo does give a ton of suds (which may be a plus if you're into that). It did not strip my hair or give me a dry feeling, but it did give my hair a moderate squeaky clean feeling that I liked. For me, this wasn't want of those shampoos that provided so much softness that I can go right ahead and detangle with it in, but I was able to kind of separate my strands to avoid knots while cleansing. Overall, it does what you need it to do.
I then used the complete hydration conditioner, which as I mentioned before is a multi-use product (cowash, conditioner, and leave in), For this wash day, I used it as a rinse out conditioner. One thing I will say is that this conditioner smells overwhelmingly wonderful. It a soft, subtle scent that lingers in your hair but is not too strong as to turn off someone with a sensitive sense of smell like myself. This conditioner has a pretty decent amount of slip. It softens the hair and gives it just the right amount of moisture and shine you need to be satisfied with the results. The only downside is that this is an 8oz bottle which tends to go by pretty fast for naturalista's with thick manes and I did need a little more than a moderate amount to be able to detangle my hair. Fortunately, this products are available in multiple sizes (including salon sizes).
Step 3: Ultimate rejuvenating treatment
Thus far, I am pretty satisfied with Nefertiti's Secret but nothing has really given me a WOW factor - that is until it was time for me to deep condition. The Ultimate rejuvenated treatment was another product that smells amazing (it smells exactly like the complete hydration conditioner), but the slip to this product is AMAZING. This product melted my curls and gave them a royalty worthy level of shine and moisture that only quality deep conditioners deliver to my hair. The deep conditioner immediately melted in my hair (so no white residue sitting on top of my hair). Also, this was one of those rare gems where a little actually does go a long way. I used a little over a quarter size for each of my four sections before twisting and placing under a microwavable heat cap.
When I rinsed out the product my hair was in heaven. My curls were totally soft, defined, and smelling heavenly. I was super happy with the results and I definitely see myself reaching for this product over and over again in the future. Again, my only issue is that this is an 8oz bottle, and that it is in a bottle rather than in a jar. I prefer my deep conditioner in a jar for easier access. Also, I'm a little weary of anything that clears to "repaid split ends" because in my opinion, the only way to repair them is to cut them. I would much rather it say that it helps to 'prevents' split ends.
Keep in mind that this product does contain protein. It is a moisture/protein balanced deep conditioner that it ideal to be used before and after protective styling or heat styling.
Step 4: Sealing in moisture with the Moringa Oil
Over and over again I tell ya'll that I am not a big fan of using oils in their 'oil' form in my hair. I usually seal my hair with butters that contain oils rather than oils themselves because I always find that oils tend to weigh down my hair or give me that heavy, greasy feeling. However, it is safe to say that the Nefertiti's Secret Moringa oil is by far my favorite oil of all time. It is light weight, it smells amazing, and it delivered an amazing level of softness to my hair without that oily, greasy feeling that you normally would get from using other oils. I'd say if you chose to buy only one oil to use in your hair for absolutely all of your needs, this one would be it.
This is definitely one of those "magical" concoctions that with consistent use, will grow your hair, strengthen your hair, condition your hair, and improve the overall health of your hair. This oil is also very rare in that it is rarely ever used in other products. This oil is definitely what sets Nefertiti's Secret apart from others. Trust me, this is a MUST HAVE.
Who's it for & my final rating
I'd say that these products are best suited for type 3 curlies and type 4a/b curlies. I wouldn't recommend these products for a 4C curlies because she may have to use a lot of the conditioner and deep conditioner at once, which isn't really cost effective unless you're taking the dive and getting the salon size bottles. On the other hand, I'll say the Moringa oil is for all hair types (including the kinkiest of the kinks).
On the scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest, I'd give this brand an overall score of about a 3.7. The products do exactly what they're suppose to do. They smell amazing. The deep conditioner and oil really did give me a WOW factor, but I'd like a jar for my deep conditioner rather than the bottle. Also, I think that this selection is not very 4C friendly in that it doesn't include a heavier consistency product for styling. I can imagine the leave in conditioner being a pretty thin consistency rather than a buttery consistency. The moringa oil is definitely a MUST MUST MUST have.
