In my length check video, I mentioned that my stylist recommended the Design Essentials Express Conditioner. I bought the Stimulating Conditioner and the Express Conditioner in 6oz bottles from Ulta. I later bought both conditioners during Design Essential’s Black Friday sale in 32oz tubs.
I’ve only used the Stimulating Conditioner twice and that’s all I needed to realize that my hair hated it. Womp womp. This conditioner has peppermint oil in it, which gave a great tingle to my scalp. That’s about where the good review ends. But take heart, there is a silver lining at the end of this review.
First, I shampooed with the Design Essentials shampoo and used the Joico Kpak reconstructor. When I applied the Stimulating Conditioner, my hair felt coated and oily. I sat under my hair steamer, but I felt like the product wasn’t being absorbed. It just sat on my hair. When I tried to rinse it out, the coated feeling never left my strands. My hair didn’t tangle or get hard but it also felt very weighed down. Blow drying was also harder than normal. My strands were just sticking together and my hair had no bounce or fluffiness to it.
Initially, I thought I was imagining the issue but when I used it a second time, I knew it wasn’t for my hair. Afterwards, I checked the ingredients and saw that mineral oil was the second ingredient. Since my hair is texlaxed and coarse, the mineral oil was just too heavy for my hair. But I figured it would work for natural, fine hair so I gave it to my mom to try.
Her hair LOVED it! It made her hair soft and easy to detangle. Plus it made her curls pop. After her hair dried, she said her hair still felt soft and moisturized. I gave her the 6oz bottle I got from Ulta, and the 32oz tub from the Black Friday sale.
If your hair is natural and you wear it curly, this conditioner would be awesome to try. Just get the 6oz bottle to test it first. I’m happy it worked for my mom, otherwise I’d have a huge tub of conditioner that I couldn’t use.
On a positive note, my hair loves their shampoos. I’ll do a review on the Express Conditioner when I try it. Have you used Design Essential products? What’s your experience?