Monoi Collection - Carols Daughter

I had heard some good things about the new Monoi Collection by Carol's Daughter. I looked up and read a few reviews on Amazon and on Carol's Daughter's website. After reading that most of the reviews were good, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I had used Carol's Daughter's Hair Milk in my daughter's hair and had used Tui Collection for about a year or so.


I went to my local Sephora and bought the Monoi Repairing Collection box for about $29 after taxes. The Monoi Repairing collection is advertised as making your hair stronger and longer. "Stronger, Longer, Invincible Hair! 1 Use. 13X longer life. Prevents breakage by 96%." This collection is targeted at repairing and strengthening hair with a "Tahitian Recipe for All Hair Types." The box contains a 4 fl oz. of the Monoi Repairing sulfate-free shampoo, a 4 fl oz Monoi Repairing conditioner and a 2 fl oz jar of the Monoi Repairing Mask.


"The stronger your hair is, the long it lives, and the longer it will grow. That's why the strand-strengthening Monoi Oil-an ancient recipe mad from the rejuvenating Tahiian Tiar Garrenia and Coprah Coconu Oil-is a must-have to help repair fine, delicate, or chemically-treated hair. Combined with fortifying and anti-breakage ingredients, the complete collection works to undo damage already done and prevent more from happening in the future."


Advertised ingredients:
Monoi Oil: Provides all over conditioning from root to tip *it also states on the box "Guarantees the purity, quality and use of authentic Monoi De Tahiti Oil*


Hibiscus Extract: Helps improve detangling when hairs wet


Bamboo Water: Helps reinforce your hair's structure from the inside


Pantheons: Helps to reconstruct your cuticle


Hydrolysis Silk: Helps fortify your hair against future damage




FIRST USE:


My first impression:
I liked the smell. Not to strong, not overbearing and even though its possible that it IS artificial, there's no classic artificial perfume scent.


Shampoo:
*I pre-wash my hair with a generic colorless, perfumeless, clarifying shampoo so that my hair will get the full benefit of the products I use.*
The texture of the shampoo is not very thick. Unlike the Tui Collection it took over 2 or 3 minutes to get a lather. My hair sucked up the shampoo so fast that it wouldn't lather without using about 1/4 of the bottle. While shampooing my hair I definitely know why the box states over and over to rinse well. The shampoo felt almost slimy and was very hard to wash completely out. It took about 5 minutes to get it completely washed out. I notice very quickly that my hair was very soft and my curls were looser than normal when I wash my hair. I was able to comb my fingers through my wet hair with little effort and tangle.


Conditioner:
Unfortunately, I was not too impressed with the Monoi Repairing Conditioner. It may have reinforced what the shampoo had already done but it didn't feel like it did too much. It was very moisturizing, however. It seemed to have detangled my hair a little more but not much more. Again, it took very long to wash it completely out.


Repairing Mask:
After rinsing the Monoi Repairing conditioner completely out with luke warm water I applied the Monoi Repairing Mask. It was not what I expected after using the shampoo and conditioner. I thought at least the mask would be thick and give good coverage but it wasn't. I had to use the whole jar to condition all my hair. Unlike the shampoo it did not absorb into my hair and took some massaging to get it into my hair from root to tip. I used my heated cap to give a 15 minute deeper treatment as suggested on the box.


Blow dry:
I was very surprising by my next step. My hair is very thick and curly and at the slightest hint of dryness combing the hair in the middle of my head out is like a scene out of The Color Purple. But after rinsing the Monoi Repairing Mask and towel drying I was able to comb though my hair very easily. I was even able to blow dry my hair completely dry on the Cool/High setting. I normally use a heat protectant but I wanted to get full results from the Monoi Collection.


End result:
I would suggest trying this product if you have thick and/or damaged hair and you need good moisture. I would suggest following up with a light oil while blow drying if you are going to use heat. Be careful when rinsing these products out. If they are not washed out thoroughly it can leave your hair feeling greasy or even slimy. It may take some extra time but the full benefit of these products are worth it.


I will follow up next week with my thoughts after the second use.