Miss Jessie’s Product Review
I bet you didn’t even know you were waiting for a product review, did you? Well it seems many of my readers have been!
Since I went natural, the drumbeats have slowly been building. When I started Afrobella back in August, they almost became deafening. Must. Try. Miss. Jessie’s. Curly. Pudding! And I wanted to so, so much. But like I said then, playing with my money is like playing with my emotions. $58 is a LOT to shell out for a hair product. Even if it’s one that’s got the Oprah seal of approval.
Miss Jessie’s has become the holy grail of curly hair products for many a well-to-do afrobella, and I’ll admit, I was skeptical. But the drumbeats kept going strong. Of all of the 234 posts I’ve written so far, my one little Miss Jessie’s post has gotten the most reader feedback. Months after I’ve written it, they keep coming. 73 comments and counting, from bellas who have tried it and liked it, hated it, want to dish dirt about the salon, or came out transformed by the experience. I didn’t know WHAT to make of the disparity of comments. But recently, I was lucky enough to get my hands on all four Miss Jessie’s products. Now that I know the score for myself, I’m gonna break them down for you as raw and honest as you’ve come to expect.
Finally I understand why these items are so darn expensive — you’re paying for a full, heavy 16 oz of product. That’s a pound of hair goop! They’re salon size, with detailed instructions included. I use a LOT of hair product, so usually I go through jars of moisturizer very quickly. But my experience so far with Miss Jessie’s definitely proves that less is more when it comes to this stuff. And having started to use them, I think I’m gonna have enough to last me till 2008.
The first product I tried was the Baby Buttercreme, which costs $58. I will definitely be passing this jar along to my niece Dominique when she comes to visit in May! I think it’s exactly what her mom’s been looking for — a super hydrating hair product that leaves hair soft, moisturized, satisfied, and manageable. The scent is my favorite of the four, it’s like mild vanilla frosting. I like the baby buttercreme, but my mistake may have been in using too much at once; it left my curls limp and heavy, albeit very moisturized. But just a dab when my hair’s still wet from the shower is all I need for a day of moist, well behaved, deliciously scented hair. It’s perfect for parents who need something to make their little afrobellas’ hair behave before you pack them off to school.
I can’t decide which is my favorite Miss Jessie’s product — Curly Buttercreme, or Curly Meringue. I love the results from both! The meringue is a heavier product, and smells like lemon creme. The Buttercreme is a thick, mint-scented moisturizing cream that slathers on thick and leaves my curls super-moist and heavy. It has a strong scent that eventually fades, and it also has a refreshing minty tingle on the scalp. But both products really worked to bring out the existing curl pattern in my hair.
Each tub of Miss Jessie’s comes covered in teeny text that gives directions for their best styling methods. Seriously, my friend Jessica spent like 15 minutes just reading the jar!
Buttercreme is perfect for two-strand twists, puffs, and wash and go styles, and it’s definitely more of a moisturizing hairdress.
Meringue is a styling product that comes with detailed fingerstyling and shingling instructions, which I definitely plan to try when I have the time. Those processes could take ages with the amount of hair I have! Just to comb out my hair takes a while, then to part it all, liberally apply product, Stretch it, position it, THEN sit under a table top dryer and completely dry it? Oh, man. That’s more than a three hour tour.
How I’ve been using this stuff is a shortened method that I just tried because I was in kind of a hurry — combed my hair out in the shower, then when my hair was still very damp, I applied Curly Meringue and stretched out my curls as best I could. Then I was gonna be late for work so I had to go! But I left my windows partially down on my commute, so my hair dried. Sort of. These products REALLY keep your hair moist, to the point that that I touched my hair mid-day, and it still felt kind of cold and more moist than I expected. But I couldn’t be happier with the curl results.
My hair texture tends to be very dry, and my hair usually tends to frizz out, leaving my defined curls with lots of loose halo hairs emerging. But both the Curly Buttercreme and the Meringue made my curls behave, and the weight of the product made for guaranteed curlage and touchability. Which is what makes me not love Curly Pudding as much as I thought I would.
As arguably the most well-known product in the line, I waited last to try the pudding. I expected to fall in love the hardest with this lilac colored, minty hairdress. But surprisingly, no.
Don’t get me wrong, Curly Pudding defines my curls better than almost anything else I’ve tried so far. But it makes my hair really crunchy. My curls dried into perfect spirals, and if you’re going somewhere fancy, styling your hair for a night out on the town or for a wedding or some special event — you can’t go wrong with curly pudding. But I don’t use gel or mousse for this very reason — I like my hair to be touchable AND defined. Curly Pudding made it picture perfect, but I won’t use it on the daily.
And the bottom line is, Miss Jessie’s is a really good line of hair products, and if your hair is dry and unruly, you definitely should check them out. BUT, and this is a big but… it’s not a miracle worker. If your hair doesn’t already have naturally defined ringlets, slapping on some Miss Jessie’s won’t transform kinks into curls.
Those before and after photos you’ve been admiring all are after hours of styling processes, some of which involve chemicals. So if you’re planning to purchase and you have very kinky, very thick hair, don’t expect your hair to look like Rachel True’s after using Miss Jessie’s. Your hair will be nourished and sated, but unless you take the time to shingle, finger curl, and dry your hair, the results won’t be as dramatic as the befores and afters.
Everyone’s big beef with Miss Jessie’s is the PRICE. Few of us can afford to drop a minimum of $38 on a product that isn’t guaranteed to work. Well, there’s good news in that department. Miss Jessie’s will soon be unveiling 2 oz travel sizes that range from $7 to $9! So that’s a GREAT way for curious afrobellas to give the products a try and decide which one works best for them.
Stay tuned to find out when they hit the shelves, and to hear about some NEW Miss Jessie’s products set to debut soon. And keep reading for a big interview with the one and only Titi Branch!
Category: Hair
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Comments (116)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Sites That Link to this Post
- afrobella » Condition Contented | November 30, 2007
- I LOVE Black History Month! — The Benefits of Buttercreme at afrobella | February 4, 2008
Great review bella. Do you think Miss Jessies would be good for 2b/2c hair?
Hey,
Do you think the butter creme is worth the try for locks. I have spongy, very kinky thick hair, and I need a really good daily moisturizer that will last all day. . . .
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
I was a huge Miss Jessies fan until I came across some products called Kinky Curly. Miss Jessies curly pudding is really good but too thick. These products are fabulous. My hair is very tight curls but frizzy at the same time and I absolutely adored it. I must agree with Afrobella, the curly pudding would leave my hair corky but not with a lot of volume. It would elongate my hair but it would be straight at the same time.
I bit the bullet and tried Miss Jessie’s products a couple of months ago. I got the Curly Pudding and Baby Creme. I didn’t like the smell of either and they did nothing for my hair. BUT,what I did like was the amazing customer service at Miss Jessie’s. I called the company to say I would be returning the products but first wanted to know if I was doing something wrong. The representative was really nice and told me I had probably used to much. She asked that I try it again and if I still didn’t like it, return it. I didn’t like it and returned the products. I sent an e-mail to let them know to expect a UPS box with the returned items and got several follow-up e-mails and was told when my refund would be processed.
So….now I am trying Carol’s Daugher Black Vanilla Leave-in Conditioner and Hair Milk. I am in love!! My curls are well defined and not as tight and my hair is soooo soft!! My old standby is Gariner Fruitis Leave-In conditioner for Curly hair which only costs about $3 with tax, but I wanted something all natural and Carol’s Daughter fit the bill!!
Oh wow, my friend sent me an email and I just wrote about this too!
This will definitely be a big hit for Miss Jessie’s.
I just recently received a jar of Curly Meringue, courtesy of theorganicbeautyexpert.com. Both my daughter and I have twist extentions so I’m like dying to try this product But I think I’m going to take out my daughter’s twists and try it on her hair tonight.
thanks for the view afrobella! i recently shelled out for the curly pudding and was DEVASTATED that i made my waves even straighter. definitely not a good look. so i sold it to my sister for $20 and that really hurt, because – yes – her hair is much thicker and coarser than mine – but she has a relaxer – and it worked great for her! i was thinking of trying the buttercreme, though, because my hair is very fine and i’m experiencing a little breakage around their hair line. i was also thinking of carol’s daughter stuff – do you have thoughts/recommendations, for a ‘bella that actually needs to increase curl?
I gave up on these products long time agao as to the mineral oil and yucky additives. I used the Buttercream and did not like it and it built up my hair dirty like crazy and the Curly pudding left my hair hard as a rock. I gave up with Miss Jessies. Good Luck to all whom love them
I tried the curly pudding last year, and i was not impressed. It left my hair hard and it flaked up. I didn’t have the patience to shingle my hair, I’m more of a wash and go type. The price was a turn off too. I’m using Curls Milkshake now and I like it. I just ordered some stuff from Kinky Curly and I can’t wait to try it. Bella keep up the good reviews!!
hi bella,
good post.
you need to post your before and after pics. I would love to try buy the price is to high. My hair wouldnt be the right length any way.
I’ve tried Miss Jessies when I first went natural 2 1/2 years ago and I too was not impressed. I do think they need to lower the price just a little….but hey…that’s just me….i’m cheap.
I know my Nappturality fam can suggest many other options for a cheaper price. Try Oyin Handmade or Qhemet as well….
Yeesh, I hate re-reading my work and discovering typos! So sorry, bellas. I wrote this as I was rushing to leave for work this morning. Will fix when I get home from the o-face.
Bella,
I am glad you had good results with these products. I would like to see the before and after pics as well! After using my second jar of Curly Pudding, I think I prefer my cheap-o curl activator gel from Sally’s. That grape kool-aid smell is so strong and all the fragance burns my scalp a little. I love the Curly ButterCreme though. It is great for days when I don’t wet my hair. The only one I haven’t tried is the Curly Meringue. Now that they have trial sizes I will definitely check it out.
Good suggestion, Keysha… I try not to post too many pictures of myself on the site. I can’t stand when bloggers load up their sites with photos of themselves. You know who I’m talking about! But in this instance, it will really help. I got a hair cut so expect some updated photos of me to come up soon as I write about that experience!
Just chiming in on the choir to post before and after pics. Some of us may find them helpful to determine whether to shell out the cash for the products (but I’m one of those type bloggers, huh?)
Miss Jessie’s is the ISH! It is well worth the bucks. Just use sparingly.
Rei, I wasn’t talking about you! I love hair blogs like yours, and looking at Fokti pages. But because I’m essentially writing a blog that’s kind of meant to almost be a magazine for women of color, I don’t want to come across as a self-promoter or someone trying to be famous. I was referring to a particular, very popular site that I’m desperately trying to wean myself away from. You know…
I used to use the Curly Pudding and after a while, I was itching for something else. Right now the combo that works for me is the Curly Milkshake and the Kinky Curly Curling Custard. Right now my hair is the hair I’ve always wanted.
Bella,
I had the same issue with the Curly Pudding at first but what I have realized is that if I emulsify about a dime worth in my palms and scrunch it into my curls at the very end of my styling process it gives hold without crunch. It took me a while though, the consistancy/amount was sort of difficult to figure out.
hi afrobella, just out of curiosity, could you list for us the first three ingredients on the label. thanks.
Bella, the travel sizes are currently available! I just ordered the 2 oz. versions of Curly Pudding and Curly Meringue to see which one might stretch out my 3C curls. Love your site!
I read two other posts and I see I’m not the only one who is trying the Kinky Curly products. They are really good and well worth it. For those of you interested here is the website: http://www.kinky-curly.com
there website is informative , i would also like to visit the salon !! I want to try the pudding the meringue and the creme!
I have two unfinished jars of meringue and Curly Pudding. I don’t like how they make my hair dry.
I’ve had far better success with some styling gel, water + olive oil spritz, and Curls Whipped Cream on my ends. Much cheaper than $58 too.
I bought the Curly and Baby Buttercremes during their BOGOF sale over Christmas. My hair is fine with a mix of every-which-a-way strands and tight coils that shrink 50-75% or more (aka “plain ol’ nappy”). Using VERY small amounts of either Buttercreme to create two-strand twists produces great twistouts with moisture for days… however the build up is crazy and the lanolin caused a small breakout along my hairline. I also don’t find my hair to be as “touchable” as when I use Qhemet Biologics products — mixing Honeybush Hair Gel with a little Alma & Olive Heavy Cream or Sidr Butter gives my twistouts the same softness, moisture, and definition as with the Buttercremes without the buildup and greasiness. So, won’t be repurchasing.
A hairdresser recently used the Curly Meringue with the Buttercreme on me to produce a twistout after deepconditioning with BBD Stretch. Something “seized,” producing white precipitate throughout my hair like a horrendous case of dandruff… which I washed away, like my money, the next day. So “boo” to the Meringue.
For the person who asked about the ingrediants of Curly Buttercreme: acetylated lanolin, bees wax, butter(shea), butter (cocoa), carbomer-940, castor oil, deionized water, dilauratelaneth 15, fd&c yellow 5, fragrance, glycerine, glyceryl sterate, glyceryl hydrolyzed animal protein, imadazolidinyl, jojoba oil, laneth 15, mineral oil, methyl paraben, milk protein, panthenol, paraffin, peg 400, peg 100 sterate, peppermint oil, petrolatum, placenta, propyl paraben, triethanolamine, urea, vitamin e, wheat germ oil.
Given the beeswax, I don’t think this is a good product for locs.
Thanks for your thoughts. I am pretty much in agreement with all you’ve stated. My least favorite is the Curly Pudding for the very reasons that you mentioned. I actually like using the Baby Buttercreme the most. I have yet to try the Meringue.
I am new to this site and also newly natural. I love all of the suggestions. I have short hair and had a texturizer up until a couple of months ago. I got it cut down to the new growth and per your suggestion, used Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Fortifying Deep Conditioner 3 Minute Masque followed by the Curls & Shine leave-in treatment. Reading the information on this site and the posts has made the transition pretty painless. I think I will try Carol’s Daughter products next. Thanks!
Bella,
You have a captivating and wonderfully addictive site. I doubt any of your readers would ever find you self-promoting, but since your judgment has gotten you this far, keep it up! I don’t know the other site (I’m slow today), but apparently that’s because it hasn’t been worth finding. I’m glad to hear the trial sizes are available, I think I may play guinea pig a little.
Yeah, it is the ish! I normally use curly pudding,but I dilute it with a little water and put it in a spray bottle and it works just as well
Hey Bellas…
I am interested in hearing more about the Kinky Curly products–I’m transitioning (six more weeks to go!) and I’m trying to decide between the Kinky Curly, Miss Jessie’s, or the Curls products. Thanks!
Great post Afrobella–I’m an avid writer myself and I it’s inspiring to see another sista doing her thing!
Well I think Ms Jessie’s is good for the time being..the ingredients give me pause for long term use and healthy hair. Tho listed low, mineral oil. petroleum,beeswax, all things that are hair killing. Be light with this and wash it out at least.
This is a great review. I used Miss Jessie’s when I was a natural girl and I did not like the curl pudding AT ALL because of the reasons that you stated. I do love the baby buttercreme more than the regular buttercreme. When I did my two strand twists…they lasted longer and held a nice curl pattern without frizzing.
I would highly recommend the baby buttercreme. I still use it to this day.
I love the Curly Pudding and the Buttercreme. I usually wash my hair every three days and finger twist with the Curly Pudding. In the morning I use the Buttercreme to smooth out any frizz. Hey if you have any unused jars sale them on Ebay. Lot’s of people want to try the products without having to pay an arm and a leg
Hi Afrobella, so I have been to Miss Jessies website and I have naturally curly hair that looks the same as the girls in the pictures…however, to get my curls to be loose and flowing I have to do a number of tricks. Luckily, I work right down the street from a retailer for the product and your review along with the information I got from Miss Jessies website has convinced me that the 38.00 dollars will be well worth it. Thanks –Royann
I LOVE the Curly Buttercreme for my hair..I found that I could re-activate the product the next day with just a spritz from a water bottle. It gave my natural hair a “wet” look even after it dried. I WAS NOT impressed with the Curly Pudding…feels like buid-up on my hair..yuck.
I have short, curly hair — I cut my locks (7 years’ worth) down to about 3 inches. Now, I’m about 5-6. I use John Frieda’s Dream Curls, believe it or not. All I do is wet it, squeeze the excess water out, spray it on, and it holds my curls, and keeps them shiny all day.
WOW…I have a lot to say about these products. I was introduced to the website by my sister, who said I just had to look at the before/after photos. I did, and was thrilled to see girls with huge hair like mine in their before pictures come out with gorgeous, chem-free ringlets. But, I was in DC and broke. Sigh.
Fastforward about 2 years to Feb 07. I’m in grad school in Baltimore, and have recently discovered the brilliant Afrobella. Reading through one of the comment sections, I found that MIKO, head stylist and founder of Miss Jessie’s (Curve), had relocated to DC!! FLush with a pocketful of student loans and birthday money, I jumped on the marc train to my hometown.
Like many black girls I know, I entered all salons with high hopes and INVARIABLY left with a broken heart. That’s what led me to stop faking the funk 8 years ago and go natural– clearly I was reaching for a standard of beauty I could not attain. I learned to accept my hair, but n ever could really embrace it– it was way too puffy and had a wierd shape to it, so I was unable to wear it out after it reached my shoulders. I wore it pinned up or in a large pouf on top of my head. SOme days it looked ok, others…ugh. Most importantly, I was forced to wet it in the shower every day in order to get it too look passable. About four years ago, I noticed my hair was far less thick than it had bee, and it fell out copiously in the shower. All this changed, however, after my appointment with Miko.
Yes, she’s expensive, but she’s worth it. She’s a small lady with a calm demeanor, mellow. WHen I met her, I noticed that her natural hair is perfectly thick from root to tip and reached well below her shoulders– clearly she knows how to take care of her own hair. (Which made me think– how many hairdressers had I been to whose own hair was broken off and damaged, or who covered thier hair with weaves? Clearly these were NOT the right people to teach a young girl how to care for and respect her hair.)
Anyway, she combed out my hair to see the overall shape, noting that it was very uneven and had a lot of breakage. She gave me a haircut– and I won’t lie, she had to cut a lot off in order to even it out, but she still managed to leave some length. Next: wash, deep condition. Then, her assistant singled my hair with curly pudding, showing me how to do it to get good results at home. Tnen, I sat under the dryer FOREVER! But when I was finally able to look in the mirror, I was thrilled. For the first time ever, I was both happy with how my hair looked AND knew I’d be able to maintain it mayself! Miko added baby buttercreme after my hair was totally dry for moisture.
The one flaw with Miko’s salon is that she was not selling the Miss Jessie’s products at the time: I had to walk a few bloks to another place to buy them. I shelled out almost $100 for the curly pudding and baby buttercreme. WHen I got back to Baltimore, I bought a little $30 Gold n’ Hot tabletop dryer, a rattail comb, and large plastic clips from the nearby beauty supply. My style from the salon lasted about 10 days before it needed to be refreshed. I’ll admiot, I was nervous my first attempt would turn out crazy, but it looked good! It took about 5 hours cuz I did a 30 min deep condition, which I do not do all the time. I was able to leave for a quick trip abroad with full hair confidence (corny, but true!) knowing I wouldn’t have a bad hair day f-ing up my pictures. I just packed a travel-size container of buttercreme and my satin sleep cap.
Since that first self-style my technique has improved. Washing, condtioning, and Shingling takes about one hour. I am under the dryer for about 2 hours, so I just do some reading or listen to the veganfreak podcast. (I am a new vegan). ALl in all, it takes about 3 hours, once a week. If that sounds like a lot, let me remind you that I don’t wet my hair every day, fuss with it in the morning, or fret about how the style has deteriorated throughout the day. Belive me, that saves a LOT of time– and stress.
I sleep in a satin cap and fluff my hair up with buttercreme in the morning–and that’s it.
I know it’s wierd that I just wrote this whole long thing. No I am not Miko or a friend of Miko. I am just a one time client (although I plan to return this summer) But I am so grateful to her because through one session with her, my self-confidence and overall qaulity of life has improved, a lot. MOST IMPORTANTLY, my shit has stopped falling out– prob because I am not wetting it and scraping it back everyday, duh. I wholeheatedly recommend anyone with the extra dough go see Miko at least once. Unless you’re hair is fairly silky or “silkened,” I DO NOT recommend using the Ms. Jessie products without shingling!! Belive me I got lazy last week and tried. ALso, the buttercrene is rather thick and sticky and I would not nec. recomend it. I am currently looking for a new hair balm, ( but there’s no rush cuz I still have more than half a jar left!). The most nec. product for me is the curly pudding, which is only $30 or so. One jar has lasted me since mid Feb, and I think I have enough left for one more shingling.
To prove I am a real person, I am sending a pic to Ms. Afrobella. NOT TO POST– I’m a private person! But so she will know this is not an advertisement.I hope she does not mind i took up all this space on her messageboard! I wish I had a before pic available, but I generally avoided them unless my har was pressed. ( sad I know). Well, my hair is dry…I cen get out from under this dryer now! I hope this message helps someone out there. I’d like to end by suggesting all you afrobellas decolonize your diet and GO VEGAN!
–D. Darling
I don’t know, i saw another post on 2 forums and a woman shelled out like $225 for finger coils! She also felt pressurised to get a silkner ( how can a chemical procedure cost the same as simple styling i don’t know)
My curly puff loves this stuff! Great Review.
I just love Happy Hair stories — thanks for sharing yours, D. Darling!
I too am a vegan and want to share with D. Darling that ALL of the Miss Jessie’s products contain animal products esp. the curly pudding and buttercreme.
I will share my comments on my recent visit with Miko when I have more time.
umm i know that this is late as a comment but do you have any before/after pics that you could share with us? the ones at Miss jessies are so dramatic i’m still too scared to buy it!!! my hair aura is telling me otherwise though! LOL
MAra– Dayum, even the curly pudding has animal products??? Boo.
At D: I really enjoyed your testimony, too bad you won’t have your pics posted for the rest of the readers to see, anyway thank you for your opinion.
Does Miss Jessie products work well on transitioning hair, or all natural?
I meant to ask does it only work on ALL natural hair?
Designdiva,
I tried to use the Curly Pudding when I was transitioning, it didn’t do anything for me since the relaxed part of my hair did not curl at all. But the Curly Buttercreme is and was great for moisture, even during my transitioning period, and it helped me slick up my ponytail (my signature style back then when my hair wasn’t braided or twisted.)
RJ and Design Diva–
If I can manage to blur/obscure my face out, I will certainly email you some pics, perhaps thru your myspace pages?
–D. Darling
It occurs to me that a forum might be a good next move for this site…
Wow, just discovered your site and I’m addicted. I’ve tried curly puddng and buttercream. I find I don’t need buttercream if I condition properly (I use Ouidad for that and love the gel also). Curly pudding looks great is used on very wet hair in serious moderation…I separate into sections and run through with very little product. Although I love the Knot Today from Kinky Curly…I hate the gel. Too crunchy, from everyone’s review I’m wondering if I got a bad batch. Any advice on how to use it, right now I barely put any in and it’s still a crunchy mess.
Hey, Well i say hats off to Titi and Miko Branch when they created Curly Pudding because that was the beginning of my curly hair regime. When I spotted the product in the Essence Magazine, i was like FINALLY an all in one product. Previously, I had been using oil, water,mousse,gel,everything, and it was just a lot of gunk and build up! My findings? Curly Pudding smells really sweet, like bubble gum, it worked when my hair was shorter,and still had relaxed ends, but not so much now. I LOVE Curly meringue! IT works well for me. I love the hold I get, and it gives me that weighed down look that I love when I wear my hair out. I didn’t fancy the Buttercreme, but wud def try the Baby buttercreme. I loved the moisture but not the scent of the Curly Buttercreme. I don’t use Miss Jessie’s anymore, I guess that’s cuz i can use CURLS and get GREAT results for such a reasonable price!!! But if i were gonna buy any miss jessie’s products again it wud be the Curly Meringue/Baby Buttercreme.