When is a “Silkener” Not a “Silkener?”
bella | Oct 23, 2008 | Comments 64
I got an e mail from a reader recently, regarding Miss Jessie’s Stretch Silkening Creme.
“How is this not PERM or TEXTURIZER (perm by another name)?!?”
I see where the reader could think that — after my interview with Titi Branch of Miss Jessie’s, wherein she explained what the controversial “silkener” treatment was (sodium hydroxide, AKA lye) — I know quite a few diehard natural bellas who hadn’t yet tried the products, were more than a little skeptical.
I appreciate Titi’s honesty, but I understand where customers are coming from — if you declare yourself to be a natural woman, chemical free, it can be disappointing to realize that the styles you’ve been admiring on bellas you percieved to be all-natural as well, aren’t achieved by all-natural means.
I have two bits of news about Miss Jessie’s Stretch Silkening Creme.
1 — it is NOT a chemical treatment, it is NOT the silkening treatment that the Branch sisters offer at their salon. This is a styling product.
2 — what it is, is a new hair creme that I’d say can best be described as hair souffle/curly pudding-esque.
Stretch Silkening Creme is described on the Miss Jessie’s site as: “Miko’s favorite. Introducing Stretch Silkening Crème, an amazing addition to our ever expanding curl crème empire. “How’s it different from the rest?” I’ll tell you. Stretch Silkening Crème is a quicker to dry whipped soufflé that delivers an amazing plump curl and a brilliant shine. Fabulous for fingerstyling. The lightest of the curl crème bunch.”
I have been trying the product out for over a month now, and it might be Miko’s favorite, but it isn’t exactly mine. Here’s why.
It’s a texture thing.
I like my hair to be shiny, bouncy, full of life and fun all over. Shrinkage doesn’t bother me, as long as my curls are fluffy, moisturized, and defined. I like a product that just works when I’m on the run – I am a wash n’ go kind of girl. I don’t currently own an overhead dryer (but I want one so much! I want this one!). I need a no-fuss product to match my no-fuss lifestyle. And I LOVE Miss Jessie’s — I swear by Curly Meringue and Buttercreme to weigh down my curls while giving me that definition I crave, and moisture I need. So I wanted to be blown away by the results from the Stretch Silkening Creme. And… I wasn’t exactly.
Let me explain with a photo.
Here’s the back of my hair after using Stretch Silkening Creme and following the recommended method.
Applied when my hair was wet, straight out of the shower. Let it air dry, and stretched my curls down with my hands (I honestly don’t even know if I still own a hair dryer). Because of the schizophrenic kinks of my hair, the top of my hair tends to be frizzy, sproingy, and undefined. The back is very defined, very spirally, and tends to shrink quite a bit. My experience with Miss Jessie’s Stretch Silkening Creme is, it’s not a match for my unruliest curls. The back felt too weighed down and limp, and the top… well you can see for yourself. Frizzy and out of order as always. Not stretched or “silkened.”
Perhaps that’s because the creme is too light of a moisturizer for me — as this great Long Hair Care Forms post indicates — “If you are looking or expecting this product to provide extreme “silkening” or “texturizing” like results, it won’t and I suggest you don’t spend the money. But if you are looking for a product that will eliminate frizz, provide definition and allow you to keep volume, softness and fullness, give it a shot.”
I think my hair’s a little too “own-way” to behave with this product. Or maybe I came to Stretch Silkening Creme with expectations based on the name. Either way, I’d say it probably would be best for a bella with a looser curl pattern, who just needs moisture and shine to tame their frizzies. For me, a bella whose hair seems to have several different personalities — heavier products with not a lot of hold work better for a uniform look. I’m back to my Meringue.
But bellas – the wonderful thing about Miss Jessie’s now, is they’re making different kinds of products for curly girlies — for example Quick Curls is meant mostly for caucasian and Latina bellas — and they also now offer their products in a variety of sizes. And the small sizes work GREAT for travel. So if you’re wondering which would be best for your crown, I’d say spring for the 2 oz jars, they’re $7 a pop, plus shipping. The Value Pack gives you little 2 oz samples of everything. If you’re a bella who’s on the go, you can’t really go wrong!
Have you tried Stretch Silkening Creme? What do you think? Do you have a favorite Miss Jessie’s product?
Filed Under: Hair • Product Reviews
To answer your question Bella, moisture and products that specifically cater to the 4b hair type. After reading the comments, I think I’m going to give Oyin a try.
I definitely agree with Unaltered Beauty, 4b Trini, Huemanity, & all the other 4b folks who’ve chimed in. A big Amen to what hey y’all posted….
Many times, us with the kinkier hair types are left in a void. The majority of natural hair products do seem to be geared toward those with a more defined/looser or coily/corkscrew curl pattern…
Personally, Ms. Jessie’s has never appealed to me because immediately upon seeing the creators of the line, I could see that they didn’t have traditionally “kinky/nappy” hair textures, their natural hair has a lot of corkscrew type curl patterns going on. That, on top of the pricing, just never made it an attractive option to me. I knew that they probably wouldn’t “get” the kind of hair issues I had going on or the hair goals that I had in mind…
My thick nappy afro would just suck that stuff right on up, seriously. I just learned a long time ago to just have my own standards on what my natural should look like & not be chasing that ever elusive perfectly uniform all over my head spiral curl thing, I came to peace with it a long time ago that that isn’t the way my do is gonna turn out w/o me twisting it up constantly, no matter how much Kinky Curly Nappy Butter Glaze Creme I put on it…LOL…
What I really look for in products is their ability to moisturize & add shine w/o a lot of product build-up. I’m not super sensitive, so I’m a fan of nicely scented stuff too.
Keep hearing about Oyin, am definitely going to give them a try in the near future…
Thanks for this post, Bella.
I’ve used the pudding in the sky blue jar (I think it’s the Baby Pudding) and absolutely luved it, UNTIL. I read the ingredients- Paraban.
I’ve thrown out all products containing paraban, some of which were from Kiehl’s and was so disappointed to learn that what I thought would be a must-have contained questionable ingredients.
Is it possible for Miss Jessie to remove the paraban and replace with a natural alternative?
Hello All:
I used miss jessies in my transition. cp good for twist outs but drying and buttercreme very heavy. Meringue was awesome, my coworkers thought that I had a straw set. Many of us do have curly hair texture, so I do not think that it is accurate to assume that “wooly” is the dominant texture. Texture does not matter. People take this stuff too seriously. Curls by sisters smith is awesome – spiral spritz very moisturizing. I got over one week of wear on my wash and go using minimal curly pudding. Curl’s coconut sublime condish is the holy grail, great slip no comb needed to style hair. My hair melted with moisture:)
[...] recently did a post about a popular hair product recently, and the comments revealed a common natural hair complaint — not only is everything not for everybody, but quite a few of you feel left out of the [...]
I’ve looked at Miss Jesse’s products, but I am not impressed. Like many above, I am concerned about the over-emphasis on “curl definition.” It is nice if you can do it, because it is another dimension of afro/kinky hair versatility, but to me it shouldn’t be something to strive for at all times or be disappointed if you can’t attain. I think the lure is that alot of us with 3c-4b hair textures realize that in most cases our hair type does consist of tiny curls. That really is the nature of natural hair. What we call napps, for most of us are actually tiny curls. Growing up with a hot comb and grease we probably didn’t realize, but now with more knowledge and better products the tiny curls/coils are realized. So I think many of us are just amazed at what we had all along. But why is being able to claim curls percieved as more special? Some people get hung up on curls, because somehow that is still seen as more “acceptable” than nappy fro hair.
I have 3 inch, post chop hair that is 3c on top and 4a everywhere else. The 3c hair is obviously curly with no product, the rest looks like ‘fro with tiny coils unless I stretch it with a twistout or something. I can pick my hair out and all of it will appear like a fro, I can do a twist out an all of it will appear curly. I’m just as happy either way. I mix it up often to affirm that I am not curl crazy as some are, but I do try to make the two textures appear as uniform (one way or the other) as possible.
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Mahogany
Indigofera Beauty Specialist
Indigoferabeauty.blogspot.com
Forgive me for the last entry being so short;
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Be Blessed and I wish you much success in maintaining your natural beauty.
Mahogany
I just finished using Miss Jessie’s new products. I used the shampoo, conditioner and Silkening Stretch creme, then added a little Baby Butter cream when I coiled my hair. I’m with Afrobella on the Stretch Silkening creme. There is nothing silky or stretchy going on with my hair right now. It feels dry, and it’s frizzier than when I used hair rules curly whip along with the baby butter cream or carol’s daughter hair milk. I’m glad I only bought the 2oz of the silkening creme. I might try it again, just to see, but so far I’m not liking the results. As far as the shampoo and conditioner go, they’re not moisturizing enough, especially compared to hair rules or deva-care. The woman where I got the products told me she had the same experience. I’m going to give the shampoo/condish to my little girl. It may work better for her hair. I’ll be sticking with cleansing cream and quench conditioner. I’m disappointed. I love the rapid recovery deep conditiner. oh well. At least I got it on the BOGO sale.
HELLLLPPPPP Afrobella sistas! I just happen to run into your interesting website and it sounds fun.
I’ve been wearing wigs for years and i an too through! But, my hair is so fine and really doesn’t have any natural curl.
Any suggestions? Any products that give it fullness, body?
Someone posted earlier that there are plenty of websites and products with loads of information. I agree. I have not used MJ’s products because I usually read mixed reviews about her products. I also feel we should not have to spend more than $20 for a good hair product. I would like to try indigofera products. I heard a lot of great things about them. That’s next on my list.
i first tried the curly pudding and was extremely disappointed. it made my hair hard and extremely dry and was highly upset that i spent so much $ on it. about two years later i waited until MJ’s end of year buy one get one free and tried the curly meringue and the stretch silkener and came to the conclusion that they were both the evil curly pudding disguised in different colors and scents. i need moisture and its like these products completely rob your hair of any moisture you may have had before and then mocks your pocketbook for having the nerve to spend good money on them.
Miss Jessie’s products does not work well with my hair all the time. The silkner and repair treatment is all I can use other wise, I have a heavy flaky dry nest on my head.
I love Earth’s Nectar Products use the Mint Shampoo, Mint Conditioner, Moni Milk, Hair milk, Mint Scalp Oil, Curly, Mist, and Aloe Gel. I also use their soaps. My hair is soft and mositurized. My hubby says it is like cotton.
I use the Mist that is a deodorizer everyday–I workout. You can never smell the sweat in my hair. I love their products and use them pretty much exclusively on my hair. I previously had to go to the dermatologist for shampoo and scalp drops but I no longer use or need them.
These products are worth the investment.
For the past 2 1/2 years, I have 98% transitioned my hair of all chemical relaxer, and whats left are my ends (which is only an inch, so I really need to let it go), and I have been looking for all natural products to use for my wavy/curly hair. Im learning about hair-typing (im a 3a/3b) or LS on the LOIS hair type scale. I just found out about Miss Jessie’s hair line in Target, and was wondering why this product was $60 if its not even “ALL NATURAL!!!” So I did my research, and i think im going to stay away. I havent heard enough good for me to kick out all that money.
What I have been using that is WONDERFUL is Shea Moisture Raw Organic Shea Butter Recovery line in the tan bottles when I wear my hair curly, and when I get my hair blown out, I use the Ojon hair line. These products are great, and they are all natural. The Shea Moisture is $9.99 for each item, and Ojon can run you anywhere from $10 up to $50!!!