The Brand
Bouclème (from the French, boucles) was conceived, created, and is manufactured in the UK - which I love that there's a brand that's British, from a woman who knows the struggles of curly hair first hand - been on that journey and began to embrace and fall in love with her own curls along with making sure her two little girls also know that curly hair also means you're beautiful and so is your hair. To embrace it but to also know how to care for it. Curly girls know, no two days are the same, sometimes no morning and afternoon hair are the same!
Free from sulphate, parabens and silicones, never tested on animals, fair trade ingredients and also naturally derived ingredients within the products. They have a 0% policy lists of ingredients that you'll never find in their products. Eco certified preservative is used in the minimum amount possible, which protects carefully selected ingredients from developing harmful mould and bacteria, prolonging product shelf life.
The Packaging
All come in pastel colours with white stripes, reminding me of candy, something sweet and delicious. Each product has its own pastel colour making each bottle unique. I did notice that the material that the pastel wrapping is made out of, easily scratches and removes the surface colour which is a shame as I had the curl cream in my drawer and with other bottles knocking against it, it started to scratch away. Thankfully it's not the wrapping that does the job...
-The Wash
I rarely use a shampoo that foams up unless I've got a lot of product build up. Normally if it's during the week, I co-wash (conditioner wash) because there's not much build up to get rid of making it easier to continue to use rinses/cleansers.
Curl Cleanser £15.00
I've used this about 3x now. I will dampen my hair, detangle, once finished squeeze out some product onto the tips of my fingers and massage my scalp. As I then separate my hair and begin working from front to back and really paying attention and then the sides. I find it's so hydrating that I can run a wide tooth comb through my hair and distribute more product through before rinsing it out.
Curl Conditioner £18.00
It's rich in Omegas 3, 6 and 9, vitamin E and antioxidants to strengthen the hair and protect it from environmental stressors, it also has virgin coconut, argan oil and aloe vera leaf within the mix to hydrate and nourish the curls. I was a little 'eeee' with the coconut because I've had to stop using coconut oil due to it breaking me out but with this, not an issue. I apply this a little way from my roots down and really saturate my ends which are so thirsty. When I rinse it out, I don't rinse it completely even if I do put a leave in afterwards.
-The Styling
My hair has low porosity so it doesn't absorb moisture unless the hair cuticles are open. I apply my styling products while my hair is damp and the cuticles are open, sometimes I will steam the hair and do it straight after.
Curl Cream £19.00
Humidity resistant kukui nut oil and nutrient rich coconut fruit extract plus super conditioning oils of coconut and castor make up this product. Which I section my hair to apply generously, really making sure the parts of my hair, the roots and ends are well coated while I rake my fingers through each section.
Curl Defining Gel £15.00
I don't often use gel in the hair but I wanted to see how this worked for my hair. The first time I use this, I sectioned the hair and raked it through with my fingers and scrunched the ends. It began to dry hard - which is normal - as I put this on after the curl cream, I wondered if I would see product build up, I noticed white flecks and I was scowling in the mirror. Being colder months, I do have to do a high speed - low heat hair diffuse to make sure the hairs dry. They say not to touch your hair as it's drying but when it was about 95% I gently scrunched at the hair with my own hands and the hard cast I felt around the curls, disappeared and I had defined, bouncy curls.
Nothing weighed down - the white flecks I had seen before gone. To make sure parts of my hair didn't get dry such as roots and ends, I put my Charlotte Mensah Manketti Oil on them to make sure it had a little extra. Following days I will just grease the scalp and add curl cream where needed before the next wash! I love the set and keep the bathroom products within this limited edition washbag. It can be quite expensive depending on your budget but if something works...
Samples.