Curlsmith is one of those brands that just really excites me and majority of the stuff I've tried from them really works well for my hair. My hair is protein-hungry ALL THE TIME so their new protein line just had to be on my shelf as soon as possible.
The Curlsmith Strength Protein Kit contains all three new protein-heavy Curlsmith products. I got the kit from the EU Curlsmith website and the final price was 53.55 Euros with the used code LOVE. I was also able to get free shipping. The shipping took some time but that's very typical after Brexit happened. Let's get to the products!
The first product is the Bond Curl Rehab Salve which everyone raves about and compares it with Olaplex no. 3. I never tried Olaplex 3 and I probably never will because to me it just seems like a little too much money for such a tiny bottle. But I understand that it's targetted towards my hair because my high porosity bleached waves really love protein and surely need some bond restoration. The Rehab Salve is a pre-wash treatment that targets all three bonds that are in our hair. It can be used from 10 minutes up to 1 hour. Not only it restores the hair inside out but it also protects from further damage. You get 237ml of product.
The next product is the Feather-light Protein Cream which is a styling cream. I usually apply products like that after my leave-in conditioner. It provides medium hold and definition for bouncy curls. Curlsmith claims that this product has the hold of a gel and moisture properties of a cream. They advise you to apply it with raking motions, then praying hands to lock moisture into the hair and last scrunch your hair upwards to encourage the curl pattern. You can mix it with other products if you don't want to use it as a one-and-done styler. You get 237ml of product.
The last product is the Bouncy Strength Volume Foam. It's a styling foam with a soft hold which gives nice protein boost and volume. On the website they recommend applying it first with raking through the hair, then focusing on the roots and scrunching the product into the lengths as well. It can be used by itself but, as we all know, foams are great when combined with other products. Applying it upside down might also help with the volume too as you fix the roots in opposite direction and encourage them to stay up. You get 222ml of product.
Wash day
I decided to try out all three of these products in one wash day to see how they work together and how I feel about them. My hair really needs protein more then ever, especially in winter so I am beyond happy to have these products.
I started out with the Bond Curl Rehab Salve. I detangled my hair with a Tangle Teaser brush. Then I sectioned it into about 9 sections and wet each one with a spray bottle and then applied the products. I raked it through and really saturated the hairs and left it on under shower cap for about an hour.
I washed out the product with my Superfoods for Hair Damage Control Shampoo which is a low-poo cleanser. The Rehab Salve was easy to wash out and has quite a slip so my hair didn't feel tangled at all. I then continued with a hydrating conditioner because I didn't feel like my hair needs any mask treatment on top of the pre-poo.
After washing I squeezed excess water from my hair but still left it pretty much dripping. I applied my Giovanni L.A. Direct Moisture Leave-in Conditioner which is very lightweight and I use it very often so I was sure that it won't be doing anything unpredictable.
I proceeded with the Feather-light Protein Cream which is pretty much a curl cream. I really like the texture of it because it's quite creamy but not too buttery of heavy. You can feel it has protein once you run it through the hair and once I started scrunching, the hair really started to bounce up.
After the cream, I applied the Bouncy Strength Volume Foam. I followed the instructions and applied it after the cream, raking motions from roots to ends. Once my hair was coated, I started scrunching. My hair sprung up even more and very nice clumps were starting to form. The foam is very creamy and doesn't have too much air in it. It's hard to describe foam texture but it's creamy enough but not runny and it's very easy to work with.
I finished the styling off with Curlsmith Curling Gel Souffle which is one of my favorite hydrating gels and I plopped for about 10 minutes. Then I diffused with my Black Orchid diffuser and at 80% I applied my Curl Keeper clips to lift the hair where it needed. The crust was quite strong and my hair was looking very nice and shrinked and also defined.
I decided to scrunch out the crunch with my Verb Ghost Oil (non-CGM oil) and my hair was incredibly shiny afterwards. The definition was there, it was nice and bouncy. A little flat at the roots but I fluffed them out later and it got even better the next days.
Wear test
You know you can wear test hair products? It's pretty easy for me because I always sleep the same way, with my bonnet and I usually treat my hair the same after every wash day so I can tell a difference if there's something bad or good happening with my hair over the period of couple days. Here are images from five days from this wash day to another.
Honestly, I am very impressed with how my hair looks. I spent a lot of time outside last couple days because the weather was nice but also windy and my hair survived just fine. Sometimes on day 4-5 I have pretty much straight hair but this time it's looking nice and wavy. The protein helped with the definition for sure as it always does with my hair. But I would say that some credit goes to the Rehab Salve because I cannot remember last time my hair looked and felt this good after 5 days. I am also impressed because it doesn't feel dry and it's very soft and bouncy.
Final thoughts
I've been using these product for a couple washdays but this is supposed to be first impressions post. My first impressions is that I am very glad that Curlsmith finally gave us some protein to have that perfectly balanced routine.
The Rehab Salve is awesome protein treatment, exactly what I needed for my high porosity bleached hair. You get a decent amount, it works really well and smells amazing. You can really feel a difference in your hair after using it.
The Feather-light Protein Cream has an incredible texture. It feels very protein heavy in the hair even as you apply it but it's very lightweight and I would say it's a nice styling cream for fine hair as well. It's not too thick, doesn't weight hair down and work as a great protein boost in your styling routine. My definition is always poppin' when I use it.
The Bouncy Strength Volume Foam has a light hold to it and it's a very nice protein foam. It's very creamy but not too airy or too thick. I really like the texture of it and it's very easy to apply. Again, you can tell that it has a lot of protein in it right as you apply it. But it works really well and it's a very lightweight product as well.
I would say that this protein line is truly for everyone and I would highly recommend everything from this launch if you need some protein in your routine. Especially if you have color-treated or bleached hair, you're gonna love it. I use these all the time now and really enjoy them because my hair just loves protein in styling.
Have you tried the new Curlsmith protein line? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and thanks for reading!