CENTER OF ATTENTION: Oyin Burnt Sugar Pomade



picture taken from oyinhandmade.com

My CENTER OF ATTENTION series is focusing on Oyin Handmade.  I recently purchased 6 products to try.  I will be talking about the Burnt Sugar Pomade today.  I was looking for a product that will give me the curl pattern and length that I am looking for without having to wet my hair everyday.  I tried this pomade for a week straight.  I have some mixed emotions about this product.  My review after the break...
INGREDIENTS (taken from the website as my sample does not have an ingredients list):
castor oil, soy wax, organic virgin coconut oil, mango seed oil, olive oil, unrefined hempseed oil, cocoa butter, broccoli seed oil, and fragrance.

WHAT IT IS (taken from the oyin website):

Similar in texture to an old school 'hair grease,' This blend of oils, butters, and veggie waxes acts as a humectant and protectant for hair, increasing shine to a high glossy sheen and locking in moisture. It's packed with essential fatty acids to nourish scalp, and actually sinks into your hair and skin for a long lasting, non-greasy feeling. It's great for braids, imparts shine and moisture to loose hair, brushes nicely into the hairline for a glossy finish, and adds luster to locks!

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT:
Well...I really do not know what to say about this product as I have very mixed emotions about it.  I guess the best place is to start at the beginning, so here we go.  I wanted to try this product for sometime, but had been reading some mixed reviews.  Either you love it or it does not work for you.  When I saw that a sample size was offered, I decided to purchase that and test this product out.  This sample size is 1 ounce. 

I decided to use it after washing my hair with the Head-to-Toe Honey Wash and conditioning with the Honey/Hemp Conditioner. I applied the Burnt Sugar Pomade to my hair as I was doing 2-strand twists.  First the smell; it is very very sweet, bordering on nauseating in my opinion, but for some reason I could not stop putting the jar to my nose.  It smells like caramel, brown sugar with maybe a little chocolate mixed in.  The smell does lighten significantly once it hits the air. 

The pomade was grainy, but quickly melted to a very smooth consistency and soaked in quickly.  It smoothed down the flyaways and made my hair feel soft.  Neither my hands nor my hair felt greasy when I was finished.  I let my hair air dry and then went to bed.  My twist out was nice the next day, but I felt that it could have been better. 

I read a couple of reviews that said to use the Burnt Sugar Pomade and the Shine & Define Styling Serum (review coming tomorrow) together to get the optimum results.  I did this on the second night.  To slightly damp hair I applied Burnt Sugar Pomade and the Shine & Define and did 2-strand twists.  My twist out was great the next day!  Definitely closer to what I was going for.  My hair was smooth.  It looked moisturized, but not greasy.  My curl pattern had relaxed somewhat, so my I had some extra length, but at the same time my curl pattern was defined into nice waves.  I got many compliments at work.  BUT...the smell was so sickeningly sweet and yet interestingly nice at the same time. 

The next evening was Friday and I had somewhere to go on Saturday.  I did not want to wash out my hair as I was still in the testing phase.  I felt that I needed something wetter to make my hair lay down.  My hair was starting to get a little frizzy and sticky!  I added some Whipped Pudding (review coming soon) to my 2-strand twists and went to bed.  When I woke up the next morning I loved what I was seeing in the mirror.  My hair was moisturized and very shiny/healthy looking, but still not greasy. I had even more length.  My curl pattern was even more defined.  But the smell!!!  Ugh

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT IT:
Do you have to ask???  The SMELL.  It was just so sickeningly sweet.  I wanted to throw up after the second day.  Adding the Whipped Pudding made it even worse as that has the smell of devil's food cake.  My hair looked sooo good, but I wanted to throw up.

Another thing I did not like was that my pillow was now sticky and smelled sickeningly sweet too.  After the first night my pillow was sticky, even though I did not use that much product.  For being such a small jar, 1 ounce, a little goes a very long way. 

I also found this product did not work for me to make my hair look nice after getting out of the shower.  My hair was frizzy and dry looking by the end of the day.  It is not heavy enough for my hair.  I do think it would smooth down a ponytail though.  For me, it worked better in the 2-strand twists. 

WOULD I REPURCHASE:
I have very mixed emotions about this product.  I still have over half the sample jar left and I will use this up.  But, I am not sure if I would repurchase.  I loved the way that my hair looked.  Ah...and to be able to just take my twists out and head out the door instead of the "routine" that I have to complete every morning would be wonderful.  But, I cannot get past the smell.  That is my only hindrance in repurchasing this product.  If it was unscented or had a lighter scent, then I could see this product being a staple in my routine.

This product was purchased with my own money for my own personal usage.  I am not affiliated with this company.