Dark & Lovely finally decided to start taking care of its natural hair target market and I’m all for it. You can tell that they really put effort into coming up with a formula that is nothing but beneficial for natural hair. It’s an affordable natural hair care range (which you can’t say often to be honest) that is available at all your favourite major retailers. The shampoo is great, it definitely serves its purpose as a wash. The conditioner works well as a pre-poo or as an addition to whatever other concoctions you make, but I wouldn’t use it as my main conditioner (it’s always a good idea to invest in a really good conditioner). I absolutely love the moisturising butter, and I definitely will be using it a lot more. In fact, I find that it works even better when you add to it just a little of whatever moisturising essential oil you use. Overall: It’s A Yes From Me!

I enjoy using this product for twist outs/braid outs. It has a thick consistency (which can cause build up) but I always get great definition from using it. It also moisturizes my hair,however it doesn't hold the curls for long but overall this is a great product

I was asked to create a video review of the the mentionmentioned products

The Plaiting Pudding Cream was my favourite as it has a lovely thick consistency which is great for my high porosity hair but the fragrance is a bit too artificial.

The Afro Moisturizing did not absorb well into my hair and left it feeling dry the next day but there was no residue which is great and the fragrance is amazing.

I honestly thought that coz the cost of these products were slightly low, they would be of poor quality. Dark and Lovely proved me wrong! I also thought that because they concentrate on products for women with relaxed/permed/chemically treated hair, they would get it all wrong! Nope! They pleasantly surprised me.

This is probably the cheapest natural hair line I know that is genuine and does a good job while at it.

The products smell amazing, except for the Afro moisturizing butter which in my opinion had a terrible scent.

They tried to use natural products as much as possible such as honey, guarana root and mango oil which is what we naturalistas like in our products. I appreciate the fact that the products did not have parabens, mineral oil and petrolatum all bad for our hair.

The shampoo did not strip my hair off of moisture, and to be honest that is the first shampoo that I have seen not strip moisture.

The conditioner, really assisted in detangling and made the process so much easier.

The plaiting butter and Afro moisturizing butter I did not care much for as I hardly use creams and butters on my hair. Good products, they do the job. But not for me on a day to day, week to week basis.

Head over to my blog for a more detailed review and lots and lots of pictures on the blog :http://www.mynaturawl.com/dark-lovely-au-naturale/

I am happy Beauty Bulletin sent me these to try out and have found some great products I can permanently add to my regimen.

(You can find my Individual reviews by searching on each product)

Every natural out there should definitely try these out!

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This is how my hair currently looks after using the range for a week

I did overnight flattwists by applying the butter, sealed with CN oil then followed with the plaiting pudding. My hair came out so soft and easy to manage, no tangles or snags at all.

If you have type 3b to 4 hair, this product range is the most affordable option to achieving great results.

I'd recommend the entire range after using the products for two weeks, especially the Knot out Conditioner and the Afro Moisturing butter because my hair loved it.

DARK AND LOVELY AU NATURALE MOISTURE REPLENISHING SHAMPOO – R34.95 (250ML)
EXPERIENCE:
The Shampoo lathered my hair instantly in one use and got quite foamy. I used an almond size amount for each of the four sections and while massaging my scalp, felt that I could have used less product. It's not a detangling shampoo so be sure to part your hair before washing, focusing only on your scalp or follow through with the Au Naturale Knot-Out Conditioner.

DARK AND LOVELY AU NATURALE KNOT-OUT CONDITIONER – R34.95 (250ML)
I was surprised at how effortlessly I’d managed to detangle my hair using this product. Wash day can be pretty exhausting so spending less than 15 minutes detangling all of my hair was miraculous. Also, nearly no shedding!

I used quite a generous amount of product as usual. By the end of my first use (during week one), the bottle was already half empty so I’m hoping that there will be an increase in the bottle size in future. You probably don’t need to use as much conditioner but I’d prefer to coat my hair liberally for finger detangling.

For extra moisture, scrunch your hair from root to tip, leave for about 15 minutes, and then rinse

DARK AND LOVELY AU NATURALE PLAITING PUDDING CREAM – R69.95 (250ML)
Not an immediate wow experience using this product directly after wash and showering but
Works amazing as a seal for your product when applying the LOC method.

DARK AND LOVELY AU NATURALE AFRO
MOISTURISING BUTTER – R69.95 (250ML)

If you’ve been searching for a hydrating cream to give your hair the moisture and definition it needs, go out and get yourself a tub of this butter.

Parting my hair into 8 sections, after washing, conditioning, and applying about a R5 coin size of olive oil to my hair, I carefully slid the Afro Moisturising Butter onto each section.

This is an overall product review of the Dark and Lovely Au Naturale range

1. Pretty awesome
In general I loved the range, its evident that Dark and Lovely made an effort to ensure maximum moisture and care for the general needs of natural hair. e.g. Knot-out Conditioner and Afro Moisturizing Hair Butter are a great moisture boost for our typically dry hair.

2. The particulars and nitty gritty
> Price: Pleasantly surprised the pricing is affordable and reasonable for all the products and is generally consistent with other Dark and Lovely product prices. (I expected a higher price range because the natural hair is a growing market in SA)
> Quality: I'd rate the range, average for overall quality. Some products like the Moisture-Replenishing Shampoo could be replaced by better quality shampoos e.g. (sulfates!) but the Knot-out Conditioner is amazing!
>Effectiveness: Rated average as well. I was disappointed by Moisture-Replenishing Shampoo
2. Main Benefits and perks
Some of the products have multiple uses and last pretty long e.g. The Plaiting Pudding Cream is perfect for getting all those sneak-out hairs into the perfect braid or twist, but can also be is also perfect as a moisturizer for really dry and brittle hair.

3. Not just for naturals
Although this range is meant for natural/curly/afro-textured hair, I'd recommend that all ethnic hair types use it as ethnic hair (particularly 4C) generally requires the same high-moisture, non-sulpfate/paraben products to reduce breakage and retain length.

My ‘fro has been fortunate enough to be loved on by these token products for about two weeks. I’m here to share my thoughts, tips and experiences on each product.

1. MOISTURE-REPLENISHING SHAMPOO (R34,95): A burst of mango scent permeates my steamy bathroom as I lather the shampoo all over my textured tressses. An instant foam oozes between my fingers and for a second I forget the tediousness of the task at hand. My hair is quite short, so one wash is usually sufficient without having to section my hair off to make it more manageable. I usually wash my hair once every 7 – 10 days mostly because I read somewhere that one needs to let their hair’s own essential oils come into play before washing it (to whoever wrote that, I believed you). But obviously the frequency of your washes depends on your texture, oiliness, dirt etc. This shampoo is especially great for those with dry hair as it moisturizes the scalp during the cleansing process. So no crispy tresses.

2. KNOT-OUT CONDITIONER (R34,95): My hair usually tangles a lot when I have taken out my protective styling (usually synthetic braids) and this conditioner definitely did it’s job with detangling my locks which made it easier to comb with minimal shedding. I comb from the ends first, removing all knots before combing again from the roots. I always let my hair air dry because towels x heat = breakage.

3. AFRO MOISTURIZING BUTTER (R69,95): A certain baby-like softness comes with applying this butter to my hair. Not only does it feel good on my ‘fro but it feels good on my fingers as well. I love the texture, not too oily, but it gives me that luster finish I desire.

4. PLAITING PUDDING CREAM (69,95): The epitome of maintaining my textured hair is plaiting. I try to wear it in twists every night before bed. Because my hair coils up tightly and shrinks, this helps to maintain its length while I sleep. The plaiting cream assists in making my hair more manageable when styling and it locks in the style almost like a gel. I However, I am not a fan of the flakiness when the product is dry. In the morning, I will shower without letting my twists get wet. The heat from the shower revives my curls before I undo the twists and head out for the day.

Dark and Lovely’s Au Naturale range is free of mineral oils, parabens and petroleum. All of which are unnatural ingredients that can affect your health.

Dark and lovely Au Natural Range has been good to use and experience. It will be a good affordable range for naturalistas.

I have wavy to curly hair. With a fine to medium texture. My hair tends to my dry in certain areas and requires lots of moisture but products that are not too heavy. It doesn't tangle that much unless i did twisting styles with it.

The Moisture Replenish Shampoo is rich and foams well. It smells amazing! and doesn't leave your hair too dry after usage.

The knot-out conditioner really does what it says. It makes detangling quite easy depending on how tangled your hair really is. It's rich and should be left in for maximum time. Left my hair soft but the moisture level was a bit lacking for me.

The Plaiting pudding cream is probably my favorite product out of the four. It smells the best! I used it for a flexi-rod set and it worked quite nice. (Photos below) I used it for a wash n go and it worked well but a little to heavy for my hair.

The Afro Butter is probably one of my least favorite because it is quite thick, like it says it is a butter and would be best for really thick afro hair. I used it on my edges with an up do and I saw if left quite a thick residue, i didn't brush it out, that could be why. But it smells good.

I was really impressed by the Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Range in terms of its fruity scent and the amount of moisture that it added to my hair.

The moisture replenishing shampoo left my hair feeling soft and clean without stripping away too much oils, as well as leaving a wonderful mango scent. I noticed as well that there was a beautiful shine to my hair as well.

The knot-out conditioner made it easier to comb out tangles. This has to be one of the best conditioners that i have used on my natural hair so far in terms of the time it took to comb my hair, as well as little to no hair breakage.

The plaiting pudding cream has to be my least favourite as it left my hair feeling sticky. The only benefit to the plaiting pudding was the mango-rich scent.

The afro moisturising hair butter was rich and creamy and I used it every day after styling my hair in the morning, leaving my hair soft with a beautiful scent and shine. My curls were well defined as well

I was pleasantly surprised by this range of products. The Shampoo is nothing special, it smells really good.

The knot-out conditioner is by far my most favourite product. I recommended it to two of my friends and they too were impressed by it. It works like magic. My detangling time was cut in half and I had reduced breakage in my hair.

The creme I believe also contributed to the decrease in breakage. I used the butter every day and my hair was left feeling soft and manageable at night when I would use the creme to braid it.