Design Essentials came out with some new products that I have been itching to try. As a curly girl, it’s expensive to try and find products that work for you. When I first started, I would use products from one line and hope that my hair would turn out as good as the commercial vowed it would.

While I do believe using products from the same brand or line can be beneficial in how your hair turns out, I don’t think it’s always necessary. Once you get to know your hair intimately you’ll know what products will work by its texture and ingredients. Design Essentials has always been the brand that I go back to when my hair is acting up. However, I had never tried the almond and avocado line before so I was very excited too.

Shampoo & Conditioner

Both the shampoo and conditioner are titled to be moisturizing and detangling. I wasn’t able to detangle with the shampoo, but both products are very moisturizing. The shampoo is a lot of product and retails for $12.99 on the brand’s website.

The shampoo smells good and cleanses well without stripping my hair of its moisture. It lathers very well and you don’t need a lot for your scalp to get clean. The conditioner can be used for detangling and retails for $12.99. It wasn’t as slippery as I would’ve liked, but it was good enough for detangling my hair. The conditioner wasn’t as impressive for me and there are conditioners that you can buy under $10 that offer more slip for detangling purposes.

Shampoo Rating: 🥀🥀🥀🥀

Conditioner Rating: 🥀🥀🥀

Wash Day Deep Moisture Masque

This masque retails for $14.99 and is a product that will make your hair feel soft and manageable. Y’all know I love a good deep conditioner and this one did not disappoint. It’s easy to detangle with and the longer you leave it in will ensure maximum moisture for your coils. My hair takes in moisture pretty easily, but it doesn’t always keep moisture so products like these help my hair. This is the top one out of all of the products I’ve used and has been added to my favorites list!

Deep Conditioner Rating: 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Detangling Leave-In Conditioner

This leave-in is very milky and made my hair soft and pliable. This leave-in retails for $12.99 for 12oz and can be used as a primer for your hair before using any curl defining gels, custards, or cremes. This product smells nice and is on my list of favorites from this line. The leave-in melted into my hair and made finger detangling easier before going in with the custard. You can use this to refresh your hair throughout the week.

My hair takes in moisture easily, but it doesn't always hold it in so having a product that can revive my hair from being dry is top tier in my book. This product is very lightweight and if you have thicker hair I don't think that this product will last you very long. My hair strands are fine, but my hair is pretty dense so I use a lot of products so that I don't have to refresh as often throughout the week. I love that this is lightweight enough for me to refresh my hair.

Leave-in Rating: 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Honey Curl Forming Custard

This curl defining custard retails for $16.99 and is my FAVORITE product in this line. The fragrance did throw me off at first, but after my hair completely dried the smell went away. If you are sensitive to fragrance then this whole line might bother you depending on the scents you like.

When I put this custard on my hair I was shocked at how moisturizing it is and in my video review you can even see the shine it adds to my hair once I apply it. This custard melted into my hair like butter and the texture is a sponge-like custard. The most impressive part of this product was that it is not sticky, unlike other custards I’ve tried. Also if you don’t use it a lot it will not leave your hair crunchy.

I used a generous amount throughout my hair so it was a little crunchy on the ends, but by the next day, that crunch was completely gone. If you diffuse your hair there is a chance your hair will become a little frizzy even though this product states to prevent frizz.

When used the Xtreme gel for my edges I saw white stuff roll up on my hair where I used it. I’m unsure if that’s because of the custard itself but it did deter me from doing my edges. If this happens to you wipe the white puffs off with a damp washcloth so you don’t disturb the style you just worked hard on. After using the custard the smell of the products did intensify and that made me pretty iffy about the product at first. But the definition it gave me won me over.

Custard Rating: 🥀🥀🥀🥀

Again this was not my first time trying this brand but this is my first time trying this line. My final thoughts are that this is a nice line if you aren’t sensitive to fragrance then you won’t have a problem with this. All of the products are under $20, but I recommend keeping in mind what you’ll use to adjust for your budget.

Overall I am very impressed by how moisturizing these products are, but my 2nd-day hair was not as defined as it normally would've been had I used a gel instead of the custard. I did defuse for ten minutes to get my hair to dry a little faster which could've disturbed the drying process of the style.

Design Essentials is a very affordable brand and was one of the products I used religiously at the start of my hair journey while learning about my curly hair. If you are transitioning I recommend the deep conditioner and leave-in because it's important to deep condition every time you wash your hair especially when you are transitioning and the leave-in will ensure that your hair is staying moisturized while you manage two hair textures.

If you have a personal budget of only purchasing products under $20, I recommend giving Design Essentials a try. It doesn't have to be the almond and avocado line, the coconut and monoi line is pretty good too.

Overall Rating: 🥀🥀🥀🥀

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