MadameNoire Featured Video

All the ladies with locs know about the struggle to find products that will not only moisturize our hair but won’t cause any gunky buildup in the process. It’s not as easy as it sounds. “Free-flowing” Black hair already requires plenty of moisture and the stakes are raised when you have locs. The moisture has to penetrate the loc itself. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best way to do that is to use natural oils and ingredients.

But as you already know not too many products were made with our hair in mind and certainly aren’t featuring natural, more expensive and apt to expire ingredients. That’s most. But Oyin Handmade is not like most products. Oyin Handmade, a company founded by an African American couple, was first launched in 2001 and has since found its way to Target, Sally Beauty, Rite Aid, CVS and grocery store shelves; so I’m sure you’ve heard of it by now.

What you likely don’t know is that the company is launching a couple of new products as a part of their conditioning care line: Oh My Glide— a nourishing pre-styling detangler and the Ginger Mint Co-Wash.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Oyin co-founder Jamyla Bennu to discuss the new editions.

Bennu explained:

“They are inspired by and clustered around Hair Dew, which is one of our hero products. It’s a moisture, lotion, leave-in. What people love about it is that it’s lightweight, it is creamy. It’s conditioning. It’s light enough to use multiple days during your hair care cycle without building up. So we wanted to create products to fill out the Hair Dew experience.

Ginger Mint Co-Wash: It’s an invigorating cleansing cream with essential oils of ginger and peppermint to really have a wonderful feeling on your scalp. It rinses clean, it cleanses super gently and it also detangles really well. It’s sulfate free and cruelty-free so everyone in the house can use the product.

And the Oh My Glide is a pre-styling detangler. It’s a spray. It’s got incredible slip and has a light, pleasant scent while you’re using it but then it also disappears and doesn’t compete with your other hair styling products.”

When Jamyla was introducing the products, I was listening, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m allergic to coconut oil—at least on my scalp anyway—so there are tons of products I can’t use. But she informed me that because she was meeting women who had a similar issue, she made these products without coconut.

That’s all I needed to hear. A few days later I decided to wash my hair. I should note that since I was a child, bending over in the kitchen sink, I have hated washing my hair. But when you’re washing and paying attention to how a new product is making your hair feel, it’s a different experience. I pay particular attention to how much moisture my hair is retaining before I even step out of the shower. And the Ginger Mint Co-Wash passed the test. My hair was exceptionally dry before I washed it and the co-wash left it feeling replenished. Certainly clean but not stripped.

If you’ve ever used products with mint in them, you know that the effects can sometimes be overwhelming. The smell is too strong, your scalp is unnervingly tingly. And God forbid any of the product gets in your eye. That wasn’t the case with the co-wash. The mint was so light. It was enough for you to smell it lightly and I could feel the pores in my scalp opening but it wasn’t overpowering. And some did get in my eye while I was in the shower. While I could feel it, I didn’t spend the next half hour feeling like my eye was falling out of socket. I rubbed for two seconds, and it was fine.

I thought the co-wash was the only product I’d be using that day because with locs you don’t need a “detangler.” The whole point is for your hair to be tangled. But when I looked at the ingredients in Oh My Glide, I realized it was mostly oils, including avocado and organic aloe vera. So I decided to use it for my post-wash moisturizing process. Those of you who have seen me recently, know that my hair is about half black and half blonde right now. The blonde can be incredibly drying. Still, using Oh My Glide and then sealing in that moisture with other, heavier products, my hair felt luscious. So much so that I’ve been spraying my locs every morning with Oh My Glide.

If you’re always looking for ways to add and maintain moisture, be sure to check out the Ginger Mint Co-Wash and the Oh My Glide pre styling detangler. I know I’ll be adding them to my hair care regimen.

The Ginger Mint Co-Wash and Oh My Glide will be sold exclusively on the web next week. In the meantime, you can check out some of their other products by visiting OyinHandmade.com

Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and on Instagram and Twitter @VDubShrug.

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN