Hot New LOCAL product review: Kakena's Coconut Hair Milk

*sneaks back into the room and clears throat*

Ahem!

It's been a while. A loooooong while. So long I'm actually afraid to check when my last post was. Like I've said before, I hate change. I'm a creature of habit. So the amount of change I've had to endure over the last few months sent me scurrying for cover. I'm only just emerging because I'm on holiday. In familiar settings. And feeling at peace with the world again. 

So why not start with a bang. A FANTASTIC new product that I've been dying to review. And best of all, it's locally made. We all know the headache (and wallet-ache) involved in trying to obtain foreign products. I should know. I've been trying to buy Qhemet Biologics products for the last three months. Maybe longer. And it's not that my source, Aunaturelle, isn't reliable. I get a lot of my hair products off her and she's fantastic. But shipping in bulk from the US is a task. Getting through customs is a task. Everything is a task. Hence the wait and, often, hence the prices too.

So I try to buy locally as often as I can. I love the locally produced cold pressed organic coconut oil. Thumbs up. I buy up the entire shop when my favorite conditioner appears on shelves (not strictly local but you get the drift). Two thumbs up. I relentlessly sample locally made hair butters... and herein lies the problem. I want to support small business; local kitchen industry. Honest I do. But, to date, I am yet to find any local butters that have worked on my hair. Most of the time they're fine. They don't make my hair feel bad, but they don't make it feel good either. Just a little.. Meh.. I've tried desperately to like them. But I don't. Doing half head comparisons with existing products, I even convinced myself that my hair didnt like Shea butter. Which was kinda stoopid as key ingredients in all the products I was bringing in anyway were.. you guessed it... shea butter. Woman, thy name is conundrum.

So it's been fairly fruitless. Until now. Tan tan taaaaaaaaa!

Introducing the one. The only. Ninaaaaaaaaa's Hair Miiiiiiiiiiiiiilk!!!!! *the crowd goes wild*

:|

Fine fine. It's called Kakena's Hair Milk....

This is the newest in a line of products by Harvest of Sunshine that is giving Shea Moisture's Curl and Style Milk a run for my money.   You all know I looooove the SM milk. It's the only SM product I've tried that truly works on my hair. It leaves it feeling soft and fluffy and is super moisturizing. 

But HoS' Milk (giggle) wins out for me for a number of reasons:

1. Although it doesn't leave my hair feeling quite as soft, it is a fantastic moisturiser nonetheless and, most importantly, does not leave my hair feeling greasy, in direct contrast to SM's milk. I can only use SM milk once a week or so as the buildup is too much for my hair, but I use Kakena's hair milk almost daily. It's light and airy, almost frothy, and even my heavy hand can't seem to apply too much. 

2. It gives me fantastic definition, something SM Milk doesn't. In general, my hair doesn't need much help attaining twist out definition so it is quite a feat that SM manages to almost completely obliterate any definition on my hair. It's like my twist outs are always in soft focus. 

3. Because of the high water content and Shea butter/oils combo, this product for me works both as a moisturiser and a sealant.  It is the only product I use after spritzing so for me that's is a huge plus and meant that apart from conditioner, I only carried one tub of product this holiday. In comparison to the first time I went on holiday and had a bag just for my hair products!

4. Last but not least, it is readily available locally. 'Nuff said. 

Like SM's milk, the key ingredients are water, shea butter, silk protein and coconut oil so if your hair is protein sensitive, you may want to do a test run first. It goes on best on damp hair, not soaking wet and retails at 1,500/- for a 250g tub, which isn't cheap but it is a fantastic investment. A little really does go a long way; I've had my tub for about two months and I'm just over two-thirds through so I should get about three months out of a full tub. 

If you haven't tried it, visit Harvest of Sunshine's Facebook page to order some and let me know in the comments what you think.