Product Review: Part 1: Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream

Can I just start by saying that these products are sooooo hard to get hold of. And I mean even in the US of A, land of plenty etc etc. This is because:

• I don't know how accurate this is but apparently they are made to order so they have very little stock available readily available.
• Add to that the fact that they are also only stocked in a few select shops;
• and whatever little they do have sells out FAST!
• If you decide to order online, the average delivery time is 10 working days;
• and even then you're not guaranteed some things won't be out of stock (as the honey balm was for months  towards the end of last year).
• or sold out (the 18oz tubs of everything!)
• Oh, and not to forget that you can only order online with cards from the US and a couple of Caribbean Islands. 

So as you can see, Houston, we have a problem. 

I have been trying unsuccessfully to get my hands on them since mid last year until a very kind friend finally ordered me some online and brought them over on her last visit. Woop woop! I bought both the Amla & Olive Oil Heavy Cream and the Burdock Root Butter in 16oz as the 8oz tubs were sold out. I also wanted the honey balm but it was out of stock at the time. 

So were they worth the hassle?

Part 1: Amla & Olive Oil Heavy Cream

Cost:
The 8oz tub costs $17 and the 16oz tub is $32. I don't remember how much shipping was so let's guesstimate this at an additional $10 meaning at the current exchange rate, that is Kshs 2,364/- and Kshs 3,686/- respectively. Not cheap.

Update: July 2014

Using it about twice a week on my full head and daily on my hairline, I still have about half a tub left after 6 months of use so I can probably get a full 12 months of use out of a 16oz tub, which works out at about $1.75 a month, or Kshs 154/- a month, which offsets the initial cost somewhat. 

Appearance:

The Amla The Amla Heavy Cream is a water based moisturising cream.  Because it uses oil as a base rather than a butter like Shea or Cocoa, it is much lighter than most butter blends. It has a rich, creamy consistency and has a citrus scent. The first ingredient is a castor and olive oil blend, making it a very rich cream. It is probably better suited to coarser hair types as it is very heavy and may weigh down finer hair. That said, my fine strands loooove this stuff. They want to marry it. It's very thick so the first time I used it, my heavy hand and I left my feeling really gunky. I have since learned that a little really does go a long way. I also found it didn't go on that easily and although they say use on damp or dry hair, I think it works better on damp hair.

Ingredients:

Nothing untoward here:

• Castor and Olive oil blend
• Distilled Water
• Amla & Brahmi Extracts
• Aloe 
• Vegetable Glycerin
• MSM: used to promote hair growth
• Essential Oils
• Food grade paraben/formaldehyde-free preservatives. 

Uses:

1. Moisturiser

Because water is it's second ingredient, it acts as a moisturiser but, in my opinion, is a little too heavy to be a moisturiser directly on dry hair. I prefer to use it over damp hair. I think it is heavy enough to be a sealant and can be the 'Cream' in the LOC method or, my personal favourite, over a light spritz as a sealant. The heavy oils seal in the moisture pretty well and after a week with absolutely NO remoisturising, my hair was still soft and shiny.  I have tried the LOC method with it after a henna gloss and oil rinse but I found my hair dried very greasy, although this could have been a result of the oil rinse

Update July 2014:

The only negative thing I can say is because it is so heavy and I need to remoisturise often because I work out a lot, I can't use it every day otherwise it builds up very quickly on my hair. I use it about once or twice a week.  

2. Deep Treatment
The directions on the back say the Amla Heavy Cream can be used as an overnight deep trearment but no way I'm wasting any of this stuff rinsing it out so someone else will have to review it as a treatment. 

3. Scalp Butter

Amla Cream can be applied directly to your scalp to soften new growth and smooth edges and I would like to testify!!!  It really does work. A little while back I had this post about hairlines and if you read it, you'll know that flat edges have never really been a reality for me. Cue life-changing moment: with the Amla cream, I just put a tiny bit on and smooth my stubborn little hairs down with my fingers and they stay that way all day. Don't get me wrong, if the slicked back look is what you're after then this is not the one for you. But If you want edges that look moisturised all day and aren't beady-beaded, this is an absolute winner. I also love it as a scalp butter; I generally don't oil my scalp. I stopped years back when my hairdresser in the UK advised me against it because it was causing my dandruff and I've never looked back since. It's so light, however, that it soaks right in and doesn't sit on my scalp clogging my follicles. Love it. 

Conclusion:

I would buy the Amla 100 times over. I read lots and lots of reviews online before I did and I was pretty sceptical because my hair doesn't seem respond to most products and the reviews were so glowing that I just couldn't take them that seriously. I would read them like 'really? *eye roll'...

Well, here's my own glowing report. *Hangs head.