The answer is YES!
The reason why monoi oil is good for your curly hair lies in the power of Gardenia taitensis, most commonly known as the Tahitian Gardenia or Tiaré Flower. The flower’s scented oil extract has been a health and beauty staple in the French Polynesian culture for hundreds of years, used primarily as a skin and softener. These benefits are now brought to you by NaturallyCurly.com sponsor Design Essentials and their new Coconut & Monoi collection! By combining the softening power of monoi and maximum moisturizing propers of coconut oil, this offering is ideal for all textures, no matter porosity, width, or curl pattern.
BONUS: Monoi plays well with coconut oil!
Understanding that coconut oil reacts differently for every texture type and porosity level is important. As much as it is lauded within our natural hair and curly community, coconut oil is not a straightforward ingredient for all hair types. It can work wonders on low porosity waves and coils, while drying and caking onto medium porosity ringlets and curls at the same time. That is why the Design Essentials Coconut & Monoi has blended coconut and monoi oils, creating a lightweight and nourishing formula that is suited to all textures.
AUTHENTICITY TIP: When studying the authenticity of product ingredients, make sure the label says “Cocos nucifera” for coconut oil and “Gardenia tahitensis” for Tiaré flower extract, or monoi oil. Rest assured, you will find this on every Design Essentials Coconut & Monoi item because it is the real deal.
I got healthy results from monoi and coconut oil blends. You can, too!
Because the hair shaft is so dynamic, opening and closing according to environmental factors, it is challenging to keep curly hair soft and hydrated for curls that are healthy and primed to withstand the elements. That is why the Design Essentials Coconut & Monoi Collection offers moisturizing, emollient-rich formulations to define and nourish natural curl patterns for people with curly, coily, and wavy hair. What’s better is that all items in the maintenance and styling regimen contains quality ingredients and leaves out gluten, petrolatum, parabens, paraffins, and phthalates.
These attributes are exciting to me, not mention I am an advocate for effective ingredients. I could hardly wait to try the line and tell you about it… and now I can! Take note so that you too can have excellent results from monoi and coconut blends by Design Essentials:
Second-Day Hair
My coily hair concerns center around low porosity, which means that my tight curls do not absorb products quickly (or sometimes at all”>. To address this concern, I sectioned my hair in 6 parts and applied a nickel-size amount of Design Essentials Coconut & Monoi Curl Enhancing Dual Hydration Milk to my coils post-wash day. For better absorption, I spritzed warm water onto my coils to get them damp, not wet, prior to application. To ensure that my hair would get the full hydration treatment, I firmly smooshed (or squeezed”> and massaged the milk into each section, working through from root to tip with my fingers.
Sidenote: I rely on the smoosh/squeeze technique because it allows product to fully penetrate the hair shaft.
After each section was fully hydrated, I spritz on Coconut & Monoi Intense Shine Oil Mist as a finisher. Because I like accessorizing, I pushed my coils back into a halo with an elastic-lined multipattern headband so they could air dry and also look stylish. As per usual, I went about my day – writing, researching ingredients for you (*wink*”>, meetings, et. al.
After several hours, I noticed that my hair was still moist which was surprising to me. Normally, my hair gets very dry due to evaporation and other elemental factors. In this particular instance, my hair was fluffy! It was very difficult to not touch the hair because it was that soft and moisturized.
As my day progressed, I did not need to refresh my curls with water or product. Talk about a win! I can only attribute this to the coconut and monoi blend in the dual hydration milk. As mentioned, the emollients in the milk are very powerful. However, the most impressive aspect was that the blend was able to penetrate my low porosity curls. As mentioned, that is something I look for in a product on a consistent basis. The Coconut & Monoi Curl Enhancing Dual Hydration Milk exceeded my expectations. I will be adding this product to my second-day refreshment and styling routine because of this.
Wash and Go Hair
About the third day into a style, I get a bit bored and default back to the tried and true wash and go. When this happens, I reach for my favorite curl cleansers and leave-ins and get to work! This time around, I grabbed the Design Essentials Coconut & Monoi Curl Defining Gelée and applied a quarter-size amount to sectioned, wet hair and finger-raked it through from tips to roots. It has a thick consistency which I would normally be intimidated by, but I found that my hair was very responsive to it.
Much like my accessorizing for second-day hair, I push my curls back into a halo with a headband and let them air dry. To add an extra layer of ‘cute’ to the style, I applied a finger glide amount of Coconut & Monoi Moisturizing Edge Control Glaze to my hairline with a toothbrush. You can use a regular sized brush or small-tooth comb, but I stick to my tradition of toothbrushing the edges down. The glaze has a pomade-like consistency and slides onto the hairline very smoothly, almost like butter. I really like it!
In the end, my third-day wash and go style looked very nice and was still soft! This is because my coils had been thoroughly hydrated from the dual hydration milk days prior, and simply needed moisture-rich stylers to extend the life of my look. The blend of monoi and coconut is remarkable because, when applied according to instruction, the products enhanced my 4Cs’ natural state: beautiful!
BONUS: Perfect your Wash and Go – watch our quick and easy tutorial!
I am excited to share my first-hand experience with you because, much like me, you are searching for a collection that works for your texture type. The Design Essentials Coconut & Monoi collection is one I highly recommend you try. Just click over SHOP NaturallyCurly today to get your hands it!
