3 Sisters of Nature Review

Once again, I spent way too long in my local Pak Cosmetics hair shop. Is it just me or does the air in there feel like the smoky skies of Mordor once it's in your lungs? Not that I've ever been to Mordor but no word of a lie, I came out coughing because of the nasty plastic smell.

As usual when I visit Pak's, I have no idea what I'm after. There are certain brands I keep returning to in order to sniff and drool over them (Curly Kinky, Design Essentials, CURLS and Nene's Secret) but I've yet to try any, mainly because of the ridiculous prices for some of them. One day I will suck it up and try these products *crosses fingers* but for now I'll sample some of the cheaper offerings in an attempt to find something halfway decent. These are the products I picked up from 3 Sisters of Nature - the Stretch it Out Creme (AKA Natural Lengthening Creme) and Sweet Bounce Back (which is now called Sweet Honeyrose Treatment?).

Despite the possibility that these products could both have an ungodly stench, I bought them without smelling either. Talk about living life on the edge. Okay, in reality I couldn't smell them if I wanted to because it they were wrapped in plastic but yes, things could have gone wildly wrong smell wise. And they did. Both products smell very strongly of the most artificial cherries you could imagine. I think the Sweet Bounce Back tub has a stronger scent than the Stretch it Out Creme. The smell is much too powerful for my liking. Why on earth would they make it smell like cherries?

3 Sisters of Nature Stretch it Out Creme and Sweet Bounce Back

3 Sisters of Nature Stretch it Out Creme (click the photo for closer inspection)

Stretch it Out Creme is compared to Miss Jessie's Stretch Silkening Creme on the tub and claims to elongate curls and waves, provide natural shine and create maximum volume. It appealed to me because after a recent hair cut I feel as if my hair is a metre shorter, when in reality only half an inch was cut off. I would like my hair to feel a bit longer so I thought elongating my curls couldn't hurt. After my experience with Beautiful Textures I was sceptical but not all products are created equally.

When I opened the tub the product looked really thick and unattractive. I turned the tub upside down and the contents weren't even close to budging. Was I really going to put this thick, heavy gunk in my hair? Yep. On wash day, I applied this without a leave in.

Not the best of pictures but my curls were so defined (without too much crunch) and definitely elongated. I was actually really pleased with the look of my hair. There was a slight shine and just the right amount of volume - my curls were not hanging flat but they weren't at the other extreme and flying around in a massive frizzed halo either. Sadly, my hair didn't feel great and definitely felt producty even though I made a point to apply very sparingly. It didn't feel moisturised and felt more like it was coated with something strong and waxy, which wasn't a nice experience. Overall my curls looked decent and the hold was good but I don't think I'll finish the tub. This product is marred by the cherry stench and the feel of my hair after using it. It felt like I needed a good clarify (after which the smell was STILL there!) and I was so paranoid that people could smell the disgusting cherry scent from me.

Sweet Bounce Back

On the tub, Sweet Bounce Back is compared to Miss Jessie's Super Sweetback Treatment and claims to create longer, elongated healthy curls and moisturised, soft hair. I picked it as the freebie over a mini tub of the Curling Gelo, which had totally different ingredients to the normal sized tub of Gelo. Odd. I didn't want to end up liking the mini one and then buying and hating the full size one if it was wildly different.

Sweet Bounce Back is much more pleasing to look at. It's a baby pink watery creme. If I'm totally honest, I don't have the slightest clue as to what this product is for. The label isn't helpful and describes the Once a Week Nourishing Treatment instead of the actual product the pot contains. I had to do some digging and Googled Sweet Bounce Back's supposed doppelgänger in the Miss Jessie's range (Super Sweetback Treatment) to find out that it's meant to be a deep treatment. However to me, the promise of longer, elongated healthy curls suggests that it's a leave in curl creme. Who knows. I gave it away to a friend because I could't be bothered.

I really like that this brand is stepping up and challenging other products by openly claiming on the label that they are similar but cheaper. Without the suggestion that the product is similar to Miss Jessie's on the front of the tub, I would never have bought this because I don't know the first thing about the brand and had never heard of it before. I have however read many glowing reviews of the very expensive Miss Jessie's products so I thought I may as well try a cheaper 'version' of it. Nice marketing there, 3 Sisters. I have not tried any Miss Jessie's products so I can't comment on any similarities.

P.S. Pak Cosmetics, some of your employees are disgustingly creepy.