My hair is about to the middle of my back. I have 2B, low-porosity,
protein-sensitive hair. My hair is medium thickness and low density. I'm
of European descent and I have dark virgin hair.
About Carina Organics: On my page about Carina Organics, you can read more about their company and read my product reviews. I have reviewed other companies and their products as well and you can find those on my complete list.
YouTube: Watch my review and be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
Let's get started with the basics. They have 250ml, 1 liter, and 4 liter sizes to choose from. I got the smallest size (250ml or about 8oz.. If you're interested, you can buy their sweet pea scented gel here and the unscented version here. It's vegan and cruelty free. I follow the conditioner-only Curly Girl Method and the good news is that it's also free of synthetics, parabens, soy, gluten, and dyes. It's 100% biodegradable and hypoallergenic. Many of the ingredients are also certified organic. I don't see any organic certification on the product. They claim that their ingredients are certified organic though. That is totally possible to use certified organic ingredients, though due to laws, they cannot claim that the final product is certified organic.
I have two issues with their ingredients. The first is preservatives and the second is emulsifiers. I didn't know about this when I ordered from them.They do have information about their ingredients where they indirectly say that natural is good and artificial is bad. They also have a nice ingredient glossary on their site. It was only a few months ago that I started looking more into the safety of products.
I really had my doubts about their products, so I wrote to them and asked about their emulsifiers and preservatives in their conditioners. Their gel does not have coconut oil but it does have acacia senegal (gum) extract which does function as an emulsifier (source). They do not state that acacia senegal (gum) extract is used as an emulsifier on their site; instead they say it provides natural hold. I think they should add the fact that it's a natural emulsifier to their description.
They wrote back rather quickly. They did have some grammar mistakes but I'm not sure if the person I messaged was a native English speaker or not. The products I bought had water, bark extract, carrier oils, and extracts in them. Below is their reply
Preservatives
If you have water in a product, you need a preservative. Preferably a broad spectrum preservative or a variety of other preservatives to avoid gram positive and gram negative bacteria and mold. They use tree bark extract (Birch, Cedar, Douglas Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, Alder, and Pine) in their products and they say it functions as a preservative.
To be completely honest, I have my doubts. I have not found anything that points to pine bark extract that says it can be used as a preservative. Now just because I haven't found any articles on it, doesn't mean there
aren't any studies out there, nor does it mean it doesn't work. It just
means I haven't found it and that makes me skeptical. One thing that
does ease my mind is that they have been in business since 1972. I would
hope that if their products weren't safe, someone would have reported
them long ago. The few articles I have found talk about health benefits and uses.
Emulsifier
The second issue I have is about emulsification in order to bind the water together with the other ingredients and make a gel. I looked up all the gel ingredients and didn't see anything in the descriptions on their website that stated that specific ingredient was an emulsifier. However, from my understanding, gum extract is an emulsifier often used in products. It's also edible and therefore is used in food and drinks as well (source). Here is their description of acacia senegal (gum) extract. I think they need to add in that it functions as an emulsifier.
Despite the odd ingredients, it is a normal gel consistency. It's clear and not tacky like most gels that I've tried before are. I really love this gel. I don't know about the ingredients, but I'm hoping that everything is good, because this gel works amazingly on my hair. I would definitely buy the liter bottle next time.
I think that 8oz is a decent size to get if you want to try out a product. While I wish they offered 2oz or 4oz, since the price point isn't that high, I didn't mind buying 8oz worth of product for $10 (not including shipping). That works out to about $1.25 an ounce and while that is rather high for me (I'd like to stay around $1 an ounce or less), compared to some products which are $2, $3 or even more an ounce, I don't think that this is really that bad of a deal. When other companies have higher price points but don't offer smaller sizes, I'm really hesitant to buy stuff in case I don't like it. I don't throw away products I don't like (I do throw away or give away products that have ingredients I don't like). I use them even if they don't work for me. My hair just looks bad while I use it up.
The next size up is $34 for 34 ounces, which works out to $1 an ounce. That is four times as big as the size I bought and being a natural product, I would worry about being able to use it up quickly enough. However, I think the best thing to do would do keep the smaller bottle (or buy a new bottle and sterilize it first), then pump the gel from the bigger bottle into the smaller bottle and keep the bigger bottle in the fridge.
Because I'm cheap and like to get my money's worth as well as cut down on waste, I cut open containers to get the last little bit out. This is a soft container and is easy to cut.
About Carina Organics: On my page about Carina Organics, you can read more about their company and read my product reviews. I have reviewed other companies and their products as well and you can find those on my complete list.
YouTube: Watch my review and be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
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| buy it here |
Let's get started with the basics. They have 250ml, 1 liter, and 4 liter sizes to choose from. I got the smallest size (250ml or about 8oz.. If you're interested, you can buy their sweet pea scented gel here and the unscented version here. It's vegan and cruelty free. I follow the conditioner-only Curly Girl Method and the good news is that it's also free of synthetics, parabens, soy, gluten, and dyes. It's 100% biodegradable and hypoallergenic. Many of the ingredients are also certified organic. I don't see any organic certification on the product. They claim that their ingredients are certified organic though. That is totally possible to use certified organic ingredients, though due to laws, they cannot claim that the final product is certified organic.
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| image source |
Ingredients
They have a very short ingredient list which has the INCI name as well as the common name. It is humectant free, no glycerin! Humectants can cause frizz during high and low dews. |
| image source |
I have two issues with their ingredients. The first is preservatives and the second is emulsifiers. I didn't know about this when I ordered from them.They do have information about their ingredients where they indirectly say that natural is good and artificial is bad. They also have a nice ingredient glossary on their site. It was only a few months ago that I started looking more into the safety of products.
I really had my doubts about their products, so I wrote to them and asked about their emulsifiers and preservatives in their conditioners. Their gel does not have coconut oil but it does have acacia senegal (gum) extract which does function as an emulsifier (source). They do not state that acacia senegal (gum) extract is used as an emulsifier on their site; instead they say it provides natural hold. I think they should add the fact that it's a natural emulsifier to their description.
They wrote back rather quickly. They did have some grammar mistakes but I'm not sure if the person I messaged was a native English speaker or not. The products I bought had water, bark extract, carrier oils, and extracts in them. Below is their reply
Preservatives
If you have water in a product, you need a preservative. Preferably a broad spectrum preservative or a variety of other preservatives to avoid gram positive and gram negative bacteria and mold. They use tree bark extract (Birch, Cedar, Douglas Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, Alder, and Pine) in their products and they say it functions as a preservative.
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| image source |
- Does Pine Extract Have Health Benefits? A Look At The Research
- Pine Bark Extract: the Superb Antioxidant for Healthy Circulation
- Tapping the Pine Tree . . . Plant Resins and their Uses
- Natural cosmetic preservatives ingredients and strategies
- Natural preservatives in cosmetics - a trend
- Alternative cosmetic preservatives - what are your options?
- Natural cosmetic preservative questions answered
Emulsifier
The second issue I have is about emulsification in order to bind the water together with the other ingredients and make a gel. I looked up all the gel ingredients and didn't see anything in the descriptions on their website that stated that specific ingredient was an emulsifier. However, from my understanding, gum extract is an emulsifier often used in products. It's also edible and therefore is used in food and drinks as well (source). Here is their description of acacia senegal (gum) extract. I think they need to add in that it functions as an emulsifier.
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| image source |
Smell and Texture
I
like scents like sweet pea and lily of the valley, however, they can't
make essential oils from those flowers. This styling gel uses an extract
for scent. The nice thing about the scent is that it's there, but it's
not that overpowering. I can barely smell it, which is something that I
prefer and I'm sure the people around me don't want to smell me before
they see me.Despite the odd ingredients, it is a normal gel consistency. It's clear and not tacky like most gels that I've tried before are. I really love this gel. I don't know about the ingredients, but I'm hoping that everything is good, because this gel works amazingly on my hair. I would definitely buy the liter bottle next time.
Size, Price, and Packaging
One
complaint I often have about companies is that they have a
one-size-fits-all attitude. I'd like to try smaller sizes but still have
the option to save money and use less packaging by buying bigger
sizes.I think that 8oz is a decent size to get if you want to try out a product. While I wish they offered 2oz or 4oz, since the price point isn't that high, I didn't mind buying 8oz worth of product for $10 (not including shipping). That works out to about $1.25 an ounce and while that is rather high for me (I'd like to stay around $1 an ounce or less), compared to some products which are $2, $3 or even more an ounce, I don't think that this is really that bad of a deal. When other companies have higher price points but don't offer smaller sizes, I'm really hesitant to buy stuff in case I don't like it. I don't throw away products I don't like (I do throw away or give away products that have ingredients I don't like). I use them even if they don't work for me. My hair just looks bad while I use it up.
The next size up is $34 for 34 ounces, which works out to $1 an ounce. That is four times as big as the size I bought and being a natural product, I would worry about being able to use it up quickly enough. However, I think the best thing to do would do keep the smaller bottle (or buy a new bottle and sterilize it first), then pump the gel from the bigger bottle into the smaller bottle and keep the bigger bottle in the fridge.
Because I'm cheap and like to get my money's worth as well as cut down on waste, I cut open containers to get the last little bit out. This is a soft container and is easy to cut.
Would I Get This Again?
Maybe. I love this gel. It's absolutely amazing, but I'll be honest. I do have my doubts about pine extract serving as a preservative. I think I will write to them again with a link to this post and ask them if they've done independent lab testing to ensure the efficacy of their preservative system. If you're interested, you can buy their sweet pea scented gel here and the unscented version here.
Random Thoughts
Patch test before using.
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