People close to me know that I have a deep and profound love affair with Etsy. A part of the reason is because I like to support smaller vendors. Another reason is because (for the most part”> the customer service is really good (especially when it comes to getting things customized”>. I also like it because I can support a lot of black merchants, ones that I probably wouldn’t hear about any other way.
Although 4BellaNaturale is a fairly popular all-natural hair care line, I personally didn’t know anything about it until I was on Etsy late one night, looking for some edge control. For the most part, I have 4a hair that is pretty manageable. But like a lot of sistahs, I still want some baby hair from time to time and finding some edge control that works all day long?! It has been the most frustrating search mission.
When I went to Etsy and put “edge control” in the search field, 4BellaNaturale came up with this description on it:
Aloe & Honey Styling Gel 8oz jar Handcrafted, Natural, Curl Definer, Edge Control, Organic Gel, Aloe Vera, Flaxseed, Hair Gel
I know that aloe, honey, and flaxseed oil are really good for your hair so that piqued my interest. Still, they weren’t my top priority. The “edge control” part is what I was after.
Just to be sure that I would be getting what I was looking for, I wrote the merchant. This was the timely response that I received:
Good Evening Shellie Thanks for contacting 4 Bella Naturale. The Aloe & Honey Gel works great as a edge control when used as directed. Our styling gel does not contain beeswax. Also many times residue or flakiness from gel is due to several possible factors. 1. Overuse of the product 2. Failing to apply to damp hair 3. Failing to apply an oil or leave-in before applying the gel. 4 Applying gel to dirty hair. Thanks
All-natural products. Professional service. Sold.
When the product arrived, I was super-excited to try it. But when I opened up the jar, I instantly knew that it wasn’t what I was looking for. Although it smelled a-maz-ing, the consistency of the product was way too thin to work a proper edge control. It was way too thin to even slick my hair back.
The moment I put a little onto both sides of my head, my hair started to slightly wave up (because remember, even though I’m a naturalista, I blow out my hair on wash day and braid it up to elongate it in between washes”>; that was the complete opposite of what I wanted it to do.
So yeah, this one is a no-go for me on the edge control tip. What would I use it for? Probably if I wanted a braid out that didn’t require a ton of definition. So far, though, all I’ve used it for is on wash day if I want to add a little aloe or flaxseed to my hair before drying it.
So, my search for the perfect edge control continues.
