Obia Natural Hair Babassu Deep Conditioner Review



IT'S....FINALLY...HERE!!!

I think it was about 8 months ago or so when I was perusing the Obia webiste for Black Friday (I honestly CANNOT wait for Black Friday this year....I'm hoping for a BIGGER and BETTER list!), and I caught wind of their "Deep Conditioner...Coming Soon" listing.

I got antsy.

Every month or so, I'd check back, anxious to see if it had been secretly uploaded. Then at the beginning of the month, I saw the promo sneak onto Instagram...attached to a 30% off introductory/pre-order offer. I hopped on it like there was no tomorrow, and grabbed myself a Curl Enhancing Custard while I was at it. And when the Babassu Deep Conditioner arrived, I did a happy dance.

But enough about my awkward obsession with hair products. Let's get on to the review:

Ingredient List:
  • Purified Water (Aqua), Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Stearyl Alcohol, Vegetable Glycerin, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Centrimonium Chloride, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Panthenol, Gluconolactone and Sodium Benzoate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Citric Acid, Fragrance (Parfum).

Top Ingredients 411:

  • Rice Bran Oil: Antioxidant oil rich in vitamin E that helps prevent free-radical and oxidative damage to hair. Also rich in ceramides which penetrate the hair and restore moisture within the cortex.
  • Cetyl & Stearyl Alcohols: Considered "fatty alchols" -- NOT to be confused with drying alcohols such as ethyl. Both Stearyl and cetyl alcohol are lubricants, thickeners, and emollients. They give conditioner its velvety feel without making hair greasy. Also used to keep product ingredients from separating. 
  • Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine: A derivative of stearic fatty acid that is used to keep ingredients from separating, as well as provide "slip" (useful for easy detangling). 
  • Vegetable Glycerin: Vegetable-based humectant that absorbs and retains moisture from the air.
  • Babassu Seed Oil: Oil pressed from the kernel of the Brazilian Orbigynya Palm Tree, with a similar chemical composition to coconut oil. It is able to penetrate the hair (to a degree), improving moisture, strength, elasticity, softness, and shine of hair. It is a wonderful alternative for those who want the benefits of coconut oil, but don't care for it in the hair.

Availability & Affordability: The conditioner comes in an 8oz jar and retails online at www.obianaturalhair.com for $15. Although I caught this particular beauty for 30%, which made it $10.50. Either way, not bad considering some of the asinine prices out there for deep conditioners.

Product Claim/Description: Specifically formulated for natural curls, kinks, and waves. Immerse your curls and kinks in this deeply penetrating and fortifying treatment that deeply repairs and reconstructs all hair textures and hair types. Strand-strengthening Babassu Oil will nourish, repair elasticity, soften, and add shine to your hair. Avocado Oil, Rosemary Essential Oil, and Pro-Vitamin B5 will repair damage and moisturize your hair. This protein-free formula restores your hair's natural moisture balance. 

Performance/Delivery: Great products come to those who religiously stalk natural hair websites retail stores Good things come to those who wait. I am on a deep conditioner kick right now, and I am looking for a rotation of holy grails to alternate between and keep in the stash. Obia, welcome to the club.

The conditioner is average consistency for a deep conditioner -- thicker than normal conditioner, but not impossible to work through the hair. It coated my hair easily, and I really felt like the ingredients I love (cetrimonium chloride, rice bran oil, panthenol, aloe) were being taken in by my hair, and conditioning the outside. I didn't follow the instructions exactly (they say to use it for 30 minutes, I did it for about 20 while I showered and shaved), but that didn't matter.

It worked. WELL. I was able to work it into my hair without much drama, although the Babassu Deep Conditioner itself doesn't have a lot of slip. But the magic really happened at rinse out time. I got that nice "my hair soaked up a bunch of good stuff" feeling that I get with Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea All Natural Hair Masque. You know, when your hair hangs a little more and feels like it picked up some weight. But it wasn't greasy AT ALL. My hair felt incredibly conditioned, soft, and strong -- which is rare because there is no protein in this conditioner whatsoever. Best of all? Frizz -- banished. I love it when a good deep conditioner can take control -- and this one definitely did.

Do you see that shine....and lack of frizz?!?
As far as fragrance goes, I'm not wild about it. I think they were aiming for a fragrance hybrid of clean, floral, and citrus. But something inside of the product (maybe the Babassu oil) smells a little to plant-oily (if that makes any sense...you know some of these oils can smell...awkward) and throws it off for me. I've got no qualms about using it for its intended purpose, as the fragrance washes away and doesn't linger. It isn't really strong either -- I'm just not a fan. I won't be leaving any behind during my rinse, or using it as a leave-in for this reason. Others may find the fragrance pleasant, so definitely check out what some other bloggers and vloggers have to say!

Drawbacks: I would say a drawback is the slip, but much like my beloved Eden BodyWorks Hair Masque, it has enough slip to make it work-withable and gets a little slippier during rinse out. The one drawback that sticks, is the fragrance :-/

Bonuses: The Babassu Deep Conditioner is protein free, which is super bonus for ladies with protein sensitive hair in need of some strengthening power. It is also silicone-free for the Curly Girl Method crew. It is also vegan, gluten free, paraben free, and contains no mineral oil or petroleum.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for a good deep conditioner that will strengthen, nourish, and really penetrate the hair without proteins and icky stuff, this is the one. It won't de-throne my beloved, but it definitely has earned a spot in my cone-free deep conditioners department.

Best Practices: Definitely make sure you detangle your hair prior to using the deep conditioner, despite the fact that the directions say to detangle after applying product. Not enough slip for all that, and trying to make that happen will lead to using excess product (trust me). Just make sure you detangle beforehand. Truthfully, try to detangle before shampooing and deep conditioning anyway. It just makes wash day easier.

Overall Product Rating: 4.5 stars. Obia's Babassu Deep Conditioner is a solid, wholesome, deep conditioner that delivers on all its promises. I wish it had more slip, but that didn't factor much into the point deduction. Even without the super slippy, I still love it!The fragrance is what kept this from being a 5-star product.

Have you tried the Babassu Deep Conditioner? What did you think of it?

4 Comments

  1. Good things come to those who stalk. True statement.
    Actually, I stopped looking for slip in a deep conditioner if it does what it is suppose to do. BUT I need slip in rinse out conditioner. Great review.

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  2. I agree with you. My best deep conditioners dont have any slip BUT my question is...do I use the rinse out first to detangle or the other way around? I figure I detangle first because from my understanding, I think the surfactants in some rinse out conditioners would just rimse away the DC goodness. Am I right?

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  3. To be honest with you, I detangle during my pre-poo and I wash my hair in sections. I use a cheap rinse off conditioner like V05 before I dc. You are right about not using a rinse off after your dc.

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  4. Kira, Weekend natural is right about rinsing away the DC goodness. Although I skip the rinse-out conditioning step, I just let my deep conditioner do all the work :)

    I know a lot of people condition, then deep condition. To each her own!

    ReplyDelete