Last month Andre Walker, the man behind Oprah's locks, launched his haircare line in the UK. As I've already tried and love the Andre Walker Hair TKO Ultimate Moisture Conditioner (reviewed briefly here) I've been keen to get to know the rest of the range which is pretty streamlined. The Andre Walker Hair line contains simply a shampoo, a deep conditioner, a hair oil and a leave-in each for curly, kinky and straight-styled hair which all retail from £10.99 each*. When it comes to styling Andre's products are designed to be used alone (with a philosophy of no more 'cocktailing').
Prior to the launch event I was styled by Andre himself, starting with a thorough cleanse with the Ultimate Moisture Sulfate Free Shampoo and conditioning with the TKO Ultimate Moisture Conditioner. The conditioner was rinsed completely from my hair and Andre applied the Beautiful Kinks Styling Crème Gelee and a little of the Quench-Essential Oil. Having my hair styled by Andre was absolute pleasure. He was so welcoming and he gave me lots of tips and tricks on styling and caring for my hair. He also advised me that my hair was more on the kinky side and suggested it was type 4 of his hair typing system (see his hair typing chart here).
(left to right) Ebony modelling styled Type 3 hair, Kiyarni modelling straight styled hair, Andre Walker and me.
Photos provided by Glen Nuñez, Bad Branding Creative Agency
Photos provided by Glen Nuñez, Bad Branding Creative Agency
I've tried to stick to just using this line for the past few weeks to get an idea on how the products work for me so far. I still absolutely love the TKO Ultimate Moisture Conditioner (£15.99) and I'm now on my second tub. It contains Aloe Vera, Keratin and oils such as argan, avocado and mongongo. This Conditioner does also contain dimethicone but I've never really had an issue with 'cones' so this is definitely at the top of my list to purchase when it's finished. I have so many shampoos on hand that the Ultimate Moisture Sulfate Free Shampoo (£10.99) comes up against some pretty stiff competition. It is gentle but I have far gentler shampoos which cleanse just as well.
With styling I found that the Beautiful Curls Styling Crème (£15.99) works well for me, despite it being designed for type 2 and type 3 hair. It's a smooth consistency that's just so light it moisturises without weighing down my low porosity hair. Beautiful Kinks Styling Crème Gelee (£15.99), which is designed for type 4 hair, is much creamier and thicker in consistency and it gives my curls a lot more hold than Beautiful Curls. Both products are conditioning but are very different in terms of the main ingredients. Beautiful Curls has Aloe Vera, Ginger, Sea Kelp and Acai Fruit Extract whilst Beautiful Kinks contains Shea Butter, Avocado oil, and Jojoba oil. The products are designed to be used alone depending on your curl type, which I've tried, but I actually prefer using them together. I concentrate Beautiful Curls on the looser areas of my hair at the bottom and Beautiful Kinks towards my crown and edges where my curls are much tighter. I have a habit of layering product and I'd say that hasn't really changed though if I had to I could just use Beautiful Kinks by itself. Each time I've styled my hair with these products my hair has been staying moisturised and defined for at least 2 days before I need to rewet my hair and add a little more product.
I've not used a lot of the Quench-Essential Oil (£15.99) but it looks and feels very similar to a serum with cyclomethicone and dimethicone as the main ingredients. It also contains Mongongo and Argain oil and my hair feels smooth and less frizzy when I use this. I very rarely use heat anymore so I haven't tested out the Get It Straight Styling Crème (£15.99) yet but I scanned the ingredients on the bottle (twice) and they are listed exactly the same as the Beautiful Curls product. The same is true of the ingredients listed individually on the brand's website. It could be a misprint, but both products look and smell the same. The only physical difference from what I can tell so far is the packaging. I'll be using both together soon to see if there really is a difference.
Overall I love the simplicity of this line as I am trying to generally use less on my hair but I haven't quite given up 'cocktailing' yet.
Andre Walker Hair products are currently only available through Spell Beauty in the UK and from the brand's website or Target in the US.
Have you tried Andre Walker Hair products?