All of Her Things

I always love trying new shampoos and conditioners on my hair and when Tracee Ellis Ross said she was dropping a hair care line, I was so excited. The morning it was set to launch on her site, I reloaded the page a couple times around 8:58a ET for the 9:00a drop. However, the countdown clock was showing PT (so it was like 3 hours behind) and after 9:00, it was still counting down. I took to twitter to see what was going on. It seemed like some people were able to access the site, but a bunch of people had the same issue as me. I kept reloading every few minutes and finally, about 15 minutes later, I was able to access the site and order my things.

The website is stunning. I love seeing all the POC, all with different hair types just being black/brown and joyful, and I find the color scheme of the website to be so pleasing. There’s also a curl guide so you can figure out what pattern you have and see what products might work with your hair type. I have the descriptions below, but check here to see what might work best for you.

Tight Textures

4B: luscious z-pattern coils that bend and flare in a zig zag pose

4C: velvety coils with tight curves that flow, breakdance and freestyle

Often described as: dense, kinky, type 4 hair, cloud like, gravity defying

Distinguishing Features: tight textures crave as much moisture as they can get; our delicate strands need care and protection to prevent breakage; they easily fluff into an afro with awe-inspiring volume; our hair loves to spend time in protective styles to remain moisturized, to support our delicate ends and to aid in length retention.

Coily

4A: supple S-pattern coils that lean and strut their snap-back stuff

Often described as: springy, spongy, tight, type 4 hair, type 3 hair

Distinguishing Features: tightly packed corkscrew curls that scrunch up and give extreme volume; tend to be finer in texture and weight; need extreme moisture to stay soft, defined and to resist tangles; our coils do well with twist outs and stretched style techniques

Curly

3B: stretchy curls with bounce to the ounce that double dutch in the wind

3C: flexible S-pattern curls that turn, twirl, and twist into a two-step

Often described as: bouncy, ringlets, springy, type 3 hair, frizzy

Distinguishing Features: frizz is our friend; big buoyant spirals; our texture tends to be thick and course, and our curls often vary in shape around the head; dryness can creep in to tousle up our ringlets, so moisture is key for maintaining definition and shine.

My Pattern

Before I actually review anything, I wanted to talk about my hair. Based on the descriptions on the PATTERN website, I believe I have a 4a hair type. It’s also low to medium porosity, basically my hair cannot handle too much protein.  A lot of hair products have some sort of protein, but I make sure my deep conditioners have none since that is something sits in my hair the longest. I always do a twist out since this is THE BEST way for my hair stay moisturized, and I always keep it twisted and covered with a head wrap since I exercise so often. My review is based on how my twist out looks/feels after a few days of it being twisted and covered. I think I washed my hair on a Thursday and took my hair down on Monday.

For this launch, it seems as though Tracee mainly targeted the in shower products. That was fine with me. I had one more wash with my current conditioner, so I actually needed this. I ordered two conditioners (I will explain why), the medium and heavy, the hydration shampoo, and the shower brush. I didn’t bother with the oils and leave-in just yet. I’d prefer to try those with actual styling products. There is also a microfiber towel and hair clips which I felt like I just didn’t need.

 

Wash Day

My favorite day of the week has arrived! I’ll let you in on my basic routine. I always do some sort of pre-poo. I’ve been pretty happy with a simple EVOO pre-poo. First, I spritz my hair with a little water, not too much, just enough to easily section my hair. I part my hair into 4 sections. Then I work the EVOO into my hair and scalp, twist each section into bantu knots, cover with a plastic cap, and leave for like 30 minutes. When I get in the shower, I shampoo with my hair still in sections, but use a shampoo brush to work it into the scalp. Now we can talk about PATTERN.

 

Hydration Shampoo (for curlies, coilies and tight textures)

9.8 fl oz $20

 

Using this shampoo was nice. As I worked it into my hair and scalp, it felt like a milky lather. The overall feel is very light, almost watery. I felt like I needed a little bit more than usual because of how light it is. Also, I really enjoyed how easily it rinsed out. I always feel like I have left over shampoo in my hair by the time I start the conditioning step. My scalp felt clean without stripping my hair during the rinse and that’s important. Sometimes I feel as though finding a good shampoo can be hard. If it’s meant to help with moisture and hydration, I usually feel like my scalp isn’t cleansed enough, and of course, I don’t want to use something that strips my hair of it’s moisture. I think this is a nice middle ground. Not harsh, but left feeling clean. This would be a repurchase.

 

Medium Conditioner (for curlies)

13 fl oz $25

 

I decided to get the medium and heavy conditioners because I always use two when I shampoo. I used the medium as a finger detangling conditioner, at least for this wash. I didn’t TOO much finger detangling knowing I was about to use the shower brush, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any crazy knots before using it.

This conditioner was fine. I loved how thick and creamy it was, making it really easy to finger detangle. It also rinsed out nicely, like the shampoo although the shampoo leaned more watery. It left my hair feeling clean, but I couldn’t get over the scent. The floral, rose scent was too strong in this one, and I really dislike strong floral scents. I tend to use conditioners that don’t have specific hair type targets to detangle, and I’d put this in line with all the other ones I’ve used. It just wasn’t that special for MY hair type. It wasn’t bad, just wasn’t better than the rest of the regular conditioners I’ve tried. I don’t think I’d repurchase this one just because of that. I can spend less and get similar results. This does leave my hair feeling cleaner than others, but the shampoo does a good job of that too.

 

Heavy Conditioner

13 fl oz $25

 

Woooooooah. Now this conditioner, gave me so much joy in the shower. I decided to use this as an in-shower deep conditioner. It’s so thick, significantly thicker than the medium, and it made me curious about how thick the intensive conditioner is. The scent was not as strong as the medium, thank goodness. I worked this into my hair with PATTERN shower brush, twisted each section into bantu knots, and left this in for about 10 minutes while I cleaned the rest of my body. Like the rest of the products, it washed out very easily, but this left my hair feeling so soft and defined without putting any styling products in yet. Needless to say, this is a repurchase and I think I’d get the 29 fl oz pump bottle next time.

 

Shower Brush

$17

 

I’m not sure what made me want to try this brush. I’m lying, Tracee used it in a live video and I thought it would be nice to try out. I’ve been a big fan of finger detangling and I still am, but I can only get so much out of it since it’s harder to do as I get closer to my scalp. So I used this with the heavy conditioner. I started at the very ends and worked my way up. It was very gentle. Considering the fact that I wasn’t just working through the ends of my hair, I noticed a similar amount of hair come out with the brush, which was something I was a little nervous about. It was so nice to see the definition of my curls forming and I really liked seeing my curls “clump” together.

 

Final Thoughts

 After the shower, I was a little nervous. My hair felt good and clean, but it looked a way I wasn’t used to. It was a bit bigger and I couldn’t tell if this would leave my hair dry or voluminous. It was really weird. I used my usual styling products and let my hair air dry for a bit, and when I came back to look, my hair had so much volume! I went in to do my usual twists and they were so juicy. At that moment, I said to myself, “Ok Tracee, I see where we’re going with this now”. I took my twists out maybe 4 days later and my curls were exactly what Tracee said they would be “Juicy & Joyful”

The pricing isn’t the worst for the amount of product you get. If you are unsure though, check out the mini sizes which are $9 for 3 fl oz. The conditioners also come in these 29 fl oz pump bottles for $42. I chose the medium sizes to have enough to use for awhile and not end up wasting a big jug just because I feel like trying something new. I’ve paid more for hair and skincare products that I’ve loved and hated, and I wasn’t about to change this attitude, especially toward a WOC owned brand. And believe me, I have this attitude toward smaller brands as well.

All in all, I think this was a great first launch for PATTERN and I’m looking forward to what comes next. You can find Tracee Ellis Ross’s hair care line at patternbeauty.com and you can now purchase at your local Ulta store or ulta.com. Let me know what you think of this launch!