Africa pride hair oil?

[Sossity]

someone not too long ago posted about a natural hair oil the y found that was fairly cheap & its name was something like Africas pride, does anyone know about this? it was either in conventional hair products or the mane forum.

[kdaniels8811]

It is Africa's Best and is $1.97 at Walmart, I picked some up. It is ok but I prefer my coconut oil just because the African's Best is so runny, it is really easy to use too much in daily use. For pre- oiling before herbal washes, though, it seems it would be good. Hope this helps!

[SHELIAANN1969]

I have Africas Best, it's pretty good stuff. The one thing I dislike about it, is the smell. They added a fragrance that makes it smell just like baby oil, I can't stand the fragrance and I use the oil sparingly and rarely because it disagrees with me.

When I do use it, it's great. I even added orange essential oil, but their fragrance still overpowers that. I just can't get passed it. Sometimes I use a little of it and a little of something else.

[RancheroTheBee]

I've used it. I actually like the smell, to be honest. Also, my hair is very dry, and it tends to agree with me, but it does take a lot of moving it around in your palms to get it to a good consistency.

If you have very dry or curly hair, I would suggest looking around in that section of Walmart.

My Walmart still separates 'black' products, i.e.: relaxers, aloe gel, Africa's Best, carrot oil and a Mane N' Tail leave-in, into a section called "Ethnic Haircare". Most of these products are really heavy, and work only on extremely dry, curly hair. I think Africa's Best comes in really tiny little tubs, which might be nice for experimenting with. They also have some lighter products, like the aloe gel, that you might want to try first.

[Zombiekins]

Freakydoodles, I just picked some up today after seeing it talked about here! I like the consistency, as it's much lighter than my coconut based Vatika and easy to use only a wee bit to shine up my hair without making it clumpy or weighed down. Don't get me wrong, I effin' love coconut oil, but CO washing in the summer already kind of brings my hair down, and the Vatika on top is too much.

The smell, though,.......yee gads the smell. I don't like most fragrances to begin with, but this one is too fakey baby powdery and it's kinda gross.

[SHELIAANN1969]

Freakydoodles, I just picked some up today after seeing it talked about here! I like the consistency, as it's much lighter than my coconut based Vatika and easy to use only a wee bit to shine up my hair without making it clumpy or weighed down. Don't get me wrong, I effin' love coconut oil, but CO washing in the summer already kind of brings my hair down, and the Vatika on top is too much.

The smell, though,.......yee gads the smell. I don't like most fragrances to begin with, but this one is too fakey baby powdery and it's kinda gross.

Yes yes, that's the smell!!! :poot::poot::poot:

[coppercurls]

I have used it and liked it, but that smell is killer! I do find that it does fade though. I need to play with the EO's and see if I can find a combo that at least neutralizes the smell a bit.:poot:

[nowxisxforever]

I have Africas Best, it's pretty good stuff. The one thing I dislike about it, is the smell. They added a fragrance that makes it smell just like baby oil, I can't stand the fragrance and I use the oil sparingly and rarely because it disagrees with me.

When I do use it, it's great. I even added orange essential oil, but their fragrance still overpowers that. I just can't get passed it. Sometimes I use a little of it and a little of something else.

I agree, it smells just like baby oil which makes me go *ick*! It's nearly impossible to overpower their fragrance.

If you don't mind the smell, then go for it-- but elsewise I'd stay away from it. I liked the oil itself but never used it due to smell and heaviness (I prefer coconut oil or jojoba oil too).

My boyfriend ended up using the rest of the bottle in his baths, which is a far better use for it, IMO. I wouldn't use it in my hair because then I'd have to smell it constantly.

[Debra83]

I ordered two bottles of it, but I haven't received it yet. sigh.

[Sherri]

I got a bottle of it at wal-mart and I don't mind the smell. I love the smell of babies and it reminds me of a freshly washed newborn.

[Sossity]

I got some stuff called nubian heritage raw shea butter hair elixir, it is a bit expensive, comes in a small bottle, but it smells wonderful, it has extracts of frankensise & myrrh.

[Zombiekins]

I have used it and liked it, but that smell is killer! I do find that it does fade though. I need to play with the EO's and see if I can find a combo that at least neutralizes the smell a bit.

Lemme know what you come up with! The worst part is putting some on my hair, washing my hands very thoroughly and the smell is still just as pungent on them. Yuck.

[Laurenji]

Wow, seems like a lot of people hate the smell. I guess it is a little strong, but I don't mind it. I like it just because it's cheap, readily available (most places in the States have a Wal-mart fairly close), and leaves my hair feeling oh-so-soft. It is easy to overuse though...I mostly just put it in my ends.

[AnimaSola3o4]

After some intensive :google: searching I've tracked down the manufacturers of this product. I know the bottle says H.C. Industries, Inc. But looking for that was getting me nowhere. So I found a page that told me that the company is called House of Cheatham. I wrote to them practically begging for a fragrance free version of this miracle (IMHO) oil! I wonder if they'd listen to us if a lot of people wrote to them?

Personally I love this oil, but the scent makes me kinda nauseous!

woops! I suppose it would help if I added the link for their website, huh??

http://www.houseofcheatham.com/africasbest.html

[virgo75]

I used to ***LOVE*** this oil!!!
Used to....

Until they changed the scent to the horrible baby powder, vomit, atrociousness it is now. :shake:

Ya'll wouldn't believe what it used to smell like:
Heavenly, lovely vanilla.
A very light, natural smelling vanilla.
I used to get compliments day and night on how good my hair smelled when I used this oil.
My SO at the time would bury his face in my hair and say how good it smelled.
It also made my hair silky and smooth.

But I bought a new bottle - and it smells like baby powder and vomit.
I don't throw things out - I have 2 closets full of hair crap.
But I threw this in the trash.
They should have left it alone. :shake:

Sorry for the rant. :(

Now the commercial hair oil I'll use(sometimes) is Ginseng Miracle Wonder 8 Oil. It's ok. Works pretty good, but it's not as good as the old Africa Pride oil.
And it smells kinda sweet and herbally.
I don't like the scent, but it's not as bad as the Africa Pride.

ETA: Thanks for the link Anima - I just sent them a message requesting that they either bring back the old scent or make an unscented version.

[Sissy]

I got some stuff called nubian heritage raw shea butter hair elixir, it is a bit expensive, comes in a small bottle, but it smells wonderful, it has extracts of frankensise & myrrh.

Cool, I ordered a jar of Nubian Heritage Raw Shea Butter Infused With Frankincense And Myrrh off Vitacost not too long ago and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival. Can't wait to try it out and imagine it smells lovely... I plan to whip mine with some other things for a nice hair treat, my hair prefers whipped shea butter. How are you finding this product for your hair?

To the OP, yes Africa's Best is a lovely oil... many healthy hair ingredients including carrot seed oil, which is pretty pricey usually. I also agree that it smells like baby powder, which is why I don't use it as a leave-in. I use mine for heavy overnight oilings and I was it out the next morning. I heavily saturate my hair with Africa's Best (it's so inexpensive that you can afford to saturate your hair with it without feeling guilty) and then put a plastic shower cap on my head and go to sleep. In the morning I shower and CO wash it out, sometimes using a bit of shampoo too. I find the scent doesn't linger after that but you still get the benefits of an overnight oil soak. It is a decent oil for the price for sure.

In other news, I got a brand new (still sealed) bottle of Burt's Bees Apricot Kernel Oil and I just opened it and it smells LOVELY, it will make a fine hair leave-in scent wise.


After some intensive :google: searching I've tracked down the manufacturers of this product. I know the bottle says H.C. Industries, Inc. But looking for that was getting me nowhere. So I found a page that told me that the company is called House of Cheatham. I wrote to them practically begging for a fragrance free version of this miracle (IMHO) oil! I wonder if they'd listen to us if a lot of people wrote to them?

oh, fantastic! Perhaps we should all right asking them to change back to their old lovely vanilla fragrance that was mentioned here. :D

[greygoth]

This product works great, but (for me) the scent is seriously unbearable.

[AnimaSola3o4]

Man am I glad people are on board about this! I wonder if there are a lot more people out there who feel the same way? How would I go about finding out, I wonder?

[lastnite]

I tried this many years ago. It had the baby powder scent then... so I'm pretty sure it was this one. The scent stopped me from buying it again. I couldn't use it too often because it was hard to sleep with the scent, so I tried to mix it with essential oils but the scent still came through! as someone else said, I'd feel nauseous after awhile..very strange, since normally I can handle strong scents, (I'm using Indian oils now and I like those scents), but the heavy powder scent I just couldn't handle..

the vanilla scent someone described above sounds lovely...if it smelled that nice I would buy if just for the scent since it's so cheap. wish I would of tried it then.

[Sissy]

Man am I glad people are on board about this! I wonder if there are a lot more people out there who feel the same way? How would I go about finding out, I wonder?

I don't know but I also submitted a comment on the website link you provided telling them about LHC and giving them a link to this post. I said the general feeling here is that their product is a great product but stinks! I mentioned they might sell a lot more if they reformulate the fragrance or go back to the vanilla fragrance. :cheese: I hope some more people will also take the time to comment. It would be wonderful to have an inexpensive, easily accessible, nice smelling hair oil.

[Laurenji]

I sent them a message as well. Initially I didn't mind the scent, but it gets worse every time I use it. But I still love what it does to my hair. That vanilla scent sounds fantastic...I wish it smelled like that.

[loralie]

I usually steer clear of most of the haircare "oils" in that section because they either contain parabens or mineral oil, which can be fine for thick, curly hair but just smothers my straighter stuff.

Does anyone know the ingredients?

[GermanCurl]

I love this hair oil and use it as a deep treatment on a regular basis. I don't mind the smell, however I did not know that it previously came in a vanilla scent. I loooove Vanilla! So it prompted me to go to their website and also leave a comment asking them to bring back the vanilla scent.

[Zombiekins]

I usually steer clear of most of the haircare "oils" in that section because they either contain parabens or mineral oil, which can be fine for thick, curly hair but just smothers my straighter stuff.

Does anyone know the ingredients?

Soy Bean Oil, Walnut Seed Oil, Kiwi Fruit Extract, Olive Fruit Oil, Castor Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Safflower Oil and Calendula Extract and Yarrow Extract and Cucumber Extract and Carrageenan Extract and Ginseng Extract and Sage Extract and Comfrey Extract and Aloe Extract, Fragrance

Copied exactly as it's written on the bottle.

[AnimaSola3o4]

Soy Bean Oil, Walnut Seed Oil, Kiwi Fruit Extract, Olive Fruit Oil, Castor Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Safflower Oil and Calendula Extract and Yarrow Extract and Cucumber Extract and Carrageenan Extract and Ginseng Extract and Sage Extract and Comfrey Extract and Aloe Extract, Fragrance

Copied exactly as it's written on the bottle.

Exactly. Everything in it is beneficial except that pesky last ingredient. I personally LOVE vanilla as well, so I would definitely use it more and buy more if it were vanilla scented. I would also buy more and use it more if it had no scent added. With all those different oils, the initial scent can't be bad enough to warrant the horrendous baby oil scent! I don't even buy deodorant with this scent, i haaate it.

[AnimaSola3o4]

Oh and I also use this oil on my cuticles, it works wonders there!!

[loralie]

Soy Bean Oil, Walnut Seed Oil, Kiwi Fruit Extract, Olive Fruit Oil, Castor Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Safflower Oil and Calendula Extract and Yarrow Extract and Cucumber Extract and Carrageenan Extract and Ginseng Extract and Sage Extract and Comfrey Extract and Aloe Extract, Fragrance

Copied exactly as it's written on the bottle.

Oh wow, that's not bad at all! Most of the stuff I find in that section is waaaaax, parabens, yetch.

I'll have to see if I can find this. Thank you for posting the ingredients! :flowers:

[csm--carla]

I sent them a message as well. Initially I didn't mind the scent, but it gets worse every time I use it. But I still love what it does to my hair. That vanilla scent sounds fantastic...I wish it smelled like that.



Me too, I threw mine out because of the over the top artificial baby powder smell--AWFUL!!!!:puke:shudder:

[ravenreed]

I added a few drops of rosemary EO to the bottle and it made the smell much more tolerable.

ETA: I would much rather deal with the baby smell. Fake vanilla gives me a migraine. :(

[virgo75]

Wow.
Wait till you see the response I got from the company.

"Thank you for your inquiry. We aren't sure if perhaps you recently
purchased an old batch of our oil formula (we assume you are referencing
Ultimate Herbal Oil), because there has not been a changed the fragrance or
the formula on this product since it was launched over 10 years ago. We
appreciate you taking time to write and hope that you will purchase another
bottle, given your previous experiences were satisfactory."

They're trying to say they haven't changed the fragrance or the formula since they launched it. :rolleyes:

I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I googled to make sure I had the right product(Africa's Best and not African Pride). I wasn't always a PJ and only had 3 hair products at that time = shampoo & conditioner and this hair oil. And I remember the hair oil because of the white label and gimmicky little picture of Africa on it. :p I bought it because it smelled better than the other hair oils which were all overly strong and artificially sweet - like watermelon candy on steroids. This was a light, faint vanilla scent so I got that one. I repurchased it a couple of times years ago(between 2000 and 2003 or so) but then moved on to other products just to try different things.

When I re-bought it recently I did so without sniffing first because I (wrongly) assumed it would smell wonderful as usual. But then I used it and I was shocked at how strong and bad it smelled. :( It is NOT the same fragrance they used to use.

I even went looking for an old bottle - and found one in a beauty supply store. It's smaller than the new bottles but looks similar. I opened it up to smell it and it smelled faintly of the old vanilla fragrance but mostly it smelled like rancid oil. So I didn't purchase it. :( This just let me know that, yes, they did change the fragrance.

Oh well.

I guess that scent is history along with the original Pantene.

[csm--carla]

ETA--THANK YOU for writing to them and letting us know their response!


Sounds like they aren't interested in our business. :tbear:


OK by me--lots of other oils to try out there!:D:D

[GermanCurl]

Here is their reply to me:

"Thank you for taking time to write us about your concern regarding the
Ultimate Herbal Oil fragrance. This product currently has the same
fragrance since it launched in the late 1990's. Every few years or so,
suggestions to change the fragrance are considered. Over the past decade,
we've conduct extensive fragrance testing with consumers (primarily with
users of the product) and in each case, the end result of our research leads
us to not make a change, as the current fragrance is preferred by the
masses.

The unique combination of oils and ingredients that help Herbal Oil to
perform so well produce a rather unpleasant natural order that requires some
masking. Therefore, a fragrance-free version may not b as desirable.
However, when we prepare to address this issue again and develop another
fragrance study for this product, we will certainly keep your comments and
concerns in mind.

Again, thank you very much for taking time to write."

I hope they really do address the smell issue again:pray::pray: