My frizzy, curly hair has led me to try many different substances to tame the frizz and define the curl. I finally found one that consistently works for me: The Body Shop‘s Monoi Miracle Oil
Obviously, I spend a lot of time looking at products. I always like to check out The Body Shop because I’ve known them since I was just a kid back when they still scented the products for you with their bulk perfume oils.

(if you also miss that tradition, there’s always Body Time if you’re lucky enough to have one near you.)

For over 20 years (O.M.G.)(I started young…) I’ve watched The Body Shop grow and change and am excited about their Community Trade campaign, of which, this is part.

Here’s how I use it:
– When I wash my hair once or twice a week, I make sure to put a good sized pool of the oil in my palm – about the size of a nickel on my pixie cut – spread it over my hands and then

just rub it in until it feels consistently spread. It doesn’t feel that oily so it’s a subtle texture thing.
– When I’ve not washed my hair but gotten it wet in the shower, I do the same thing but with 1/3 the amount of oil – about a dime size or less – just to replace what got rinsed away.

The upsides:
The Scent
– It’s made with Gardenia and Jasmine oils (and parfum) and it smells wonderful. Light and florally sweet.
– Even when I’ve been adding more and more for a week, it never lingers very long. It doesn’t compete with your other scents yet my boyfriend does comment that he smells it when he gets close to my hair – which is how perfume should be!

The Texture
– The oil is light and wonderful. It’s oily enough to make my hair shiny, curly and keep down the frizz, but not so oily that it gets on your hat or the headrest at the movies (gag) or your pillow at the end of the day (unless you just took a shower and put some on) or on the back of the couch like in that classic Eddie Murphy flick Coming to America.

– About the main ingredient, from their website:

Organic Babassu oil – nature’s best – is a wonderfully light and non-greasy skin moisturizer extracted from the wild-growing babassu palm trees only found in certain areas of Brazil and South America.

The Company
– A few of my friends commented that I should reconsider my appreciation for The Body Shop because of some drama in the 90’s that I remember hearing about but don’t really care about anymore because of where the company is standing now. I could go on and on about why you should give The Body Shop another try. Instead, I’ll quote and link so you can read for yourself.

Here are examples of just some of the initiatives our customers have recently supported [more on this page. – addy]:

* In early 2008 we introduced 100% PCR bottles (post consumer recycled) while all our PET bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) currently contain at the minimum 30% recycled material, with a target to convert to 100% within the next 12 months.

* Our unique Community Trade program creates sustainable trading relationships with disadvantaged communities around the world and provides essential income to more than 25,000 people across the globe.

* We have committed to becoming Carbon Neutral by 2010, ensuring that carbon dioxide emissions from the company’s core retail business worldwide are reduced.

The not-so-upsides:
The Scent
– Again, there is an ingredient called “pafum” ie. fragrance, which is typically synthetic and challenging for many people to use. I’m sensitive to such things usually but in this case, I believe it’s such a small amount that it doesn’t bother me (and it does smell pretty good). If you are sensitive to synthetic fragrance, go to a local Body Shop and ask if you can smell it before buying.

The Viscosity
– My only real challenge with this product is that the oil is so thin and light that it can be a little runny. I don’t like having oil on the outside of bottles or in a little circle on my shelf so that’s a little annoying but it goes with the whole “using oils” territory. Plus, if it were thicker, I might not like it as much as I do.

This product really helps keep my frizz at bay and my curls at attention AND you can use it in the bath or on your body too. I highly recommend it.