Milk and Marula with Carol Daughter

This literally home-grown brand has been on the scene for EVAH. After working with sweet Will Smith on ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, he and Jada sent me a basket of Carol’s Daughter products as a birthday gift. I still remember opening the box and swooning at the release of rich, deep, sweet smells.

Now, years later I’m reminded of Carol’s Daughter as Westworld’s (the HBO drama I’m currently filming) hair chief Joy Zapata sent me home with the hair Milkplus a pot of the marula Oil mask.

A combination of still nursing my 2-year-old, and a lot of shooting, has left my hair in a sorry state. So, Carol’s Daughter (aka founder Lisa Price) has come to the rescue. And I’m loving it.

The Marula Oil collection smells divine.

Marula, known as ‘Africa’s Beauty Secret’ is found in Southern Africa and Madagascar – and the exotic fruit’s seeds provide the oil used in the line. 4 times more vitamin C than oranges, and with a sweet, nutty aroma, it’s been harvested and used in beauty concoctions for 12 thousand years.

C.D.’s cleansing and moisturizing hair milk is a new kind of shampoo experience.

You may have noticed the trend AWAY from the mad froth of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate –

(that’s the chemical that makes the bubbles) instead, this hair milk literally cleanses the hair in the same way a milky face cleanser removes dirt and impurities. The result is hair that is CLEAN without being stripped of all its moisture and suppleness.

It takes a few sessions to unlearn the ‘froth’ lie. Tons of frothy bubbles does NOT mean you are more clean or fresh. It’s an assumption created by many years of bubbly bathing, showering, toothbrushing.

But, bubbles are not the reason for cleanliness, in fact, they have nothing to do with it at all.

In some cultures, water isn’t even used to get clean! Oil, dust, even sweat can remove dirt. You just need a substance that can lift the dirt from your body, and carry it away. In fact, our bodies naturally clean themselves – with the substances that it produces. I remember being at school and some girls decided to stop washing their hair – and for those who did it long enough, their hair settled into being extremely healthy-looking (after months of greasy, smelly protest from heads that were addicted to daily washing and application of product!). What I’m getting at is that we can be more gentle with our cleaning habits – it’s about working in harmony with natural substances.

So, without sulfates, parabens, petroleum, or mineral oil Carol’s Daughter is a mainstream brand that works with nature to provide care for our hair. Our kinky, textured, beautiful hair!

I read recently that the brand had been acquired by L’Oreal. That was a number of years ago, and it looks like Lisa Price is still at the helm, and the brand is stronger than ever.