When it comes to styling my thick and curly hair, let's just say it's been a battle pretty much my whole life. Like many others with textured hair before me, I went through a phase of exclusively heat-styling my hair from week to week. You can imagine the damage that ensued. Although I do still style it this way occasionally, I've now switched my focus to nourishing my natural hair and restoring my curl pattern.
It hasn't been easy to find products that actually work well for my extra dry strands, but I'm always grateful when a celebrity stylist like Sabrina Rowe comes along and creates the haircare line of my dreams. Having styled the likes of Ilana Glazer, Phoebe Robinson, Dascha Polanco, and Uzo Aduba, she knows a thing or two about textured hair. Introducing NTRL By Sabs, an inclusive personal care brand that includes everything from shampoos and conditioners to hydrating body bars and face oils. Each product is extra luxe, sustainable, nontoxic, and made in small-batches. "[This helps me] really monitor the efficacy of what I am putting out there, while remaining simple, and good," says Rowe. "With [our brand], you can enjoy luxury products that are made with love, and you can feel good about your carbon footprint."
For a little more on Rowe's brand, every staple to snatch from it, and a few of my additional natural haircare favorites, keep reading below.
About NTRL By Sabs
Like most of us in 2020, Rowe found herself with a lot of downtime during lockdown. But, instead of using that time for a serious Netflix binge (guilty), she decided to take the leap and start her own inclusive personal care brand. "NTRL By Sabs was something I wanted to do for a very long time but I guess I was working up the nerve to do it," says Rowe. "I've always loved the science behind beauty and I really wanted to do something that I felt had an honest purpose. There are a lot of products out there already so I wanted to do something I hadn't found in one brand alone yet—clean, multi-use, texture-forward, genderless, and eco-friendly personal care products that are luxurious and actually work."
This ethos, along with the fact that Rowe's first products were designed with textured hair in mind are what initially got me excited about the brand. She wanted to make sure her very first offerings supported hair like her own. After all, having written about beauty myself for a while, I began to realize that there are so many products out there that claim to be for "all hair types," but their formulas don't support natural hair at all—on some occasions, they would actually leave my hair even more dry.
Curly and coily hair types just need a lot more moisture than other hair types and NTRL By Sabs products are loaded with curl-nourishing ingredients like rose oil, sunflower, moringa, and hibiscus extract. She chose these ingredients after a lot of research. "I'd been studying natural hair and skincare formulation as a hobby and it slowly became apparent that I could actually pull off starting my own brand. I really had the time in 2020 to pull everything together to launch, so I did. I thought if I couldn't offer services anymore, I wanted to be able to provide my clients with something to keep their hair and skin healthy," she shares.
NTRL By Sab's Star Products
Every NTRL By Sabs product is designed to combat excessive dryness using vegan and nontoxic ingredients. The brand has a few star products for this, but first, Rowe broke down a few key things to keep in mind when you're selecting products for natural hair. "Curls, coils, and dryness intersect often, so I really wanted to address the most important needs first. Nourishing dryness is really key for textured hair. I think butters and natural oils are dry hair's best friend so I use them a lot throughout the range. You'll find shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, castor oil, argan oil, and rosemary oil, amongst many other texture-friendly ingredients in all of the shampoos and conditioners. These vitamin-rich botanicals are known for helping to moisturize and ultimately fortify the hair."
And not to play favorites, but Rowe happens to be especially proud of the brand's shampoo bars. They're great sustainable, zero-waste options for anyone's personal care routine. "They're super clean, botanically rich, and are my absolute favorites for my own hair and skin. Personally, I'm hooked on the Bali Breeze Shampoo Bar ($20) and the Citrus Conditioner Bar ($18) at the moment. I always switch through the seasons, but I can't let them go yet. The CocoRiche Shampoo Bar ($20) and CocoRiche Conditioner Bar ($18) are up next for summer. I also can't live without my Nourishing Rose Oil (I use it everywhere) or Coco Lav Lotion Bar #1. Those are my four staples."
Shop NTRL By Sabs:
I won't lie to you all, I've never loved shampoo bars simply because I have thick hair and need to use a lot more product than most. On the other hand, I am always looking for ways to make my routine more eco-friendly, so this luscious option from NTRL By Sabs might just make me change my mind. The rich aroma of lemongrass and tea tree oil give this shampoo a really rich flavor. It's also great for a dry, dehydrated, or itchy scalp.
This conditioner bar is guaranteed to provide extra long-lasting moisture with natural oils like coconut, lemon peel oil, and cocoa seed butter.
This nourishing rose oil adds extra hydration to the hair and strengthens it from within. It even supports moisture retention so hair will stay looking and feeling softer for longer periods of time.
I used this hand-made lotion bar recently after showering and let me tell you, my skin felt soft afterwards. Star ingredients in the formula include lavender oil, coconut oil, bergamot fruit oil.
Cleanse the scalp and hair gently with the brand's Nourishing Shampoo which contains sugar cane, hibiscus extract, sunflower, and shea extract. It's even color-safe and can be used on hair extensions.
Following with the brand's Nourishing Conditioner will enhance your hair's integrity with the antioxidants in the formula along with peptides and extra hydration. It can also be used on its own as a co-wash.
More Natural Haircare Products We Love
When I'm in between wash days, this hair oil is an absolute life saver. It leaves my hair so soft and hydrated. As a bonus, it totally smells like Fruit Loops in the best way possible. 10/10 would recommend.
I've been using a custom Shampoo ($28) and Conditioner ($28) from Prose for a while now and I absolutely love it. I've noticed such a change in my hair's strength and overall health since I've been using them along with the brand's Custom Curl Cream. Each product adds so much hydration to my hair and it feels so much softer and more manageable than before. My hair used to tangle pretty easily, but after using this system for about a month, that's definitely not the case anymore.
Before I started using Prose, I loved this Balancing Clay Hair Cleanser from Shaz Kiks. I still use it from time to time because it's one of the shampoos that has worked the best for my thick, curly hair. I do have to say that the product does have seeds in it, which I know won't be for everyone, but they wash out pretty easily.
This lightweight, cacao-infused, hydrating curl serum leaves curls smooth yet defined. It's designed with curl types 3A-4C in mind which always need extra hydration. The formula is loaded with plant oils that empower curls and allow them to live their best life.
Taliah Waajid offers a few curly hair staples that many totally swear by—myself included. This curl cream from the brand adds so much extra definition and fights frizz without feeling too heavy.
Pattern offers an incredible leave-in with this nourishing formula. It seals in moisture, detangles, and makes curls extra soft to the touch with ingredients like honey and jojoba oil.
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