In Conversation with NYNM + Curlsmith Strength Superfood Protein Kit Review

Paid Collaboration with NYNM

I still remember my initial days of discovering how to take care of my curls – I would long to try out products from popular brands like Jessicurl and SheaMoisture. The only option was to wait for someone to fly down from the US or pay hefty prices on Amazon. NYNM absolutely changed the way we Indian curlies can try all the popular curly hair brands from across the world!

NYNM procures products directly from the manufacturers in large volumes, and that’s why you get them at prices much less than those on Amazon. They stock products from brands like Bouncecurl, Kinky Curly, Jessicurl, As I Am and much more!

Today, I am talking with Saumya Alagh, the co-founder of NYNM and you will also find one of their bestsellers, the Curlsmith Strength Superfood Protein Kit Review 🙂

Saumya, tell us about your own curly hair journey and what inspired you to start NYNM 🙂

Like all the other frizzy/puffy haired girls, I also have had days when I used to dread stepping out of my house without straightening my hair. I started looking out for curly hair products. The first blog that I stumbled upon was yours! You had explained everything with so much detail and I saw how easily you are able to maintain your natural hair beautifully.

Honestly, Anjana, your blog was something that indirectly seeded this idea. I was totally spell bound looking at your pictures, reading your blogs and thought of letting my natural curly hair be my look. I started searching for these amazing products in India, and to my surprise, there were none available.

I knew it’s just hair, but c’mon, the struggle was real and that is how NYNM was born in 2018 with an idea to help all those who are struggling with their hair and self image. All those imported CG friendly brands that you wish are now easily available on nynm.in without having to worry about heavy custom duty or long transit wait. Today, we also have so many Indian clean brands that are also easily available at our website.

What was your job before NYNM? How would you compare the 2?

Prior to NYNM, I was an Analyst at IBM, which is a great brand to work with and I had so many things to learn. But NYNM gave me a sense of purpose. I felt, I would be able to do something to truly create value, both for the business & our customers. Building a business comes with bundles of uncertainty and it’s those uncertainties that have made me learn and grow way more than I perhaps would have in a cushy corporate job.

NYNM recently got a makeover, would you tell us more about it?

It had been 3 years and the brand was, beginning to have an identity with its consumers. We wanted to be seen as a brand that’s aspirational & suave yet joyful. The new branding captures all of that. The logo & the colour pallets are chic and modern but very gentle, capturing that joyful mood. Additionally, our tagline is meant to convey our intent to be authentic & credible with what we do because only by being so, we can truly live up to the promise of “Creating Happitress”

What makes NYNM different from other up and coming curly hair product stores in India?

We aren’t only a curly hair store & that’s the first difference :). We offer hair care solutions for every hair need. But our real USP is in providing solutions based on your hair type and not hair problems. Hair problems are like symptoms. You would agree that a symptom could be caused for various reasons. We focus on the root cause of a hair problem and address that, instead of just focusing on the symptoms, like dryness, frizz etc

What are NYNM’s future plans?

We aspire to be ‘THE BRAND’ for people when it comes to taking care of their hair.

And hence we are focused on continuously adding more innovative, yet clean brands to the store to help our customers find the best for themselves. In times to come, you would see much more diversification of products, services and solutions on NYNM.

What is the bestselling product on NYNM? Why do you think it is so hot selling?

Righteous Roots Rx Oil and Curlsmith Bond Rehab Salve are two of our hot selling products. India as a market is primarily driven by oils & shampoos. So in a way its not surprising. Righteous roots is an amazing blend of 11 different oil types which is everything that your hair needs. Curlsmith Bond rehab salve is an alternate to olaplex, in larger quantity at lower prices. We all love a great product that’s more for less, don’t we 😉

Speaking of Curlsmith Bond Rehab Salve, NYNM sent me the Curlsmith Strength Superfood Protein Kit which includes the Salve. Let’s do the Curlsmith Strength Superfood Protein Kit Review!

Curlsmith Strength Superfood Protein Kit Review

The Curlsmith Strength Superfood Protein Kit includes

Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve
Curlsmith Bouncy Strength Volume Foam
Curlsmith Feather-light Protein Cream

It is aimed at damaged hair in need of protein. Using a diffuser, colouring your hair, even washing and tying your hair can all cause protein loss in different degrees. You can buy the full kit here. Use code ANJANA to get a 10% discount (Minimum Purchase INR 1000).

Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve Review

Protein treatments repair the damaged hair cuticle, whereas bond repair products relink the 3 types of bonds(Disulphide, Salt and Hydrogen Bonds) found in hair. Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve is a mix of a bond repair and a protein treatment. The much famed Olaplex on the other hand is a sole bond repair product & is not a protein treatment at all.

Ingredient Analysis – The label says “Triple-active blend with Chia proteins” as the bond repair complex.

Fiberhance™ targets hydrogen and salt bonds – The brand does not reveal what the ingredients are in this complex.
ProCutigen Bond® targets disulphide bonds. It is derived from chia seed protein. It also creates a bio-film on the hair cuticle to prevent damage, acting like a protein treatment.
TEGO® Cosmo targets salt bonds. This contains creatine which is a amino acid derivative. It can increase the crosslinking between different amino acids of the keratin fibers.

There are no traditional “protein ingredients” like hydrolysed rice or wheat protein usually seen in protein treatments.

Because of the chia proteins, you will see more shrinkage after using the Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve compared to when using Olaplex which is not a protein treatment.

Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve is not a conditioner, but it does have emollients. The product has a creamy texture and virtually no slip.

I used the Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve after shampoo instead of before, left it on for 30 mins and followed up with a conditioner and styling products.

Tight juicy ringlets the next day!

You can definitely overdo it, so use it according to your hair porosity – Find out your Hair Porosity

Low Porosity: use every 4-5 wash days for 15 minutes
Medium Porosity: use every 3-4 wash days for 20 minutes
High Porosity: use every 2-3 wash days for 30 minutes

You can buy just the Salve here. Use code ANJANA to get a 10% discount (Minimum Purchase INR 1000).

Curlsmith Bouncy Strength Volume Foam Review

It is a very light product, so you can either layer it along with your usual cream and gel for a protein boost. Or you can use it on its own for refreshing.

Ingredient Analysis – It has VP/VA Copolymer, which is a film-forming polymer, for hold, and Hydrolyzed Rice Protein and Hydrolyzed Hemp Seed Extract for the protein boost. Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a mild surfactant commonly found in CG friendly shampoos and is used here to give the foam-y texture. It may cause drying of hair if your hair is very dry to start with.

I smoothed pumps of the product on my curls in sections and let it air dry.

You can buy just the Foam here. Use code ANJANA to get a 10% discount (Minimum Purchase INR 1000).

Curlsmith Feather-light Protein Cream Review

It is marketed as a one-and-done styler providing both moisture and hold, like a baby of a leave-in and gel – great if you are looking for soft flowy curls or if you don’t like the hold or definition you get from gels. I layered it with a gel.

Ingredient Analysis – Cetearyl Alcohol(an emollient commonly found in leave-ins) and Sweet Almond Oil make up a good portion of the cream. It also has PVP, which is a film-forming polymer, for hold, and Hydrolyzed Rice Protein and Hydrolyzed Hemp Seed Extract for the protein boost. It has a silky-soft texture and great slip!

Hair felt soft, light and bouncy

You can buy just the Cream here. Use code ANJANA to get a 10% discount (Minimum Purchase INR 1000).

All 3 products have a strong fruity smell which was too much for my sensitive nose. Even the room they are stored in smells of that. My favourite from the kit was the Salve, followed by the Cream and finally the Foam.

All in all, I would highly recommend this kit for damaged hair!