Goddess Strength: A Gift That Came Full Circle
From a thoughtful gift to a Caribbean beauty discovery I never saw coming
By Sereena Al noor | W.I.N Opinion
A couple of years ago, my partner came home with a little bag of goodies for me.
Now, one thing about my partner: he loves buying me gifts. Not necessarily expensive things, but thoughtful little treasures. A colourful lip gloss, a pretty household accessory, even a lollipop with a sweet message. He has a knack for finding unusual things that somehow suit my personality perfectly.
And the excitement on his face when he presents them? That's half the gift.
On this particular occasion, he'd been standing in the queue at his local post office, which happens to stock everything from Avon products to random, hard-to-find items.
Something caught his eye.
A shampoo and conditioner set called Goddess Strength, by Carol’s Daughter. When he presented it, he explained that the name reminded him of me. He saw me as a goddess and admired the feminine strength I carried.
Now, the name Goddess wasn't entirely unfamiliar to me.
Within spiritual circles, people had already affectionately nicknamed me Goddess. In fact, reggae artist Archa General had previously written a song titled Goddess, inspired by my energy, and featured me in the accompanying music video filmed in Spain.
So when my partner explained why he’d chosen this particular shampoo, I understood his excitement.
He hadn't simply bought me hair products. He'd found something that reflected how he saw me. And I happened to need shampoo!
Watch: Archa General — GODDESS (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/l1DGq6T-6OI?is=EjAmPcRfkPjuQCAM
When Your Hair Finds Its Match
The first time I used Carol’s Daughter Goddess Strength, I was genuinely surprised.
My hair loved it.
It felt luxurious, suited my hair texture beautifully, and delivered the kind of results that make you wonder where a product has been all your life.
When the bottles ran out, I went online and found a reliable supplier through Amazon.
Before long, I was exploring more of the Carol’s Daughter range, including scalp-care products and Mimosa Hair Honey, which I began using on both myself and my children.
It had quietly become a household favourite.
The West Indian Hair-Care Conversation
Fast-forward a few years.
My sister and I were having one of those conversations about hair that can go on for hours.
We were discussing something we’d both noticed: finding products that genuinely suit our particular West Indian hair textures isn’t always straightforward.
In our experience, many products seem to cater to tightly coiled textures at one end of the spectrum or much looser curls at the other, while the textures in between can feel overlooked.
Of course, West Indian hair is wonderfully diverse. There isn’t one single Caribbean hair type, and that diversity was part of our conversation.
My sister recommended another brand, so I decided to give it a try.
I purchased the full kit. Shampoo, hair grease, the works.
Everything smelled delicious, the ingredients sounded lovely, and I was genuinely open to finding a new favourite.
But something was missing.
Neither my hair nor my children’s hair responded with quite the same luxurious results we’d come to enjoy.
So, back to Carol’s Daughter I went.
No drama. No grand announcement.
Just a woman returning to what works.
And Then Came the Caribbean Plot Twist Today, I was casually scrolling through a Facebook group, looking for a completely unrelated post I’d wanted to catch up on.
And there it was.
An article in the Trinidad Express about Lisa Price, the Brooklyn-born founder of Carol’s Daughter, discussing her ancestral connections to Trinidad and Tobago.
Wait a minute.
Trinidad and Tobago? The West Indies?
I actually had to stop scrolling.
Here I was, a West Indian woman who had spent years using and recommending this brand, completely unaware of the founder’s Caribbean family connection. But the discovery became even more interesting.
According to the family history shared in the coverage, Lisa’s maternal grandparents, Francis and Marguerite, lived in Trinidad before migrating to the United States in the late 1920s.
And her Caribbean heritage wasn’t simply a detail on the family tree. The account describes traditional beauty remedies passed down through her grandmother, including homemade hair pomades, as part of the inspiration behind the products Lisa would eventually develop in her Brooklyn kitchen.
Now, that caught my attention!
Because my sister and I had been discussing the very question of finding products that worked for our West Indian hair textures.
And here I was discovering that a brand I’d returned to time and again had a family history connected to Caribbean beauty traditions.
Read: Lisa Price Talks T&T Roots and Carol’s Daughter — Trinidad Express https://trinidadexpress.com/features/lisa-price-talks-t-t-roots-and-carol-s-daughter/article_0ba542fd-9f05-4114-b439-dd51542845a1.html
Coincidence, Intuition or Just Really Good Shampoo?
Now, I’m not suggesting that Caribbean ancestry automatically makes someone an expert in West Indian hair, or that every Carol’s Daughter product was specifically formulated for Caribbean textures.
Our hair, like our histories, is far too diverse for that.
But I do appreciate a good coincidence.
And this one came with a rather lovely story attached.
A man spotted a product called Goddess Strength and thought of the woman he loved.
That woman, already known affectionately as Goddess, discovered a hair-care range that worked beautifully for her family.
Years later, after experimenting with alternatives and returning to her trusted favourite, she discovered that the woman behind the brand had ancestral connections to her own West Indian world.
And that traditional family beauty knowledge had reportedly played a part in the brand’s beginnings.
Sometimes, the most delightful discoveries are the ones you weren’t looking for.
A Little Goddess Strength for Christmas?
And just when I thought this story couldn’t get any more fitting, I came across a Carol’s Daughter Christmas gift set on Amazon featuring Goddess Strength shampoo and conditioner alongside Mimosa Hair Honey.
A little gift set combining products that have already become favourites in my household.
Considering this whole story began with an unexpected gift, I couldn’t help but smile.
Explore: Carol’s Daughter Christmas Gift Set on Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/0bVgXxam
So, to Lisa Price, thank you for creating something my family genuinely enjoys.
And to my partner, who probably thought he was just picking up a nice little gift while waiting in a post-office queue...
You may have accidentally introduced me to my forever shampoo. Who knew a little Goddess Strength could come with such a lovely Caribbean twist?
By Sereena Al noor