Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner Review

     I've wanted to do this product review for a while now, and I'm finally getting around to it! I bought Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner back in November, and it has quickly become a staple in my everyday hair care regimen. This conditioner can be used as a deep conditioner, a leave-in conditioner, and as a styling agent. I use it as a leave-in conditioner on wash day, and as a moisturizer on my twist out and braid out styles.

100% Organic and only $10!

    What I love about the Shea Moisture line is that it is dedicated to making 100% organic products. I had absolutely no problems reading and understanding the list of ingredients in this conditioner-- the three main components are Shea butter, argan oil, and sea kelp. The Shea butter is for moisture and repairing damaged hair and scalp, argan oil builds elasticity and strengthens the hair, and the sea kelp detoxifies the hair of impurities and residue. I have been using this product  for a little over two months, and I definitely notice a difference in my hair. It is softer, stays moisturized for longer, and it feels stronger. Because I wear my hair out often, the creamy consistency is perfect for protecting my fragile 4c strands. Now that my hair is in Marley twists, I do not apply it directly to my hair using my hands; instead I've diluted the conditioner with water and I just spritz it in my hair every morning and every night, followed by herbal oil to seal in the moisture. I like using the mixture of water and conditioner because it automatically makes my hair softer and more manageable, and I will probably continue to use this "hair milk" concoction after I take my twists down. I use a quarter sized amount in a spray bottle which I fill with water and then shake vigorously until the conditioner is diluted.

My twists are holding up nicely!!

      I honestly think that this product is perfection in a bottle. Seriously, this conditioner for dry and damaged hair has brought my strands back to life. Before I started using it my hair was dry and brittle, now it's moisturized and resilient. It is also sulfate free, paraben free, and color-safe. Plus it smells really nice-- it is a pleasant mixture of earthy and herbal scents. I can also detect the notes of sea kelp. For some, the scent could be a deal-breaker but that totally depends on your personal preference. I will add, however, that this may not be the best product to set styles with, merely because it more than likely will not supply enough hold and your twist outs will not be as defined as they would with a butter or creme. However, because I use this product as a leave-in only, I will continue to buy it because it's completely organic and it only costs $9.99 at Target for a 12 ounce container which lasts me about a month and a half. I'm not looking for the next best thing in the conditioner area because I'm convinced that the Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner is the absolute best for my 4c hair, and I will use it on my hair for a long time to come. I really hope they don't discontinue it or change the formula. I may buy it in bulk just in case!

The natural hair product junkie,
AphroKiKi

Happy New Year! And the Co-Wash Challenge

     As the Winter weather is beginning to set in, I've been examining my hair regimen and preparing to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the cooler temperatures and combat the dryness to come-- that is if I don't succeed in treating my hair properly. Alas, I've decided to abandon shampoo for the next two months and sort of undergo a Co-Wash Challenge. I noticed that many shampoos have a deadly combination of alcohols and sulfates that strip the hair of natural oils thereby depleting my hair of the thing it needs most: MOISTURE.

       With that said I've purchased a new conditioner, Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Conditioner, which has alcohol (bad!!) but its sulfate free (awesome!!) I thought it was a good compromise as it fits into my budget-- it was about $6 at Walmart-- and it has some great natural ingredients like Cocoa Seed Butter, Coconut Oil, and Avocado Oil. I didn't want to compromise much on the quality of product and I definitely don't want to spend an exorbitant amount of money on conditioner that I'm just going to rinse out of my hair-- literally, that's money down the drain. I think this product has the best of both worlds-- cheap and good for my hair! Anyhow I will be sure to post how using this conditioner as opposed to shampoo every week is beneficial or disadvantageous to my hair care regimen.

      A second change I am making as of tomorrow is adding hot oil treatments to my regimen. I've been deep conditioning with a homemade concoction pretty consistently for about 3 weeks, and I've had great results (I'll be sure to post my recipe soon!). I think as it gets colder outside my hair will need more nourishment in the oil department, so I purchased a giant bottle of Extra Virgin Olive oil and will be alternating hot oil treatments with deep conditioning treatments once a week. I'm serious about this hair growth/health thang ya'll. The struggle is real!!
     In addition to no shampoo and implementing regular hot oil treatments, I will also follow up with a leave-in conditioner that I love -- Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner. This product is a 4c kinky girl's dream!!  Look forward to a product review on it soon!  This past Sunday I installed mini twists to give my hair and myself a break, and I expect I will be doing more protective styling as the Winter progresses.

The twists took about 3 hours to put in....

....and about 30 minutes to take down. 

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my Co-wash challenge. Hopefully all of my efforts will not be in vain and I can retain length this year. I'm praying that I don't get lazy, lose steam, and hang it all up by February. That's all for now. Happy New Year to all and Happy Hair Grooming and Growing!

Beautiful Textures: A Product Review

    

     I discovered Beautiful Textures when I attended the Taliah Wajiid Natural Hair Show in Atlanta earlier this year, and let me just tell you, I'm glad I did! Beautiful Textures creates products for mixed textures including curly, wavy, kinky-coily, and frizzy hair. I was able to get my hands on a full-sized sample of their Tangle Taming Leave-In conditioner at the hair show which by the way, if you ever have a chance to attend definitely go because many product lines will happily give you samples. I left with two big totes of samples and discount coupons to use online!

      But back to Beautiful Textures. The leave-in conditioner is certainly in the top ten list of my favorite products. It is enriched with aloe vera, olive, soy, Argan oil, and shea and mango butters. It is very light so it is perfect for detangling before or after washing your hair, and it is perfect for wet twist outs. You could also use it on dry hair, just to add a bit of moisture-- just rub a bit on your palms and run you hands over your hair and you're good to go. I used this mostly on my protective styles during the summer so that my natural hair, even though it was in braids,stayed moisturized. Also, scent-wise it was very light-- you can really pick up the notes of shea butter and mango. I noticed that my hair always felt super soft when I used this product so I will definitely purchase more. You can find it at Sally Beauty for about $6. A steal!!

       Another product I really like from this line is the Curl Control Defining Pudding. It has the same enriching ingredients as the Leave-in conditioner, so you get a double dose of goodies for your hair. I use this product for styling on damp/mostly dry hair-- that means I use it for my twist outs, braid outs, flat twist outs, and bantu knot outs. It does a great job of detangling my 4c hair and setting the styles so I achieve the desired curl and definition. It is creamy in texture and has the same light scent as the leave-in conditioner. I don't think it makes my hair as soft as some of the hair butters and cremes I've used in the past, but it produces good results and you cant beat the price ($7 at Sally's). I'm still on the hunt for a staple styling butter since I've given up the pricey  Curly Meringue from Ms. Jessie's (which wasn't even all that great because sometimes it left flaky white stuff in my hair...yuck.) Curl Control is a great alternative to more expensive products. So if you're like me and you take care of your hair on a budget, you should give Beautiful Textures a go; the line gives you solid results and you get more bang for your buck. One container of each of these products lasts me about a month and a half, which translates into 4 washes and about 45 twist outs. Just saying you guys, Beautiful Textures is where it's at.