Haircare Review: Cantu Refresh Apple Cider Vinegar Root Rinse

Hi all,
It's been a long while since my last post...almost 2 months.
Todays review is on the ACV root rinse from Cantu; I've been using this for almost 3 months while my hair is in faux locs.

I struggle with a dry flaky scalp, especially when I wear braids and regular sulphate-free shampoos don't work for cleansing my scalp. I use the shampoo bars ("Soak & Float" and "NEW!") from Lush but these don't work so well when I have braids installed.
I decided to try the Cantu root rinse which is part of their Refresh range, since the reviews online were overwhelmingly positive.

Product blurb from the Cantu Beauty site
Cantu Root Rinse is made with apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil and shea butter – a deeply cleansing yet nourishing cocktail that replaces your shampoo when you need a deeper scalp detox and extra conditioned strands. Rinse away the old and bring on the new revealing stronger, healthier hair with a natural shine. No mineral oil, sulfates, parabens, silicones, phthalates, gluten, paraffin or propylene.

Ingredients list

What's it like:
The root rinse comes in a 355ml (12 fl oz) bottle with a nozzle. fragrance wise, there's a floral scent mixed with mild vinegar scent and mint. I quite like it. I'm not a fan of a strong vinegar scent, which is why I don't do vinegar rinses but I can handle this scent. The rinse is clear and has a very runny consistency.

The root rinse is clear runny consistency.

How I use it:
Before I apply the rinse, I divide my hair into four sections, then I spritz my scalp and roots with water. I apply the rinse to each section and massage my scalp (with my fingers) and leave it on for ~ 5 minutes. I rinse out my spritzing with water and wipe my scalp with a cotton t-shirt. You can repeat the application if you need to.

Got my water bottle, root rinse and oil #washdayready

How it performs: 
The root rinse has a soft lather, but not too much; which is good because...WATER RESTRICTIONS! Once I rinse it out, there's cooling sensation and my scalp is clean with no dry patches or flakes. My roots also feel soft and moisturised.
I follow up with my scalp oil mix (which mainly contains olive oil, ximenia oil and Jamaican black castor oil) or the Caivil Fusion Oil Hair Gro Essence (sometimes I reapply the oil midweek, if I need to). 

Jamaican Black Castor Oil and Oombeke (ximenia) Oil

One bottle of root rinse is enough for 5 washes (that's 5 weeks for me) and I'm already halfway through my second bottle.

Where to buy:
You can get this at Dischem, Foschini and takealot.com for R 199.95 (regular price). It's currently on sale on takealot for R 149.95 and at Dischem from R 159.95 (until 8 April).

Final thoughts: 
My relationship with Cantu haircare products is love and hate; when I first started transitioning back to natural, The Cantu shea buter leave-in conditioning cream was my jam. My transitioning hair loooved it and then as soon as I chopped off the last of my texlaxed ends, that love affair came to an abrupt end.
I switched to the Cantu for Natural hair leave-in and that didn't go well either. Although, combining this leave-in with the the Ecostyler gel when installing braids or locs is the best combo for retaining moisture of hair while in braids 🤷‍♀ I've tried some of the other products in sample packs that I got goody and they were just ...meh

The root rinse is my favourite Cantu product hands down! I never thought I'd be this excited about anything from Cantu 🙈 but here we are. This stuff is amazing.

Have you tried anything from the Cantu Refresh line?

Let me know in the comments below 👇

See you in my next post, 

xoxo

N 

Hair & Beauty Empties (March & April)

Hi loves,
Welcome to my first empties post. let me tell you about how I found the products and whether or not I would repurchase.

1. Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil 236ml
I've been using JBCO for over two years now; I use it for my hair in a number of ways:
* with a cheapy conditioner (Tresemme Naturals) as a pre-shampoo/detangling treatment.
* with a hair masque/deep conditioner after shampooing.
* mix it with grapeseed oil (herbal infusion) and essential oils for my hair and scalp oil
I started using this oil during my transition period and it made the whole process so much easier; my hair is definitely stronger and thicker. JBCO is the one staple in my hair regimen since I'm a bit of a product junkie so I'm always trying out new shampoos and conditioners.

 

Would I repurchase? Hell yeah! I already have a second bottle. 

Price: ZAR 269.00 from www.african-flair.co.za 

2. Dark & Lovely Au Naturale Knot-out Conditioner 250ml
Dark & Lovely launched a hair care range for natural hair in South Africa late last year. I've already reviewed some of the products in this range (Click here for the link). I don't really use rinse-out conditioners after shampooing, I prefer to use deep conditioners and hair masques. I use rinse-outs for pre-poo and detangling (mixed with JBCO); this conditioner is perfect for this it's got tons of slip and it's super affordable. It will never replace Tresemme Naturals in my heart but it's an acceptable replacement. Also 250ml is only enough for 3 pre-poo sessions (I've got a lot of hair).

Would I repurchase? Yes. Until they launch the Tresemme Botanique range in South Africa.

Price: ZAR 39.95

3. The Body Shop Honeymania body Butter 250ml
I'm a sucker for a good body butter; I've got dry skin, so I can do with the extraness. This tub lasted a year, and I love how it made my skin feel. It locks in moisture without making things greasy which is awesome. It was a little difficult ot use in the winter beucase it gets a little hard and it feels cold in the winter (who else has this problem in the winter? My mission after a bath is to jump into PJs as quicky as possible and then bed. Butters and lotions feel really cold in the winter, so it becomes a chore). The scent was a bit too sweet for me at times, but other than that it's pretty good.

Repurchase? Probably not. I prefer the Brazil Nut and Atlas Mountain Rose Butters.
Price: ZAR 170.00


4. The Body Shop Seaweed Oil-Balancing Toner 250ml
This toner has been part of my skincare regimen for almost a year now. It's light and refreshing, and gives my face that one last clean before my serums and moisturisers. One bottle goes a long way; at least 3 months (even when using it twice a day), which is really good for the price.

Repurchase? Always
Price: ZAR 120.00


5. The Body Shop Seaweed Oil-Balancing Clay Mask 100ml
Another one from The Body Shop :-) I've only been using face masks dilligently for the last 6 months and I bought this mask, because I use the cleanser and toner from the Seaweed range. It's based on kaolin clay which is really good for purifying and detoxing the skin. It's got a slight cooling effect when applied, the tingling only comes afterwards, after rinsing. I found that if I used the toner straight after rinsing off the mask, then there's slight burning sensation, but nothing bad happens.

Would I repurchase? No, only because I've found something better. The masks from the Recipes of Nature range.
Price: ZAR 190.00


6. Fountain  - The Hair Molecule
I've talked about this beauty supplement in my favourites post (here); I've been using for more than a month. It's got a sour berry flavour that's a bit powdery but I don't find that off-putting. I'll do a review on it, after my 3 month trial period.

Would I repurchase? For now...Yes I'll talk about that in my full review soon. But I'm currently on my second bottle.
Price: ZAR 712 (Bay One for Africa) $39 (Deciem)

I can now throw these into the recycling waste bin. Done!

See you in my next post, 

xoxo, 

Build a Hair Regimen with locally available products

Hey loves,
I've asked my cutlfriends, the Llozanne (Rozanne and Lloyd) to help me compile a list of products available in South African beauty supply stores; Clicks and Dischem. Rozanne and I are certified product junkies; always looking for that perfect shampoo, conditioner etc. Between the two of us we've tried enought products over the years to come up with a list of local products that we liked enough to repurchase. Lloyd has been kind enough to let Rozanne try out stuff on his hair, since starting his hair growth journey over a year ago.
Here goes:

 

 

 

Most of these products are available at Clicks and Dischem stores. Most are suitable for relaxed, transitioning and natural hair.
Cold-pressed Castor oil is available at Durbell pharmacies or online at faithful to nature. 

I hope you find this list helpful my fellow hair health enthusiasts.

See you in my next post,

Love,

Hair Product Review: SheaMoisture Masques

Hi all,

It’s been a while since my last post. It’s not that there’s nothing to write about, I just needed to take the time to sit down and write. So, I promised I’d come back and do a review of the Shea Moisture products I’ve added to my hair regimen. Here, I’m going to give my thoughts two of the masques/masks I’ve been using for the last four months.

Purification Masque (African Black Soap range)

*

Is part of the African black soap range which is designed to relieve dry, itchy scalp. Its suitable for use as a deep treatment following shampoo and as a co-wash, since its designed to remove product buildup.

Ingredients:

Deionized Water, Cocos Nucifera(Coconut) Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Mangifera Indica(Mango)Seed Butter*, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil , African Black Soap Extract, Sea Salt, Cetyl Esters, Kaolin Clay, Grapeseed Oil, Simmondsia chinensis seed (Jojoba) Oil, Behentrimonium Chloride (Conditioner), Salicylic Acid, Salix Alba (Willow)Bark Extract, Melia Azadirachta (Neem) Seed Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Sorbitol Esters, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Rosemary Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Extract, Plantain Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract

How does it look? Its grey in appearance and looks a lot like a clay mixture.

Smell: its faint with hints of banana and vanilla

The consistency: It’s not thick or runny ...it’s got the consistency of mayonnaise

My thoughts:

I’ve been using this purification masque as a deep treatment, co-wash and as a scalp cleanser (for when I had braids installed).

As a deep treatment masque: I have thick hair, so I need to be quite generous when applying, since it doesn’t spread very well. It doesn’t have much slip so I would recommend detangling before you shampoo. BUT, when I washed it out after 30 minutes my hair felt soft and manageable.

As a co-wash/scalp cleanser it works really well; I’m trying to shampoo bi-weekly and this has been working out for me really well. I don’t shampoo my hair when I’ve installed braids; I’ve been using the purification masque diluted with water, which I then apply with a spray bottle.

All in all, this one is a keeper.

Strengthen, Grow & Restore treatment (Jamaican Black Castor Oil)

*

Part of the Jamaican Black Castor Oil range that is geared towards dry, overprocessed and colour-treated hair. It works as a deep conditioner following a shampoo.

Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Cetyl Alcohol, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Stearyl Alcohol, Fragrance (Essential Oil Blend), Behentrimonium Chloride, Panthenol, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil, Yeast Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Vinegar, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Niacin, Dextran, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Flower Extract, Caramel, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract

How does it look? Toffee colour

Smell: Peppermint vanilla toffee ...think werther's toffee

The consistency: thick, creamy

My thoughts:

I’ve been using this as a deep conditioner exclusively. I use it conjunction with shampoo and leave-in (both to be reviewed soon). I love the way this one feels …it’s just great...lots of slip and a little goes a very long way. I leave it in for a half hour and then rinse it out with cool water. When used with other products in this range, the results are amazing. Here’s a picture of my hair after a braidout on a blow out.

Availability: In South Africa, you can get these online from www.african-flair.co.za for R 319.00 for 12oz (it’s on sale right now for R 265.00). 

See you in my next post,
xoxo

N

*Images from the Shea Moisture website

Shea Moisture Haul...I couldn't help myself

So, for years I've been listening to Natural hair vloggers rave about the virtures of various Shea Moisture products, but I live in South Africa where they aren't widely available and when it they are the markup is ridiculous. 
Well... it used to be, until  I stumbled across African-Flair (an online store) while searching for all the "holy grail" products I've been hearing about. The price is not cheap by South African standards, but considering the current exhange rate and the prices I've seen on some other sites (We shan't mention any names) they're pretty reasonable. I even managed to get some of the products on sale :-)
With the begining of winter, my scalp has taken a turn for the worse... it's dry and flaky :-(. 
So I decided to give the African Black Soap range a try after doing some YouTube and Google research...I've heard nothing but good things :-). I ordered some products from the Jamaican Black Castor Oil range as well because I lighten and colour my hair. 

 

African Black Soap Range

African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner 384ml, ZAR 289.00 

(hoping to use this as a co-wash & scalp cleanser while my hair is in braids)

 

African Black Soap Purification Masque 340g, ZAR 319.00 got it for ZAR 265.00

Jamaican Black Castor Oil Range

Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Shampoo 482ml, ZAR 289.00 got it for ZAR 229.00

Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Treatment Masque 340g, ZAR 319.00

I'll try these out in the next couple of weeks and give a full review thereafter. 

xoxo, 

N

* ZAR (South African Rand), 1 US$ = 16 ZAR