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)

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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)

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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

New Look: Blue Hair & Bold Lips

Hey everyone, 
One of the ways I get to wear bright fashion colours in my hair (without bleaching my hair within an inch of its life), is to install braids in the desired colours. 
My go-to protective style since graduating from high school many many moons ago is box braids. I just love them... I occasionally install senegalese twists or marley twists but I always come back to my beloved box braids. 
I've had quite number of different colours thus far this year: Purple and forest green ombre, and gun metal/silver.  And now I'm rocking blue; it's been 2 years since I last had blue braids, mainly because finding bright colour braids is not easy. 
I purchased mine from Hair City which is based in Gauteng but has an online store... thank God! 
I'm really lucky in that I work in an setting that doesn't set dresscode rules. I do tone it down when I travel to conferences etc. but if I know I'm not travelling for 4-6 weeks then I wear whatever colour I'm in the mood for.

I installed my braids two weeks ago after co-washing with the Shea Moisture African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner.  

 

I combed Cantu for Naturals leave-in conditionting cream through my hair and used Ecostyler Argan oil gel to smooth the hair and blend it into the extensions (both purchased from African-flair). I used 3 packs (cut in half) of X-pression premium kanekalon ultra braid in #blue. It took me about 10 hours to finish (I have a lot of hair. Half that time was spent on my crown).

 

I keep my braids in for a minimum of four weeks and I spray my hair with a growth remedy that contains Aloe vera juice, castor oil, bergamot essence and bay rum. I add peppermint and rosemary essential oils to it as well. 
I try to co-wash/ scalp cleanse every week and I've been using the Purification Masque for the African Black Soap range. I take about a teaspoon of the masque, add water and transfer to a spray bottle to make application easy. Then, I use the balancing conditioner as a leave-in. 

 

So along with brightly coloured hair...I love wearing bold lipcolour.  Here are some looks I've been wearing recently. 

OFRA liquid lipstick in the shade Atlantic City

Stila stay all day liquid lipstick in Fiery

L'oreal Pure Reds Collection in Doutzen's red

I'll do a post on my lipstick collection at some point. 

What do think of my blue hair? What kind of colours do you like to wear in your hair?

Drop a comment below. 

xoxo, 

N

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