Whether you’re a seasoned natural or a few months in the game, I’m sure you’ve stumbled across this product whilst doing the usual rounds on the natural hair blogs and YouTube channels. I will admit, there is a lot of information out there on this product, which is probably the main reason why I bought it in the first place.
When I first went natural, I’d watch all these YouTube guru’s and read all these natural hair blogs ranting and raving about different products, and how these were the ‘holy grail’ and the reason why their hair is thriving. I immediately would feel disadvantaged because majority of the products that they would refer to were not available in Kenya. However necessity is the mother of all invention, and so I learned to make do with what I could find, meaning my hair relied less on products and more on natural oils and water.
So I’ll come clean and say that this is not a product that I needed. My hair has survived, better yet, thrived all these years with my DIY leave-in conditioner recipe (which I’ve been meaning to share for the longest time). Part of me is actually glad that most of those products were not available, because I will admit, I am a recovered* product junkie! Imagine having access to all these products; some good, some bad, some horrible, and having to weed your way through each of them. Definitely not pocket friendly!
But, it was a much-coveted product for me so I didn’t think twice about purchasing when I saw it on the Super Cosmetics shelves. Let’s take a closer look shall we…
STATS:
What: Cantu Shea Butter Leave- In Conditioner
How Much: KES 795 for 453g (160z)
Where: Super Cosmetics Westlands Branch. (I’ve seen it at both Koinange St. and Mama Ngina St. Branches too)
Claim: Provides intense moisture to leave hair soft and manageable. Formulated for damaged, dry or coarse hair.
Reality: Right off the bat, I really liked the way it smells. The scent reminds me of the Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut Conditioner which I live for! To get a proper feel of the product I did try it on its own a couple of times to see how my hair truly reacted to the product (without adding any oils like I usually do with my DIY leave in recipe). It didn’t quite give me the “intense moisture” I was expecting, and it did not leave my hair feeling as soft and manageable as compared to my DIY mix. However, when I did mix it with my go-to oils (Coconut oil, Olive oil and Castor oil) the result was amazing! I found that my hair was definitely more manageable and retained moisture and shine for a longer period of time.
Because my hair is in protective twists 3 out of 4 weeks in a month, I need to re-moisturize at least once or twice a week to maintain optimum moisture levels. I found that even after a week of applying the Cantu Shea Butter leave-in and oil mix, my hair was still moisturized and shiny which is miraculous for my dry 4c hair.
VERDICT: I would definitely recommend this product, but I personally feel that I got the best results working with this product when I mixed it with oils like I usually do with my own leave-in conditioner. I would also recommend that you seal all the moisture from your leave-in with a butter (such as my DIY Whipped Shea Butter Mix) in order to keep your tresses moisturized for a longer period of time.
Have you tried this product? If so, what are your thoughts on it? I’d love to hear your experience…
Happy Nappy Hair,
YvetteKemi
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