Anyone tried Shea Moisture?

[Cloelia]

I've seen these products in Target, and now I'm curious. Shea Moisture has a Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing line in the African - American hair section (where any good LHCer walks immediately:p ) that are all natural, sulfate and cone free. Admittedly, I'm interested buy my wallet tells me I ought to be careful. So, if you've tried them,

1) Were they good products?
2) Do you think they will be too heavy for fine hair?
3) Any other thoughts?

One thing I should mention: I know they have proteins. That's one of the reasons they have my attention, because my hair's been in need of frequent protein to keep it healthy.

Thanks all!

[Maelyssa]

I've been very curious about these products as well. Haven't tried them out yet because I saw them online & wasn't 100% sure of the ingredients. Knowing that they are cone & sulfate free I believe I will pick them up & give them a try within the next few weeks. If I do get to pick them up & try them out I'll let you know how it goes.

[Blond On Blond]

I have fine hair and I use the Curl & Style Milk from the Coconut Hibiscus line. As long as I use a pea size amount on my ends only, it's fine. Amazing actually. Makes my ends super soft and the smell is as from heaven :) This is truly a wonderful product and I hope it never gets discontinued. I haven't noticed any curl enhancement though.

If you hair doesn't like it you can always use it as a body lotion. I applied it to my skin after showering (out of curiosity) and it worked great!

[chou]

Oh god I love this stuff! I have thick hair and I use a nickel size amount of the curl and style milk about every day. It make my hair sooo soft and shiny. If you have any sort of wave I think this stuff would define it. It makes my hair curl up more, even. I'm sure that you could just use less product if you fine hair. It does build up after a couple of weeks but in a good way, where my hair was super soft and strong and looked amazing but felt a little heavy and waxy when I touched it. It was easy to wash out in any case. The bottle also lasts forever.
Go get it now!

[CurlyMopTop]

I have the curl cream and love it! It defines my curls and keeps the frizz away. I can't use it everyday, but rotate as needed because over time my ends will become a little dry. A little bit of this stuff goes a long way, so for $10 you're making out like a bandit. :D I have very fine hair and can still use this product without getting weighed down. :)

P.S. I should mention that because I've been wearing my hair up, I haven't been using this as a leave-in. I only use this stuff if I'm leaving my hair curly.

[Neecola]

I have used the African black soap shampoo for clarifying and love it. I intend to pick up the curl & style milk, after reading some rave reviews, next time I'm at Target.

[ellen732]

I love the Curl Enhancing Smoothie. It's the only product I use after washing and conditioning my hair. You don't need much, but it makes my waves soft and shiny with no frizz.

[Cloelia]

Wow, awesome. Never seen responses this unanimous about something.

Alright, you enablers... :) I'll have to try it myself.

[Cloelia]

So I did in fact cave and buy the SheaMoisture starter kit at Walgreens, since it had all the products that people mentioned here.
I washed with the shampoo, used a bit of V05 Blackberry Sage as conditioner to detangle afterwards, then used the syling milk, braided it and went to sleep.
And this morning...my hair feels A-MAZING. I usually have bumpy cruddy buildup all over my scalp that no shampoo has ever removed, not even clarifiers or anti-dandruff. Well, they are all gone.
My hair has just enough "weight" that it's not fluffy and flyaway, feels soft, looks bouncy. And no snappy noises when I brush it. My waves are holding up really well (usually after damp braiding it's straight an hour after taking out the braid or after brushing).
This stuff is great, I think I'm in love..... :)

[Cloelia]

One more thing that I forgot: reading the ingredients, this shampoo is primarily decyl glucoside, and then 3 types of oils. It reminds me of ktani's article about coconut oil shampoo, and the results certainly seem similar, though I could never get the ratios right mixing it myself.

[Neecola]

Thanks for the update Chloelia. Guess I'll be making a Target run soon :)

[Katbo]

I bought the Curl Enhancing Smoothie at Walgreens about a month ago. (So many hair products have food names now--milks, smoothies, butters, custards--I get hungry doing my hair.) The Smoothie is very rich and thick. A little bit is all I need. Sometimes I slather it on for a prepoo. It makes a fine foot lotion too! The only negative: I don't like the scent, and it is STRONG.

[chou]

Cloelia--so glad that you're enjoying the products! I get that same awesome feeling of bounciness and weight with the styling milk. And thanks for the info on the shampoo. As soon as I run out of my Kiss my Face shampoo (which despite being sls free and supposedly moisturizing is still too drying) I'm going to pick up the Shea Moisture stuff.

[Amber_Maiden]

1) Were they good products? I didn't think so.
2) Do you think they will be too heavy for fine hair? It was too heavy for my THICK hair... Can't imagine what it would do to fine hair... It weighed mine down... It was gross.
3) Any other thoughts? I couldn't stand it... I'll never use the stuff again.

[curlsgalore]

Walgreens online is having a BOGOF (buy one, get one fee) sale with free shipping over $25. I ordered a few of the Shea moisture products to try out. Will update when I get a chance to use them.

[Blond On Blond]

Walgreens in-store has a BOGO 1/2 off, so I craved in and bought another Milk plus the Smoothie I've been dying to try out. Overall, the smoothie is IMO more economical. There's more (12 oz compared to 8 oz of the Milk) for the same price, but since it's way heavier I have to dilute it to make it usable for my hair. I didn't notice any difference in the effects between the two products.

My DH loves the smell too! He described it as "angle farts" :D

[GettingThere]

I very recently purchased the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque on impulse at Target. I have not even tried it as a mask:) I read online that some people use just a titch as a leave in. I do this and it seems to protect my ends and make them MUCH less crunchy. I will eventually try it as a mask...and I'll report the results:)

[Maelyssa]

So after waiting for roughly a month to have the time, money & car free to make a trip to Target they didn't care one item from this product line. So frustrating! I'll have to try Walgreen's when I can.

[Neecola]

So after waiting for roughly a month to have the time, money & car free to make a trip to Target they didn't care one item from this product line. So frustrating! I'll have to try Walgreen's when I can.

That is frustrating! I know this doesn't help you now, but you can check online the availability of products in your local Target store. I believe you can do the same at Walgreen's website.

[Catladyintown]

Has anyone tried this Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Condition? If so how did you like it? Did you use it for CO? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/shea-moisture-organic-raw-shea-butter-restorative-condition/ID=prod6057767-product

[hisprincess]

Has anyone tried this Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Condition? If so how did you like it? Did you use it for CO? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/shea-moisture-organic-raw-shea-butter-restorative-condition/ID=prod6057767-product

I tried it a couple of nights ago. I only bought it because I didn't have the time or energy to go all the way to Whole Foods, so I went for the most natural-sounding product I could find at the local pharmacy.

I usually oil overnight and CO with an ACV rinse, but this time I just CO'd with this stuff... OH MY! For the past two days I've had the best hair of my life! I'm going to try it again before I attribute it to this conditioner though, and I'll try it with the whole routine and see how it goes. But I'm amazed so far. My hair is extremely fine so I'm always looking for something to keep it light and fluffy without letting the curls tangle and matt up-- and this was it! The one drawback was, like Katbo said, the smell is strong and annoying.

[Blond On Blond]

The one drawback was, like Katbo said, the smell is strong and annoying.

Unfortunately, it contains emulsifying wax, a big no-no for me. Terrible build-up each time I use a product that contains it.

[Catladyintown]

Thank you Hisprincess for sharing. I hope it keeps working for you. Can you keep us all updated on how you like the whole line please.
Blond on Blond to bad it will cause build up on your hair. I don't know that much about emulsifying wax so hopefully it does not cause build up on everyone.

[Blond On Blond]

Blond on Blond to bad it will cause build up on your hair. I don't know that much about emulsifying wax so hopefully it does not cause build up on everyone.

I guess it's an individual thing. My all time favorite leave in conditioner, Beautiful Curls by Alaffia, contains EW. It makes my hair silky, frizz-free and shiny. Alas! I can't use it more than twice in a row without a heavy shampooing. The buildup makes my hair stiff and dull :( Every product containing EW gives me the same problem.

[HereIGrowAgain]

I *love* the Shea Moisture products. I've written quite a bit about them on here, so I've found all my old posts, and I'm putting them all together here. (arranged for clarity and to not repeat myself too much) Be warned: I'm a total fangirl for the Shea line. :D

First Impressions:

This morning I washed with Shea Moisture Raw Shea shampoo, followed with 2 minutes of Shea Moisture Raw Shea Deep Treatment masque. After I rinsed that out, I did a cool water rinse for about 1 minute (I hate cold water on my body, so I turned the shower to just the faucet, and then knelt over to rinse without the cold water touching anything other than my hair and scalp). After drying, I finished off with Shea Moisture Curl and Style hair milk.

My hair feels wonderful. I'm looking forward to letting it dry without a dryer and without product to make it curl (gel), so I can really feel any differences.

For now, I'm not going to use any more of my old shampoos. This is my first sulfate-free shampoo, and I just love it! I know, it's only one day, but my hair feels sooooooo moisturized, I can hardly believe it.

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I've been using the Shea Moisture products for... three days now? I use the gold label (Raw Shea) shampoo and masque, and the pink label (coconut and hibiscus... omg it smells soooooooo goooooood) styling milk and styling smoothie, and I really suggest you give it a shot (meaning everyone who is still looking for a good product). My hair has never felt better, and I'm using it on my daughter's hair, too. It's amazing to see how quickly her hair is improving, too!

It is sulfate free, cone free, etc.

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Styling Info:

For what it's worth, I get a lot more curl out my hair when I use Shea Moisture Curl and Style Milk, scrunch a bit, and then dry with an infuser (I bunch up clumps of hair into the infuser and let it sit there for a few seconds on low heat (one step up above a cool shot). Otherwise, if I just wash it and let it dry without any touching, the curls are a lot more stretched out.

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I've found that using Shea Moisture Curl and Style Milk has completely replaced my use of gel (note - I am NOT trying to decrease volume, meaning I do not use gel to slick down any part of my hair). I use far less of it than I have to use of gel, it clumps my hair beautifully, and lets it flow apart in the wind, and then clump back together. I'm not sure if I showed this picture on this thread, but here it is washed, lightly scrunched with Curl & Style Milk, and then air dried as I watched TV. I had no idea it looked like this until I started taking pictures of it. (also, note that my head is tilted back to show the full wave pattern, so it looks longer than it really is - I'm at shoulder).
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6193&pictureid=109756]

I'm a hardcore devotee to their products. The only thing I add to my regime is a weekly clarifying shampoo on my scalp (Desert Essence Lemon Tea Tree Shampoo).

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Why I tried it in the first place:

If you want a moisturizing regimen that is really easy, I recommend Shea Moisture products. I like the "Raw Shea" formulation (gold label) for shampoo and conditioner, and then the "Coconut and Hibiscus" (pinkish label) Curl and Style Milk for the leave in.

My hair got really, really dry and crunchy, and I tried this line out of desperation (I thought it would be to heavy, as it was designed for coarse, textured hair). I had done a henna treatment (color gloss, to be specific), and I think the lemon juice I used really did a number on my hair. It was very yucky. Anyway, I thought I was going to have to cut it all off (again!), but this stuff turned it all around.

It is around $10 a bottle for each item, and you can find it at Walgreens or Target (I'd go to Target, it's cheaper there). There are no silicons, sulfates, etc. in their stuff (at least, none of the things I have tried from their lines have... I have not read every single label for every single item).
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[Catladyintown]

Thank you HereIGrowAgain I am glad it working for you. Have you tried the conditioner? Also this is the product were talking about at walgreens here is a link. I just want to make sure I am talking about the right product.
http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=Shea%20Moisture&Erp=96
Also I was thinking about trying the Conditioner for CO washes. I can not use shampoo on my hair every shampoo I try usually irradiates my scalp.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/shea-moisture-organic-raw-shea-butter-restorative-condition/ID=prod6057767-product
Thank you everybody.:D

[HereIGrowAgain]

Yes, I use the gold label shampoo and conditioner (the raw shea butter line), and the pink label curl and style milk. :D

[ibleedlipstick]

I have and adore the curl enhancing cream... And I have baby fine, thick, mostly straight hair.

The trick to it is using tiny amounts and ONLY WHEN WET. I hate to use all caps, but I have seen a lot of people who hate it only because the first time they used it on dry hair or put a handful in.

Seriously, when you get out of the shower, get a PEA sized amount and run it through your hair, starting at the ends. I'm nearly at waist, and I use two peas. You can adjust it for your hair, but you are probably going to make yourself look greasy at least once (I know I did.)

However, for the price, it is fantastic. The jar will last forever, it moisturizes well, and smells amazing.

[Katbo]

On low dewpoint days, I find myself reaching for the Smoothie more often than not. What started as a fair-to-middlin' product has become a reliable comfort product. This stuff really grew on me; I'm glad I gave it a chance. I use it on damp hair, after leave-in. Strangely, I don't need anything else over it. My curls are happier for it.

[Mina17]

After reading about this brand here I bought the Curl and Shine starter kit from Walgreens. I think I am in love! I have wavy hair that tends to poof and frizz, especially the canopy, no matter what I do.

The shampoo and milk are good but the Smoothie has been a savior. My waves are defined, canopy flyaway, poof and frizz are greatly diminished, and I feel like I can wear my hair down now. And it doesn't make my hair look or feel greasy. Nothing else has come close to working this well on my hair. I'm so glad to have found this product through LHC. Crossing my fingers that it continues to work for me!