Product Review | Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque

Product:  

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque

Price:  

$11.99 for 12 oz jar at Sally's Beauty Supply

Ingredients:  

Deionized water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Argan Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Emulsifying Wax, Sea Kelp Extract, Panthenol (Vitamin B-5),Essential Oil Blend, Avacado Oil, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Hyssopus Officinalis Extract, Salvia Officinalis (sage) Leaf and Equisetum Arvense Extract, Soybean Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil

Promises:

SheaMoisture's Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque deeply moisturizes and repairs dry, damaged

Pre-pooing with Wen Sweet Almond Mint

Ingredients:  Water, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol,
Chamomilla Recutia Flower Extract, Wild Cherry Bark Exract,
Rosemary Leaf ExtractSweet Almond Oil, Aloe Vera Juice,
Hydrolyzed Wheat ProteinPanthenol, Butylene Glycol, BTMS,
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Polysorbate 60, PEG-60
Almond Glycerides, Amodimethicone, Citric Acid, Menthol,
Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinene,
Fragrance, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal.

Some time ago I ordered the Wen Sweet Almond Mint cleansing conditioner for my mom.  She had been anxious to try it out.  I had an opportunity to purchase the kit for $9.95 so I ordered it for her. Well, let's just say she did not like it.  She did not like how it made her hair feel, she thought that her hair was not being cleaned, so I took it off her hands. Why not give it a try? Maybe it would work for me.

It turns out

Wash Day - 2/7/2013

So I did a wash on Thursday.  I was not very happy at the end of this wash I must say.  Still can't figure out what to do with my hair since I have about 2 inches of texlaxed hair.  I suck at protective styling and roller setting, plus I've been trying to avoid doing anything that will put any stress on my nape, because I'm still trying to nurse it back to health.  Still leaning toward purchasing a wig.  I need to do a lil research before I do this.  It may be my number one option for protective styling and relaxer stretching at the moment.  So on to my wash details.  I kind of switched up my routine this time.

1. Started off prepooing with oils:  Argan Oil (contents:  argan oil and sweet almond oil) on my roots and Matrix Biolage Delicate Care Organic Certified Oil (contents: olea europaea oil/olive fruit oil, isopropyl palmitate, argania spionosa oil/argania spinosa kernel oil, lavandula angustifolia oil/lavender oil, linaldol). The Matrix Biolage oil is part of their color care line; the instructions say to apply from mid lenghth to ends, so I used the argan oil closer to my roots.  I sat under my heat cap for about 20 minutes.

2. After prepooing I detangled my hair with my seamless comb, parting my hair into 6 sections and braiding each section.  I secured the ends with ouchless ponytail holders.  I decided to try this out after reading about the  technique on Miss Kibibi's blog (author of the Five Hair Archetypes).  It's a great way to keep your hair from tangling while shampooing  Next time I will use more braids.

3.  I hopped in the shower and shampooed using Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger shampoo.  Another trick I got from Miss Kibibi's blog was to dilute the shampoo with water in an applicator bottle so you can apply the shampoo directly to the scalp.  I'm trying to put more focus on cleansing the scalp since this is the purpose of shampoo.  Shampoo is harsh on your hair strands.  Doing my shampoo this way I can focus more on cleansing my scalp and of course some of the shampoo will run down my hair gently cleansing my tresses in the process.  I think it would have been easier to cleanse my scalp if I had done more braids.

4.  Next I did my black tea rinse and let it sit on my hair for a few minutes.

5. I then rinsed out the black tea and applied PM Super Skinny Treatment to my hair.  Man let me tell ya....this stuff is the truth! lol! My hair feels oh so soft afterwards.  Love it!!!

6.  Finally I DC'd with my Kera Pro Restorative Treatment.  Another fave of mine!  I sat under my steamer for about 20 minutes.



7. After DC-ing I applied Roux Porosity control for about 30 seconds and rinsed.

I tried squeezing my hair dry with a t-shirt.  Next I applied my leave-ins:  Darcy's Daily Leave In and PMSS Serum.  My hair was about 75% dry at that point.  I could figure out what I was going to do to my hair.  It was getting  late and I had to be at work the next morning.  I always worry about my hair looking decent for work.  I thought I could get away with doing a wrap, so I tried wrapping my hair and spraying a little water to get it back wet again.  This was sooo difficult and remember I have thick texlaxed roots.  I definitely experienced some breakage. :(  When I took down my hair in the morning after letting it air dry overnight, it was not what I had hoped.  Puffy roots galore!  I ended up clipping back as usual.

I'd wanted to try out a roller set, but didn't have time for that.  I wasn't sure how plain air drying would turn out.  I just didn't know what to do.  Sigh.... A wig or sew-in is sounding better and better by the second.  Ah well, maybe the next wash will be better.

How was your most recent wash day?  Is anyone else having texlaxing issues?  What are you doing to combat this problem?

Thanks for reading,
Andrea

Wash Day - 12/20/2012

So I just recently had a wash day and am posting late. I kind of like to do my wash day on Thursday so my hair is fresh for the weekend or if something is going on Friday night. ha ha! 

All my goodies came in earlier this week so I started out prepooing for about 30 minutes with grapeseed oil and my new conditiong cap! yay! So excited about this, i hate sitting under my hair dryer.

After prepooing I shampooed with Brocato Splassh sulfate free shampoo.  I put in Roux Porosith control for 30 seconds then rinsed and then did my black tea rinse.  This time I only used one tea bag and try to cool the temp before pooring onto my hair.  My hair did not feel "as" hard, not sure if it was the temp or amount of tea.  Most likely the temp is my opinion.

After rinsing I used my Ion Solutions Smoothing Conditioner with Keratin to soften my hair.  I left it on for about a minute and then rinsed.

Next I deep conditioned with my Kera Pro Restorative Treatment also under my heating cap for about 45 minutes.  Did feel like getting out my steamer.  Will use it my next wash.

Finally I rinsed my DC, applied Darcy's Leave In Conditioner and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum and wrapped my hair.  I sat under the hair dryer for maybe 45 minutes to get smooth results. I mainly wanted to get about 80% dry and let the rest air dry overnight. It was a long Thursday night! LOL!  My hair was very soft and smooth the next morning. 

People always ask me if I flat iron after I've wrapped my hair, but I don't.  My hair usually gets pretty smooth from just the wrap.  I am worried that since I'm using a mild relaxer now, and my hair is not so bone straight, that I won't be able to get these kind of results anymore.  My hair is feeling pretty wavy where I have most recently begun self relaxing....not kinky, but pretty wavy.  It feels soft and thick.  I'll have to take a pic.

Here are some next day pics. You can see how thin my hair is in the second pic. Not sure if I should just go ahead and get a trim CUT....  :o(

Is anyone else out there having thin hair woes???



P.S. I've also made another new purchases.  Looked at this a few weeks ago and couldnt help myself. I purchased Carol's Daughter Monoi Repairing Split End Sealer.  The carob seed oil in this product is supposed to bind split ends, reducing split ends by 93.3%.  The reviews looked good so I gave in....true product junky huh?



Has anywone else tried this? How did you like it?

Thanks for reading,

Andrea

Wash Day

1.  I prepooed last night with my ORS Hair Mayonaise uner my hair dryer for a little over 30 minutes to give my hair a medium protein treatment.  I've been having a bit of breakage here and there so I thought it was needed. 

2.  After rinsinng I shampooed with Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Shampoo. 

3.  Next I deep conditioned with Kera Pro Restorative Treatment under my hair steamer for about 30 minutes.

4.  After rinsing the conditioner I sqeezed my hair dry with a tshirt and applied a clear rinse to my hair.  I left it in probably about 15 minutes and then rinsed.

5.  Finally I applied Darcy's Botanicals Coconut Lemongrass Transition Creme and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum for my leave-ins and wrapped my hair. It was so easy to wrap, possibly because of the slip provided from the clear rinse and the serum. 

6.  I sat under my hair dryer for 45 minutes to get smooth results.  When I air dry my wrap my hair is not as smooth.  I secured with two mesh wraps and then tied my satin scarf before sitting under the dryer. 

Snapped a pic of my wrapped hair.  You can really see the shine from the clear rinse.  I undid my wrap and there was minimal shedding, but it wasnt as light and bouncy as I had hoped.  Maybe because I used too much Darcy's CLTC instead of the Daily Leave In Conditioner.  I really loved the results from my last wash.   Oh well, ya win some ya lose some. As long as my hair is healthy.

Andrea

Wash Day

So trying to keep up with the wash day posts.  Still in the middle of it, sitting under the hair dryer as we speak. Two posts in one day! Crazy! lol

Alright so I started off by prepooing with Jojoba and Coconut Oil for maybe an hour or so.  I tried to use the hot "towel" my (t-shirt) method to get some steam action going, but it got cool pretty fast so I just had a wet shirt on my head on top of the fact that I looked really silly.  I took a pic, but don't think I'll be posting it.   I finally just usd my conditioning cap I purchased and wore it for a while.

PRE-POO

I started off shampooing with this new shampoo I got from a friend.  It's called Splassh Daily Shampoo by Brocato.  It is a sulfate free shampoo.  Sulfates, if I'm correct, usually strip the moisutre from your hair.  Some stay away from these and others use them anyway.  I dont mind mixing it up, as long as I replace the lost moisture.  After shampooing, I followed up with Roux Porosity control for about 30 secs to close the cuticles of my hair for my black tea rinse.  The rinse came next and I let it sit a couple minutes.  I'm wondering if I should have used colder tea because the  warm tea probably opened my pores back up.  I just mainly want it on my scalp to reduce shedding.  After that I used Ion Smooth Solutions Smoothing Conditioner with Keratin to smooth my hair because it felt hard after the tea rinse.  Finally I deep conditioned with Optimum Care Salon Collection Deep Conditioning Masque under my hair dryer for 20 minutes.  I didnt feel like getting out my steamer this wash.  Oh and I was so excited about finally finding a use for the small jars I purchased at Sally's.  I don't usually use all of the contents of conditioning packets so I can squeeze the rest into my cute little jar for future use. :)
I had no idea how I was going to use them, but they were on sale. Can never pass up a sale I guess! LOL

     DEEP CONDITION

After rinsing my deep conditioner I applied my leave-in's.  I used Darcy's Botanical Leave In Conditioner and this time to seal I used Paul Mithcell Supper Skinny Serum.  I wrapped my hair (to the left this time).  I alwasy do the right side so I need to switch it up so there's not more stress on one side.  Used two mesh wraps to secure my hair and my satin scarf, but this time instead of air drying I sat under the dryer for maybe an hour and a half.  I gotta start timing this stuff.  After dry I followed up with my Ionic Blow dryer on cool temp.  I here that using cool air on your hair helps close the cuticles giving a smooth look and shine.   I am SUPER DUPER happy with this wash.  Just a few short strands of hair came out into the sink when I combed out my wrap.  Some breakage is just unavoidable I guess, but still bugs me. I want ALL my hair! Check out my pics. So many good ones I couldn't make up my mind. :)

Smooth Shiny Hair = Happy Girl 

changed from my black tank so I could check for weak spots or damage in back

 

So far so good! :)

Andrea

Pre-Pooing 101

So in the beginning of my hair journey I was doing a lot of research online, reading different articles and blogs.  I noticed that many of the HHJ bloggers had pre-pooing as the first step in their wash day regimen.  Pre-pooing simply means pre shampoo treatment.  I have decided to incorporate this into my regimen as well.  One question that I some how neglected to find the answer to is: 

 "Why Pre-poo?" 

I just thought hey it's working for these ladies I'm just going to jump on the band wagon.  But I never bothered to figure out why they are doing this? Why does it work? What is it's purpose?  I just assumed it was another way to add moisutre to the hair; extra conditioning. Often times conditioners and sometimes oils are used to pre-poo. But I started wondering, if we are pre-moisturizng our hair prior to shampooing, then why are we washing it right back out just to deep condition again right after?  On search for my answer I found this awesome article explaining pre-pooing and it's benefits.

The Benefits of Pre-pooing

Pre-pooing is basically done to protect the hair from the harsh process of shampooing which basically strips moisture from your hair.  The main purpose of shampooing is to cleanse the scalp.  Pre-pooing adds a barrier of protection as well as an added benefit of conditioning.

This is a great article, and it has even enlightened me to some mistakes I have been making . On my last wash day, I pre-pooed overnight with a conditioner.  (Actually I was DC-ing after my wash) This is a NO-NO! Thats why my hair felt too soft and kind of gummy the next day and I ended up correcting with a protein treatment.  You should also never prepoo overnight with a protein based conditioner as well.  Lesson learned!

Andrea :)

Wash Day - Nov 17 (Part 2)

I got up this morning and rinsed out the Mizani Moisture Fuze.  I think I mentioned before how thick it was and once I rinsed my hair felt kind of gummy and stretchy.  I started to think to myself, "self, is your hair on moisture overload."  I really didnt think that could be possible for some reason.  I thought I just had a relaxer last weekend and did a light protein treatment, surely I dont need more protein.  I did a strand test and my hair did seem to stretch and then snap which is a sign that my hair was in need of some protein.  So I decided to reshampoo my hair with PM Super Skinny and pulled out my jar of ORS Hair Mayonaise.  I sat under the hair dryer for about 15 minutes rinsed and attemtped my roller set.

As for my roller set, I was not happy with it.  I think my lack of patience has something to do with it.  I took forever it seemed and I hate sitting under the dryer so I'm going to have to figure something else out.  I also wish when I self relaxed that I'd let my hair get a little straighter.  I may end up correcting this on my next touch up.  I don't like my roots feeling so kinky.  I'm afraid to run my comb through it and I dont want to use my flat iron.  Anyway, I rapped my hair and tied it down to get a straighter look, hoping it turns out okay when I take it down.  Maybe I'll post a pic.

Oh I also shed alot after my rollerset which I wasnt happy about.  Well either it was shed hair or broken hair.  I didnt take the time to examine.  I keep wondering if I'm going to keep having the breakage because of previous damage or weak spots in my hair that have finally given in.  I dont know, but it's definitely frustrating.  Ugh!  When I went to super cuts the girl told me that my hair was healthy and it has been feeling so soft and fluffy lately, so it surprises me when I still have broken hair in the sink.  Hopefully I will figure it out soon.  Until next time.


Andrea :)

Wash Day - Nov. 16, 2012 (Part 1)

I am tryign to keep up with these wash days.  I need to be a little more consistent as I keep changing things like the products I'm using and the order in which I use them.  So today I started off by prepooing with ORS Deep Penetrating Conditioner with a little Roux Porosity control mixed in.  After rinsing I shampooed with two differnt Motions brand products.  For the first lather I used Marula Natural Therapy Strengthening Shampoo.  I've had this for a while and am trying to finish off the bottle.  I actually dont really have any complaints about this shampoo, I would buy it again definitely.  The second lather I used Motions Naturally You Mosturizing Cleanser. What I did not realize was that it does contain sulfates and so it made my hair feel kind of dry after I rinsed.  I assumed that I would get opposite results since it is a moisturizing cleanser supposedly.  oh well.  After rinsing I did a Black Tea rinse (said to reduce shedding) then after rinsing with water I used Paul Mitchel Supper Skinny Daily Treatment conditioner to smooth my hair because it was really dry and hard after the black tea.

Currently I am deep conditioning with a new conditioner that I decided to try.  I think I am switching up too much, which may not help me to figure out what works for me.  I am not being consistent.  I need to get that together.  Anyway I purchased Mizani's Moisture Fuze conditioner.  It says to leave in for 5 minutes, but I am going to leave it in overnight.  I dont like how thick it is and it was hard detangling with this in my hair.  Let's see if it gets my hair soft.   Part 2 should come tomorrow.  I am planning on attempting to roller set again as well.  I realized some things I've been doing wrong with that and I plan to get under my dryer this time. LOL!!! 

The next question is.....clear rinse...or no clear rinse???  I didnt like the results last time, but I will say I was doing TOO much to my hair that day.  Anywho....

to be continued....

Andrea :)

Wash Day Oct. 26

Soooo my wash day did not go too well and neither did my roller set.  I think I may have gone overboard with my products.  So I started off prepooing (warm) coconut oil on my scalp and I did a mild protein treatment(ORS Hair Mayonaise) on the rest of my hair.  I did also do a protein treatment the week before, but I thought another mild treatment might be helpful because i had some breakage (I believe) a few days after that last wash.  I'm not sure how to completely stop that or what I am doing wrong.  Anyway, my hair did feel soft after rinsing out the prepoo. Oh I forgot to mention that I steamed for 15 minutes before rinsing.

Next I shampooed with Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Shampoo (I think this is a clarifying shampoo).  I decided to try it out after reading how great it is on the blog justgrowalready.com.  I think I used Roux Porosity Control Next then Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Treatment.  Next I deep conditioned with the second half of my Argan Oil from last week under my steamer for 15 minutes.  My hair again felt really really soft.  I loved it.  Then I decided to do a clear rinse because I read how great it was.  How it adds shine and also adds slip to prevent breakage making it easier to detangle your hair.  Well this was not the case for me.  This is where everything went wrong.  My hair felt kind of hard.  I started to wonder if I had used too many products....  I proceeded to put in my leave in conditioner (Darcy's Botanicals Leave-In) and I used Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum to seal.

I attempted to do my roller set.  Unfortunately not only did I roll my hard hair, but when it was time to get ready for the wedding my hair was still wet! :(  I wanted it to air dry.  I tried to tame it as best I could.  It wasn't too bad, but it wasnt what i was hoping for.

On Sunday I rewashed my hair with Paul Mitchell again to get out all the product I had put into my hair.  Then I used Roux Porosity Control and PM Super Skinny Treatment.  After that I deep conditioned using KeraPro restorative treatment under my hair dryer for about 15 minutes.  After rinsing I did my leave-in and used Organix Coconut Oil Anti-Breakage Serum (I used this the week before also and my hair felt amazing).  I wrapped and let my hair air dry (I had nowhere to go this time).  It felt much better and much softer.

I have learned my lesson.  Never go overboard on the products.  All of that was not necessary.  And I need to really be careful because i think I have about an inch of new growth now (6 wks post relaxler). Woo! I'm trying to moisutize I seal everynight now (but I'm not caring for that too much because i dont like when my hair looks oily).  But I've got to do what I've got to do to protect my locks.  Protective styling is something I will have to adopt. And weaves are definitely not my thing.  I like to wear my own hair so I will have to start getting creative.  Maybe more so when I get a little more length.  Next wash day is coming up soon.  Let's see how this turns out.  I have a lot to learn still.

Andrea :)

Today Is Wash Day (Friday, Oct. 26, 2012)

So today is wash day for me.  Still in the process.  I have pre-pooed, shampood, etc. etc., next is deep conditioning.  I will actually get more into detail once I've completed my currently 2 day plan to get my hair together. I'm going to leave my deep conditioner in overnight because I want to do a roller set (fingers crossed) in the A.M.  I have two weddings to attend tomorrow so this is why I am making it a two day process.

Thought I would start out by sharing my plans for my new hair journey, as far as the changes that I want to make to my "regimen".  That's so weird to say because I never realized I had one. Here are some things I currently plan to or already have added to my hair care regimen:





Taken Oct. 19; two days before my b-day on Oct. 21 :)

1. Deep Conditioning - this is a must to keep moisture in my hair.  When I was getting my hair done at the salon every two weeks I was not getting this.  This was only done when I received a relaxer.  I guess I was supposed to ask (but she knew I wanted my length back.  I would have thought she'd have suggested it.  I used to do this on and off when I cared for my own hair.  Now I plan to do this on a regular basis.  I may even try co-washing (washing with conditioner only).
2. Protein Treatments - During my healthy hair research I have come across a lot of sites, posts, and articles emphasizing the importance of keeping the proper moisture/protein balance for your hair.  I had never known or even considered how important this is to hair health.  I even just realized recently that I had occasionally done a few protein treatments in the past.  I had once gotten into a routine of using Organic Root Stimulator's Hair Mayonaise once a week.  Sometimes it made my hair feel kind of hard and after my research now I know why. LOL!  Too much protein.  I am trying to learn to read my hair and know when it needs more protein and when it needs more moisture.
3. Tex-laxing - This is when you relax the hair without completely processing it, leaving some texture.  I had always wondered if my hair had not been fully processed when Mrs. Winbush was doing my relaxers in high school.  I would always notice that when it was wet it would curl up which made me wonder if it was stronger because it was not completely processed.  After I went off to college I started going to different salons and I notice that my hair no longer curls up the way it used to.  I think beginning this process will help my hair to be stronger and thicker.
4. Relaxer Stretching - I have read about this on a lot of different blogs and online articles as well.  I am definitely guilty of scheduling that relaxer when I feel the slightest amount of kinkiness in my new growth.  I cannot stand and feel like I cannot even touch my hair with a comb. Ugh! But it is definely best to stretch the time between relaxers because you dont want any overlapping of relaxer onto your previously relaxed hair.  This can cause overprocessing and breakage and BREAKAGE is what I want to AVOID big time!!!  No more of that.   For now I'm hoping I can go 10 weeks.  Maybe eventually I will work my way up to 12 or 14.  I am currently going on 6 weeks.  I would have had my appointment scheduled by now. Ha ha!  I also plan to self relax as well. 

Well, this is the plan.  I am hoping this will all lead to positive things for my hair.  I am still experiencing some breakage and shedding here and there, but I think it's getting better.  I am definitely still learning and figuring out what will work for me. My goal at the moment is Bra Strap Length (BSL).  Not sure how long this will take me.  Hopefully I will get my official first wash day post up tomorrow or Sunday.  I also want to get some pics up soon of where my hair used to be and where it is currently.  Here are some I took about a week ago to see where my length is right now.  The pic on the bottom shows my damaged nap.  :(







Hair looking a lot healthier. Started my new changes in Sept.
My last trim was after my relaxer in August. This pic was taken 10/19/12

My damaged nape :(
Plan to apply a lot of TLC here



 

I am so excited about this new journey.  I hope I can inspire anyone just as others have inspired me.  It can be done!

Goodnight!

Andrea :)