This past Saturday, I did a few things a little differently. Let me say, I'm not one who becomes mortified at the thought of stepping outside the box and trying something new. Life is about experiences. And, Saturday was special.
1) Meeting up again ; o)
I was put in contact with a student of mine back from my time of tutoring adult evening classes at the Venezuelan Institute. Actually, she combed coiled my hair for me on 2 different occasions back in 2006 when I had done my first big chop. So, it was nice to see her again. She owns a natural haircare salon in Christ Church. She, too, is a loc rocker of several years.
2) Crazy happy delirious me ; o)
Now, the second thing was that she retails the Shea Moisture line of products. My heart beat like crazy in my chest! You do not know but, I've wanted in my heart of hearts to try the Shea Moisture line (2nd Oyin, 3rd Giovanni). I've seen countless reviews and have had a naturalista (Erica, from a previous post) recommend it to me. So, needless say I had to purchase one for my hair from my friend.
But, somewhere between deciding what to wear for my 'rendezvous' with Shea and envisioning myself walking into the salon to purchase said product, it hit me and my heart began to settle again. Am I really going to have a great or even good experience? Were all the other reviewers merely just hypnotized by the smell and product presentation? Will it strip my hair and leave it for broke? How much moisture is moisture? So many questions. But, as they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained!
So, here goes...my date with Shea!
Product: Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter - Moisture Retention Shampoo (12. oz.)
Description: It claims to hydrate, smooth and repair strands whereby leaving hair manageably soft. It does add for dry and/or damaged hair.
Ingredients: Now this is what sold me, this impressive line of what's NOT in it:
- NO parabens, phthalates, paraffin, propylene glycol, mineral oil, synthetic fragrance or colour.
- NO animal ingredients nor was it subjected to animal testing.
It does contain:
- Sea Kelp - trace minerals to detoxify hair follicles of impurities and residue
- Argan Oil - restores shine and rebuilds hair elasticity
- Shea Butter - Deeply moisturizers and repairs damage to hair and scalp
- Pro-Vitamin B5, Aloe Vera leaf juice, Japanese Honeysuckle flower extract and Vitamin E, just to name a few
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| Argan Oil |
Observations: I like this product! Alot! From the moment Tammie began to lather, the aroma filled my nostrils! To me, it was a mild scent, not overpowering at all. She told me to use precious little at any one time because it is so heavily concentrated. Otherwise, I'd have a heck of a time trying to get it out of my locs.
This shampoo just felt different. I could not resist touching my hair to feel the softness. She used the same loc gel as Nola does. So, other than the shampoo (I had a cold-water tea tree rinse, too), there was no other major product change. My scalp feels more tender. I guess it is hard to explain. Usually by now I would have started to scratch just a bit. So, I'd have to say that the ingredients have not had any adverse affects. I have never used Argan Oil, Shea Butter nor Sea Kelp/Weed in any shampoo or conditioner that I can recall.
The ingredients of course, too, are important. I've been trying to stay away from mineral oil, petroleum, parabens and other ingredients that can have an adverse effect on my skin and health on a whole. Substances that I had no clue even existed prior to Nov. 2010. So, where possible I'll stick to the all-natural, organic shelf as much as possible.
Decision: It's a keeper!!!
Have you ever tried any of the products from the Shea Moisture line? Whether haircare or skincare? If so, what was your experience like? I'm interested in reading what you have to share!
So today I tried and I like the end result. With this wash, I revisited my Avalon Organics Tea Tree Mint Treatment Shampoo. I had done a review on this product a few months ago. I shampooed with it first to avoid the drying effects I encountered the first time around. And maybe following it up with the Shea Moisture was the right thing to do, as that shampoo leaves my hair full of moisture and well-washed. I rinsed and repeated again, leaving it in a little longer the final time. 
After towel drying my hair a little bit, I used two new products that were given specially to me to try directly by the Bronner Brothers hair company. It is the company's new Tropical Roots line of hair care products. 
