cantu shea butter leave in conditioning repair cream

Hi guys,

One thing I would say I miss about my non-existent hair routine before going natural was that I could use 30-60 minutes to wash my hair AND dry it.

Nowadays, that basically borders on impossible.

I really like the feel of cold water on my scalp and the softness of freshly washed hair. If not for these I actually do not enjoy wash day because, without sugar-coating it, I am lazy and would much rather use my free time to do what lazy people do.

In case you were ever wondering what I do on wash days, let me give you the low-down.

1. Detangle:

I sometimes shampoo before I detangle but these days I mostly detangle first.

If I’m shampooing first, I shampoo and then finger detangle my wet/damp hair in sections with my deep conditioner and twist each detangled section. After I’m done detangling and everything is in twists, I put on a shower cap for some time(deep condition).

However, if I’m detangling first, I take my dry hair in sections, put conditioner in it (or spray with a mix of conditioner, water and/or apple cider vinegar as seen in the picture) then finger detangle, twist that section and move to another until everything is detangled and in twists.

See how creepy my hand looks after detangling.

For now, I’m not sure which method I prefer but I’m leaning towards method 2 because it can be quite tasking to reach your scalp properly when shampooing loose hair like in method 1.

2. Shampoo:

I proceed to rinse my hair as best I can and shampoo it focusing on my scalp.

3. Deep condition:

I usually sit around and wait till my hair is damp before I deep condition (but that’s because most times, I don’t use a towel/t-shirt to blot excess water so I have to sit and drip till the hair becomes damp. If I have a towel/t-shirt, I blot out the excess water after shampooing and proceed to deep condition). I apply my deep conditioner of choice that day, put on my shower cap a.k.a nylon bag and go about my business for the next hour or more. Then I rinse it out.

4. ACV rinse:

After rinsing out the deep conditioner, I dilute apple cider vinegar with water and pour it over my hair making sure it gets everywhere. I wait a minute or two and then pour a bowl of plain water over my hair. Don’t ask me why I do this step because me sef I no know.

Loosened one twist to look at my hair. Looks clean to me

5. Moisturize and seal:

I sit around with my hair still in twists till it dries a bit.

When it’s damp, I proceed to loosen a twist, apply Cantu and follow it up with cocoa butter(or Shea butter) focusing on my ends and then put it in a loose Bantu knot or flat twist so I can differentiate it from those I haven’t moisturized. I do this till I’m done with everything. I then loosen each Bantu knot or flat twist and put in back in a regular twist so I can have a twist out the next day. (Alternatively, I do a firm Bantu knot/flat twist after moisturizing each section so that I don’t have to loosen it after moisturizing).

6. Put on my satin bonnet:

If it’s night by this time, I put on my bonnet and head to bed.

I was pretending to yawn in the picture and ended up really yawning

And that’s wash day for me.

What do you do on wash day? Please share your routine.

Almost finished

Today I bring you a product review.

This product is pretty popular among naturals! I’d been hearing so much about this product and its awesomeness and I just had to taste the soup to know if it was indeed delicious.

Product Claims: “Provides intense moisture to leave hair soft and manageable. Formulated for damaged, dry or coarse hair… Mends hair breakage, repairs split ends and reduces frizz, protects hair from heat damage, hydrates and moisturizes with shea butter and natural oils. Great for relaxed, natural, texturized, coloured or permed hair”

I can’t say much for it’s claims towards heat damage, split ends, frizz and breakage as those aren’t necessarily concerns of mine. But it lives up to its claims about dry, coarse hair becoming softer and more manageable. This product does not discriminate! It is for all! As a matter of fact, my sister and cousin(both relaxed) keep stealing out of it both for their hair and their weaves. So this product aims to accommodate you no matter your hair type.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua, Eau), Canola Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Glycerin, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Actinidia Chinensis (kiwi) fruit extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) flower extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfoamate, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate, Silk Amino Acids, Panthenol, DMDM Hydantoin, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-4, Polyquaternium-32, Mineral Oil, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Sodium Hyaluronate, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride

Thank you copy and paste! (But I had to go through to ensure it was correct so I did some work too).
As you can see, the first ingredient is water which is great(if not necessary) for a leave in/moisturizer. It’s also full of ‘beta beta'(great) ingredients! I tried to highlight the ingredients that I thought people might be avoiding. It has Glycerine in case you’re staying away from humectants (i.e things that pull moisture into your hair). It also has silicones and mineral oil but they are at the bottom of the list which means the product contains little of them. I recently learnt that some people stay away from Propylene Glycol so that’s why I’ve highlighted it in case.

How I used it: I used this mostly on freshly washed hair( As the ‘C’ in the LCO method. Tried it as LOC too but it worked better as LCO for me). Also used this on damp hair(lightly spritzed with water) during the week. Also on dry hair.

Out of all, my favourite is the freshly washed method. My hair stays moisturized for days and I can refresh it by spritzing with water alone or spritzing with water and sealing with oil/shea butter. My least favourite method is on dry hair as it takes time for my hair to absorb it this way(which may leave white patches for some minutes) and it leaves a weird feeling too(sticky? Squishy? Not sure).

PROS:
–Moisturizing: Moisture that actually lasts! Someone told me my hair felt like a cloud! My sister loves this stuff because she says it makes everything soft; as I mentioned earlier she and my cousin tend to steal it for their relaxed hair and their weaves.

–Good Scent: I know scents are relative and depend on the “smeller” but I love the smell of this stuff! It smells sweet and floral. I was really surprised when I saw that fragrance wasn’t among the first few ingredients. My favourite thing about the smell is that it helps me catch anybody at home who uses it without my permission *evil laugh*.

–Value for money: This stuff comes in a big tub(16 OZ/ 453g). And a little goes a long way with it. So it lasts. If you are heavy handed sef, it leaves a weird feeling behind for you. So you best use it in moderation.

CONS:
Ingredients: There are some chemicals in it with names that they probably only use for spelling bees at Harvard. It also has mineral oil and silicones. On the flip side, it has some good ingredients as well and the good ones are higher up the ingredient list than the bad ones.

Price: Price of course is relative as one man’s 1 million is another man’s 1 kobo. But this stuff is not for team cheapskate. It ranges between N1800- N2500 depending on where you buy it.

Absorption: It takes a while to absorb into the hair mostly when used on dry hair and low porosity hair. Also leaves a weird feeling if used heavy handedly or on dry hair.

MY RATING: 5/5. It has lived up to the hype and attained staple status for me.

I’ve even gone on to tell my friends, both relaxed and natural, to try it.

Where to buy:
– Casa Bella outlets(Palms Lekki, Surulere mall, Ikeja city mall, Ajose Adeogun VI, Polo Park mall Enugu, Grand Towers Mall Abuja)
– Olori.com.ng
– thebeautyboon.com
– hairbeautyhub.com (they have the salon size)

I hope my reviews are helpful to you guys. I know I don’t really go into the sciencey stuff but I try to make sure I’m honest and I relate to you how my hair felt with the product.

I was in Accra recently and I picked up 2 or 3 things that I’ll share in a post soon hopefully. I’m also currently in self-made crochet braids (yay!) and I will post about this also. I’ve also opened a Youtube channel! I haven’t posted anything yet but I’ll keep you in the know. I’m also considering doing the blog’s first giveaway; it’ll probably be a small one though.

Anything eventful happening with your hair lately? New styles? DIYs? Products? Anything at all? Do share!

Stay safe guys!
Hugs & kisses.