I have been using Creme of Nature's Professional Moisture Extreme Conditioner since I started my healthy hair journey. I use it as my DC and I even used to detangle with it as it is quite thick with lots of slip.
However, it is a product that has never really sat easy with me. I am a modified curly girl. Modified because, although I co-wash and use silicone- and sulfate-free products, I do not use gel. Not for lack of trying, it just really doesn't do much for me.
So I wasn't super happy using this conditioner because it has silicones. That's plural. I didn't realise it in the beginning because I really knew very little about ingredients, I didn't read labels and I literally just asked 'what products should I use?', I was told and I bought them. It wasn't until many, many months later when I started to learn my hair a little more, to understand ingredients and to really start to care what was in my products that something made me read the label again and shock, horror, I saw the cones.
By this point I had been using it diligently every week for quite a while. So here's my other confession. I didn't even really like it in the first place. I felt that, as a DC, it really didn't seem to do anything for my hair in terms of softening it etc but, as my hair generally doesn't respond to products, I just figured that at least I was getting the benefit, even if I couldn't tell.
So why on earth would I carry on using it after all that, you ask? Well. Finding an affordable, locally available, curly-girl friendly, moisturizing, deep conditioner is really, really difficult. Someone told me III Sisters of Nature have one available locally but at 1,600/- for a 16oz tub and with my big head (I'm talking Oprah huge) and heavy hand, I would probably go through two tubs a month. Not that Creme of Nature is that cheap mind. It's 1400/- for a 32oz bottle. But it lasts about 4-6 applications so I buy one, at most, once a month.
The alernative is making my own but my DIY attempts have left me with egg on my face. Literally. Bananas and I are no longer friends. Long story.
So I have carried on using it, even though a few months ago, I felt I absolutely HAD to sulphate shampoo my hair as it felt like I had massive build-up and my old faithfuls weren't having as much impact on my hair as before.
But yesterday was the final straw. After having my protein revelation, I decided to look through the ingredients of all the products I own to see which, if any, had protein. The only one I found which did (apart from my Shea Moisture Curl and Style Milk and Curl Smoothie), was this conditioner. Nestled near the bottom was hydrolysed wheat protein. But it wasn't the only thing tucked away at the bottom. There, staring right at me, were the words 'paraffinum liquidum'. MINERAL OIL! How could I have missed it?!
Now, although I have turned into a little bit of the ingredient police, if it had worked amazingly for my hair, I might have let it slide. People are always talking about listening to your hair so I would have listened if my hair loved it. But what my hair is really saying about it is 'meh'. And I can no longer live with 'meh'.
So now I'm back on the hunt for a moisturising deep conditioner. I'll finish the bottle, because I'm cheap like that, but I will start experimenting with some home recipes. Sans banana. Wish me luck.
Does anyone else use this conditioner? What are your experiences with it?
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