Wednesday 13 August 2014

Product Review: Shea Moisture Co-wash Conditioning Cleanser



This review has been a looooong time coming. I was gifted this product by Amadiva Salon on Riverside Drive about 6 months ago and I was super excited to try it out. 

I decided to test it on my daughter as my hair would have eaten that tiny bottle (237ml) for lunch so the little one lucked out. 

What's In It:

- Water
- Coconut Oil
- Shea Butter
- Mango Butter
- Olive Oil
- Wheat Germ Oil
- Cetyl Esters (thickener/emollient)
- Kaolin Clay (cleanse/detoxify)
- Grapeseed Oil 
- Jojoba Oil
- Behentrimonium Chloride (conditioner)
- Hibiscus Extract
- Willow Bark Extract
- Neem Oil
- Cetyl Alcohol (emulsifier)
- Vegetable Protein
- Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (thickener)
- Steary Alcohol (emulsifier)
- Aloe Vera Juice
- Vitamin E
- Black Soap (clarifier)
- Sea Salt
- Rossmary Extract
- Caprylyl Glycol (preservative)

The two ingredients of note are the Kaolin clay and the black soap, although this is very low down in the list. These are cleansing ingredients that would not ordinarily be found in a conditioning product.  

How to use it
The instructions say massage into wet hair from root to tip, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, rinse and repeat as needed. 

What does it look like?



It looks like a regular conditioner, has a sweet, subtle smell and is white with a thick, creamy consistency. As it's less runny than the conditioner I usually use to wash my daughter's hair, I find I have to apply more than I normally would. It has a very, very slight lather when it's worked in. 

Cost
It retails for 1500/- at Amadiva and if you buy it stateside it goes for about $11. 

The Verdict:
Admittedly, the first time I used it I didn't really like it because I tried to detangle straight away using a wide tooth comb and it didn't have enough slip. After leaving it on the recommended 3-5 minutes, it was better but still not as easy to detangle with as my regular conditioner so it got relegated to the 'maybe not' pile. 

Fast forward 5 months later; we were planning a long vacay so I figured, what better time to give it a second shot. I have been using it daily for the last two weeks after a full day of swimming and although my regular conditioner still has more slip, I have to admit that it is quite good for detangling and the hair feels cleaner than a regular cowash. It feels like there is less product left on the hair after rinsing, without the squeaky clean feeling of a full-on shampoo. 

Would I buy it again?
Probably not. Don't get me wrong, I actually really like this product. It acts as a mild cleanser but still leaves the hair feeling soft and conditioned. If you're the type of person who doesn't like product buildup but wouldn't shampoo more than once a week then this is the product for you. 

The problem is the size of the bottle. Ofcourse frequency of use, hair length and density would determine how much use you would get out of a bottle but on my medium length, medium density hair, this 237ml bottle would probably only last 3 washes. 4 if I was being frugal. Fine if I only wash once a month but not so much for those who wash two or more times a week. Until Shea Moisture produces this in a larger bottle, it just doesn't translate to value for money in my opinion. 

2 comments:

  1. Great review. How did it perform on your LO's hair?

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    1. It works well, it always feels cleaner than a regualr cowash. The slip is less though so this evening for instance after two days without a wash her hair was so tangled and even after leaving this on for 5 minutes, I needed to add some KCKT on for detangling. Nice product though.

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