SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque Review (An Asian Hair Perspective)

Hi Shine and Sparkle Readers,

Sorry about the crazzzy long title. It's not my fault that "SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque"* is a mouth-full. But I have found a miracle product.  I really wanted to review this because most of the literature out there on this product is not for Asian hair.  However, I think everyone with dry/damaged hair should check this baby out.

 Here is the scoop:

1. Great ingredients (or pleasant lack there of). It has no sulfates. No parabens. No phthalates. No paraffin. No gluten. No propylene glycol. No mineral oil. No synthetic fragrance. No PABA. No synthetic color. No DEA. No animal testing.   All that being said, the first few ingredients are water, shea butter, argan oil, vegetable glycerine, wax, sea kelp.  Amazing! 

2. Replaces oiling my hair.  I have moisturizing conditioners and protein conditioners.  However, sometimes your hair needs oil.  You can use pure oils to deep condition your hair using olive, coconut, castor, almond oil, you name it.  If it is an oil, someone has a youtube video on how they use it to help maintain the health of your hair.  All of these methods involve saturating your hair with TONS of oil and letting it sit 30minutes to over-night.  This is a pain it the butt.  No matter what I do it's messy.  Don't get me started about the mess if I try and sleep with it in my hair.  SheaMoisture Deep Treatment Mask to the rescue!  I get the same results just by following the directions.  What are the directions?  Funny you should ask-- "Section clean, wet hair. Apply generously. Use a wide tooth comb to distribute evenly from root to ends. Leave in for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. For deep penetrating treatment, cover hair with a plastic cap and apply moderate heat for up to 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. When using a hair steamer do not cover hair, moist heat will add to masque's hydration."  Now, I'm too lazy to hold a hair dryer to my hair and I certainly do not own a hair steamer. But if you stick to the 5 minute or 30 minute applications without special devices, this still works wonders!

3. Fun Texture & Natural Scent: Ok, so this shouldn't be a huge deal, but I have to say, this strangely "crisp" texture is almost like a body butter.  It just melts into your hair and scalp and makes everything feel lovely.  The scent is pretty much just the smell of shea butter, which is light and vaguely nutty.  I'm happy with it.  It makes me feel like I'm doing nice things to my hair rather than slathering on chemicals.

4. Price:  Can't be mad at about $10USD a 12 oz tub.  You can sometimes find these on sale (or "on offer" if you are British).  I got them "buy one get one free" recently, but more typically I see them "buy one get one 50% off".

5. The Only Sort of-Cons:  While there are very few things wrong with this product I have a few draw backs:

• The awesome melty-ness texture means that you do end up using a lot of product to really feel like you have saturated your hair.  But trust me, it's kind of fun in a weird way to put something of this texture on your hair, so I don't mind. 
• If you have very fine hair or want to have "big hair" volume after using this product, you might struggle with the weight of it.  That being said, if you are looking to air-dry your thick straight Asian hair, it might work out perfectly to make your hair look like you did way more with it.  I know it does with mine.  I get nicely straight hair with healthy shine after using this product.  Win.
• I find that product works best with time and after using a clarifying/sulfate shampoo.  I have noticed that it really improves the integrity of my hair best when not covered with any silicone products before hand. Check out my Silicone in Hair Products 101 post to learn more.  I apply a silicone serum to my hair after using this product to lock in all the goodness.

 Shine & Sparkle!


*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. Also, like all my images, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image or take it down if someone throws a hissy fit.