“Silicone free serum for thick dry hair”

I bought this product along with a ton others during my Target haul last year. Serums are something I pray I like as I experiment with them because I usually love more than one conditioner (promiscuous :P), but my love for serums is confined to Mythic oil (loyal :P).

Description by SheaMoisture: SheaMoisture’s Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Finishing Elixir conditions dry, damaged hair and controls frizz while adding brilliant shine. Sea Kelp – mineral-rich nutrition seals and smoothes hair cuticles. Argan Oil – restores shine while helping promote hair elasticity. Shea Butter – deeply moisturizes while conditioning hair and scalp.

Price: 9$ for 4 oz. You can buy it here(India) or here(US).

Ingredient Analysis:

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Argan Oil, Vegetable Squalene – Moisturizer, Carrot Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Isopropyl Myristate – Emollient, Avocado Oil, Castor Oil, Sebacic Acid – organic fatty acid released from castor oil, Sea Kelp Extract, Essential Oil Blend, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

There is not one problematic ingredient here. Plus for those of you looking for silicone free products, this is one. There are many oils. MANY. And it should have been a good thing for curly hair right? Let’s see.

CG Friendly: Yes
Texture: Lightweight oil
Smell: The smell is way too strong for my liking. It’s very musky, warm and extremely strong on the nose. I wouldn’t have bothered much if the smell faded after sometime. But the smell lingers in the hair for hours.
Packaging: A slim plastic spray bottle which makes it easy to disperse onto your palms.

Performance:

I spray this product onto my palm about 2-3 times. Here is a post on how I use serums – How to apply products and scrunch curly hair and here is a post with my full curly hair care routine – My curly hair routine .

+ It is full of great oils that my hair usually loves and something that curly hair requires.

+ No irritating or drying ingredients. No silicones (for girls following the CG method).

+ Moisturizes hair and imparts shine. It is perfect for dry hair.

– Even with such great qualities, I don’t like it much. The reason being the old saying – too much of something is not good! There are way too many oils and my hair looks very very oily and greasy post use. Even with just 2 sprays.

– The excess of oils actually causes my hair to frizz up

What do I do then? Too many products lying on my shelf to waste :|. So what I do with this product now is that I mix it with a not so great conditioner (which doesn’t have too many nourishing oils).

In short: SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Finishing Elixir is a rich product with many great oils which will suit thick coily hair. It may be an overdose for wavy and curly hair.