Newly converted curly haired coworker who I have mentioned before kept talking about this brand, but I wasn't going to try any of the products due to the lack of success I've had with curl-specific products before.
But then I saw that a lot of the products were shea-based. Wow, talk about a blast from the past! A million years ago in internet years, shea butter what the absolute rave in the longhair circuit. This was The It Ingredient for the first many years I spent on hair groups and forums. I was really frustrated with this, because I had trouble getting products with it myself. I think I actually had to buy/trade with some other LHC member (Or was it on a Yahoo group?) to try a shea product for myself the first time!
As I wrote: It's a million years ago in internet years. International shipping wasn't really the standard, and so the products available to me were very different. Back then I really struggled with finding interesting hair products because 95% of supermarket products and even salon products were made for the fine and volume-challenged native Scandinavian hair. I don't think I need to explain just how far from my hairtype that is. Every time I ran into something different, I was super excited about it.
I remember the first time I ran into a product containing cholesterol at this chain called Rema1000. It's a discount supermarket chain in Norway and Denmark, and their "thing" was to begin with, that the store only carried a thousand different items to keep the price down (Hence the name). Some times they have these limited time products, often from surplus or going out of stock from their suppliers. I think the conditioner was from Wella? It was a big, bottom-heavy 500 ml bottle with a screw on lid and a beige/blue colour theme. Anyways. I loved it, so I went all over town to buy every single conditioner in every single store I could. I totally blew my budget for the month on this, but I had no regrets. Ah, back when I was a poor engineering student working towards my first bachelor. Wow, that's so long ago.
Like,
this long ago....
Strangely, now that I'm typing this down, it makes me nostalgic for the time when I couldn't just order a shipment of Korean 헤어 컨디셔너 and have it delivered by DHL before the end of the week.
And a time where I couldn't just swipe a credit card and not even consider the impact on my budget. As frustrating as it was at that time, I miss the excitement of getting my hands on a product that was so hard to access, and took up a portion of my budget for me.
So, boring backstory of why I ended up getting these products anyways aside...
Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Conditioning Repair Cream ingredient list
Aqua (Water), Cetearyl Alcohol, Canola Oil, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Parfum (Fragrance), Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyquaternium-10, Sodium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfoamate, Polyquaternium-37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate / Dicaprate, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Panthenol, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate, Silk Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Collagen (Peptone), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract, Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Water, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Methyltaurate, Hydrolysed Wheat Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Benzyl salicylate, Coumarin, Limonene, Hexyl cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool.
Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Deep Treatment Masque ingredient list
Aqua (Water), Canola Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl alcohol, Beeswax, Pafrum (Fragrance), Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Shea Butter, Ceteareth -20, Gl
I'm going to compare the two conditioners on a few different factors:
First impressions
Effect: Shine and manageability
Ingredient analysis and interesting ingredients such as "actives": Oils, fruits, keratin, sunscreen
Shea Butter Hydrating Cream Conditioner
First impressions
This one has a really funny smell to it. Like the toner we use at the printers at work. It's not unpleasant, just really odd. Very... Not-conditioner-like?
Good texture to work with. Not too thick, not too thin.
I like the bottle size of 400 ml. Always a really big plus to get a decent bottle!
Effect
Mildly disappointed, sort of what I expected I guess? It didn't really clean so well, it didn't really add shine, it didn't really make my hair feel more manageable. Just kind of meh, really.
Aqua (Water), Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum (Fragrance), Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Lactic Acid, Isododecane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyester-11, Panthenol, Disodium EDTA, Benzyl Benzoate.
I ended up feeling unqualified to really write anything specific about this ingredient list, because there
are so many unfamiliar ingredients on it. It was quite weird actually. I mean, I can google the ingredients and write about them based on that, but there were so many I don't think I have ever really encountered before? Like, this product contains polyester. Is it... like the polyester we see in clothing? I'm so confused.
COSDNA is pretty positive towards the ingredient list though.
Avocado Hydrating Cream Conditioner
First impressions
This one has that classic conditioner smell to it. Sort of clean and fresh, like fabric softener or something. Not too strong, not to weak. Not a particular scent you can put your finger on. Sort of soapy maybe?
Good texture to work with for this one too. Not too thick, not too thin.
Effect
This one was just as much meh as the other one. I mean, maybe my hair did feel hydrated, not that I'm really sure what that's supposed to feel like?
It didn't even manage to get rid of all the flakeys I had on my scalp, so, yea, meh to this one.
Aqua (Water), Cetyl Alcohol, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glyceryl Stearate, Arachidyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Parfum (Fragrance), Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lactic Acid, Isododecane, Polyester-11, Disodium EDTA, Panthenol, Benzyl salicylate, Geraniol, Hexyl cinnamal, Linalool.
I loved that the product that advertised itself as an "Avocado conditioner" also had shea butter in it. I mean, yes, it also says shea butter on the front of it, but way less prominent than the avocado.
Benzyl salicylate is a sunscreen and I'm an absolute sucker for sunscreen in my hair products. Skin can (To some degree) heal itself after sun damage, for hair that damage is forever. SO I tend to seek out products with sunscreen when I can.
In conclusion..
Lady Igor says
I'm not really impressed with either, which I expected to begin with. So no surprise there. But hey, it was fun with the nostalgia is brought on. However, if I have to recommend one it will have to be the Cantu Avocado Hydrating Cream Conditioner for containing shea butter, avocado oil and a sunscreen ingredient.
Love the retro pic. Lady Igor...the early years!
ReplyDeleteHi, sorry I know this isn’t related to this specific article, but as I was reading your “about this blog” and “about my hair and I” posts, I saw that you referenced two acronyms that I wasn’t familiar with and I was wondering if you could explain them or what they stand for? Apologies if they’re commonly known in a different country and I’m just ignorant of it, but I was curious as to what LHC and UTT stood for? Also, thank you for such a great blog, it’s the only one I’ve found that includes information about the two types of sebum on our scalps. I actually had another question and seeing as this is your most recent post, I was hoping you might see this; My question is if having a sensitive scalp can look like dandruff? I’ve tried tons of different products and techniques and can’t seem to get rid of the white flakes even when I literally have just stepped out of the shower. I feel like scritching unfortunately just irritates my scalp or doesn’t work well as even after scritching before a shower I still will get flakes either immediately after the shower or after just one day. I’ve tried chelating, clarifying, and dandruff shampoo as well as scalp scrubs and scalp rubbers/brushes to use in the shower as well as super gentle fragrance free shampoos to see if my sensitive skin was what was causing the flakes to appear, I’ve even trying oil cleansing on my scalp using my facial oil cleanser to see if it would work, but nothing seems to help and I’m worried about this being a prolonged issue and causing damage to my hair growth and would appreciate any of your other articles that you could point me to aside from the ones I’ve found if they might have an answer or if you could provide any insight or thoughts that you may have. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Raindrops! I’m a friend of Igors and I struggle with scalp issues and sensitive scalp so much! For start, you should see a dermatologist or at least a medical practitioner. You may simply have some form of an infection that will clear up with topical shampoo. None of us here are in the medical profession so diagnosing isn’t something we can offer. But, I can tell you my story about dandruff/seborrhoea dermatitis. That can come and go—usually if you are stressed or your diet changes, it can trigger a flare. I also have eczema behind my ears and it will sometimes break and weep. For me, I’ve found washing daily with a mild clarifying shampoo very helpful. I use a moisturizing conditioner on the ends.
DeleteDandruff shampoos have different ingredients . I’ve used zinc based ones with good results, but if you are diagnosed with this, remember you need to let the product sit on your scalp for 2 mins. The cause for dandruff is believed to be a fungus that lays just below the scalp. The medication in the shampoo needs to absorb to get rid of it. It will take some time as well and the itching may get worse before it gets better. I’ve used Head And shoulders for mild cases, and NIzoral for medium ones. Note that NIzoral can cause discolouration to color treated hair. I found that NIzoral made my scalp itch bad, but it worked faster to remove the problem. H&S takes a bit longer, but I found it better for my scalp. That being said , it dried my ends out badly. So, you need to make sure you find a balance with this and a conditioner or even rotate with another shampoo.
The fact you say you have flakes after washing could mean psoriasis. That’s a medical condition that is manageable but needs to be properly diagnosed. psoriasis is your skin cells reproducing and shedding at a much faster rate. That can lead to a plaque type build up on the scalp.
Do you use gels or mousse on your hair? These can all build up over time and cause excess flakes. Is your scalp naturally dry or oily? Oily scalps /over production of sebum is usually another cause for flakes.
The best thing to do is start at your doctor and then, if they find it’s not a medical concern or dandruff that will respond to over the counter shampoos/treatments, then you can start to find out what works for you.
I hope that helps! :)
Oh wow, my readers are fantastic people! <3
DeleteThank you so much to Indy500 and Darkhorse for helping so quickly. You guys are awesome!
I’m not sure what else I can add for you, Raindrop? :)
Actually I have been considering taking the sebum article up again and taking a new look at it, maybe put some more work into. It seems like the topic is something people search for a lot, so maybe I should…
Anyways, I’m not really sure I’m qualified to answer this… Darkhorse gave a fantastic answer and has a lot of experience dealing with it.
But here goes: No. Sensitive scalp should not look like dandruff. Scalp is not really that different from skin, and sensitivity should show more like redness, itching and burning feelings, not like having white flakes immediately after having washed. It must be really stressful and frustrating to have flakes pop up so quick after washing! To me, that sounds unfortunately like a medical issue.
A lot of people find that any sort of scratching or brushing really provokes both flakes and oil, so you’re not alone with that.
Hm, I seem to vaguely remember some blogger I followed would use her skincare exfoliating acids on her scalp? Have you tried that? I wonder if The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution would stain your hair? I quite like that one. It’s strong, but my skin actually tolerates it, and it freaks out at almost everything!
I have very sensitive skin too, but strangely my scalp seems to love the super gentle CO washing and is at peace with that. I have to shampoo like once a year when my seasonal flakes show up (Autumn, early winter when it’s cold and wet outside and hot and dry inside) The rest of my skin though…. Yikes. I have been desperate enough to try CO on my face, and no, that didn’t work.
Well, that was a lot of words for “I’m not sure but I really want to help you”
Big hug!
LHC >> Long Hair Community (an internet forum for long hair people that has had its share of interpersonal turmoil and conflict over the years.)
ReplyDeleteUTT >> Untamed Tresses (a now defunct internet forum for people who split off from LHC because of above. Never did know what happened, one day it was just gone)