PRODUCT REVIEW: Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioner
Whether you’re a seasoned natural or a few months in the game, I’m sure you’ve stumbled across this product whilst doing the usual rounds on the natural hair blogs and YouTube channels. I will admit, there is a lot of information out there on this product, which is probably the main reason why I bought it in the first place.
When I first went natural, I’d watch all these YouTube guru’s and read all these natural hair blogs ranting and raving about different products, and how these were the ‘holy grail’ and the reason why their hair is thriving. I immediately would feel disadvantaged because majority of the products that they would refer to were not available in Kenya. However necessity is the mother of all invention, and so I learned to make do with what I could find, meaning my hair relied less on products and more on natural oils and water.
So I’ll come clean and say that this is not a product that I needed. My hair has survived, better yet, thrived all these years with my DIY leave-in conditioner recipe (which I’ve been meaning to share for the longest time). Part of me is actually glad that most of those products were not available, because I will admit, I am a recovered* product junkie! Imagine having access to all these products; some good, some bad, some horrible, and having to weed your way through each of them. Definitely not pocket friendly!
But, it was a much-coveted product for me so I didn’t think twice about purchasing when I saw it on the Super Cosmetics shelves. Let’s take a closer look shall we…
STATS:
What: Cantu Shea Butter Leave- In Conditioner
How Much: KES 795 for 453g (160z)
Where: Super Cosmetics Westlands Branch. (I’ve seen it at both Koinange St. and Mama Ngina St. Branches too)
Claim: Provides intense moisture to leave hair soft and manageable. Formulated for damaged, dry or coarse hair.
Reality: Right off the bat, I really liked the way it smells. The scent reminds me of the Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut Conditioner which I live for! To get a proper feel of the product I did try it on its own a couple of times to see how my hair truly reacted to the product (without adding any oils like I usually do with my DIY leave in recipe). It didn’t quite give me the “intense moisture” I was expecting, and it did not leave my hair feeling as soft and manageable as compared to my DIY mix. However, when I did mix it with my go-to oils (Coconut oil, Olive oil and Castor oil) the result was amazing! I found that my hair was definitely more manageable and retained moisture and shine for a longer period of time.
Because my hair is in protective twists 3 out of 4 weeks in a month, I need to re-moisturize at least once or twice a week to maintain optimum moisture levels. I found that even after a week of applying the Cantu Shea Butter leave-in and oil mix, my hair was still moisturized and shiny which is miraculous for my dry 4c hair.
VERDICT: I would definitely recommend this product, but I personally feel that I got the best results working with this product when I mixed it with oils like I usually do with my own leave-in conditioner. I would also recommend that you seal all the moisture from your leave-in with a butter (such as my DIY Whipped Shea Butter Mix) in order to keep your tresses moisturized for a longer period of time.
Have you tried this product? If so, what are your thoughts on it? I’d love to hear your experience…
Happy Nappy Hair,
YvetteKemi
I am going to try mixing up the cantu products with oil. I love how they make my hair feel, and love the scent too, but I am having small problems with flaking. Hopefully, I will get it sorted. I am glad I stumbled upon this post!:-)
Please let me know how this works out for you Deb. 🙂
xx
I have tried this Cantu Leave in & liked it, but I’m sure with adding in oil I would love it. On another note, your hair looks Beautiful. Looks Healthy & moist and I just LOVE the style. :-))
I always want to know hw I can treat my own nature hair now I find u,ur Hair look amazin So here is my Question how do I use Apple cider vinager washing ma Hair?
Plz Help
This is my holy grail moisturiser. It leaves my hair soft and manageable.
Loving your article. Where can I find Shea butter and do you have an article on the DIY Shea butter?
Hi, I know I’m abit late with this but can I also get other products like the Cantu Shea Curling Cream at SuperCosmetics as well? And if so, for how much?
Hi Olivia,
I saw the entire Cantu Shea range the last time I was at Super Cosmetics, it was a while ago so I’m sorry I don’t quite recall the prices. Do pop in to one of their branches and have a look. The one in Westlands and on Mama Ngina St. are usually well stocked.
xx
Love your lipstick here. Which brand is it?
Where can I find the whole range of Cantu hair products in Nairobi? I have never used them and after reading your review I feel this could be my panacea.
Hi Flo,
You can find them at Super Cosmetics stores, both in the CBD and in Westlands. 🙂
xx
Love your hair…will try the leave in,was looking for one.At the moment I just diy with water,conditioner & honey.
Thank you so much Arti!! I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Do try this leave-in out and let me know how it works for you. How does the conditioner and honey mix work on your hair? Its definitely something i’ll have to try out! Thanks for sharing! Do keep reading and take care.
xx
Hi, where can i get Avacado oil?
Hi Mpala,
Are you in Nairobi? If so, you can try the Healthy U at the Sarit Centre, Ground Floor. Hope that helps 🙂
xx
Your hair is so gorgeous!! As for Cantu ive tried the other leave in. Im not sure if the formulation is the same but the packaging is different. It was awesome and my hard to please 4C hair behaved like a pussy cat. I loved it so much that im trying to grab all the products in the range (one at a time though)
Hey Jaykev!
Thank you so much sweetie, I really appreciate you taking time to read the blog and leave your opinion. I agree, there are very few products out there that help me retain moisture as much as this leave-in. I love the consistency of the product too, I feel like it’s absorbed really well into my thick 4c strands. I am yet to try other products from the Cantu range, but I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations for which ones i should try. Do keep reading! 🙂
xx
I always use olive oil as a pre-wash conditioner, I’m always sceptical about leaving something, afraid it might make it really greasy. But now that I’ve read your review, I might go and find me some shea butter conditioner 😉
Hi Esther,
I pre-poo with olive oil too, as well as use it to oil rinse after a shampoo. My hair is naturally dry and needs all the moisture I can get, so adding in some extra oils to my leave-in conditioner helps me retain moisture for longer periods of time. Do try it out and let me know what you think. 🙂
xx
I use it every time I wash my hair and like your experience I have better results when I use it along with my oils!
Hi Breyanaa!
I’m glad someone out there seconds my opinion. My hair is much softer and feels more moisturised when I mix the Cantu leave-in with oils. What oils do you use in your mix? Thank you for taking the time to read and share your experience. Do share and keep Reading!
xx
No problem! Oil just works wonders by itself but I use olive & coconut oil. Do you mix yours inside the leave-in or just use them together?
I actually mix the oils in together with the leave-in, and then apply it to my hair at once. Depending on how my hair feels and it’s needs at the time, I could mix both Olive oil and Coconut oil in with the leave in and then seal my ends with either Shea Butter or Castor oil to lock in all that moisture.