Product Review: Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Shampoo

I am currently on my second bottle of Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo - the second in about 6-8 months. It is an excellent shampoo that could last you a long time as a little goes a long way. As most naturals do, I only wash my hair with shampoo every so often; I more often co-wash. So that is why a single bottle can last a long time.

My Hair

I'm a 4B natural (although I did relax my hair last year for awhile). While my texture changes slightly in the front and crown, I still consider myself 4B all around as that is the hair I try to create my hair care regimen around. I have not always been natural; in fact my journey is only about 1 1/2 years long including the relaxer relapse. So I'm very new to being natural.

Shea Moisture products have been great for my hair type, especially the shampoo. Here are the immediate benefits I found:

• Very soft hair immediately after washing. In fact, my hair was so soft and smooth I was tempted not to deep condition (just of course I did). The Moisture Retention Shampoo, in my opinion, is as close to being a co-wash as possible while still actually classifying as a shampoo.
• Smoothed cuticle, down to the tips.
• Pleasant, sweet smell that is not overwhelming.
• Clean hair and scalp without feeling stripped of oils. This is the biggest benefit!

I wash my hair as often as I can. In fact, I was a little bummed when I recently got my natural hair straightened (with heat not a relaxer) because I realized it would only last until my next wash, and I wash 2x weekly. So much for that! :)

But as I stated earlier, I co-wash one of those days and wash with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo the other day. This shampoo is conditioning enough to use weekly. Of course it depends on how much product you use, how porous your hair is, etc. I live in the desert, have fine strands, a whole bunch of them, and my hair is 4B and suffers from dryness. For me, washing is KEY because my hair needs water in huge quantities.

So, once a week, here is how I use Moisture Retention:

• Pre-poo with coconut oil, or castor oil, or a hot oil treatment. In the summer I mix an oil with honey. Very rarely do I pre-poo overnight. Usually I just let the oil saturate my hair for an hour or so.
• Wash very gently with the shampoo. I sometimes let it sit for a few minutes. I love the way this shampoo makes my hair feel!
• Deep condition with a thick, moisturizing conditioner. Recently I have been using the Deep Treatment Masque (as you see pictured) but truthfully it is not the best deep conditioner I have ever used. I prefer the Organic Root Olive Oil Deep Penetrating Conditioner; I will do a separate review on that. At times I will detangle at this stage but I do not spend a lot of time detangling.
• Moisturize & Seal
• Style and go

I do not apply heat to my hair unless it is a deep condition under a dryer/heater. Only my stylist applies heat, which means it is a rare thing. My dry hair does not do well with it, and I like my wash-n-go's. Maybe other people think I look ridiculous but I don't care. :)

Not everyone gives this shampoo 2 thumbs up. I like the video below; the vlogger in the video reviews Moisture Retention first and gives it 1 1/2 thumbs up; she actually says it does not help her hair retention moisture as much as she thought it would given the title (she says her hair felt stripped).

This is PERFECT example of why you must try things for yourself and also realize that even though she and I have the same hair type, our hair still responds differently to different things. My hair doesn't feel stripped at all after using this shampoo.

I wanted you to see both sides so you can have a rounded perspective.

This product used to be labeled "Organic" and what's interesting is that I FORGOT that the first bottle I bought of this DID say Organic. It doesn't say that anymore. Apparently the company was sued for saying that; from what I gather, not all of the ingredients in it are organic.

Read an interesting blog post about that.

For me, organic is not crucial (for hair supplies). It is certainly better, but if some of the ingredients in the bottle are not organic, I am okay with that.