August 8, 2014

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner Review

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner

I gave into peer pressure and grabbed up some Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner finally! Shea Moisture products are a bit hard to locate at Target around here as they are always sold out. But someone mentioned CVS carries Shea Moisture and I was indeed, lucky enough to find Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner at my local store!

So here’s my thoughts!

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner in theory sounds amazing! This is a leave in or rinse out conditioner created with Shea Butter, Argan Oil, Sea Kelp, and a host of incredible ingredients minus the yucky stuff such as sulfates, parabens, and mineral oil free formula.

It’s formulated to add intense moisture while repairing damage, detangling, and strengthening hair! On paper it sounds wonderful for my slightly dry, long, wavy hair!

I actually hated it.

As you know I’ve been using Carol’s Daughter everything lately so I took a brief break from that line of products to test out Shea Moisture and my hair is a mess. This formula has the texture of a lightweight body lotion. It’s quite creamy and works through hair nice. It has a fresher floral scent I didn’t love nor did I hate either (it just wasn’t something I was all that impressed with). The first thing I noticed was it didn’t even want to rinse well off my hands so you can imagine I was thinking how much build up it would create. After nearly two weeks of use my hair had a ton of build up using this. The product coats hair well but it rinses out poorly. It also makes my hair very “ratty” after my shower. So I have to take special time and attention to detangle it and it actually hurts to brush through it because it created kinda clumps up tangled up hair. On top of that it leaves behind a strange “squeaky” film which makes it difficult to brush through my hair after a shower! It did tame frizz well but since I was doing double duty trying to get the tangles and knots out of my hair I seemed to have created more frizz and my hair looked less than smooth.

Needless to say between the build up, difficult to rinse out formula, and the knots this created I was disappointed. Shea Moisture gets so many raves I’m not yet ready to give up on the brand but I will avoid using Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner in the future.

Apparently my hair hates it!

Tried it?

Do share!

Available now at CVS, Target, Target.com, Walgreens.com, Ulta, and Ulta.com.

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Ash

    I’ve just learned of this brand- not tried the hair products, but my cousin picked up the baby lotion (which smells really good & has a nice mousse like texture) and ended up leaving at my house. My kids (and I!) are loving it! I didn’t know cvs carried this line so ill be checking there as target is an hour away from me! Thanks Muse!

    • Isabella Muse

      I have not tried the baby lotion but it sounds lovely 😀 and I don’t mind using it on myself haha if I can find it. Oh my pleasure. Some Targets carry the entire line but I can never find it at mine but CVS has it a reader told me which is where I find this 😀

      • Gillie

        I love the head-to-toe baby ointment from this line. It smells heavenly, but not that powdery baby scent. I use it on my feet overnight. Good stuff!

  • Heidi

    Hmmm. I actually really like this conditioner and the accompanying shampoo. (I think I like the shampoo better, though.) I have very dry, frizzy/wavy fine hair and I’ll even use this as a leave-in conditioner or put it on before washing my hair as a pre-treatment. I’m the type of person, though, who if I never use styling products, could probably wash my hair twice a month, so you know, it’s dry hair! Your reviews have me curious about more Carol’s Daughter products, though. I really like the one product I have, a hair balm. I just cant’ decide which of those to try next!

    • Isabella Muse

      I wish it worked for me! 🙁 but I’m not giving up def trying more. I hope you decide on a Carol’s Daughter line to try, it’s great for my hair so far, really loving it 😀

      • Heidi

        I do want to try more Carol’s Daughter, especially that spray-in conditioner you reviewed. (It might not have been that, but that’s how it stuck in my head!) I think you have thicker hair than I do, so I bet the coconut-hibiscus might work better for you.

        • Isabella Muse

          def try it heidi 🙂 I’m quite impressed with the line lately 😀 I am def going to try the coconut hibiscus if I can find it 😀

  • Leah

    I LOVE shea moisture – I have used the curly hair line though, not this one. I used the shea deep conditioner too (I think the deep conditioners are where they excel the most). But my hair really drinks up oils and such. It is curly, medium bodied, and I put probably half a teaspoon of natural hair oil and a nickel sized amount of the shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie and it is perfect for my shoulder length hair.

    It is also a very very natural brand, when I used silicone based things my hair went through a gnarly adjustment period while the silicones washed out, sounds similar to your experience. But you test out so many things, all natural or not, that I imagine you know how your hair reacts. 🙂

    Perhaps give the curly haired line a try? I adore that one.

    • Isabella Muse

      I need to try some more products Leah because this one just didn’t work for me 🙁 I’ll def be trying more though! And checking out the curly haired line 😀

  • Gillie

    This was my go-to brand for a while, but when Carol’s Daughter launched at Target, I bought a bottle of the Hair Milk Styling Foam on a whim, and I haven’t touched the Shea Moisture stuff since.

    Growing up as a wurly-head with a mother whose hair wouldn’t even hold a perm, I am way late in discovering that mainstream, mass-market hair care doesn’t work for me. The Shea Moisture brand was like an epiphany, but then I discovered that Carol’s Daughter is even better.

    • Isabella Muse

      I thought I was being a snob but so far my experience has been better with Carol’s Daughter too!

      • Gillie

        No, not a snob – everyone’s hair is different, that’s all.

        Leah had a good point about what I call “silicone detox” as well. I’d forgotten until I read her post, but there was a period of time where my hair was just plain bad because it had started to rely on synthetics, and it had to readjust when I went synthetic-free. My hair and I are very happy now, though. 🙂

        • Isabella Muse

          oh I have so been through that period 🙂 especially when I switched to Lush! It took a sec for my hair to adjust to the lack of cones!

  • diane

    I am a fan of the sheamoisture line but personally for my thick, dry, curly wavy hair the deep conditioning masks work SO MUCH BETTER on my hair than the regular conditioners. Try a masque- I suggest if you can find it the smooth & repair line (lime green label) from target. That one is awesome! 🙂

    • Isabella Muse

      I’ll try it D 😀 thanks!!!!!! def not willing to give up on any of it yet!

      • d

        yay! let me know what you think =D they also have exclusive makeup at Target- the lip products in particular are my favorite!!!

  • Lauren

    I actually love many Shea Moisture products but my hair (Type 3C) hated this one too. The texture is too thick. The Coconut and Hibiscus version (Orange label) is MUCH better. My hair loves it and the texture is great. But the pump is really small and I go through it too quickly. The accompanying Coconut and Hibiscus shampoo is amazing.

    • Isabella Muse

      will try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it sounds like it’ll smell amazings 😀

  • Jan Aiello

    This conditioner did not do much for me but I love their Monoi line. It helps to tame my thick, wavy hair. Their bath products also work great for dry skin.

    • Isabella Muse

      same here! haven’t tried anything else yet but planning on it 🙂

  • Bianca

    I love this stuff. I use it almost everyday. I have very dry, curly, course hair. SheaMoisture makes about the only stuff I can use that produces good results. Can’t live without the deep repairing mask of the same name. I haven’t tried Carol’s Daughter but I have been eyeing it when I go to Target. I also like the body products the hibiscus and coconut line smells so good!

  • Minh

    Hey there Muse! I’ve been reading your blog for a few months and I love it! This review is so awesome because you’re always honest and I appreciate that. I actually love this conditioner until I read your review and OMG … I just realized why my hair is so tangled lately! It’s this product! I’m definitely going to try Carol’s Daughter now. I tried to like the shampoo from the Shea line and I can’t stand it, so now I use that to wash my makeup brushes, haha! Keep the honest reviews coming!

    • Isabella Muse

      aw thanks minh 🙂 <3! same here!!!!!!!!!!! it makes my hair kinda ratty for some reason! I won't give up though still curious about the line! 😀 haha hey at least it makes for a good brush cleaner eh?! <3!

  • Traci

    The Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Shampoo is amazing, but the conditioner lacks something. My hair was very moisturized and easy to comb thru after using the shampoo, but my hair seemed dry after rinsing out the conditioner. I’ll continue to use the shampoo, but maybe I will try the mask instead of the conditioner.

    • Isabella Muse

      i have the same issue, My hair feels ratty after I use it and I find it difficult to brush through 🙁

  • Drea

    I hated it too! I thought it was great right at first. It after two weeks, my hair was gunky and straw like. I could barely brush through it. My face started breaking out all along the sides where my hair rubs my face when I sleep. It made my neck break out too. I stopped using it.

    • Isabella Muse

      🙁 sorry to hear it Drea! Def didn’t like it either. My hair was suffering after I used it, I ended up tossing it in the trash!