UPDATE! Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Styling Lotion

Hey y'all and Happy September!

As promised, I'm back with an update on the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Styling Lotion. If you read my product review I posted last month about this new collection, you will recall that I LOVED the masque, but I wasn't a huge fan of the styling lotion. It smelled great, and I loved the consistency of it, but I wasn't loving how it made my hair feel or the result I got from styling with it. But because I love the Shea Moisture line so much, I couldn't give up on it quite yet. With this being said, I tried the Styling Lotion out again last week, and this time, I loved the results I got! So here is my updated review on the Jamaican Black Castor Oil Styling Lotion.

This new collection from Shea Moisture is for natural, chemically processed, color treated, or heat styled hair. The lotion has a special blend of oils at its base that restores moisture and shine to dull, damaged, or chemically processed hair. The Jamaican Black Castor oil, organic Shea Butter, and Peppermint all aid in healthy and strong hair growth by working together to protect hair from the damaging effects of heat styling and increasing the hair's resistance to breakage.

Day 1 curls

For styling, I decided to try my go-to curly girl style...a twistout! I co-washed my hair using the Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Conditioner (will review in 2 weeks). After rinsing out the conditioner, I finger detangled and applied the Styling Lotion to my hair. I wanted to see how well this product worked on its own, so I did not use any oils or any other products on my hair for styling! After applying the Lotion, I twisted my hair into two strand twists. I had a total of about 20-25 twists when I was all done. I allowed my twists to air dry, which took about 6 hours total. I was wanted to take them out, but because I wasn't going anywhere for the day and I didn't want to waste a style day, I left them in overnight! So that night I applied a little bit of the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Finishing Elixir to my twists. Because this product is used for styling, it has a slight hold to it to ensure lasting styles. With that hold comes a slight crunch, and because I like soft, loose twistouts, I used the elixir to get rid of some of that crunch. The next morning, I took the twists out, separated, fluffed, and styled!

Day 2 curls

I have to say, I liked this product MUCH better this time around! My hair was extremely hydrated, soft, and my twistout was very defined, but still full, which I loved!! The only thing I didn't necessarily love was that the product left a slight residue that made my hair feel a little like how your hands feel after you play with Play-Doh. I felt it most on my roots while my hair was drying, and then while I wore my twistout, each day that residue feeling became more and more prominent. It was never unbearable or out of control, it just didn't allow my hair to shine as much as I expected. It was almost like there was a powdery matte finish on my hair, and I wasn't a fan of that.

Day 3 curls

Either way, this product gave me great hold! My twistout lasted for 4 days, which, literally, has never ever happened before!! My twistouts usually frizz up, are way out of control and beyond tangled by the end of day one! But this product gave me such a great hold that I didn't have to touch my hair for 4 days, which was amazing! At night, all I did was put my hair into a loose ponytail at the tip top of my head (a pineapple) and slept on my satin pillowcase.
 
    In sum, I would give this product a 9/10. I loved the lasting effect of the Lotion, the consistency of it, the smell, and the hydration I got! What I didn't love was the emerging powdery residue it left behind. However, this isn't something that will keep me from purchasing this product again. There is a serum that is also a part of this collection that I would love to try! I think it may help with the residue feeling and even the crunch that came up while my twists were drying. Overall, I definitely think this product does what it says, so I'm happy with it!

:)

Have you tried any of the products from this collection?! Love them or hate them? Leave your story in the comments along with any questions you have for me! I'd love to hear them! And as always, thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog!

For a walk through on how I do my twistouts, check out my blog post on the review for Cantu for Natural Hair Define & Shine Custard here!








ON THE BLOG NEXT WEEK: I'm trying out the Curly Girl Method (CG Method)!!! Find out why, learn more about it, and see what I think so far!

*Photo from Google images