REVIEW: Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Hair Masque
This is the Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Hair Masque from Shea Moisture. It retails for $13.99 CAD. This product is described as an intense deep conditioning treatment that gives the hair strands moisture and nutrients for stronger, healthier, smooth, frizz-free hair. The instructions say to apply to clean wet hair and distribute with a wide tooth comb and leave in for 5 minutes. For a deeper treatment, cover hair with a plastic cap and apply heat for 30 minutes (note, if you’re steaming your hair, do not apply a cap).
Ingredients
As the saying goes, you can really tell how well a product is going to work based on the ingredients. The potent would be listed as the first 5 or so ingredients. The list is as follows: Water, Cetyl Alcohol (according to Paula’s Choice Ingredient Dictionary it is a GOOD thickening agent), Cocos Nucifera (aka a type of Coconut Oil - potent in protein), Behentrimonium Methosulfate (I had to google this - it is a chemical that adds to the slip of the product), Shea Butter, Vegetable Glycerin. Judging from the ingredients we already know that this product is best to be used in the Summer seasons.
My Hair Texture
As always, lets start off with a brief description of my hair texture so you can better gauge how it would work for you. I have sparce density 4B/C kinky-curly low-porosity hair. I have virgin hair, it has never been colour treated nor permed.
First Impressions
At first glance, this product is really, really thick. For my 4B/C kinky-curly low-porosity hair, the thicker the better. It also smells absolutely amazing. It’s not an overwhelmingly fragrant smell, but the scent is a sweet natural aroma. As instructed, your hair has to be wet, I mean dripping wet when you apply this product to get the most out of it. So have a spray bottle on hand if necessary.
My Experience
I used this mask after applying my the Aussie Moist Avocado Shampoo in place of my conditioner. My hair was dripping wet when I applied the mask and the slip was so good. This product is truly activated by water, because I could really tell the difference when my hair was dampening vs dripping over my shoulders. I would recommend applying while still in the shower.
On wash day, I de-tangle my hair once during my weekly take-down so my hair was already twisted into 8 sections. This made it so easy to apply while in the shower. I put on my heat cap and sat under the dryer (with a plastic cap) on for 30 minutes. When I was done my twists were thoroughly hydrated, it had that juicy bounce.
It rinsed out very nicely and my hair was so bouncy and soft.. I then put heat tamer and leave in on my hair, and blow dried. I typically add a styler or a a butter to my ends after blowdrying, but I was astonished at how soft my hair was. Deep conditioner really works. You can tell when you have a good one by how your hair feels. It was super shiny and it just looked healthy.
Overall
All-in-all it is a good deep conditioner. It leave you hair shiny, soft, and moisturized. I do want to re-iterate, you need to apply to soaking wet hair otherwise it will be too thick and you wont get that slip or full moisture. Its not too expensive and you get great results, with loads of product. But I would recommend using picking this up.