Product Review- Cantu Shea Butter Trio

Today, I am reviewing three different products from the same brand. They are: Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque, Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in conditioning repair cream and Cantu Shea Butter Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream.

Things to note are;

• I have used all three products twice.
• I used all together without any additional products and
• they were all purchased during my short holiday as can be seen in Holiday Finds 1 & Holiday Finds 2.

This product along with the other two comes with no seal under the cover, you just open and use so you have no idea if it has been tampered with before purchase. It comes in a 12 oz tub and smells like a particular Tresemme conditioner I have used before but I don’t remember which one. This Deep Treatment Masque is white, thick and has a creamy like texture. The first time I used it was with a steamer the second time I used it under a shower cap while working out. The difference was obvious as the former allowed the masque to penetrate my entire hair but the latter only really penetrated into the hair around my edges. I noticed this because the hair around my edges felt softer than the center.

So, did it soften my hair? Yes

Did it define my curls? Yes

Does it stand out among other conditioners I have used before? No.

Will I buy this Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque again? Maybe. It’s not at the top of my list but it is still a good conditioner.

Here is a picture of what my curls look like after it was rinsed out.

This product also comes in a tub but its bigger at 16 oz. It has a similar look and texture to the Deep Treatment Masque and after I read the ingredients, I noticed that the only difference between the two products is, the Deep Treatment Masque is formulated with more oils and butters but this leave-in conditioner is mostly extracts in the same cosmetic base. I don’t like the thickness of it for a leave in because it hardly absorbs into my hair, it just sits on top and turns into tiny white flakes when dry. These flakes also fell like dandruff on my shoulders as I was undoing my braids when they were dry. Not good. I noticed this the first time I used it but I thought it must have been because I was a bit heavy-handed but apparently that’s not the case, as it happened again even though I used a small amount. You can see it in the picture below if you zoom in.

Another thing that I didn’t quite like about this product is, it puffed up my ends. They just wouldn’t curl up no matter how much I put the leave-in. The picture above was after I rubbed in the curl activator cream. The one below shows the effect of the leave-in repair cream on my ends. I would definitely not advise anyone to use this product for daily styling as it says on the label.

Does this product give shine? Yes

Does this product weigh your hair down? Yes (I don’t mind this).

Will I buy this product again? Sadly, no. 

The is my favorite compared to the other two above. It comes in a squeezable bottle with a cap closure. Although, I would have prefered if it came with a pump closure instead of having to turn the bottle over every time to squeeze out the contents. This product is light, white and has a silky feel to it. It has the same fragrant smell as the Deep Treatment Masque and absorbs fast. It literally activated my curls and yes it curled my ends. It added shine but most of all it gives a fantastic braidout. It softens my hair, lays my edges and provides enough slip for detangling. However, this slippery/silky feel it gives to my hair has a problem. If too much is used, your hands will become sticky and the clumped curls will prevent those stubborn shed hairs from slipping out. Also, if you are heavy handed with this product like I was, it can attract dust and lint to your hair.

Softens my hair- Check

Gives shine- Check

Activates curls- Check

Stops frizz- Check

Will I buy this product again? YES!! (Another bottle is already on its way to me. haha)

INGREDIENT LIST

Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque- Water, Canola Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol/ Ceteareth- 20, Glycerin, Fragrance, Beeswax, Cetyl Alcohol, Shea Butter, Glycol Stearate, Polyquaternium-10, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Olive Fruit Oil, Mango Seed Butter, Neem Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Macadamia Seed Oil, Soybean Oil, Argan Kernel Oil, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Honeysuckle Flower extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Neem Seed Oil, Silk Amino Acids, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin.

Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioning Repair Cream– Water, Canola Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Glycerin, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Shea Butter, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Kiwi fruit extract, Matricaria Flower Extract, Nettle Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Yarrow Extract, Fragrance, Olive Fruit Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfoamate, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate, Silk Amino Acids, Panthenol, DMDM Hydantoin, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-4, Polyquaternium-32, Mineral Oil, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Sodium Hyaluronate, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride.

Cantu Shea Butter Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream– Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Fragrance, Polyquaternium-10, Stearalkonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Coconut oil, Shea Butter, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Jojoba Oil, Soybean Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive Fruit oil, Mango Seed butter, Argan Kernel Oil, Neem Seed oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Honeysuckle Flower Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Macadamia Seed Oil, Grape Seed Extract, Nettle extract, Silk Amino Acids, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate-60, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin.

From the ingredient list I can observe that the Deep Treatment Masque and the Curl Activator Cream have most of the same ingredients and the Leave-in has mineral oil hidden in its long list. Gasp!

Even though I tried to be brief as much as possible, this post still turned into an essay. I hope the length doesn’t turn you off  and let me know if you’ve tried any of the products above.

Lots of love and enjoy your day!

CJ