New Products I'm Trying

Shea butter comes from the kernel of the fruit of the shea tree- indigenous to Africa. For generations the women of Burkina Faso have used the emollient 'butter' that comes from the processing of this kernel. They harvest the fruit from May to July and have historically used the shea butter for protecting, nourishing, soothing, replenishing, and smoothing the skin and hair.

I went to the Beauty Supply Store (BSS) today to get some more African Shea butter since I ran out last week. Because the BSS in my area is HUGE (it could literally take you 8 hours to walk around and look at everything!) I decided to see what else was on the aisle with the Shea butter. There was an array of African soaps and plenty of creams and lotions. It was quite overwhelming! I found the Shea Moisture Leave In Conditioner that so many people rave about and I am going to give that a try today when I do my twists. I also found a brand of products that looked interesting called Nubian Heritage. I've seen them before but never really paid them much attention. I decided to buy the NH Raw Shea Butter Anti Aging Revitalizing Ultra-Moisturizing Body Wash wit Soy Milk, Vitamin E, Frankincense and Myrrh (phew that was long!) and the NH Body Butter Shea Butter Cocoa Butter Mango Butter Lotion with Vitamin E. From what I could read on the bottle, the security tag was inconveniently placed over the list, I liked the ingredients and they smelled nice too. They have an array of soaps, washes, lotions, butters, etc at reasonable prices (I payed less, $8.99 for 13 oz., at the BSS than they are listed for on the website ) More than that, though, I really liked the history of the company. On the back of the NH Body Wash bottle it says this:

"Unlike multi-national corporations that exploit the people and resources of Africa, Nubian Heritage buys Shea Butter from villages throughout West Africa, investing directly into African communities and families."

(The lotion I purchased did not come with a pump but with a top like the body wash.)

I looked up some of the ingredients that I was not familiar with. From what I found on Naturally Curly, others have used these products and like them. This thread talks about the ingredients in their lotions, which smells like an orange creamsickle by the way. I like using just raw Shea butter all over, and probably still will on my feet and elbows and knees, but sometimes it is too greasy to go under clothes if I need to jet quickly. So I thought trying a lotion that is made from butters but has a lighter consistency to see if that might work better.

This is the plan for my hair:

Wash:Giovanni 50/50 Shampoo
Condition/Detangle: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, rinse
Deep Condition: Pantene Pro-V Time Renewal Replenishing Mask
Leave In: Saturate hair with Shea Moisture Leave In
Do two-strand twists all over
Seal: Raw Shea Butter on the ends of each twist


I'm off to try these new things and I will post later about the results. Happy Saturday everybody!