Does anyone here use Shea butter, Aloe Gel, or Shealoe Butter?

How does it moisturize your hair?

Does it work better than, worse than, or the same as commercial hair butters and oil moisturizer lotions?

I'm looking around for the best (affordable) hair moisturizer that I can find.

Yep me - although I'm still experimenting.

To begin with I mixed pure refined shea butter with aloe vera gel, coconut oil, jojoba, vitamin E and rosemary and I was really impressed with the moisture it gave to my hair, especially after it has been washed.  It just gives it a soft, moisture sealed, strong feeling - hard to describe but I haven't seen the same effect with commercial creams.

I've found some unrefined shea butter cheap from someone who imports it into Australia from Africa and plan to mix it with mango butter next time.  A lot of people say unrefined is better but still the results from the refined were great for me.

The trick with shea butter is to melt it down in a double boiler (or a saucepan with boiling water and put the shea in a glass dish over the saucepan so that it melts gently) and once it has melted to keep it on the heat for 20 minutes.  that way it won't get gritty.  I then add the oils and heat for a bit longer before adding aloe vera and then let it set overnight in the refrigerator.

It does work out cheaper for me because being in Australia I can get the ingredients locally and cheaply whereas using commercial creams for Afro hair is expensive since they are imported.  Not sure how it would be for you.

I found a website where they sell shea and shealoe, and the shealoe (9.25 a pound) lookes SO CREAMY and beautiful that it MUST do something! I'm thinking of trying it and adding Vitamin E oil.

I found a store that sells the Cantu products...and I was disappointed with how the oil moisturizer lotion looks....it looks so thin and watery.

Renee, did the shealoe REMAIN heavy for days, or was it just heavy the first day? It's been my experience that if something's heavy on my hair, my hair usually absorbs it by the next day (except for Pink Oil, which I hate). Also...did you put it on wet or dry hair?

Also, I'm looking for something that, if I flat iron my hair, will sink into my hair via the heat and get sealed inside each strand.

Well, if anyone else has any suggestions or can tell me your experience with shea, aloe, shealoe, or hair lotions/moisturizers, feel free to chime in!

BTW, I don't know if it matters, but I have long strong hair, coarse hair that holds heat when I flat iron it. I know and have also been told by my stylist that it takes a lot of heat to do anything to my hair, and my hair is so heavy that it doesn't hold a curl unless it's from a wet set. So, this may make a difference as to what moisturizers may be good for me.

Look at this stuff

http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/product.asp?product_id=shealoe&searchflag=1 - http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/product.asp?product_id=she aloe&searchflag=1

Doesn't it look wonderful?

OOOOOOOOHHH, I get so tempted to buy it every time I see it...but I don't want to buy it if it's crap. So far, I have one for and one against....so I'm still divided.

I use unrefined shea butter and aloe vera gel.  The shea butter is a bit heavy for me so I mostly just use it for my ends.  I use it as a facial moisturizer also and I really love it for that too. 

Aloe vera gel dosen't give me any moisture, just a nice hold for when I wear my hair curly.

Yeah, they use refined shea butter. I'm seriously leaning on the side of "buying".

Thanks, everyone!

(but Please don't stop posting about your experiences!)

blackhoney112 wrote: I use shea and aloe vera gel in my pre-poo hot oil mix...but I tried combining it alone and it didn't mix (I was lazy and didn't feel like being a kitchen chemist that day )so check and see what else is in the mix...it does look nice and creamy but it also looks as if they used refined shea butter instead of unrefined. I love using unrefined shea butter when I am doing a braid out it helps make my hair shiny soft after it dries. I like to flat iron my hair with lighter oils like WGO and Parnevue t-tree oil(in the applicator bottle) But I occasionally will wet wrap my hair with shea and almond oil (almond on ends only) with great results. HTH

Your right, fromnaturewithlove does use refined shea butter in their shealoe.  That's the reason I didn't buy it but a lot of people still use and love it though, I just prefer unrefined.