Review: Shea Moisture Conditioning Curl & Style Milk

Shea Moisture’s Curl & Style Milk for Thick, Curly Hair

I’ve been hearing so much about the Shea Moisture line and have been wanting to try it out.  All of the products are made from natural ingredients which is a plus.  The haircare items seem to be targeted mostly at people with curly or even kinky hair.  Since they carry it at my local Target store I thought I would finally give it a whirl.

Now remember, my guidelines are the following:

• It has to be affordable (the amount vs. the price)
• It needs to be easily accessible (if I can get it locally this is a plus)
• It has to work for my hair (kinky, curly), my husbands’ straight hair (in most cases) and our kids’ 3b/3c curly hair

I most recently purchased the Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Conditioning Curl & Style Milk.  I paid $9.99 USD for an 8 oz./237 ml. size bottle.  The texture is a lightweight, creamy consistency and, in my opinion, has a strong pina colada fragrance.  Since this line is geared towards curly hair, I’m not expecting my husband to rave about it but he has been known to dabble in my products.  As for me and my kids, it worked differently for all of us.  My twins have fluffy, big curls that have a satiny feel (3b).  This product weighed their hair down and made it look a tiny bit greasy.  (I normally use Giovanni Direct Leave-In to moisturize their hair and will continue to do so once this runs out.)  My oldest son has longer (3b/3c) hair and, while this made his hair soft and easier to manage, it did not provide enough hold for his curls to last all day.  His hair tends to get really puffy without something to weigh the curls down. 

For my hair which is a 4a/4b texture, I was really happy with how soft my hair felt after using it.  My hair definitely felt moisturized and more manageable.  Another plus was how much softer my hair felt when I used it under my Olive Oil Eco Styler Gel.  The only thing I didn’t like is how fast I was going through the product.  We were already halfway through the bottle after a little over 1 week.  Once I saw this, I started to reach for my Palmers Coconut Oil Replinishing Hair Milk instead in order to save on this product.

Overall, I think the Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk is great as a leave-in type moisturizer that makes the hair soft and manageable.  However, I have achieved similar results by using my Aloe Vera/ Leave-in Conditioner spray and sealing with oil.  Follow that with the Palmer’s to make the curls pop and I’m good to go.  I probably won’t purchase this product again based on the little amount you get for the price.  I’m happiest with products that work for all of us and our different textures so getting more for less is a huge factor.  Still it’s worth a try if you’re looking for a good water based moisturizer and the price falls within your budget.