Hair

Softsheen Carson's Mango Oil & Cupuacu Butter Whip Coil Cream vs. Elasta QP's Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer

I've been looking for a creamy moisturizer to set my braid-outs and bun-outs. Although I love the Oil Moisturizer Hair Lotion by Bronner Bros., that formula is very aqueaous, and doesn't give my hair the lasting hold and moisture it needs. It works great at keeping my straight ends moisturized because it isn't greasy and doesn't weigh the hair down, but just isn't heavy enough for my textured locks. So, as you know, I recently purchased Softsheen Carson's Mango Oil & Cupuacu Butter Whip Coil Cream. This product claims to be great for twists and braid-outs. Well, I used it to set and moisturize my braid-out, and this was the result:

As you can see, my waves are a little wild. As for moisture, the product seemed to leave my hair feeling coated, like a waxy layer was on my strands. The product isn't greasy, and the consistency is pretty creamy, which is why I was surprised by how the product performed. Needless to say, I didn't care for how my hair felt with this product. Honestly, I think it would work great for holding twists or braids, but not for moisturizing twist-outs or braid-outs.

After that little experiment, I decided to purchase a jar of Elasta QP's Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer. Now, I've been meaning to try this for quite some time now, but could never seem to find it when shopping at big name beauty supply stores. Lo and behold, I finally got my hands on a jar after visiting a mom & pop beauty shop. I've heard many great things about this product on other blogs and hair care boards, and am so glad that I've finally had the chance to give it a go. Here was the result:

As you can see, my waves are much more tame, and you can even see the nice sheen this product left on my hair. The consistency is creamy like the Butter Whip Coil Cream, but not deceptive in that the moisture seemed to actually penetrate the hair, and no waxy buildup was felt on the strands. Now, my hair did seem to dry out as the day progressed, but that's because I didn't seal in the moisture like I should have. Next time I'll try sealing with pure coconut oil, and hopefully the moisture and sheen will last longer.

By the way, in order to get elongated waves, I air dry my hair in a banded or Tomb Raider ponytail first. I've also been braiding my hair in smaller sections:

Doing so has provided me with a more controlled, and less wild and wooly look.

I plan to continue using the Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer. I want to see how my bun-outs turn out with this, and I'll be sure to use an oil to seal in the moisture.