Hola Chicas!
As I stated in an earlier post, I’ve been experimenting lately with pure, un-refined shea butter. For the past month or so, I’ve been slicking it on the ends of my wet twists, prior to setting them on the rollers. It seems to act like a moisturizing ‘pomade’, holding my ends together and setting the curl.
So, I began to wonder…can I use it as a styler? What would my results be if I used it throughout each twist (from root to tip)? So, I did it 😀 But let me say, it was not easy, and damn sure wasn’t fun. It goes on rough, very rough, and its hard to work with. But OMG! My results were unbelievable!!! The next morning when I took my twists down my hair was soooooo soft and silky. The shea butter literally turned my hair to butter 😀 The set held up well for 3 days and my ends didn’t dry out one bit! Check out my results below (these are from last Wednesday or Thursday). My hair may not look all that different, but the feel of it, was like night and day!
Now, my question to you guys- How can I make this easier on myself? I want to continue to use shea on more than just my ends, but it is such a hassle. I’m kinda curious about whipping shea, but don’t want to do the work. Plus, my hair is not fond of most oils, or aloe, so what would I whip it with anyway? If I melt it prior to getting in the shower, will it harden before I can use it?
Your hair is absolutely gorgeous. I hope I can get mines to look like that one day!
OMG!! I tried shea butter with my curlformers and the result is simply amazing!! No frizz, silky and shiny hair!! I am so happy!! In fact, I used Nikky's method (Devacare One + some set it free + shea butter). I am sure the shea butter was the cherry because I had already tried Devacurl One and Set it free with curlformers and the result was not the great! I already tried shea butter on my hair without curlformers and it turned out nicely!! Well, I also applied it on wet hair. Love it!!
One more suggestion: use a double-boiler. I don’t have a double-boiler but what I do is put shea butter in a glass bowl and set it over a container of boiling-hot water. The shea butter melts very slowly so you can control how soft it gets. This is how I melt shea butter before I make my shealoe, which is my primary use of shea butter since it’s too heavy for me to use straight.
This may sound crazy…but you can melt your shea butter in candle warmers. I sell flameless candles…and our warmers are heated by a 15 watt light bulb…and it melt the wickless candles slowly that why the scent last a long time…i was thinking about doing it to see….i have one of my warmers in the bathroom…i have a new one..and I will be using it to melt my shea butter..just put it in as if I was putting one of my flamless candles in and by the time I get out of the shower it will melt and it will stay warm as i’m doing my hair…my website is www.scentsy.com/angelsjones
I will do it tonight and post pictures and let you know if it worked.
How do you get your hair to come out in large curls…do you do a roller set or twist out with large twists????
Shea butter has a really low melting point…meaning you can simply tab a dab and rub in inbetween your palms until smooth. It should become clear after just a few seconds of the friction. This makes it as easy as any moisturizer to apply.
A trick that I use to apply my shea butter without it going on rough is that I heat up the shea butter a little on top of the stove (but not on a burner) or on top of the heater. It makes the shea softer or you can heat it long enough to make it liquidy.
Your hair is GEORGEOUS!!
check out ALAFFIA.COM. They have handcrafted unrefined shea butter. Also explains the difference between refined & unrefined shea. I have a jar of their shea butter and it is not hard or gritty. It is very easy to work with. Sounds like you may have the refined shea. Check it out. It's informative.
omg. both you and your hair are simply gorgeous.
Try mixing it with coconut oil. You can also use it on your skin as a after bath moisturizer
Hey CN, I use shea butter on my hair all the time I especially love using it for my rollersets so I know exactly what you mean. I whip my raw shea butter. I let it sit in the warm kitchen for a while on the stove (not on the eye) if I’ve just finished cooking or I let it sit in the sun. It depends on the weather. Then I mix about 1 cup of the raw shea butter with different oils like evoo, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, and tea tree oil until its a creamy texture. It does harden back up, but its a lot more pliable and a lot of friction is not needed to melt it down after this. Also I’ve noticed that the more oils added the creamier the consistency of the shea butter. I love it. Hopefully this helps.
Your hair is looking fabulous with the TNC. And you sold me on the shea butter in my hair. Using it alone, too much is left on my hair. I make it easier to apply and emulsify by mixing in a few drops of oil, usually Jamaican Black Castor. I don't use much shea butter so I mix them in my palm. I like it so much it may wean me off the exceptional but pricey Jane Carter Nourish & Shine.
On warm days I will leave my shea butter in the sun for about 20 minutes. This softens it enough that it is easier to whip. Also adding a little oil also helps to keep the it from becoming hard again. My favorites are jojoba and coconut oil.
Nuke it, Nik! I just put mine in the microwave for 30secs right b4 im gonna use it.
on another note, you’re going to make me a pj…im off to buy that hsr right now. dang you!! lol
Thank you guys for all of the wonderful suggestions! I will try some of these and post my results soon! I’m really digging shea, I just want to make it easier on myself. I’ll keep you all posted 😀
You can go to natures shea that where I get mine and they have a whiooed shea that you can use…and a shea soufle
I bought a HUGE chunk of shea butter with the intention of whipping it and using it on my hair. Being anti-microwave, I decided to use the stove…and the consistency completely changed.
I also use shea on my face and body. I noticed that when I used the shea I melted (and never successfully whipped), it felt the same as the regular shea…but 15 minutes later I could tell the difference as the smooth shea coating disappeared and my skin felt kind of tight.
When you use the shea, do you feel like there’s a build-up? I definitely did after a little while. But…I wasn’t wetting my hair everyday. I had a fro back then so it worked. I’ve refined my method a bit now…not sure how the shea would fit in.
Hi, Niki, You can whip it in a blender, food processor, or mixer. I've done it in my magic bullet. You can add a little glycerin or oil of your chosing or honeyquat, SAA,etc.
You can also melt it in a double boiler, after it melts, let it sit on warm for about 1/2 hr or it will get gritty. Stir, refrigerate, after an hour or so stir again & then it is wonderful to use.
I have use it either way & they both worK great. The results of using shea butter is work the little effort to soften it.
I’m pretty new on NC.com, but I love your hair and your blog! If you figure out a way to whip the shea butter that works for you, let us know. The hardness of it is the whole reason I haven’t tried it yet.
I use shea on my hair and the ONLY way I apply it is melted. You can do one of many things A. have your hair ready and melt it on your hands over a stove, it’s not painful) B. Melt it in the microwave in a cofee cup and poor it into your hands C. Melt it in a cup, poor it in a spray bottle with ( a little water), shake it up and it will not harden again D. Bring a candle into the bathroom with you, scoop shea butter out, melt it over the candle, and apply it to your hair as you go, etc. etc. There are many ways. The shea butter works much better when melted and leaves less of a film on the hair. hth.
Unrefined Soft and Creamy Shea Butter
http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm/product/23_105/unrefined-african-shea-butter.cfm#reviews
If you want to see the consistency it starts at 48 seconds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kDW8M3DoZ0
Thank you ladies!!! You’re the best 😀
Do you think I could simply whip the shea with a handmixer and call it a day. I don’t want to make flaxseed gel (lazy), and I don’t like most oils.
Your suggestions have been wonderful and I’m going to check out fromnaturewithlove!
gracias
~CN~
First off your hair is gorgeous. Secondly, about the shea butter mix check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw8eh4oBT28
looks easy enough. you could substitute the aloe vera gel with some flaxseed gel (really easy to make but you probably know that) and use whatever oil your hair likes and basically tweak it to your liking. ORS twist and lock gel might work too. If you melt it prior to showering it wont re-harden immediately but to speed up the process after styling just submerge the jar of shea butter in ice cold water, it’ll solidify in minutes.
HTH
Hi Nikki,
I would say you could try to whip the shea, this will make it fluffy and easier to handle (you can use a handmixer). You can also add aloe gel and coconut oil.
Morrigan
I know exactly what you mean about shea going on rough. It’s so hard so it’s difficult to spread on the hair. I would definitely look into whipped shea. You could whip it with aloe vera gel, or buy some premixed at fromnaturewithlove under the name “shealoe”. Moe on NP has a recipe for this kind of thing, too. I wasn’t a big fan of the stuff I bought, but you might like it. It definitely has a lighter consistency than regular shea, and since you are using it for hold and definition, the aloe vera won’t hurt, either.
btw, i’m natural and my name is nikki, too. 🙂
Your hair is off the hook. true inspiration for those of us thinkin about goin natural.
Hi I’m one of your subs. I don’t know about melting it yourself but some places online sell shea oil if you don’t want to do it. It doesn’t harden when the temp is low so you wouldn’t have to worry about that.
Also some ladies use Kid’s Organics Shea Butter Detangling Lotion. But if you feel that the shea butter alone will work for you and don’t want to work with the butter, I would order some oil or google how to melt it properly to turn it into oil.
Fromnaturewithlove.com has some and oilsbynature.com. I liked it when I used it on my daughter’s locs but didn’t get around to getting more because I forgot where I got it for cheap.