We just announced the NaturallyCurly Best of the Best awards for 2021, awards voted on entirely by the NaturallyCurly community! And if you’ve been here a while then it will come as no surprise that SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie has won for two categories: Best Styling Cream for All Hair Types and Best Styling Cream for Type 3 Curls. This product has won several of our awards over the years, and if you’re curious about trying it then we have a full review from our writer Shellie Reneé.
OK, So Let Me Tell You Why I’m All About ‘SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie’
So, here’s my true confession about this particular product. I’ve actually had a jar of SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Gel Souffle for close to a year before I even got around to testing them out. It’s mostly because I’m actually not a product junkie (anymore”> and I’ve been wearing my hair as a blowout, in cornrows or in medium-sized box braids, so there was no need.
Oh, but baby, when I took out my latest round of braids earlier this year, saw that my hair was gaining some real inches and so I decided to play around with a braided faux hawk braid-out? Let me just start this off by saying that when my editor asked me if I wanted to shout-out one of the products for this end of year piece, SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie is what I jumped up and down to do! I’ll share a few reasons why (then to be fair, also share some “words to the wise” to be aware of”>.
Photo SheaMoisture
The Pros & Cons of SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie
When it comes to SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie, here are its strengths and weaknesses (to me, anyway”>:
The Pros
OK, so there are several things that I like about this product. First, that its first ingredient is water which means that’s what it has the most of in it. You can tell too because while the consistency of the cream is thick, it’s not sticky nor will it dry your hair out and, unless you apply a ton of it to your hair, it doesn’t leave much flaking when it comes to your end results either. If you apply it while your hair is wet (you know, for like a wash ‘n go”>, you will immediately see curl definition without a ton of shrinkage once it dries (one way to elongate a bit is to apply a little bit of Jamaican black castor oil during application process”>.
As I said earlier, I prefer it on braid-outs because, once my hair is dry (I usually apply mine to dry hair; long story”>, it doesn’t take forever for the cream to dry. Then, once I take my braids out, my hair is soft, it has a hint of sheen to it and it’s really easy to pull the braids apart (for volume”> without losing a lot of the braid-out’s definition. I also like that if you want more definition than your initial application, you can apply more of the product the following night (and braid it again”> and your hair will be curlier and shinier without really any buildup at all. In fact, you’d have to reapply for 4-5 days in a row before you can really start to “feel” the product on your hair. And because it makes my tresses feel so unbelievably soft and manageable, it’s almost like I have to remind my own self that it’s a braid-out and not my hair’s natural texture. Plus, if I wrap my hair up at night, I can easily keep a “fresh” look for about four days before needing to braid it up again. Beautiful.
Oh, it’s also a bonus that when I twist the ends of my hair with the cream (as I’m braiding it”> that it will curl up so that I don’t have to rod or roller set my hair to keep the ends from staying straight. And the price? It just takes things to another level. I’ve actually purchased some extra jars and bypassed the 6 oz. (I can get a good four braid-outs with that jar”> and gotten a couple of 20 oz. instead. No regrets on doing that either. Not one.
The Cons
As far as any downsides, there aren’t a lot of them. I will say that you might need a bit of a learning curve as far as how much your hair requires (based on type and thickness”> because if you go the “less is more” approach, you might not get the definition that you’re looking for and if you apply too much, the cream will not fully absorb into your hair and it could lead to some flaking that is kind of stressful to shake out. Also, even with a braid-out, depending on how much you use, you might not be 100 percent dry the next day. Still, it’s not the big of a deal because your look will still hold; you just might need to braid it again, so that your hair can “set” all of the way. Oh, and if you want more sheen (because it “finishes” on the “drier” side of things”>, you’ll probably need to “seal” your hair with a carrier oil like sweet almond or avocado. Just make sure to keep in mind that it could add to your overall drying time. Yet when you weigh all of this out, how can this be that big of a deal? In my eyes, it’s not. I’d do a commercial for this product if I could. For now, this review will have to do. Try it. It’s well worth it!
Have you tried SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie? What did you think of it?
