The You Tried It! series is a series of blog posts were I give my honest opinion about different products, DIYs, and randomness that I am trying for the first time. All opinions are my own.

As you may (or may not) know, I’m a total DIY type of gyal. But every now and again, I just have to try out a few new products. So, one day when I was buying everything in sight picking up a few things at Ulta I came across this line and I decided to give it a try. When I buy products (as opposed to DIY’ing it) I try to look for products that are as natural as possible. Because of that, I have quiet a bit of Shea Moisture products in my cabinet. As a naturalista with fine, kinky, porous hair, the claims of this product line made me pick up almost everything in the line. My hair being porous makes it become dry and brittle more quickly. And because my hair is so fine, I am always looking for something to strengthen my strands to thward off breakage.

Before I even got the chance to use the products, I noted 2 pros:

1.The items in this line were pretty moderately priced. They are your typical Shea Moisture Prices (between 9.99 and 15.99) for products that will last me at least 3-4 wash days… for the deep conditioner at least (I’m EXTREMELY heavy handed) and more like 30-40 wash days for items like the shampoo were a little goes a super long way.

2. This line can be found locally at most stores that sell Shea Moisture products. Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of products that I want to try out due to their amazingly natural ingredient list, but they are almost ALL online. Not a deal breaker, but being able to run to my near by Ulta, Walgreen, or Target is definitely better. SCORE!

Now on to the review…

-Shampoo- The shampoo is super creamy! I’ve always rolled my eyes when I hear people rave about shampoo. Typically all I care about is whether it cleans my hair, but doesn’t strip it. Truth be told, I don’t really care for shampoo very much (I’m a clay wash kind of girl). But once a month, I reach for a sulfate free shampoo, and this baby is definitely in the front of my line up. It left hair clean but not stripped, but even more so, MOISTURIZED. I don’t think I’ve ever had a shampoo do that!

score: 9/10 *The only reason I didn’t give it a 10/10 is because I refuse to believe that I like this shampoo that much… something has to be wrong with it! LOL

-Rinse Out Conditioner- *le sigh* The rinse out conditioner’s consistency was on point. It was just think enough that it wasn’t spilling out of my hand when I used it. I also LOVED the packaging because I get really get frustrated with some of the bottle designs that these companies come up with. It being in a thin, flexible plastic “tube” made it all naturally drain down to the opening (so that I don’t have to dang near dislocate my shoulder trying to get the last little bit out) and easy to dispense with wet, product coated hands. But, unfortunately, this conditioner still missed the mark for me.

I tend to use rinse out conditioners for detangling (both before shampooing and after) and this conditioner just did not have enough slip for me. My hair is just entirely to dense, and too kinky to not have some type of slippage when detangling or I will be as bald as a river duck. For me, that made me feel like I wouldn’t repurchase this one. One redeeming quality is that after rinsing it out, my hair definitely felt stronger. My strands were noticeably strengthen… but they weren’t very moisturized which I NEED. It made me feel like I needed to follow up my conditioner with another conditioner, or that I needed to doctor it up (which I usually would do anyway). This conditioner wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly what I needed it to be.

score: 6/10

-Power Treatment Hair Mask- The hair mask was a redeemer for the previously used rinse out conditioner. After rinsing, my hair felt strong and strengthened which is exactly what I want from a deep conditioner. My hair wasn’t however as moisturized as I would expect from a “hydration” conditioner. My hair definitely wasn’t brittle, but it wasn’t as moisturized as I’ve had my hair be after other strengthening and hydrating deep conditioners (and Shea Moisture actually makes one of my favorites!). This deep conditioner is definitely something I’ll use when my hair is feeling like it needs some protein or strengthening.

score: 8/10

-Leave In Conditioner-  and another *le sigh*… This conditioner has a milky consistency, more on the watery side than creamy. While this isn’t my preference, it definitely didn’t bother me. I have a few spray leave-in conditioners that I really like, but I am a bit partial to a thicker cream. That being said, this leave-in is almost like what I would get if I were running out of a cream leave-in and added a bit of water to it. It’s the perfect medium between those that want something with a bit more weight to it, and those that prefer lightweight spritz-type of leave in. It’s hard to dislike it when it’s in the middle ground.

My only true beef with this leave in is that I wouldn’t exactly call it moisturizing. I used it on both freshly washed hair, and as a refreshing spray for my nighttime twists to no real amazement.Again, this leave-in definitely does some fortifying and strengthening, but my hair does not feel soft or that plump feeling I get when my hair has just been hydrated to the max… but it does make my hair feel strong. Another critique I have is that I wish the bottle was a bit different. Because the consistency is a bit thick, the push button sprayer isn’t the most conducive, and especially so when your hands are covered in oils and/or products like mine typically are. A trigger sprayer would be AWESOME for those of us with early onset carpal tunnel from all of these damn braid outs.  I’d probably repurchase this, but it wouldn’t be what I would go looking for.

score: 7/10

Out of all of products, I would probably only repurchase the shampoo and the power treatment hair mask. The shampoo was definitely the break out star, the mask isn’t half bad either. I probably wouldn’t run to Target to get the hair mask when my Deep Condish stash starts to run low but it is definitely a close second or third when I am in need of strength, strength, and more strength. It was awesome for strengthening my strands, but for almost 15 dollars I have other masks that I like way better (Like the Shea Moisture JBCO hair Mask, Manuka Honey Hair Mask, and the Omega 3,6,9 Hair Mask). Unfortuantely, I wouldn’t repurchase the regular conditioner or the leave in. I like for my rinse out conditioners and leave ins to have slip for detangling and ease of styling, which neither of these really have.

Nevertheless… I’m still speechless about this shampoo…

Have you tried the Shea Moisture Manuka Honey and Yogurt Hydrate and Repair line? What’s your favorite Shea Moisture product line?

-Sea