Let’s Make a List: Cheap Effective Drug Store Conditioners

Hi Everyone! Hope you are all having a lovely Sunday and wonderful Mother’s Day with your little ones or with your Mommies! I thought it would be fun to start a group list of wonderful drug store conditioners that work well on your low porosity hair. I’ll start by reviewing a couple and would love for you to shout out your suggestions in the comments section. Remember, I don’t live in the US, so to help your fellow readers, your comments would be greatly appreciated. The conditioners shouldn’t cost more than 8 dollars.

Suave Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner – less than $3

I bought this on the spur of moment, on a trip back home. So happy with that choice. This conditioner has AMAZING slip. A little goes a long way and it actually works quite nicely as a co-wash, detangler and deep conditioner. Detangling is a breeze with this conditioner, I apply it to my hair in four sections and watch in amazement as my wide tooth comb glides through my hair. At less than three dollars a bottle, it’s worth a try! I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

Aussie Moist Conditioner – less than $5

I’m never gonna quit you Aussie Moist. I’ve never tried their shampoos, but this conditioner is amazing! I use it for everything from detangling to deep conditioning and sometimes I use a little on my ends for moisture. I love this stuff, the smell, the consistency and the fact that it always yields remarkable results. Definitely a product that will stay in my rotation. I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

Cantu Shea Butter Rinse Out Conditioner – less than $5

I love this conditioner as a deep conditioner. It’s very moisturizing and smells great! It doesn’t have an insane amount of slip, so you might have to detangle with a conditioner that offers more slip. However, after sitting under the dryer with this in my hair, it feels soft and supple. I give it 4 out of 5 starts!

Tressemé Naturals with aloe and avocado – less than $6

First of all, you get bang for your buck with this conditioner. It’s huge, 25 fl. oz and less than six dollars is a steal! This conditioner smells great. I think it is a perfect co-wash, detangler and styler in the summer. Sometimes I dilute it with a little water and use is as a leave-in (in the summer). I rarely use it as a deep conditioner, unless I doctor it up with olive oil and honey. I give this conditioner 4 out of 5 stars for its versatility!

Have you tried any of the above? Now on to you, please share your favorite cheap drug store conditioners that you can’t live without!

Reader Review: Curl Assurance

Another great review from reader Natalye, big thanks for your contribution!

CURL ASSURANCE GENTLE CLEANSING SHAMPOO

Price: $20

What’s in it?

Water, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauryl Glucose
Carboxylate, Lauryl Glucoside, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey,
Matricaria Recuitita (Chamomile) Flower Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Brown
Rice (Oryza Sativa) Powder, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydroxypropyl Methycellulose, Guar
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA,
Fragrance.

How did your hair respond to it?

I love, love, love Curl Junkie products. The fragrances Curl Junkie products are to die for. I love
this sulfate-free shampoo. My hair feels clean, does not strip my hair, aides in detangling and
little goes a long way. It does have thin consistency which for some may take a while to get used
to. I do use silicone products and it thoroughly cleans my hair and removes any product buildup.
Also, did I say I love the smell of this product.

 

CURL ASSURANCE SMOOTHING LOTION

Price: $30

What’s in it?

Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Vegetable Glycerin, Slippery Elm
Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Panthenol, Simmondsia
Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Propylene Glycol,
Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance.

How did your hair respond to it?

I use this product as a leave-in conditioner. It can be used as a rinse out conditioner. Once again I
love the scent of Curl Junkie products. This this has a vanilla-cotton candy scent. The smoothing
lotion does contain oils, but humectants are at the beginning of the list balance out the oil. I find
that my hair does well with oils if humectants are in the product base. I apply to damp hair or
light spritz hair with water. This product has excellent slip and moisturizers my hair. I like to mix
this product with Ouidad moisture lock leave-in.

Castor Oil and Low Porosity

A few weeks back a reader told me she had success using Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-in/Detangler, but after she sealed it with castor oil her hair turned frizzy and shrunken. She then asked me whether castor oil worked on low porosity hair. As always on my blog, I’m a strong advocate in saying what works for one person might not work for everyone. However, I hypothesize that castor oil is not beneficial for many lo-pos and that it might even work against retaining moisture in lo-po hair.

Castor oil or Ricinus oil has been praised for its beauty benefits. Many people boast that it helps them in thickening their hair and combating thinning hair. It has both antifungal and antibacterial properties and is a humectant for the hair and skin. When I read about these wonderful properties, my first reaction was to run out and buy a bottle of cold pressed castor oil. I started using it to seal my hair and like many things that haven’t worked on my low porosity hair, I continued to use it until I achieved the results I expected. That never happened, so I had to back away from the bottle.

Why didn’t castor oil work for me? Well for one, I think it is a heavy oil and way too thick to use for my hair type. It weighed my hair down and blocked out moisture. This happened even when I used a small amount or mixed it with a lighter oil. I noticed I had constant buildup on my hair and scalp when I used castor oil. In fact, I’ve read that overtime castor oil can build-up in the hair. As castor oil dries it tends to form a hard film. This is probably great for high porosity hair, but a recipe for disaster for low porosity hair. Additionally, the film is not water-soluble, which means it is necessary to use a shampoo to remove it. It can also attract dirt and oil to the hair, creating an even thicker layer of film around your strands.

Do I recommend using castor oil on low porosity hair? I wouldn’t recommend it, but if it works for you that’s great. However, I think there are other light to medium oils out there that can benefit lo-po hair. If you have a large bottle of castor oil lying around and don’t want it to go to waste, maybe try mixing it with a lighter oil and using it on area of the skin that are prone to dryness. On a side note, the properties of castor oil, could have a lot to do with your environment. I live in a dry arid conditions. If you live in a humid and hot environment, perhaps you will experiences different results with castor oil. In any case, I tend to stock 2 – 3 oils in my medicine cabinet. These are oils that are light enough to moisturize my face (e.g. jojoba or sweet almond) or medium and moisturizing enough to moisturize my body (e.g. olive oil, apricot, avocado). Since my hair doesn’t need a lot of oil it’s not what I concentrate on when finding products that work for my hair. I tend to focus more on leave-ins, cleansers and moisturizing conditioners.

Do you use castor oil? Has it worked for you? If so, how do you apply it?

MIA hair posts

Hi! I know I haven’t posted for quite some time. Things have been really busy at work and home. I hope to find time this week to write some new posts. Here’s a sneak peak on some of the upcoming post:
*Why castor oil doesn’t benefit lo-po hair.
*Tips for shiny hair
*Oil rinsing: my experience
*Cheap and effective drug store conditioners
*Product reviews
*My attempt at a flexirod set on blown out hair.

On another note, I’ve received positive feedback about the reader product review. If you have a product–could be a staple or product you’ve recently tried, it could greatly benefit other readers to read your reviews.

Have a lovely weekend and to all the mothers out there a wonderful Mother’s Day!