Cantu Shea Butter Twist & Lock Gel for Natural Hair – 13 oz Moisturizing Styling Gel (Packaging May Vary) | Perfect for Twist Outs, Braid Outs & Defined Curls

This stuff is crazy good for curly hair. I'm halfway through my first jar. I've been using it over a year at this point, and my hair has never been smoother or healthier.My hair is very fine and it's texture is a combo of tight waves and chunky ringlets. Before I started using this gel, I figured out that cream conditioners make my hair frizzy, so I started using oil instead, which made my hair healthier but didn't do much for curl definition. This was EXACTLY what I needed. I use a quarter-sized dollop for my chin-length hair - after applying oil and while my hair is still very wet. There's no cast or flaking. I have to use an absurd amount before my curls start to look or feel stiff. This stuff works better than any salon quality products I've used.My only complaint is that it has a fairly strong smell. It smells clean and pleasant, but it's a little too fruity to go well with the perfume/deodorant scents I wear. A small price to pay for the results though!Love the smell. I switched my shampoo and conditioner to a no scent one (it’s better for your hair) and I rather like smelling nice and I don’t want to spray my hair with perfume, that kind of defeats the purpose. I didn’t see anywhere on the container about a smell so I figured it didn’t have one, oh boy it does. I was very surprised and very happy. It can be overwhelming to some people, but I really like it and it isn’t as strong as when your hair is dry.Now how it works. So I’ve been on a natural hair journey for about a year now, with not using any heat in about 8 months or longer. Even with using heat often before my hair was not damaged.I’m the only one in my family that has thick course and curly hair, I would classify my hair with 3b curly and wavy hair. I am Italian but I’m the only one that inherited the hair, everyone else has fine hair that does fall flat naturally.I’ve switched my pillows to silk to reduce frizz and it also helps with face aging.Before this product I would use Aussie hair spray and spray my hair after a shower and go to bed with my hair flung over my pillow. This helped a lot with learning what kind of body my hair has naturally. It minimizes the frizz and it wasn’t stiff (since my hair was so wet when I applied)Now I use a silk cap that I wear to bed. It takes longer for my hair to dry. But my hair has never looked so defined. Then I found this product because I didn’t want to keep using hairspray and it still had frizz when using hairspray and I wanted it to be even more defined.So the first thing I noticed when I opened this was that the smell was amazing and tropical. Sometimes I smell mango, sometimes pineapple, and sometimes coconut. It’s a wild ride but I think it just overall smells amazing and tropical.I apply it after I take a shower and go to sleep with my hair wet. I used it with the silk cap I have and it was absolutely amazing. It was defined for the most part. I definitely have to play with it more but I think it’s a great step for my hair.It does have a decent hold, which is exactly what I wanted. My hair is still soft but you can definitely tell that there is product in it, which I don’t really like but it looks great and it isn’t crunchy or anything like that, so I think I have to concede on that bit for now.My one issue is it can be a little clumpy. After I apply it to my hair and my hair is dry, I notice small amounts of white specs throughout my hair. It isn’t noticeable unless you look extremely close but I don’t like that aspect of it. So if you use it, make sure to rub it between your hands to break it down a bit more, that seems to help for me.My hair is overall very healthy even when I was straightening it all the time, so it is still healthy. I only use this in my hair before bed and when I wake up I use some argon oil to help with shine and making my hair look more fresh. I really try to stay away from having extensive hair and beauty routines, the simpler the better in my opinion. I do think a silk cap can help a lot of people with frizz. And I never even really thought of wearing a cap until I tried the curly hair method and tried to use cotton tshirt to wear my hair up at night (which absolutely helps, definitely try it if you haven’t.) but the shirt could be kind of bulky and uncomfortable to sleep with.So I recommend this product hands down, and without a doubt. I also suggest getting either a silk cap or silk pillows or both to help battle frizz and aging. I got them both on amazon.Big container completely full. It is thicker texture than I thought not smooth like a gel. We will see later if it causes build up or dryness. So far so goodI use this product when I wear my hair curly or straight. It works great when using the “curly girl” method. And when I straighten my hair I use just a little to get more lift. Smells great, works great, and my hair always looks great!Amazing how good this works to keep hair frizz-free!moisturize and smell wonderful...goodPretty awesomeAs a girl who is new to the curly girl method this product is amazing. I am mixed race and have been straightening my hair for 15+ years. I thought my curls were destroyed but this cream has brought back my curls don’t get me wrong I have had to buy all new shampoos, conditioners, masks and even micro fibre towels. But this product stands out because it doesn’t leave my hair frizzy. It is a bit hard when it’s dry but if I scrunch my hair again the crunchiness goes away and leaves my hair softI scrunched this into my hair like I would a normal gel but can't say I'm that impressed. It's more of a cream/smoothie and doesn't provide as much hold as I'd like. Since my hair is only wavy I need something to create and hold actual curls whilst combatting frizz, this product sorta helps to define my hair but doesn't really create enough of a cast or combat any frizz. It's also left my hair feeling a little tacky/greasy but maybe I used too much. It's not awful and is definitely better than not using gel at all but I think I'll be going back to my Twisted Sista gel soon.Riecht etwas stark, zieht bei gemäßigter Anwendung die Haare nicht runter, auch feinere und schwachere Locken. Eignet sich auch perfekt für die LOC-Methode, da die Hauptzutaten pflanzliche Öle sind.Der Crunch — falls etwas zu viel Produkt aufgetragen wurde — lässt sich kinderleicht anhand eines sauberen T-Shirts aus Baumwolle entfernen.Tolles Produkt also auch um die Locken besser zu definieren und das Haar über den ganzen Tag hinweg zu pflegen (am besten also nach der Dusche auf nasses bzw. feuchtes Haar auftragen, d.h. nach dem Ausspülen der Spülung und/oder dem Auftragen des Leave In Conditioners).Leider:Mit der Yuka App sieht man, dass das Produkt für KonsumentInnen nur teilweise sicher ist und, dass bestimmte Stoffe der Umwelt schaden. Hier die zwei problematischen Stoffe:- Phenoxyethanol: potenzieller endokriner Disruptor.- Polyquaternium-37: schlimm für die Umwelt, denn sehr schwer abbaubar (Verschmutzung der Meere).Alternativen (ein paar stammen von der Yuka App):Custards:- Kinky-Curly curling custard- Boost Curl (Les Secrets de Loly)Haargele:- light hold: Curly magic (curl enhancer)- medium hold: Styling Hairgel NaturaLine (swiss cosmetics -> Coop)- strong hold: Ecoslay orange marmalade styling gelI have a mixture of natural 4b/ 4c hair and purchased this product to use for doing mini twists on my natural hair. Great product, not sticky etc. However it shrinks 4c hair so that the twists are roughly 1/2 - 3/4 of the length of blown out hair. I'm not too bothered about this as I think any hydrating twist and lock gel will do the same.Smells wonderful and throughout the day I can smell the gel on my hair. It does a decent job of holding my waves from wet to dry, and I think that will improve the more I use it and the more my hair gets used to it! Very good price for such a reliable product!