Cantu products for curly hair have become quite popular over the past several years. Currently, it’s one of the most popular hair care brands around.
They offer a lot of different hair care products, but what attracts people to them is the price. Question is: does it work as advertised? The answer might surprise you.
Read on to discover the good and the ugly as we take a close look at Cantu Shea butter products. I’ll even show you how to use them.
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If you’re not familiar with Cantu, let me quickly explain what it can do for you. Cantu’s Classic line of hair products are designed to moisturize and repair hair.
Formulated with pure shea butter and conditioning ingredients, to leave your hair looking and feeling its best. But does it work? Read on to find out.
Table of Contents
My previous Cantu experience
I’ve used Cantu Leave-in Conditioning Repair Cream for years, but I stopped using it at some point.
I got tired of the heavy coconut scent. Also, I experienced dry hair after a while.
Since I didn’t feel like figuring out what was causing this, I switched to using a different leave-in conditioner with organic and natural ingredients.
I didn’t investigate what was causing my hair to become dry. Did I have a ‘protein overload’ or could it be harsh ingredients? I don’t know.
I automatically assumed Cantu’s hair products were bad. Eventually my thoughts changed until I read positive customer reviews.
What do Cantu products for curly hair do?
When I received the following Cantu Shea Butter products, I decided to test them out, because I saw some pretty great results from other people. I was curious to see if these products could live up to the hype:
- Cantu Moisturising Curl Activator Cream: smoothes and enhances natural curl pattern revealing frizz-free volume.
- Wave Whip Curling Mousse: defines wavy hair and enhances all curl patterns without the white residue and crunch most mousses leave behind. It has a light hold and limits shrinkage.
- Shine & Define Custard: helps reduce hair bulk, elongates curls and provides shine and hold.
- Comeback Curl Next day Curl Revitalizer: refreshes curls, reduces frizz & adds shine.
I’ve compared the Cantu Wave Whip Curling Mousse with the Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream, and in this video I’ll show you the difference between the two products:
You can see the difference in terms of volume, length retention and curl definition. I used a Denman brush to apply the products and air dried my hair without using a diffuser or a detachment comb and it turned out great!
The Good: does Cantu help your hair?
The best part about Cantu’s Classic Collection is that the products do not contain any of the following ingredients:
- Sulfates or Phthalates,
- Parabens,
- Mineral oil,
- Silicones,
- Gluten,
- Paraffin
- or Propylene
This is especially useful when you follow the Curly Girl Method. Of course that’s not the only good thing. Here are some other highlights:
- Cantu is a great choice for anyone with any hair type: relaxed, curly, coily, or wavy hair.
- The products are affordable and easy to find both online and in stores worldwide.
- They’re also a great option for those with colored or permed hair.
- No matter what product combination you use, Cantu will help bring out your natural curl patterns.
In the video below you can see my results (with English subtitles):
Is this product perfect? Of course not. Which brings me to the next point…
The Ugly: is Cantu bad for your hair?
There is one thing about the most popular Cantu products that was very disappointing.
If you look at the ingredients list of the Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream and Shine & Define Custard, you’ll see that fragrance is very high up on the ingredient list.
Also other icky perfuming ingredients are added to the list (at the end). This might be a problem when you have a sensitive skin, because you could get an itchy scalp.
So, if you’re wondering if you can you put Cantu on your scalp, I wouldn’t advise you to do so even if you don’t have a sensitive skin.
In addition, after trying out these products I was really pleased with the results. I really like my day 1 hair.
Although my curls stay moisturized for at least 2 days, I noticed that from day 3 my hair became frizzy. Could I get a better result? Yes absolutely.
However, if you’re looking for affordable hair care that won’t break the bank, Cantu products are a great option if you aren’t allergic to fragrance.
Depending on your hair type, you may need to reapply every 2-3 days, but overall, you’ll be happy with the results.
And that brings us to the last point…
The Verdict
You’ve probably already figured out the verdict by now.
Do I recommend the Cantu Shea butter product’s I’ve tested? The answer is yes if you’re looking for budget friendly hair products that enhance your curls.
And that’s because I was really pleased with the results after trying out these Cantu products. See my video for the results (with English subtitles).
However, there’s one segment of the population who may not be as happy with this product.
This includes those who have sensitive skin or allergic contact dermatitis when it comes to fragrance and perfuming ingredients.
Yet, if you don’t fall into that group, then I think you’ll really enjoy using these Cantu products. Check them out to learn more:
- Cantu at Lookfantastic (International)
- Cantu Store at Amazon
- Cantu at Target
Useful info about these products
Whether you have high porosity hair or low porosity hair, you’ll achieve healthy hair if you use the right products that respect and nourish your natural texture.
What hair types are Cantu’s products suitable for?
My daughter is half English and half Surinamese. Her hair type would be best explained as Caucasian and curly.
My hair on the other hand, is a mixture of Afro textured and curly hair. Both my daughter and I have used the Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in conditioner in combination with Shea Moisture’s Curl Smoothie.
My daughter used this combination for years and was very happy with it. I stopped using it after, ’cause I switched to a different hair care routine a while.
In other words, you can use these products on any curly hair type:
- dry hair,
- natural hair
- and curly or wavy hair.
As I’ve explained before, you can use these products too if you follow the Curly Girl Method.
Leave-in conditioners
If you want to get the best results it’s wise to combine these hair products with a leave-in conditioner.
You can use any leave-in conditioner from Cantu or a different hair brand. I combined the products with the following leave-in conditioners:
How do you use Cantu?
After you wash your hair, apply your leave-in conditioner to wet hair first. Next, apply your styling products. You don’t need to wash it out of your hair.
In the video I used the Cantu Curl Activator Cream in combination with the Shine & Define Custard. I used 2 techniques to enhance my curl pattern. Which result do you like best?
Ingredients overview
Ingredients Wave Whip Curling Mousse
Aqua (Water), PEG-25 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum (Fragrance), Cetrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-11, Polyquaternium-55, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Citric Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Coumarin, Benzyl Benzoate, Hexyl Cinnamal
Ingredients Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream
Water (Aqua), Canola Oil, Glycerin, Ceteareth 20, Fragrance, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteth-20, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea), Glycol Stearate, Petrolatum, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice, Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut), Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive), Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil (Macadamia), Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem), Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil (Carrot), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil (Argan), Silk Amino Acids, Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Honeysuckle), Laminara Cloustoni Extract (Sea Kelp), Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract (Grape), Urtica Dioica Extract (Nettle), PEG 75, Polyquaternium-10, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Ingredients Shine & Define Custard
Water (Aqua, Eau), Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glyceryl Stearate, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Fragrance, Isododecane, Panthenol, Polyester-11, Lactic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzyl Benzoate.
Ingredients Comeback Curl Next day Curl Revitalizer
Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Fragrance, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea), Magnesium Sulfate, Guar Hydroxypropyl Trimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol.
About the author
Angela is a curly girl and has been a beauty blogger since 2012. Because of her passion for beauty and hair, she has been a certified makeup artist since 2016 and has done multiple hair styling trainings. As a cosmetics lover, she writes reviews on cosmetics and provides different solutions that facilitate your daily beauty and curls routine.