Browsing Tag

Shampoo

Haircare

Best Hair Care Buys for Dry Hair

March 13, 2019

Best Hair Care for Dry Damaged Hair

Today I’m rounding up some of my best hair care buys for detangling dry color-treated hair. I’ve been through two rounds of highlights treatments since last fall. This second round I’ve noticed my hair has been significantly more dry and prone to breakage which I attribute to the dry weather combined with Florida water. My hair has been a lot more sensitive to heat so I’ve taken a break from curling iron. I can still blow dry on a regular basis with a heat protectant and medium heat setting and love the Harry Josh Ultra Light hair dryer for something gentle and efficient. I’ve still been experiencing a lot of tangles after washing which makes it more prone to breakage. I’ve been testing a lot and finally found some things that have saved my hair. Conditioning treatments are tricky here because they can be near impossible to rinse out and lather in South Florida. These are my favorite recent buys that have helped restore my hair, reduce tangles and frizz while adding moisture and shine.

Olaplex

Olaplex Review for Damaged Weak Hair

I’ve spent the last five months searching for good shampoos and conditioners made specifically for color-treated hair. I tried so many of your recommendations and loves designed specifically for color treated hair, in particular options from Kerastase and Oribe. Unfortunately none of them worked for my hair. The regular formulas are still good, but the color treated formulas don’t lather properly and also leave my hair feeling like straw. I’ve stuck with my regular go-to’s like the Sisley Hair Rituel (sooo good) but wanted to find something more affordable. My curling iron seriously weakened my hair on some parts and there’s nothing I can really do except wait for those areas to grow out. I called my friend who used to work in the hair care industry and asked her help/expertise. She said the best you could buy was Olaplex so I went to Sephora to buy Hair Perfector No. 3, Bond Maintenance Shampoo and Conditioner. The girls who worked at Sephora saw these in my little shopping basket and stopped me to tell me they were so excited I was buying it because it also saved their color treated hair.

I’ve used all three and it’s among the best I’ve tried. The shampoo is one of the few sulfate free formulas that has a decent lather. The three together have bonding and reparative ingredients to help relink broken hair. The Hair Perfector is a product you use as a pre-shampoo and conditioning treatment. It’s not a mask or conditioner, but apply it to damp towel dried hair for at least 10 minutes. Rinse out and follow with the Shampoo and Conditioner. I’ve used this 2 to 3x per week as instructed and it’s helped my hair so much. The shampoo and conditioner both are excellent too –  a little goes a long way and it helps reduce frizz and eliminates tangles. I took a look at the bottles and thought they were remarkably small for the price. I’ve been using all three consistently for a little over a month and still have quite a bit left. I’d say within a month of regular use I’m about 80% finished with the bottles. I’m ordering their new Styling Creme soon and can’t wait to try it.

Christophe Robin Hydrating Shampoo with Aloe

Christophe Robin Hydrating Shampoo with Aloe Vera

This Christophe Robin Hydrating Shampoo is another excellent shampoo for all hair types, but particularly good for dry hair. It’s gentle but has a good lather. I can use it daily and I love that it’s hydrating but doesn’t weigh down my hair. Rinses nicely and leaves hair looking and feeling fresh. I’ve sworn by the Hydrating Leave-In Mist for a long time, I don’t know what took me so long to try the shampoo. Both have a very calming subtle fresh scent that isn’t overpowering or heavy. Scent is a huge deal for me – I can’t use heavily fragranced styling products that have a powdery or floral scent (except for Ouai).

Detangling Sprays

Best Detangling Sprays Christophe Robin, Living Proof and Oribe

One thing I’ve noticed with both color treatments is that my hair is more prone to tangles. It has already more tangle prone with the water here and with highlights plus dry weather this has been emphasized. For me it’s been a serious problem because tangles + weak hair = lots of breakage when I brush or comb. The best sprays I’ve bought to combat the tangles include the Christophe Robin Hydrating Leave-In Mist with Aloe Vera to hydrate and detangle. It is spendy so I’ve tried to find more affordable alternatives (I’m not always successful with this). I bought a mini of the Living Proof Restore Perfecting Spray and it doubles as a conditioner and detangler as well. I love it so much that I 100% need the full size. It has a fresh citrus scent and allows the comb to glide through my hair without any tugging or tangles. My friend swears by the Oribe Run Through Detangling Primer – she says it is the best thing Oribe makes and says she’s literally tried everything in their line. I’ve found Oribe makes really great styling products but their shampoos/conditioners have been mostly misses for me. I bought the mini spray to try thinking I might not love it, especially for the price. It really does live up to the hype and I highly recommend it. It reduces frizz, detangles, and helps reduce flyaways.

Best Detangling Spray Oribe Detangling Primer

Finishing Products

Living Proof Flexible Hairspray and Drybar The Chaser

I’ve tried so many finishing products and creams. I think hair care products are among the most tried beauty category for me. There are a lot of great items for different purposes, I still love oils for this but sometimes a classic cream is better for my ends. Two areas I’ve been concerned about lately include flyaways (from shorter broken strands and humidity issues) and shine on the ends. I could probably do an entire post on my favorite finishing products, but two things stand out as hair saviors for me. I’ve never been a hair spray kind of person because they usually leave hair feeling stiff and crunchy. The Living Proof Flexible Hair Spray has really good hold without the crunchy finish. Many of you have confirmed this is one of your favorites and I also think it’s excellent to hold hair and help tame flyaways. The Chaser Shine Cream from the Drybar is one of my most repurchased hair creams ever. I’ve used this for years and always go back to it for adding shine and brilliance to my ends. Oribe’s is also really good too, but for some reason I find myself reaching for the Drybar one more.

Combs and Hair Brushes

Best Brushes and Combs, Yves Durif, Gisou and Mason Pearson

Finding a good vent brush has been hard for me. I’ve tried so many different ones that work ok, but I’ve never found one I really truly love. I finally splurged on some brushes and combs from Yves Durif. They’ve been on my wishlist for years! I bought the Vented Hair Brush which I highly recommend. I also bought the Petite Brush + Comb Set and love them to pieces. The Vent Brush is the best one I’ve tried. It seems like it might almost be a little flimsy because it’s so lightweight but it’s still very sturdy. I like the brush and comb as well and think it was all money well spent. I ordered mine from Violet Grey. If you’re in New York City you can also find their brushes in person store at the Sisley store or Saks Fifth Avenue.

Yves Durif Comb review

A couple others I wanted to mention are from Gisou and Mason Pearson. The Gisou Texture Comb is one I always get questions about. It’s available only on the Gisou website and comes in a pink pouch. I love it and carry it with me to the beach, in my gym bag and pretty much everywhere. I need to order another one so I can always have one with me. Mason Pearson makes a similar one called the Rake Comb. This is a nice wide-tooth detangling comb for me. These are more gentle on my hair compared to brushes on wet hair and work out tangles better. I use a brush to blow dry once all the tangles are out with a comb. I’ve also owned the Mason Pearson detangler comb for quite some time and like it but don’t love it as much as the others. I would not recommend this type for super thick or curly hair. The teeth are too close together for super thick dense hair. I like that it has a handle for easy grip but the wider ones work better for my hair type.

I hope you enjoyed this roundup! If you have tangle prone hair or dry hair I can’t recommend the detangling sprays enough. I’m hard pressed to pick just one, all three I featured are really good options. I also think Olaplex makes an excellent system. I wish I had discovered it sooner because I love how it strengthens and restores my hair. This list doesn’t cover all of my tries or favorites, just my recent favorite buys. If you want more hair care posts and reviews you can click the Haircare CATEGORY TAG to see more!

I’m going through a few hair masks that I’m testing. Roundup to follow once I’ve tried more on my list to see if I’ve found a better one than the Briogeo or Christophe Robin options (I haven’t yet but I’m still testing out your recommendations).

Shop the post:

 

Style notes and accessories:

 

If you have color treated or dry hair what are your favorite products?

 

71 Comments
Haircare

Hair Care Loves in Rotation

January 25, 2016
I love testing new things in hair care and playing with different kinds of shampoos, oils and tools. Since the summer, my go-to daily shampoo and conditioner has been the Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo and Conditioner, but I’ve been experimenting with some new items and discovered some new favorites. For a bit My hair is thick and has a slight natural wave to it and extremely prone to frizz without any product or heat treatment. My hair color is natural – it’s never been colored or highlighted (at least not yet). I like to switch shampoos up and alternate frequently – I wash my hair daily, so sometimes I feel like it needs more moisture, other times it needs a clarifying rinse. The two lines of shampoos/conditioners I used up recently are the Moroccanoil and R+Co Moon Shine. If you have any favorites/recommendations please let me know what you think I should try next!

___________________________

First up is the T3 PROi Professional Hair Dryer ($350, c/o). In terms of hair dryers, I’ve been a long time fan of Solano tools. In my experience they have been the best for my hair – they dry quickly, leave the hair shiny, smooth, glossy and frizz-free. I decided to give several other brands a try and nothing has given me the same results until I tried the T3 PROi. My beauty friend Rae raved about it and her hair always looks amazing everytime I see her – so I was thrilled to be able to try this. The PROi Hair Dryer comes with a mega hefty price tag but it does not disappoint. It far exceeded my expectations and allowed me to create a salon-quality results unlike anything I’ve tried before. My heart still belongs to Solano but this new one from T3 just might replace it’s spot as my new favorite. (For reference, the last one I bought was the Super Solano 3600 Ion.) The T3 PROicomes with 2 detachable nozzles, three different heat settings, a cool-shot option and two different intensities/speeds. It’s fairly lightweight for a full power full size dryer and easy to maneuver. The description says it’s supposed to cut the dry time – if you blow dry with completely wet hair, it will not (but you’ll still get amazing results). If you towel dry and then spend a couple minutes doing a rough dry first, the overall time to completely dry the hair is shortened compared to other dryers.

There are several different brushes that T3 launched. I decided to order the Freeflow Vent Brush ($17) first to try – it’s a good medium size brush and allows air to flow through the hair allowing for faster dry time. I like the design – it’s simple but aesthetically pleasing and seems very sturdy and well made. I’ve ordered a few more to try – I’ll do a more detailed review once I receive them. Good hair brushes are something I feel like I’m always searching for. I have good basic tools, but most of them look meh.

___________________________

Next are three shampoos/cleansers. I’m a traditional liquid shampoo and conditioner kind of girl, but there are some really interesting products on the market that I would have never thought to use that surprised me. Maybe I’m late to the party, but I would have never thought to use scrubs or oils to clean the hair.

Above from left to right:

  • Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt ($52 for 250 ml, c/o) is something that is relatively new to the US. Christophe Robin is a colorist from France and launched his own salon and line of products. Net-A-Porter sent his new Cleansing Purifying Scrub for me to try a few months ago and so when I had the opportunity to meet him in person while he was in LA, I jumped at the chance. I will have a dedicated feature on more of his products soon, but in the meantime you can read about his story here. It was so great to learn about his story and the background behind the creation of his line. The Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt is an amazing clarifying product. It is a grained-paste product that you rub into your scalp. It rebalances the hair and rinses out completely without any residue left behind. It removes impurities and leaves the hair feeling squeaky clean. If you have normal to dry hair, you may need to follow with a moisture mask. For me this is a game changer. You can find his line at Net-A-Porter, Sephora and Saks Fifth Avenue.
  • Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo Gentle Radiance Cleanser x Maison Kitsune ($57 for 400 ml, c/o) has been on my radar for a while but the concept of using an oil to wash my hair just didn’t seem appealing to me. Still the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo has cult-status and rightfully so. There are several formulas of the Cleansing Oil, the one I tried is the Limited-Edition Maison Kitsune in the Gentle Radiance Formula. It foams up into a really nice lather and cleans the hair really well. For me this is best used as once a week a clarifying treatment (alternating with the Christophe Robin) – at most 2x per week or on days after I work out. I do think it’s absolutely necessary to follow with some kind of rinse out conditioner if you use this one as it can be stripping if you skip. Some shampoos I don’t feel the need to use conditioner after, but this one you do.
  • Oribe Cleansing Crème for Moisture and Control ($44 for 8.5 oz/250 ml) is the most amazing cleansing creme I’ve tried. My local salon always uses some kind of cleansing creme to wash my hair before a cut but I’m particularly sensitive to scented hair products so I never end up purchasing what they use even though the results are amazing. I love all things Oribe although the line is fairly spendy so I feel like I have to keep this brand at arm’s length or it can get very expensive at the rate that I go through hair products. This one moisturizes perfectly and leaves the scalp feeling well nourished but clean. Hair is perfect afterwards – tangle free, smooth and left light and bouncy with a bit of natural shine. I don’t need to search for any other cleansing cremes as I have found THE ONE with the Oribe.
___________________________

Last but not least are some hair treatments and finishing products. I’m always trying minis of hair oils, sprays, creams and what not. It takes me forever to use up anything because I have so much in rotation. Scent is a big deal to me. If a hair product smells too floral, too vanilla, too perfumey or strong, I simply won’t use it – no matter how good it is.

Above from left to right:

  • Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil ($49 for 100 ml, also in this travel set) is one of my favorite hair finishing oils. The full size is very expensive but you only need a little bit to coat the ends of the hair so it lasts a long time. It adds the perfect amount of shine to the hair, especially when the ends start to look or feel dry. It is fairly strongly scented but I love the way everything from Oribe smells.
  • Drybar The Chaser Shine Cream ($29 for 100 ml) this has made an appearance on my blog many times. I like it because it adds shine and also helps as a pre-heat treatment. It maintains and controls frizz and leaves the hair feeling ultra soft. My husband likes to use this one too.
  • Shu Uemura x Maison Kitsune Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil ($69 for 150 ml, c/o) smells amazing and has notes of camellia, grapefruit, white essence, musk and heliotrope. This is a multi-purpose oil. The directions say you can apply it on the hair pre-shampoo or afterwards as a leave-in product. I prefer to use it after shampoo either on slightly damp hair before I blow dry or just simply as a leave in product as my hair air dries. It’s nourishing but very lightweight and won’t weigh down the hair or make it look greasy. Hair absorbs it quickly so there’s no residue left afterwards if you touch your hair. One pump is more than enough to cover my hair (it’s a little past the shoulder length). I will definitely be repurchasing this once it is used up.
  • Kiehl’s Heat-Protective Silk Straightening Cream ($17 for 150 ml) this is something I bought in store a while ago. I needed something as an add on to qualify for an in store promo so I decided to try this. I had used the Creme with Silk Groom when I was in college and liked it but it can be very heavy and easy to overdo. The girl at the store recommended I try this since I heat treat my hair regularly. I really like it to help straighten the hair and keep it smooth looking. I found it makes a noticeable difference in the way the hair looks in terms of helping give a more straightened look.
  • Edward Bess Black Sea Hair Hero ($44 for c/o) is my favorite texturizing hair product. It helps add volume, smooths hair, adds texture. Full review in this post here. The bottle is huge and even with regular use it’s lasted me for like forever.
  • Original and Mineral Know Knott Detangling Spray ($26 for 250 ml) is the best detangling product I’ve tried. Some days my hair just feels extra tangled and there are knots in my hair even after shampoo + conditioner. A few sprays of this one makes any comb or brush glide through the hair easily without any tugging or pulling. I tried this at my salon in a mini first and loved it so much I bought the full size.

That wraps it up for new hair discoveries along with favorites I consider staples. Have you tried anything from any of these lines before? If yes please let me know what you recommend. If not, I’m open to other suggestions on what you’ve tried and love 🙂 Do you have any hair products you consider game changers? I’m in the market for a new liquid shampoo and conditioner – what should I try next?

Some items featured indicated with a “c/o” beside the product name were sent free of charge for review consideration. Other items purchased by me.

21 Comments
Uncategorized

Hair Care Loves

June 5, 2010
Hair care is one area I don’t like to splurge on, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find good products that are reasonably priced from the drugstore. If you have any holy grails please share your successes with me, I’m always open to trying new bath and shower products 🙂

The 411 on my hair: I have thick dark black-brown hair with natural red highlights. It’s not exactly straight but not perfectly wavy either. Without a blowdryer and/or flat iron it dries to a huge poofy mess. I usually keep it around just below the shoulder for length. I would like it longer, but it just takes me a really long time to grow it out.

My hair care routine:

  • Daily: shampoo, leave in conditioner treatment and blow dry
  • Weekly: condition and straighten with a flat iron
  • Monthly: hair mask treatment
  • Misc: Hair cuts once every 3 to 4 months
  • Never: Color or highlight
Brands I’ve used repeatedly in the past include Aveda, Frederick Fekkai, Goldwell, Phyto, Redken, Neutrogena, and Crew for Men (yes, I use my hubby’s shampoo sometimes). As much as I love Aveda, I find the scents to usually be too earthy and herbal. Frederick Fekkai has been reformulating his shampoos so I haven’t used his line for a long time.

Right now my staples include, left to right:

Phytojoba Shampoo, Phyto7, Phytokarité,
HAI Ceramic Iron, Supersolano 3600 Micro

  1. Supersolano 3600 Micro Hair Dryer – This is my second Solano in the past 8 years. I really love this brand. After I decided to retire my first one, I tried a number of other always-raved-in-magazines type brands and was thoroughly disappointed by *all* of them (especially T3). None gave my hair that soft glossy shine or smooth blowout like my Solano. I’m not exactly sure what it is about the Solano, but it’s just amazing. I got mine at Ball Beauty Online on both occasions and they seem to have really good prices.
  2. HAI Convertible Ceramic Straightening Iron – Another fabulous birthday present from my sister 🙂 I’ve had this one for about 5 years. I’m not sure where she purchased this one from, but it’s also available online at Ball Beauty. Again, I’m not sure what technology this one has that makes it so great, but it makes my hair shine and ends look pretty.
  3. Phytojoba Shampoo – It’s meant for dry hair (even though my hair isn’t super dry) but I still love this. Has a delicious subtle pineapple-coconut scent, gets a rich lather, leaves the hair and scalp feeling good. My only 2 rants are the price for the size you get (I go through it really fast) and the fact that there is no pump (which makes it hard not to spill too much into my palm sometimes).
  4. Phyto7 & PhytoSpecific Integral Hair Care – Phyto7 is a hydrating cream I apply before blowdrying. A little goes a long way and I’m on my second tube right now (the first tube lasted me a year). I’ve written about PhytoSpecific here before but recently ran out so I don’t have it available to photograph. It’s a HG for me and allows my hair to airdry nicely like no other product.
  5. Phytokarité Ultra Nourishing Hair Mask – I recently had a 45 minute Phyto Hair Treatment at my local salon and the Phyto specialist used this on my hair. It was incredible and gave me baby soft hair. They gave me tons of sample packets of this conditioner to try out (since I got the regular Phytojoba Conditioner in a set). One packet has enough product for 2 uses. I’ve gone through 3 packets already (six weeks worth) and am definitely going back for this once my current conditioner is used up.
What is your hair type and what are your favorites? Do you have any special treatments you like to indulge in?
11 Comments