Hello beautiful readers!
I have been trying to think of the last time I purchased some hair products and I knew it had been a while because I really couldn't remember. I have this bad habit of getting over a product before I finish the bottle so I replace it and put the half/almost empty bottles under my sink and forget about them. Lately I've been dipping into that collection and using up some of my old stuff and I was thinking about how I really hadn't done any research on what was new.
The only thing I've heard time and time again is that parabens are terrible and everyone is choosing products that do not have them. And I'm going to be completely honest, even though I now work for a skin care company, I had no idea what a Paraben was or why it's so bad. So I'm going to go over my haul with you as well as give you a breakdown on what parabens and sulfates are so you can make your own decision when purchasing hair care products. I'm going to give you a general definition for each based on what I've read about them. If you want more detail a basic google search can tell you all you need to know...
What is a paraben? A preservative used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food products chosen mainly for its bactericidal and fungicidal properties as well as it's low cost. They are also known to be more effective and preserving products than more natural alternative such as grape seed oil.
Why is it bad? Traces of parabens have recently been found in breast cancer and also have been linked with adding higher amounts of estrogen to their users and possibly causing pre-puberty in young girls.
What is a sulfate? A salt or sulfuric acid used in shampoos and cleaning products that essential create the "lather" of the product.
Why is is bad? There have been claims that sulfates link to cancer but that is not definite. What has been concluded is hat sulfates actually cause more frizz for your hair, especially curly hair and also is damaging to color treated hair.
Ok now that we have all of that out of the way we can talk about what I purchased. All of the products in my new collection are sulfate or paraben free or both. In my first haul which included a trip to planet beauty and nordstrom I purchased only Alterna and Living Proof products based on recommendations from friends. Then I paid a visit to an Aveda store and was completely sold on their conditioner and anti-frizz leave in. I'm listing the products purchased below as well as my first impression of them. I've used everything for about two weeks now so I feel like I am able to give honest feedback.
For treatment I picked up the Kendi Dry Oil Spray by Alterna and the Aveda Smooth Infusion leave in treatment. So far I like the Kendi spray, it leaves my hair soft and shiny and the consultant told me that it also gives the hair heat protection which is the real reason why I bought it. I'd say that it does make my hair feel softer after I spray it and it isn't too greasy which I really like, but it really is just a glorified heat protectant, it does it's job but for $25 you can get something from the drug store that probably does the same thing, I won't be buying it again. For the smooth infusion by Aveda, I've used that about 3 times and I like it, I feel like it leaves my hair smooth, but I will say that if you use too much you will feel like your hair is too weighed down and a bit greasy. I prefer to stay away from products like this because I only wash my hair about twice a week so I don't want it to feel heavy/greasy right after I wash it. If you're looking for smoothness this definitely works, I would just say use a light hand when applying. Then for texture and as a curl refresher I got the Bamboo Beach Ocean Beach Waves texture spray and I really love this stuff. It's a nice second day curl refresher and it smells amazing. You spray it in the hair and twist the curls in the direction you want them to stay and they really do stay put. It's a bit pricey at $20 but I'm not using it on a daily basis so it's worth the spend to me.
For shampoo I ended up with the No Frizz shampoo from Living Proof and a Deep Cleanse Clarifying shampoo from Bamboo by Alterna. If you're not sure, a clarifying shampoo is meant to get rid of all the build up in your hair from products as well as give it a deep clean. I will say that this one REALLY cleans the hair out, though the consultant assured me that this does not strip your hair, it did leave mine feeling really rough and dry. I'm sure this has everything to do with how bleached and processed my hair is, so I would say use sparingly (once a week if that) and make sure you deep condition after. For a daily shampoo, the living proof no frizz is working out really well. It doesn't dry my hair out and gives a good clean, it also suds up enough so I can feel it cleaning even though it does not have sulfates which is nice. I didn't know this when I bought it but that lines was developed by scientists at MIT, so if that information is impressive to you then you might wanna pick it up!
Lastly for conditioner I purchased a daily conditioner by the Aveda damage remedy line and I really like this one, it's very moisturizing but not too heavy, it actually adds protein to the hair to help rebuild it. For my color treated hair I've noticed that after an intense clarifying shampoo this product did its job in adding the moisture back. For my mask/conditioning treatment I purchased the Alterna Bamboo Kendi Intense Moisture Mask and I would have to say out of all of my products this was my least favorite. I really haven't felt like it moisturized my hair anymore than a normal conditioner and even to get that deep moisture feel I had to use a ton of product and my hair isn't even that long. Maybe if you have thin hair this would be a good product but I wasn't impressed, I definitely won't be buying it again.
Well that's my haul, please let me know if you have any feedback on these products or if you can recommend a good conditioning mask. Ive heard good things about Enjoy, Aveda and Cavier so those are next on my list. If you would like to know where you can purchase these products I'm proving a link to my polyvore page where you can buy them online or visit a retailer.
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