Dear Belle,
The dry weather is destroying my hair. It is so lifeless that I can’t even curl it. Do you have a favorite conditioning product?
Sincerely, Jamie
Having fine hair, my ends get ragged after about four weeks. To keep them looking smooth for a bit longer, I like to use an oil treatment like Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment ($19).
It’s a solid product that you warm in your hands, apply to dry hair and wash out. I like to do it on a Saturday or Friday night because it does weigh my fine locks down a bit before the second wash. After than, it’s magic though. I use it twice-a-month to keep my ends neat.
In the summer, I don’t need as much help, thanks to the humidity, but I like to use Moroccan Oil Light formula to keep it well-hydrated.
And if you’re looking for something inexpensive that you can pick up at a drugstore, Aussie 3-Minute Miracle, which is a more traditional cream conditioner that you can use as often as needed.
Do you have a favorite hair moisturizing treatment?
I highly recommend Pureology products. I use the Super Smooth shampoo and the Moisturizing conditioner. My hair went from dry, break-y, and dull to soft as silk, glossy, and strong. They're a bit pricey ($27 a bottle), but I can't recommend them highly enough. Even with this wretched weather, my hair is silky. I haven't trimmed my ends in eight weeks, but they're soft as anything. I know they have a deep conditioning treatment too, that is very pricey but I'm sure amazing. But the regular moisturizing conditioner would probably be enough. Like I said, a few weeks of the super smooth shampoo and moisturizing conditioner, and my hair was so healthy. Their cuticle smoother is very good too. You can use on wet or dry hair. Adds genuine gloss and actually smooths out frizz. A very little goes a long way. Hope this helps!
I use straight coconut oil on my hair as the pretreatment to end all pretreatments. I use a dollop the size of a quarter, warm it up in my hands, and completely grease up my hair. (If I'm feeling really fancy, I'll blowdry my hair a little, to really melt it in.) I'll leave it in for an hour or so, than shower shampooing and conditioning as normal. I have never used anything that made my hair so shiny, soft, and bouncy!
Does anyone have cheap alternatives to the Aussie 3-minute miracle? I liked the product, but found the smell gross and overpowering long after my hair dried, and I won't buy it again. I use spray leave-in conditioners sometimes and they help, but would love a deep, regular conditioner to use too!
I recently purchased a groupon for a haircut at a relatively nice salon that included a special deep conditioning treatment that alone is normally priced at $20. I had serious doubts about what a $20 conditioner could really do for my hair, but I was blown away. It was a very thick cream they applied roots to ends during the shampoo process and let sit on my hair for about 10 minutes. The difference it has made is remarkable, and I will definitely be doing this again. Now about a month later, my hair is still as soft as when I left the salon. I don't know what specific product they used, but I just wanted to endorse this salon add-on option.
I agree with MK on the Pureology reccommendation- expensive, but amazing. My hairdresser reccommended it to me for my super dry, thick hair, and told me to always buy the “for color treated hair” products if you have dry hair, even if you don't have color treated hair b/c those products are made with low/no sulfates and extra moisturizers that are helpful to everyone.
Also agree with Molly on the Aussie 3 Min Miracle- my hair was left with a buttered popcorn and coconut smell for 3 days after using this and rewashing with other products. yuck! I switched to Oribe moisture masks, which is about $30 more expensive, and smells glorious, but is only slightly more mositurizing than the Aussie, so don't really know if you'd consider that a good alternative.
I've been using the Joico Reconstruct Split End Mender ever since I saw this post on The Beauty Brains website:
https://thebeautybrains.com/2012/02/01/hair-repair-new-technology-really-works/
I have very fine hair that often gets weighed down by moisturizing or anti-frizz products (if I blow dry my hair and it's greasy after a few hours, I know the product is too heavy). The best product I've found is Redken Smooth Lock Butter Silk, which has almond oil. I use it a few days a week in place of regular conditioner and it has kept my hair very healthy and shiny. It's a bit pricey, but I stock up in bulk from Amazon. https://www.redken.com/products/haircare/smooth-lock/smooth-lock-butter-silk
I love the H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Mask from Lush! https://www.lushusa.com/H%27Suan-Wen-Hua/00095,en_US,pd.html?start=4&cgid=hair-treatments You leave it in for about 20-30 min on dry hair and then shampoo and condition as usual. I have fine straight hair and it leaves it really soft but doesn't weigh it down at all. It does have a kind of strong chai tea scent but its worth it!
I use a thick conditioner in the shower, which I leave on for at least 3 min, and then a light oil on the ends (and then massage half way up my hair), and then more oil on the ends the second day.
Terax Deep Conditioner. I've had long hair my entire life (longer than one is supposed to keep their hair well below shoulder length) and once I discovered Terax, my life changed 🙂
I love the Moroccan Oil deep conditioning treatment. Actually I like everything by Moroccan oil. I have thick hair that tends to frizz so for me there's no such thing as a conditioner that's too heavy for me. This makes my hair soft and smells great without weighing my hair down. Plus it lasts a long time.
A drastic change in haircolor a few years ago left my hair so ragged I could barely pull a comb through it. I tried everything to restore it and nothing worked until I found Fekkai Protein Rx conditioning treatment. After one use my hair felt almost normal, and after a few treatments it was good as new. Admittedly it's pricey, but it was absolutely worth it. Plus, it smelled like cake batter. They've changed the packaging, but I believe this is the same product:
https://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?skuId=2248268&productId=xlsImpprod4490011&navAction=push&navCount=1&subdoc=25newatulta28&categoryId=cat120008%20cat1050001
After a horrific dye job last year that fried my hair and resulted in massive amounts of breakage, a friend who is a hairdresser recommended Adore:
https://www.amazon.com/Adore-Creative-Image-Color-Crystal/dp/B005TVSETO/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1359600894&sr=1-1&keywords=adore+crystal+clear
It's a clear glaze and has made my hair SO much stronger, shinier, and manageable. You apply it like hair dye and let it sit (with or without application of heat), then wash out. Just make sure you buy the Crystal Clear bottle because it comes in some pretty wacky colors and you don't want to accidentally end up with Purple Rage!
I LOVE Oribe's Color Mask, but the price is terrible $59. You only need to use about once a week in the winter and once every 2 weeks in the summer.
I highly recommend any product from Pro naturals moroccan argan oil, I'm using their hair mask once a week and my hair is looking very revived.