Review for fine hair: Fat Hair products

Being endowed with baby fine hair, but feeling the cost of Sebastian Body Double products on my wallet, I've switched to the FAT HAIR shampoo, conditioner, thickening serum, and hairspray. The products retail at around $20NZD and are available at your local pharmacy.

The shampoo and conditioner seem OK, not many conditioning agents in the ingredients list, but that makes sense for a volumising product.

The serum is a stand out product- it gives root lift while still leaving my hair shiny and soft.However, the hairspray is a complete nightmare. Thick and crunchy, it sets in your hair like cement! 

Pantene Frizz Defence Serum = Holy Grail of Sleek Extensions

All fellow extension-wearers out there, drop what your doing immediately and head to the supermarket/Farmers for a bottle of Pantene-Pro V Restoratives Frizz Defence Serum. With a kick ass ingredients list of Cyclopentasiloxane and Dimethicone, when applied to wet extensions it's greasy formula transforms your hair into flowing goddess locks. Just be careful to avoid your bonds- its conditioning agents will break down your keratin tips and your extensions will melt out of your hair.

New Extension Haircare Products To Try

With Extensions, I recommend using

1. Daily Conditioner

2. Deep Conditioner once a week

3. Anti-frizz serum/Soothing balm/Straightening balm

4. Leave in conditioner

5. Heat protect spray

As previously mentioned, the best Deep Conditioner is without a doubt pure Coconut oil.

For a heat protect spray, I use Sebastian's Trilliant- it adds shine and sparkle and smells like mango. There is some decent conditioning agents like Dimethicone in there too.

However, today I dipped my toes into the world of supermarket hair care and purchased Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Anti Frizz Conditioner, Serum and Hydrating Curls Leave-In Treatment. Im pretty excited about the Serum- Cyclopentasiloxane is the main ingredient and is the king of conditioning agents. Oh, and all cost under $15!

So I thought I'd give them a whirl and update with my review on the Pantene Restoratives Anti-Frizz range for using on extensions.

Salon vs Supermarket?

I used to be a hair product snob with a serious substance addiction to products like Sebastian & Co Thickening Shampoo/Conditioner/Thickfy Styler/Taming Elixir/Kerastase hair masks...while great, I have found in my hair research that supermarket conditioners contain many of the same ingredients.

For example Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Smoothing Hair Masque contains the following ingredients: Water, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Potato Starch Modified, Cetyl Esters, Isopropyl Alcohol, Elaeis Guinneensis Oil, Shorea Robusta / Shorea Robusta Seed Butter, prevervatives, fragrance...

Now consider L’Oreal Vive Pro Smooth Intense Conditioning Treatment. The ingredients are remarkable similar: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Potato Starch Modified, Cetyl Esters, Isopropyl Alcohol....

With hair extensions, the more conditioning the better. Using a supermarket conditioner, a deep conditioning treatment, smoothing serum and leave in conditioner will cost the same as only buying a salon conditioner and you hair will look so much better. While in the shampoo aisle, look for conditioners with the following ingredients:

Cyclopentasiloxane

Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine

Amodimethicone

Dimethicone

Behenalkonium Chloride (Cetrimonium Chloride works well with this)

For a leave in conditioner and smoothing serum, look for the same above ingredients. If you find that too heavy for your hair, the following are lighter leave in conditioning agents:

Behenetrimonium Methosulfate

Shea Butter

Pantene, Herbal Essence, Sunsilk, Vo5 are all good options. Happy hunting!

Before and After: My Be Beautiful Hair Extensions

Coconut Oil is the Holy Grail of Hair Conditioners

I came across this great website www.thebeautybrains.com where scientists answer common beauty questions using scientific research. One article stated that Coconut Oil was the only conditioning agent proven by a peer reviewed scientific journal to actually penetrate all the way into the hair shaft.

I brought a bottle from a heath shop for $10 and massaged it through my extensions (being VERY careful to work below the bonds!) and left it overnight. In the morning it required a good shampooing to get it all out but when I dried my hair the results were incredible. My extensions looked like a-hair-commercial-Goddess-who-has-her-own-wind-machine-good.

I am now going to include a complimentary bottle of coconut oil with my hair extension installations, to be used as a deep conditioner once a week.

More information at:

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/05/24/is-ojon-restorative-treatment-any-good/