New Herbal Essences Naked Shampoo & Conditioner

Images courtesy of Herbal Essences (Proctor & Gamble)

This month, Herbal Essences is releasing their newest line of haircare products: Naked. Naked has three product lines:

• Naked Volume
• Naked Moisture
• Naked Shine

I was able to snatch up an early-release set of products from the Naked Volume line, which is perfect because volume is definitely something I need help on! The set includes four products:

• Naked Volume Shampoo
• Naked Volume Conditioner
• Naked Volumizing Souffle (aka mousse)
• Naked Volume Dry Shampoo

The Volume line also includes a hairspray ("Flexible Hold Spritzer") but my set did not include that, so I won't review it here. If you're interested, the set can be purchased for $12.99 (USD) here. (Pro tip: Go through ebates.com to get 4% cash back, making the price $12.47, which is decent for four full-sized haircare products! CVS in my area has these normally priced at $4.99. Keep reading to get my thoughts...

Good to the Last Drop: Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

Sad face.  I finished the last of my Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque.  This light and lovely-smelling conditioner was a great addition to my haircare routine.

I first picked this up at Ulta because I was looking for something to help hydrate my hair and keep it healthy.  I have very fine hair, so I need heat to help with styling, which means lots of potential for abuse and damage.  I wanted something deep conditioning that wouldn't make my hair oily or gross, and I NEVER want products that weigh it down.

I'd heard positive things about this line of products, and they smell fantastic, so I decided to give it a shot.  (Plus, I think I had a coupon.)  Although it's lightweight enough that you can probably use it after every shampoo, I only used it once or twice a week to give my hair an extra little boost.  After every rinse, my hair feels sleeker, smoother, softer.  Even at the following shampoo, I always notice how soft and smooth my hair is.

To use, you simply scoop some masque into your hand and apply throughout hair as you would normal conditioner, avoiding your roots.  It's thicker than normal, so it does tend to sit on the hair heavier while conditioning.  I like this because it means it actually stays on my hair instead of running immediately down the drain.  I like to leave the hair masque on for 4-5 minutes while I shower, then rinse it thoroughly.  I will say this - the shower floor gets pretty slick after I rinse this masque out of my hair - so be careful!

I do plan to purchase this again.  I have a different deep repair conditioner that I will use up, but after that, it's highly likely that I will go back to the Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque.  It's light, effective, smells great, and reasonably priced for what it is.  Two thumbs up!

Searching for sleeker hair

I'm growing my hair out... partly for the wedding, and partly because I haven't had really long hair in a long time.  Because my hair is naturally wavy, loosely curly, my hair needs a lot of styling, which means lots of heat, and lots of heat means lots of damage.

Most days, I like to wear it straight.  My hairstylist told me to spray dry wax (brand: Short Sexy Hair) and use a flat iron.  Because I A) don't have the time to flat iron my hair every day, and B) don't want to kill my hair even more than I already am, I began looking for alternatives.

On the recommendation of some YouTube beauty gurus, I decided to check out the got2b brand, and picked up the Smoothing Lustre Lotion at my local CVS.  I put one pump's amount into my hands and rub them together, then run my fingers through damp hair, avoiding the roots.  I separate my hair into two sections (like two pigtails) and make sure to run hands through the hair (including palms), all the way to the ends.  Then, blowdry as usual.

I find that this product makes my hair hold the straighter style longer, with fewer fly-aways.  I see less frizz, and it feels softer and more protected from heat damage.  The only con to the lustre lotion is the pump dispenser makes it very difficult to travel.  I'm leaving today on business, and I can't take it with me.  :-(  

I compared this to the amica Obliphica hair oil that came with my October Birchbox, and I prefer this product much more.  The hair oil felt like coating my hair in something synthetic, rather than something that absorbs well.  It left a weird texture that I didn't like... with fine hair, oily products look oily on the hair.  It wasn't for me.  I'm sticking with the got2b.  What do you use to protect and smooth your hair?