I've used the shine and volume Alterna products and liked them just fine. The Caviar line is very, very expensive and is either the BEST EVER or the BIGGEST RIPOFF depending on who you believe. I've also read good things about Pureology:
Also very very expensive but if it's amazzzzzing, I don't mind. If it's not amazing I will very much mind. There's also the L'Oreal Total Repair shampoo and conditioner that goes with the balm I like, but I am never convinced that drugstore products are going to give me the same results. Have I been brainwashed by Sephora? Perhaps. So, now it's your turn. I have fine, straight, color-treated hair with slightly damaged ends. Charming, right? What do you suggest? What should I avoid?
Also! If you know of a great styling product I should be using, I'd like to hear about that too. Thank you in advance.
Alfaparf's Semi di Lino is pretty much heaven for my fine hair, and while I don't have color-treated hair so I don't know how that version of the line works, but it's amazing. I generally buy it on Amazon so it's cheaper, but it's worth it even at full price. Clean, shiny, full, manageable hair, and they have both a regular conditioner and a deep treatment mask that I alternate, sort of. I've never known anyone who tried it to hate it later. (Maybe stop using it because of cost, but never because of mediocre results.) Just my $1.25.
ReplyDeleteAnything by oribe I promise.
ReplyDeleteI've used pretty much all of those products over the years (Similar hair type to you (fine, straightish, treated), and they are good ones, so likely none is a bad move, although grail status is really an individual thing. I really like the Alterna bamboo, and the caviar products are wonderful, too. But it does come down to cost / benefit, and investment relative to results. Plus who wants to be stuck with a big bottle that doesn't do what you want it to do? Why not get yourself some samples / small bottles (Sephora or salon should be able to hook you up) to do trial runs before you invest? Great blog fodder, too.
ReplyDeleteI have never found holy grail shampoo. Pureology (the purple bottles) is my go-to, and what I always buy after I buy something that is terrible or meh. It does the best to keep my color, it's vegan, it's gentle, and I like the herbal scent (very herbal, not pretty girly herbal). I have Frederick Fekkai, Aveda, and Biolage in my shower now and flip between them and have no feelings either way about them. I have a Neutrogena deep conditioner (beige and orange tube) and that stuff is the BOMB and I use once a week to counteract my curling iron addiction.
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen those Purology ones at Costco- probably a little cheaper, at least.
ReplyDeleteMy Holy Grail conditioner is Jason Sea Kelp Conditioner (http://www.vitacost.com/jason-sea-kelp-natural-conditioner?csrc=GPF-PA-078522050094&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=078522050094&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=078522050094&gclid=CNCK2-HbprwCFe5lOgodeTAAEA)
I usually buy it at Whole Foods, but I also have seen it at Wegmans. I use it with Jason brand Tea Tree Shampoo which is great for my itchy scalp. I haven't tried the Sea Kelp shampoo yet, but I have a bottle waiting to try soon. I've gotten a bunch of itchy-headed friends hooked on this combo. It's relatively inexpensive compared to some salon brands.
I've heard that Pureology actually makes the Kirkland brand shampoos and conditioners at Costco, so that could be a way to try out Pureology without spending a ton. The ULTA brand color protecting shampoo is really nice, too, and smells minty and pretty.
DeleteI'm still doing OK with Living Proof at the moment (it's my haircut that's getting me down) but I have also used Pureology in the past, the PureVolume variety. Like the Living Proof, a tiny dab will do you so it lasts forever. Amusingly, Amazon.com tells me it retails for $1,775.00/100g. o_O. I do not think it's that special. My sister had some Free and Clear shampoos (completely allergen free, gluten free etc) from Walgreens and when I was at her house they were great on my hair but our water here is different and they are not making me happy. Shampoo is so confusing.
ReplyDeleteI have fine, thin, colored and keratined (brazilian blowout) hair. I use XFusion keratin building shampoo and conditioner w/ good results. Neither weighs me down nor frizzes me out. $25 for the set thru Amazon... YMMV...
ReplyDeleteI have long, coarse/frizzy, color-treated hair, and I have come to the conclusion that shampoo is more or less all the same (with the possible exception of some really cheap brands that may be harsher than the rest). It's what I put on my hair as a leave-in that seems to make the difference in terms of conditioning and manageability. In the past year or so I've been following this protocol: shampoo with whatever, condition with anything heavy-duty enough to make my hair feel good and slippery immediately afterwards, and then slap on a shit-ton of coconut oil which I do not rinse out. Because it's (the coconut oil) solid at room temperature, it coats the strands nicely and helps to smooth out frazzled ends. My hair seems a lot healthier since I started this regimen, and it certainly looks a hell of a lot better.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though our hair types, and hence our hair problems, are not exactly the same, however. So I conclude with a big fat YMMV.
My friend Kate has very thick hair and she does the coconut oil thing with great results! I think my hair is probably too fine for this but I'm curious...
DeleteKevin Murphy Angel Wash and Angel Rinse http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Murphy-Angel-Wash-Rinse/dp/B009AMMLBA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391125912&sr=8-3&keywords=kevin+murphy
ReplyDeletemy stylist turned me on to these. I mostly just use the conditioner (head and shoulders user here) but the smell is amazing and my hair is always lovely and shiny without being weighed down. A little expensive, but I love it.
Someone recently suggested L'Oreal EverPure to me and now it's hair bliss for me. I have curly hair too and buy the colour care version and it smells amazing (the conditioner is rosemary mint). I've tried half of all the salon brands and haven't found any of them useful (I always regret spending that much and then regret daily the terribleness of it as I work my way through the whole damn bottle). I prefer this one to Aveda's, hands down, and have also tried Pureology (meh). I find my hair gets weighed down by shampoo easily, and I want it to feel clean, like squeaky clean, when I'm done. This one does that and makes me feel like I'm at a spa it's so great to breathe in. The conditioner is light but makes my hair super soft. It's my forever shampoo. Or forever for now anyway.
ReplyDeleteLabel M Gentle Cleansing Shampoo changed my world! It's the strangest feeling shampoo but my hair looks fabulous after. I use Schwarzkopf Repair Rescue for conditioner. I have mid-length straight fine hair and these work great for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big Joico fan, I have long highlighted hair, so I alternate between the joico moisturizing shampoo and the purple toning shampoo (keeps the highlights fresh).
ReplyDeleteThis probably isn't the advice you're looking for but I have very straight, very fine hair too. I rotate through 3 or 4 different types of (cheap) shampoo, using a different one each day. I usually have a collection of Suave, Vo5, and maybe a nicer shampoo like Nutrogena. This seems to work for me - something about cutting down on "shampoo build up", Whatever that is :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy issue is that cheap shampoos tend to strip color right out of my hair. But I love it when a drugstore product performs well!
DeleteI have used Aveda Shampure for years..and have not found another to make me change it. It's my holy grail shampoo. :-) I have fine hair…but a lot of it. I can't have anything to weigh my hair down. This shampoo works so well on my hair that I don't have to use conditioner. I know some people don't like the earthy smells of some Aveda products but I don't mind it.
ReplyDeleteL'Oreal EverPure Intense Nourishing shampoo/conditioner. We have very similar hair. It works, preserves your color, great conditioning without weighing down fine hair. Love.
ReplyDeleteI have gone curly girl with my fine, color treated hair, but back when I was wearing it straight, I used John Frieda Brilliant Brunette with great results. It has a wonderful scent, IMO, for a drugstore brand. When feeling Splurgy, I'd use Pureology. (Not what you asked, but their Root Lift is awesome for fine hair!)
ReplyDeleteI feel like I have tried every flipping shampoo brand out there, from the expensive to the extremely expensive, and when my usual favourite Aveda started failing me, I bought Tresemme on a whim and have never looked back. Seriously, cheapy drugstore Tresemme. I use their "naturals" line. I avoid silicones in my hair products and the conditioner is cone-free. I have very thick, curly hair that is currently in a pixie cut. My hair is shiny and healthy and soft. My stylist ALWAYS compliments me on it! (She is under the impression that I am still using Aveda shampoo.) I am a Sephora whore so my cheap shampoo is my shameful secret.
ReplyDeleteI love TreSemme also! I have had compliments as well from hair dressers who assume I used more expensive shampoo and conditioner. I have been on a Clear kick lately and find it equally amazing if not even more.
DeleteAdrien, the Eufora Bodifying Elixir series is amazing and smells better than ANY shampoo or conditioner I've used before: http://www.beautifyingelixirs.com/#/products/2 I'm going to my salon next week so if you want to try it and can't find it, I'll send you some!
ReplyDeleteI swear by ColorProof, a relatively new line started by the stylist behind Pureology (which L'Oreal or similar now owns?). SWEAR BY IT. My hair feels like pure silk, and my color's never looked more pure.
ReplyDeleteYou can buy small bottles if you'd like to take a test drive before committing $25 for a full-size!
Clear. Off the grocery/drugstore shelf. I love it. A very successful hair stylist I know uses it as well.
ReplyDelete