The Dry Shampoo Chronicles + a new (living proof) review

I love dry shampoo. I think it was one of the best inventions in the world. I feel driven to keep trying new products, though I have to say, I have tried a lot.

Instead of linking you back to the few reviews I have done, I will do a quick run down/mini review if you will.

Batiste Dry Shampoo: #1 in my heart and wallet. Reasonably priced, smells fresh and clean... and most importantly, works like a dream. Bonus: they have different kinds for different hair colors.

TreSemme "Fresh Start" Dry Shampoo (minus keratin): Great for drugstore options. I can't get any further than day 2 without it weighing my hair down. But... smells great and serves it's purpose for the price.

Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo: Decent product, very pricey. Smells delicious. However... I thought my hair looked more  "shiny" (read: greasy) at the end of the day.

Kenra Platinum Dry Shampoo: Eh. I always think Kenra smells yummy and I adore some of their other products ( blow out spray!) but this did not meet the mark. Too expensive and too sticky.

Sexy Hair Volumizing Shampoo: Sort of expensive. Felt more like I was spraying a lot of hairspray in my hair. I hated that I didn't have the movement that I get with others. 

It's a 10 Dry Shampoo: I desperately wanted to like this one. Like I always do. But it made my hair greasy. Literally EXTRA greasy. So essentially it did the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do. It does smell good though.

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo: This stuff is a little more pricey than some... and claims a few new things such as the only dry shampoo on the market with no talc or aluminum. And yes.. it is a good shampoo. And it has a unique and lovely scent. But it's not amazing. And it's not that cheap.

So here we are. I tell myself to be satisfied with what I am using. There is no need to try a better, new product. Right..? But.. what if...?

Living Proof seems to be everywhere lately, and I have not used any of their products. I spent a strange amount of time reading the reviews for their dry shampoo "Perfect Hair Day," and could not get over the rave reviews.

Does anyone else love reading reviews? I keep hitting page after page..after page. A few comments that seemed to repeat and stand out involved "hair feeling extra clean" and the "amazing scent!" After the 10th page of reviews, I knew I would be trying it.

So I held out until 20% off Tuesday (Beauty First gold card member reference for all of you non Nebraska and/or Kansas and New Mexico folk ) and went ahead with the purchase.

And I have to say... I have never felt so let down by a purchase. I can typically find the good in a product. Either it smells great, or it makes my hair soft.. or.. something. But not with this stuff. For starters, my hair did not look any less greasy or more refreshed after I used it. And, ladies... I know how to use dry shampoo. I did the whole spray on problem areas, leave sitting, massage in with fingers, brush through... the whole shebang. When I realized five minutes later that my hair looked exactly the same... I thought I had to be missing something. I sprayed in more and repeated. It looked only slightly better.

And can we quickly discuss the smell? I am NOT a fan! It almost made me nauseous- it reminded me of actual cleaning supplies.

I don't like to give up though, so I worked out that night, brushed through my hair, slept on it- and repeated again this morning (day 3). At this point, my hair looks chalky (even after a brush through), feels stiff and dry, and is super static-y. And I think it goes without saying that I don't think my hair is smelling very good.

I am honestly upset that I bought a whole bottle of this and will probably keep using it until it's gone. I hate wasting!
I wish I could say that I am just going to go buy a bottle of my tried and true Batiste, but I have a few things on my radar.

1. Dry Bar Detox dry shampoo: I want to try this one badly... mostly because I am obsessed with the scent of their products.

2. Bumble & Bumble Pret a Powder shampoo: Also a fan of this line.

Does anyone have any insight into these? Any new favorites I must try? Because.. I will.

Until next time!

XOXO

How To (not) Wash Your Hair

Happy Friday everyone!
In an effort to help everyone have an effortless weekend ahead, I'm going to share my most recent method of (not) washing my hair.

For those of you with short, styled 'dos, I totally understand the need to wash and style your hair daily. But for the folks out there like me, who have a mass of long hair, it is not only extremely inconvenient, but also damaging, to wash your hair daily.

Now, that's not to say that sometimes I don't wash my hair a few days in a row. Sometimes a combination of workout schedules and life events just do not allow for it! And that's just that. But on the days when I can wake up and refresh my hair- without taking the time to wash and dry- you bet I am on board.

I have posted several times about my quest to find the perfect dry shampoo. And, in case you are wondering, I still would highly recommend Batiste Dry Shampoo ($12), or for a lower price option, TreSemme Dry Shampoo ($4) works exceptionally well.

But, apparently I am never satisfied, because here is what happened. For a couple months now, every time I have visited my Beauty First location, they have been out of Batiste. So for awhile I was using the TreSemme Dry shampoo. And it serves its purpose. But I can't help but notice how it makes my  hair a little stiff and heavy- and just generally unmanageable. If I am not going to wash my hair, then I don't want it to look weighed down with product by the end of the day, either.

In an effort to save a little money, and not have to leave my apartment, I brushed in a little cornstarch to my roots with an old kabuki brush.

This is not a completely new concept to me, but last time I did it I was unimpressed with the result. So last week I found an article that talked about using cornstarch. Apparently I missed a key step-  the best way to apply is:

1) Sprinkle or brush cornstarch into roots (roots only!)

2) Let the cornstarch absorb any excess oil for a few minutes (previously missed this step!)

3) Massage into hair

4)Brush through hair until cornstarch is not visible.

And... ta da! My hair looks newly washed and there is no heavy residue. The only downside I can come up with is that you aren't getting a fresh, clean smell. However, I have no problem with a few sprays of body spray in the hair to take care of that problem. So, there.... not a problem anymore!

I would highly recommend this process as opposed to purchasing a dry shampoo. It can get expensive when you are buying a new bottle constantly. And cornstarch is typically less than a dollar. And it lasts forever.

For my brunette readers, doing half cornstarch, half cocoa powder will take care of that annoying white residue (and smells yummy!). I have heard that for red locks, cinnamon blends nicely as well.

Side note: I know a lot of people use baby powder, which is essentially the same concept. I, too, have used this method over the years. For me, the baby powder creates a ton of static that I cannot handle. I have no idea why,  but it's just not a great option for me!

Have a great weekend...not washing your hair!

Favorites (june) Edition

Oh no... a month has gone by and I've neglected this little corner of my world.

So much has been going on and it's been hard to keep up with normal life, however, I'm finally settling down and excited to share a few (random) things I am currently loving. 

1. Wet brush

Looks like a normal brush, right? Wrong. Look for that little "the Wet brush" logo. 

So when I went to Lark for my Blowout, the stylist used a Wet brush to comb my hair out post wash. If you have long hair, I feel like it's Hair 101 to know that combing it out with a brush is often a disaster. Maybe I am speaking for myself, but it creates more tangles and much more time. For that reason, when I saw her coming at me with a brush, I assumed disaster. Imagine my surprise when she effortlessly detangled my hair with this magical "Wet brush" device. I bought one shortly after and am still (confused) and amazed at how well it works. I have almost completely ditched my hair pick at this point. I don't know what their secret is.. it looks like a normal brush...but I'm telling you. I see these everywhere... I got mine at Beauty First. I've also seen them at Sally and they are on Amazon for a few dollars cheaper. Try it!

2. Batiste

I know I have already mentioned Batiste dry shampoo (and yes, it is still my current favorite) but last week I ventured out of my comfort zone and bought the "blonde" edition. As you can see, they have several shades to accommodate different hair colors. I am LOVING the blonde type, even more so than the original. It smells really good and it's nice to not worry about any white powder traces in your hair. 

I snapped this at Beauty First so you can see the options

3. Banhwich Cafe

AHHH. Sometimes it seems like if I am not talking about products, I am talking about food. And maybe it seems that way because it is that way. Guys, you have to go here. HAVE TO. If you haven't already. It is a north Lincoln spot that opened a few years ago. I went a couple times at random, and then quickly became addicted. Then I kind of forgot about it, then I went back and became re addicted to the point that I can hardly drive by without going there. This isn't a great review for the overall cafe because I always get the same thing... this delightfully spicy and full of flavor chicken sandwich. And bubble tea. Ohhh bubble tea. So much going on while drinking that stuff. It's just overwhelmingly great. My standard Banhwich meal featured below. And now my mouth is watering. 

Strawberry Bubble Tea 

4. Concerts

Easily one of my favorite parts about Summer is  the massive increase in outdoor concerts. It's overwhelming to the point that I have a concert listed nearly every weekend until September. Whether I will actually attend all of these is somewhat up in the air.. but I want to. The combination of country music and a Summer night is so hard to beat. 

David Nail 

Zac Brown Band 

Alright, thus ends just (a few) of my current favorites. We'll chat again soon!

Love, 

Dry Shampoo Wars

So, it turns out I have become obsessed with experimenting with dry shampoo. I have posted before about various dry shampoo products before... including non salon Suave products, Tigi Dirty Secret, straight up baking soda... I've been around the dry shampoo block a few times.

I have been using the Suave brand pretty religiously for over 6 months now because A) it smells so good and B) it works fairly good as well. But... I'm just over it. For whatever reason. I didn't feel like I was getting the results I needed and while I love how it smells, that's not a good enough reason anymore.

Enter my new experiments...

Last week I purchased it's a 10 Dry Shampoo and Conditioner in One. The sales rep recommended it as her favorite dry shampoo, and I take product recommendations seriously.

Honestly, I didn't read anything about the product. She said it smelled good (selling point) and worked wonders for her. 

So..here's my take. The first day, my hair seemed super shiny, but already a little greasy. I admit, it smelled great though! However that is not the job of a dry shampoo. Day two... we had a situation on our hands. And not a good one. Why did it look like I dipped my head in cooking oil?! Emergency hair wash. It's a 10 fail. 

So...here's the deal. I neglected to read that there is keratin in this product. Keratin, while a wonderful product, does not work for me. It makes my hair greasy and static-y...AND my naturally wavy hair wont hold a curl to save it's life when under the influence of keratin. 

So...if you have SUPER dry hair...this might be for you. I simply cannot do it and will never buy this product again. It's also a little bit pricey (I paid close to $22) and the combination of these qualities just did not work out for me. Sorry it's a 10... I LOVE your other products, but unfortunately this is not one of them. 

I hate to be negative. Okay, time to bring in the good stuff. 

Oh...my. Sometimes all it takes is a product that does WHAT IT SAYS it does to get me excited. I'm so lame sometimes and I'll be the first to call myself out. Ladies (and gentleman..maybe?) this needs to be your next dry shampoo purchase. Trust me!

I am on day 3 (and that means of no washing for those of you who aren't following) and here are a few of my results...

1. Non greasy hair

2. Clean, fresh & light scented

3. Extra volume (yes please!)

4. Added texture

Best of all...I paid $12 for this. That is almost half of the other product. Kind of... math isn't my strong point. BUT..I noticed this was listed at $8 for a lot of online retailers. Even better!! 

I am ecstatic about this stuff. Easily my favorite dry shampoo...ever. 

Don't judge me, but I might even push the limits and see what Day 4 brings. Wish me luck! 

*For those of you who are curious, YES... I still shower. It's called a shower cap, people. I didn't abandon basic hygiene. 

Do yourself a favor and get out there and get a bottle of Batiste! Also... they make it in color specifics. I haven't tried it yet but that might be next. I love it!

Stay tuned for a recap of the best blow out I have had (thus far!) and more exciting reviews! 

Happy Thursday!

XOXO,