Happy New Year, Beauty Queens!
How is everyone doing? Your hair holding up during Winter’s onslaught? Mine wasn’t…but it’s all better now!
Here’s how it all went downhill :
1. I permed my hair back in March 2011.
2. I colored it December 2011 for my wedding.
3. Between March and December, I’ve been abusing the bejeezus out of my locks with hot irons of all kinds and blasting my strands with the hair dryer.
I’ve been faithful to my beloved ISH One Minute Treatment and while it did the job conditioning my hair, another problem was rearing its head.
I have to wash my hair every day otherwise the roots get really oily and start to look like they could possibly dread themselves. I like my hair the way it is and want to keep it that way. I tried a bunch of shampoos and conditioners marketed for “oily hair” but none of them worked…and I finally figured out why.
The problem isn’t the oiliness of my hair. The problem was my scalp. So how to tame it while conditioning my damaged hair? It seemed like such an impossible task (remove the excess oil from my scalp while delivering rich conditioners to the tips each strand while only using one product) and I almost gave up.
I don’t even remember how I started looking up Clay Esthe but that doesn’t matter because I’ve discovered it.
Frizzy2Silky says it’s supposed to do the following :
Natural clay and deep sea minerals deeply cleanse buildup on hair and scalp. Excellent for thinning hair the clay shampoo unclogs oil and residues preventing new hair growth from deep within the follicle. Clarifies scalp problems, such as dandruff.
I had no idea how a product that’s supposed to deep cleanse while clarifying issues like dandruff is supposed to help with my oily scalp. That sounds like a tall order. More specifically, it didn’t even sound like it would work on oily scalps but at this point, I was desperate and willing to give it a shot (the Tanakura clay was what caught my attention. I love clay masks for my face).
Imagine my surprise when this stuff beat my oily scalp into submission. Imagine how far my jaw dropped when I realized I technically don’t have to wash my hair every day any more (but I still do. I like freshly washed hair).
My hair has never felt so soft, silky, bouncy and full of body. My nearly 1 year old perm now looks even better than before. I have never gotten so many compliments on my hair. Call me vain but people stop me to tell me how beautiful my hair looks at least once whenever I go to work.
image courtesy of moltobene.co.jp
The smallest bottle on the far left is the 350 ml size.
This shampoo comes in the professional salon size container with a pump.
I’m so totally going to get that once I’m done with my 350ml bottle.
The shampoo is pretty standard issue in terms of how you use it. It smells kind of mineral-y, clay-ish and something….earthy and herbal-y but not in an unpleasant way. Your hair doesn’t have a super perfumed scent to it when it’s dry but I kind of like that because it just smells clean and like yourself.
Image courtesy of moltobene.co.jp
The little jar is the 300 gram size that I have.
That little jar will seriously last me for a long, l-o-o-o-n-g time.
The clay pack is the real secret weapon. I use about a half dollar sized dollop every time I wash my hair. I spread some along my fingertips and work it into my scalp. Whatever is left over, I apply to the tips of my hair. I leave it alone for about 3 minutes (you’re supposed to leave it on for a total of 5 minutes).
During this time, I’ll wash my face and scrub myself down. I wish someone would’ve told me that your scalp will tingle because I didn’t know. I think I froze for a few seconds the first night because I wasn’t expecting that. It’s not a flat out burning sensation but more like a cooling, minty feel. It’s very refreshing, actually.
By the time I’m done rinsing myself off and fingercombing the product from my scalp through my tresses, it’s about 5 minutes and change. Time to rinse off. It rinses clean even though it feels like you’re sluicing custard from your hair. It really is that thick….but it leaves your hair GLORIOUS after just one use.
After getting over my shock, I decided to take a closer look at this miraculous pack. To be more specific, I wanted to look at the list of ingredients because I wanted to know what was responsible for all this fantasticness.
There are a lot of fascinating ones but I’m going more in depth about my two favorite ones.
Squalane
What the hell is this? Do you know? I didn’t so I had to look it up. It’s a fast-absorbed moisturizer that has antibacterial and antioxidant properties while promoting healthy cell growth. As if that’s not enough, it also blocks UV rays from damaging your hair.
Natural Clay
Actually, the clay used is known as Tanakura clay. This particular kind of clay is found in the deep sea by the Tanakura area of Japan. It’s especially good at removing excess oils while infusing the skin with nourishing deep sea minerals.
Nice. This is probably my favorite ingredient because I have an oily scalp that refuses to succumb to any product I’ve thrown its way.
Don’t just take my word for it. Try it yourself!
Here’s the link for the 350ml shampoo.
Here’s the link for the 300 gm treatment.
Yes, they’re pricey. Use coupon code BONNIE10 to get 10% off and try these products out for yourself. If you like them, you can always get the refills and save money by buying in bulk.
I personally do not mind spending the money on products that work. My hair is no longer frizzy and damaged looking at the tips. The roots of my hair look amazingly touchable and no longer make me cringe because it resembled an oil slick. My hair is touchably soft and my coworkers are amazed by the softness and healthy appearance. My husband is also loving how my hair looks.
I know the product description doesn’t say anything about being safe to use on colored hair but my hair color still looks rich and fresh.
Winner winner, chicken dinner.
