My Hair Secrets, Out!

Hi everybody,

How are you today? Boy oh boy, it's getting hot in here! Is the weather also warm in your place? I feel a bit like summer, minus the humidity which is bad for the hair. Talking about hair, finally it comes down to this: today I out my hair secrets. Ever since I started this blog, the only hair product I've ever reviewed is Aveda Phomollient styling foam. It's not like I am not interested in my hair, it's just I do not use a lot of hair products. My haircare routine is quite streamlined, actually. Also, whenever I get a hair product that I like, the manufacturer decided to discontinue it.

Once in a while, somebody would ask me how I get my hair to be so straight and shiny. It's hard to explain that's how my hair is because people would not believe me. Most times, people think I hide my hair secret weapons from them. The FAQs are:

• What brand of shampoo/conditioner do you use?
• Do you flat iron your hair?
• Do you straighten your hair?
• What kind of hair serum do you use?
• Do you gloss your hair?
• Do you dye your hair?
• Where did you do your highlights? They look so...natural!

Look, folks! I do not keep any hair secrets from you and as much as I want to tell you I use 101 products to make my hair look so luscious and shiny, I don't! So for once and for all, let me tell you the secrets and let us be done with it. Genetically, my hair is born the way it is with the straightness and the chocolate hue. I do not color or highlight my hair. I do not use gloss or shine serum either, they make my hair look oily. I do not flat iron or straighten my hair at all. In fact, I prefer minimal heat.

My hair care routine consists of two products: a shampoo and a conditioner. Once in a while, whenever I feel the hair need some oomph, I add Phomollient styling foam before blow drying it. My blow dryer is 7.5 years old and it is not a T3. Recently, I got a ceramic tourmaline brush for cheap and that allows me to blow dry faster.

"So Dao, what are names of shampoo and conditioner you use?" you may ask.

I chuckle and unveil the secrets to you. Ready? Dove and Aveda!

1. The secret shampoo: Dove Intense Damage Therapy Shampoo

Just in case you're wondering how it looks like, it's the blue bottle

I bought this family size bottle from Sam's club for a bit less than 7 dollars. It's 1.2 liters and going to last me for a while. Dove really got me hooked on their products: they sent me shampoo and conditioner samples of the discontinued Pro-Age and my hair behaved a lot better.

It was during last summer that my hair got really dry. The good people from Aveda recommended me to buy their moisturizing products which cost a lot of money. After using the Pro-Age shampoo, my hair restored its luster. On top of that, it got more volume. The thread of straight hair is not frizz, it's flatness. Dove shampoos provide volume even when it's humid outside. After Pro-Age became extinct and I used up my bottle, I decided to buy Intense Therapy and fully expected it not to perform as well as Pro-Age. Guess what? It works really well!

The claims
(Do not sound like what my hair needs at all, but I cannot be too sure!)

The ingredients
It's a paraben-free product that comes from the drugstore

Obviously, Dove shampoos are not sulfate-free yet (the only drugstore brand out there is L'Oreal.) It cleans well without stripping all the oil or leaving my hair with too much moisture. This shampoo is just right for me! Also, this makes a great brush cleanser.


Price: $3.50-4.00 for the regular 12 fl. oz size at grocery and drugstores, $7.00 for the 40 fl. oz (1.2L) family size at wholesale stores.

My rating: A+ for the effort to remove parabens from the ingredient list.

2. The secret conditioner: Aveda Brilliant Conditioner

Aveda Brilliant Conditioner ($18 USD for 6.7 fl. oz)

Unlike my shampoo, this conditioner does not come as economical. At 18 dollars, it is not the most expensive conditioner in the market. I almost declined to buy it but then (a) I do not use that much conditioner so a tube does last me a long time and (b) life is too short to use sucky conditioners! So right then and there at Aveda Institute, I shelled out my 18 bucks plus tax for this baby, fully expected it to suck. (Again, the way it goes in my head is expect things to suck first, then prove it otherwise. It's better and "healthier" than going the other way, I guess!)

First of all, Brilliant smells great! Its fragrance comes from Aveda's Pure-fume aroma with jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, and other pure flower extracts. The ylang-ylang note is more pronounced than the others and it is very sensual. Everytime I wash my hair, I feel like being in a spa! Now, this conditioner is intended for textured and treated hair but my straight hair just loves it. After years of dealing with under or over moisturizing conditioner, it is refreshing to use something that's just right. (I think I sound like Goldilocks here!) Also, Brilliant lives up to its name: my hair does look a whole lot shinier since started using it.

Ingredients: Aqueous extract of Anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower, Calendula officinalis, Aloe barbadensis leaf, Camellia oleifera leaf extract, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, behetrimonium methosulfate, cetyl dimethicone, Limnathes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, dicaprylyl maleate, Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, Orbignya oleifera (Babassu) seed oil, Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) extract, Avena sativa (oat) kernel extract, Oryzanol, tocopherol, distearyldimonium chloride, centrimonium chloride, cetyl hydroxyethylcellulose, fragrance, limonene, eygenol, linalool, hydroxycitronella, geraniol, citronellol, maltodextrin, sodium gluconate, phenoxyethanol.
Source: ccoconut, palm, rapeseed, silica, mixed plant, plant fiber, rice bran, and corn

My rating: A+, it's also a paraben-free product.

That's all for today, folks! I hope your day is going well and as always, stay gorgeous!

Love,
Your Makeup Blogger

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