So for some reason, my hair went throught a horrible phase a couple of months ago. And I was like, great, I guess that means it's time to trim it now, but deep inside, I obviously didn't want to, because even though everyone seems to look so cute with their lobs, I kinda hate short hair on me.
So I decided that I would try some things to repair my hair. I thought about trying Olaplex, because I heard awesome things about it, but I decided it was a bit out of my reach.
Here is what worked for me and has made my hair not 100% perfect (but let's face it, whose hair is...), but a LOT more soft, shiny and healthy:
- Pantene 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner Repair & Protect.
What it says:
RECOMMENDED FOR: Weak damaged hair due to frequent styling & colouring.
YOUR IDEAL HAIR: Strong, shiny hair.
- Moisturises and helps repair damaged hair, insulates and hydrates every strand to give your hair a healthy, vibrant look and feel.
- Penetrates into the hair's core, nourishes your hair.
- Helps repair 3 months of damage in 3 minutes.
- Pantene's system features micro-nourishers that moisturise, help seal cuticles and repair damage from root to tip. Your once dry, damaged hair becomes moisture-rich, soft and shiny.
PANTENE PRO-V FORMULA INNOVATION: Pantene's unique shampoo and 3 Minute Miracle conditioner with
Pro-V Formula penetrates into the core, moisturizes, and helps repair damage from root to tip, so you have stronger, shinier hair inside out.
My experience: I feel like I have tried this before, but back when there was only one version of it (now there's 3), and I felt like it didn't really do anything for my hair. I decided to give it a try now, about a week ago, and I've been LOVING it. It has made my hair a lot healthier, smoother, softer, shinier and it seriously is a visible difference. I would seriously recommend it if you're looking for something that has a reasonable price and does the job.
My rating: 8/10 - It's not absolutely perfect, but it's affordable and it will do a lot of what it claims to.
- Coconut Oil.
This is seriously good stuff. The funny thing is, I tried it about a year ago, and it left my hair looking and feeling even worse than it was, and so I couldn't understand why everyone was going so crazy about it. But somebody once told me that it was the same for her, until she decided to actually apply it on damp hair, rather than dry, which is what I had been doing, and this definitely changed it all.
The basics:
- Be VERY careful when you heat it up. I wouldn't recommend using the microwave. The way I did it, was putting hot water (not boiling, just hot water from the tap) in a bowl, and then putting the coconut oil in a smaller bowl or cup on top of the other one. Coconut oil melts really easily, even with your body temperature, which is why you wanna be careful of not burning it or making the properties go away with temperatures that are too high.
- Put it on your hair. As much as you need. I can't really tell you how much you would need, because I don't know how thick, long or dry your hair is, but make sure all the ends are well covered.
- Roots? Well, if you have oily hair, I definitely wouldn't recommend putting it on your roots. I've heard lots of people say that it's good for your roots as well because it helps with hair growth. My hair is normal -not dry, not oily- but I avoid my roots anyway, because there was a time when it was kinda oily, and I get this fear of attracting the oiliness again if I put the oil too high up haha.
- When you've covered your hair, ideally you would want to put a shower cap on, or just plastic wrap. Put it in a bun, and then cover your hair with one of the two. You could even use your blow dryer to give it a bit more heat so the oil can penetrate better, but there have been times when I have skipped this step and it has worked just as well.
- How long do I leave it on? The longer the better! If you can go to sleep with it on, it'll work wonders, but if you can't, then I would do it for at least 30 minutes. I try having it on for a minimum of 1 hour, but again, it depends on how dry your hair is.
-Now, when it comes to finally taking it off (I know, it feels gross on your hair, but it'll be worth it) you will most likely need to actually shampoo your ends. So what I do is, I jump in the shower, make my hair wet, and putting shampoo on my ends so it can get rid of the oil, and then I wash my hair normally with shampoo and conditioner.
- I would suggest not styling your hair this time, and wait for the next time you wash your hair, as a way of making you hair have a rest, but it's entirely up to you anyway.
I would suggest using the most natural type of oil you can find. I normally use Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (the last one I got from Aldi). You can also use Olive Oil, and it'll give you amazing hair as well (make sure it's Extra Virgin as well), or even a mix of the two!
-Elixir Ultime from Kerastase
So what's interesting about this one is its versatility. You can use it whenever you want.
I've used it the night before I wash my hair, sort of the way you would use Coconut or Olive Oil. You can use it as a protector before you dry your hair, you can use it as a finishing product, etc. It protects from heat, it smooths your hair, it fights frizz and humidity, it repairs, it moisturises, it does pretty much everything you can think of.
So even though it's one of the most expensive alternatives, it's worth it because it's a bit of an all-in-one.
So, to finish up and as a bit of a disclaimer, my hair has never been dyed, so I'm not 100% of how well these would work on dyed hair.
Thanks for reading! <3
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