Hair Products Review - L'Oreal EverSleek Intense Smoothing System

Oh, L'Oreal. How I want to like you, but just can't. First, it was the poor performance of your Feria brand and now, I must write yet another lack-luster review regarding one of your products.

The Highlights:

• Fairly priced at $5-6 dollars for an 8.5 ounce tube
• Okay scent
• Liked the leave-in conditioner
• Overall impression: Will not purchase again.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my older sister was telling me how sulfate-free shampoo is the way to go. Her sales pitch was pretty convincing. It's so gentle on the hair and is supposed aid in keeping color in, and on and on and on. I was already getting low on my Matrix Biolage, so I figured, why not?

If you don't know much about sulfate-free shampoos, I can sum it up for you in one sentence.  A sulfate-free shampoo does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS, which is an ingredient that helps remove oily residue. In other words, it is the detergent equivalent in beauty products.

My hair - I've written about it before. I have this mixed bag of hair types. In some places, it is flat. In some places, it is frizzy. In some places, it is curly. It is a hot mess. With that said, I do have a moderately oily scalp. I've never really had an issue with overly dry hair. The only product I simply refuse to use is Suave shampoos. They always make my hair feel like straw.

I have been using the L'Oreal EverSleek Intense Smoothing System (shampoo, conditioner, and leave in conditioner) since the beginning of December. This is not a "I've only used it twice and will give it glowing reviews!" Nope, not going to find that here. I've used it for a month and a half now.

My process: I do shampoo every day. I know that people/stylists lecture that you should only wash your hair every other day, once a week, etc. Use a dry shampoo. I'm sorry. That is just nasty when you live in Texas. I think if I were in a colder climate where my scalp wasn't constantly sweating, I wouldn't mind. Here in Texas, that is a no-go. Dry shampoos just creep me out. In the winter, there are times I do an every other day thing, but not often. For my trial purposes, I washed every day, conditioned every day, and applied the leave-in creme every other day.

For the first week, I was a fan. It had a scent I didn't particularly care for, but my hair did seem just as healthy as it did on Biolage. My thoughts were, "HOT DOG! I'm saving a lot of money!" By the end of week two, I started noticing that straw feel and the twinge of buyer's remorse. By the end of week three, I was definitely noticing the straw feel and had a definite case of buyer's remorse. By the end of week four, five, and six, I continue debating whether or not to just throw it in the trash.

First Complaint: When I was researching sulfate-free shampoos, I learned that a chief complaint was they don't really lather. This is a very true statement. I have pretty thick hair, and it was kind of a chore to get any kind of lather going. So, if you are going to try this product, keep that in mind. On its best day, I get a hint of a lather. It is kind of an odd feeling trying to "wash" your hair without lather. This alone kind of turns me off. I feel like I am damaging my hair because the lack of lather leaves me just rubbing the hair together. That can't be good, right?

Second Complaint: I now have a case of itchy scalp. If you do your research and read other reviews, you will find a large group of users out there complained of dandruff and other scalp ailments after a long period of use. I am one of those people. As I sit here and type this, my scalp really doesn't feel clean and I have that dry itch going on. As mentioned, I do have a normal scalp during the winter months. Now, it feels superbly dry.

Third Complaint: After shampooing, my hair feels no better than using Suave. Honestly, maybe a little worse. I hate to dog Suave. They don't produce a bad product. Just not a product good for my particular head of hair. Immediately after shampooing, it feels dry, stripped, and straw-like. I would say to the point of not being able to run a comb through it without a snag.

The only saving grace, for me, with this system is the conditioner and leave-in conditioner. I wouldn't say that they are "miracle" products, nor would I recommend them as stand alone products. I think they are designed to correct the havoc the shampoo creates. My hair would feel somewhat normal after applying the conditioners, but it is my opinion that you shouldn't have to apply conditioner if the shampoo is doing what it claims. I don't feel that is the case with this shampoo.

Bottom line: This is not a good system if you have similar hair characteristics to mine. The more research I did (mostly reading reviews from many sites), I realize that sulfate-free is NOT for everyone. I think if you have healthy enough hair using normal products, sulfate-free is not going to benefit you. I think this is more geared toward people that want to keep color in their hair longer, people that care more about the environment than their own appearance, and people that have intensely dry/damaged hair. I had perfectly healthy hair when I started down the L'Oreal path. I can't say this product damaged it, but I can say I think this product dried it out more than my sulfate infused Biolage.

I will NOT be purchasing the L'Oreal sulfate-free line of products anymore, which is a shame. I LOVED the fact that I could purchase the whole line for less than one bottle of my Biolage. I will be returning to Biolage as soon as I run out of L'Oreal. Overall, it was too strange for me. I did not like the transition from straw like hair to silky smooth. That doesn't sit well with me.

Hair Product Review: Suave Professionals Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse

I have a hot mess on top of my head.  My hair is a combination of straight, frizzy and curly.  If I allow my hair to air dry, some parts will roll up into cute spiral curls, and then there are the rogue parts of my hair that are just straight/frizzy.  I blame my genetics.  I am 1/2 Filipino, 1/4 Choctaw Indian and 1/4 "Caucasian".  I say "Caucasian" because there is a little German in there and rumored Transylvanian blood (Romanian).  Truth be told, I am a genetic mutt.  My Filipino roots give me this thick stranded head of hair.  Almost like wire.  The Choctaw in me gives me the curls and frizz.

Anyhow, I digressed.  My hair is a hot mess.  It takes a lot of manipulation to look decent.  I have to blow dry my hair straight, otherwise, it is a frazzled mess.  Sometimes, I don't have the time or the energy to go through all of it.  If I towel dry my hair and put some mousse in it, all those weird frizzy/straight patches all of a sudden curl up.  How weird is that?  The only problem I had was "crunchy hair syndrome".  You know, where your hair is hard as a rock and forget touching it.  You end up looking like you have a head full of dandruff.  I have tried many price ranges of mousse.  I have used drug store brands, and special order brands.

I was in the store and ran into an end cap with Suave Professionals Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse.  I typically do not buy Suave products.  They tend to strip my hair and dry it out.  Something urged me to try it.

I absolutely love it!  The product boasts that you will have touchable, not crunchy, curls.  I found this mostly true.  You will still get crunch if you do not towel dry you hair enough or follow through with blotting per the instructions.  One morning, I didn't have time to go through the steps.  I just ran some mousse in my hair and walked out the door.  There was a slight crunch, but still touchable and VERY curly.

The texture of the product is different.  It is silky and smooth when it comes out.  When you rub it in your hair, it is almost like a silky soap without the suds.  It took me some time to get used to it.  I noticed it didn't produce a sticky feeling on my hands.

If you have curly hair, I recommend you try Captivating Curls.  It's affordable and I think you'll find it performs like any other top dollar mousse, if not better.  I bought mine from Target.  I've seen it in all drug stores and grocery stores.

Hair Products Review: L'Oreal Paris Midnight Collection in Violet Soft Black

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of me using the product, so you will have to take my word that I did try this product and I am representing the facts in my situation as truth.

This past Saturday, I purchased L'Oreal Paris' Midnight Collection in violet soft black (M32).  On the box was this beautiful shade of black with a violet sheen.  Very work appropriate for those of us who like shocking colors but work in a place that does not allow those shocking colors.

With that said, I consider myself an experienced over-the-counter colorist.  No, I've never attending cosmetology school, but I have been coloring my own hair successfully since 1997.  I've had every color under the rainbow and I've used a range of products from drug stores to beauty supply stores.

Immediately upon mixing the developer and the color, I realized that something was wrong.  I've dyed my hair black before, and well, the resulting mixture has always been a brown/black color.  This was a BRIGHT red.  I took a deep breath and told myself the only way I was going to find out was to try it.  I applied the mixed color to my unwashed, dry hair.  As I applied the color, it was darkening, so my worries were eased a bit.  I left the color on for 25 minutes exactly and followed the rinsing instructions.  Even before blow drying my hair, I knew it was the wrong color.  I could see hints of maroon and auburn.  Trying not to panic, I blow dried my hair.  This was the result:

I have a VERY cherry head of hair.  My roots were a deep chocolate brown.  NOT BLACK.  The ends and all around my head pick up splotches of uneven cherry/maroon red tones.

I was upset.  I started trolling the Internet and I WISH I had read the reviews on this product.  I am not the only person complaining of no black and all red.  This is a poorly formulated product.  If you are dreaming of a dreamy soft violet black, this isn't it.  I would have LOVED just black.  I probably wouldn't have taken the time to bash this product, but that wasn't even done right.  Since when does red = black?

Anyhow, I had a friend that tried to help and say that I needed to get it done professionally.  WRONG.  No professional would have mixed a RED and called it black.  This is not a case of me doing it wrong or having high expectations.  I already have dark brown hair.  I would definitely say black is within two shades.  The only excuse for this is INFERIOR PRODUCT.

Don't get your heart set on this shade and don't waste your money on this particular Feria hair dye.