Hair Haulin'

As you might have discerned from the near total lack of hair-related posts on the blog, I'm not exactly into hair. My hair routine consists of shampooing every 3ish days (basically putting off washing my mop for as long as I can get away with it) and liberal doses of dry shampoo in the interim to keep my oily roots at bay. I always wash my hair right before bed and sleep with it in a bun, half-heartedly towel-dried. Since I've scrapped conditioner for over two years, to bring some softness and shine back to my hair, I'll run the ends with one pump of Moroccanoil the morning after in its (still) semi-wet state. If I'm feeling especially fancy, I'll whip out the texturising or sea salt spray and go to town.

Despite my cluelessness and laziness when it comes to hair, when Priceline had its 40% off hair care sale last Tuesday and Wednesday, I felt inspired to buy a few things. Probably in large part due to the success of amika Un.Done Texture Spray, the idea of casually experimenting with styling my hair and realising my tousled boho/beachy/bedhead dreams has become more appealing. I simply don't have a lot of hair products period, so I felt justified in acquiring a few to hopefully be pleasantly surprised by.

L'Oréal Elvive Extraordinary Oil
My Moroccanoil is 4/5ths of the way through, so I'm giving Extraordinary Oil a go. I had a sachet sample that I used once and found decent, so I took the plunge and bought the whole bottle. At 40% off ($12 for 100ml, $19.99 RRP), it's a lot cheaper than Moroccanoil ($59.95 for 100ml), but time will tell if I'll love it as much. My Moroccanoil has lasted an age, so on a cost-per-use basis (and the fact I genuinely think it's a fantastic product), it's worth the money. But if I can achieve the same results with a less expensive alternative, I'll make the switch. I've used it once and first impressions were that it made my hair feel silkier, softer and smoother. The floral, sweet smell was pleasant enough but nothing remarkable. To be honest, I'm not sure how different this is to something like Caudalie Divine Oil, NUXE Huile Prodigieuse or Go-To Skincare Exceptionoil, all three of which I have (though the latter is a sample tube) but don't regularly use, certainly not in my hair.

COLAB Dry Shampoo New York
I simply had to try this stuff out given all the attention it's received in the UK. I was super surprised to even see it stocked at Priceline. There was only New York and Tokyo for the scents, so I opted for the former as it seemed less potentially cloying and heavy. On my second day hair, it didn't seem to fare that well in the oil-absorbing stakes as my beloved Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk or not-as-beloved-but-undeniably-effective Batiste. It's not even as good as sucking up greasiness as my $2.50 Girlz Only Dry Shampoo XXL Volume-Plus from Target. Having said that, there are a few things I do like about it. First, the packaging. It looks more expensive and sophisticated than comparably priced dry shampoos out there (a 200ml bottle is $10.99 RRP). Second, it almost doubles as a hair perfume (which may or may not be a good thing depending on how much you like the fragrance). A designer perfume it's not, but it reminds me of a respectably formulated body spray. Third, there's some merit in a more subdued approach to dry shampoo, especially if you're not after the fire hydrant treatment. The product does seem more fine and "invisible" than the pesky white powder emitted by Klorane and Batiste, and it creates a bit of texture, volume and has some oil absorption — just not a lot.

Garnier Fructis Full & Luscious Volume Booster Spray
To be perfectly honest, I bought this because it was cheap. I'm used to texturising sprays being around $35 and I haven't encountered many "drugstore" equivalents. This is $5.95 (which is already cheap), but with 40% off it was $3.57. At a price of a coffee, I didn't hesitate to pick one up. After using it once, I'm unconvinced it does anything. To be fair, my hair is naturally quite thick, and I'd just washed it the night before, so there was already considerable frizz and body. I sprayed one half of my hair with the Garnier, ruffled, teased and scrunched my hair with my hands as instructed, and inspected the difference between the half with product and the half without. Frankly, I didn't notice any difference. I might have to try again with dirtier, limper hair to see if it's more effective when my hair isn't freshly washed. It does smell strongly fruity as most Garnier hair products do, so if you're into that thing, that could be a big plus.

Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray
I bought this because of Amelia Liana touting it as a more hairspray-like dupe for Oribe Dry Texturising Spray. At $15.99 RRP ($9.59 with 40% off), it's one of the pricier products in this haul, so I had high hopes. I'd read reviews that it does have a bit more “hold” than your usual texturising spray, which immediately put me off since all I think of is hairspray which I avoid at all costs. Still, after trying it, I'd say it's at the just passable threshold for hairspray feel. There is still that stiffness, crunchiness and grit that comes with hairspray, but it's not intolerable. Certainly more than I'd prefer, but I rationalise it serves a purpose and gives the product a point of distinction. Basically, the volume/texture it creates also has a better chance of lasting because of the hold. I'll never love it as much as my amika Un.Done Texture Spray which leaves the hair more touchable and weightless, but at least the Charles Worthington is a lot closer to it than the Garnier Fructis Full & Luscious Volume Booster Spray.

OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo
I've reached the stage where I'll use anything to wash my hair that approximates a shampoo, so I've tried the whole gamut of multipurpose soaps (liquid and solid form): LUSH/philosophy shower gels, LUSH Fun, LUSH Shower Jellies, as well as good ol' Pantene. I've actually been pleasantly surprised how well LUSH and philosophy shower gels work as shampoo. They're almost like clarifying shampoos in that they really get out all the gunk, but they don't leave my hair extremely dry and brittle (perhaps due to the Moroccanoil I’m putting through it the day after, perhaps due to the ingredients working better than expected on hair). Point is, I don't even need a traditional shampoo to wash my locks, so I wasn't too keen on spending $10.80 (40% off $17.99 RRP) for a 385ml bottle of fancyish shampoo. I spotted these mini bottles at the checkout though, and grabbed a couple. My friend was urging me to buy it, claiming the shampoo made her hair so smooth, sleek and frizz-less. I can't say it worked the same miracles on me, but I did enjoy the smell, it lathered up fine (despite some reviews to the contrary), and it left my hair feeling more nourished than the admittedly stripping shampoos I normally use. I'm curious to try the OGX Weightless Hydration Coconut Water Shampoo now to see what it'd do for my hair and how much I'll like it. Maybe I'll buy both large bottles of it and the Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo at the next sale.