Marisa Porter

I’m doing a Hair Product post!

I never thought I would do one again. I couldn’t wait to get a human hair wig to use real human hair products on so I could again read and appreciate posts about hair. I didn’t realize how passionate I was about hair and beauty until I had to say goodbye to hair products for 5 months. I longed to use Aveda Brilliant damage control just once – is that weird? But then I just switched to my own bio hair and so I get to do a hair post anyway.

To be honest, I’m actually glad I threw out most of my hair products in January because I don’t think they were not working for me, and after seeing my stylist in May, I decided that I would just buy what she recommended and use that. I have a long history of hair product confusion and wanted to avoid all that. I appreciated that she kept it simple. She recommended only two products, and told me I could use my favorite shampoo and conditioner.

So I came home with a bag from my new salon with it’s a 10 Miracle Shine Spray and Kenra Volume Spray. Simple. And monumental. I got a real bag from a stylist with real human hair products.

So here is my ensemble for getting my hair ready – including my boar’s hair brush. The one that I have loved for at least a year or two, and that ruined my first synthetic Jon Renau (I’m still very sorry, Jon Renau).

Plus, how could I forget, something I found in my medicine cabinet that I do not think I could do without. It’s like a leave in conditioner, sort of like the WEN leave ins (dimethicone and cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol – main ingredients in WEN leave in!), and makes my hair so much easier to style. It’s a really great budget find. Pantene Smoothing Crème. It says it’s for thick hair so I never would have purchased it, but thin hair needs control and smoothing, too! Works great for my curly hair, and I think it adds to the thermal protection. I really like it. Especially on the extensions.

How to style an angled bob using just the 3, 4 items above.

I generously apply the smoothing crème to the extensions, which just soak up moisture, and lightly apply to my natural hair.

mist my hair with It’s a 10 Miracle Shine Spray and blow dry it all over till it is 60-70% dry. This it’s a 10 Miracle Shine Spray claims to accomplish 10 things:

• Weightless Shine
• Softens coarse hair
• Improves elasticity
• Antioxidant
• Environmental protection
• Anti-humidity and minimizes frizz
• Thermal protection
• Imparts control and manageability
• Seals and protects hair
• Locks in moisture

It has an impressive list of natural ingredients:

• Camomile Extract:  a gentle, soothing conditioner for hair and scalp
• Silk Amino Acids:  restores natural moisture balance while adding strength and shine
• Noni Extract:  a therapeutic treatment for stressed and/or heat styled hair
• Ylang Ylang extract:  calming essential oils with aromatherapy characteristics
• Hemp Oil:  one of nature’s purest and most effective strengtheners
• Red Tea Extract:  shields hair from environmental damage with powerful antioxidants
• Babassu Seed Oil:  locks in and protects hair’s natural moisture with rich emollient properties

Doesn’t it sound lovely?

I’m eager to see how I feel about this after a few weeks, as the first ingredient of chamomile extract is something I’ve not found in anything except for Aveda Brilliant Damage Control. I love the Aveda BDC, so if it’s a 10 can accomplish what Aveda BDC does (the best thermal protection I’ve ever found), plus make my hair more manageable, softer, shinier, etc than I’ll give it an A+.

Then I use Kenra Volume Spray as a styling spray. It’s a good styling spray and a good finishing spray, something I really appreciate. I used to use one for styling (called design spray), and one for finishing, but this is good for both, even though it has a super strong hold.

I focus most of the hair spray in the back, where I want to create some height, because my curly unruly hair really needs help there. I use the round brush and the Kenra to achieve the height and just keep shaping the hair to what I want it to look like. When I’m applying focused heat from the blow dryer with the extension, I mist the section of hair again with It’s a 10 before blow drying. Thermal protection is so important.

I rather like the finished product, and still can’t believe those are extensions and not my real hair:

Next day Hair, using similar technique. I just mist my hair with water first to reactive the product and use a little extra Kenra as a dry shampoo and Noni oil for thermal protection.

So far I’m really pleased with these 3 products and I’ve always loved the brush – though I think I should get a smaller one.

Does anyone have any tips for second day hair and the crazy hair flips? The second day the second view, my hair flips over to the other side, making my hair look much thinner and just refusing to lay down. All the dry shampoo in the world does not help for the unmanageable cowlick (duh). When a stylist does my hair, I have no problem with this and can just roll out of bed the next day and run a comb through my hair. Am I using too much product? Any tips? I would greatly appreciate it!!

Random picture of trying to take picture: