Because my hair has changed soo much over the past few years, I've branched out into trying different products and brands in hopes to up my hair game. These empties are a mix of holy grails, new favorites, and thanks, but no thanks(s)!
For reference, I have lots of hair that's average thickness, wavy in texture, color-treated, and I deal with scalp psoriasis. Now let's dig into these products!
Favorites
IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo
This is IGK's heavy-duty dry shampoo great for thick hair or if you tend to produce a lot of oil. Detoxifying charcoal powder lifts dirt while absorbing oil and sweat. Vegan, cruelty-free, no harmful ingredients and protects against UV and heat damage. First Class is a top three favorite haircare product of mine, that I've used for about two years. I find this formula to be quite cooling and soothing even during bad psoriasis breakouts. It doesn't leave a white hue on my dark locks which is an issue with other dry shampoo formulas. Most importantly, it works really well. I spray my roots once a day with minimal product to keep the oils in my scalp in check. This is great for all hair types, however, if you'd like a lighter dry shampoo effect, IGK also has Jet Lag and Direct Flight dry shampoos.
IGK Beach Club Volume Texture Spray
Beach Club is used to achieve beachy waves while adding touchable volume and shine. Vegan, cruelty-free, salt-free and made without harmful ingredients. I love this product because it enhances my natural waves by making them look more uniform all while taming frizz and static, depending on the time of year. Beach Club also leaves no residue behind, just a light pleasant summery smell. Perfect for all hair types, however, your hair type will determine how you use it. Since my hair is already wavy, I use it on dry hair while spraying and crunching my locks at the same time. Super easy to use for all-day shine and volume.
OUAI Leave-In Conditioner
A leave-in hair mist great for detangling, heat protection, tame flyaways, frizz, all while adding shine. This product is not tested on animals. Off the bat, I will say all OUAI products do have a pretty heavy perfume smell to them, which makes sense because the fifth ingredient is fragrance. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the smell, it does dissipate over time and I'm willing to smell the other way because of how amazing their products work for me. This had become a top three favorite product of mine. My hair is bleached, which causes it to become tangled after it's washed and still wet. Because my hair is wavy, I don't brush it out after I washing it, I reply on a detangler to help finger comb through my hair instead. This leave-in conditioner makes it possible to finger comb through my hair without pulling at my scalp, causing breakage. It also leaves my bleached ends feeling smooth and healthy. I got this in a beauty subscription box, but you better believe I'll be picking up another one!
OUAI Air Dry Foam
A mousse-like consistency that detangles, conditions, and creates instant air-dried waves. Made for wavy to curly hair. This product is not tested on animals and it's parabens, sulfates, and phthalates free. This is a top three favorite haircare product of mine, I discovered this product about four years ago and never went back to mousse again. Wavy and curly hair tends to be a bit heavier, so if you don't use a mousse, your hair will become bottom heavy. I find mousse to be the best product for wavy hair to use after washing, but if you use too much product, or don't set with heat, it'll become crunchy. I don't have any of those issues using the Air Dry Foam, yet I get the same benefits. My waves are enhanced, smoothed out, and more bouncy while remaining low maintenance.
Amika un.done volume and matte texture spray
Un.done is a texturizing spray for undone tousled hair with a matte finish. Certified vegan, does not use harmful ingredients, less than one percent synthetic fragrance, and does not test on animals. To be honest with you, I have no idea if I used this correctly, nonetheless, it worked out for what I used it for. I'd use this to spruce up my hair in the middle of the day by concentrating the product on my roots, using light spritzes down my hair, and giving it a good tousle. I saw this as meeting in the middle between a dry shampoo and texture spray, without creating more build-up. Un.done brought back volume to my hair while controlling oil and taming flyaways. The trial size bottle is perfect while on the go, which I will pick up another bottle to keep in my work bag.
Least Favorites
Deva Curl Melt Into Moisture Matcha Butter Conditioning Mask
This is a moisturizing hair treatment for wavy, curly, and coily hair, but that's all the information I'm going to give you on this mask and I'm not going to bother linking it. A pretty bold statement coming from me, but in case you didn't know, Deva Curl is in the middle of a lawsuit because thousands of people are claiming their products are causing hair loss, dandruff, and relaxing their curls. I happen to be experiencing all three of these issues myself, and I've used this mask pretty consistently over the past six months. I will say, I would have never connected the dots if information about the lawsuit was never shared, but I did notice these issues were happening and couldn't figure out why. There's speculation that Deva Curl is using ingredients that they're not disclosing, but all of that will be revealed as the lawsuit progresses. My hair would feel more hydrated and shiny after use, but I don't think it's worth the risk. Shea Moisture has a ton of hair masks for a third of the price and performs even better if you're looking for a good hair mask to try out.
Bumble and Bumble Thickening Dryspun Volume Texture Spray
It provides lightweight volume and instant fullness in a translucent airy texture for straight and wavy hair. Cruelty-free and free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and mineral oil. This is a 2019 Allure Best Of Beauty certified product, which makes me soo sad that I didn't like it! I feel like they took that airy texture thing too seriously because I felt like I was spraying my hair with nothing. Maybe if you have more fine, straight hair you'd like this product, but unfortunately, I didn't notice any sort of difference, at least not enough to make me want to buy the product again.
Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo
This absorbs excess oil, cleans without water, has a light matte finish, and not tested on animals. With a $5 price tag, I was excited to give this a go because it seems to be a holy grail for a lot of people. I actually did a full week wear test on this about a year ago on my IG stories and found it to be just okay. I didn't find anything necessarily bad about it, so I continued using it. I'd have to use a ton of product every day just to get it to feel like it was working. Within a few hours, it felt like it was gone besides the grayish hue it left on my roots. After a few weeks, I swear my hair was getting more oily. It's taken the past year to use it up, because I only used it whenever I was desperate and ran out of my other dry shampoos. I have a dry shampoo addiction, okay! I will say I have a few friends with more fine hair that love it and think the lightweight texture is perfect for their hair type.
IGK Low Key Cleansing Walnut Scalp Scrub
A gentle cooling exfoliator that removes build-up, clarifies and balances the scalp. This product is cruelty-free, made without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, or mineral oils. Walnut scrub is technology not good for the skin because it can create tiny tears, but for use in the scalp especially when you deal with any form of dandruff, it has good benefits. When your scalp is wet, dandruff will restick to your scalp making it hard to remove. This scrub makes it easy to remove all that dandruff from your scalp. It also provides a nice cooling effect to offset that burning sensation a lot of us with dandruff deal with from scratching our scalps. With that being said, I do have a few issues with this scrub. It costs $36 for only 5oz of product. I was only able to get eight uses out of it, which to me is a lot of money. With my thicker hair, it was hard to rub the product more in the center of my scalp, therefore I had to use more of it. On two separate occasions, the scrub got stuck in the tube and wouldn't come out, hense why the packaging looks soo recked. I'd have to wait until my shower was done to take a toothpick to unclog it. I'm not sure if I'll be repurchasing this, I do overall enjoy this walnut scalp scrub, but I'd like to see it in an 8oz jar instead of the tube.
Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner
This conditioner helps smooth your hair and aids in repairing damage from sun and heat. This is organic, cruelty-free, and only $3.99! This is actually my second time purchasing it because I can't resist the low price. This formula is very thin and unfortunately couldn't stand up to my thicker, color-treated locks. If you have more fine, to normal hair, you may enjoy this. I need the help of something thicker to smooth out and detangle my hair.
Haircare products can be a tricky thing. This is my first hair empties and it looks like we're standing at a 50% product success rate - I told you guys I'm picky! I still have a lot of hair products that I haven't even touched that came in my beauty subscription boxes, so you know you'll have another haircare empties coming your way in the future.
Haircare products can be a tricky thing. This is my first hair empties and it looks like we're standing at a 50% product success rate - I told you guys I'm picky! I still have a lot of hair products that I haven't even touched that came in my beauty subscription boxes, so you know you'll have another haircare empties coming your way in the future.
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