Innersense I Create Quiet Calm Curl Control

Price: $22 for 8.5fl oz.

What they say:
"Calm your curls and get frizz under control. Certified organic shea butter and orange oil combine to moisturize, define and intensify curls and waves. Organic wheatgrass and natural proteins smooth the cuticle, improve elasticity and enhance curl strength. Sunflower seed extract protects hair color. Use on wet or dry hair to control frizz and maintain curl formation all day. Leaves hair naturally soft and manageable.
The natural orange blossom fragrance is lightweight and provides a refreshing experience. Enjoy!"

What I say:
This was recommended to me by my mom's hair person, after he cut my hair and saw how damaged, frizzy, and dry it was (ha!).  Using only a little (a nickle size) amount after hair is towel dried, but still damp, you work it into your hair, not putting it on your roots.  For me, I put it on the bottom 2/3 of my hair.

This, so far, is wonderful.  I have tried other non-frizz products before, from companies ranging from Sunsilk to Bumble and Bumble, and this is the first that not only helps cut down on my frizz, but also doesn't weigh my hair down.  It works almost like a combination of a very weak controller and a nice, not too strong leave-in conditioner.

The texture is like a thicker conditioner, but lighter.  More like a body lotion, I would say, but when rubbing your hands together, it becomes more liquidy.  I haven't had problems with it clumping into one spot on my hair, but I'm careful to try and distribute it evenly by pressing all over really lightly until it's on my hair, and then combing it through with my fingers, so I cannot say if it is all the product, if it's my application technique, or a combination thereof.

The curling aspect... Well, it supposedly helps with curl formation, but I really don't see that.  My hair likes to do waves all on its own, so if it does help people, it doesn't help me.  On the other hand, it doesn't weigh down my waves, but does help keep the frizz away longer, so it might be doing something /shrug.

The smell is heavenly.  It really does smell like orange blossom, and I love it.  The smell dissipates really quickly, for those who don't like fragrance, but I, for once, actually wish it stayed longer!

This is an expensive product, in my opinion, and I probably wouldn't have tried it if my mom didn't buy it for me as a present (so, yes, I did get it for free).  After seeing how little I need to use, and how much a bottle holds, though, I will probably repurchase with my own money when this bottle runs out, assuming it still works as well for me in the future as it does for me now.

5/5  Best leave in conditioner/frizz controller I've ever used.

Kiss My Face miss treated

image from kissmyface.com

Price: $8-9 for 11oz each

What they say:
Shampoo:

"Treat your mistreated hair to a life-enhancing experience. Bring back shine and bounce with organic herbs and extracts while soothing the scalp with pure essential oils. Kiss My Face Miss Treated shampoo gently cleanses without drying or stripping color. It's nourishing, effective and aromatherapeutic®, to leave your locks luminous, and your spirits uplifted.
- replenishes moisture to dry/damaged hair
- nourishes color treated and permed hair
- calms overstressed hair

GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE...
Wheat Amino Acid: helps lock in moisture for the hair
Nettle: stimulates hair growth and improves the condition of the scalp
Rosemary: promotes hair growth and cleanses hair and scalp"

Conditioner:

"Kiss My Face Miss Treated conditioner works in combination with our Miss Treated shampoo to enhance dry, damaged, overstressed hair. The organic botanicals and pure essential oils moisturize and nourish while their scent-uous aromatherapeutic® qualities will leave you uplifted and exhilarated.
- enhanced moisture for dry/damaged hair
- nourishes color treated and permed hair
- complete therapy for overstresssed hair

GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE...
Wheat Protein: helps lock in moisture and smooths the hair shaft
Horsetail: adds shine and elasticity
Thyme: promotes a healthy scalp"

What I say:

These are okay.  Not horrible, but not that great.  The smell of these is quite nice, kinda earthy, not too strong.  Both the shampoo and conditioner claim to be for dry/damaged hair, and to be moisturizing.  While I can say they would be good for damaged hair, since they aren't that strong, they are not very moisturizing.  If you use a moisturizing treatment often, or use oil on your ends, these would probably be a better fit than for someone who is looking for an all in one product.

Still, decent.  The price is a little stiff for how well it works, but that's the price of good smell and organic ingredients.  The conditioner is one of the strongest natural type I have found, so that's something, and it might be worth looking into if you are looking for something like that.  I finished off the bottles just this afternoon (of the writing of this), so now off to try something new!

3/5

Oscar Blandi: Pronto Dry Shampoo

image from sephora.com

Price: $11 for 1 oz, $19 for 2.5 oz

What they say:

"What it does:

Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo is the ultimate time saver. It refreshes, revives, and rejuvenates the hair in a matter of minutes—no water or blow dryer required. Voted Best Dry Shampoo and Best Quick Fix by Allure magazine, it effectively soaks up oil, removes product build-up, and boosts volume. Hair looks, feels, and smells freshly shampooed with a clean, lemon verbena scent. Go ahead, hit snooze!

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates
- GMO
- Triclosan"

What I say:

This stuff tries hard, and kinda makes it to the goal, but really kinda fails along the way.

What do I mean by that?  Well, let's start off with what it does.  It does get rid of the oilies, for the most part.  It does leave your hair with some volume, and it does leave it smelling nicer.

What does it fail at?  First, it's a bugger to get out.  It doesn't spread easily enough to really get all your roots, so you end up using too much of it.  It leaves a whitish cast to your hair, that no matter what you try (towel, more rubbing in, brush, brush with boar bristles) won't go away.

So would I say this is a complete failure?  Not really.  For lighter haired girls (I have light brown hair, btw) this would work better, since the white cast of the powder would be harder to notice.  For hikers, this is great, since you only need this and a brush to get your hair less greasy (I hate that feeling when hiking).  For people stuck in airplanes, and don't care, it would work, too...  Basically, it works great, /if/ you don't need to worry about the white cast.

I have tried this 4 times now, and unless I'm just missing something basic (which is entirely possible) this is just a no-go for me.  I have heard there is another type, from a different brand, which is the same thing, but darker powder, so no cast.  I might try that one out in the future, but in the meantime I'll just stick to my shampoo and conditioner.

2/5  Will not rebuy.