Not Your Mother's - New Products

I must first confess, I love Not Your Mother's dry shampoo. It's one of my favorites that I purchase over and over again. So when I had the opportunity to try some other products from the line, I was all in.

I have been growing my hair out for over a year now. And now that it's gotten long, I am really concerned about the ends staying nice, free from split ends or getting too dried out and looking like straw. That's not a good look for anyone!

However, I tend to have oilier hair that is fine, so the conditioners I choose are normally on the light side to not add to the oily mess that my hair can become, and also not weigh down my fine hair. It's a balance. And Way To Grow delivers!

Way To Grow is a spray leave-in conditioner. It smells great, too! It's not too heavy, not too light. I believe I'm getting the benefit of my hair being easier to comb through, protection for heat styling, and the added benefit of having it stay in my hair all day to continue protecting my hair. I can't see any downside to this! (And it's easy on your wallet at $6 a bottle.)

After I have my conditioner set, I have been trying out Plump For Joy, which is a thickening hair lifter. I can't lie, I was skeptical. How can it both thicken and lift? Well, it can! I put some on the roots and about halfway down my hair. For best results, I'd recommend drying your hair upside down to increase the volumizing effect. And about that thickening? I could really tell a difference when I pulled my hair up into a pony. I was a little shocked!

So, this product might not be a good fit for those of you lucky ladies with already thick, voluminous hair - but it's a win for those of us who struggle with limp, lifeless, thin or fine hair. Again, it's only $6!

Both of these products (and more from the line) are available nationally at CVS, Ulta and Walmart.

Let me know what you think if you try them!

Empties Review - It's All About The Hair!

I've been missing you gals (and guys!) It's that time again to let you know what I've used up and am loving. Oddly, it's all hair products this go around. But thats OK! We have to take care of our hair, too, so let's get started.

I am a big believer in touching up those pesky gray roots at home. I don't know about you, but I don't have time to run to the salon every 2 or 3 weeks to keep the gray away. So, I started doing that at home, when my schedule permits and it's working out great. I'm really loving the Color Brilliance Cream Color from ION. My hair has been highlighted and is quite long now, and I really like the ombre look, so it's easy to choose a color close to my natural hair color and fill in the roots, and achieve a beautiful ombre style.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Of course, you don't have to do this, because the ION color is great for all over coloring if you're not interested in highlights ( or if you have really short hair) It takes about 45 minutes for the color to process, and I find myself doing the dishes, watching a show, catching up on some reading while it's doing its thing. It's like double tasking! You can find the ION color (and the 20% devloper that mixes with it) at your local Sally Beauty Supply.

Long hair needs some extra pampering, so that it doesn't dry out, break and look scraggly. I've been loving the Matrix Color Bloom Mask. I use it once or twice a week, leave it in for about 5 minutes while I'm finishing up in the shower and it really seems to keep my color looking vibrant and my ends feeling moisturized (which is essential when you're growing your hair out, so you don't end up with lots of split ends that will have to be cut off) You can find this at some drugstores and Ulta stores. 

Dry Shampoo, I love you. I became a believer in dry shampoo over the last year and do not know how I functioned without it before. I try different kinds all of the time and just recently finished two bottles. Not Your Mother's dry shampoo is great - the white cast isn't terrible, it smells nice and the bottle is fairly large. I had never tried it before, and I'll definitely purchase it again.

I also went through a bottle of Tresseme Dry Shampoo. I picked this up in a hurry at the grocery store. The price sucked me in - it was cheap and on sale. So I grabbed a bottle and hoped for the best.

I'll be honest, it has a little bit more of a white cast, but it dissipates quickly once you brush it through. It's a great economy option (and is easy to find since it's pretty much everywhere.