conditioner

I feel a bit bad blogging about this as it’s currently sold out, but the individual products are all still available, so I thought I’d chime in on them anyway.

I purchased the Birchbox Color-Treated Hair Collection for $18 ($30 value). It contained 5 products for color treated hair. I’ve been dying my hair for about 2 years, and dying it red for about 18 months, so I am all too familiar with the perils of fading hair color, and like most women, I’m constantly on the search for the perfect products to maintain vibrant and true color, while also leaving my hair manageable and smooth and hydrated and shiny, while also repairing any existing damage and preventing future breakage. Is that too much to ask!?

The set comes with four travel sized hair care samples and one (large) foil packet sample.

Two products from Kerastase: the Bain Chroma Captive Shampoo and the Fondant Chroma Captive Conditioner. I really liked this shampoo. It made my hair feel clean and stay feeling clean for a good two days without dry shampoo. It also lathers really nicely, which makes me think that it has some sort of sulfate in it as a surfactant, which is usually a big no-no for colored hair. I haven’t notice any further fading though. The conditioner is very light feeling, it doesn’t give much slip to the hair but leaves it fresh and weightless. If you like your hair to feel slippery after conditioning, this probably isn’t for you. I also wouldn’t recommend it if you have dry or damaged hair, as it’s very lightweight. That said, it leaves hair pretty soft and almost weightless. For the sizes that these are, I’ll get probably 5-6 uses out of the shampoo but only 3 or so from the conditioner, since my hair is pretty long at the moment.

I’ve loved products from Number 4 in the past, and I’ve actually had this sample of the Super Comb Prep and Protect several times over, so this one isn’t new to me. It’s a great detangler which is pretty handy after using such a light conditioner and it also protects hair from heat styling. I don’t think it really cuts down on drying time, but it’s still a great product. This little bottle will last maybe 10 uses.

Oribe products always smell fantastic, and this Masque for Beautiful Color is no different. I don’t think that it actually did much for my color though, and it’s a pretty small sample. I’ll probably only get two uses out of it. It is nice to massage it into your hair and scalp and enjoy the pretty scent in the shower though. And it does leave hair soft but not weighed down. I don’t think I’d purchase the full size since it’s a splurge at $59 and there are other Oribe products I much prefer (hello, Dry Texturizing Spray!)

Finally, the Shu Uemura Color Lustre Brilliant Glaze Thermo Milk. In full disclosure, I haven’t tried this yet. It’s a single use sample (that I might stretch into two uses) so I might stash it away for when I’m traveling. I don’t always like to use creams before heat styling as I find it’s easier to use a spray, but I’ll give this a go and report back!

What do you think of this set? Have you tried any of these products? How do you care for color treated hair?