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OLAPLEX N°0 Intensive Bond Building
A repurchase. This is a liquid, strongest Olaplex that is meant to be used together with n.3 to boost its effects. You soak dry hair with it and then apply n.3 over it. I find this combination works better than just n.3 and without it I don't see much "touchable" results, but this combo makes it feel soft. They have to improve the packaging though, because using the nozzle is painfully slow. I just unscrew the bottle and pour it on the hair and for some sections I transfer it into a spray bottle.
Notino
OLAPLEX N°3 Hair Perfector
Another repurchase. I'm not a big fan of this on its own because the results are pretty bland on my hair, but in combination with other Olaplex products it's better. Since I'm bleaching my hair, this is a must in my stash and I've bought several bottles so far. I always have one full one in my backups.
Notino
OLAPLEX N°4 Shampoo
Shampoo was one of the last Olaplex products I haven't tried because I was convinced that it's just a basic shampoo that doesn't do much. I was very wrong and now I think it's one of the nicest products in the Olaplex lineup as well as one of my all-time favourite shampoos. The formula is so thick, I think it's the thickest shampoo I've tried and it creates a very rich, dense foam. I love it. Since it's silicone free, it doesn't leave that silky feeling when I'm rinsing it off, but it's rich enough for my very dry hair.
Notino
OLAPLEX N°5 Bond Maintenance
Another repurchase. It's not the most amazing conditioner in terms of visible results because it's silicone free and my hair doesn't like that, but I just use Pantene Hair Rescue mask either over it or after it so I get that slippery silkiness when I'm rinsing it off and it's a nice combination. The mask is better, but this has 250 ml and probably about the same percentage of bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate.
Notino
OLAPLEX No.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask
This is thinner than the Olaplex conditioner, so I was initially scared I made a miss buy and that the cheaper and larger conditioner is a better choice, but I love this. Maybe more than I want to considering the price and the fact in comes in a small tube with 100 ml, but it's a lot better than conditioner. The mask leaves my hair nourished and feeling silkier despite being without silicones. What I really hate is how much is used at once. You can spread n.3 so much, but at this one I have to use a lot more, meaning one bottle won't last me many uses, so now I'm overly saving it.
Look Fantastic
JOICO K-PAK Reconstructor
A repurchase. This is the first part of my ultimate saviours duo, which so far has never failed to return my hair from feeling stiff and hard to properly moisturiser after I bleach it. I find them better than Olaplex, but only when used together. Reconstructor is a protein treatment and it doesn't leave my hair feeling soft, since it dry, so I need to balance it out by using K-Pack Intense Hydrator which adds moisture and makes my hair more soft again. After I use this duo, the rest of the hair care starts to work much better. Hydrator works fantastically on its own too, but after bleaching I need to combine these.
Notino
JOICO K-Pak Liquid Reconstructor
Another repurchase. This is a liquid version of Reconstuctor that's meant for use alone on thin, easily weighed-down hair or as an extra after using the treatment creamy version (neither are heavy, though). I had break for this, for no reason other than I was trying to use up other stuff and I noticed my hair started breaking more. So now I'll try to always include this in my routine because it's keeping excess damage at bay. It's not a miracle and has no visible/touchable results, but it's preventing things from getting much worse.
Look Fantastic
JOICO K-PAK RevitaLuxe Bio-Advanced Restorative Treatment
This was on my wishlist for so long, but now that I've tried it, I don't find it stands out. I mean it's really good, but not better than the cheaper K-Pack Intense Hydrator which comes in a tube with 100 ml more. I need to use this a few times more too see how I really feel about it and if it's capable to do a bit extra with long term use. Both Intense Hydrator and this are amazing for my dry, thick, bleached hair and this is one of my favourite hair lines.
Notino
JOICO Defy Damage Protective Shampoo
I wanted a shampoo that does more and this one is filled with all the goodies for the hair (proteins, aminoacids, peptides, oils, a protective lipid). I wasn't impressed after first use because it left my hair somewhat dry and tangled, but that completely changed and I've really grown to like this one. It foams a lot, the foam is dense (not like Olaplex, but it beats regular shampoos), it's a bit nourishing and doesn't leave that squeaky clean feeling I dislike (because my hair is so dry). If I had to pick between the two I'd still pick Olaplex, but this is a very close second and great especially if the hair is dry.
Notino
JOICO Defy Damage Protective Masque
I got just a mini of this - the one good thing about Joico is that a lot of things are available in travel sizes. I will buy this full size, as I was very impressed by its performance. It's very thick and rich, but surprisingly I didn't need to used up the whole 50 ml. It left my hair nourished and the effect lasted the whole week (in combination with Palmers hair oil on my ends). For very dry, bleached hair, this is lovely.
Notino
Joico collection. Review of the oil.
MOROCCANOIL Smoothing Mask
I'm already a big fan of Intense Hydrating and Restorative masks, and this is just another fantastic one, probably my favourite of the three, but I'll see if that's true after I used the whole pot. It's the richest of the three, though Restorative is similarly thick, but at this one I have a feeling it's only for thick hair, as it may be heavy on thin hair. It's outstanding for very frizzy hair. Though I've used other products with it and I can't say it was just this, but my hair dried smoother than with my other stash (basically works the same as combination of MOROCCANOIL Smooth Blow-Dry Concentrate & L'OREAL PROFESSIONNEL Serie Expert Prokeratin Liss Unlimited Smoothing Cream, except it doesn't take as long for my hair to dry). My hair is wonderfully smooth with this, I can just leave my hair to air dry for a while, then I use my fake Revlon One Step hair dryer to finish drying it and the result is like I used a hair straightener. It smells amazing like all Moroccanoil products, but at this one scent lasts for days on my hair, which very rarely happens with any product on my hair. I'd love to try the Smoothing lotion now, though this mask does so much on its own, I probably don't even need it. I use this is combination with Moroccanoil All in One Leave-in conditioner, which I use after every wash and the Blow Dry Concentrate. Here's a picture of comparison with my hair washed just with a shampoo + air dried and using mostly Moroccanoil + hair dryer on lowest heat setting (usually for such smoothness I'd have to use a curling wand).
L'OREAL PARIS Elvive Dream Lengths Wonder Water 8 Second Hair Treatment
How much I wanted this for two years since it launched in the States! The increasing costs of shipping prevented me from getting their brown version (I think it's the same), but it finally launched in some parts of Europe ( it's still not in Slovenia) and I got it on Look Fantastic for a price I did not like as much as the US one (12 € vs 8$). It's hailed as this amazing new type of hair treatment, a magic water that smooths & nourishes in 8 seconds. I've tried the Gliss version, their 7 sec treatment, before this because it's available here and I have to say - Gliss is better. I use L'Oreal regularly now as a rinse before I apply a mask/conditioner/treatment because on its own, it's not enough for my hair. This is a light liquid that you apply on wet hair in the shower (I've tried it on towel dry hair, but you only use more for the same result), emulsify it (it's nowhere near as rich as Gliss) wait a few seconds (I comb the hair and wash my face in between, so it's a couple of minutes) and rinse. I don't see a brilliant result from it. My hair may be a bit less frizzy and I can afford to let my hair air dry, but it's not smooth or glossy as they advertise. I'm happy with the reduction of frizziness, but I get more from Gliss 7 seconds because I can use it also as a stand-alone conditioner. L'Oreal's version has a nice peachy-ish scent, but it doesn't last.
Look Fantastic
REDKEN Extreme Bleach Recovery Lamellar Water
This is exactly the same as L’Oreal’s 8 Seconds. Both are thin when emulsified and don’t leave my hair as smooth as the ads show - I kinda expected my hair to be smoother just based on all the reviews I read. Unlike the L'Oreal one, this one has written in the instructions that their Cica Mask should be used after it. I don't have it, so I use my regular stash. L'Oreal is much cheaper, so between the two I'd go for L'Oreal, but neither have miraculous results on my very frizzy hair (Moroccanoil is considerably better, but not cheap).
Look Fantastic
PALMER'S Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturising Hair Oil
A repurchase .I bought this back in March, but only recently discovered how amazing it is also on damp hair after washing. It keeps my ends nourished quite a bit longer, so it became an essential product for me. It also smells nice like mint chocolate.
Feel Unique
PALMER'S Cocoa Butter Formula Restoring Conditioner
Since I like the oil so much I got the conditioner too, hoping it will be good for very dry hair. It's thinner than I expected, kind of a Pantene type of consistency and not buttery, but I am happy with results. My hair feels so stiff if I don't dry it with a hair dryer or use a heat tool, but I was too lazy to do anything after using this and my hair did not dry into a terribly big frizzy mess (it wasn't smooth either, but waves very more defined). It also was softer than I expected, so I should stock up on this since it's affordable. Together with the oil, my ends were not like a dry broomstick after two day and the effect lasted all week. This smells similar to the oil, but more minty.
Feel Unique
PALMER'S Natural Fusions™ Ceramide Monoi Hair Food Oil
An oil with ceramides and no silicones. It's thicker than Cocoa Butter version, so it weighs the hair down if you don't use a very small amount. I prefer to use this one as a pre-wash oil or when my hair is super dry to nourish it (then I braid this because this can make the hair look greasy and limp). I used this before bleaching and my scalp was completely protected - much, much better than just with coconut oil. This has a type of floral-oily scent that won't appeal to many. I heard some describe it as rancid, but it's really not that bad.
Feel Unique
SUBRINA PROFESSIONAL Scalp Detox Scrub
I already posted this in my November favourites and I bought a spare (on the picture below, my Black Friday purchases). It's a scalp scrub that I like and consider it the best I’ve tried so far. I was concerned when I first squeezed it out that it won’t do anything because beads looked sparse, but more gel than beads makes it easier to apply on the scalp, I use far less than sugar scrubs and it does the work effectively. It helps remove the build-up on my scalp.
Click2Chic
SUBRINA PROFESSIONAL Colour Silver Mask
I know I can rely on Subrina for a good cool blonde toner/mask. I use Colour Refresh mask in Diamond Blonde from brand Subrina that's already really good, while this in the Professional brand is an even more intense purple-blue mask for neutralising warm tones. In 7 minutes it left my lengths a nice cool blonde and I have a medium blonde hair on which most such products either need a lot more time or can't tone well because they are too light. It couldn't deal with my orange roots, which I couldn't bleach enough last time I coloured, but it's not designed for that anyway. If you have very light bleached hair with yellow tones, this will create an ice blonde shade, but based on experience it may need to be left for a short time on the hair, since it's so strong. This mask is slightly acidic, which is great for those that bleach.
Click2Chic
SUBRINA PROFESSIONAL Keratin Mask & Keratin Therapy
I've only used these together, so I'll talk about them as one product. Keratin Therapy is a set of 6 vials of keratin enriched liquid that is added to the mask to boost its effect. The instructions say to use a half a vial for 15-20 g of mask, but I used a whole one + 40 g of mask because my hair is thick and long. The mask is sold in a big 500 ml pot, so you get plenty for the money and it smells great. I've used this just once and I need to do another test because I think the mask is not rich enough for my thick hair to deal with this amount of protein, which resulted in my hair feeling stiff. It was the same effect as if I used Joico K-Pak Reconstructor alone, so I need to combine this next time with a good hydrating mask. This treatment combination is used in hair salons and I've seen how sleek it made some people's hair, but I guess thick, very dry hair is more of a challenge.
MOROCCANOIL Blow Dry Concentrate
A repurchase. I still have about a half of my bottle, but C2C had 20% off for Black Friday, so I stocked up. On its own this can't make my hair very smooth, but in combination with L'Oreal's Liss lotion, it's amazing. Also in combination with the Smoothing mask the results are the same. It's a similar product to the original Moroccanoil treatment oil, but a bit thicker and it protects against heat, as well as smooths when used on dry hair.
Click2Chic
MOROCCANOIL All in One Leave-in Conditioner
Another repurchase and again I still have about a half of bottle of mine, but I stocked up, since I use it every time I wash my hair. It's by far the best leave-in conditioner I've tried and the one I see the biggest difference, since it helps make my hair softer, a bit smoother and hydrated for longer.
Click2Chic
SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL Blondme Bond Enforcing Premium Lightener 9+
An instant repurchase after my last bleaching when I saw I don't have left enough for the next session. I've been using this for the last couple of years and it's the one I trust because it contains succinic acid, which protects the bonds. My hair is dark brown and mixed with 9% it's not strong enough to bleach my hair to the lightest level after the allowed time on the hair, so I mix it with a combination of 9 % and 12 % (12% alone is too irritating for the scalp). For a bleach it doesn't smell terrible, in fact less harsh that some regular hair colours.
Notino
*TANGLE TEEZER Wet Detangling Brush
I'm so happy I got this. I have two Tangle Teezer brushes and I've been using this brand for about a decade. I have the original, which is a bit big for my hands, so I got the travel size, which I've been using daily/weekly for many years and it's still like new. I always wanted one with a handle, I actually bought a such a similar brush from before TT release these with a handle, but it's not as nice and the bristles aren't as soft (also the handle was too thick and oddly shaped/slippery). This one is great. I like how the handle fits into my hand, it's a nice size and goes through hair smoothly. I find for hair that is prone to tangles, these type of brushes are the best, but it's not infallible (that's why I have La Croa Protect & shine spray). This exists in several colours.
DM, Müller, Tuš Drogerija, Nama, Ličila.si in Mimovrste
TANGLE TEEZER The Scalp Exfoliator and Massager
Something tailored for my needs, since I have a problematic scalp. This promises to detox the scalp & clear product build-up, as well as give the scalp a massage. I've used it both on dry scalp and while washing my hair in combination with the shampoo. In both cases I find the circular massaging is challenging on my long hair, but it so far hasn't caused any tangles or breaking and it works a regular brush as well. It's like the perfect scratching tool for when my scalp feels itchy, however, I haven't seen a reduction in scalp build up. It kinda helps to lift the debris from the scalp while shampooing, but I my hair is too long to do it properly - it should be a lot easier on short or thinner hair. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the handle because my hands are quite small and while it hasn't slipped from my hands yet, it also doesn't feel like a tight fit - I'm just trying to say it's not as universal as they might have meant it to be. It's available in 5 different colours.
DM, Müller, Tuš Drogerija, Nama, Ličila.si in Mimovrste
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