As a teenager, reading women's magazines, I was always so disappointed to find that my hair type was never included in articles. "Oily hair" is rarely talked about. There's no shampoo for oily haired ladies on the shelves at the stores, there's not talk about how to handle oily hair at salons, and there's certainly not products that openly advertise "removes shine!" in our magazines. I'm one of those women who has to wash her hair once a day, no exceptions. No amount of dry shampoo or baby powder would ever mask the oil that would creep into my hair 10-12 hours after washing. In fact, my mother used to wash my hair with a bit of dish soap if it got bad when I was a child.
So what would an intense 7 day treatment for damaged and color treated hair do for me? I decided to bite the bullet and find out. When the Clear Scalp Hair and Beauty Therapy package arrived*, I took some photos of my hair before starting the treatments. The photo to the right is on a Sunday afternoon, after allowing my hair to air dry. (Notice the oil in the scalp area? This was after putting in some dry shampoo!)
Like I mentioned before, I was weary about trying this out for seven days because usually products that claim they "add shine" or "intense moisture" usually weigh down my hair to the point of it being completely unmanageable. What I found after the seven days of using this product completely shocked me.
To start, there are seven tubes of an intense conditioning formula in each package. In the shower, I would wash my hair with my regular shampoo** then apply the treatment in lieu of conditioner, making sure to get it all through my hair, rubbing it into my scalp and getting a generous amount of it onto the ends, then used a butterfly clip to get my hair out of the way while I finished the rest of my showering. Right at the end, I would rinse out the treatment, paying close attention to getting it out of my scalp. (I was afraid that leaving too much in the scalp area would leave my hair greasy). Simple as that. Easy-peasy.
Seven days later... my hair is smoother and shinier than ever. The best part though - my hair was less greasy at the end of the day that it ever was before! I really think that the intense treatment actually altered the amount of oil my scalp was releasing throughout the day leaving my hair still looking good after working 9+ hours. Even after just the second day of the treatment, I had to mentally stop myself from touching my hair all day long. It was just SO SOFT! I received compliments from people I didn't even know! And I haven't had a haircut in almost a year! (yeah, yeah, I know!)
Check out the before and after:
This treatment left my hair with incredible softness. Styling my hair was a breeze, (no straightener used in the "after" photos) and I think it even cut down on the amount of time it took my hair to dry. Does this treatment repair split-ends? No. Nothing actually "repairs" split-ends; since hair is dead, it can't grow back together. But, I did smooth down the hair more to make the split-ends less noticeable. (Note: the product says that it repairs visible signs of damage after 7 days, not actually putting back together ends that have split. I believe this to be absolutely true.)
I would definitely recommend this product for people with ANY hair type. I'm sure color treated hair that has lost a bit of shine would benefit greatly from this product and if you have JUST had a haircut? Give yourself a jump on lasting shine and split-end control. Best part though? Oily haired ladies finally have a product that gives the RIGHT kind of shine!
I actually have an extra set of the 7 Day Intensive Repair Treatment that I'll be giving away to one lucky reader
Notes:
*I received this product free for my review from BzzAgent. If you are interested in joining BzzAgent and reviewing products, visit BzzAgent and sign up!
**I use Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy's shampoo/conditioner for normal hair as my regular shampoo. I purchased this product before receiving the repair treatment for review (because it was on sale at Duane Reade). I have not purchased any other Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy products... yet.