#haircare Archives

We girls (even guys) all love to care for our crowning glories. Well, who doesn’t? We all love beautiful and healthy hair. Hair – can really change your appearance (for better or worse). Whether it’s a color or style, your hair can make or break your look.

In this blog, I want to share with you the custom shampoo + conditioner that I’ve been loving so much.

Yes, a custom shampoo + conditioner that is specifically formulated for me was made possible by FORMULATE.

Formulate is a hair care company that formulates shampoo & condition to your specific hair and hair care needs. No one has the same hair. So why are we buying cookie-cutter shampoo & conditioner?

After taking Formulate’s survey, their chemists develop a shampoo & conditioner formula to fit your hair and its needs. If for some reason the formula is not right Formulate will work with you till they get it right.

They look at your environment, lifestyle, current hair + scalp condition, and hair care goals – all of which impact the key ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner.

The whole process is actually quick and fun. On the Formulate website or app, they have a survey that asks you questions regarding your hair. Questions such as: what color is it, is it color-treated, what is its texture and thickness, and so on. They also want to know your location so they can factor in the weather in your area. Then Formulate needs to know what your hair needs help with.

Do you need frizz control, strengthening, etc? Lastly, you get to pick your scent and let them know what ingredients you don’t want in your formula. (They even give you directions on how to use your shampoo & conditioner.)

There are 7 to pick from, ranging from fresh to floral to fruity. The different scents they have are Green with Envy (green tea and honey), Verdant (grass, lilies, eucalyptus), Tidal (coconut, sea, warm sand), Shoreline (spice, citrus, sea), Freshly Squeezed (sweet orange, tangerine), Burgeon (blooming orange blossom), and At Dawn (green apple, pear, rose).

I got their Burgeon and Cool Coconut Scent. And what I love most about their shampoo is that they are free of sulfates, parabens, dyes, preservatives, sodium, and are cruelty-free.
Sulfates are the things in shampoo that make your hair feel knotty and slick while trying to wash it. You can even ask them to exclude any ingredient you do not want or are possibly allergic to.

If you are trying to live as natural a life as possible and try to live as vegan a lifestyle as possible this is a good buy for you.

The packaging is so aesthetically pleasing! Their packaging has a sleek geometric pump bottle that would look elegant in any bathroom, plus with braille for the visually impaired. (10/10 for the thoughtful and beautiful design.) I love how they kept it simple with the alternating black and white on the shampoo and conditioner bottles.So how was it when I first use it?

Of course, as I was expecting, it wouldn’t show great results at first. Like any new skincare routine, your hair needs time to adjust and for the product to work.

On the first week of using it, I noticed that my hair becomes a bit greasy. So if you have dry hair and scalp this is a good thing. But if you don’t like your hair like that you can always ask them to adjust your formulation.

At the two-week mark, Formulate sends you an email requesting feedback about your custom formula. You have to take advantage of this and be honest in your feedback since from your feedback they will adjust the formulations based on what you need.

Even though I am a big fan of the squeaky-clean feel turns out my old shampoo was stripping my hair. My hair was dry after using it and I had to put so much product in my hair just to get my comb through it. After using Formulate my hair is soft, manageable, and easy to style. Which is exactly what I wanted it to be.

I was completely blown away by this company and its products. I truly admire the dedication behind a company that desires to meet each and every one of its customer’s needs. No matter how many times it takes.

I couldn’t tell you how often I’ve purchased hair products only to be completely disappointed, never using them again. Not only is this a huge waste of money, but it also is frustrating. The products get shoved in the closet on the shelf or used as guest shower products.
I recommend trying it and see how you can transform your hair into healthy hair. It is slightly more pricey than most shampoo and conditioners but in my opinion very much worth it for you.

As always, for more ideas, visit my Instagram account at https://instagram.com/luxelife9, feel free to follow and engage with me there as well.

Hair is a girl’s crowning glory. Who doesn’t love beautiful hair? All of us do, right? But sometimes we tend to neglect our hair’s health. Your hair’s texture is the most significant element in determining its personality. It’s the number one thing you should be thinking about when it comes to treating your strands, and more importantly, choosing the products you use on your hair every day.

So, here’s a list of brands and products I use for my hair and wanna share it with you. They are my absolute favourite products!

LEYLA MILANI

I love using Leyla Milani’s Miracle Brush, you can really say farewell to fly-aways for good! As they say about the product. This boar and nylon paddle brush is one of the best brushes for reducing static when you’re brushing your hair. So it is really effective in removing fly-aways from your hair. I also love using it together with their Volume boosting powder. This lightweight, yet powerful hair powder lifts and adds major volume to any hair type. This product doesn’t make your hair feel icky and does the job with the least amount of drawbacks! Such a cool formulation for the volumizing the hair! It gives your hair that boosts it needs. And while you’re at it, finish styling your hair with their Velvet blue scrunchies, well if you are fond of scrunchies that is. lol

ALTERNA

Alternia products are also a good buy for you. From shampoos to their live-in heat protection spray. Their everyday shampoo and everyday conditioner have a gentle formulation for your hair. They are gentle vegan moisturizing shampoo and conditioner that enhances shine, adds smoothness, and improves manageability. They are also formulated with Water Lily extract helps condition, boost gloss, and improve manageability for soft and supple hair. You may also want to try their Caviar Collection, it is a collection of hair care products that you’ll absolutely love. They have a wide range of products to address all hair concerns.

The Science of Ten Perfect Blend Shampoo by Alterna is also one of my favourites. It makes hair so smooth and you don’t have to worry about dead ends anymore with this shampoo. Girl I really recommend it! Plus it’s a unisex shampoo.

AVEDA – Heat Relief Thermal Protector & Conditioning Mist

This is a lovely, gentle heat protectant. I love that it has fewer harsh chemicals than other products, and I can tell it does protect from heat when I spray some on my hand and aim the blow dryer at my hand. This product not only protects when heat styling it also smells incredible and keeps your hair smooth. It is worth the price tag, you should try it too.

PUREOOLOGY

I also love Strength Cure Blonde shampoo and Conditioner. Yes, you have read it right it’s a Blonde shampoo and conditioner. It cleanses, restores and tones highlighted or blonde colour-treated hair. It tones and fortifies brassy, damaged and lightened hair with key ingredients Keravis, Astaxanthin, and Purple Orchid toning pigments and a signature aromatherapy blend of Pear, Rose, and Sandalwood. Together with the conditioner that smoothens your hair, I could say that this stuff does such a great job, smells nice, & makes hair feel so good!

Their Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray is also a favourite of mine. It is a Multitasking leave-in treatment especially if you have colour-treated hair. The smell is amazing, and you don’t have to use a lot. Maybe 4 sprays of this stuff and your brush just glide through your hair. If you have long thick dyed naturally wavy hair put this product in after towel drying and you can really tell the difference.

OLAPLEX

Another brand that you can trust is the Olaplex. Try their N°3 hair perfector, N°4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo, N°5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner, N°6 Bond Smoother, and N°7 Bonding Oil.

N°3 hair perfector restores hair’s healthy appearance and texture by repairing damage and protecting the hair structure. It makes hair smooth and soft. N°4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo and N°5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner is a combo life safer if you have frizz from breakage and have some dull dryness from colouring, it will leave your hair smooth, shiny & silky. Their N°6 Bond Smoother is leave-in reparative styling creme that protects all hair types including coloured and chemically treated hair. It strengthens, hydrates, moisturizes and speeds up blow-dry times while smoothing and eliminating frizz and flyaways for up to 72 hours. N°7 Bonding Oil does wonders on colour damaged, coarse and frizzy hair. It’s a small bottle, but you only need a few drops that you can mix into the bond smoother and your super dry ends will surely feel soft and moisturized for days!

ORIBE – Gold Lust Shampoo and COnditioner

Their Gold Lust Shampoo and Conditioner’s scent is amazing, the consistency is rich, it’s moisturizing, soothes your scalp, and rinses clean. Hard to judge if it actually makes hair stronger but I can say that the protein it contains is the good kind and that it won’t make your hair more brittle and broken like other restorative lines for fragile hair.

PHILIP B

Philip B Forever Shine Conditioner is a very good conditioner for dry brittle hair. It has a distinctive warm spicy smell, which you might probably like. The one downside is that there are some small glittery particles, which can show on your forehead or stay on your hands after use–well maybe that’s one reason for the name it has. However, this isn’t a major issue considering it’s such an excellent conditioner.

BLONDME BY SCHWARZKOPF

BlondME by Schwarzkopf products are also a must-try. Their Schwarzkopf Blond Me Crystal Powder is an amazing lightening product. It takes dark brown hair to a cool blond. You just leave it on until your hair us the desired colour. It will not let your hair feel brittle or damaged afterwards. It also smells wonderful. There are still a lot of amazing products from them. Go check them out!

Who uses a hairdryer? Raise your hands! Well, almost every one of us does, right? lol. The T3 NM EXCLUSIVE CURA HAIRDRYER is such an amazing hair Dryer. It is worth every single penny! Other dryers make the ends of my hair look fried, but this one leaves hair so soft and so smooth! I actually feel like it’s improving the health of your hair. The airflow just seems so much better than other dryers. Go check them out! You’ll surely love it. You may also want to try their SinglePass 1″ Flat iron, shiny, smooth hair in one easy pass! It leaves hair feeling silky and smooth. It doesn’t take long to iron your entire hair and you won’t feel as if it is burning your hair. Also, a great iron to curl your hair with, and the curls come out amazing!

ANGEL HAIR MIST BY THIERRY MUGLER

This Hair Mist is a non-sticky, non-greasy light mist that infuses the hair with the signature fragrance of the iconic Angel perfume! It lasts beautifully throughout the day and night so you can wave your locks around the dancefloor & smell like a dream! lol.

ORIBE – Dry Texturizing Spray

I absolutely LOVE this product! If your hair is bleached, dry, thin and it refuses to hold curl more than an hour or so this is a great buy for you. you can use this before or after curling on dry hair and it helps so much! It definitely holds curls for hours and you’ll be able to have great volume as well. It’s also great for styling as it gives your hair some grab, so if you want to put it in an updo or French braid it really helps to use this.

LIVING PROOF – Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo

If you have an oily scalp, this shampoo works really well when you are not in mood to wash your hair. lol. It adds volume and legitimately gets rid of the oil. Leave it on for 5 minutes to bake before brushing it out, and the results are even better. I can’t recommend this enough. It may be a bit pricey for others, but it is definitely a good buy.

MOROCCANOIL – Dry Shampoo Light Tones

This is for all the blondes and it has a wonderful MoroccanOil smell. First and foremost, it’s formulated with Moroccan oil so instead of drying out the ends of your hair like a lot of dry shampoos can tend to do this actually softens them while absorbing the oils from your scalp. The light tones will not leave a white cast on most hair but definitely go for dark if you don’t have highlights at the root.

SLIP – Silk Pillowcase and Silk Sleep mask

Slip Silk Pillowcase is a standard queen-size pillowcase made of the highest grade mulberry silk for the ultimate beauty sleep. This pillowcase is perfection. It feels like your head is resting on a heavenly cloud every single night. It is the softest material you would have ever touched! also love the benefits, it is advertised as anti-aging, anti-sleep crease, and anti bedhead. It has certainly made a difference with my hair and that is why I include it on the list–you might have been wondering why a pillowcase suddenly appeared on the list. lol. Paired with my Slip Sleepmask, this feels really luxurious. The sleep mask is great at blocking out light and keeping my serums or eye creams where they need to be.

So there goes the list of my absolute favourite products. I hope this list will help you address some of your hair concerns especially now that we can’t easily go out and go to a hair salon to get our hair fixed. Have you tried some of this product? You can also share with me your favourite products and your experience with them! Stay healthy and fabulous loves!

As always, for more ideas, visit my Instagram account at http://Instagram.com/luxelife9, feel free to follow and engage with me there as well.

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