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IGK Haircare Review

April 17, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Raise your hand if you’re the type that likes to check if your hair strands are in place before joining any Zoom meetings! True story, right? Even though our situations have changed (hopefully it’ll get better soon), it’s still very important to look our best (or at least presentable) in the virtual world. The products I like to reach for lately especially for Zoom-worthy hair are the ones from IGK. If you’re wondering what IGK means, it’s actually the initials of the stylists/founders’ last names. This brand is known for their colorful packaging and eye-catching labels. Ever since having tried their dry shampoos which are truly hair-savers, I have been testing some of their other products, especially their new releases. So far, most of the stuff I’ve tried from this brand has been really interesting. Let’s take a look.

Dry Shampoo

First Class Charcoal Detox (2-6.3 oz: 14-27 USD) – This is one of the best dry shampoos I’ve ever tried. With minimal scent and less fume, this charcoal dry shampoo is perfect for those with somewhat oily to very oily hair. This can make your hair look clean and fresh even after two days without washing. You may have to use a lot of this though and this can make your hair feel gritty, but still, this works like a charm. I really like that this doesn’t leave any white residue on the hair and this can save you a lot of time when hair grooming.

Jet Lag Invisible Dry Shampoo (6.3 oz: 27 USD) – This dry shampoo is a toned-down version of the First Class Detox shampoo above. This is meant for those with slightly oily hair the next day or for those who just want to add a bit of texture in their hair. For me, this only works to keep my hair looking fresh the following day. Other than that, this won’t work for those with super oily hair. Most of the time, I just use this as a texturizer or even to add a bit of volume to my hair.

Texturizing

Beach Club Texture Spray (1.7-5 oz: 14-29 USD) – This is probably one of the most wonderful and reliable texturizing sprays I’ve ever tried. If it wasn’t for the strong coconut scent, I would have made this as my most favorite hair texturizing spray because this really works well in creating or adding texture to your hair. This also gives that natural “beach hair” look and this even adds volume. Also, this texturizer is salt-free, non-sticky, and this doesn’t dry the hair. For an overall well-performing hair texturizer with a very pleasing scent, the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray is still my top favorite.

Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel (1.7-5 oz: 15-29 USD) – This award-winning coconut-infused creamy hair texturizer has a lot of purpose. You can create an air-dried tousled hair, wavy-textured hair, or frizz-free beach hair with this styler if those are your style. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work well on my straight hair especially if it’s very clean. This does tame the frizzies, but this also makes my hair look too textured and too scrunched. I find that this works very well on second-day unwashed hair to create that natural lived-in textured look that a lot of people especially on TV are sporting nowadays, and perhaps the kind of hair you may want to do when you need to be in Zoom ASAP.

Straightening/Masks

Antisocial Overnight Bond-Building Dry Hair Mask (5 oz: 34 USD) – This color-safe bond-building dry hair mask which feels like a dry shampoo is meant to repair and strengthen the hair over time. To use this, you’re supposed to apply this product at night as a hair mask, and that works really well. Also, for me, I like to use this whenever I feel like my hair has bents or has some waves that need to be straightened asap. What I noticed is that this really works in relaxing, softening, and detangling the hair. Most of all, the effect seems to be quite long-lasting and this seems to improve the hair’s texture, overall look, and condition. The scent of this may be a bit too much for some, however, given that this really works well on the hair, I think this is one of my most favorite products from IGK and I definitely recommend that you try it.

Good Behavior Spirulina Protein Smoothing Spray (5.6 oz: 32 USD) – This is a very interesting IGK product because this is a heat protectant spray that can actually make your hair look like it just had a Keratin treatment. To use, you must first coat your hair with this product, blow-dry it in sections, then finish it with a flat iron to achieve that smooth, shiny, and straightened keratinized-hair look. Personally, I don’t use it as indicated because I noticed that it made my hair look too heavy and somewhat oily since this has a dry oil feel. I prefer to use this as a finishing spray because this gives my hair a nice shine while still retaining some of the volume. But, if you want to achieve that pin-straight hair and want your hair to look more tamed and definitely less frizzy, you must follow the instructions. You might actually love the result.

Offline 3-Minute Hydration (6.7 oz: 38 USD) – I have a new favorite hair mask and it’s this quick 3-minute only Offline mask. I love the name of this mask and I love how this mask made my hair look hydrated, healthy, light, and shiny even after just a few uses. I feel like this has restored my hair back to its natural volume and vitality. On top of that, this mask works really well with any lightweight volumizing shampoo. The consistency of this very thick, so, you only have to use a bit. This though has a somewhat strong coconut scent, but will not be noticeable after rinsing. I definitely recommend this mask and I wish IGK will continue to make more interesting hair masks like this and with interesting names as well. The next one should be called “Quarantine Hair” or “Zoom Me Maybe” lol 😃 .

What do you think about IGK’s haircare products? What are your tips for a good hair day, at least online?

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Favorite Drugstore Dry Shampoos

July 2, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hallo guys! My apologies for being MIA lately. I just got back from my short European trip. My head is still above the clouds and I’ve got a massive jetlag. For more vacay photos and short videos, please check my Insta @reviewsandotherstuff. The travel post will be up soon on the blog, but for today’s post, I’m about to do a short roundup review of my favorite drugstore dry shampoos.

A couple of weeks ago, I did a review of my favorite dry shampoos of all time, you can check that out in this link. In that said review, I mentioned that I will be reviewing the different types of Dove Dry Shampoos since I was really quite impressed with its quality. However, upon further tests, I found out that all the Dove Dry Shampoos worked pretty much the same way on my hair. So, I decided to just talk about my top two favorite Dove Dry Shampoos in this review. Here they are.

Dove

Detox and Purify Dry Shampoo (5 oz: 4.89 USD, 7.3 oz: 5.88 USD) – This is the first Dove Dry Shampoo I’ve tried and I really love it. It’s got this sort of perfumey apple-ish scent that kind of lingers, and there is also a very subtle white residue on this but it goes away easily. It gets rid of excess oil and makes the hair look clean fairly easily and it adds a bit of volume as well.

Volume and Fullness Dry Shampoo (5 oz: 4.89 USD, 7.3 oz: 5.88 USD) – I was excited to try this hoping that this would give my hair more volume than the Dove Detox Dry Shampoo above. While this has a nice sort of sweet scent, I feel like this didn’t really add much volume to my hair when compared to the detox dry shampoo. They both have the same effect on my strands. Overall, I realized that I could pretty much use any kind of Dove Dry Shampoo for my hair type. So, having at least one or two of these dry shampoos would be enough.

SGX NYC Dry Touch Volumizing Dry Shampoo (6.5oz: 6.99 USD) – I was really surprised at how good this dry shampoo worked for my hair. It has no residue, and it kind of works like my favorite IGK First Class Charcoal Dry Shampoo, reviewed HERE. The scent of this is really nice and clean, plus the packaging is cute.

TRESemmé Between Washes Volumizing Dry Shampoo (4.3 oz: 5.99 USD, 7.3 oz: 5.98 USD) – This dry shampoo leaves no residue and has a somewhat fruity apple scent but it’s not too strong. The 4.3 oz bottle looks quite thin and I feel like I’ve consumed almost all of it already at first spray, but yeah, this is still a pretty solid drugstore dry shampoo.

L’Oreal Paris Extraordinary Clay Dry Shampoo (4 oz: 5.22 USD) – Also called Elvive Extraordinary Clay, this dry shampoo has a berry fruity scent and it’s not that overwhelming. This leaves no residue though it’s not the best at volumizing the hair. Yet it does make the hair look clean and fresh the following day.

Bottom line, I really love this drugstore dry shampoo finds. They’re affordable and I’m actually quite impressed with their qualities, especially the SGX NYC (Salon Grafix) Dry Shampoo which is super affordable and it works just like a high-end dry shampoo or even better.

Have you tried any of these products before? What’s your go-to dry shampoo?

Favorite Hair Texture Sprays

May 23, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey All! In my previous haircare review, I mentioned that I’m obsessed about texturizing hair sprays. They come in different names, some are called Dry Texture Sprays, Texture Mists, Dry Sprays, Hair Texturizing Sprays, and even Wave Sprays, Salt Sprays or Beach Sprays function the same. I started using these sprays around the same time that I fell in love with dry shampoos (see my favorites HERE). For me, I love the way these texture sprays look on my hair, especially if you find the right texturizing spray that suits your hair type.

Lately, there’s been a surge of different types of hair texture sprays from different brands. While they’re not all created equal since most of them come in different formulations, I find that they all give this hair definition and texture that looks “lived-in” and “effortless” which I really really like. Also, I like the way they add texture to my layered strands and the way they lightly hold my hair in place. Some may also add volume and that’s a huge plus because it’s like getting a dry shampoo and hairspray in one.

I tend to like lightweight hair texture sprays which means I don’t like anything that grips on my hair too much to the point that my hair would look dry and stiff. I also don’t like anything very sticky. A tad sticky yes perhaps, but it has to be very flexible.

Here are my favorite hair texture sprays.

Liquid

The liquid form of texture sprays tend to be lightweight and may have a slightly sticky feel, although some could get really heavy on the hair, while some could make the strands stiff and dry. These type of dry texture sprays are almost similar if not identical to sea salt sprays and wave sprays. They crunch the hair in varying levels of strength but they don’t necessarily add volume. Most of these are great for medium type of hair. For my preference, I like the ones that are very light and with a nice irresistible scent.

Kérastase Aura Botanica Beach Wave Texture Spray (5.1 oz: $28) – This pretty much takes the same scent as the whole Kerastase Aura Botanica haircare line (read the Kerastase Aura Botanica Shampoo+Conditioner review HERE). If you’re familiar with that line, then you will find the scent of this texture spray to be familiar as well. This has a nice light perfume-like scent. It sorta relaxes the hair and it gives a nice soft textured effect. It does give a slight “wet” look effect and it tends to grip the hair strands a bit stronger than most liquid textured sprays I’ve tried, but it’s flexible enough to be brushed. It makes the hair stay in place and it defines each strand well.

Alterna Caviar Resort Sea Tousled Texture Spray (4 oz: $28) – Similar to the Kerastase Aura Botanica Texture Spray above but this one has a slightly fresher scent and it gives a bit of hair volume while it mildly crunches the hair. You don’t need to use a lot of this and it gives a nice lived-in look. This could also work as a hair perfume or hair fragrance mist, just like the Kerastase texture spray above.

Living Proof Instant Texture Mist (5 oz: $26) – This has the lightest grip of all the liquid texturizing hair sprays I’ve tried and it smells divine. It’s perfect for keeping the strands and hair layers in place after straightening the hair. It doesn’t crunch much and it doesn’t add volume, but it keeps the hair looking naturally defined and clean. The spray nozzle of this delivers a very nice fine mist.

Aerosol

The Aerosolized type of hair texturizing sprays is my most favorite. This type not only defines and holds the hair together, but they also add some volume. It’s really like having a volumizing dry shampoo and hairspray in one.

IGK Beach Club Texture Spray (1.7 oz: $14, 5 oz: $29) – This has a coconut scent that I kind of find to be quite too strong for my taste, but this definitely adds texture and volume to the hair like no other. I just love the way this looks on my fine straight hair. It makes my hair look more alive, defined, volumized, fresh, and truly bouncy.

Moroccanoil Dry Texture Spray (1.6 oz: $11, 5.4 oz: $28) – With a nice floral-powdery scent, this texture spray feels and applies more like a dry shampoo that adds a really nice hair definition but not necessarily too much volume. It doesn’t crunch much either, but it just defines and holds the hair in place while absorbing excess hair oil.

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray (2.2 oz: $22, 8.5 oz: $46) – This has similar characteristics to the IGK Beach Club Texture Spray above and yes, I like this a lot too. I even like this more than the Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo (seen HERE) because this smells so good and it works very well for my hair type. For me, this gotta be the most perfect hair texturizing spray in terms of scent, volume, grip, and look/effect on my hair.

Living Proof Full Dry Volume Blast (3 oz: $15, 7.5 oz: $29) – I’ve ignored this dry shampoo several times because I honestly wasn’t sure what this was for. That is, until, I saw that this is an Allure Best of Beauty Winner and people rave about how good of a texturizing hair spray this is, especially for fine hair. So, I decided to give this a try. I really like the smell of this, and this texture spray pretty much functions like the IGK and Oribe ones above. Yes, this does give a nice hair lift, but it’s also true that the volumizing effect of this lasts for about 2-3 hours only. After that, you really need to reapply, and that’s why I always have a mini size of this in my tote.

Amika Un.Done Volume and Matte Texture Spray (1 oz: $10, 5.3 oz: $20) – Another one that is so similar to the IGK, Oribe, and Living Proof dry texture sprays above, but you may find the scent of this to be too strong. I generally like the feel and smell of this at first spritz, but after a while, the scent can be overpowering and kind of old lady-like for my preference. But that may just be me, some of you guys may actually find the scent of this to be totally fine.

Foam

Haven’t experimented much on foam hair texturizing sprays or in any other type of texture sprays other than mostly the liquid and the aerosolized powdery form. So far, in the foam type, I only like the Ouai Dry Texture Foam (5.8 oz: $28) which smells nice and it’s also a creamy lightweight foam that adds grit and texture to the hair, along with some really good volume. This is great to use even before styling or to refresh the hair and add some volume the next day without washing it. I find that this works well for my fine straight hair. Read more about this product HERE.

Final words, if you’re new to dry texture sprays and your hair type is fine, you may wanna try the aerosol types and I highly recommend the ones from IGK, Oribe, Living Proof and Moroccanoil, or you can try the Ouai Dry Texture Foam above. If your hair is medium, thick, wavy, or curly, you might enjoy any of the liquid types, or you can still try the one from Ouai.

Are you a fan of hair texture sprays? Which one is your favorite?