Reviews and Other Stuff

pantene charcoal

Ouai Haircare Review

ouai haircare

 

Hi there! Summer’s coming up and I am bracing for frizzy strands, annoying flyaways, and some other hair issues that could come up anytime during this hot season. As much as I love Summer, I know my hair could take a beating around that time, so, to better prepare myself, I’ve investigated a few haircare brands that I think could help prevent my hair from looking like a bird’s nest this Summer, LOL. One of the brands I’ve investigated is Ouai Haircare. I must admit that at first, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting out of this brand. I did find their lineup of products to be quite confusing and even more so redundant. But, I got curious anyway, so, over the course of time, I tested a few popular Ouai haircare products and here’s what I found.

 

ouai leave-in conditioner review

 

Air Dry Foam (4 oz: $28) – This is the first Ouai product I purchased and I was really impressed at how good it made my hair feel. First, you apply this non-sticky foam on your damp hair (about two pumps on my long hair) and scrunch it softly on your strands. Then let your hair air dry and voila! you’ve got soft smooth manageable hair. I know this is meant for wavy or curly hair types, but honestly, this works very well for my fine hair and I love this a lot. I mostly air dry my hair (because I usually don’t have the time for blowouts or styling) and this product helps a lot. This has a nice light perfumey musky scent that goes away within a few seconds, and this pretty much leaves the hair frizz-free and zero flyway even up to the next day.

 

ouai air dry foam review

 

Leave-In Conditioner (4.7 oz: $26) – A Ouai bestseller, a lot of folks really love this non-sticky lightweight leave-in conditioner. This has the same light floral musky scent that most Ouai haircare products have and this definitely eliminates hair frizzies and flyaways by just a few spritzes on the strands. On top of that, this also acts as a heat protectant prior to any hair styling. So, this product is pretty much a multitasker, which means fewer products piled on the hair and less time-consuming application. For my hair, this doesn’t soften as much as the Air Dry Foam above, but this adds a nice volume and it makes my hair behave well – looking smooth and shiny for the whole day and also the next.

 

ouai texturizing hair spray review

 

Texturizing Hair Spray (mini/1.4 oz: $12, 4.5 oz: $26) – This would have been the perfect texturizing hair spray for me ever because this doesn’t have a very annoying obtrusive scent and it really adds volume and texture to my fine long layered stands without leaving any residue, but there are few things that bothered me about this product. First, its spray nozzle could freeze up, making it difficult to use. Second, using this may kinda want you to wear a gas mask, LOL. Seriously, this texturizing spray is way too powdery and way too foggy to use. Expect to see a lot of smoke when using this, so you may want to use this while in a large room or else this could impede your breathing.

 

ouai dry texture foam review

 

Dry Texture Foam (5.8 oz: $28) – This product confused me at first because I thought this would be just like the Air Dry Foam above, but actually, this is quite a bit different, especially in terms of application. Though the effects of the Ouai Air Dry Foam and this are quite the same, this Dry Texture Foam needs to be applied on a dry hair, kinda like a pomade or a styling cream. This is definitely not meant to replace a dry shampoo, but it’s more like a foamy non-sticky texturizing shampoo, which of course definitely adds texture and vibrance to the hair, making it more volumized, frizz-free, and ready to be styled. I like this a lot because it’s perfect for whenever I miss out on applying the Ouai Air Dry Foam or the Leave-In Conditioner and I had to style my hair asap.

 

ouai wave spray review

 

Wave Spray (mini/1.7 oz: $12, 5 oz: $26) – This is probably my least favorite of all the Ouai haircare products reviewed here because this pretty much feels like a flexible hold spray. Unlike most wave sprays I’ve tried in the past, this scrunches my hair so much that it just feels dry. It does add texture to it but it’s way too drying for my fine hair. Perhaps, this could work better for those with wavy hair, but definitely not on my strands. I do love the scent of this though, but thank goodness I got this as a sample because I will be skipping this next time.

 

ouai review

 

Overall, if you’re new to Ouai haircare, I suggest you carefully read their products’ descriptions and see what they’re meant for. They may seem redundant and confusing at first because they do have several items that address each specific haircare concern. With that being said, I appreciate what this brand had done and I think their products will definitely help my hair this coming Summer. If you ask me what Ouai haircare product/products should you buy at first, I’d definitely say that you try their Air Dry Foam (my most fave), and their Leave-In Conditioner or their Dry Texture Foam.

 

Have you tried any Ouai haircare products already? What do you think?

 

These Ouai Haircare products are currently available at Sephora, Barneys New York, Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Net-A-Porter, Nordstrom, Revolve, Selfridges, Urban Outfitters, and SpaceNK

 

 

Pantene Charcoal Shampoo and Conditioner Review

Pantene charcoal haircare

 

A few months ago, I reviewed the Pantene Micellar Shampoo and Conditioner haircare line, seen HERE. I did promise you guys that I will be investigating their Charcoal line as well, and today, we are finally going to talk about it and I’ll give you my opinion regarding how this collection perform based on my experience after using it for some time.

 

I’m not quite sure whether I’ve ever used a charcoal shampoo or charcoal conditioner in the past, but I’ve been really curious about them. It seems like they’re all the buzz nowadays. I do like the idea of using or adding activated charcoal to my haircare regimen since my hair tends to become a hot mess if I don’t wash it the following day, read more about that HERE. You can imagine my curiosity when I heard about the Pantene Charcoal line, so here goes my two cents…

 

Pantene Charcoal Shampoo Purifying Root Wash

 

Pantene Charcoal Shampoo Purifying Root Wash

 

Charcoal Shampoo Purifying Root Wash (10.1 oz – 17.9 oz: $5.99 – $9.99) – This is a purifying root wash shampoo which utilizes activated charcoal to deeply cleanse not only each hair strand but also the scalp. It’s meant to remove excess oil and product buildup from the hair which tends to weigh the hair down, thus looking flat and heavy. The result is a deeply-cleansed hair that looks bouncy, renewed, with volume, and fresh-looking even up to the next day without washing it. Kinda like a detox cleanse for the hair, it’s made without parabens, dyes, and silicones, so it’s perfect for those with color-treated or chemically-treated hair. The scent of this shampoo is surprising because it doesn’t have a strong charcoal scent, instead, this has some sort of a minty fresh clean fragrance which is really light and somewhat energizing to use. I love that this lathers well with just a few pumps and though I was worried at first that this might dry my hair, actually, it didn’t. I never noticed this stripping my hair off of its natural moisture. So technically, this is perfect for daily use. However, I still use my favorite daily moisturizing shampoo in combination with this, and that’s because we’re still in the cold dry Winter months and I need to keep some moisture in my hair somehow. I do believe that a combination of this charcoal shampoo plus your fave moisturizing shampoo would be a great tandem to help keep the hair at its best- not too oily and not too dry. I also believe that any charcoal shampoo like this one from Pantene is a must-have in the shower for twice or three times a week thorough detox hair cleansing.

 

Pantene Charcoal Conditioner Renewing Cream Rinse

 

Pantene Charcoal Conditioner Renewing Cream Rinse

 

Charcoal Conditioner Renewing Cream Rinse (10.1 oz – 17.9 oz: $5.99 – $9.99) – This activated charcoal conditioner doesn’t look very charcoal-ish by appearance and feels very light yet creamy. It also doesn’t weigh the hair down, and it’s infused with Vitamin B5, rich antioxidants, plus it’s formulated without parabens, dyes, and silicones. So, it’s color-safe and it works for processed hair. The scent of this is just like the Charcoal Shampoo above which is slightly minty fresh. I like this conditioner a lot because it doesn’t leave any residue on my hair and it doesn’t weigh on my very long strands. On top of that, it makes my hair look healthy and shiny without being too oily the next day.

 

pantene charcoal haircare

 

Overall, I find these Pantene Charcoal Shampoo and Conditioner to be somewhat better than the Micellar haircare line because I feel like these really remove excess oil and product buildup from the roots and they surprisingly don’t dry the strands. They’re pretty much perfect for everyday use and they keep the hair clean and fresh for longer period. Also, these are really lightweight for the hair so they make it bouncy. Apart from being friendly to color-treated and chemically-treated hair, these are definitely perfect for those with oily hair types. On the other hand, I still feel like I want to try and investigate some other activated charcoal-infused haircare out there, but for now, these are my fave Charcoal hair care products so far and they’re pretty much easy to find, not to mention being so affordable.

 

FYI: I will be testing the latest Pantene Rose Water Collection soon. Will update you guys about it.

 

Have you tried any Charcoal-blend haircare products before?

 

The Pantene Charcoal Shampoo and Conditioner are currently available at Amazon, Target, Walgreens, and in most drugstores everywhere.