Much like how women buy items from department store makeup counters after they've received awe-inspiring results from a makeover, so have I scooped up items that hairdressers have used on me while they were finishing up my 'do. Of course, the real test of whether a product is a Holy Grail item is if it lives up to its promise when I'm doing my hair, as opposed to having a professional work on me. Just like women getting makeovers, though, the product itself is usually not what makes the look. Rather, it's the technique; that illusive touch that professionals with hundreds of hours of practice time have accumulated and that we mere mortals don't have a chance at replicating. So, more often than not, these products purchased with the greatest hopes fall short of spectacular.
However, once I started going to a stylist at an Aveda salon, the products started measuring up. Aside from the ambiance of the salon which offered coffee each time that I went in for an appointment, where head and neck massages were standard, and which was housed in the Victorian-style house of the first female dentist, the products really did lure me in and keep me captivated.
Usually I would buy a product, possibly two, from the former stylists I went to. When I visit Lydia, my current Aveda stylist, I'll usually come home with a new product after each appointment. The reason I keep adding more to my collection is simple: I can recreate looks at home in almost the same way that Lydia performed them in the salon. This goes to show that the products really do add that extra oomph that aid in styling.
And as such, I'm sold.
Though I've tried eight Aveda products, these three are at the top of the pecking order:
1. Confixor
2. Brilliant
3. Damage Remedy
Confixor singlehandedly sold me on the notion that I, owner of slightly wavy/curly hair, could use gel to obtain a certain look. The word gel used to freak me out as all I could imagine was a thick, goopy, green pot of substance that would turn my strands into a crispy mess. Confixor is a liquid gel that provides a bit of shape, weight and hold to the hair, making the strands (seem) thicker after it has dried. I like it because it gives movement to my hair without crunch or weighing down my curls. Bonus: It has that earthy smell that Aveda is known for, which I love.
Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair is an opaque liquid gel that provides protection against heat styling and also wards off split ends. What with highlighting my hair and probably going a bit too long in between appointments, this stuff improves the look of my follicles, making sure that they don't go haywire on me. There is a whole line of Damage Remedy products including shampoo, conditioner and a nighttime leave-in treatment.
Brilliantine Damage Control is part of the Brilliant line, which is composed of shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, pomades, gel, shine spray, gloss gel and styling creme. I use Brilliant as a detangler for right when I get out of the shower, but it also protects hair from heat damage, whether due to styling tools or the sun. It's like a delightfully scented SPF for hair.
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