I am forever cleaning my apartment and trying to purge anything and everything I can part with. I recently put on my big girl pants to tackle my beauty shelf. Upon inspection, I had a ton of wave and curl products that were literally collecting dust. I hate waste, so instead of instantly putting the products in my giveaway bag, I decided I would try each product at least once. I followed the instructions on the bottle and if they required heat, they were instantly eliminated (there were none that required heat). I am a night shower, so the results were judged in the morning.
I first tried KMS Curl Up ($27), which is a thick cream agent. This scared me because in the past creamy hair products usually weight down my fine hair, so I was skeptical. I used very little and applied as directed. Once my hair air dried it felt as if there was no product in my hair. My locks were soft, flexible and moved about. The back of my head achieved those beach waves, I constantly lust after, but my front pieces dried straight and limp. That night I slept with my hair in a bun, which revitalized the front pieces
Then came the MoroccanOil Beach Wave Mouse ($28), which I was the most apprehensive about. While the rest of the world loves the smell of their products, I truly cannot bare it. So much so it gives me a head ache. You know how they tell you to keep your expectations low, so you will be presently surprised? This was true, so much so that I used this the Beach Wave twice. The first time was on a school night, where I went to sleep soon after applying. I did not even have to towel dry my hair for application which was a total plus. I looked as if I had just let the Caribbean salt air dry my hair. However, it was sticky and left my hair with that crunch you sometimes get from a mouse.
I remember going to the fancy salon with my mom as a kid and her buying Phyto products, so when I tried Phyto Curl Energizing Cream ($24) I was excited. Like the KMS, it was a cream activator, but did not work as hard as the other products. I achieved a loose wave that gave my hair great texture and allowed for the different shades in my hair to show off. But did my waves cause a rip tide? No. Like most of the products my hair in the back was tighter and the front was looser.
When I got to the John Frida Frizz Ease Dream Curls Air Dry Waves Styling Foam ($10) I was most excited. It was designed for the lazy woman like me, one who never does their hair, but wants it to look their best. The bottle comes with a pump that converts the liquid into a foam, but the foam was loose and liquidy. I applied to wet hair and waited for the results. The bottle states that it enhances waves, so the advertising was not misleading. On the other hand I was not impressed with the results. My hair did not impress me or look any different than when I let it air dry sans product.
The final product in the test run was Matrix's Mineral Airy Builder ($18). Before anything with a product from Matrix is that I know it is going to smell great. This did not disappoint. After towel drying my hair, I applied the product. My hair was super voluminous and had great waves in the back. Of all the products it felt as if my hair got the oiliest first. My hair felt healthy, but at the cost of it looking dirtier for me.
At the end of the day, I was able to eliminate some products from my shelf, which was great for my "hoarding" tendencies. I would not shy away from any of these products, but the KMS and MorocanOil were the best products for my hair type. Is there a curling product or wave product that you swear by? Comment below!