Full review – RUSK Deepshine Oil

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that one of my tips for keeping long hair looking thick and shiny is to use an oil treatment before washing. For quite awhile, I’ve used what I call my holy grail hair treatment — a combo of argan oil (just a generic brand I get at Sally Beauty Supply) and CHI Silk Infusion. Those two products together have done the trick for me, but I’m always on the hunt for something even better …and I think I’ve found it!

I was sent a bottle of RUSK Deepshine Oil Advanced Marine Therapy a few weeks ago to try and review (see my first impression post here). I wash my hair every other day, and I’ve completely replaced my argan oil/CHI Silk Infusion treatment with this ever since I got it.

Here’s how I use it — I hop in the shower and get my hair wet, and then I wash and do everything you normally would in the shower except wash and condition my hair. After getting out, I towel off my hair and run a wide-toothed comb through it. Then, I apply around 3 drops of the RUSK Deepshine Oil throughout my hair (a little goes a long way). I pile it on top of my head with an elastic and let it set, usually for at least an hour (but once or twice it’s been less time, depending on what I have to do that day).

Excuse the no-makeup, but hey, it’s skin fresh outta the shower! As soon as I apply the RUSK Deepshine Oil, even before I wash my hair, I can feel it becoming softer and smoother. Even though it’s an argan oil-based treatment, and you might think oil would damage your hair or weigh it down, it’s super lightweight and makes your hair silky.

This product does everything the argan oil/CHI Silk Infusion combo did for me, and more. I love that it eliminates the need for two different products and gives me everything I want in one bottle. I used the argan oil for treatment and to make my hair softer, and the CHI Silk Infusion sort of as a styling aid, since I blowdry and round brush my hair after washing, to cut down on frizz and make it easier to work with. RUSK Deepshine Oil does both of those things. Plus, the bottle I have is 4 fl oz, while the CHI Silk Infusion is only 2 fl oz, and the argan oil is 3.4 fl oz!

If you have frizzy hair, this is definitely a must-buy product for you. And, if you just want a natural treatment to keep your hair soft and healthy, this works for that purpose, too. You can use it lots of different ways, not just as I’ve described above — it works on wet or dry hair, and you don’t have to let it set for it to work (that’s just how I use it).

Check out the RUSK Salon Locator to find a salon near you that carries this line of products. You can also search the web for an online retailer.

FTC – I was sent this product for consideration to test and review. These are my honest opinions, and I am not being compensated for this review.

Quick first impression: Barista Bath and Body

Check out this adorable package that was sent to me last week by Lisa at Vibrance PR. Isn’t that bag just the cutest? And what’s inside looks even better!

Lisa sent me several products from Barista Bath and Body, a brand new natural line of coffe-inspired bath and skincare products, including “triple shot” (a 3-in-1 coffee shower gel), “perk it up” (an energizing coffee shampoo), “room for cream” (an exotic origin body creme), and “soothe those jitters” (a moisturizing conditioner). Aren’t those product names so cute? And the packaging is definitely just as awesomes…all rich browns and tans, very coffee-inspired.

So now that you know it looks awesome, let’s get to another Quick First Impression must — the scent! As expected, all of these products smell deliciously like coffee. I don’t know about you, but I love the smooth, nutty blend of flavors in the scent of coffee, so I’m all about incorporating it into my skin and haircare!

I haven’t had the chance to try out the shower gel, shampoo or conditioner yet, but the body creme is divine. It’s a blend of shea, coco and mango butters enriched with Vitamin E and is especially good for sensitive, mature, dry (that’s me!), combo and normal skin types. Plus, it’s paraben, sulfate and phthalate free! (You’ve gotta love products labeled “all natural” that actually are!)

According to the info Lisa sent me, coffee is a great ingredient in beauty products because it’s a natural pH (potential hydrogen – products with too much or too little pH can really irritate your hair and skin) that helps remove impurities from hair, and soothes and protects the skin. (Read more about the benefits of coffee in your beauty products here.)

Barista Bath and Body (or b3) has a full line of products that you’ll likely love if you’re a coffee fanatic (check!) and also a fan of all-natural ingredients for skincare and body products (that’s a double check!) — from shampoo and conditioner, to body cremes and scrubs and lip balm. Plus, it looks like it’s pretty affordable, too, with individual products ranging in price from $4.50 to $28.

I’ll post a full review after I’ve tested out the products and can tell you how they worked for me.

There’s still time…

…to enter for a chance to win my Holy Grail Hair Products giveaway! In fact, you have a week and a half left to subscribe, post a comment to the giveaway blog and tell me your favorite hair product/tip, and post about your blog about this giveaway.

giveaway time!

Who doesn’t love free stuff?

Since I’m just trying to launch this blog, I thought a giveaway would be a good way to get people to visit (even if it’s just to win something at first) and hopefully continue to read my blog after the contest. So, what’s up for grabs?

Look familiar? It’s my holy grail hair treatment combo — Chi Silk Infusion and Argan Oil! I’m giving away one set of brand new bottles of Chi Silk Infusion and Argan Oil.

The only rules I have are:

• You must subscribe to this blog (Google Reader, RSS, whatever).
• You must be in the U.S. or Canada (sorry international readers, but shipping can get expensive).
• You must be 18 or older, or have your parent/guardian give permission. I’m going to need your address to ship out the prize if you’re the winner.

So, what do you have to do to enter? You have a few options…

• Reply to this post, telling me your holy grail hair products/tips. You can do this as many times as you want (one entry per response), but each response must be a different product/tip.
• Tweet about this giveaway. (Make sure to reply to this post letting me know you’ve tweeted so that I can count it as an entry.)
• Post on your blog about this giveaway. (Again, I need you to reply separately about this so that it’s counted as an entry.)

The rest of the info…

• This giveaway will be open until July 30, 2010, at midnight (giving you two weeks to get your entries in!).
• I’ll use random.org to generate a winner and will notify the winner through a blog post and by email (so make sure you leave your email address in your replies).

GOOD LUCK!

The fine print: I purchased the products for this giveaway with my own money and was not provided with products by any company.

need a hair pick-me-up?

For most of my life, I’ve had long hair. There was a period in junior high when I cut it above my shoulders, but I’d rather forget that and not look at photos from back then.

My long hair is a big part of how I see myself, and how others see me. However, having long hair requires work and maintenance, two things that don’t always gel with my laziness and lack of time to spend on my hair. But, when I see a sea of split ends and feel the weight of the world on the top of my head, it motivates me to figure out a plan of attack. Trust me when I say I think I’ve tried everything to manage my hair…this picture is evidence of the amount of stuff I have for hair care (excuse the mess):

So, here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way on how you can wage war against dull, lifeless long hair:

• First – get it cut! That might seem counterproductive, if you’re trying to grow out your hair or keep it long, but you need to visit your stylist at least once every 6 weeks to get a trim. Otherwise, you’ll be housing dead, lackluster locks, even if they are long.
• And – think about layers. If you’re like me, and your hair is generally pretty thick and straight (or only has a slight natural wave), you might consider getting some long layers (and I stress the word long in that description), just to give some shape and movement to your hair. If everything is one length, and that length is past your shoulders, you probably want to lighten things up by asking your stylist for long layers (no shorter than chin length).
• But don’t forget – a great cut will only take you so far. You need to use the best products to keep your hair in shape in between trips to the salon. Here’s what I’m using, and what I’ve found to work for me: BEFORE shampooing, I get my hair wet in the shower. After ringing it out and combing, I put about a dime-size amount (maybe a tad more…I have a lot of hair) of Chi Silk Infusion through all my hair, followed by a generous amount of Argan Oil (which is a miracle product! I got mine on sale at Sally Beauty Supply for $6.99 or so, but I think Whole Foods also sells it, and you can get it on several online sites).I pile all of the hair on top of my head and put it in a topknot with a hairband. You can sleep with the   treatment in, but I don’t have time to wash it out in the a.m., so I just let it set for an hour or so. Then, I hop back in the shower, rinse, and use my shampoo/conditioner (right now, it’s Aura Rosemary Mint Rejuvenating  Shampoo & Conditioner, an Aveda knockoff you can get at Sally Beauty Supply. I had a coupon, and it was on sale the month that I bought it. Quick review – I like it and I don’t find it drying at all).

  After that, I wrap my hair in a towel and pat dry. After taking it out of the towel, I spray TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray all through my hair, to protect it from the heat I’m about to put on it, and I rub a styling cream on the ends to keep the frizz at bay (right now, I’m using Sunsilk Hydra TLC 24/7 Creme — I bought this forever ago, so I’m not sure if this particular product is still in their line or if the packaging has changed, but get it if you can; it’s inexpensive and really helps to keep my hair smooth as I blowdry).

  

  Then, I blowdry my hair upside down with my Conair Ion Shine (love love love this dryer! I use the diffuser on the end to concentrate the heat on my hair, and I get it about 80-90 percent dry. From there, I blow it out with  a round brush (I learned how from lolamarie7 on YouTube. Check out her awesome, easy-to-follow tutorial.)

  And the end result? A head of long hair that I’m really happy with!