A few months back I heard about Hello Hair. I heard so many great things about their hydrating mask and was dying to try it out myself. When I found out I would be doing a collaboration with them I was ecstatic! I finally had an opportunity this past weekend to try out their hydrating mask: island escape edition. My best friend Maddie and I each tried it and .... we were extremely unimpressed with the results!
The Process:
As you can see from the photos above I used a small palm full of the product, applied it throughout my hair - focusing on the ends, and wrapped my hair in saran wrap (one of the options they suggest to help the oil penetrate). I then left the product on for 30 minutes before shampooing it out with my usual shampoo (Redken, in case anyone is wondering).
My Thoughts:
After trying to blow dry my hair it became immediately apparent that my hair was still completely soaked in the oil. After fully drying it it still looked stringy and greasy! While not pleased with this, it can perhaps be chalked up to my own error / lack of shampooing. I should note that Maddie did not have this problem; but she did tell me that she shampooed her hair THREE times while in the shower because she just couldn't get it out.
After two more showers I finally was able to get all of the product out of my hair. I hoped that, despite the rocky start, my hair would feel/look great after this and thus the shampooing chaos would be worth it.... sadly, this was not the case. I did not notice any change to my hair after using this product. period. Granted, I am very lucky and my hair is relatively healthy (not too dry) to begin with; but still, I hoped to see some difference in the silkiness or smoothness of my hair and was disappointed. Similarly, Maddie told me she likewise did not see or feel any difference at all in her hair.
Things to Consider:
Overall my experience with this product was negative. I would not use it again. However, I do want to ensure a fulsome review and let you know the things I DID like about this product. Here goes:
1) I LOVE that this product is completely cruelty free / vegan. I am a vegetarian (and Maddie is a vegan) and we both love that companies are starting to take notice of our concerns and ensure their products are cruelty free. HUGE props to Hello Hair for being a leader in this regard.
2) The smell is AWESOME. The product has a light (not overpowering) tropical smell that lingered on my hair afterwards.
3) Different hair types = Different results?
Clearly, this product is loved by many bloggers - including; my good friend Bree who reviewed the product here as well as another blogger who I absolutely adore, Katrina, and they both loved the product! I definitely believe that it worked really well for both of them. All I can say, therefore, is that perhaps different hair types react differently to this product and thus you should not be discouraged from trying this product just because of me - just be sure to take my advice on the shampooing!
Honest Blogger Reviews:
Real talk for a moment: It feels WEIRD to say something negative about something that was given to you for free. It feels as though you are letting the company down, and breaking some sort of unwritten rule. I had a hard time writing this post because of that feeling.
Here's the deal though, I also would NEVER write something I didn't believe or endorse a product I didn't actually like, so that left me in quite the pickle! I hope you readers know that every time I have reviewed a product before, what I have said about it has been my honest opinion. I believe (hope!) that the reason I have had the privilege of working with such great companies (Polette Eyewear, for ex.) is because they like the fact that I am actually honest when reviewing things. The way I see it, companies would (should?) rather collaborate with bloggers they know will be honest as their reviews will mean so much more to readers than reviews by bloggers the readers have decided/learned not to trust.
Anyway, that was a rant & a half, but hopefully you appreciate my honesty and I would love to hear any feedback you may have on this topic!
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