It goes without saying that it’s been a hot minute since a post and I wanted to do something wavy/curly hair related to update you on what I’ve been using on my hair and the results I’ve been able to achieve on a daily basis. However, I took a quick inventory on my empty products and they have kind of taken over the bedroom and bathroom so I wanted to talk about them and recycle them before they expand further. Hair-specific posts to come, I promise, and speaking of hair, let’s start there:

Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo ($33 CDN | 355 mL)

This lightweight but slippery and moisturizing clear shampoo does it all as a standard everyday kind of shampoo for me. It’s gentle, actually helps to detangle my hair rather than worsening snarls that I’m prone to and removes gunk from heavier styling products and even silicones. The gentle surfactants do not exacerbate my eczema, which is a blessing and make my scalp feel generally pretty happy. The formula contains some protein and amino acids which may help give me some bounce and structure to my hair — I’m iffy how effective they are in a shampoo, however — and lasts a long time. I’ve already repurchased.

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Hair Mask ($53 CDN | 236 mL)

Was this my third tub of this? I’ve honestly lost track. I don’t say this lightly but it’s likely my holy grail deep conditioner, either for the full-on meal deal deep conditioner with the deep conditioning cap and all or just left on for 5-15 minutes in the shower. It’s lightweight but incredibly hydrating, moisturizing and slippery and gives me the best curl clumps and bounce in my curls and waves afterwards. It contains plant oils without heaviness, biotin and hydrolyzed proteins, along with some lovely slip agents. I’m currently using the Briogeo Curl Charisma Hair Mask, another favourite, but I’m sure I’ll be repurchasing this one afterwards. It’s magical how it can be lightweight but also gives a good number of uses for the money.

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Rice Water Protein + Moisture Strengthening Treatment ($59 CDN | 148 mL)

Given the depth of my love for the original hair mask, I had to try the dual-chambered accompanying treatment. I quite like it but it’s nowhere near as essential to me as the mask. It’s a more concentrated protein treatment, accompanied with a moisturizing and hydrating second chamber, with squalane and sweet almond oil. It contains rice water, rice protein and biotin and gives my hair the protein boost and bounce without the weight or moisture of the mask. I don’t use it as described, on the same wash day as the mask but instead as a conditioner or paired with a regular conditioner. I did repurchase but only because I wanted to test it again and it was a great deal with Fab Fit Fun.

Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve ($39 CDN | 237 mL)

I’ve been enjoying using this bond-builder treatment come protein treatment, but I use it primarily to add some bounce back to my waves and to maintain the condition of my hair with the frequent diffusing I do and mechanical damage that can occur from brush styling. I haven’t used it on truly damaged hair so I can’t speak to it’s ability to restore hair that has already been damaged. I would like to continue experimenting with it so I will likely repurchase with a sale. It contains an intriguing complex of bond-reinforcing ingredients, creatine, chia seed extract and sweet almond oil for moisture. I do notice that some curls that have gone limp do tend to tighten up after use.

Curlsmith Feather-Light Protein Cream ($36 CDN | 237 mL)

This is my favourite curl cream that I’ve ever tried and despite being concentrated, I have finished my third tube of it. I’m pretty sure I had a replacement around the time I was about a third of the way through the tube. As someone with high porosity, fine to medium waves and curls, who has pretty soft water, this helped to clump my curls together and add some grit and structure to my curls that can get kind of soft and limp and lame in parts. The high concentration of protein definitely helps to encourage ringlets and the formula is otherwise light to medium in weight but fairly moisturizing with sweet almond oil and shea butter. It’s a brainless combination under a medium-to-strong hold gel for me.

Curlsmith Curl Defining Styling Souffle ($52 CDN | 473 mL)

I won’t pretend to have any clue what bottle or tub I’m on at this point but this is my most repurchased styling product and probably my favourite overall. I went through a phase where I wasn’t loving it as much over the winter but that’s probably because I was heavy handed with it — which can make it go stringy — and it was so dry and mild that I wasn’t in need of the humidity protective quantities. I also think it may have been an older bottle with slightly less hold but I’m uncertain. I’ve repurchased again. It’s a moisturizing medium-weight custard-y gel that contains flaxseed, irish moss and other film forming humectants and oils to help seal the hair. It’s concentrated and buildable, offering medium to strong hold and juicy curl clumps that last when used properly. Despite being protein-free, I find it quite curl enhancing. It’s good in a humid climate, just not quite as humidity resistant as some of my glue-like gels.

Ouidad Heat & Humidity Gel Stronger Hold ($29.99 – 36 CDN | 250 mL)

This is one of those gels that sits somewhere in between medium and strong hold, depending on the amount use and the amount of moisturizing products underneath, but never forms too much of a cast to scrunch out. It’s super lightweight so it offers control in humidity with polymers and film-forming humectants while still giving volume and bounce. The wheat amino acids and hydrolyzed protein is likely responsible for the curl enhancement I get. I’ll be repurchasing another because it’s so lightweight and good in humidity while being curl enhancing. It’s also among the most frizz-reducing gels that I’ve ever used.

DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel ($19 CDN | 89 mL)

I’ve always been a fan of the pre-controversy gel formula and I have to say I enjoy the new one too but not quite as much. I think I miss the hydrolyzed proteins in the original formula and the curl enhancement they added. The new formula has a very similar experience but I don’t find that it’s quite as curl enhancing/defining as the formula I remember. I do enjoy the grit and texture it gives to my first day hair and quite enjoy using it right before diffusing as an extra touch of hold. It’s a medium-firm hold gel for sure that gives decent curl clumps. I would repurchase again to play with more when on sale; I find it really expensive now, but there is still something special about it.

Pattern Beauty Strong Hold Hair Gel ($12 CDN | 85g)

As a white female with wavy hair, I really have enjoyed the Pattern Beauty products, but I acknowledge that they are not meant for me. This one is marketed as for mainly slicked-back styles but it’s my favourite for a good ol’ washday. It’s a thick strong-hold gel that is great on high porosity hair in a humid climate, but doesn’t weigh down my fine to medium (2c-ish) waves when used properly, and locks in my curl clumps for days. It’s a good one, especially as someone who does moderate intensity yoga five or so days a week and only washes my hair twice and is looking to minimize having to restyle their hair completely. It contains a polyquat for humidity resistance, PVP and VP/VA Copolymer to lock in hold, a number of plant oils including curl-enhancing flaxseed oil and a few film forming humectants and really locked in curl definition. This was merely the trail size and it lasted me a while but I would definitely go-for the larger size.

Ouidad Featherlight Touch-Up Gel Cream ($25.39 CDN | 100 mL)

Although my ability to successfully refresh my hair has gone way up as my hair has gotten healthier and better at holding onto moisture, it’s never been something that I can easily achieve on my hair. Sometimes, when I go to refresh my hair for instance, ends up This lightweight cream, however, makes refreshing a breeze. It’s a cream that can be applied on dry hair (or dampened hair) to add a bit of hold and smooth down frizz and is so slippery that I can touch up brush-styling on barely damp sections. I’ve repurchased it because it’s been such a game-changing refreshing product for me that works without being producty, flaky or gunk-y. It’s a lightweight gel cream with some protein that helps with perking up my waves and curls, especially in lazier sections.

Ole Henriksen Beam Cream Smoothing Body Moisturizer ($49 CDN | 190 mL)

This moisturizer contains both lactic and glycolic acid in addition to crambe oil, shea butter, mango seed butter, caffeine and numerous other plant oils and despite the inclusion of synthetic fragrance and inclusion of citrus peel oils towards the bottom of the ingredient list, it actually helped lock moisture into my eczema-prone skin and help improve the texture of my skin overall. I quite enjoyed the bright citrus scent and felt luxe and rich. I would consider picking up again if I saw a sale.

Cerave Moisturizing Cream ($31.99 CDN | 539g)

While there’s never been a cure or panacea for my eczema, this cream is a staple for decreasing flares and minimizing the dry and itchy, especially when applied on wet skin after bathing. I love the practical jar with a pump on it packaging and how much product that you get, even for the money. I don’t find the cream stingy at all — a miracle at times — and the mix of ceramides, petrolatum, hyaluronic acid and other skin identical ingredients moisturize and help with barrier function while sinking into the skin without any residue. I think I’ve probably used over ten containers of this cream and will continue to do so.

Cerave Itch Relief Moisturizing Lotion ($22.99 CDN | 237 mL)

Despite the fact that this contains an actual analgesic ingredient, I don’t think I actually experience notable relief from itchiness compared to a well formulated cream alone. This lotion was lightweight but moisturizing and contained barrier-strengthening niacinamide towards the top of the ingredient list, which I tend to enjoy, but I will comment the ceramides were lower on the ingredient list, compared to other products by Cerave . I enjoyed using it as my daily moisturizer but I don’t think I’ll go for this version again.

Paula’s Choice 5% Niacinamide Body Serum ($29 US | 118 mL)

I tried out this body serum on my last Paula’s Choice order in hopes that it might help to improve my eczema that I was definitely battling in the winter. Unfortunately, I found that I definitely had to top it off with a moisturizer to keep the eczema on my legs under control and didn’t witness a significant benefit on my eczema with its use. I will say, I did notice a difference on my chest, shoulders and back with uneven texture and marks from previous blemishes. I have no immediate plans to repurchase but I enjoyed using it. I will say that using it reminded me of how much I love niacinamide in my body products; I just found I went through it too quickly for my liking.

Paula’s Choice Daily Replenishing Body Cream ($25 US | 200 mL)

On the other hand, I tried this lightweight but comforting moisturizer this winter and I loved it instantly, regretting not dipping my toe into their body moisturizers sooner. It was remarkably non-stingy and soothing on my dry and flaky winter skin and maintained its richness while still being lightweight — sorcery, I tell you –, with shea butter, a number of plant oils, glycerin, the ceramide trifecta, squalane, allantoin and some barrier-restoring ingredients. With regular use, it helped keep eczema at bay and I will be repurchasing (likely many times).

Topicals Like Butter Hydrating & Soothing Mist ($39 CDN | 100 mL)

This was one of those impulsive Sephora VIB Sale purchases that I regretted afterwards. I admit, it’s likely my fault as I bought it after I missed the alcohol on the ingredient list, which is something I’m particularly sensitive to and flares my eczema. It was a lovely fine mist with niacinamide, centella, allantoin, liquorice root, urea and a bunch of antioxidant or soothing plant extracts; however, I didn’t get the benefits of the other ingredients because I found it kind of irritating. I can see people loving this body mist, provided that they are not sensitive to the ingredients and love a lightweight moisturizer.

What have you finished?