Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus, AKA, The Best Hair Mask Ever!

Hi everyone! Today I want to talk to you about a product that I really believe has been making my hair stronger, break-resistant, and softer. 

Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus is labeled as a "fortifying mask for highly distressed hair." As someone who has dyed her hair (color and sometimes bleach) for over ten years (thanks, premature grays!) and who is no stranger to blow dryers and flat irons, I frequently feel my hair looks dull from damage and my ends quickly look thinned out from split ends and breakage. My hair texture is thin but wavy/curly with frizz, which is another partial byproduct of damage. I picked this treatment up a few months back hoping it would heal my hair.

Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus contains protein and ceramide to fix the inner structure of the hair and provide additional strength. It is a leave in for 15 minutes and wash out treatment. It says to apply on towel dried hair.

The mask is thick and smells nice without being overpowering. When I wash my hair out after using it, I can tell a decent amount of product has been absorbed by my hair and my dried-out ends are instantly softer and shinier.

The only drawback to this product is you have to rinse it VERY WELL if you are going to be styling your hair after using it. Even when I rinse it for a long time, my hair feels like there is product in it during that first blow out. As a result, I usually use this at night now and wash my hair in them morning.

It's been about six months of using this product twice a month and my hair is seriously improved in texture and shine! It is a bit pricy ($20-something at Ulta) but I have more than half of the tub left even with having it for so long.

I really reccommend Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus for anyone who's hair is zapped, over processed, or just in need of some loving! My hair was not horrible before using it, just standard issues that a lot of us heat-tool using, hair-dye loving girls tend to have. Using this has made my hair silkier, and when I don't blow it out, I need less product to make it look sleek and shiny. This is a MAJOR coup! My hair seems to be growing faster without getting that "you need a trim RIGHT NOW" look which is also really awesome.

What hair products are your go-to when you hair is feeling fried??

XO
Beauty Cents
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Kenra Platinum Blow Dry Spray Review

Hi everyone! 

You know that feeling you get when you have just found a really, really good product? Like you want to tell everyone you know about it? Well, I have been using Kenra Platinum Blow Dry Spray for almost a year, and I still have that feeling. I first received a sample of Blow Dry Spray from Ulta, and have just repurchased for the third time. Blow Dry Spray is designed to cut your blow dry time AND provide heat protection. The possibility of cutting blow dry time was enough to convince me to try it out.

According to the Kenra Professional website, the Blow Dry Spray also promises to:

• "Dramatically decreases blow-dry time
• Provides intense heat protection from damage and breakage
• Lightweight formulation detangles, smoothes, and softens
• Eliminates frizz and resists humidity
• Provides long-lasting, healthy looking results"

For full disclosure, I have wavy/curly, medium thick hair that is always dyed and often blow dried and flat ironed. To blow my hair out straight can be a really tiring event day after day, taking me 35-40 minutes. It frizzes in humid weather and can also start to wave in the heat. Years of dying, bleaching, and flat ironing has also left my hair in lackluster condition.

Kenra's Blow Dry Spray seriously works! It cuts my dry time down to 20 minutes, and I value all of the extra time I have in order to get other things done in the morning! The spray is used on towel dried hair. I usually spray it 1-2 times on each third of my head, concentrating one spray on the top layer for ultimate heat protection and the second spritz on the underside to help speed up my blow drying process. A few weeks after using it I did feel it might be drying out my hair, but now having used it for a year, I do not feel that way anymore. My hair is definitely in better condition for using this product. Speeding up the blow dry process lets me blow my hair out straighter and sleeker than during a normal blow out, because I can dry a section much quicker and with less effort in pulling my hair taut with a brush. So, Blow Dry Spray protects my hair from my blow dryer, decreases the time I need to expose my hair to the blowdryer, and gives me a sleeker finish - meaning less flat iron time. It is no wonder my hair is healthier these days!

Although it has not been humid it quite a while here in the Northeast, I can also attest that during the hot humid summer of 2012, my hair held up better than previous years. It doesn't stay as sleek and straight as it did when I had a Keratin treatment, but for a spray-on treatment, Blow Dry Spray really does a great job of locking humidity out and keeping my hair from frizzing out.

If you have frizzy hair or are someone who loathes how long it takes them to blow their hair out in the morning, you really need to pick this product up. Even if it doesn't take you terribly long to blow your hair out, I feel like any product that can shave 10-15 minutes off of your morning routine is one worthy of having in your cabinet! It is also worth noting I have now seen another version of this spray called a "mist" that is designed for fine hair. I haven't tried it myself.

Kenra Professional is available at Ulta in varying sizes. The smallest one is $13.00; I have been purchasing the middle sized 3.4oz for $22 when I have a 20% coupon for Ulta. It is not available on Ulta's website but I have seen it on Amazon.

I hope if you pick this product up you love it as much as I do! What are some of your HG hair products or morning beauty time savers?

XO
Beauty Cents

RIP, My Beloved Chi

It is a sad, sad day in this wavy/curly haired girl's world. My beloved Chi 1-inch flat iron has bit the dust after 6 faithful years of service. This was the original Chi, not the Chi Air that I see around as of late. I am so sad to see this item go! I feel like my hair's life can be split into BC (Before Chi) and AC (After Chi). Before Chi, my wavy hair would usually go wavy and/or frizzy even when I flat ironed it, but After Chi, it would stay straight, shiny, and happy even in humid and rainy weather (also due to my little helper, Garnier Stay Sleek Anti Humidity Harispray).

I did not repurchase the original Chi today after seeing reviews by many people who said the Chi of today is not made the same as as the Chi of many years ago, such as my model. Instead, I decided to give the GVP Digital Ceramic 1" Flat Iron from Sally's Beauty Supply a try. I will definitely let you guys know what I think of it after I get to use.

I can't believe how sad I am to lay my Chi to rest! It will be missed but I am glad I was able to get 6 years out of it. What beauty tool would you miss most if it stopped working tomorrow?