A while ago, BzzAgent invited me to try the Clairol Professional Keratin line of the iThrive haircare set. I tried the hairspray first, warbling about the awesome all-day hold for an event I attended. Since I lost the coupon for the rest of the stuff, I went ahead and bought sampler sizes for my product review. As always, remember that my hair type may be different from yours. My experiences might not be the same as yours. I'm speaking from the point of view of someone who has 4b and 4c hair that drinks up water and moisture like nobody has ever applied love to her roots. (Which is a lie, because motha is a product junkie, and Ms. Gurl--aka my hair--has been deeply loved with all things moisture.)
I know the rules of haircare for natural women. At least, I know enough to be able to give some light-ish advice, and tell people what brands might not be good for them. Although I've been natural for about six years, every now and then I forget these rules. I get curious, I see stuff I KNOW will probably disagree with my hair, but try it anyway. (It's an instinct. Don't ask how I know certain products are bad!) Because I vowed to write the review, I decided there would be no harm in getting a small sample, instead of getting big ones. So, you know, just in case this stuff didn't work out, I didn't spend $20+ dollars total for something that's gonna decorate my closet shelf in the future.
When I say "this stuff didn't work out", I mean it. There were all these claims about how restorative it would be, how good it would be to my hair with this so-called "IntenseCure", and that made me feel like it might work. It didn't. Since I had such small bottles, I decided to do the front left and right side of my hair. The Keratin Shampoo made my hair feel very straw-like and tangled. The conditioner was no better. It actually added minutes to my hair-washing regimen! Once I got to the back, I just used my regular shampoo and condish.
The only product that worked quite well was the Keratin Treatment. This stuff was heavenly smelling and put a lot of moisture into my hair. It had awesome slip, the scent wasn't too powerful, and it didn't take a lot to cover my tresses. After I let it sit, I unfurled luscious fluff and moisturized coils! Out of all three things, only one of them actually worked for me. I still have a lot left in the container!
In my opinion, parts of this product line are obviously not for natural hair. It seems better suited toward women with relaxed hair, hair that is regularly treated with heat, or hair that is outside of the 3 and 4 curly and/or kinky hair level. There were just too many tangles and too much dryness to see any results. I most certainly will not be buying the shampoo or the conditioner, but the Keratin creme treatment seems like it would be a fine addition to my Winter and Spring haircare regimen.
To see the full line of hair stuff available from Clairol's iThrive line, visit their page at Sally Beauty.
Disclaimer: I am a BzzAgent. I was invited by BzzAgent and Clairol to try out their iThrive shampoo and conditioner line. I was given coupons to purchase the items, as well as a small container of weather-resistant hairspray. I am not selling a product to you, I have not been coached. My duty--use the product, tell it like it is. No fuss, no muss. I use the tags #GotItFree and #FreeFromClairol to let consumers and the companies know I'm doing a product review, and to get the word of mouth out into the world!