What it is: Ouai Hair Gloss is a hair treatment you apply in the shower similar to the way a conditioner or hair mask is used, to increase shine, treat damage, protect color, and act as a heat protectant. It is left on for about 5 minutes and rinsed out. Conditioner may be used or skipped afterward depending your hair type and needs. It is supposed to be most effective when paired with heat styling.

Price/Quantity: $34 for 6 oz / 177 ml

Availability: Ouai, Sephora, Ulta, Amazon, Target, Kohl’s 

Packaging: Squeeze bottle with a tilt open lid. Very easy to dispense the product and control the amount I get out of the bottle.

Smell/Fragrance: It has a noticeable, moderately strong fragrance. It is a clean, bright, subtly floral scent. Leans feminine but not too much. Reminds me of Pantene products I used many years ago.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening.

Ingredients:

AQUA (WATER, EAU), DIMETHICONE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, C11-13 ISOALKANE, ISOHEXADECANE, DIMETHICONOL, PROPANEDIOL, GLYCERIN, ACRYLAMIDOPROPYLTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE/ACRY- LATES COPOLYMER, C13-15 ALKANE, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE, PANTHENOL, ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) BRAN EXTRACT, HYDROLYZED HYALURONIC ACID, SODIUM HYALURONATE, ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) SEED WATER, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS (ROSEMARY) LEAF EXTRACT, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) EXTRACT, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL/SEBACIC ACID COPOLYMER, SODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, COCETH-7, TOCOPHEROL, GLYCERYL STEARATE SE, SACCHAROMYCES FERMENT, LACTOBACILLUS FERMENT, LACTIC ACID, CELLULOSE GUM, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, GUAR HYDROXYPROPYLTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, CITRIC ACID, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CHLORPHENESIN, LIMONENE, ALPHA-ISOMETHYL IONONE, GERANIOL, HYDROXYCITRONELLAL.

Source: Ouai

My Experience With It

I have had this in my shower for quite some time. I bought it when it first came out, tried it many times in different ways, and at this point I’m done giving it chances. It’s time to review it and declutter it.

For reference, I have fine, thin, straight hair. I have to wash it everyday for it to look clean. It will absolutely get greasy by the end of the day even if I use a clarifying shampoo and a dry shampoo after drying it.

This feels a lot like a conditioner when I dispense it into my hand except it doesn’t have the same slip and it doesn’t provide any detangling. The 5 minute wait time is reasonable and allows me to do other things in the meantime. 

As I rinse it out, it leaves behind a bit of an oily feel on my strands, especially if I use it on just-washed but not-conditioned hair. If I use a conditioner first, and then use this (which is not what the directions say to do), I have much less of an issue with this leaving that oily feel on my hair. For this reason, I have used it mainly from my ears down and not near the crown of my head.

I feel my hair dries about the same using a hairdryer, but the hair gloss leaves my hair with this stiff feel. Depending on how I use it in the shower, the coating this leaves on my strands can range from very tolerable to greasy, dirty, and stringy looking. Shampooing AND CONDITIONING before using the hair gloss makes it so I don’t have much an issue with my hair feeling dirty. Skipping conditioner doesn’t work at all for me. In that case, I’m better off not using the product at all.

The main issue I have with this product, though, is not what I’ve mentioned above. It’s that it really doesn’t add shine to my hair. The reflectiveness of my hair is damn near the same as when I don’t use this product. But now it feels dirty to some degree. So why incorporate this added step into my routine, then?

To be fair, this product might work for someone with thicker, coarser hair that doesn’t have issues with it easily looking greasy (though I’d still question how much shine it’s actually adding). I also don’t use heat styling much. The extent of my heat styling is using a blowdryer on the highest heat setting. I imagine pairing this with a flat iron would probably be much more effective on a different hair type.

Before and After

I tried my best to get a decent before and after. These photos are taken on different days but I used the same shampoo and conditioner on both days. The before is shampooed, conditioned, and dried hair. The after is shampooed, conditioned, hair-glossed, and dried hair. I almost want to say my hair looks less glossy when using the product (not by a whole lot) but it does look a bit more “sleek”. This is about the best result I am able to get with it. It’s easy to accidentally use too much product or not rinse it out well enough and end up with a stringier/dirtier looking version of the after.

When I first heard about JVN Complete Air Dry Cream, the product name and description were a bit vague to me and I didn’t understand the purpose of it. I wouldn’t have chosen to buy it on my own but I ended up getting a small sample of it along with a Sephora purchase I made about a year ago. I’ve now gone through that sample, an entire full size tube, and repurchased another full size of it.

Price: $26 for 5oz, or $12 for 1oz
Availability: JVN, Sephora, Amazon, Kohl’s

What It Is And What It’s Supposed To Do

JVN Complete Air Dry Cream is a lightweight “my hair but better” styling product with a consistency similar to a gel-cream. It is supposed to be compatible with any hair type and is meant to be an effortless way to enhance the natural texture of your hair. Think of it like a tinted moisturizer, a lip balm, or a brow gel — not very involved or difficult but adds an improvement that just feels better. 

I have fine, thin, straight hair and many products easily weigh it down. On my hair type, this primarily adds a bit of volume and control. It does not add any noticeable amount of moisture, softness or shine. The difference it makes is subtle and is easier to feel than to see. My hair just “flows” better when I use this, as if all the individual strands kind of hold together and move as one rather than splaying out and becoming staticky or stringy.

How I Use It For Straight Fine Hair

I apply a small dollop (about the amount shown above) to damp, just-washed hair and I almost always use a leave in conditioner as well (Ouai Detangling and Frizz Fighting Leave In Conditioner). Then I do a very quick blow dry with my head upside-down using mostly my hands and the occasional pass of a brush and get on with my day. 

It is marketed as an air dry product, meaning you can just apply it to wet hair and allow your hair to dry naturally. But personally, I feel like my hair looks less flat at the roots if I at least blow dry the roots right after washing.

It is neither runny nor very thick and it spreads through the hair quickly and easily without adding any kind of stickiness, crunchiness, or slip. It does not detangle and hardly feels like anything at all once I distribute it through my hair. Once my hair is dry, it doesn’t feel like I’ve got any product in my hair and I’m just having a better than average hair day.

It has a bright and clean but understated citrus-floral fragrance that is noticeable but not too strong. The fragrance lingers long enough to enjoy during application but dissipates as my hair dries. 

The effect this has is generally subtle and using a good conditioner makes a big difference in how effective it is. On days when I skip conditioner altogether, it doesn’t do a whole lot by itself. But if I condition and then use this, the effect is more pronounced.

Before And After

I mostly wear my hair down and it can very quickly look messy not even doing anything crazy and this keeps it looking neater longer before feeling the need to brush it back out. For the “before” photo, I just washed and conditioned my hair in the shower and used a leave in conditioner before doing a quick blow dry. For the “after” photo, I used the same shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in conditioner but also added the JVN Air Dry Cream to the mix. 

This is how I usually wear my hair up for work. I find this product helps keep my hair from falling out of the hair tie longer and gives the loop a bit more volume.

Pro and Cons

Things I like:

• Very lightweight but does add some texture and volume.
• Does not make my hair feel sticky, greasy, or crunchy.
• I don’t have to be super careful about the amount I use. A small amount is effective but if I use a bit too much, it doesn’t ruin my hair for the day.
• I’ve used this for about a year and it doesn’t seem to have caused any added damage over that time.
• The scent is nice. Noticeable and clean but not overpowering.
• Not that expensive and lasts a long time (about six months for me).
• I don’t have frizz but it does help keep static under control.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• The effect this has might be too subtle if you’re looking for a very obvious difference in your hair.
• Does not detangle or add any kind of slip to the hair.
• The aluminum packaging might be annoying for some. It helps to squeeze the product out and flatten it slowly from the top down to reduce the amount of crinkling that happens as you use it up.
• It is best stored lying flat. It stands up okay on its lid when it’s brand new but the lid is tiny and the tube becomes unbalanced as I use the product it up. 

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

The IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo is described as “a powerful dry shampoo that cleanses even the most oily hair and scalp with oil-erasing, odor-eliminating charcoal powder.” The bottle contains 6.3 oz of product and it retails for $27. There is also a mini version available which contains 2 oz for $14.

The main dry shampoo I use is Batiste Divine Dark Dry Shampoo which does the job but I wanted to venture out and try some new ones. This one has a lot of hype so I figured I’d give it a try.

It has a light melon-y type of fragrance which is not overpowering, thankfully. I actually quite enjoy the fragrance of this. It’s very fresh and clean smelling.

The packaging is pretty standard: metal can, nozzle, pressurized spray. The nozzle sprays the product on very finely and evenly.

I give it about a minute to dry down and then work the powders into the roots to help absorb oils. When I first apply this, it goes on clear. I can barely tell where it has been applied. After it dries down for a minute I can start to see a white residue where the powders are on my hair. After I work the product into my roots, I don’t feel that I am left with a white cast or anything like that, just kind of a mattified look to my hair.

This does seem to absorb a bit of oil but if I wait for my hair to get too dirty this doesn’t do a whole lot to make my hair look better. It works best if I apply it right after I wash my hair (when it has dried, of course), or sometime later in the day (if I’ve washed my hair in the morning). My hair looks terrible on the second day no matter what I do, so I always wash it every day. I have tried using this dry shampoo as well as others in the morning on second day hair but it never makes enough of a difference to make it worth wasting the product.

This leaves a kind of dry, rough feeling texture to the hair but it doesn’t necessarily make it feel any dirtier. Sometimes dry shampoos seem to make my hair feel even heavier than the oil alone did and makes the strands of hair stick together, making my hair still look dirty but with a slightly altered texture. This doesn’t make the strands stick together too much and gives almost a kind of “hold” to the hair the way a mousse would, which is good for adding a bit of volume.

IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo vs Batiste Divine Dark Dry Shampoo

I don’t think either one of these necessarily performs better than the other but they do have some differences worth pointing out. 

First of all, the Batiste Divine Dark Dry Shampoo costs around $8 for 6.73 fl oz which is a little over a quarter of the cost of the IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo.

Batiste offers options for dark hair which I LOVE. The dark tint is especially great for somebody with fine hair because it kind of darkens the scalp at the same time giving the illusion of thicker hair. The dark tint could also be a drawback for somebody that touches their hair a lot because it does rub off very easily. When I use this dry shampoo it gets onto my fingers and under my nails if I’m messing with my hair throughout the day. 

I think the IGK dry shampoo smells far better and seems less irritating to the lungs. At least, it doesn’t feel like I’m inhaling as much of the stuff when I spray it onto my hair. I don’t know what is in the Batiste that is different than IGK but I have to spray it on my hair and very quickly exit the room for a few minutes to let the powder settle out of the air. The IGK can sprays the product a bit more evenly and smoothly than Batiste.

The IGK dry shampoo gives the hair a more dry feel and feels slightly less heavy in the hair. Neither one leaves my hair looking or feeling any cleaner than the other.

While I do like the IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo, I won’t be rushing to repurchase it when I run out just because I get a good enough result from the Batiste for much cheaper but I do like the product.

Recently Herbal Essences released a new Naked Volume haircare collection. The shampoo and conditioner I have here are formulated to be free of parabens, dyes, and heavy ingredients that could weigh hair down. Both products are paraben and dye free but only the shampoo is silicone free. They both have a unique fruity-botanical fragrance that lingers in the hair for a few hours.

The overall feel I get from the fragrance is bright and clean. Grapefruit and mint are supposed to be the main notes but to me, the combination ends up smelling like strawberry with a subtle citrusy-green background. It isn’t that synthetic super-sweet type of strawberry, but more of a natural tart type of strawberry. I am enjoying the scent quite a bit right now but there’s something about it that makes me feel that maybe after using these products for a few months, it could be a scent that I’d get tired of.

The shampoo had a good consistency, neither too watery nor very thick. It had a good lather and I felt it cleaned my hair well enough that I didn’t need a second lather. It leaves behind that tell-tale squeak that lets you know your hair is good and clean. My go-to shampoo for getting my hair really clean is usually Lush I Love Juicy Shampoo but it’s hard to find a good drugstore alternative. This is a good option if you are looking to pinch some pennies when it comes to your beauty products.

The conditioner was thick and luxurious while also feeling very lightweight. I didn’t feel that I needed to use a whole lot and it gave my hair a good slip so it wasn’t tangled when I needed to comb it out. It did seem to need a little more rinsing than your average volumizing conditioner but it rinsed out thoroughly in a reasonable amount of time. When I use the conditioner all the way up to my scalp, I don’t feel that it weighs my hair down at all.

The one thing I wasn’t happy about was that after using these my hair can have a tendency to be a little too dry and sensitive to static (imagine floating hair, lol). I think part of the reason for this is that conditioner is ultra lightweight. I have found the best thing for my hair is to use a shampoo that gets my hair really clean and then a conditioner that is more moisturizing only strategically on the ends. That way I get the best of both worlds.

I’d buy the shampoo again because it is a good budget shampoo that actually cleans my hair well but I wouldn’t buy the conditioner again because it just doesn’t moisturize my ends enough.

These shampoos and conditioners were my some of my favorite ones back in high school and I was so bummed when these were discontinued. The fragrance is like happiness in a bottle. I love it. The whole Herbal Essences haircare line was reformulated and redesigned several years ago. About a year ago I tried the Herbal Essences Drama Clean Shampoo and I really disliked it so I never tried any of the other products.

These seem to work as well as I remember them working before. The shampoo has a good lather and cleans well. The conditioner is a little thick and moisturizes well. If you have oily hair, I would only use it on the tips. The fragrance of the shampoo is fantastic but it is slightly different in the conditioner, not quite as nice. It left my hair easy to comb through after showering and 6 hours later, I can still smell the fragrance lingering in my hair. So far I don’t feel as though my hair is weighed down at all.

These cost around $4.50 each at Walgreens. They are priced reasonably and give me reliable results. I will be keeping a bottle of each on hand as long as they remain available.

Did you ever use these? Did you like them? I’d love to know!

This is my first time trying an “official” dry shampoo. I’ve tried DIY methods that didn’t really work so I thought I’d try a product that was made for the job. This one retails for about $8 and you get 200 ml.

Batiste claims that this product “revitalizes hair, adds body and texture and leaves it feeling clean and fresh” without having to wash your hair. You just spray it into the roots, massage it in, and brush out your hair.

I’ve tried this several times on varying degrees of dirty hair. It works best if your hair is just ever so slightly oily and needs a quick refresh. For example, say you washed your hair in the morning, worked a long day at the office and want to freshen up for date night. It leaves a pleasantly clean fragrance on your hair and it does add just a little bit of body. It makes your hair feel soft but I wouldn’t say it makes it feel clean at all. You can use a lot of it before you can start to see a white cast (on darker hair).

It doesn’t do anything if your hair is very oily, which for me would be 2nd or 3rd day hair. I need to wash my hair daily because it is very fine and straight so the tiniest amount of oil instantly makes it flat.

I won’t be buying this product again because it just doesn’t work with my hair type. It would likely work better for those with thicker, wavy, or curly hair. I’m bummed because I want to find a product that I can use to skip a wash and this is not it. If you know of a good one, please let me know in the comments!