It's a 10 Miracle Hair Mask Vs. Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

 

Starting with the It's a 10 Miracle Mask...I must say, this is indeed a good product.  As for doing all the things it says it's supposed to do, maybe not so much.  You can only assume that it's supposed to work miracles if it does all the things it claims to do: detangles, restores moisture balance, instantly restores elasticity, softens, smoothes, imparts luminous shine, enhances natural body, nourishes, defrizzes, improves color vibrancy.  That's everything anyone could ever want from a hair product.  This retails for about $25.  I got mine at Target, but I've also seen this brand at HEB (if you're in Texas) and Ulta.

Most of it's claims do go hand-in-hand (smoothness, softness, detangling). Well, I would HOPE that it would detangle my hair, but I would expect that of just about any conditioner.  I suppose the 10 promises are all a part of the cheesy brand name.  Anyway, this is a great deep conditioner.  However, I don't think it is as great a MASK as the Macadamia.  For me, a mask should be buttery and thick.  The consistency of this is exactly like that of your typical every-day conditioner, so I used this more as an oomph every other wash rather than a deep-penetrating hair mask. To me, a hair mask should be used less often due to its effectiveness and intensity, which brings me to... 

The winner: Macadamia Deep Repair Masque

 

First of all, it uses the fancy French spelling for "mask" ..."masque."  Well, that's appealing (who cares?).  You will find yourself paying a bit more for Macadamia (retails for about $30: at HEB, Target, and Ulta); however, it is truely worth the splurge if you're in the market for a miracle.  Yes, I know the It's a 10 is called "miracle mask", but I think it falls short of a miracle in comparison to the miraculous macadamia masque.  It is extremely buttery and thick and has a pretty similar smell to the It's a 10.  Both fragrances are soapy to me, but still pleasant nonetheless.  I use this mask once a week, leaving it on for seven minutes.  I still use my regular conditioner beforehand to get all the tangles out.  Afterwards, my hair feels so soft and flexible!  I've noticed that when I use this, my hair air dries more gracefully, with less fro and frizz. I would not repurchase the Miracle Mask by It's a 10 because I feel that the Garnier and Aussie deep conditioners work just as well, if not better, and you pay a fraction of the price for those alternatives. 

Ulta offers a sample size of the macadamia masque for about $4, and it's good for about 3-4 uses, which allows you to gauge whether or not you'll like it enough to spend the $30 on the full size (I find myself really taking advantage of Sephora and Ulta's little sample sizes). 

until next time,

Jillian

AVEENO NOURISH+ SHINE Shampoo & Conditioner: Good Stuff!

My hair has been going through some weird changes in the past year.  It all dates back to this dreadful haircut I got last September that is still haunting me to this day.  I haven't yet figured out if maybe my hair just started changing due to stress, hormones, etc., or if I can blame the crazy stylist that thought she'd "try something different" on me....

Anyway, over the past year, my hair has gone from being healthy and shiny to dull, brittle, and oily.  I have tried so many things, but haven't found anything that alleviated my hair dilemma.  Finally, after many many disappointments, I decided to give trusty Aveeno a try.

This nourishing line has a variety of shampoo and conditioners:

• nourish + Shine
• nourish + Strengthen
• nourish + Moisturize
• nourish + Volumize

...and then there's the Pure Renewal and Color Preserving

I have yet to to try the others in the line, but the nourish + shine has proven to be a success, so I plan on trying the Nourish + Strengthen next. 

VERDICT:

Product Description:

Infused with Nourishing Wheat Complex and Shine Enhancing Palm Extract, this shampoo effectively removes dirt and oil and prevents build up, replenishing moisture and enhancing reflectivity of dull or damaged hair.

my hair type:

black, thick, dry ends, oily scalp (after 1 day)

The part that attracted me was its claim to remove dirt and oil and prevent build up.  I feel like my hair has been extra oily, so I was hoping this would alleviate that problem.  It didn't exactly keep my hair from getting oily any quicker than usual.  I can never go more than a day without washing my hair, which has become extremely annoying, but then there's dry shampoo for that (that's another story). 

Although, I did feel like it did, indeed, live up to it's claim of replenishing moisture and making dull/damaged hair shiny.  I finally feel like my hair is soft again!  With regular trimming and the help of Aveeno, I hope to restore my hair back to its original healthy state. 

I found that a lot of people complained about the price of the shampoo and conditioner (roughly $5 for ea.), but I don't think it's too much of a splurge, especially since it turned out to be a good product.  Honestly, if I had the money to buy the high-end salon brands, I would.  For now, this will suffice!