Repairing My Damaged Hair

I’ve really done a number on my hair these past few years. I fully admit that I rarely use a thermal heat protecting spray before using hot tools on my hair. (Sheer laziness on my part.) I blow dry, curl, straighten, wave iron…you name it, I do it to my hair. And it was all good until a few years ago.

My hair texture began to change. After years and years of exposing it to temps up to 400 degrees, my hair waved the white flag. It was fried. Crunchy. No longer shiny. And that’s not cute.

I’m always down to try products that claim to repair hair to a soft, healthy-looking state, so when I started seeing commercials for L’Orèal Elvive, I was curious. (Have you seen the commercial with a stunning Winona Ryder?) I tried out the Extraordinary Oil, Protein Recharge Leave-In Conditioner and the Total Repair courtesy of L’Orèal, and I had a fantastic experience. Here are my thoughts if you’re going to revive your hair and give these products a try:

Elvive Extraordinary Oil: I love this oil as a finisher, but you can use it straight out of the shower on your wet hair, too. I do one to two pumps of the product, rub it in my hands, and then run my hands over the length of my hair. It makes your hair feel super soft and much shinier. It smells incredible! For $6.99, this is well worth the money and I liked it more than some of my more expensive salon-sold hair oils. **this one is my favorite**
Elvive Protein Recharge: This leave-in conditioner is meant to restore strength and flexibility to your hair, which I felt it did. Some leave-in conditioners are too heavy and make my hair too soft/unable to hold a good curl, but this one didn’t do that. It’s especially good for hair that feels straw-like…it softens it up right away.
Elvive Total Repair Damage Erasing Balm: This is a rinse-out hair mask that you use on wet hair in the shower. Leave it on for 3-5 minutes for maximum effectiveness. (I leave it on while I exfoliate.) This mask is great for those days where your hair has really been put through the ringer…heat styling, backcombing, and breakage. I use it twice a week now, and it’s certainly made my hair look and feel smoother.

For those of you who have super healthy hair, I commend you. I wish I’d taken better care of mine over the years. For those like me that see hairs breaking off in record numbers when you run a brush through it, you may want to give these products a try. I’m hoping one day soon I’ll wake up and find that my hair is strong again.

Photography: S. Jackson