Brillant? I think not.

You know those girls who have gorgeous, straight, silky hair?  The ones who get long, perfect strands seemingly without a blow dryer, a straightening iron, and a curling iron?  Yeah, thats not me.  I have always battled my hair which is curly/frizzy/wavy i.e. it has a mind of its own.  To make matters worse I have SO MUCH hair and its super thick.  My older sister even nicknamed me “Caveman.”  (Its been 15 since she called me that and she is still a mean b!@#$ but thats another whole post).

Anyway, circa 2001 a miracle happened.  The Japanese brought over the best thing they’ve ever invented…the Yuko system.  Finally, after years of trying every product to tame my hair, a single afternoon at the salon was all I needed to have smooth, fairly straight locks!  Sure it took about 4-5 hours of one-on-one time with an extremely quiet Japanese man who still doesn’t know much English but I didn’t need to battle with a hair dryer anymore. Every silent second was worth it. 

So I’ve done the straightening twice a year for about 5 years now, the last time being in April of this year.  Clearly I am due to visit my favorite Japanese man.  But this year I’ve decided to see if I could forego doing the process.  For one thing, I hate to be so dependent on anything.  Sound crazy?  Yes I know I have issues.  But another, more important reason is that there is something about the unknown chemicals in this product that makes me really nervous.  I guess I’ve heard Jillian Michaels talk about “chemical-free” lifestyle one too many times now.  I even gave up my beloved Pantene because of the sulfates.  I miss Pantene.  I miss sulfates. 

I am trying new, chemical free (or nearly chemical free) products to tame my frizz.  Since I’ve already tried Giovanni and Avalon products with no success, I decided to fork over big bucks to try Aveda’s Brillant line.

What a disappointment!  The shampoo is okay I guess but really did nothing more for me than any other shampoo I’ve used (including Suave which I used during my penny-pinching college days).  The biggest disappointment though was the Brillant conditioner which actually made my hair feel drier than it was before I used it!  Plus, I went through the bottle of conditioner in a week because it just wasn’t very moisturizing.  I thought I just wasn’t using enough but that clearly wasn’t the case.

Luckily Aveda actually does make a good product:

This anti-humectant pomade is fantastic.  It kept my hair under control during a very rare October storm we had here in L.A.  It also kept my hair straight during a massive downpour in Toronto a few weeks ago.  I am very impressed with this product.  A little goes a long way so I think it will last for a while which makes my $19 investment worthwhile. 

I also have this straightening iron.  This is one of the most amazing things ever because it heats up in a flash and straightens really close to the scalp.  But this makes me wonder, is it better to scald my scalp or use chemicals on it?  It’s a crap shoot either way I guess.

Lets see how long I can hold out.  I have a feeling that in a few more months the frizz will be so unbearable that I will be able to see it in my peripheral vision.  And then I’ll need to take drastic action.  I need a chemical-free miracle. 

It seems that Maya will also be needing this miracle in the not so distant future because the poor kid inherited my hair. 

I believe that one must always look at the silver lining though and in this case Maya should be grateful she has no sibling to call her a caveman.  I’m still getting over it. 😦