Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Review: Living Proof

I haven't posted a State of My Hair post in a while mostly because I don't think anyone really gives a shit. (Heh.) But the short report: It's getting longer! It's nearly shoulder length which is LONG for me. And I'll be honest, I have no idea what to do with it. My solution is to experiment with over-priced hair products that make fantastic promises. Thus: Living Proof.


I've been meaning to review Living Proof products for a while, especially since I am giving a hard side-eye to some of their claims. (They invented new molecules? Really? Okay.) But, there's no question that some of these products are pretty damn good. Here's what I've tried and my thoughts:

Living Proof No Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner. This stuff? Is amazing. My hair is fine and stick straight...until it rains. Unfortunately I don't get pretty waves, I get frizz derp:

frizz derp.
Do not like. So, on rainy days I use the No Frizz shampoo and conditioner and my hair generally stays straight and smooth, which seems like a small miracle. So, two thumbs up to No Frizz! It's ridiculously expensive but if you're fighting frizz derp you won't feel ripped off.

Living Proof  Full Shampoo and Conditioner. I recently bought the travel size set because I've got hair product commitment issues. And...eh. It's fine. It's sulfate-free, smells good, and it makes my hair clean but I don't notice any extra fullness, fancy molecules or not. I will use up my tiny sizes and will probably try something else or will go back to my other over-priced favorite, Alterna Bamboo Volume.


Living Proof  Perfect Hair Day 5–in–1 Styling Treatment. I was nerdily excited about this one. It does ALL THE THINGS! It smooths, volumizes, conditions, strengthens, polishes! YES. Or, as the case may be, er...sort of! It's a cream formula and, while it doesn't seem to weigh my hair down, it certainly isn't volumizing anything. My hair is pretty volume-adverse and I doubt any kind of cream is going to change that. It does, however, make my hair nice and swingy and smooth. I sent this to Marianne the first day I used this product because she is the luckiest girl on earth:

Is smoooooth.
It smells really good, like grapefruit, but the scent isn't overpowering and doesn't linger. I will definitely keep using Perfect Hair Day but I might experiment by layering it with other products I already own, Like Aveda Volumizing Tonic. (Another fine product completely cowed by my hair's powerful flatness.)


Living Proof  Prime Style Extender. This is the one everyone loves and raves about but I don't really get it. To be fair, I don't think it's for the likes of me, an every day shampooer. This is for ladies with super long hair who only shampoo a few times a week, which I just can't do. I'm lately trying to shampoo every other day which is A SERIOUS STRETCH but I still have to wet my hair down completely in the morning which defeats the purpose of the Style Extender. I'm hoping it'll help with the non-shampoo days what with the fancy dirt-repelling molecules and all. If nothing else, it seems to be a good primer and gives my hair a bit of extra heft, which it certainly needs. The jury is still out on this one since I just switched to every-other-day shampooing, but today is a non-shampoo day and looks like this:

today hairs.

What about you? Have you tried any of the Living Proof products? What did you think?

10 comments:

  1. Yep, I am using the "Full" shampoo (but not the conditioner) and thickening cream, which seems to be a pretty good combination on my hair, which is probably pretty similar to yours in texture. If I use the conditioner and the thickening cream, I get hair derp. I would say that there's definitely a cumulative effect if you keep using LP products for a while, for some reason. I didn't notice a difference on the first few washes but by the end of the trial kit I was convinced.

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  2. I've been using Living Proof for almost a year and I think it's pretty amazing--I have longggggg straight hair and a heavy bang, as well as I have an ombre (so my ends get the worst of it) it so I use the "Restore" collection. The deep conditioner part is AMAZING. I truly think it's changed my hair for the better, though I used Moroccan Oil too and loved it. I think most of the Living Proof products are worth the price and they're always doing this "14 piece" giveaway online, which is a loot of all their products in travel size (so I've tried a lot of them and liked it!). After a year of using it, I'm not itching to change brands, which says a lot. Unrelated, I used some Bumble & Bumble sample today and it smells good!

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  3. I have not used any of these products, I just wanted to comment to say I LOVE YOUR HAIR!!! The length and cut are extremely flattering!!

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  4. Your hair looks great!! I too have fine hair that frizzes and gets all derp-y. You didn't try the "Full" version though... Frizz is a bigger problem for you than volume? I've been using X-Fusion which is already ridiculously expensive, so this wouldn't be a shift. Maybe when I'm getting low on my current bottles I'll give this a try. Thanks for the review!

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    1. I did try the Full! It's included above. I only get frizzy on rainy days, so I don't need the No Frizz every day.

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  5. Thanks for the reviews; I've been wondering about these products but have too many others to use up right now. I also love your hair style and the color is amazing -- you look gorg!

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  6. I don't find your derp all that derpy. You still look great.

    I have curly hair, though, so I have equivalent hair aggravations like uneven curls and the dreaded hair pouf. (80s type volume at the roots). I keep having to talk my hairstylist out of pouffing, in fact.

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  7. We are hair twins. I have frizzy derp if it's remotely humid, a distinct lack of anything resembling volume, and while I can skip washing every other day, I still have to wet my head down and start anew to get my hair to look like I didn't sleep in a wind tunnel. No Frizz will be on my list, perhaps accompanied by Perfect Hair Day.

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  8. So glad you reviewed these; I've been dying of curiosity. I think I might have to try Perfect Hair Day if only to see if it exceeds my current spendy favorite, Phyto.

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