Get Soft and Stroke-able Locks

I've always been one to try new hair products, and while I have my old faithful products from Lush, I always like playing with new ones. Because I don't already have enough shampoos, right?

It also doesn't really help that we just launched a new hair gel - Zeste. It's a seaweed and orange juice based jelly, for your hair! What the hell? 

And I also recently got in a little order of retro products, Ibiza Party shampoo and The Strokes hair treatment mask. And whoa baby, am I in love or what!

The first step of this hair spa treatment was the mask - and this thing is definitely a smell to behold. It includes the same cognac oil and stout beer that gives Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo it's signature smokey scent, so The Strokes shares the smell. It's a thick amber colored emulsion, with a soft texture without any butter, so it doesn't feel super heavy on the hair and doesn't take an intense shampoo to wash it out.

I used about a third of a pot for my hair, and let it sit for an hour while I got some work done downstairs. The smell was surprisingly relaxing.

Once I hopped in the shower, I washed out the mask with Ibiza Party, an oat milk and jojoba oil shampoo that's perfect for soothing the scalp. It smells like a cross between Happy Happy Joy Joy and Veganese conditioners - heavenly. It had a nice creamy lather but didn't make my hair feel squeaky clean (which I hate anyway).

I used American Cream conditioner after Ibiza Party, but that's part of my regular routine, so nothing special. All sorts of strawberry and lanolin goodness for my strands.

As a post-wash styling routine, I always use a mixture of R&B and Dirty Styling Cream, but after I saw how shiny Zeste made my coworker's hair, I had to ditch the Dirty for a few days to see how it worked. Oh my gosh, not only does it smell great, but it feels so soft on my hair! I put in R&B leave-in conditioner, like I always do, and then covered my hands in Zeste to run through my hair. I waited a few hours before brushing it to let the hair cuticle close, braided it, and woke up with soft and shiny hair! It definitely held more of the braid than with Dirty Styling Cream, and felt a bit softer. I'm so glad I kept this stuff for me and gave it a try, because I was skeptical at first. I thought - hair gel=crunchy. But with Zeste, it's totally not the case. No crunch!

Have you tried out any of these hair products? Let me know in the comments below! And if you have similar hair to mine, definitely give them a try.