A "Been There Done That" Guide to the Best Hair Care Products
There are thousands of hair care products on the market today, all offering the same results; beautiful, flawless hair fu
ll of shine and free from split ends. As I have seen time and time again many products don't even come close to meeting these promises, some even do the opposite of what they say on the bottle. Because of this, I have compiled a list of the best and worst hair care products from my many trials (and errors) over the years.
I had my hair permed about 6 months ago and everything was going fine until I decided I wanted to go a few shades darker. I don't know what happened but my hair turned completely black, not Golden Chestnut as the box described. The only way to get the black out was to bleach it and dye it again with a lighter brown color. Bleaching my already permed hair was a recipe for disaster. My hair was so damaged that it looked like I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket every time I tried to do anything with it. Because of this though, I have been able to see which hair care products actually work at repairing dry, damaged hair and which ones fail miserably.
Bead Head Products
When hair is extremely dry or damaged the inner most layer doesn't absorb anything like it should. This is why a conditioner with protein is a must. The protein helps build the hair back up so it is able to absorb the conditioner and eventually become healthy again. Without protein, the damaged hair doesn't absorb the conditioner at all, leaving it to just wash out without repairing anything. Within 2 days of using the Bed Head "Dumb Blonde" conditioner I could feel a huge difference in the health of my hair. It was one hundred times less frizzy and much more manageable than it was before. I could actually curl it again too while enjoying the delicious fruity smell. The shampoo and conditioner are kind of on the expensive side, but they are worth every penny. I only own the conditioner, which is working completely fine but I have seen the shampoo in stores such as CVS or Wal-mart.
As far as styling goes I would recommend any Bed Head Styling Product. My favorite though is the Bed Head "Girl Toys" shine serum. It gets rid of fly-aways and frizz while not 
weighing your hair down or making it too greasy. And its so small and portable, I take it everywhere with me just incase my hair needs a little touching up
Pantene Pro-V Clarifying Shampoo
This shampoo should only be used by a select few people because in most cases it will do more harm than good. The only way it comes in handy is if sometimes your hair seems a little TOO healthy or oily. Many people think this is impossible and would never want to use a product to purposely damage their hair. But when hair is too healthy or oily it gets limp and doesn't style at all. Using the clarifying shampooo takes away just enough of the natural oils making it have more volume and it will actually flip up if you want it to flip up or curl under if you are trying to make it curl under. If your hair isn't healthy enough to handle it though, it's not something I would recommend. The only other reason to use it would be if you are swimming a lot and your hair has an excess of chlorine build up. If you are using it for this reason make sure to have a good conditioner like the Bed Head "Dumb Blonde" conditioner or else it will damage it even more. As far as getting styling products out of your hair goes, any shampoo will do this and if your hair is on the dry side, you should stay away from clarifying shampoo as it will dry it out even more.
John Frieda "Dream Curls"
I don't know what I would do without John Frieda's "Dream Curls" it works perfectly to make hair curly without frizz, but its not stiff or sticky or crunchy. When I put it in, after my hair dries it doesn’t even feel like I have used any products at all. My curls look completely natural but more bouncy and less frizzy than they ever could be if I hadn't used any products. I would recommend this to anyone who has curly or wavy hair and doesn’t like to use any mousse or gels because of the way they weigh down your hair and make it feel.
Herbal Essences "Intensive Blends" Conditioner
I used this conditioner for a while when my hair was severely damaged and it didn't do much of anything. It made my hair very greasy at the top near my scalp but the rest was just as damaged as ever. My split ends stayed exactly how they were, and my hair just felt heavy and weighed down. It smells amazing though and if your hair isn’t severely damaged or not damaged at all, I would recommend this conditioner just because it smells better than many other conditioners. If you really do need an "intensive" conditioner this definitely isn’t the one to choose.