If you’ve ever gone through my blog outside your reader, you’ve probably noticed the illustrations on my masthead (they change to a different one every time you reload).  Pao had drawn those girls up there to resemble me, being bushy haired.  Had I been sorted at Hogwarts, I would’ve landed Gryffindor by my puffy mane alone.

So yeah, having this much hair with this much deceptive volume (it’s actually a lot thicker than it looks, much to many hairdressers’ consternation when it’s time to have it blown dry) makes me kind of picky about shampoo.  I say “kind of” because I always switch shampoos, trying to look for the right one that’ll pretty much suit my hair’s curls, volume, finicky scalp and this crazy weather in Manila.  Well 3 out of 4 ain’t so bad–Watson’s exclusive Pure Beauty hair care line is the closest to perfect.  I haven’t loved shampoo/conditioner this much since Kerastase, which costs around five times the price, maybe more.

The claim:

PURE BEAUTY has developed, through advance technology and an innovative formula, a range that protects and nourishes dry hair, making luxurious silky-soft hair simple and effortless for anyone.

All products from the Haircare Treatment range are enriched with an advance formula that targets dry and damaged hair. Using high quality Japanese Camellia Seed Oil, a well-known natural source of powerful anti-oxidants and rich in Vitamin E, the formula is nourishing and intensely moisturizing. The oil effectively penetrates each strand of hair resulting in stronger and sleeker hair. The formula is also blended with luscious hair conditioners such as Panthenol (Vitamin B) that helps smoothen and soften hair. Not only nourishing and moisturizing, the range helps to repair and strengthen damaged hair with an improved elasticity that makes hair manageable everyday and on the go.

For this post, I’m reviewing the treatment shampoo, hair mask and the conditioner.

I’ve actually been using the treatment conditioner for some time now.  I was excited to try it since at the last Watson’s Beauty Lab it was touted to be a much cheaper version of another fabulous and similar hair product by Shiseido.  It was love at first swipe–the conditioner was oh-so-easy to spread on wet hair, like butter on a hot Teflon pan.

After a while, though, the only problem was that I didn’t let the conditioner stay long as it should.  Note that it makes a really HUGE difference.  I cannot overly stress this point further.

I took conditioning very seriously recently was when I dyed my hair back one night only to have it highlighted the very next day (a separate post for that soon).  Then the day after that, I had to have my hair styled, steamed and loaded with products for a photoshoot (another post for that, too).  Needless to say, I was scared for my hair because in less than a week it was starting to feel brittle and I was having a lot of hair fall.  That was when I tore open the Treatment Hair Mask.

I felt the difference almost instantly. My hair routine is wash and wear.  I let it air dry rather than bother with blow drier (because I am an idiot with any kind of hair contraption for styling). To lessen the frizz, I comb it while standing in front of an electric fan with a wide-toothed comb and wait for it to be a lot less damp before going out. After the hair treatment, it was so much easier combing through my hair and it was behaving way better than usual.

Hair still a bit damp

After combing it out, my hair is a lot tamer. I almost never use a brush because then I’d just stress out my curls and they’ll just frizz.

It’s more wavy than curly at this point. See? Doesn’t it look well-behaved?

Here it’s almost completely air-dried, so the natural curls are springing back to life.

I once mourned about trying to find a shampoo/conditioner that could duplicate my morning hair.  I think this is it.  I haven’t taken a photo yet, but I think my morning hair nowadays looks even better.  My concern with the conditioner and the hair mask was that I might end up over-conditioning my hair and that by the end of the day when my scalp oils up and so do my locks, they’ll end up limp.  Well, this is what it looked like at the end of the day.  I think my curls still look nice since they’re sleek and obedient.

And I kinda look my sister here, only with better hair. HAHA! Only half-kidding, ate.

While I abuse the conditioner and do the hair mask once a week, I am more cautious with the shampoo.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s also a great product.  Unfortunately for my finicky scalp, it usually just likes organic products.  Even if the hair itself looks great with other non-organic shampoos.  So I use it about twice a week.  In the photos above, I’ve used the shampoo with the conditioner and shampoo with the hair mask.

In a nutshell:

1) I am not buying any other conditioner/hair mask. Pure Beauty has completely won me over, hair and soul.
2) Leave the conditioner on your hair for 3 or more minutes before rinsing it off.  One or one and a half pump is enough for my amount of hair.  Similarly, leave the hair mask for 4-5 minutes or more. Trust me, it’s a world of difference. Also, comb your hair with your fingers while washing it off.
3) If you’re always after a quick shower like I am, lather up the shampoo for a minute, squeeze out the excess and then apply the conditioner without rinsing off the shampoo just yet. Then rinse it all off after 3 minutes.
4) While these brought back the luster to my hair and made it soft, manageable and shiny, it’s not a solution to hair fall. (But as I seem to have endless supply of hair, I’m not too bothered yet).
5) I’m not sure how these will work for straight, limp hair. I have a lion’s mane and it works fantastic. Anyone else with different hair tried these? Let me know how it turned out.
6) I was about to hoard it last week but it was out of stock at the Watsons branch I went to. Damn! Seems like a lot of people are catching on now.

There are 2 other products in the hair treatment line that I’ve yet to use (Treatment Essence Water and Treatment Haircare oil), but these 3 are pretty much regulars in my bathroom now.  249.00php/500 ml bottle.

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