Regular readers will know that I have a perm at the moment and so have been looking everywhere for curl products. I have acquired quite a few (which I will review shortly!) but I recently went down to Boots and bought 2 Umberto Giannini products (2 for £7.50 at the moment!) to try.
I quite like the Umberto Giannini’s slightly phallic range even though I am a posh shampoo kinda gal to be honest.
But we’re talking styling products here! I bought Smoothy Curls Anti Frizz Serum (use on damp hair) and Silky Curls Smoothing Balm (for when the hair is dry).
They also had a shampoo, conditioner, spray and intensive conditioner in this ‘Curl Friends’ (geddit?!) range. I stuck to 2 because that was the offer!
So how did these cheapy products fare in my super frizzy sideshow bob hair?
Erm. They’re pretty damn good!
I used the serum (which is like pure silicone or something!!!) and applied a ton of it into my damp hair, thinking, it’ll be SO greasy when it dries. But it wasn’t. Far from it, my curls were defined and frizz was at a minimum.
I then applied the silky curls balm to my hair – once again quite a lot because since my perm, my hair seems to soak up product – and my hair looked soft and glossy.
I went away for 2 nights after styling my hair with this stuff (I did NOT wash it whilst away, are you mad? No way am I dealing with a frizz bomb without my army of products) and it looked rather good all weekend.
Textures:
The next time I used these two products the result was good but not as good as the first time, so I concur, these products are only good if you use them with a decent shampoo and conditioner too (I am using Tigi Dumb Blonde conditioner every time I wash my hair now and it works a treat).
Also I found mixing the serum and balm together and applying it when wet helps.
The balm can also be reapplied if your hair gets frizzy during the day.
Verdict: Great products, good price, mustn’t grumble.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, my hair went from being straight in childhood, wavy in my teens, to fully curly in my twenties/thirties. It’s an interesting ride, for sure! Curly hair definitely does take more product than straight, including conditioner.
My top curly products are from Jessicurl, based in California. The gentle lather shampoo, aloeba conditioner and confident coils styling solution are my top picks. Also just recently got some bumble & bumble prep spray, which is really good for refreshing my curls.
Best of luck, hope you enjoy your curls through the warmer weather!
Reply
I also recently got a perm and struggled with finding products to keep the frizz away. My hair is also colored and the perm seemed to suck out any moisture in the ends but my scalp was getting oilier than ever. This is what’s been working for me:
shampoo and conditioner: Asience nature smooth. This is my HG – my scalp no longer gets oily and this is way cheaper than all the salon stuff I’ve tried like Redken and Kerastase. It’s amazing stuff – read about it on Lotuspalace and Rougedeluxe and then coincidentally got a sample of both their shampoos in a Japanese magazine and I haven’t looked back.
styling: Lucido-L swing loose gel. Mandom morning hair fix water for bedhead fix. Both fantastic.
I also dry my hair only in the cool setting – this is a tip from a friend who has naturally curly/wavy hair. Heat setting makes my hair explode.
I am loving my perm – I had been really sick of my stick straight hair. How about you?
Pam
Reply
I’ve been considering getting a perm for a while now – regardless of how 80′s I keep thinking it’ll look on me. How are you finding it so far? & has it damaged your hair at all?
Reply