.:: CybeleSays ::.

With this line brings the second time this year I’ve heard about the topic of pH and hair care products, as in, keeping the pH level of shampoo and styling products between a certain range will help keep treatments longer. Why is this good? From what I understand, a product’s pH plays a big factor in how long your hair color or treatment stays in the strands. When you have hair color put in for example, the cuticle must be opened up to deposit the formula, and it must be above a 5.5. So if you use a shampoo and other styling products that have a high pH, you are opening the cuticle and removing the color/treatment every time you use them. Makes sense.

When I met with the very knowledgeable Cindy from Zerrans here, they were the first ones to bring this fact up to me and their line is also pH-friendly. So now you’re probably wondering how the products you currently have in your bathroom will fair. If you’re up for it, Cindy says to get some litmus paper and test them. Yup, the same litmus paper you used to use in science class, and test your shampoos and conditioners. Bring on science class 101 again! Anyway, back to the products. The line is called SOJOURN and was created by Vidal Sassoon’s son Elan, so you know he knows something about hair, right? He studied the hair in its natural state and determined that the idea pH range is 4.5 to 5.5 so all the products fall in that range or lower. And they also incorporate keratin into the formula with what they call Keratin Cashmere Protein to really help moisturize strands and keep it strong. The line is also 100% biodegradable and free from parabens, formaldehyde, and sulfates.

And he’s made it easy for us to get the most out of the line by breaking it into four different collections – Smooth (the peach bottles), Moisture (the sky blue bottles), Volume (the moss colored bottles) and the one I tried, Colour Preserve (the ivory bottles shown here). Prices range between $20 and $26 @ sojournbeauty.com for salons.

I’m all about a great mascara and a great hair conditioner and both are hard to come by. But I am putting Luxury.Rinse from Aussie's KEVIN MURPHY right next to this one in my tub area. They reformulated this one recently and it’s made for those who color and have tthicker, coarser hair and even curly. It contains Kukui Nut Oil and Murumuru Butter as well as Grapefruit Extract to help promote hair growth. At the end of the day, the proof is in the touch and manageability and this one gives it all. Need I say more? 21.50/8.4oz @ kevinmurphystore.com.

Ok, you get your ubber-expensive Brazilian Blowout or whatever your salon is calling the Keratin hair treatments these days and now what? How do you keep the super-straightness of it for as long as possible? Yes, sulfate-free is now your main business but two new companies have not made it their business to help you keep it straight for as long as possible too.

KERATIN PERFECT – Exclusive to Sephora, this line contains:
PerfectCleanse Keratin Enhanced Shampoo ($24/8.5oz)
PerfectSilk Keratin Enhanced Conditioner ($24/8.5oz)
PerfectRenew Daily Keratin Replenishing Spray ($34/6.7oz)
PerfectRescue Intense Keratin Repair Serum ($40/1.7oz)
PerfectShine Keratin Oil ($40/1.7oz).

This line uses a very tech-forward process called ReBonding Techology, which penetrates the hair to repair any weak Keratin bonds and keeps strands frizz-free and manageable. The Repair Serum has been my go-to for the past few weeks and I really feel this one fills in the nooks and crannies as my straightening treatment slowly washes away. Get them @ sephora.com.

GLOSS MODERNE - Line contains:
High-Gloss Shampoo ($27.50/8oz)
High-Gloss Conditioner ($28.50/8oz)
High-Gloss-Serum ($26/4oz)
High-Gloss Masque ($32/4oz) and you can purchase all four products for $114.

Their products contain Keratin, panthenol and botanicals like coconut and passion fruit extract among others to help keep hair 180 degrees from frizzy. And these have a Coco de Soleil scent to them, which is a blend of coconut, almond and rum and was created in a fragrance house just for these products. Nice. Get them @ glossmoderne.com.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

When I say CAROL’S DAUGHTER Monoi Repairing Hair Mask ($29/7oz) is good, I mean it’s gooooood! Since coming off of this system, I’ve been a tad backed up with trying out hair products and I was really curious about these new Monoi hair products they recently put out. The collection was created for those who have problems with hair breakage, which is common with African-American hair. From what I’ve gathered, Monoi oil is made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias in a semi-wax of coconut oil and it’s used as a hair softener among French Polynesians.

Now I’m not sure how far down a list an ingredient can be if it is to be the focus of a product (Monoi is the 9 ingredient in) but maybe you don’t need a lot of the ingredient to benefit?  I guess we’ll just have to take their word for it. Also in it is pro-vitamin B5, sunflower seed extract and Shea Butter so I think no matter what your hair type is, it will benefit from this. I’m so glad I gave this one a spin because it really made my hair feel so silky and soft. Also available, Monoi Repairing Shampoo ($18/8.4oz) and Monoi Repairing Conditioner ($20/8.4oz) @ carolsdaughter.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

CRACK, yup this Styling Treatment is called Crack.

What it is:

• A lightweight, super moisturizing hair fix.
• Smoothes split ends
• Protects from UVA/UVB rays and chlorine
• Provides a barrier from heat and thermal styling
• Adds shine and slip without making hair greasy
• Keeps hair looking healthy and polished all day

How to use it: This micro protein/power peptide infused formula is one that is applied right after shampoo on towel dried hair (I used about a quarter-sized dollop). Work into strands and then blow dry to help it penetrate.

So how did this work? Click below!

Click here to read more

For some reason I am more into the beach this year. I mean, I’ve been about 3 times in the past month and that’s three times more than 2010 total! So of course I have to get all stylish. I bought a good fitting top here, a swimskirt bottom here, a beach cover up here and a really cool sunhat here. For those who actually go swimming in the ocean or the pool, don’t forget to think about your strands and keeping them sane this summer. Thankfully there is now a line of products just for you beach junkies! It’s called TONIC and was created for surfers and beach bunnies that love the water but also love their hair. It conquers sun, saltwater and is quite overall quite earth-friendly.

Product line is 4 skus and includes:

The Chronic Shampoo and The Chronic Conditioner – a daily use duo infused plant-based ingredients into the formulas and is both paraben-free and sulfate-free. $14/8oz each.
Threesome Tonic – a 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner and body wash in one that's also sulfate and paraben-free. This one contains vitamin B5. $12/8oz.
Luster Tonic – a leave-in conditioner that includes aloe vera and grapeseed oil in the formula. $14/8oz.

All @ tonicshop.com.

I just had my hair colored with a color system that uses no amonia to deliver the color. It’s called Inoa from L’Oreal Professional (review coming later this week). As far as color goes, I decided to go with the color of the season, copper. And I love it! It looks just like this color model Lydia Hurst has on the March 2011 cover of Elle Mexico. Gorg! Anyway, with a new head of hair color, comes the time to assess the latest shampoos, conditioners and hair styling products to keep it lush and vibrant.

KERASTASE Chroma Sensitive ($43/6.67oz @ kerastase.com) – this one is one part cleansers and three parts conditioner. Even if you use a color-safe shampoo, this one doesn’t strip the color as much as even those. Use this one the first three shampoos after coloring and then alternate each time with your color-safe shamp.

For shampoo and conditioner, I’ve been all over OJON’s new Color Sustain Color Revealing Shampoo ($22/8.44oz) and Color Sustain Color Revealing Conditioner ($23/8.44oz) that will help maintain your new vibrant color from water-induced fading for up to 40 washes. Tah-dow! Water and any kind of cleansers will fade color fast so if you can cut down on how often you clean your strands and use something like this duo to gently clean them, you will save some money and time in the end.

And they also have a Color Protecting Cream ($24/4.2oz) and Gloss Finishing Hair Spray ($23.50/7.4oz) as part of the collection so if you’re really serious about your investment, invest a little further. All @ ojon.com.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

I sometimes don’t feel quite qualified to speak about a product and this is the case with this next one from NEXXUS. It’s their ProMend Kit that is supposed to actually repair split ends. Impossible, I thought so I decided to bring the products to my trusty hair and makeup artist extraordinaire Kristin Merkling (HairbyKristin.com). She’s seen it all and could really give these a good run.

Click the below link to check out my Q&A with Kristin!

Click here to read more

I’ve had some pretty good luck with conditioners from the DAVINES line and I had the opportunity to try another one. Now I’m not sure if it’s the weather in LA or perhaps the time of year but my hair has been kind of unruly lately and a-typically on the dry side. Their new Lovely Smoothing Conditioner really did the trick in getting my strands back on the right track. It really felt like I used a deep conditioner even though this one only required about 2 minutes on the head.

It contains rice wax and an unusually high level of vitamin E as well as Borage Seed Oil, which helps with the hydration and a little goes a long way.

$25/8.4oz @ barneys.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

Ooo, I am tré excited about this next one! You know I get pretty amped when I discover a really great hair conditioner or hair mask. The brand is MACADAMIA NATURAL OIL, which you may remember me touting this brand earlier this year with this product of theirs. And they’ve expanded the product line with a Leave-in Cream, Rejuvenating Shampoo, Healing Oil Spray, among others, and my pick right now, their Deep Repair Masque. The crazy cold and rain we’ve been having in LA in the past two weeks has been really putting my strands through the ringer, so this one arrived just in time. It combines their signature Macadamia and Argan Oils with tea tree and chamomile oils as well as aloe and algae extract.

I’ve used this one two different ways, one right while the shower is going and ring out my hair as best as possible and the other way is the tried and true method of washing and then applying to towel dried hair.$28/8.5oz, $46/16.9oz @ macadamiahair.com.

They also have some great kits available on their site like this travel one shown here, which is a great way to try a variety of products without having to commit to the big sizes and big prices.