My hair has been going through an odd stage of eh-dom. Ever had that before? Here’s what I’ve been using to bring it back to life and it seems to be working!

1. UNWASH Bio-Cleansing Conditioner ($36/13.5oz @ ulta.com) – this is one of those crazy cleansing conditioners you might have heard about. Great for color-treated strands and helps control frizz.

2. SUDZZ FX Powerfoam Styling Souffle Non-Aerosol Mousse ($19.50/8.5oz @ sudzzfx.com) – I’ve been getting back into mousse after some time without it in my life. I forgot how much I enjoy a little poof in my hair style! This one contains their Ease-Style Technology, which offers flexibility and weightlessness.

3. WHITE SANDS Leave-In Conditioner ($15/6.5oz @ whitesandsproducts.com) – I’m a sucker for leave-ins. I mean, what’s not to like? This one has some ‘intelligent’ properties that somehow know what areas of the hair needs repairing. This one is also available in travel size.

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

I’m a big fan of the WHITE SANDS (no not White Rain, eww) hair line when it comes to their styling products and they just came out with a new one. Yippee! It’s called Paraben & Gluten-Free UnderCover Styling Spray and you can file it under a does-it-all kind of spray.

Wait, did it say gluten-free? Seems like the whole world has gone gluten-free crazy these days. And did you ever think the trend would move into the beautysphere? Well it has and this is a first for me. So how does gluten-free play into a hair product? From what I can gather, instead of wheat proteins, they are  replaced by silk proteins. Ok, not sure I could tell that just from using it so I guess I have to take their word for it until I can do more research on wheat proteins in hair care products.

Anyway, this one also contains Panthenol aka B5, Aloe Vera Gel, Benzophenone-4, which is for protecting hair color and a surprising ingredient, Chamomile. I guess they threw this one in there for the anti-bacterial properties but I’ve only known it for its calming benefits in skin care products. Interesting!

My take: I love this spray. There’s no flaking and it really helps set the hair. When I’m going for the pin-up look, I like to spray this on my sections of hair before using the curling iron. The heat form the iron really helps this spray get into strands to hold your curl better than without. Scared of doing that? Know that this product is made to be used with heat tools. $21/8.5oz @ whitesandsproducts.com.

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

White Sands Stuck-Up Mega Hold Styling Spray – Hall of Fame Worth?

Pros – helps keep a curl in the hair longer.
Cons – can be a tad sticky.

Does it stay in the Hall of Fame?

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There have been some developments in the hair tools category in terms of making them more user-friendly. Here are three that are rockin' my strands right now.

KWOF Series Finishing Iron ($189.99 @ kwofiron.com) – this one is designed to give your wrist a break! The plates are at a 30° angle so you can still get stick straight hair but without tiring out your hands. And like every good flat iron should, this one uses Ceramic and Tourmaline Plates to help seal the cuticle and make hair shiny.

Wanna see more? Click the link after the pic!

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Do you ever really find a product you like and use it, have fun, etc, and then forget about it? A video I watched by rosebud143 reminded me of the WHITE SANDS line and this product that I wrote about a while ago. Since my hair is really getting long (well past my shoulders now), I’m able to curl it and go for the loose waves look more often and so I’ve been revisiting their Stuck-Up Mega Hold Styling Spray and I feel like I am discovering it for the first time! And I have not found one to do the same thing since. Imagine being able to apply your spray to your hair before applying the heat from a flat iron or curling iron. Such hold and it helps your curls last longer than they normally would and without looking crunchy.

I have two things going on with Stuck-Up – first is I am adding to the Hall of Fame – yes, it’s that good.

And second is, I have 10 cans to giveaway to you so enter below and good luck!

I’m totally into the hair oils these days like this one and here’s another one taking up space in my bathroom. They’re so great for so many different things when it comes to the hair like taming frizzies and fly-away strands, restoring moisture, enhancing color, protecting hair from free radicals or just smoothing  it the hair after styling. This latest one is WHITE SANDS Orchids Oil ($20/3oz @ whitesandsproducts.com) and they tout it as especially beneficial for those with course and curly hair.

And check out all four ingredients: Cyclomethicone (a silicone), Dimethiconol (used in a lot of hair care products to impart shine), Bulbophyllum SP. (the largest group of the orchid family), and fragrance. That’s it! What’s also interesting is the way it smells. It smells like the name says, like an orchid but I guess this particular strain or orchid, Bulbophyllum SP smells pretty bad, so they add a synthetic fragrance, which is fine since it’s the ingredients I’m after in the first place.

Disclosure: The following item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

For some reason, when I’m in the supermarket and come across a can of baked beans, which I love, I always go for the vegan kind because in my mind, it will have less bad stuff for you inside. Is this true? Probably not but I can’t seem to shake this conclusion just short of sitting down with a vegan and non-vegan version in my hands and comparing ingredients. I’ll do that someday. So was I thinking this same notion when I was sent samples of WHITE SANDS’ Volumizing Shampoo and Volumizing Conditioner to try? Kinda. Ok, yes, I am. Probably not the smartest but maybe it is. This duo is 100% Vegan, sulfate free and silicone-free but let’s not confuse the word vegan with being natural. Vegan just means it contains no animal-derived ingredients inside. So this duo cleans and protects your color without using any kind of animal products in the formula. What else do you need to know? Shampoo ($12/7.6oz), Conditioner ($15/7.6oz) @ whitesandsproducts.com.

Many moons ago, I thought all hairsprays were the same. Wrong! I’ve come across some icky ones that not only left residue behind but either faded quickly or worked too well at holding. Here’s a few that get high marks from us. From L to R:

• SEBASTIAN Shaper Zero Gravity ($11.95/10.6oz @ ulta.com)
• WHITE SANDS Infinity Finishing Spray ($21/10oz @ amazon.com)
• KEN PAVES Shaping Finishing Spray ($24/9.7oz @ beauty.com)
• SUDZZ FX Airplay ($18.98/10oz @ sudzzfx.com)

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RuPaul should be the spokesperson for the new Stuck-Up ($24-$26/10oz @ amazon.com) from WHITE SANDS. This mega-hold hairspray really … holds but it’s another one of those that you should consider reaching for when styling. Like their other revolutionary hairsprays, it can be used on wet or dry hair and combed out with no leftover residue or stiffness. And what about using it with hot tools like a curling iron or straight iron? It not only helps you make the most perfect curl but it makes the strands really shiny. Fun!

I’ve been trying different styles out with this spray – from really straight to more natural looking loose waves, and this really helps you achieve the many different looks I go for on a weekly basis. Big recommendation.