I have wavy hair. Not like sleek, smooth, glam wavy hair (though if I knew how I’d love to rock that look). More like slightly messy sexy wavy hair. One benefit to the slightly messy waves, I suppose, is that they require less “doing”. They are low stress and fairly low maintenance. Low maintenance, however, does not mean *no* maintenance. So I do have a few products on hand to help things along.

In the shower

I recently tried big waves by Charles Worthington London. I like to switch up my conditioners quite a bit and decided to try the matching shampoo with it. Like most shampoos and conditioners, this set is supposed to leave my hair gently cleansed, less frizzy and with plenty of healthy looking moisture and shine. It’s also supposed to enhance waves. I did find it to be a fine and acceptable shampoo and conditioner. My hair was left clean, not greasy, not dry, soft and with a nice light scent. I can’t really say if it enhanced my waves. They were going to be there no matter what. I didn’t have frizz, but I don’t usually. Often things that are supposed to tame frizz make my hair feel weighed down or greasy and this didn’t. So yay! I will definitely be using it again.

Out of the shower

When I get out of the shower, I brush my hair. I know this is supposed to be bad. But I swear I don’t torture my hair by doing this. I have a Mason Pearson brush and it has yet to do my hair wrong. I could (and probably will!) devote a whole entry just to my Mason Pearson. But that’s an entry for another time. So anyway, out of the shower, hair detangled and toweled enough so it’s not sopping and dripping on me. I don’t really do the towel dry thing because that really *would* knot up my hair. I like to put whatever styling aid I’m using on my hair before it starts to dry. Otherwise it doesn’t really take to the product as well. My current product of choice for defining and dressing my waves is Lush’s King of the Mods gel. It smells citrusy, like grapefruit and leaves my hair with slight definition but no crunchy-ness or greasiness. It shakes a little like jelly and melts on my fingers. I only need to dip my finger tips in the pot and rub my hands together. That’s enough for me to smooth through and start scrunching. I’m really starting to love this stuff and wish I could use it on second day hair but I haven’t found a way to do it. Fortunately, I have an alternative!

Second day hair

Usually I wash my hair every other day. I started doing it this way when I was growing out damage from a coloring experiment gone awry. It really did help and when my hair was all happy again, I just kept up the habit. But usually on the second day, after I’ve brushed it out, braided it, slept on it and brushed it out again, it can’t decide if it wants to be wavy or straight and it has bumps from the braids and is just kind of a mess. And not the cute sexy kind either. So at that point my choices are usually ponytail or pinned up somehow. Boring. But necessary.

I was pretty excited when I came across a product made for second day *curls*. I figured it might not work for me but was worth a shot. If it didn’t work for me there was always the standby. But Ouidad Botanical Boost actually did the trick. Wee! It says you can use it on dry hair but that didn’t work as well for me. What worked best for me was dampening my hair a little by running my hands under water first and then through my hair. Then I brush, then spray a few sprays all over and then scrunch. Too wet and it doesn’t work as well either. So it’s a delicate process. But it has really worked well for me. If you have curly hair, I’m sure it would work just as well or better, since that’s what it’s for. I haven’t tried it on wet hair. It’s supposed to be moisturizing too, which is a definite bonus. I like having another option on my non-hair washing days.

So that’s my typical routine lately. What’s yours? Any tips? Anyone else tried these? I’d love to know what you think!

Today I bring you a guest post from my friend The Underachiever. She’s awesome and funny and interesting and you should go add her to your feed reader RIGHT NOW! Wait, not right now. After you read her review here. THEN GO! –ProductWhore

I tried this moisturizer/sunscreen combo while attending a late afternoon baseball game. I applied it to my arms, face and neck. It did not feel greasy or sticky going on, which was great. It absorbed quickly and didn’t leave my skin tacky. I actually forgot I had it on, a great bonus for any skincare product.

Unfortunately, it still smelled like sunscreen. The odor wasn’t overpowering, but it was present. I think this product could benefit from more fragrance. Nothing heavy, just something to offset the typical sunscreen smell.

As for its moisturizing benefits, it definitely helped soften my scratchy elbows. As a light, everyday moisturizer, I think it would work well.

I didn’t get any sunburn or tan during the game, which was the point. I came out just as pasty white as when I went in. But since I do burn easily, I would need a lot more protection than SPF 15 in the midday sun. For non-peak sun times of the day, this suited me perfectly.

Though the lotion didn’t feel greasy on my skin, I am still leery of using it on my face. I have oily skin and am picky about what I put on it. I’d prefer to use a face-specific product for that area.

Verdict: If you use a moisturizer every day, switch to this. You’ll get the same nourishing benefits with some added protection. I wouldn’t use this as a replacement for traditional sunscreen for a day at the beach, but for everyday sun exposure on skin that doesn’t burn at the first ray of sun, it can do the job.

Would I buy this? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being I’m racing to the store to buy this product, I would give it a 6. Since I’d use this cream primarily for the sun protection, not its softening properties, SPF 15 isn’t strong enough for my fragile skin. But if the company offered a version with the SPF bumped up to 30, I’d bump up my rating to an 8.