hair care update

I noticed that my post about washing my hair with vinegar and baking soda has been getting popular again, so I thought I'd do a little update on what the state of my hair care is now.

First, I do not do the vinegar/baking soda thing any more. I did mention in the post that I had trouble getting the right ratios, and I never was able to figure it out satisfactorily. My hair would be really lovely and soft for a while, and then steadily get drier and drier until I basically had a head full of straw. Not cute.

I switched to a pretty standard Garnier Fructis for a while, which also gave me drying problems. But then, back in January I got my bangs and a new color and committed myself to finding a shampoo/conditioner that would not make my hair sad. I was very very close to resigning myself to using Aveda products; both my long-time salon back in the 'burbs and the new salon I went to in the city are Aveda concept salons, and I really have always been happy with how my hair feels (and smells!) after treatments there. The problem, of course, is that these are "salon quality" products, so their full sized bottle of their basic shampoo is $35. I don't know about you, but I do not have that much room in my budget for my hair.

So I researched! I searched high and low, read dozens of testimonials, browsed online drugstores, until I finally found a product that sounded right for my hair. And so far, I'm still happy with it!

I use Yes to Cucumbers, the color-safe shampoo/conditioner in the Yes To...  product line. It's sulfate, paraben, petroleum and SLS free and smells like cucumbers! It actually makes me think of some cleansing mask my mom (I think?) once got for me when I was young...it smelled strongly of cucumbers and was a clear goo that you rubbed on your face until it set and then you peeled it off like you were a lizard shedding skin. That is...not actually relevant to my enjoyment of this product, but there you go!

One of the biggest pluses of Yes to Cucumbers (besides the fact that it leaves my hair soft and healthy) is that you can buy it at Target! It's in the organic hair product section (I had to hunt for a while in my local store) and is regularly priced at $7.99 apiece for shampoo and conditioner. When I bought it, they were each a dollar off - even better! I'm thinking about trying out their new exfoliating scrub, Yes to Grapefruits - if I do, I'll let you know!

What's your hair care regimen? Are you one of those lucky souls who can grab a bottle of Suave and be good to go, or do you have picky diva hair like mine?