NEW L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay Review


I was sent another box from Influenster recently, the Influenster x L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay Voxbox! As I'm sure most of you know (since I've complained about it more times than I can count), I have fine, very oily hair that I have to wash daily. If I don't, my hair and scalp
take on the appearance and consistency of an oil slick. It's gross, and it's been an issue I've had to deal with my whole life (believe me, nothing is less fun than getting up at 5:30 every morning to wash my grease trap of a head when I could be squeezing in another hour of sleep). So when I got an email from Influenster offering to send me the L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay hair care set, I was all about it. My hair usually gets oily at around 3pm every day, so I was so ready to try anything at all to combat this greasy issue, because dry shampoo does fuck all for my hair and there's really no way to make hair look less dirty aside from actually hopping in the shower. Which is a hassle, because I'm lazy.


Here's what I received:



L'Oreal Hair Expertise Extraordinary Clay Pre-Shampoo Mask ($6.99) - A pre-shampoo clay mask that deeply absorbs oils at the roots to purify the scalp, leaving you with long-lasting fresh, beautiful hair. I have never before seen a clay mask for hair (which makes sense, since this line isn't even available online or in stores yet), so I was immediately intrigued and used it the very first night I received my box. Even if I hadn't received it for free, I probably would have tried it out by purchasing it myself, as I'm pretty desperate for a miracle and pretty much grasping at straws at this point. As I've stated before, I have a lot of very fine, low porosity hair (meaning the individual strands are thin, but I have a ton of them which gives the illusion of thicker hair) that gets oily and weighed down easily. Most hair serums/elixirs are too heavy for me, and I don't dare use hair oils ever. The horror.

When I first tried this clay mask out, I hadn't washed my hair in 48 hours, which may seem like nothing to those of you who wash 1-2 times a week, but believe me, it was pretty gross. The texture of the mask is a bit jelly-like, and not as dense as your typical clay facial mask. It was easy to spread, but I used about a quarter of the jar in one go my first time, so it seems like a lot is necessary to fully cover your roots if you have a lot of hair. It has a light green color and smells so fresh and clean, like a mixture of clay and apples. Directions say to leave on for 5 minutes and then follow with the shampoo and conditioner, but I left it on my roots for 10 minutes because I like to be a lil' extra. It didn't feel irritating or drying to my scalp while on, just cooling and tingly. It actually felt really nice! The main ingredients of this mask seem to be kaolin clay (which is gentle and less drying than bentonite or rhassoul clay), glycerin and olive oil (which help with softening and moisturizing dry strands), sodium hyaluronate (which is great for infusing hydration into dry hair), and eucalyptus and salicylic acid which are great for controlling oil/sebum builldup. Since this tub is so tiny (I predict it has maybe 3-4 more uses in it), I think I may try to find an alternative of my own by perhaps DIY-ing a hair clay mask myself, but for $7, it's not outrageously expensive.

Rinsing was relatively easy, I full expected it to dry down/harden and be difficult to remove, but with a minute or two of gently massaging my scalp it rinsed away, leaving my scalp/roots feeling pure, fresh, and clean. I was very surprised at how clean my hair felt already, but I went ahead and continued with step 2, which was the shampoo.


L'Oreal Hair Expertise Extraordinary Clay Rebalancing Shampoo ($4.99) - This shampoo is for oily roots and dry ends, and is made with three different refined clays to instantly purify oily roots and hydrate dry ends without weighing hair down. I really enjoyed using this shampoo because only a little bit is needed to work up a lather, and I'm guilty of using way too much shampoo in the hopes of getting my hair cleaner (which can actually have the opposite effect and weigh hair down even more), so I'm happy I only need about a quarter sized amount for my medium length locks. It lathered up quickly and rinsed out easily, leaving my hair feeling even cleaner but not dry.


L'Oreal Hair Expertise Extraordinary Clay Rebalancing Conditioner ($4.99) - This conditioner, like the shampoo, is also formulated with three different types of clay to specifically target hair with oily roots and dry ends. The conditioner wasn't as thick as I was expecting, but it was still easy to spread throughout my hair and seemed to do a decent job of moisturizing and managing tangles without weighing everything down. I only condition from the middle of my hair down to avoid weighing my hair down at the roots. After rinsing it away, my hair was tangle-free and easy to brush through, and felt bouncy and hydrated. It styled easily and while my hair did seem a bit drier near the roots, it didn't get frizzy or unmanageable throughout the day. I consider that to be a win!


My lighting isn't the best, and I've never had to take photos of the top of my head before, so bear with me on these before and afters, ha. I started with two day old, oily hair (I hate to show how oily my hair gets if I don't wash it for two days, but it had to be done. For science). I applied a small amount of the pre-shampoo treatment only to my roots, and left it on for a full ten minutes before rinsing it out and moving onto the shampoo/conditioner duo. I have to say this system did an amazing job of purifying my hair and giving it lift and volume, something it desperately lacks. My hair also looked super shiny and clean, the bottom photo was taken before I even took a brush to it, so my hair cuticle was smoothed as well and my hair was so much easier to style. It remained looking clean and fresh for the whole day and the next day afterward, although it did lose some volume near the roots since I have a nervous tendency of running my fingers through my hair. The clean, fluffy feeling stayed though, giving my hair much more volume and life!

Overall, I'm very impressed with how well this worked for my hair! Even when I didn't use the clay mask prior to washing, the shampoo and conditioner still did a great job of getting rid of excess oil/buildup, and for once, I get to sleep in in the mornings and not have to wake up an hour before my fiance does to wash my hair. The fact that my hair seems to stay clean for about 48 hours when I use this system is a huge feat, considering that my hair is usually oily and flat 6-8 hours after washing. I think for someone with oily hair that can get away with washing their hair 2-3 times a week would benefit even more from this line! I definitely wouldn't recommend this if you have dry/high porosity hair, but if your hair is fine, thin, oily, or low porosity, the clays in this line will definitely help remove excess buildup, which is often what makes low-porosity hair look flat or like it lacks volume (the hair cuticle is closed when it comes to low porosity hair, which prevents moisture from entering the hair shaft and causes products to just sit on top of hair rather than sinking in). If you'd like to learn more about hair porosity and what kind of hair you have, you can check it out here.

Did you receive a L'Oreal Voxbox? Which products did you get to try?

Disclosure: This product was sent to me by Influenster free for review purposes, all opinions are my own. If you're curious about my press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, please see my disclosure policies

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