More haircare! I've been super into taking care of my locks lately (and goodness knows my hair needs it). Thankfully, I was recently sent some Finesse hair care products from Brandbacker, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about how they worked for me.
A little bit about Brandbacker, because I really think you all should know - Brandbacker is an influencer platform that helps bloggers and those who have a reach on social media connect with brands. Much like Influenster or 08liter, Brandbacker has active campaigns for awesome brands (the campaigns I've recently been accepted to participate in are for Hask, Peter Thomas Roth, Neostrata, and D'OR24K). All you have to do on your part is connect your social media on Brandbacker (if you browse my blog, you'll see the Brandbacker logo under my affiliates section), and apply for the campaigns. If chosen, you'll receive an email stating that you're in (yay!), and then the brand will ship out your samples, and in turn you'll have to submit a blog and/or social media review. Most campaigns send out full-sized samples, but some offer monetary compensation, although I haven't been chosen or any of those (I believe there was a paid campaign offered by Derma E some time ago!). Basically, it's just another way for brands to get the word out about their products, and you get free swag and a chance to earn a little extra "beer money". Sounds great, right?
For Finesse's campaign, they sent two full-sized products: the Restore & Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner. The buzz surrounding Finesse is that they're backed by the Kardashians/Jenners - both Kim and Kendall use and endorse Finesse, claiming it's their secret to strong, healthy hair. I don't follow the Kardashians in the slightest, but I'm not opposed to trying out a new shampoo/conditioner duo, since my hair is pretty difficult (very oily, thin strands but tons of it, with dry roots to boot), so I'm curious as to how its effect on my fine, white girl hair will compare to the thick, strong locks of the Kardashians.
Restore + Strengthen Moisturizing Shampoo ($1.98, 13 fl oz) - Disclaimer: I haven't cut my hair in quite a while. About a year ago I decided to throw caution to the wind and cut my hair to above my shoulders; I've always had really long hair, so this was a huge change for me. I decided it was cute at the time but not for me, so for the past year I've been growing my hair out and not touching it - no heat styling, no dyes, etc. Aside from my high school days, I've never really used flat irons/curling irons anyway, so my hair is generally in really good shape most of the time (thankfully my ends are only just starting to look ratty), so I was interested in what this could do for my oily roots and dry ends, since tackling those issues simultaneously is usually pretty difficult.
The shampoo is a creamy, slightly thicker-than-average formula, and smells kind of like the hair salon, if that makes sense. Not unpleasant, but it doesn't really stand out either. It lathers very well so I only needed the amount shown in the above photo to wash my armpit-length hair. No shortage of suds here! As for performance, it cleaned my hair well, without leaving any heavy buildup behind. I wouldn't say that it kept my hair super clean throughout the next day, since I'm a daily hair washer (yeah, my hair is that oily), and it looked about the same as it always does on day two - limp and oily at the roots. On the plus side, my ends were gettin' it - super smooth and healthy looking. It was a bitter sweet feeling. Will I ever banish my oily ass roots to the greasy pits of hell where they belong?
Finesse Restore + Strengthen Moisturizing Conditioner ($!.98, 13 fl oz) - This was the product I was worried about - if the shampoo left my hair feeling heavy, my hair would be greasier than the fry dumps at McDonalds after the conditioner (sounds hot, right? Ha!). I mostly concentrate my conditioner use to the bottom half of my hair (if you hold your hair in a low ponytail, the bottom part is all that I condition, and I never condition my roots), so that's how I used this product.
The conditioner itself is surprisingly light, but packs a powerful moisturizing punch - my ends looked nice and conditioned, but the rest of my hair didn't fall flat; it actually felt pretty light and healthy. Yay! The formulas for both the shampoo and conditioner contain active silk and soy proteins to nourish and detangle your hair, getting deep down into the hair strands to strengthen hair that is dry, damaged, stubborn, and sometimes frizzy. My hair was definitely super soft and manageable - the usual 10 minutes I spend fighting tangles/knots out of my hair didn't happen at all when using this shampoo and conditioner. Let me tell you, an extra 10 minutes in the morning is definitely something I'm thankful for - those with long, unruly hair will know my struggle.
Final Thoughts: I didn't take any photos, but my hair really didn't look any different than it normally does, although there was a bit less frizz going on in the back and my ends didn't look as dead. I think this duo would work well for wavy/slightly curly hair types - it might be a bit heavy for thin, fine baby hair like I have, and not moisturizing enough for those with tight or kinky curls. I wasn't super impressed with the shampoo; while it didn't dry out my hair like a lot of volumizing/clarifying shampoos do, it didn't really give my hair the light, weightless body and bounce that I was hoping to achieve. Thanks a lot, Kim and Kendall! (just kidding). I did love the conditioner though. and at only $2 a bottle, I can totally see myself heading to the store and stocking up!
You can find this moisturizing duo at Walgreens, Walmart, and Rite Aid, and grocery chains such as Kroger, Shoprite, HEB, and Publix). They're generally $3.99 a bottle, but they're only $1.99 at Walmart!
Have you tried any Finesse products lately? What shampoo and conditioner are you loving? Let me know in the comments below!
These products were sent to me courtesy of Brandbacker and Finesse 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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