Redken Haircare -- The Experiment Begins

Oh no, the beauty junkie has struck again. This addict will never hit rock bottom!

Ladies, today I attended a class held by Redken at the salon where I was recently hired. The class was about client consultation and choosing the right haircare products for your client's specific needs so that they can maintain the health of their hair at home.

I used to use Redken way back in the day (3 years ago :P) before I became deathly afraid of sulfates and decided to become a hair hippy and go all natural. For those of you uneducated about sulfates, they are a base detergent ingredient used in most shampoos that allow the product to create a lather to clean your hair. Now, recent studies have shown that this ingredient can be particularly damaging to hair because it strips the hair of its natural oils. This information has been spreading like wildfire in any beauty magazine, article, and blog for the last year. As soon as I started catching wind of the fear I bolted from sulfates and opted for organic alternatives and I haven't ever been back... until now.

In my class this morning we were highly encouraged to use the Redken line of products, which is honestly only logical, since they are what we use at the salon and what we are selling to our clients. My immediate fear was of the sulfates found in the shampoo so I asked the representative about it. She assured me that this issue had been discussed with Redken's lead chemist since the fear of sulfates had been so hyped up recently. Supposedly the chemist chose not to remove sulfates from the shampoo line because he strongly disagreed that the sulfates found in Redken's shampoo were concentrated enough to strip the hair of any of it's natural oils. From my understanding, many cheaper brands of shampoo will try and save costs by filling their shampoo with a higher concentrate of the cheap detergent ingredient and less concentrate of beneficial ingredients such as oils that cost more. This heavy concentrate of sulfates is what causes the stripping of the hair of its natural oils. Perhaps these cheaper brands are what led to sulfates' bad name?

The Redken representative assured me that the sulfates found in their shampoo was heavily outweighed by the beneficial ingredients backed up by years of science. Looking around the salon at all the women who work there and have been using the Redken products for years, I noticed that not a single one of them had hair that looked damaged, dry, brittle, or unhealthy, and many of them had long hair as well. I decided to take a leap of faith, brace myself against the sulfates, and try out the product that I am now representing at my new job.

Now to talk about the products I chose for my hair type and why. My hair is very chemically damaged. I do not use heat on my hair and I am very gentle with it but unfortunately I have fallen prey to the female desire to change,change,change and I have dyed my hair a multitude of shades. In order to repair chemical damage you must fortify your hair with protein to help restore the protein you hair lost during chemical procedures. The Extreme shampoo and conditioner that I have pictured is Redken's most highly rated protein reconstructing products. It claims to rebuild and strengthen hair up to 4xs!

With any protein regimen you have to balance it out with moisture so in congruence with my shampoo and conditioner I am using the Smooth Down Butter Treatment which is filled with nourishing Macadamia Nut oil. I will be using this product once a week, which for me will be every other time I wash my hair. This product promises to give long lasting hydration to the hair.

Overall, I am very excited to find out what the results will be from using these products. I love coming to conclusions about products and comparing them to others. If this turns out to benefit my hair it will be amazing to me because it will rebuttal everything I have ever read about the damaging effects of sulfates. For the first time in a long time I guess I am going to trust in the scientific aspect of haircare and we will see where this takes me. I will be updating you guys often on how the condition of my hair is since using these products. Until then... 

XOXO