Heyyyyy!
I've been meaning to try this Giovanni Straightening Elixir for bloody ages now, but couldn't find a good time to try and test it for ages - until now! I finally got round to trying it out, and I'm excited to write up this review for you!
If you've never heard of Giovanni before, they're a fab, quite unique brand that creates hair care that's all natural and free from nasties - here's their claim:
"Giovanni’s range of professional, salon-standard hair care products is formulated from a wheat protein base and consists of only the most carefully selected blends of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, herbs and oils".
Excitiiiing, right?! I also think they've got their packaging and overall style bang on - it certainly wouldn't look out of place at a hairdressers! But down to business - do their claims live up to the hype? I must admit, I'm really picky about my haircare... unlike my skincare, I generally tend to stick to products I find work for my hair. I'm scared about trying new products on my hair because it's so thick and unruly, I'm worried about trying a product and having to re-wash it if it doesn't work! And my hair takes forever to wash and dry, so yeah...
This product is for applying to damp, freshly washed hair, and blow-drying it straight. I don't tend to blow-dry my hair anymore - I try as much as possible to let it dry naturally for fear of damaging it, as my have is bleached and therefore more prone to drying out and splitting. However there is the odd occasion when I'm in a rush, I need to look presentable and get it washed and dried quickly. Last night was such an occasion, and I decided to finally give this a go and see how it went! I bypassed my usual hair oil to give this a proper, true chance and see how it worked unaffected by other products. After the ol' shampoo-and-conditioner jobby, I squeezed out the excess water and gently brushed it through (I know, I know, you shouldn't brush wet hair, but I CAN'T HELP IT - I feel like a hot mess if I don't!) I applied a pea size amount to my hands, spread it evenly between my gingers, and started "distributing it evenly" all over my hair as the tube recommended.
Firstly, the texture of this product. It's kind of a gel, but not as wet - it actually reminded me of glue, but not sticky? (Does that even make sense...? Probably not!) It was a medium consistency and I applied 2 pea sized amounts in the end - I was scared of over-saturating my hair and having to re-wash it! So I went light, and brushed it through afterwards. I concentrated the most amount to the ends of my hair and on the top where I have those annoying, frizzy hairs that never behave (ya'll know the ones I'm talking about!) I then, on a low setting with a medium heat, began to dry my hair. I initially started with a large paddle brush, but it wasn't doing the job so I swapped to a large ceramic roller brush to try and more evenly distribute the heat. So how did I find it? I found it... OK! I was really trepidatious (and heading out that evening, so I couldn't afford to do it wrong and mess up the hair as I didn't have time for a re-wash!) My biggest fear was that I would have accidentally over-saturated a section of hair, leaving it thick with product and oily-looking. I'm happy to say this didn't happen! I found my hair brushed through and dried easily - in fact, I think it may have sped up the process! My hair still frizzed as it always does when being blow-dried, but I found it more manageable and easier to control afterwards. I didn't have time to do a proper blow-dry, but I found it was easier to smooth out and it felt really soft when I gently wrapped it into a high bun afterwards! I'm now cautiously optimistic about this product... still nervous about over-saturating, but I really want to try it again for a proper blow-dry when I have the time and see how it looks and whether it lasts! It was definitely a positive experience... I'll make sure to update you once I've tried it again! You can get the Giovanni Straightening Elixir from Naturally Better You for £8.41! Meli X
