Saturday 5 January 2013

Product rave - Alterna Caviar 3-Minute Shine Boost

I have battled with my unrully frizzy hair all my life (or since I was 13 and started caring about such things), and for the most part, I was under the impression that my hair was suffering from some kind of hair health impairment. I have drenched it in everything under the sun in attempts to rid it of the everlasting frizz, wave and kink. With the ammount of effort that went into it over the years, I believe my hair is "cured", but it still looks the same as it always has done. It has thus dawned on me recently, that my hair is not unhealthy, but just plain-ol' , excue me, sh*t.  And by that I mean the texture, the pattern and the behaviour (and don't tell me hair doesn't have behaviour). I have since decided to focus on products that deliver cosmetic results, not remedies.

 My most recent discovery is a wash-out conditioning product by Alterna - the Caviar Anti-Aging 3-Minute Shine Boost.



"Anti-aging" is a term I have never seen used in a hair care context before, and I wouldn't dwell on it too much either as far as this product is concerned. At the end of the day, hair is created and nourished at the rout, which I am sure can be affected by age, but unless the product targets the scalp itself, I doubt there is much difference in old vs. young hair. Except for childrens' hair. Most children seem to have enviably shiny, forever-clean, and naturally beautifus hair up untill the magic age of *-teen; when we welcome the sad buggers into the row of frizzy-haired women equipped with hair straighteners and styling goos of different varieties.

I digress. It is not the anti-aging claims of this product that captured my attention. Alterna's Caviar line is geered towards providing moisture for dry, brittle hair. The 3-Minute Shine product description, however, does not explicitly promise any magical medicinal effects. Insead, it calls itself "lip-gloss for your hair", and vows to deliver instant shine. "Hi-Def" shine, in fact. You have to be HD if you want to appeal to the modern day man, even if it makes no bloody sense. Very trendy.

And deliver shine it did! I applied this after my regular shampoo and conditioner and waited an imaginary estimated 3-5 minutes, then rinced. I noticed a difference the second I started brushing the hair - the bristles of the brush ran through effortlessly, the hair strands fell uniform and smooth. Once dry, the hair had that good slippery feel it gets after you've taken it to the hairdressers'. What's even more pleasing is that the hair remained straight for three days, and that icluded gyms, showers and bicycles.

I would absolutely recommend this product to anyone who wants to achieve salon-blow-dry-esque hair at home, make brushing and styling easier and avoid needing to re-style repeatedly. For those concerned about ingredients, this potion is free of parabens, mineral oil and phthalates, and rather surprisinly for its purpose - silicones. Its nice to know you can acheive such successfull shine without silicones.
 
Alterna is a professional hair-care brand, so may be difficult to find in the physical world, but one can acquire its Shine-Boosting offering through the internet for an eye-watering £20-25.

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