I realized that I don't share some of my favorite products here! Which isn't a great loss to you because I can't use many hair and skin products due to sensitive skin and being a real grouch about fragrances.
Just about every hairspray I've found that says "fragrance-free" on the bottle actually contains a "masking fragrance." That's just insulting. This product has NO FRAGRANCE. It also has good humidity resistance. It is just a little stiff-ish when dry but there are 2 ways to manage that. 1) Spray at a distance from your head and move the bottle while you spray - short strokes (read the bottle, follow the instructions). Use light layers to form an invisible net over your hair, don't try to wet it with spray. 2) Rub a little conditioner or pomade or hair "serum" in your palms and squeeze your hair with that once the spray is dry.
Unless you use a lot, your hair won't look immobile and you won't have flashbacks from nineteen hundred and ninety nine. Sometimes I can get it locally, sometimes not. It's a mid-price product, but if fragrance-free is a requirement for you, it's worth it.
2) Ouidad Finishing Mist Setting and Holding Spray is my all-time favorite hairspray that melts frizz, adds shine and holds with absolutely no crunch, (if you get any crunch, squeeze your hair and it will be gone); but it can be itchy.
So I usually use the Free&Clear if I need hairspray to avoid fragrance and itch. Alas, because otherwise, this product is perfect. I once styled my hair at 4 AM and it was still reasonably intact by 9 PM with this spray.
3) Aquanil HC is a topical hydrocortisone lotion for eczema, skin rashes, insect stings, anything that itches or rashes. If you use anti-itch products and find that they spread as well as toothpaste, this will amaze you. It's not cheap, but it is so lightweight and fluid and easy to spread that you use very little without losing any effectiveness. It's not at all greasy or heavy. No fragrance added. It doesn't seem to interfere with lotions or creams you need to put over it. I have lots of eczema this spring and summer and I've been applying it liberally and barely made a dent in the bottle. It was a worthwhile investment.
4) Stay-On Satin Pocket Bonnet. It's not really satin - it's flexible and light. For the price, it's a great product. The outside is slippery (satiny) and the inside is fairly smooth, but not slippery. If you need the slippery side towards your hair, you'd just turn it inside out and have the added benefit of having the seams on the outside too. You can wear your hair loose under this without it getting too wrecked overnight, or in braids or twists and it's not all mashed up near your head. The best feature? This thing has ties! It can lap over your forehead and has ties in the back at the nape of your neck. It stays put for me. No circulation-crushing, hairline-hair-breaking, "one-size-fits-all" elastic to leave you with goofy lines on your forehead or pin your ears down.
5) Bass Cushion Brush, Wood Bristles: This brush is the living end. Best brush ever. I have standard issue Northern European hair. Wavy. It becomes a a fluffy wreck in some areas and smooth 1940s waves in other areas when I brush it. But when I set (curl) it and it needs to be brushed to smooth or if I want to detangle with a brush or darn it, I just want my hair brushed because it feels good - this brush is IT. I had a Denman Brush and I thought - oh, this is better than the prickly bristle brush that used to rip through my hair and break it off; this brush puts it to shame.
The bristles are smooth bamboo and well-spaced. They "give" so they don't tear through your hair thanks to the cushiony base. It doesn't hurt, it has a nice feel, and it's darn attractive. Handle the brush and your hair gently and it will last quite a while. If you have tangles or are getting resistance, use a little oil for dry hair detangling (let it sit there for a few minutes) or conditioner for wet-hair detangling.
But here are some of my favorites. Some are, "Almost great, but at least they're fragrance-free" and some are, "Where has this been all my life?" I buy all these things on my own, so these are unsolicited raves (and realistic ones).
1) Free & Clear Hairspray.
Just about every hairspray I've found that says "fragrance-free" on the bottle actually contains a "masking fragrance." That's just insulting. This product has NO FRAGRANCE. It also has good humidity resistance. It is just a little stiff-ish when dry but there are 2 ways to manage that. 1) Spray at a distance from your head and move the bottle while you spray - short strokes (read the bottle, follow the instructions). Use light layers to form an invisible net over your hair, don't try to wet it with spray. 2) Rub a little conditioner or pomade or hair "serum" in your palms and squeeze your hair with that once the spray is dry.Unless you use a lot, your hair won't look immobile and you won't have flashbacks from nineteen hundred and ninety nine. Sometimes I can get it locally, sometimes not. It's a mid-price product, but if fragrance-free is a requirement for you, it's worth it.
2) Ouidad Finishing Mist Setting and Holding Spray is my all-time favorite hairspray that melts frizz, adds shine and holds with absolutely no crunch, (if you get any crunch, squeeze your hair and it will be gone); but it can be itchy.
So I usually use the Free&Clear if I need hairspray to avoid fragrance and itch. Alas, because otherwise, this product is perfect. I once styled my hair at 4 AM and it was still reasonably intact by 9 PM with this spray.3) Aquanil HC is a topical hydrocortisone lotion for eczema, skin rashes, insect stings, anything that itches or rashes. If you use anti-itch products and find that they spread as well as toothpaste, this will amaze you. It's not cheap, but it is so lightweight and fluid and easy to spread that you use very little without losing any effectiveness. It's not at all greasy or heavy. No fragrance added. It doesn't seem to interfere with lotions or creams you need to put over it. I have lots of eczema this spring and summer and I've been applying it liberally and barely made a dent in the bottle. It was a worthwhile investment.
4) Stay-On Satin Pocket Bonnet. It's not really satin - it's flexible and light. For the price, it's a great product. The outside is slippery (satiny) and the inside is fairly smooth, but not slippery. If you need the slippery side towards your hair, you'd just turn it inside out and have the added benefit of having the seams on the outside too. You can wear your hair loose under this without it getting too wrecked overnight, or in braids or twists and it's not all mashed up near your head. The best feature? This thing has ties! It can lap over your forehead and has ties in the back at the nape of your neck. It stays put for me. No circulation-crushing, hairline-hair-breaking, "one-size-fits-all" elastic to leave you with goofy lines on your forehead or pin your ears down.
5) Bass Cushion Brush, Wood Bristles: This brush is the living end. Best brush ever. I have standard issue Northern European hair. Wavy. It becomes a a fluffy wreck in some areas and smooth 1940s waves in other areas when I brush it. But when I set (curl) it and it needs to be brushed to smooth or if I want to detangle with a brush or darn it, I just want my hair brushed because it feels good - this brush is IT. I had a Denman Brush and I thought - oh, this is better than the prickly bristle brush that used to rip through my hair and break it off; this brush puts it to shame.
The bristles are smooth bamboo and well-spaced. They "give" so they don't tear through your hair thanks to the cushiony base. It doesn't hurt, it has a nice feel, and it's darn attractive. Handle the brush and your hair gently and it will last quite a while. If you have tangles or are getting resistance, use a little oil for dry hair detangling (let it sit there for a few minutes) or conditioner for wet-hair detangling.
I, too, have sensitive skin and am a grouch about fragrances! I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to hear more of your product recommendations. :)
ReplyDeleteHi there, can you tell me how the Bass brush compares to the Denman brush?
ReplyDeleteHello Blukat,
DeleteThe Bass brush's bristles are much more mobile because the base is very flexible, so there is less resistance. The bristles are not in a row like a Denman. I suppose it depends a lot on what you want to do with it. I like the Bass for detangling as well as brushing out my hair if I set it (like pin curls). But I tend to brush against my hand so the hairs don't wrap around themselves or tangle. With the Denman, I felt like it did a great job of smoothing, but I don't like to detangle with it because the bristles don't move as much. They also feel sharper against my scalp than the Bass brush.
wow! I HATE fragrance too! And yes, I am insulted when "fragrance free" products smell like perfume and have "fragrance" listed in their ingredients! It is so interesting, another of my main complaints is that products make my scalp and face feel itchy. I would love to know if there's a heat protector I can use on my hair that DOES NOT smell like perfume. I've searched for them to no avail. Thank you <3
ReplyDeleteHello,
DeleteThere is a list of heat protectant *ingredients* on this post. Some will already be in products you might own. There are some heat protectant products too, but I'm not familiar with the scents for them. (Copy and paste the link) http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-hot-is-too-hot-for-healthy-hair.html