Best Hair Care Products & Treatments Of 2011- Reviews, Before & After Photos

We reviewed hundreds of great hair products this year and we’ve narrowed down the best of the best. Check out our round-up below.

BEST SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER: Garnier Fructis Pure Clean

Pure Clean Shampoo & Conditioner: The formulation has no parabens, silicone or dye and promises a cleansing experience that doesn’t weigh the hair down. It really does that and more. My hair felt super squeaky clean and the smell was divine. Add to that that the shampoo leaves behind less residuals, and you have a win win. The bottles are made of PET and contain widely recycled plastic. Best of all, Garnier formed a partnership with Terracycle, which is a recycling company that will pay YOU to ship empty bottles to them, and also give 2 cents per bottle to you. How’s that for smarts? Both retail for around $4.99.

BEST HAIR MASK: Oribe Hair Masque For Beautiful Color

I was given the task of trying Oribe Hair Care Masque for Beautiful Color. The Masque comes in a 175ml beautiful container. The price is a little steep at $59.00, but the product not only looks expensive, but also gets the job done.
Some of the ingredients include Wild Mango butter, keratin watermelon extract, natural sunflower & moringa Seed oils. They almost seem good enough to eat. The directions are easy. Massage the crème into hair, leave in as long as you want, and then rinse.

You can buy the product at Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, & select salons & retailers nationwide.

The nice thing about this product is it is especially made for color-treated hair to keep color looking vibrant & fresh & help with the drying effects that regularly treated hair endures. It is also safe to use on keratin treated hair.

This masque definitely smells great, has natural ingredients, & makes my highlighted hair look healthy, fresh and fabulous.

BEST LINE FOR CURLY HAIR: Queen Helene Royal Curl

Queen Helene Royal Curl line launched back in the Spring of this year.

Before

The Royal Curl line is paraben, petrolatum and sulfate free. The four products in the line are:

-QH Royal Curl Stay clean shampoo
-QH Royal Curl Moisture rich conditioner
-QH Royal Curl curl smoothing oil
-QH Royal Curl curl shaping crème

Royal Jelly, a super-food and star nutrient, seems to be the ingredient in all of the products. This may explain the reason why most of the products smell similar. Here’s how I went about reviewing the Royal Curl line:

Using the step method, I separated my curls and shampooed my naturally extremely curly hair. When I used the shampoo on my hair, my first thought was that it smells a bit like pineapple: refreshing and a tad tropical. I conditioned my hair with the Moisture Rich conditioner for 10 minutes. After rinsing in cool water, I did feel as though my curls were noticeably softer and more manageable. If you have extremely curly or dry hair, you may need more time for a deep conditioning treatment. I used a bit of the conditioner as a leave in for extra moisture.

When your curly hair is soaking wet, you will see the best curl pattern. This is the best time to add your styling solution. Take a dollop of the Curl shaping crème, rub it in your hands and rake it through section by section. The consistency is similar to jelly but with a creamy feel. The curl shaping crème is really great at defining curls.

It held them together and dried pretty fast.
With kinkier hair, twist sets may be best way to go for more definition. Personally I found it to be slightly drying but the definition could not be beat. Below are the results of this…you can see here my hair is still slightly damp:

After
After the hair is dry, add a little bit of the Curl Smoothing Oil for sheen and complete your look. If you have exceptionally dry hair, deep condition a few minutes longer and use a more generous amount of Smoothing Oil.

We give this line a two thumbs up for its value and efficiency. For a store locator, click here.

BEST TREATMENT FOR SHINY HAIR: Black 15 in 1 Miracle Hair Treatment

Black 15 in 1 Miracle Hair Treatment. It touts itself as the miracle hair product. Well, I certainly needed a miracle to repair my hair and get it back the way it used to look and feel.

This product promised these 15 things:
-Added shine
-Softens & smoothes
-Detangles
-Prevents frizz & flyaways
-Moisturizes
-Repairs Dry damaged hair
-Protects against heat & styling
-Seals & protects hair color
-Prevents split ends
-Promotes scalp circulation
-Stops hair breakage
-Strengthens hair enhances natural beauty
-Heals hair shaft
-Prevents scalp itch
Black 15 in 1 Miracle Hair Treatment comes in a 3.3 fl. oz. pump bottle (TSA approved to carry on board airplanes and retails for $20.00). Packaged in a spray bottle, it’s very easy to apply the product to the hair. The smell is beautiful. I was surprised that they did not make it 16 in 1 and advertise the pretty floral smell that made my hair smell so nice.

I started using Black 3 days ago and in such a short time I was thrilled with the results.

I can’t speak for all of the things Black promises, but I will say my hair definitely looks shinier, less frizzy, and healthier. I would have to say me and my hair definitely witnessed a miracle. I highly recommend trying this product. It retails for $20.00.

BEST AT-HOME HAIR SMOOTHING TREATMENT: L’Oreal EverSleek Reparative/Intense Smoothing

This year, L’Oreal extended their line to include the EverSleek line that comes in two versions: the Reparative and the Intense Smoothing lines. Besides lacking sulfates, silicone also pulls a no-show, to keep from weighing hair down with frizz molecules. I’d almost rather my hair be frizzy with good body than sleekified but flat, but by substituting natural oils (argan, sunflower, and olive) the EverSleek line ensures that smooth hair and voluminous hair don’t mutually exclude each other.

And now, the before and afters:

#1. Before – Rumpled, frizzed, un-made-up and unrepentant.

#2. After – Wavy. I used the EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner to start. This set works best on damaged hair resulting from dying, retexturizing, and heat-styling. Not only am I late for my next haircut, but I’ve recently had a love affair with my curling iron, so I hoped this formula would help tame my waves. Before blow drying with a diffuser, I prepped my d amp hair with EverSleek Humidity Defying Crème. I got waves that behaved somewhat better than normal, and the richness of the leave-in cream prevented that crunchy, slightly fried ‘blow-dry’ texture that sometimes happens. FYI, this set of shampoo and conditioner are both safe for chemically straightened hair, but the ones mentioned below are not.

#After-Straight. The EverSleek Intense Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner target the subset of people whose hair misbehaves naturally, without the damage of chemical processes. This conditioner’s formula is a little lighter than its reparative counterpart. For giggles, I blew my hair out straight after coating my damp hair with EverSleek Frizz Taming Crème Serum. To keep flyaways to a minimum, I applied a little of the serum after the blowout as well. It worked just as well as John Frieda’s silicone stand by, and I found it easier to avoid the greasiness that sometimes happens with I accidentally apply too much of a serum. The margin for error here was much larger, perhaps because the product itself is lighter.

Every product in this line retails at drugstore around the country from $6.99-$8.99, which makes them a bargain. Not only are they inexpensive, but they perform as they say they will. That shouldn’t be such a rare thing, but it makes finding reliable products all the sweeter.

BEST SALON HAIR SMOOTHING TREATMENT: Anti-Frizz By Yuko

This year,Yuko, the experts in Japanese hair straightening, came out with an innovative anti-frizz treatment called Anti-Frizz Treatment by Yuko.

The treatment promises to make hair more manageable and healthy while minimizing the frizz-factor. Even better? It doesn’t contain any of that nasty formaldehyde or toxic chemicals associated with some of those other potentially carcinogenic treatments. Nope – it’s safe, gentle and contains a proprietary blend of Silk, Wheat, Meadowfoam, Palm Oil and a secret texture transforming weapon, Thioglycerin.

Right before my very eyes, my hair became what I had always dreamed of, silky, soft, shiny and infused with moisture. Plus, it seriously cut down on my hair’s “volume.” I’m hooked and pretty sure these women are too.

How hair is transformed, in under 90 minutes:

Step 1 – Hair is washed with a special, sulfate free shampoo.
Step 2 – Expert stylist applies Solution 1, which relaxes the hair. Since I have color treated hair (one of my favorite past times seems to be abusing my hair with bleach), the treatment was left on for just 10 minutes and then the solution was rinsed out.
Step 3 – Expert stylist applies Solution 2, which infuses the hair with a healthy dose of vitamins and nourishing ingredients. This was left on for about 10 minutes, and then was washed out.
Step 4 – Hair is blow dried and flat ironed to thermally lock in results and ensure lasting sleekness and smoothness.
Step 5 – Go to dinner with incredible hair! But make sure to stay out of rain and even the shower for 2 days after the treatment—otherwise you run the risk of reducing effectiveness.

Note that the treatment does not work permanently, but hair’s frizz and body are kept in check for up to 3 months and the results so far have been killer. To find other salons near you that offer the Yuko Anti-Frizz Treatment, check out the salon locator HERE.