Infusium 23 Leave-In Treatment: My miracle product!
Written: Jul 26 '03 (Updated Jul 26 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: incredible!
Cons: may not work for oily hair or those sensitive to proteins
The Bottom Line: This is one heck of a product – works great no matter how you use it!
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| Greatpilgrim's Full Review: Clairol Infusium 23 Original Leave In Treatment fo... |
On my latest hair rampage, I’ve been scouting out good products at the drugstore in order to try and keep my hair care budget reasonably inexpensive while also getting good results from my hair. Some ventures have been more successful than others, but one of the best purchases I’ve ever made – probably THE best so far – is Infusium 23 Leave-In Treatment, a condition that is designed to be left in the hair after washing, but which is far more than just an ordinary leave-in condition.
~ The Scoop ~
Infusium 23 is a drugstore line made by Clairol, although it won’t necessarily have the Clairol name on the package. There are a number of products bearing the Infusium label, from shampoo to normal conditioner to this original leave-in condition, as well as a styling lotion. The Infusium 23 Leave-In Treatment is a light leave-in condition that comes in a 16 oz bottle ($4), a 33 oz bottle ($6), and an 8 oz pump spray, which I have yet to see in real life. It’s a steal for the amount of product you get, and can be found at normal drugstores, Wal-mart, Target, etc. The cap is rather unique, as only a small rectangular flip-top opening, while the rest of the lid stays on. I like the fact that only a small amount comes out when you squeeze it, since it allows you to control how much you use.
This conditioner is labeled as “Original, for damaged/unmanageable hair,” but I think it’s a great formula for all types of hair, except very oily types which don’t need a leave-in conditioner. Infusium 23 has 㦃 essential pro-vitamin and treatment ingredients to correct, restore, and structurize damaged, hard-to-manage hair…specially formulated to instantly repair and strengthen damaged hair from root to tip, preventing breakage. The hair cuticle is left fortified for healthy texture, improved manageability and liveliness.” Instructions are to massage it through clean hair, wet or dry, and style, not rinsing it out. It does include two water-soluble silicones as well as proteins, so those whose hair is sensitive to proteins may want to stay clear. Here are the ingredients if you care to see:
Water, Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11, Citric Acid, Betaine, Glycerin, Sorbitol, Trideceth-12, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, Serine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Thrednine, Lysine, Alanine, Proline, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Behenic Acid, Palmitoyl Myristyl Serinate, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Lonoleic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, PEG-8, Polysorbate 80, Aminomethyl Propanol, Fragrance, Sodium PCA, Methylparaben, Pethylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone.
~ What I Thought
I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed with a hair product than with this one. It performs beautifully on my thick, frizzy, naturally curly hair, and serves more than one purpose, making it even more of a bargain. After I brought it home, I couldn’t wait to try it, as I had heard it was good for calming frizzies. So I squeezed out a bit to try on my dry hair. The consistency of this conditioner is really nice – quite liquidy but with enough texture to stay in your hand for a little while, unlike some liquid products that are so fluid they’ll run out of your fingers the moment you pour out a few drops. The smell, while quite strong, is very appealing to me for some reason, but may not be to others, so flip the lid and take a whiff before you buy it.
Now with conditioner-dabbed fingers, I lightly ran my hands over my hair, which had acquired its usual halo of fuzz along the outer curls. And – WOW!! My frizz is gone! I have never had this happen before – never. I have tried fixing these fly-away hairs with gel, sprays, pomades, you name it, and have never had any luck. You would never have expected a leave-in conditioner to banish such awful fuzzies…but it does! The liquid consistency lets you easily apply it to dry hair without making it gummy, sticky, or coated, and it doesn’t weigh the hair down a bit. It won’t redefine your curls, but it will give them a bit extra wave and form, and zapping the frizzies definitely helps! If your hands get a little sticky while you’re applying the conditioner, just run them under some water, and continue to distribute the rest of the liquid over your hair. You really don’t have to use much of this product at all to get great results on dry hair, although you can use more if you want.
The next morning, on my “second-day” curls (I try to get as much mileage out of my hair without washing it as I can), I simply applied some Infusium 23 to my frizzies and they were gone. So I just use some extra gel or styling lotion to help reshape ringlets that had flattened or fallen apart, and I’m good to go! Of course the ultimate test was yet to come – whether it really works as a full all-over leave-in conditioner. After washing and conditioning my hair, rinsing both out, I apply a dime-sized amount of Infusium 23 to each side of my hair, running my fingers through the locks to evenly distribute the conditioner. Then I went through my usual styling routine – mousse if I feel like it, styling lotion and gel – and piled my hair in a towel, which I then wrapped around my head for about 20 minutes. The results – soft, defined, frizz-free curls! I really do feel like this leave-in moisturizes and infuses hair with frizz-fighting properties, without building up or weighing the hair down.
I have tried leave-ins in the past and haven’t been totally pleased with the results – usually it’s just too much product when I combine it with mousse and gel, whether it was a spray or a liquid leave-in. Not so with Infusium 23 – it’s light and non-sticky while also effectively moisturizing and treating hair such as mine that needs that extra punch of moisture to calm fly-aways and enrich curls. The formula lets you have control over how much you put on your hair, so you don’t end up with too much product coating it. I’ve also tried Infusium 23 as a spray, which I can make myself by either putting some conditioner directly in a spray bottle or by diluting it with a little water in a spray bottle. Both work GREAT as smoothing misters and defrizzers, so if you prefer the spray format, you can make that yourself from the bottled leave-ins. I think direct application of the leave-in works better for me usually, but both methods really stomp the frizz!
~ Bottom line ~
This is a life-saver for both stopping frizz in its tracks and getting rid of existing frizz. I don’t think it’s necessarily only for curly, dry, or damaged hair, but for anyone who has found their hair needs a bit of smoothing and hasn’t been happy with the products normally promoted as smoothers. I have NEVER found a cure for the invariable fuzz and fluff I get on my curls, no matter whether I airdry, towel-scrunch, or turban my hair while drying…until now that is. Now I can rest assured knowing that even on bad hair days, I have one ace up my sleeve in the form of Infusium 23 Leave-In Treatment. I’ll definitely be buying the 33 oz bottle next time, and I’m still in disbelief that I found a miracle product that is very inexpensive. Curly-heads rejoice – there’s something that actually WORKS!!
P.S. Many thanks to bops_mom for adding this product to the database for me! :)
Recommended:
Yes
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Greatpilgrim
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Member: Victoria
Location: FL
Reviews written: 272
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