product review: after-party

I don't care much at all about looks. I don't attempt to look great on most occasions. My normal hair-styling routine in the morning is to take a shower (if I am motivated enough to even do that - most days I am) and then let my hair dry. However, if I don't put anything in my curly hair, it's exceptionally frizzy. But I don't like gel an all that stuff that goops up the hair. I hate it when I go to hockey practice or for a run and I can feel the hair product oozing down my face in beads of sweat. That's awful. Plus some gels make my hair all...stiff, you know?

Several years ago I tried a daring experiment. I'm not quite sure where I came up with this, but I wondered what would happen if I put lotion in my hair. Frizzy hair is dry hair, and dry skin needs lotion, so maybe dry hair would do well to have lotion, too? Without telling my stylist friends, I began working lotion through my hair after towel drying following a shower. I don't like blow drying, so I'd just let the hair air dry and...that was it. (Very simple, eh?) The lotion works great. Certain brands and types are much better than others (body lotion seems to be nicer in most cases than hand lotion, for example), but there's no ucky residue and it's really cheap. My hair is probably still pretty dry, but that's likely more of a shampoo/conditioner issue, which I'm open to receiving suggestions about. It doesn't frizz, though.

And then one day this summer, while on the Jacksonville trip, I commented about this to a new stylist pal. She agreed that goop in the hair was a pain, and she pulled out a bottle of Bed Head After-Party made by Tigi. She said, "This is light, and it's a lot like lotion. Kinda expensive, but you only need a little." I tried it then and there and...liked it.

Liked it so much that cheapo me actually went out and bought some. It's about $18 per bottle, but I've had my bottle since July and I've only just now run out - even with my long hair, I don't need a lot, just one squirt. It's so effective, and people have commented on how good it smells (they think it's my shampoo, but it's actually the After-Party) - a very subtle scent, and not "hair-producty." The makers tell you to use it on dry hair, but I've always used it on wet and it comes out fine. At least fine enough for me! Even though it's more expensive, it works better than the lotion and leaves my hair non-greasy.

It's not the cure-all, end-all or be-all, but I'm satisfied with it, and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for something to tame crazy hair but not weigh it down. ...That's my product review.