Review of Ion Repair Solutions Hair Reconstructor by youwillneverfindme
OVERALL:
A kind of small miracle in a bottle. So far, it’s really helped to improve my hair, the smell is quite nice and the price is right. I will no doubt, be buying a full sized bottle.
EDIT: This stuff will fade/strip hair color, as most treatments with protein seem to do. This isn't a problem for me as I like for my near black color to fade as my level 7 roots begin to show so the line of demarcation isn't as obvious, but for those that want to hang on to or prolong hair color, use this product accordingly. IIRC, the hair board recommends using a treatment with protein before you color.
PRICE:
sample 1 oz. packs are less than $3 (with a Sally’s card, it’s less than $2 and I can get about 3 uses out of a pack, applying the product as I would a conditioner), and iirc, the full sized 16 oz. bottle is less than $12 (with a Sally’s card it’s less than $9).
PACKAGING:
Sample pack: duh. I can actually get about 3 uses out of a sample pack, but I don’t apply this overly liberally, I just apply like I would a conditioner. Full sized bottle is complete with a pump, although I’m not sure if it’s reclosable. The white bottle is pretty straight forward with maroon details/print…not generic looking or anything you’d strongly want to hide.
PRODUCT:
A pearly, attractive smelling light yellow, slightly sticky liquid, about the consistency of a thicker shampoo.
PERFOMANCE:
I’ve been using this about every other day for almost 2 weeks. I started out with 3 sample packs (bought at different times). Given the starting condition of my hair, it’s no surprise that I was into the second pack before I began to notice a difference. That said, I’m thrilled at its performance and my next trip to Sally’s will yield a full sized bottle. While my hair is still damaged, I’ve noticed it laying/behaving more like it would if it were healthy. I don’t have any shine on my ends yet, but they aren’t quite as dull looking as before. I suspect 2 months of regular use will get my hair back to an acceptable point and regain a bit of shine (even though, obviously, this doesn’t actually repair the hair, it just helps mask and condition it). I will update as necessary.
APPLICATION/USAGE:
I use about every other day, straight out of the shower on towel dried hair. Sometimes I shampoo before hand, sometimes I don’t. I use 2-3 quarters worth and work it into my hair as I would conditioner, focusing on the ends and then very gently combing through. I don’t ever slather this stuff on I just work it in as a conditioner. Then I cover my hair with a hair turban and leave it on overnight and through my workout the following morning, then I’ll wash/shampoo. As zephyrdreambaby stated, I too like to add just a smidge of this into the ends of my hair to help condition and promote shine. In addition, I used a pack and mixed it with water to use as a spray on dry hair (like for second-day hair), just to help it out a little bit; I’m not sure how this method is proving but I’ll update as necessary.
ABOUT MY HAIR:
Naturally a level 7N, fine, dense and 2a waves with a few curls around my neck. Below bra strap length.
In the past six months I’ve been light auburn, dark/cherry red, dark chocolate brown, highlighted blonde, black, back to my normal color, and now I’m a level 10 blonde. Yeah, I’m lucky to even have hair. In general, my hair can take a lot and still look pretty good, but this last go around with the blonde finally killed the shine…the ends are beyond dull-there’s no shine at all…and it’s super soft, like rabbit fur, which equals a mass amount of damage.
I bleached out my hair from a level 6-7 to a level 10…not once, but twice, in the same freakin’ day, using a level 40 developer. THEN, in the same day, I used an all over toner and a demi-perm. Yeah, I know.
INGREDIENTS:
WATER ,CITRIC ACID ,POLYQUATERNIUM-10 ,PROPYLENE GLYCOL ,WATER ,MAGNESIUM SULFATE ,METHYLPARABEN ,TRICLOSAN ,ZINC CHLORIDE ,MANGANESE CHLORIDE ,COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE ,CITRIC ACID ,LECITHIN ,DISODIUM COCOAMPHODIPROPIONATE ,GLYCOL STEARATE ,IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA ,PANTHENOL ,HYDROLYZED KERATIN ,POLYSORBATE 20 ,FRAGRANCE ,CARAMEL ,YELLOW 5 ,BENZYL ALCOHOL ,BENZYL BENZOATE ,CINNAMAL ,AMYL CINNAMAL