The in-shower secret that transformed my wavy hair — and freed me from routine blowouts
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Like many women with wavy-to-curly hair, I have a love-hate relationship with it. On the one hand, I love the option of wearing my hair curly or blowing it out on any given day. On the other, I turn into a poodle at the slightest hint of humidity.
So, I’ve been battling my hair ever since I was a kid. In elementary school, I brushed it out until it formed a triangle. In middle school, I grew it long in hopes some of the unruliness would subside (no luck). And in high school, I tried my hand at using a flat iron with moderate success. By college, I kind of gave up.
Now, I tend to blow dry it straight but frankly, that’s a huge pain that takes more time than I care to use on my hair. I’ve been through more products than a Sephora store and nothing has really stuck or made my haircare routine any easier. As a result, I’ve managed to hit my mid-30s without really knowing how to do my own hair.
That all changed over the holidays. My husband randomly slipped Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day In-Shower Styler into my stocking—and this stuff has truly changed my life.
If you’re not familiar with Living Proof, it’s a company that was founded by venture capitalist and entrepreneur Jon Flint and MIT professor Robert Langer. They’re big on products that are specially designed to tackle particular issues—like frizz and volume—and they use bio-medical technology to do just that with formulas designed by MIT scientists.
How In-Shower Styler works
This product is formulated for people with straight to wavy hair and, although I’m on the curlier side of wavy, I gave it a try.
I love that you actually apply it while you’re in the shower. To use it, you wash and condition your hair as usual, and then work the styling cream in it from the roots to the ends. Then, you do a quick rinse, towel-dry your hair, and let it air dry. That’s it.
Honestly, I was pretty skeptical at first. I regularly spend about 20 to 30 minutes trying to get my hair to look the way I want and it seems pretty unfathomable that something I slap on in the shower could make my hair look good in a fraction of the time.
But I got pretty, natural-looking waves on the first try. The In-Shower Styler gave my hair beachy waves, which I’ve never been able to perfect on my own. It also seems to work with my natural texture, not against it, which is a big change for me.
I’m not the only one who loves this
When a friend (who also has wavy hair) recently had a baby, I passed on a bottle of In-Shower Styler to try to help her save time—and it’s now her go-to styling product.
People also rave about it on Ulta, particularly about the fact that it makes hair look styled with minimal effort. “Comb hair while conditioning in shower, rinse and apply this magic,” one reviewer shared. “Towel dry and scrunch. Voila, out the door! Smells great, holds curls and is lightweight!”
Another declared they literally can’t go without it: “I can not live without this stuff! It's easy to use, especially for a person who does almost next to nothing to their hair. The trick is to use a descent amount and literally run your head under the shower almost barely to wash some out. It was nice with my long hair, but even better with my short hair.”
Overall takeaway
Blow drying is still my main styling method (it’s hard to break years of habit), but when I’m short on time, or there’s rain in the forecast, this is my new favorite styling cream. The only caveat: It might take a few uses for you to figure out how this works best for you. Some people have said in reviews that they still need to do a little styling with other products to get it right. I’ve figured out that I need to towel dry pretty vigorously and then twist my hair a little at the ends to get it the way I like it. But overall, if you’re looking for a way to save time on your styling routine, this is definitely a good way to go.
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