By Sara, Hair Goddess
Hi Curlies!
We all know the trouble of traveling when we need loads of products to keep our curls in perfect form. I personally find the 3 oz product rule a little curl discriminatory because our straight-haired friends can get away with either minimal products or being fairly sure that they’ll find a viable alternative upon arrival. But we can’t be sure that some random store will have the perfect combination of gel/oil/leave-in conditioners, or the “all natural” version, or a conditioner with just the right weight. And who wants to buy all that product just to leave it behind a few days later? I’ve been known to get a blow out or suck it up and pay to check my bag, but lately I’ve been thinking, there has to be a better (read: cheaper) way.
To be clear, I’m talking about short trips. That longish weekend that’s stretching passable day 2 or 3 hair into a frizzy mess. Now you can always pull it back into the old standby poof or try to go the spray bottle route, but what’s a girl to do when you want full out fabulousness?
A few weeks ago, I took a 5-day trip to Florida. The locale and duration made for a perfect one-two combo of too humid for a blow out (plus hello, swimming) and that funny length of trip where I didn’t need to check my bag, but was going to need hair products. Scouring my local grocery store for possible solutions, I found this:
And what a miracle it was! A flat package meant no little baggies and the 1.75 oz size meant I was well under acceptable airline limits. My only concern was how a deep conditioner would work as a styling product. The general principal behind deep conditioning is the longer you leave it on, the better. If you can add a little heat in the form of a hood dryer or hot towel wrap, you’re supposed to be doing your hair a world of good. So I figured I’d be pretty set, knowing I planned on both extended wear and a little blow-dry styling.
Four packages of Dr Miracle’s later and I was good to go; I had no idea how much I might need, but with thirsty curls, I err on the side of having more product on hand. I got through the security checkpoint without a hitch (well, they did toss a full size bottle of sunscreen I forgot I packed, but you can’t win em all). But the real test came the next day. After a full day on the beach, the boyfriend and I were heading out to dinner. I co-washed and detangled all with only about a half package of Dr. Miracle’s. Then I lightly rinsed a bit out, finger combed and styled as usual with a blow dryer. Here’s how it looked:
Not bad, right? In fact I’d say pretty darn good! Dr Miracle’s has mint undertones so there is a bit of a tingle as you dry. I also didn’t find it to be the most moisturizing after extended wear. Suggested use time is up to an hour, so I completely accept that the dryness may be my own doing. On the whole, I’d recommend Dr. Miracle’s. I’d like to give a test under normal conditions as a deep conditioner. And you know I love a good tingle. The real take away though? Hair companies, especially smaller brands, ought to consider making flat package versions of their products.
I’m traveling more and more these days, so I’d love to hear your tips and tricks in the comments!
XO,
Sara