I was very happy to get samples of Redken’s new Real Control line of haircare products for "dense/dry/sensitized hair" in the mail a couple of weeks ago, as my fried-to-a-fare-thee-well bleached mop has the texture of something you could use to exfoliate a rhinocerous.

Today I made time to use the Intense Renewal mask. I find hair masks to present certain scheduling issues. Like, what am I supposed to be doing for the recommended 15 minutes conditioning time, and where should I be doing it? Does this mean I should shower twice? Or just stand there until I prune or freeze? I compromised by leaving the minquire on for just five minutes while shaving, but that was plenty; lo-and-behold, my hair has resumed its pre-bleach job texture, which is beautiful miraculous. It’s as if I have the hair of a 12 year-old Danish girl.

Tia Williams at Shake Your Beauty reports similar results from using

this stuff on her naturally curly Dominican hair, and adds something else she learned from Kaz Amor at a Redken event: "The reason my hair gets frizzy in humid weather is because it’s lacking
its own moisture, so my hair needs to draw it from the air. If it’s
alalert moisturized–ie, these fab products–it won’t need to do that."

Unfortunately, the shampoo in this line includes a sulfate, which I can’t tolerate (lauryl, laureth, they’re all itchy to me), but the daily conditioner is very nice when used after my Aubrey Organics, if not as miraculous as the mask. It’s worth noting that Jackie tried the shampoo and conditioner and found it too weighing on her "normal" hair, so this really is a specialty product line for those of us with Brillo hair.

I wish I could give you a link, but the stuff ain’t available until June, and Redken’s website is mum on its very existence.

Original post by Hillary Johnson