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This lovely, trio is Jonathan's Infinite Volume line, and I just so happened to be lucky enough to get the chance to try all three. And try I have been, for the last month. I've done some experimenting with natural and sulfate-free hair products over the last couple of years, and they just weren't enough for my crazy hair, especially since I like to style it, and my hair does not like to be styled. So, after hearing a lot of great things about Jonathan products, I really wanted to see how these would do for me and my hair.
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| A picture of the trio without flash. Not the best! |
I want to discuss each of the products, so I'll just go in order of my routine, which means I'll start with the Jonathan Volume Shampoo, then the Conditioner, then the Volumizing Mousse. Makes sense, doesn't it?
The Jonathan hair products are very different than what most of us are used to -- drugstore hair products. They all have slightly different qualities, which I'll explain accordingly.
The Shampoo from the Jonathan Infinite Volume Line is 100 vegan and sulfate free. This sulfate-free trend has caught my attention, too. I originally tried several all-natural shampoos and conditioners at the beginning of the year and felt that each of them fell very short for my hair needs... and wallet! Combine the extra time I had to spend just to style my hair with double the product I had to use just to wash my hair and the fact that the price for the natural shampoos are much higher than regular, it just ended up being a lot of extra work, money and time, which in the end, wasn't realistic for me.
So, I thought, since Jonathan has such a good reputation and they actually have a line that would be helpful for my hair type, how can I resist?
Above is a photo I took of the Jonathan Infinite Volume Shampoo. It's white, and doesn't really look like your average shampoo, but I suppose it isn't your average shampoo.
I'm more satisfied with the Jonathan line than the other sulfate-free shampoos I've tried for several reasons:
1. It doesn't seem like the Jonathan Shampoo requires so much extra shampoo just to wash my hair.
If ever you decide to switch to sulfate-free shampoos, it's important to remember that sulfates are what causes the foaming/lathering action in shampoo. Since that's bascially all most of us have known our entire lives, it is tough and takes time to get used to not having the lathering action when washing you hair. It took me time, but nothing too bad.
The thing is, without the foaming action, it feels like you need to use a whole lot more shampoo in order to cover all your hair, and wash it. Because you don't have the foaming going on, it's easy to feel like you need to use more shampoo, if that makes sense.
So for about the first week, I was using about triple the amount of shampoo I normally would when I wash my hair. Eventually, I got a little used to it and realize that it doesn't actually take that much to cover all my hair. I just have to pay attention so that I can feel where the shampoo is in my hair. With regular shampoo, the foaminess of it makes it easy to tell if you've covered your entire head in shampoo or if you've missed a spot. It's just something that requires a little adapting to.
Obviously, the way the shampoo feels is a bit different than your average shampoo. It feels and looks like a cream.
2. Cleans and revitalizes hair and scalp.
My hair feels cleaned as well as with any shampoo, so I'm not sacrificing clean hair for safer ingredients. It's easy to worry that a non-sulfate shampoo wouldn't clean as well since it doesn't lather. I worried about this, too, and also that it'd leave my hair greasy or that my hair would become greasy easier/quicker than with other sulfate shampoos.
My hair is clean, even though there aren't any foaming sulfates. I think a lot of us have been so used to those ingredients like sulfates in our shampoo, that we worry that without them, our hair won't actually get clean.
I like that about the Jonathan Shampoo -- My hair doesn't feel or look any less clean than when I used average shampoo. It's just as clean, only I'm not damaging it with sulfates, so it can be a nice trade if you look at it that way.
3. May Help Volumize.
Aside from that, what really drew me in was the words "Infinite Volume" as that's a quality my hair desperately needs, when I iron it.
4. Sulfate Free. Paraben Free. Phthalate Free. Gluten Free. Safe for Color Treated Hair.
Love paraben and phthalates-free stuff! Parabens and phtalates have been linked to all sorts of health problems, including cancer. So I have made a goal to avoid them in as many products as possible. I've managed to go fully phthalates free personal items and fully paraben-free soaps (by using natural soap only) and it's nice to know that I've finally been able to ditch te parabens and phthalates in my shampoo and conditioner, too!
My Hair Type:
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| Flat-ironed |
My hair type is very fine, but airy and poofy with a lot of waves and curl. By "airy" I mean, without doing anything to it (iron, etc.) it's very poofy and instead of having tight or kinky curls, mine are airy waves, if that makes sense.
Flat ironing my hair takes a good while, but the wave comes out easily.
When I flat iron my hair, it's very flat and "lifeless." Despite having such big, poofy hair, any time I iron it and then try to style it in any way, it falls flat, no matter what styling tools I use and no matter how much hairspray, gel, mousse, etc. I'm not even kidding!
If I don't iron it, but just add mousse, gel or hairspray, I'm left with lovely, curly/wavy big hair. But the cut I have doesn't usually allow for that.
Now that you know my hair type, you have an idea of what I'm working with. And if you happen to have similar hair, you may experience just as nice of results as I have using the Jonathan Infinite Volume line.
Smell
I think both the Jonathan shampoo and the conditioner from the Infinite Volume line smell the same. The Thickening Foam has a pretty similar smell, also.
To me, the shampoo and conditioner have a very odd aroma -- like a plasticy scent plus bubble gum. . Smell isn't the most important part of my hair care products, anyways, so I don't mind.
Once my hair has dried, I rarely get any strong whiffs of my hair from the shampoo or conditioner. It has a subtle scent I sometimes notice if I've taken it down or the wind blows, but nothing strong.
Results
The good news is, I'm able to style and manage my hair just as well as when I was using a shampoo for straightening. As for voluminizing, it does just as well there, too, if not a tad better than other voluminizing shampoos. My hair hasn't ever really been very effected by any voluminizing shampoo or conditioner, though. But, I do notice it's less stuck to my scalp after I flat iron, and when I've used this shampoo.
It doesn't voluminize to the point of actually making hair any "bigger" or poofier. It's not that noticeable, but it does make a subtle difference that's noticed when you go to style your hair and don't have to spend so much time teasing or back coming for volume.
Ingredients in the Infinite Volume Shampoo
Infinite Volume Conditioner
As you can see, the Infinite Volume conditioner looks quite a bit like the shampoo. They feel similar, too.
Like the shampoo, the Jonathan conditioner is also 100% vegan.
One reason I'm fond of the Infinite Volume conditioner (and same goes for the shampoo, too) is it's designed for fine/thin hair. Mine is fine, so it's a great match for me.
Feel
I had to include that sub-heading because conditioner does have a feel, and it's an important part of the whole process.
This conditioner feels thin and I noticed that the main difference I can tell between it and your average conditioner is that this one doesn't feel slimy! I actually haven't ever known anything but slimy as far as conditioner goes.
I've avoided using conditioner for the most part of my life simply due to the thick, heaviness of it having a tendency to weigh my hair down and also make it staticy. I always felt like it left a greasy residue in my hair (with all conditioners), and if I ever got any on my roots, it's always left it feeling (and often even looking!) greasy.
Recently, though, my hair has been crying out desperately for conditioner and I had to give in, so back to the slimy, weighed down hair I went. You can imagine my surprise when I used the Infinite Volume conditioner. A much different feel!
Obviously, the Jonathan conditioner doesn't do any of those things: weigh down hair, leave a greasy residue, etc. In fact, it really doesn't feel much like conditioner at all. It reminds me of what it might be like to use a lightweight cream (not greasy lotion) in your hair.
Here you can see the conditioner -- looks like the shampoo, pretty much. The conditioner is a bit thicker, though.
As for usage, I have noticed sometimes I feel the need to use more conditioner than I normally would, but not all the time. I condition my bangs because they're dried out, and the middle to ends of my hair. The Jonathan conditioner doesn't counteract the voluminizing effects of the products, so I'm still able to have volume, and I don't have to sacrifice my lightweight, fine hair for a heavy, weighed-down 'do.
Infinite Volume Conditioner Ingredients
Infinite volume Thickening Foam
As you can see from looking at the bottle of Thickening Foam in my photo, the pump-top creates a foamy product in your hand that you can use to rub through your hair, or scrunch with it.
The Jonathan Thickening Foam is weightless, alcohol free. Those are both "plusses" for me as I do not like using alcohol on my hair (it dries it out!), and a product that's heavy (like some gels and pomades) weigh my hair down making it pointless to even use or style it!
Feel
The foaming action of the Jonathan Thickening Foam seems to mean that you require less product to cover the hair.
It isn't sticky like most mousse and hairspray that usually leaves my hands coated in thick, sticky messes that take a lot of time to rinse off. It leaves only the slightest residue on my hands, which is easily rinsed away, and no noticeable residue in my hair.
Results
The Thickening Foam is really an outstanding product for people who want to add just a little extra to natural waves without being able to tell that you've used any product. The Thickening Foam does not feel anything like a mousse or hairspray in your hair. I've experimented a lot with the Thickening Foam and in order to get my hair to the point of being somewhat stiff and have the wet-look to it (like when I use hairspray or a gel like Herbal Essence Max hold), I have to use a lot! It takes about 8 handfuls just to get a noticeable "hold". So, it isn't a replacement for a hair style that requires a max hold hairspray, but it's perfect for light waves.
I also enjoy using the Thickening Foam in my hair when I flat iron it because I can notice a little bit more volume in my hair than usual when I do that. A lot of times, flat-ironing just removes any volume I've added in, but I can use this on my roots and iron my hair without it affecting it completely.
I've also found that after applying the Thickening Foam, then flat ironing, and giving my hair a puff from the blow dryer, it will add to the volume at my roots.
If you're someone who's lucky enough to be able to style your hair straight or wavy only by using a blow dryer, and you don't want huge, stiff hair, then the Infinite Volume Foam is a perfect choice, and it's great for those who can achieve wavy hair by using a blow dryer only. It works really lovely alongside a blow dryer, and it never frizzes! It's probably the best product of its kind where frizzy hair is concerned. It certainly tames them like no other.
I love that the Thickening Foam makes for an easy hairdo. Since flat-ironing my hair takes up so much time, there are days when I want to skip that and not have to sacrifice decent hair. And most importantly, if I'm at the beach, the last thing I want to do is have to flat iron my hair just to keep from looking like something frizzy floating around out in the ocean.
I used the Thickening Foam the entire time we were on vacation, and while the wind and water did give me crazy hair, it helped maintain it and keep it from looking awful. It also saved me a lot of time! I didn't bother ironing my hair a single day we were there. Usually, I iron it every single day, but lately, I've not had it cut/styled in so long that it's long enough that I can wear it wavy, and so I want to be able to do that and save time. That's why I like using the Thickening Foam -- I don't have to worry about having awful hair days.
Infinite Volume Thickening Foam Ingredients
"This
Interpenetrating Polymer Network Delivery System utilizes chemical and
electromagnetic forces to expand and strengthen the hair shaft creating
volume from the inside out.
Body. Brilliant. Beautiful. Your style has no limits with Infi nite Volume.
Unique Properties and Ingredients:
•
Proprietary-patentable Nanotechnology consists of biopolymers and
natural oils that quickly penetrate the cuticle matrix. This reaction
plumps the hair shaft by as much as 40%, and strengthens by more than
50%.
• Yerba Mate Leaf Extract, rich in vitamins A, B, C and E, provides thermal heat protection and conditioning benefits for hair
• Basil & Lemongrass Essential Water purify and soften strands
• Anti-fade technology protects color treated hair from losing luster
• UVA/UVB/UVC Filters protect hair from environmental damage and color fading"
So, have you guys used the Infinite Volume Line or other Jonathan products? If so, share what you thought about it in the comments section.
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