Hair Care Challenge: Ojon vs. Giovanni

I don’t spend as much time or money on makeup as I used to, and I have settled into a skin care routine that I like, but the one thing I continue to experiment with is my hair. It’s been long, short, layered, bobbed, colored and straightened, but the one thing that never changes is the frizz. Boy, do I hate that frizz! For probably 3-4 months I have been consistently using Giovanni Smooth as Silk Shampoo ($7.99 for 8.5oz) and Smooth as Silk Conditioner ($7.99 for 8.5oz), and for the most part I have been happy. The pair deal pretty well with my frizz, the ingredients are more on the natural side (which I really like) I have to admit I was pining for something a little more luxurious and pampering, and somehow I found myself  one day looking at hair care.

I explained to the saleswoman what I was looking for, and she enthusiastically escorted me to Ojon Shine & Protect Shampoo ($22 for 8.4oz) and Shine & Protect Conditioner ($24 for 8.4 oz). She swore that Ojon is amazing, that she uses the products herself, and so on and so on. I think they must be paid to say that stuff. I was compelled by the promise of super shiny and frizz-free hair, so I bought them both.

After about two months using Ojon, I have to say that the difference between my hair on Ojon and my hair on Giovanni was not all that noticeable. I also blew through the Ojon conditioner, as it is lighter and more fluid than the Giovanni. At $24 a bottle, I hoped it would last longer. I still have a ton of shampoo (you only need a little), so I continue to use it but I pair it with the Giovanni conditioner, which I now buy in bulk at the store for $8.99 per pound! I guess this is the best of both worlds, but once the Ojon shampoo is gone, I will be refilling my empty bottle with bulk Giovanni shampoo. Ojon was fun to try, but for the price and what it does for my hair, I am sticking with Giovanni.

High-tech cosmetic gadgets move from clinic to home

Tiffani Bruce, a Walgreen Co employee, had her doubts about the acne-busting gadget called Zeno when her store began selling it two years ago.

A victim of the occasional pimple, she decided to give the slim, handheld device a try, and was pleasantly surprised by results of the “heat shock” treatment that destroys offending bacteria without damaging the skin.

“When you first hear about it you’re a bit skeptical,” said Bruce, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based drugstore chain. “But it absolutely works. You have to kind of catch it before it’s huge, but it works.”

Like the FDA-approved Zeno, more and more high-tech cosmetic treatments previously only available through dermatologists and high-end spas are now being sold at drugstores and on the Internet.

Now consumers can zap away unwanted body hair or punish pimples with cellphone-sized gadgets in their own bathrooms. Wrinkle vanishing devices, the ultimate magic wand of cosmetic gadgetry, are also on the horizon, retailers say.

Most of these devices are adjusted from versions used in clinics to lower intensity or temperature, to prevent injuries like burns.

COST EFFECTIVE

“You don’t need to go to the doctor’s office, so it’s much more cost effective,” said Neil Sadick, a Park Avenue dermatologist who helped develop the $250 hair remover called no!no! by Radiancy,

While some would consider its price prohibitive, consider this: a full leg wax in New York City can cost anywhere from $50 to more than $100, and more permanent hair reduction treatments using pulsed light or laser usually cost hundreds of dollars per session.

The no!no! uses what it calls thermodynamic technology, which helps to destroy hair follicles without damaging the skin around it. In its website the company promises “no hair no pain no noise no creams … no stress no mess.”

“The disadvantage is it requires more treatment and the results may not be quite as good (as at a doctor’s office). But it approaches it,” Sadick said.

Allison Slater, vice president of marketing at beauty products retailing chain Sephora, said most buyers of such gadgets, including the Zeno and its rival ThermaClear, are moving up from creams and other topical solutions rather than downgrading from professional care.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily replacing the dermatologists. It’s an enhancement,” she said.

Growth in retail sales of cosmetic gadgets may help an industry — which includes cosmetic laser device makers Palomar Medical Technologies Inc and Cutera Inc — facing a slower economy and increasing competition.

WHO DOESN’T WANT THAT?

Zeno costs around $150 to $200. Lee Stranathan, vice president of marketing at its maker Tyrell Inc, said the company will start selling a smaller and cheaper version called the Zeno “mini” for around $90 in the next few months.

The weaker economy is not, so far, damaging sales, Sephora’s Slater says. She said more gadgets will be launched in the coming year, and the next wave will include anti-aging skin care.

“Preventing or decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles is really what’s going to be the future of this category,” she said.

For now, Sephora’s gadget line-up includes Clarisonic, a brush that uses sonic technology to clean pores, as well as the T3 hair dryer, which uses crushed tourmaline stones to produce “ionic energy and far infrared heat”.

“If you can dry your hair with less frizz and shorter time, who doesn’t want that?” she said. “I’d rather invest my money in a state of the art tool that is basically going to save me time in the end.”

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Pick of the Week

I’m starting my tanning early, thanks to Guerlain’s new Guerlain Terracotta Sunless Smoothing Self-Tanning Emulsion. This self-tanner is tinted and absorbs into your skin fast, and I do mean fast. I tried it for the first time at Saks, in the middle of the day. I put some of it on the back of my hand to smooth onto my face. Not even thirty seconds later, I had a dark mark on my hand and I had to use an exfoliating scrub to get it off. Anything that works that fast is right on for me! But even more than a great self-tanner, this product also serves as a moisturizer. There is no SPF in this self-tanner (so make sure you use one every day!), but this is a great triple duty product: instant color, moisturizer and self-tanner!

L’oreal Hair Care, 200ml/6.8oz Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Curl Curl Definition Gel Masque for Women L’oreal Hair Care Skincare by L’oreal is authentic, we do not sell knockoffs or imitations.

Loreal Hair Care, 1000ml Kerastase Nutirtive Bain Oleo-Relax Shampoo ( Dry & Rebellious ) for Women

L’oreal Hair Care, 50ml Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Elixir Control for Women

L’oreal Hair Care, 100ml/3.3oz Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Curl Curl Defining Oil Mist for Women