John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair Serum: I've Finally Outgrown You
Written: May 15 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Does control frizz somewhat, has no scent, cheap
Cons: Annoying and flimsy applicator, effects last only a few hours, bottle too small
The Bottom Line: Widely available and widely recommended, but not the greatest hair product out there.
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| kbb2008's Full Review: John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair Serum |
As a girl with seriously schizophrenic hair (sorta wavy, sorta curly, can be straightened with some effort but hates humidity and the rain), I was thrilled when I discovered John Frieda's Frizz Ease hair serum about 4 years ago. At the time, I thought this product was amazing -- it was the only thing that had ever actually controlled my frizz and actually allowed my hair to appear somewhat straight. I swore by it for the longest time. However, I am about to run out of my current bottle, and I have finally decided that I am going to try something new (probably Redken Glass) instead of buying this again. While I've been satisfied with it for a long time, I've come to realize that there are other, similar products out there that definitely have the potential to be better than this, as several things about the Frizz Ease serum have recently begun to annoy me.
PACKAGING
For one thing, I have recently decided that the packaging of these is just horrible. It comes in a glass type bottle with a little glass eye-dropper-esque applicator. GLASS is one key word here; I'll get to the other packaging problems in a second, but let me first tell you of the very annoying experience I had a couple of bottles ago: The bottle was still mostly full one day when I accidentally dropped the glass applicator on the bathroom floor, and immediately the applicator shattered! This was very annoying and meant that I had to pour the serum out onto my hands for the rest of the time I had that bottle, instead of using the provided applicator. Let me tell you, this is rather difficult considering how thick this product is -- especially once you get about halfway through the bottle, it will take several seconds to pour any of it out without using the applicator. Waiting for this hair serum to crawl, snail-like, out of the bottle before I can put it on is not exactly something I have time for on the average rushed morning. So, don't ever, ever drop the applicator on the floor!
Besides the glass-applicator problem, I have noticed on my last couple of bottles -- although this is weird, because I have taken years to notice any problem with this -- that the applicator also sort of comes askew after a while. It’s odd. The rubber part on top that you squeeze and then release to get the applicator to fill with serum (again, just try to picture an eye dropper and maybe you’ll understand what I am talking about) sort of starts to slant sideways after a couple of weeks of use -- and, toward the end of my last bottle, the rubber top of the applicator SEPARATED from the glass part. Yup. So yet again, on a DIFFERENT bottle, I had wound up with a defective applicator that was pretty much useless for getting this stuff out of the bottle.
My final complaint about the packaging is that the applicator is too short to reach the last bits of product. So even when my applicator doesn’t break or fall apart, I tend to end up having to use the snail-slow pouring method to get the stuff out when I start nearing the end of the bottle.
TEXTURE/APPLICATION
Wow, I have already spent almost 550 words just complaining about the packaging! It’s really hard for me to believe I used this product for so long with all those problems...But, let’s continue with the rest of the review.
The texture of this is rather like oil. This does not bother me in the least because my hair is very dry and I actually feel like this moisturizes it a little bit. I just pour some out -- I usually use about a nickel size dab, which would probably be a lot for someone who doesn’t have as thick, frizzy hair as I do -- and rub it through my towel-dried hair to tame the frizz. Occasionally, I will also use it on dry hair, but in this case I have to be sure to use only a couple of drops to avoid the Kid Rock effect.
EFFECTS
This serum does tame my frizz. Compared to putting nothing at all in my hair, there is absolutely a huge difference, which is one of the reasons I used this for so long. Unless I really pile it on, it also is not greasy.
The only real problem I have with this in the effects department (but, yet another reason I plan to switch products) is that it doesn’t last. I always have to put on more of this partway through the day because I start to get little flyaways. And forget using it on humid days or in the rain -- sure, it will work better than nothing, but you will still have some little frizzy pieces.
PRICE/VALUE/WHERE TO BUY
This stuff is, I believe, around $8-ish at my drugstore (I will take a look next time I’m there and update this review to confirm.) It is sold at most drugstores that I have ever been in. Although it is fairly cheap, it doesn’t tend to last me very long -- probably a couple of months. But this could be because I feel the need to use a lot, for my hair type.
BOTTOM LINE
Please don’t get stuck in a rut with this like I did! It’s pretty cheap and widely available, yet I strongly suspect there are much better anti-frizz serums out there. Give this a try if you want, but I would say it is only an average-performing product, it has severe packaging issues, and I personally am planning on trying something new very soon when I run out of my current bottle.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
kbb2008
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Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 3 members
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