Dry, brittle, coarse, "rat's nest", "brillo-like". What do all of those words/phrases have in common? They all can be used to describe the texture of my hair. Naturally wavy and frizzy, I add further insult by using harsh straightening chemicals two or three times a year. So my hair needs heavy-duty moisturizing and conditioning. When it comes to products that promise to tame frizz and leave hair soft, shiny, and manageable, I'm always willing to give a try.

My most recent experiment was Sebastian Laminates Crema Styler Anti-Frizz Control. That's a real mouthful, huh? Also, note the spelling of "Crema". That's how they spell it. I don't know why they spell it that way, or why they picked such a long, awkward name, but if it works well, I won't really care.

Package

This product comes in a 5.1 oz. tube, that stands on its cap. The cap is one of those that you pop up, to expose a hole through which you can squeeze the product. You can also twist off the cap which exposes a same-sized hole into the tube. I see no real reason to ever twist off the top, unless it gets clogged and you need to clean it. Everything is written in 4 different languages. English, Spanish, French and something else I don't recognize, but I would guess German.

Smell, Color and Texture

This product has a very strong fragrance. Not a bad fragrance by any means, but it's weird to smell something so heavy from a hair care product. It smells the way a fragrant skin moisturizer would smell, or a sunscreen product. Without letting my husband know what it was, I asked him what it smelled like and his first answer was moisturizer. When I told him it was a hair care product, he was very surprised, but agreed that it didn't small bad, just strong.

The color and texture are also what one would expect from a suntan lotion or a moisturizer. A light tan color, with a heavy, lotion feel. Not at all like the clear, light, silicon-based products I'm used to using on my hair. Again, this isn't a bad thing, just different from what I was expecting.

The Instruction

Note that I said "Instruction" not "Instructions". That's because there is only one line telling me how to use it. "Saturate evenly through damp or dry hair". It doesn't give me a clue how much to use.

The Results

I'm used to using my hair care products very generously, as I typically require a lot of moisturizing, and my hair is very thick. So the first time I used this product on dry hair, I did my usual pouring of a quarter-sized dollop into my hand, rubbed my hands together, and then ran my hands through my hair. Well, that was a mistake. It was way too much. It made my hair look and feel greasy. As I needed to run off to work, my only option was a pony tail for the day.

The next time, I used it after shampooing and conditioning. Applying it to wet hair is easier, as the product can more easily be distributed evenly. And, of course, I used way less. This gave a much more favorable result. When my hair dried, it was noticeably smoother, and shinier than it would have been without any product. It also retained the product's fragrance.

Since then, I've tried this product on dry hair again, but discovered that even if I use a very little bit, I will end up with greasy-looking streaks. The product just doesn't disseminate nicely on dry hair. So, this has become a wet-hair-only product for me. It does a nice job adding moisture, and making my hair smooth and silky, but not any nicer than other products I've used, that can also be used on dry hair.

Buy It Again?

No.

As this product is fairly expensive ($14.99 for the 5.1 oz. bottle), can only really be used on wet hair, and doesn't perform any better than my other products that can be used on dry hair, I don't think I will be purchasing it again.

For now, I'll stick with my beloved Biosilk Silk Therapy.

Recommended: No