Phytodefrisant botanical hair relaxing balm

I was very surprised to find out that this company, started by French hairstylist Patrick Ales, has been around since the mid 50s.  I had occasionally seen the products and liked the clinical looking packaging but had never tried them.  In my quest to tame my frizz and get rid of a few stubborn "bumps" in my hair, I got this from Sephora based on the very high reviews.  Although it is not a permanent solution, and you have to use it with a blow dryer or straightener, it says it will gradually make your hair straighter with use (at least that's what I thought it said).  I usually blow dry my hair anyway and thought that maybe I could get away with letting it air dry once in awhile.  As I've mentioned, all I really want is wash and go hair that looks like I just stepped out of a shampoo commercial.  Never give up the dream, right?

This product mostly does what it says it will do.  It helps reduce frizz and helps keep hair straighter between washings (mine would often get messed up while I slept).  However, I think calling it a relaxing balm is going a bit far.  There is a big difference between straightening and smoothing.  I would call this a smoothing product.  In the instructions it said it will make your hair "smoother with use" which was my mistake.  My hair didn't get any straighter or easier to blow dry after using this for several weeks.  I felt like it made my hair feel a little stiff but it wasn't really bad and if you normally use products in your hair it probably wouldn't bother you.

In the end, I would recommend trying this product if you already spend time styling your hair and are just looking for a better product.  Like I said, it works the way it says it will, it just doesn't work the way I wanted it to.  I went a different route and used their permanent (but still botanical) hair relaxer and that review will be coming up soon!

http://www.phyto-usa.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?PID=27