When Your Hair is Almost Always Dry...

The solution is a once-a-week deep conditioning.

I first thought of deep conditioning my hair when I was in second grade, when I started reading Sweet Valley Middle School series, where Jessica, one half of the blonde Wakefield twins says that it's a MUST for every girl. My young self took it to heart and started deep conditioning my virgin hair at seven years old. Can I just say: Ang arte ko talaga.

My favorite bits of the series were the 'diaries'

where I'm pretty sure Jessica mentioned again something

about deep conditioning in the 3rd volume.

At that time, my version of deep conditioning was putting more than usual amounts of Cream Silk Blue on my jet black, straight, thick hair, covered with a warm towel, while I bury my nose in even more Sweet Valley books {I of course eventually moved on to SVH, SVSY and SVU} for about 30 minutes.

When I think about it now, I could probably attribute my super smooth hair to that. Then of course, treatments such as perming, hair coloring and life happened after that so I sort of forgot all about it.

Just this week, something new for deep-conditioning is buzzing on my radar:

Lorys Hair Cream, a product manufactured by Sther Cosmetics, a Brazilian company

is now here in the Philippines, brought to you by RJ Tech

Did a little bit of research and this is what the website say for the Fruit Cocktail variant:

Desenvolvido para o cuidado e o condicionamento de todos os tipos de cabelos. Especialmente formulada com extratos de frutas que possuem ação nutritiva e revitalizadora, ajudando a proteger os fios das agressões externas e deixando seus cabelos mais macios, mais soltos e com muito mais brilho.

Did you understand? No? Me, too. Heeeeeee :x It's so fun to read some Portuguese sometimes.

Anyway, the Fruit Cocktail variant is:

Developed for care and conditioning of all types of hair.
Specially formulated with nutritive and revitalizing fruit extracts which help to protect each hair from harmful outside effects, and make hair softer, bouncier and much shinier.

Like, like on the 'protection from harmful effects' bit. Sometimes, I tend to neglect my hair and concentrate on skin because it does get the most damage from sun exposure, the smoke smog, shifting weather, the hair treatments {like me, I get a perm every now and then} and even too-tight-ponytails which cause breakage! :{

Looks yummy enough to slurp. Heehee :x

Lorys Hair Cream in Duo Chocolate. Geez, I wanted to drink it. Really.
This product smells like warm chocolate on a Saturday afternoon.

Lorys Hair Cream Snake Oil variant for damaged and
chemically-treated hair.

So here's a rundown of the good and the bad {drawn out from a few but decent times of product usage}, to be able to maybe help you out if in case you run into this product whilst browsing the racks of Watson's and PCX, both of which are scattered all over the Philippines:

The Good:

• The Scent. Truly. The scent. I had to restrain myself from clawing some of the product and just smell it all day. My favorite scent amongst the five initial variants sold in Manila {Fruit Cocktail, Ceramides, Duo Chocolate, Snake Oil, and Shea butter} has just gotta be Fruit Cocktail. The bottle looks so adorable, too!
• Silicone-enhanced. The Snake Oil variant sounds both rawr and interesting at the same time, so I researched if it's snake oil, indeed. Well, the website doesn't say it is, and thank goodness it might not really contain yucky-sounding snake oil. Instead, and I assume, it seems to mimic the effects of snake oil with the help of silicone:

Snake Oil Effect Moisturizing Cream has been specially developed to feed, revitalize and condition damaged and chemically treated hair., Its Silicone-enhanced formula forms a protective film over the hair, increasing its resistance and flexibility, and leaves it nourished, soft and with a full shine.

• Cost-effective and Reasonable Price. With a tub that's 1,000 G (1KG) at Php 350, it's hard to imagine how many weeks I will have deeply conditioned hair. Since all the formulas are rich, I don't need to use so much, hence, the cost-per-use will be significantly lower. Ha! My seven year old self would have approved!
• Dual Purpose. Lorys Hair Cream can be used either as a deep conditioner/ for hot oil or as your regular conditioner. For deep conditioning, just let it stay for 15 to 30 minutes, and as your daily shampoo partner, let it sit for 2 minutes. A word of caution though: if used without a shampoo, it can make your hair oilier + bodyless, so if you will use it, don't forget to lather your favorite shampoo before or after.
• It Works. I have tried the Fruit Cocktail variant and truly, while my hair was not resembling a shampoo TVC at the end of my bathing session, I was surprised to see how the product gave my hair adequate moisture and still managed to make it bouncy and retain its curly state. My biggest problem with conditioners and like products is that when it's too creamy or makes my hair too soft, I tend to lose my artificial curls. After a few times of using the product, I find that while its moisturizing properties don't scale up to 10 {I'd give it an 8}, the 'bounce' factor was freaking off the charts! On one instance, I came home buzzed after having a few drinks and when I passed by the hall of our apartment, I just had to do a double take cos I saw my hair bouncing off my shoulders, as opposed to the usual limp hair I have most evenings.
• And if it's any indication, I used the 'Fruit Cocktail' version first, not the Shea Butter one, which I think is more apt for me as it says 'For curly and dry hair,' and already it's a good product, I can't wait to spend the next few days trying out the shea butter one.

The Bad:

• While I think having a large bottle of deep conditioning cream is fun and funny and in some ways, cute, I found it hard to cart around, especially since it was delivered to me when I was at the office. I'm thinking that if I buy this together with my monthly toiletry stuff shopping, my arms are going to be sore from carrying it. But since it works, and since its affordable, too, I would just schedule a separate trip for it, which I don't have to think about now given there's so much of it now in my bathroom. I've got a word from RJ Tech that Sther will be coming up with a smaller packaging so that's a YAY.
  
• Typo Error. It could be that the product is from a non-English speaking country, but as I was editing the photos, I saw that Nourish was written Nourush instead, and I know it shouldn't be an indication of a good hair product, nor its basis, but it doesn't hurt to proofread product copies, too.
• Not much, really.

Directions for Use:

• If used as a conditioner: Apply shampoo first then apply Lorys for root to tip for 2-5mins then rinse.
• If used as a hot oil, Lorys must be massaged onto the hair and scalp for 15 minutes then rinse and apply shampoo (if Lorys is used without shampoo, it tends to make the hair appear oily)

Lorys Deep Moisturizing Cream is available at your favorite Watson's and PCX branches.
Products were sent to the author for reviewing purposes.