Thursday, March 27, 2008

Curl jelly

People, a miracle has occurred.

You know how as soon as you find that perfect product, no matter what it is, it gets discontinued and you don't find out about it until it's too late to stock up? No, you don't know? That only happens to me? Well, whatever. My point is, that happens to me alarmingly often. And the worst was when my hair gel got discontinued.

I had gorgeous corkscrew curls when I was little. And then I got a haircut when I was five that changed everything. From age five through sixteen, my hair was a curlyish, frizzy mess. And I had no idea how to take care of it. I got cheap haircuts from people who didn't have the first clue about curly hair, who gave it blunt cuts, used blow dryers without diffusers, refused to do layers, thought bangs might be nice. I actually brushed my hair when it was dry (which, for those of you with naturally perfect, shiny, straight hair who might not know this, destroys curls, and turns them into hideous, frizzy messes).

But when I was sixteen, everything changed. I had my own money, and I splashed some of it out on a real haircut in an actual salon. The woman who cut my hair had curly hair herself. This was previously unheard of to me. When she asked what I wanted, I told her I wanted hair like hers, only shorter. She looked at my hair for a long time, then said, "You got it."

And she was RIGHT. And the reason she was right was because of a miracle product that she used on my hair, and then sold to me for the amazing price of $9 per bottle. It was made by Goldwell and it was called Glaze. It was essentially a liquid gel, and all I needed was to rub a bit in my hands, then run my hands through my wet hair. Then I scrunched it a bit with a towel and when it dried--well, it wasn't exactly the corkscrews of my childhood, but it was real curls, and not frizzy ones, either. I was hooked.

At one point I had a minor scare when Goldwell discontinued the glaze, but it turned out they had just repackaged it as Liquid Gel and increased the price to $12. When I moved away from North Carolina (and this was before the days of buying everything online), I hunted all over to find more. I actually made a day trip to New York once for the sole purpose of stocking up. (Although I had some amazing plum-flavored lemonade while I was there that made the trip even more worth it.)

And then, almost two years ago, my gel was discontinued. I really think that shouldn't be allowed. People NEED their hair products, you know? You spend years and years finding that perfect product, and once you've found it, you need to know that you will always be able to have it. Goldwell yanked away my security blanket when they discontinued that product, and my trust still hasn't been restored.

Anyway, so I spent the next year searching for a replacement, and as a result my bathroom cabinet is full of barely-used mousses, creams, serums, firm gels, and any number of other useless products. I finally settled on Aveda confixor, a liquid gel that did the job but not quite as well. Basically, the Aveda gel still leads to the occasional bad hair day, and the Goldwell gel never allowed that, ever. And if that's not the definition of a miracle product, I don't know what is.

So even though I've had this inferior substitute, I've always been on the lookout for something else, something magic that is as good as my old Goldwell. So on a whim about a week ago, I wandered onto the Goldwell website and checked out their curly hair products. And at the very top of the page, with a little red banner proclaiming that it was new, hiding under the name of "Curl Kick," was a liquid gel!

I am telling you, I almost threw a party right then and there. But I was still afraid that it would turn out not to be the same as the old product, so I restrained myself and ordered a bottle off Amazon. It was $16, so almost twice the cost of the original glaze. But it arrived on Tuesday, and yesterday I used it for the first time.

And it's the SAME. It has the same amazing effect of taming my hair without flattening it. And it has the same smell. As soon as I opened the bottle and got a whiff, I knew I had found it. I'm no longer worried about bad hair days. I'm no longer worried that my hair will go wrong on my wedding and look terrible in all the photos. I'm not worried about anything. It's amazing what a good hair product can do for a girl. To top it all off, yesterday, for the first time in quite awhile, a complete stranger complimented me on my hair.

And yes, I did just write a whole post about hair gel. And now I'm off to order a million more bottles, because even though this is a new product, you just never know. And I'm done taking chances.

61 comments:

  1. This happens to me ALL THE TIME. I had to resort to buying hair products on ebay until I found a replacement the last time it happened. They really should send out a newsletter before they go all willy nilly discontinuing things!

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  2. Oh, how I know your pain with the curly hair. I just may have to look into this Goldwell product!

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  3. I am honestly so happy for you! I had such bad hair during early high school too, for lack of a good product and due to hairstylists who would run their hands through my uber-thick, wavy long hair and say, "Man, I would KILL myself if I had this much hair!" That's a direct quote. And then they would chop in a few layers and call it a day. I had mushroom hair. It took me a long time to find a stylist and a product (a Paul Mitchell styling wax) that I actually trust. I will never let either of them go!

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  4. So happy for you! I don't have curly hair, but I feel your pain with the discontinuance of favorite stuff. Why do they do that?

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  5. Discontinuing hair products should totally be illegal. It's unfair. I'm glad you got a happy ending though! I can't even imagine what my life would be like with curly hair!

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  6. As a fellow curly-topped gal, I've gotta say: I LOVED THIS POST! You'd laugh at the array of products I use on my hair in any given day. Kiwi, Redken and Kerastase are the top three right now (and let me tell you, my Kerastase products cost double what your new Goldwell costs - good for you for finding a relative deal!). But, I also know how important it is to get relative consistency with our hair. Even still, my hair looks slightly different on any given day.

    PS - If it helps, I thought your hair looked really great when you were in Chicago. Whatever you were using then seemed to work. And don't tell me it was the snow! :-)

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  7. PPS - I agree with LSPOON - Discontinuing hair products is a crime. We should be grandfathered in - and they should stop selling it to new customers instead! ha.

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  8. I had long, pretty curls when I was young. The second I hit adolescence, BAM. Straight hair. Now that I'm older some of the wave has returned, making it necessary to either blow dry and straighten or mousse and try to make it really wavy. Neither seem to be working for me right now.

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  9. i'm happy for you blah blah blah really, i'm CRAZY JEALOUS that you have a perfect hair product. i want one!

    although i totally stand behind buying 800 bottles now. i did that with a pair of coach sneakers that are the best pair of shoes ever to hug my feet, and i tried DESPERATELY to do that with my favorite express jeans when i found out they changed their styles. even ebay failed me there, though. le sigh.

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  10. I recently had a hair product discontinued then reissued as a "new" product (more expensive, of course.) I can't tell you how relieved I was when I found it again.

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  11. Dude, I HEAR YOU. I've got curly hair, too, and it's a pain in the ass trying to find that PERFECT product. I've come close sometimes, but never PERFECT. I'm going to try this one now because i will trust most curly haired people who recommend a product. The straight-haired people just don't understand!

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  12. I always wanted curly hair but instead have very fine, thin limp straight hair. & no magic hair product. Bah! Good for you, though. Are you ordering a case to keep yourself supplied?

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  13. oh gosh, I know exactly what you mean! My hair isn't curly like yours, but it has a natural wave to it. I can never let it air dry and it takes forever to blow dry. Sometimes I just don't want to do it. But curling/scrunching it is hard. Until I found a magic product. Sadly, I can't remember what it's called, but I found it in Sephora for like $6! It was a white tube with blue writing. It was perfect. I didn't have to use it in combonation with other products. But it was in the process of being discontinued. I was able to get a couple more from Sephora and one from a specialty shop. Then that was it. Until I found it online - and bought it. But it was more expensive there and shipping was ridiculous. It was coming to close to $20 a bottle. I was in college. And broke. I couldn't keep up. And I have never found another product as good since then :( Stock up, girl!

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  14. Oh my gawd, what a wonderful thing to happen to someone who loves products as much as you do! I'm wicked excited to see pictures of your gorgeous curls on your wedding day :)

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  15. Hilarious. I have still not found my magic hair product. I have wavy/frizzy hair that I like to wear long. My dream would be to run something in it and just air dry. Maybe you know of something???

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  16. I'll have to tell my sister-in-law about this. She has the curliest hair I've ever seen on ANYONE. EVER. It's so curly, she always has to go with the "it looks wet, but it's really just heavily moussed and then not touched" look, because to touch it would be to immediately result in a HUGE halo of frizz.

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  17. Haha... priceless. I've only had that happen to me once, and it was on a lotion from Bath and Body Works. Good thing they do the big sale when they bring back their old stuff once in like 10 years or something. And I stopped caring about my hair a long time ago. I think it stems from being too lazy to deal with it on a regular basis...

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  18. That sounds like a very exciting day! I wish I coudl find a magic hair product to make my hair look perfect everyday!

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  19. YESSSSSSSS best news for you ever! Nothing makes me feel good like a good hair day - even if i dont have to contend with curls! Good for you! Stock up!

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  20. hi jess,
    i've been feeling that way about fleur de fleurs, a perfume by nina ricci. I discovered it in 1994 and for some reason - call me a fool - i've never had a bad day if i used it. Incidentally, its the only fragrance that doesnt trigger a migraine. Bizarrely, Nina ricci has discontinued it. And though you can still buy it online in the US (I'm in India), it is expensive and I wonder whether its worth continuing indulging a dependency when sooner or later everyone's stock will run out. loved your piece. actually i've liked almost everything you've written. nandini

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  21. I understand how important hair products are. As well as make up. I have had products discontinued and literally had to hold back tears at the pharmacy/store.

    I'm glad you found something that works!

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  22. This is, indeed, an entire post about hair gel. I used to be obsessed with a strawberry lemonade scented lotion and body spray from Bath & Body Works (I was in, like, 7th grade) and when they discontinued it, I made the ill-fated mistake of not stocking up. And it's funny that you mention this whole issue in the first place because I was strangely just thinking about strawberry lemonade lotion this morning!

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  23. I know what I'd be asking for for every birthday and Christmas until I went bald. (a case for every holiday should last quite some time...)

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  24. Oh that is great news...and for once I am thankful to have limp, won't do anything, wash and go straight hair. I couldn't imagine going through all of that!!

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  25. This entry made me laugh for some reason. You're so right about something you love being discontinued...it happens all the time.

    I really do love your curls and if you've been using the inferior product all along and was still getting defined curls that gorgeous, I can only imagine what this Curl Kick is like!

    I demand a picture!

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  26. Um, TOTALLY with you on that one. Straight-haired girls just don't KNOW! (No offense, straighties)

    I use Matrix Curl Life Contouring Cream, but it does tend to give me bad hair days sometimes. I'm almost out of it, and I shall have to try this instead!

    THANKS! YOU MAY HAVE SAVED MY HAIR!

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  27. note to self: take Maggie to a real hairdresser, not SuperCuts. Buy wonder hair gel to preserve pretty curls.

    Got it!

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  28. get a million and two.

    11 years ago my mothers perfume was discontinued (can the DO that?) so my dad bought her like a vault of it, and im guessing she has enough left for about 5 years, but after than, done...

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  29. I had dead straight hair my whole life until I turned like, 14... then it started get frizzy, and frizzier, and frizziest! I wear it in a pony tail every day. One day I let it dry down (I was at the beach and was camping- hair schmair) and discovered I had curls! I have super long hair, and it still goes into ringlets.
    It's still super frizzy, though. I use a cheap Fructis mousse. I've never got my hair cut by anybody other than friends or my sister (except when I was 9 and got gum stuck in it). I have difficulty believing in the power of a miracle product because I've never used product before, other than gel to shellac by hair into a pony tail, or more recently, the aforementioned mousse.

    This post has inspired me to actually go to a real place and PAY ACTUAL MONEY for a hair cut. Paying for product=actually doing my hair every day=not on my agenda. I'll stick with ponytails. But maybs if I get a good hair cut I'll wear my hair down sometimes. Who knows! We'll see.

    Also, I've totally blogged a whole post about hair gel. Everybody cool has, RIGHT?

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  30. That sneaky Goldwell! I hope that we can all find the happiness and hair product success that you have achieved.

    I think a post about hair gel is really pretty heartwarming.

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  31. While my hair is not curly, I've felt the woes of hair product problems. I went through a frizzy and staticky spell in 2000. My hair was frizzy AND sticking out. Nothing seemed to tame it. Finally a Paul Mitchell product tamed it. Now it's okay on its own. Thank goodness.

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  32. What is with hair product manufacturers?! I'm all for improving products but don't do away with them completely!

    In your quest for the perfect product, did you ever try Aveda Be Curly?

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  33. What is with hair product manufacturers?! I'm all for improving products but don't do away with them completely!

    In your quest for the perfect product, did you ever try Aveda Be Curly?

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  34. I need to find a hair product that does anything to my hair. Because, seriously, after 2 hours? It just hangs there. Like always.

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  35. My Mom is a hairdresser, so I've had a LOT of perms in my lifetime. One time I decided to brush it out just to see what would really happen. A.C.K.! It was HORRID! It took a couple washings to get it back to 'normal.'

    Finding the right hair gel for you must be like finding the right pair of jeans for me. My favourites were discontinued a couple years ago and my last pair finally wore out this winter. Finding replacements took forever and when I did find the perfect jeans....well they're discontinued now too. BAH!

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  36. This happens to me, too, with all kinds of stuff: I go shopping as usual, and the things I Always Use are GONE. And so I feel genuine empathetic happiness for you in your success.

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  37. I'm so glad you wrote this. Fact: The same thing happened to me, except it was lipstick. A perfectly creamy, flattering, ultra-pouty LIP MIRACLE that complimented my hair and skin tone AND eye color all at once, thus making me a damn goddess. And I only got to have it ONE time before the company KILLED it. I've spent two years searching for similar shades, and they all fall short somehow.

    And: I, too, have naturally corkscrew curls (good morning to the afro, if you know what I mean) and I too had a hideous haircut at about age five or six that ruined everything forever. Now, instead of using a fancy creme, I use whatever's cheap and tame the mess on my head with my curling iron, tweaking the frizzies. It works pretty well.

    I'm done now, I fear starting page 2.

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  38. If I found something that would actually give my flat hair body, I'd do the same thing. But of course I'm still on the hunt.

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  39. I am totally going to be checking into your Goldwell miracle gel! My hair was straight when I was little, but got curly as I got older. I too have spent years in search of the perfect product to deal with my hair. Right now I have a combination of a couple of different conditioners plus Frederic Fekkai glossing cream that does wonders for my hair, but still falls short of the perfect hair day guarantee. Some days I just get tired of playing the guessing game that is dealing with curly hair!

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  40. Do you read Veronica Mitchell? She had a HILARIOUS post awhile back of an ill-advised haircut from a woman with VERY STRANGE ideas about how to handle curly hair. She even posted a picture (that was the best part). It's in my Shared Items somewhere.

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  41. So glad that you've rediscovered your hair product! As a girl with straight hair, I will never know the woes of all of the curly haired girls out there, but then again, I will never know the fun of curly hair!

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  42. I have crazy curly hair too, and nw I'm desperate to try this stuff!

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  43. Hooray for small favors! This happens to me all the time. I finally found a lip balm I love and bought 5 tubes online. Why don't the manufacturers stick with great products when they have a loyal following?

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  44. Girlfriend! Grab yo'sef a latte and have a seat, because I think we were separated at birth!!!

    My endorsement of products and tv shows is indeed the kiss of death. I fear loving what I really love because I know that an empty shelf is on the horizon if I do!

    Hooray for liquid gel! May ye live long!

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  45. Whoo! Congratulations. I understand your excitement. I have been waiting for years for Neutrogena to see the error of their ways and bring back Heatsafe. And now I'm hoping they'll change their mind and decide NOT to discontinue my favorite lip balm/gloss either. But I've already complained about that (both on my own blog, and I think here as well).

    Happy day for YOU, though!

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  46. Whooo hoo!! Congratulations! Is it weird that I was reading this post while holding my breath hoping there was going to be a happy ending here??

    And I'm with you- hair products should never be discontinued. Ditto face products. When I was 18 they discontinued my Cover girl foundation color.

    I think people in the next province over might have heard my scream when I found that out.

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  47. I'm not sure if it's better to have never found a single hair product that helped your damn hair (like, say, me) or to have had a product you love for only a brief time.

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  48. Hi darling. As a fellow curly haired girl, just a few things:

    Never underestimate the cost of a good hairstylist. I've paid well over one hundred bucks for a good one before, because I am that picky about someone who knows how to cut curly hair. I've done a lot of research before going to a new hairstylist.

    John Frieda curl spray - I don't know the appropriate name, but when I'm having a frizzy or limp hair day? A spray or two and it's all better. It's worth a shot. My hair used to be super tight and corkscrew, but now it varies between loose s-curls and ringlets depending on its mood.

    My hair, like my boobs, has mood swings. I can't explain it.

    But yay for finding a good product!

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  49. NOTHING beats a good haircut, Nothing!

    I wish I had beautiful curly hair. hmmm.

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  50. Isn't it all about the small joys in life? Nothing like finding the perfect hair product!

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  51. I totally, TOTALLY feel you on this one. I think that people need to have a special certification just to cut curly hair.

    As for the subject of product, I like Aveda. Their Brillaint line is magic on my hair, but it is so expensive and my hair so thick that I would need a second job just for product and conditioner. That little bottle of Goldwell would last me two days. No lie.

    I'm always happy for my curly sisters who find perfect products though :o)

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  52. Okay any wonder hair product deserves to be honored with a post of its own.

    I'm happy you found it. I can feel your pain on losing your miracle gel.

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  53. NaturallyCurly.com has tons of great curl product recommendations and lots of other great curl info! I totally am addicted to that site.

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  54. Oh I hear you! When you find a perfect hair-care product you should hold on to it!
    Congratulations on re-finding your perfect product. Yeah!

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  55. As a fellow curly girl, I know exactly what you're talking about. If Devachan went out of business, I'd very likely shave my head.

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  56. I don't have that problem often with hair products, but it happens all the time with face wash. How can you just stop making the miracle wash that keeps my face clean? Or when they alter it and call it "new and improved." Um yeah, not so much.

    At least you found your stuff and will have happy hair once again!

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  57. I had that problem when I was wearing my hair curly, I couldn't find anything!! Now, I wear it straight everyday and I have ruined it. But, I couldn't live without Material by Texture! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the stuff, also it smells amazing! I am glad you found your product again, it definitely is like a weight lifted off the shoulders!! ;)

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  58. You know I'm not the sort of person who runs out and buys things that people mention on blogs (though i'm close to caving on Sundry's makeup bare mineral praises) but I went straight to Amazon and bought myself a little bottle of this wonder product. Very very excited am I.

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  59. Might want to give Mixed Chicks products (www.mixedchicks.net) a try. They really take out frizz and define curls. And the deep conditoiner is a good detangler.

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