Brian Jeffrey
After my mom finally cracked and let me get a keratin treatment in high school, I lived the dream of any 16-year-old that’s in a codependent relationship with her flat iron: I had glossy, Cher Horowitz-straight hair for a full year, without any hot tools required in my a.m. routine. The treatment’s effects ended up lingering for several years, and by the time I turned 19, I actually started to miss my curls. Now, after much experimentation with curl gels, oils, and other hair goos, I’m really just starting to embrace my hair’s natural waves. So for a present this year, I’d really love to try Oribe Curl Gloss ($42).
The bottle itself resembles the one in The Little Mermaid that Ursula uses to whip up Ariel’s mermaid-to-human potion—and what’s inside Oribe’s concoction is just as transformative. It’s a vegan styling product that contains aloe vera, a strand-repairing superstar, and moisturizing panthenol, which works to volumize each curl with care. Its formula is also hair-inclusive, offering shine and definition to all kinds of curls, spanning from “wavy” to “coily,” according to the brand, plus it’s made to protect your ‘do from the sharp UV rays of the sun (an environmental threat Ariel definitely didn’t consider when she decided to ditch the tail).
Best of all though—and this is key, folks—Oribe Curl Gloss works just as well on air-dried hair as it does when blow-dried by a diffuser. Sure, piles of products exist to tackle curls, but many of their instructions insist that a blow dryer is a must in order for them to work effectively. And as someone who would rather, say, make a deal with an evil Octopus sea-witch than figure out the hot and cold settings on a hairdryer, I say bravo to the foolproof Oribe formula. All you have to do is work some into your hair and you’re good to go.
As for the price, which is somewhat steep for a curling product, Amazon reviewers say it’s 100-percent worth every penny. “If you have curly hair, this gloss is terrific at maintaining curl without frizziness,” writes one happy customer. Plenty of others say that all you need is a dab throughout your strands for full effect, so you can make it last a really, really long time—through both your keratin treatments and keratin treatment rebounds. And on days when you’re “walking around on those—what do you call them, again?—feet.”
Dear Santa: The other beauty products we want for Christmas include Clinique’s beyond-amazing moisturizer and lymphatic drainage face tool.
Written by: WellGood
