In California over the past couple days we’ve had (a little bit of) rain and for me rainy weather is the perfect time for me to wear my hair curly. It takes a lot of the stress off of making sure that I leave the house equipped to not melt in the rain.
Since today was the first semi-clear day we’ve had since I converted back to my curls (and also since it was my day off) I decided to do a hair treatment and flat iron my hair. I have been using the Roots hair treatment for well over a year and it only today occurred to me that perhaps I should review it for you guys.
THE PRODUCT
Roots Hair Treatment comes in a black pot with 8.4 oz of product priced at $21. The treatment itself is a very thick cream; more waxy than shaving cream but just as rich. Its thick enough that if you turn the pot over with the lid off there’s no way the cream is slipping out. Roots smells minty but not too strong.
*the remaining product after 2 full treatments*
Roots has gotten it’s popularity because it is a great hair treatment for promoting hair growth. In addition to that it helps instill a lot of shine, help with dandruff and cleanse the scalp while also providing a bit of body and lift.
The ingredients are doing all the work here; mainly the essentials oils. The spearmint and peppermint are very stimulating. They draw oxygen and blood which feeds the hair at the “root” and promotes a healthy scalp. I’d also like to point out that mint on the scalp and temples is great at relieving headache pressure. The sweet orange oil, neroli and grapefruit are all incredibly cleansing. It is important to keep the scalp free of bacteria and debris for healthy hair–especially if you are hoping to gain length. Neroli helps to generate new skin cells and since hair is basically made of discarded cells (sorry, kinda gross, I know) the faster we make cells, the more we discard them and the longer our hair gets! Additionally, the citrus oils in this treatment are a great source of vitamin C which supports shine and collagen, giving hair a full look with lots of shine. To top it off, for hydration they have included honey and extra virgin olive oil.
HOW TO USE
Start off with dry hair free of tangles and kinks.
I like to flip my whole head over and trace some of the treatment around the bottom of my hairline (the neck/kitchen area).
Then moving horizontally I part my hair and rub the treatment onto my exposed scalp. You don’t need a whole lot of product–just enough to be able to see and feel it.
Pay special attention to any sparse areas or anywhere that you are trying to grow out your hair, like old layers or bangs, or also anywhere that your scalp gets flaky.
Once I have my scalp more or less covered (it doesn’t need to be the whole scalp, just about 70%) I clip my hair back and relax. One thing I like to do is alternate blowing hot and cold air onto my head. The temperature difference really stimulates the blood flow even more. It isn’t necessary to put a plastic cap on your head. Because your hair is dry to begin with it doesn’t need any help absorbing the product.
Leave this on minimum 15 minutes, maximum 30; after that amount of time it really isn’t doing much for you. Plus half of the benefits come when you are washing the product out.
Shampoo and condition like normal. I always recommend washing hair in lukewarm/cool water but in this case the colder the better, for the blood flow reasons I mentioned previously as well as the fact that the cold temperature of the water helps to lock the honey and olive oil into the hair shaft. As you are washing/rinsing the treatment out be sure to scratch your scalp to get it clean and stimulate it. Run the excess Roots product through your hair as a conditioning rinse.
THE AFTERMATH
The instant results will be an overall fresh and clean feeling to your scalp and the absence of dandruff. You will most definitely notice the shine to your hair as well as a slight amount of lift at your roots. If you’re someone that has very fine hair or limp hair this is a great healthy alternative to dry shampoo or hair spray.
Over time, I would say 2-3 months you will see an almost complete decrease in dandruff and you should notice that your hair has grown substantially. For me, since my rate of growth isn’t the speediest, I noticed probably 3 or 4 months into using Roots. As I tend to wear my hair flat ironed in spurts of 7-15 days at a time I will usually do the treatment right before I flat iron it and depending on how long I go between hair washes/flat irons I use this treatment 3-4 times monthly.
I would say its probably best not to use this more often than once every 4 days. The hazard is that the strong mint and citrus oils can be damaging to your scalp with overexposure plus I find my hair and body build up a tolerance to things if I use them too much or too often.
I hope this helps. It is a great product to use should anyone be trying to nourish their scalp or add length to their hair.
*Bonus: save your black product pots. When they’re all used up clean them out (just takes a bit of warm water or a wet cloth) and collect five. When you bring them back to any Lush store you can receive a FREE fresh face mask. With over ten to choose from there’s one for everybody. Plus, you’ll have to go there anyway to replace your empty Roots. Why not get something free out of it?
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