May 04, 2012

Get big fat hair instantly for under $7.00

Whenever I go to the hairdresser, the first thing I tell them is “don’t thin out my hair”. They have a habit of going “oh you have such thick hair, here let me remove the bulk for you… snip snip snip” and my hair is thinned out before I have a chance to protest.

Yes I know that thinning out parts of the bulk that I call my hair, will probably make it fall nicer, but I’m Armenian. We like big bouffy hair. Ok, maybe not bouffy, but we love volume. The bigger the hair, the skinnier the girl looks. (And yes, I’m totally generalising here, I’m sure there are sleek haired Armos out there too… but none in my circle of friends, or family, or in the Kardashians).
The Kardashian sisters - lovers of voluminous hair!

Anyway, are you still with me? This post is about this miracle product that helps me get big fat volume at the roots. And it is...


Schwarzkopf Taft Full On Styling Powder

I first heard about hair powders from the gorgeous Christina of Hair Romance (and if you haven’t been reading her blog you absolutely must), but for some reason I assumed they would be like dry shampoos and leave my dark hair with white powdery roots.

Then I kept seeing these styling powders popping up everywhere, with drugstore and salon brands all bringing out their versions. 

So one day I decided to give it a try and went with the cheapest option I could fine, the Taft Styling Powder (around $6.95) especially since Christina had written that she saw no difference between this powder (which incidentally is marketed at men), and the OSIS, powder which is also by Schwarzkopf, but is aimed at women and is 5 times the price. Hmmmm...  (NOTE: Please check the end of this post for an important update regarding the ingredients).



How I use it
  • I style my hair as per normal (either straighten or curl it), then part my hair at the crown where I want volume and sprinkle a tiny bit of the powder straight onto it.
  • I then massage it in using my fingertips and marvel at the instant volume. The effect is similar to one you’d get if you backcombed or teased your hair, it has that matte texture, but of course it’s kinder to your hair than teasing it.
  • The powder is white but it dissolves immediately into my hair and doesn’t leave any white powdery mess around. In fact I tried to take photos of the powder itself but it kept dissolving too quickly for me to get a good shot.
  • The best thing  is, the powder is re-workable. Meaning, if at the end of the day you notice the hair is falling flat just massage the area where you'd sprinkled the powder to reactivate it.
  • If you use too much your hair will just get sticky, so use a tiny tiny amount and you can always add more later. The bottle is a bit like a salt shaker, so you need to be careful how much you sprinkle.

These styling powders are also great for giving texture to soft hair (good for up dos), and for mattifying your hair for a rockstar tousled look. But my preference is to use it only at the roots for root lift and volume. Even though there are so many other such powders in the market, I'm extremely happy with this one and have already bought backups.

Oh and did I mention I got a haircut? I got some layers cut around my face (but not thinned out... I've found a good hairdresser who understands my needs for volume), and a little bit taken off the length. Enough to give it some shape, but still long enough to wear it up or have it curly.

Also in the photo above it might look like I've dyed my hair, but it's actually my natural colour coming through as I haven't dyed it in ages (normally I dye it Darkest Brown by L'Oreal Preference). In fact if you look closely you can see a stray grey hair winding its way down my fringe.


Have you tried styling powders yet?


UPDATE: Thanks to a reader (thanks KriSTYLES!), we compared the ingredients of Full On, Got2B Volumizing Powder and OSIS styling powders which are all made by Schwarzkopf but are all sold at different prices. Here are the ingredients. 
  • Taft Full On ($6.95) - Aqua, Silica Silylate, Sodium Benzoate, Octyl Acrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Citric Acid
  • Got2B (approx $11) - Aqua, Silica Silylate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Octyl Acrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate Copolymer
  • OSIS ($25) - Aqua (Water/Eau), Silica Silylate, Sodium Benzoate, Octyl Acrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Citric Acid

Yes, they all have exactly the same ingredients but in different packaging (same size though) and aimed at different market segments.

26 comments :

  1. I've never tried them before but after reading your post, I might just get one! :) Love your new hair cut.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks hun, and I'm really happy with it so hope u like it too if u try it.

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  2. Thank you for the post!! Buying this today!! x

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    Replies
    1. Yeay, hope u like it! Just remember not to use too much as a little goes a long way with this.

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  3. LOve the new haircut, Lilit!! Totally would love to try this, my hair is as flat as flat iron.. haha

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    1. Thank Dana! My hair is generally flat at the roots but this has been a lifesaver for me.

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  4. I've been using the Got2b Powder'ful volumizing styling powder which happens to be manufactured by Schwarzkopf too. I love the volume it gives and it can be reactivated by massaging just as the taft powder. I wouldn't be surprised if they're both the same exact product =)

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    Replies
    1. Naughty Schwarzkopf, they probably ARE the same product but in diff packaging! We need to compare the list of ingredients.

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    2. The ingredients are in this order : Aqua, Silica silylate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Octylacrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate Copolymer.

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    3. Just checked my ones ingredients and they are EXACTLY the same. Actually the order of it was slightly different, Citric Acid was listed last, but the actual ingredients were the same. Naughty Naughty Schwarzkopf. I need to locate the OSIS ingredients and update the post with the details. Thanks heaps for checking yours!

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  5. Ah love that style on you! I use this product a LOT..

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  6. You have beautiful hair to begin with, but this really pumps of the volume! I'll have to get some. :)

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  7. Your hair look pretty! My hairdresser has used styling poweders for my hair and then yes the result is like WOW! For some reason I still haven´t bought one my self, but I should :)

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  8. You look gorgeous! Love the new haircut. x

    I have really thick hair, and I used to ask the hairdresser to thin it out every time I go for a haircut. Now that I'm older and (wiser) I have come to love my thick hair and would do everything I can to add volume to it. Can't wait to try out the powder.

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  9. Ohh yep I've got the Schwarzkopf Osis+ dusting powder. It's kind of sticky in texture though even when I don't use a small amount. And yeah it was expensive for the amount you get! I'll definitely look out for this when I finish the Osis one!

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  10. You look great!! I have just started using the Swarzkopf Instant Volume Powder and am LOVING it!

    Sharleena xx

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  11. I've tried the Vo5 Instant Oomph powder which was the first I had seen of volume based power and I like what it does, also find that while the powder isnt a dry shampoo, it does keep my roots less oily by the end of the day. Will have to look out for the Taft one.

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  12. I use the Osis powder and have done for a while (before the recent craze started and different brands started popping up). Though feeling slightly ripped off knowing that the Taft variant has the same ingredients! Will definitely be buying Taft as my replacement. Thanks for the review!

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  13. Can I buy this at a store or only online? I just cut my hair in to a short tosseled look and need help styling it like I got from my hair stylist. Thanks for the info!

    Becky

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  14. Can I purchase this at a store or only online? I just cut my hair into a short layered/tosseled style and need help getting it to look like it did when I left the hair salon. I did get instructions from my stylist but you know we never can do it just like they do. HELP!

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  15. Can I buy this at a store or only online? I just cut my hair in to a short tosseled look and need help styling it like I got from my hair stylist. Thanks for the info!

    Becky

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    Replies
    1. Hi Becky, you can buy them in stores... I don't know what country you're in, but in Australia they sell them at Priceline and also in large supermarkets. :)

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    2. Lilit, I am in the U.S. do you know where I can purchase this here?

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    3. Lilit, I am in the U.S. do you know where I can purchase it here?

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    4. Lilit, I am in the U.S. do you know where I can purchase this here?

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    5. Hi Becky, I think they sell them at Walmart and Ulta there, but the packaging is different. From all I can see the product is exactly the same but Schwartzkopf have renamed it and it's in a different colour packaing. http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod3120541

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