Phyto Phyto 9 Leave In Treatment

Well the summer is over and it has had quite an impact on my hair.  Sun, chlorine, ponytail elastics...I often find myself trying to decide what season is the worst for my hair, the summer or the winter.  That being said, my hair has just survived three long months and while I have a hair appointment coming up, I still have some time to bid before it gets here and I am not going to wear my hair in tight bun every single day until I am able to get a nice cut.  Enter a routine of heavy conditioning and leave in haircare products for the next two or three weeks. 

When I know that I need a hydrating product that will work and work very well, I very often turn to the Phyto brand of natural haircare.  Started in the 1960s in the South of France, this line was one of the first to use plant extracts in a highly concentrated form.  A small amount of any of the products in this line goes a very long way.  I have used products from almost ever single line of this haircare collection at least once and I can say that every single one of them had great qualities even if they weren't my favorite products ever.  Phytocitrus is still my reining favorite group of products but I firmly believe that no matter what line you purchase products from, you will be happy with them and have a series of great hair days everytime that you use them. 

Since my hair is in post-summer mode, I chose a product from the ultra-day haircare line, the leave-in conditioner Phyto 9.  In the dry hair line, Phyto also offers Phyto 7,  a conditioner with seven essential moisturizers in it.  Since Phyto 9 is for ultra-dry hair, it is pretty easy to figure out that it contains an extra two essential hydrators than the Phyto 7.  Both of these leave-in conditioners are very targeted to toward only the driest and most damaged types of hair and are not for everyone.  If your hair isn't dry or ultra-dry, you won't need these products and they will just end up weighting down your hair.  Just some food for thought guys...

Now my hair is thick, curly, and dry.  Not to mention chemical treated and heat-styled and I pretty much do everything that I shouldn't do to my hair all the time.  And no amount of hair stylists or beauty editors will ever change my mind.  If everyone saw my hair when it was dried naturally then they would understand my need for the blow dryer and flat iron before I leave the house in the morning.  So I won't change my habits but I will help stop my hair from becoming completely fried and looking awful. 

"Infused with eight plant extracts and macademia nut oil, this weightless leave-in conditioner instantly hydrates, smoothes, and protects medium to coarse tresses while preventing frizz and split ends.  Hair is left silky soft and illuminated with shine.", states the Phyto website.  The eight active plant extracts are as follows: Burdock Root Oil, Canendula, Rosemary Oil, Sage, Soybean & Protein Oil, St. John's Wort, and Willow.  All of the oils in this product are put in to do one major task which is to really hydrate hair and to help stop the cuticle from easily losing moisture. 

This product is a cream texture that is about medium weight, I have used thicker creams on my hair but they didn't always penetrate as well as thinner formula.  I use this product once a day on damp hair when I get out of the shower.  Phyto states that this product can be used as your regular conditioner however if I don't use some type of conditioner in the shower then I will not be able to get a comb through my hair so I use this in addition to my daily conditioner (which is exactly how I use every other type of leave-in that I have tried).  I have to use about a quarter size dollap of this cream in order to fully cover the last three inches of my hair.  This amount allows me to cover that whole area but isn't so much that is builds up on my hair.

When I first began using this product, I needed to use it every single night in order for the moisture to stay in my hair.  After about a week of doing this, I was able to use it three times a week and still get the exact same result.  It makes my ends much softer and smoother.  Since it helps to close the hair cuticle and smooth the surface, this product also helps to make my ends easier to straighten and therefore I have to spend a bit less time on them with the iron in the morning. 

I have bought many tubes of this product in the fall and winter months since I use it all the time.  Also, the tube is so small that if I know that I cannot get back to Sephora within the month, I end up purchasing two at a time.  I love the way that this product works and helps to hydrate and smooth my hair, my only suggestion to Phyto is to make this tube bigger since I burn through them in no time. 

My mission is to keep my hair hydrated and in good condition until I can get to my hair stylist and get the last remains of the summer season cut out of my hair.

photo courtesy of Sephora