Reading: How To Revive Hair or Prevent Loss

As I’ve mentioned before, I have so many beauty products left over from years of living next to an editorial beauty closet that I don’t need to bring one more into my life. I rarely have to wonder: “How do I revive my hair or prevent loss?”

And yet…every now and then I read about one that sounds so interesting…I just have to try it. Such is the case with Cria Hair & Scalp Booster. While I don’t have much hair loss, I know that it is a big issue facing most women over 40. But I certainly know how a lousy hair day can impact one’s self-image. In fact, one of the best moments in the new series Fleabag is when the protagonist confronts her hairdresser about her sister’s horrific cut and explains that after age 40, it’s all about hair.

So when I first heard Shubhra Sharma talk about discovering her father’s secret formula for reviving hair and preventing loss in an old diary and deciding to manufacture it herself, I couldn’t resist. I wrote Shubhra and she sent me the CRIA Hair and Scalp Booster Starter Kit (worth $60) to try.

What you will like about Cria is that the product is totally natural, made of sesame seed oil, jaborandi herb, naturally harvested grain alcohol, and lavender oil. What I loved is Shubhra’s story:  Her father was a biochemist and her mom a homeopathic physician. They’d created a formula to help her mom’s patients cope with hair loss. When her father died, the formula was lost.  Shubhra is an anthropologist working on a project using men’s diaries to discern the difference between their public and private selves. When she examined her father’s diary, she stumbled on the formula and decided to make the product again as a way to “honor my parents and their enduring legacy for organic, healthy, empowered living.”

The idea of putting oil in my hair was strange at first. But then I realized how much I love all the face oils I’ve tried and decided to give it a go. Though there is a nozzle top to put on the bottle, I wanted to proceed cautiously so I poured a tiny amount in my palms and worked it into my scalp and hair. I left it on for an hour and then shampooed it out.

All I can say is, wow! My hair looked amazing — soft, light, refreshed. I made a note to myself to tell my colorist about the product because it would be a fabulous way to end the damaging color cycle.

Of course, being a typical American, I decided that if a small amount of the product was great, a ton of it next time would be better. My bad: I used the nozzle and worked tons into my hair and didn’t shampoo it out well enough.  I had limp yucky hair. One more shampooing however and I was glam again.

So go slowly to find the right amount for you and at the right pacing. I’ve even used the tiniest bit as an after blow-dry de-frizzer, which I rub on my hands and draw over the spots that look particularly frizzy. Thank you Shubhra!