Product Review: Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner

I purchased the Giovanni Direct Leave-in over a month ago. I've been using leave-ins for a while, but I never really understood why I needed one. I never saw much difference in my hair. I did have great results with Infusium 23 years ago when my hair was bleached, but now it leaves my scalp flaky. I had so many good things about Giovanni, and when it went on sale at Rite Aid, I jumped at it. Unfortunately, none of the Rite Aid stores I went in had the leave-in, so I bought it from Whole Foods. Let me say it was well worth the search and paying full price for it.

I used it for my next wash. My hair wasn't that dangled when I applied a dime-sized amount, but my comb slipped through my hair like it was silk! I couldn't believe it. Like Oprah says, I had an "aha" moment. This is what a leave-in conditioner is supposed to do. After I took my rollers out, my hair was so soft and silky, and even though I was 7 weeks post-relaxer, my new growth was so soft and manageable. I even started to think about going natural!

The one thing that doesn't work for me and GD is using it as a moisturizer. When I put it on my dry hair, it makes my hair frizz up. Also, some people use it to rollerset, but I have better results if I use a setting lotion on top of it. That's okay, because I love it enough as a leave-in to forgive it for that small shortcoming. It also has a little protein in it. I was encouraged to dilute it with water before applying, but I've found if I just use a dime-sized amount and apply it to all of my hair, I don't have any breakage. This is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients: Purified water with rosemary oil, nettle oil, thyme oil, birch leaf oil, chamomile oil, clary, lavender, coltsfoot leaf, yarrow, mallow, horsetail oil soybean protein, cetyl alcohol, vitamin E, pro-vitamin B5, trace minerals, citric acid, sodium hdroxymethylglyceride, grapefruit seed, and fragrance with essential oils.