I have always had thin, short hair that is very dry and breaks easily. Sick of this, I decided to see if I could change my hair with products.
After trying a few drug store products (I used a lot of masks by Hask, which I really liked for their price tag), I wanted to see if a more expensive product would do more than the cheaper ones. Plus, Bondi Boost is an Australian made product, and I’m all for that.
I kept seeing ads for Bondi Boost all over my social media but didn’t know anyone in real life who had used it. The reviews all seemed positive, but sometimes reviews are unreliable because often only those who have very positive or very negative reviews are bothered to leave one. And who knows if people were just faking positivity about the product on social media. So I figured I’d investigate for myself.
I ordered the Intense Growth Spray 125ml ($29.95), The Miracle Growth Mask 250ml ($39.95), and the Elixir Oil ($29.95). For me, a perpetual cheapskate, this hurt me to order.
Bondi Boost promises:
- You will reach your ‘#hairgoals’
- Cleanses and fortifies
- Creates an ‘A+ scalp environment’
- Reduces hair loss
- Grows hair longer
- Reduces breakage
- Repairs split ends
I went into using Bondi Boost with a dry, flaking scalp, a LOT of split ends, dry hair and a lot of short patches of hair that would not seem to grow longer than a couple inches.
Of course, dying my hair blonde probably didn’t help my hair health. After this picture, I stopped going blonde and let my naturally light brown hair grow out. However, I did leave it brown for a few years before this and it stayed short and dry.
The Intensive Growth Serum is a daily treatment that made my hair softer immediately. I sprayed it in to the roots, massaged the scalp and then spread it down to the lengths. It made my whole head feel softer and lighter. I was sufferng from dermatillomania and had just started to get over it (dermatillomania is an obsessive compulsive need to scratch your scalp) and the Intensive Growth Serum did not agitate my raw scalp. It helped those very stubborn patches of short hair grow past two inches in length and helped the raw spots of skin heal.
Now that my hair has grown out to its maximum length (as I have genetically fine hair it will not grow much longer now) the Intensive Growth Spray does not have as much effect. I still have a bottle that I use every night to keep the lengths soft and my scalp healthy, but it’s impact has been cut by a lot. I also like to use it to tame any frizziness when I wear my hair out, as smoothing the hair with this spray instead of with heat is much better for it. I have been using the spray now for 2 years.
Pros:
- Softer, silkier, smoother
- Less breakage and fewer split ends
- Doesn’t look greasy so you can use it during the day
- Lasts a good amount of time given the amount
Cons:
- Stops improving the hair length after a while, but this is most likely due to your genetics. Not really a con but I wanted to make sure people understood that they can’t grow their hair to the length of the hair of the Bondi Boost models on social media just by using their products – you need the genetics for that.
The Growth Miracle Mask is a weekly treatment mask you use after shampooing. It makes my hair feel very soft afterwards. The mask instructs you to leave it on for at least 15 minutes and it means it. The couple of times I used the mask for only 5-10 minutes it didn’t really do anything for my hair. Instead of standing around in the shower for 15+ minutes, you can stop the water and get out, then get back in when you want to wash it out. I make sure I use it when I don’t have to be somewhere so I have time for the process.
I found it helpful to squeeze the water from my hair before appying the mask – this let the mask sink in to the hair better.
The mask is good for dry ends and I even spread it up to my roots when I was growing out those shorter patches of hair. My hair no longer has that crispy feeling to it. When I began using hair products for growth, my split ends were MANY. I could sit down and go through a section of hair and find that almost every hair was split. Now I have to really search through my hair to find one, and they are usually small ones right at the ends of the hair. I do reccomend chopping your split ends first though – products help prevent more split ends, they do not fuse the split hair back into one.
Pros:
- Softer, smoother hair
- Fewer split ends
- Smells great
- Weekly use (I prefer weekly to daily)
- Spreads well
Cons:
- Expensive
- If you have thicker hair, you may not get as many weekly treatments out of one tub. I get about 6 weeks or 6-7 uses.
- Will not make an impact if left on for a shorter amount of time
Elixir Oil
This is a pre-shampoo treatment you use once a week. Leave on for 15 minutes and then wash out. Unfortunately, my hair is too fine for this product. It makes my hair appear very greasy even after washing. I have to wait until the next shampoo for it to be completely washed out. It smells a lot like the after-wax oil I use on my legs, though this isn’t really its fault of course!
It promises to leave hair softer but I could not really feel a difference. I prefer the growth mask. It’s possible that this product is better for thicker, coarser hair. It may work better on curly or kinky hair. It could be great for you if you hair is parched, but for my thin, straight, (now) hydrated hair, it was a waste of money.
Note: I used the hair oil during a different time period than when I was using the mask. They were not used in conjunction.
Shampoo and Conditoner:
I haven’t used the shampoo or conditoner (I’m too cheap!) so cannot give a personal review, but I did want to mention that after recomending Bondi Boost to a friend, she tried both of them and loved them. She said her hair felt soft instead of like straw. She is now a reguar customer. They will actually be my next BB purchase, and I will update after that.
My hair has gone from just below my shoulders, totally choppy lengths all over, dry and split, fragile and crispy like a used tissue (bad analogy? sorry) to hair that is soft, long (this is the longest my hair has ever been so for me it’s long!) shiny, and uniform in length. I no longer have any patches of short hair. My scalp isn’t dry or itchy.
My hair will never be that of Blake Lively, but it is so much better than it was. If you have the money to spend, go for it!
