All the products are unfragranced, and silicone, mineral oil and paraben free. 3 More Inches uses cashmere proteins and conditioning agents to repair and strengthen the length of the hair, and there's nothing particularly new or revolutionary in that; protein treatments like Aphogee and Nexxus Emergencee are very popular for helping to fill the cuticle of damaged hair. I do like the 3 More Inches for the fact that it's paraben, silicone and fragrance free, and doesn't appear to contain plastic-y polymers.
You apply the pre-wash treatment to dry hair, and saturate the hair with it from scalp to ends. This is a much more liquid treatment than Philip Kingsley Elasticiser (the Philip Kingsley is more about adding moisture than protein to the hair.) You do get a lot (500ml) for £27, but then you need to use quite a bit to saturate the hair if your hair is long like mine. This is left on the hair for at least an hour, before washing out.
The shampoo and conditioner are also fragrance-free, and washed and conditioned my hair competently. I would have been overjoyed to find these when I was pregnant (I was hyper-sensitive to scents couldn't bear anything fragranced) but if you like a more indulgent hair washing experience, these may not be for you; they are all about the results. These are each £16 for 250ml.
After using all 3 products, my hair feels strong, but not as soft at the very ends as when I use WEN cleansing conditioner. My hair isn't weighed down, it has good bounce at the roots, it's shiny and a day later it doesn't look in need of a wash. My only concern with this range is that is might not be moisturising enough on its own for very dry hair; although protein is strengthening, damaged hair also needs moisture. I can see one shampoo working for all (basically, all I want a shampoo to do is clean my hair without stripping it), but I'm sceptical that one conditioner suits all hair types; I do think thicker/drier hair requires a richer conditioner than fine/oily hair.
There's a finishing/styling product launching in the range in the summer that I think will add the moisture my ends need; until then I'll be using Phyto 9 on the ends. Without any styling/moisturising product, my hair was a little crunchy at the very ends after using the 3 steps.
I'll be using this line without rotating anything else in for at least a couple of weeks before reporting back, but on first impressions, the pre-wash treatment is an excellent protein treatment. I think you could swap the shampoo and conditioner for Louise Galvin's Natural Locks (also protein-based, and silicone, paraben and plasticiser-free) which smell lovely and cost half the price.
Ingredients of pre-wash
Ingredients of shampoo
Ingredients of conditioner
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What is it actually supposed to do, grow your hair by 3 inches? Also, who has an hour to sit around with soaked hair before washing their hair? And at that price? Ugh, no thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteYou can supposedly where it overnight, though you need to give it time to soak into your hair first.
DeleteHi Anitacska - the idea is that it keeps the hair in better condition along the whole length of it, so that you can grow longer hair if you want to without it becoming ratty looking at the end. I can do the pre-wash at the weekend (it dries reasonably quickly, and it isn't sopping wet, although it is a bit cold when you first apply it!) but I couldn't fit it in on a weekday morning.
ReplyDeletei came this close to buying this on pay day too tho i was hoping it to be more like the fekkais more range, the whole follicule and hair growth boosting thing, but its just food for healthy hair really, which is nice if it was advertised like that. 3 more inches? - i wish!
ReplyDeleteThere are in my opinion, better and cheaper alternatives.
But i do look forward to seeing a review from you still, i am very intrigued!
Shame the shampoo contains SLS - that stuff makes my scalp itch beyond all bearing. Will be interested to see how you get on with this though.
ReplyDeleteHi Inner Belle - I think the protein pre-wash looks pretty decent. I can't see anything particularly special about the shampoo and conditioner yet, apart from the fact they're unfragranced. I will report back!
ReplyDeleteHey Get_Lippie. I washed my hair in these again today, and no itchy/flaky scalp as yet, touch wood.
Humm Interesting. Now I'm not as excited about this. The pre wash sounds good but I don't want dry ends :-( I'll look for your review once you have used this a bit more. Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteHi Elvira - I think it definitely needs the addition of a moisture-locking product for the ends. I will update as I continue to use.
ReplyDeleteThe ingredients in the prewash treatment and the conditioner are almost identical. What is the difference between the actual products?
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous - yes, the ingredients are pretty much identical. As far as the products themselves go, the conditioner is slightly less runny and more moisturising than the pre-wash, which is more of a semi-liquid protein treatment.
ReplyDeletenow i wanted to buy this product but no one has written a review about how long their hair actually got. can you do that? it seems sort of impossible to grow your hair 3 inches. sense my hair is only up to my shoulders. help?
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous - my final review on this system is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.londonmakeupgirl.com/2010/06/3-more-inches-final-review.html
It doesn't actually make your hair grow any faster. The idea is that it will keep your hair in good condition and stop it breaking off or splitting, thus helping to space out the trims you need to keep it looking tidy and healthy.
My hair actually grows like a weed anyway, but I have had better results with Rahua and Rare Elements hair care than this.
Your best bet is to take a good supplement with glucosamine in my opinion - I wrote a post about that here: http://www.londonmakeupgirl.com/2011/01/supplements-to-support-hair-growth-and.html
I hope this helps.
Nothing beats mira hair oil it makes my hair grow 3 inches a month genuinely.
ReplyDeleteReally? I find that incredibly hard to believe, unless it contains chemicals that can somehow hyper-stimulate the hair follicle.
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