::Review:: Paul Mitchell Smoothing (incl Super Skinny Serum)
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free skin care · Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:06 am

So I recently became aware thanks to Carekate that my Biosilk was pure evil (alcohol as the SECOND ingredient, I have no idea how I missed that), and she recommended Paul Mitchell The Super Skinny Serum as an alternative. I'd heard others rave about it too, and given that my hair is coarse and frizzy and that it craves hardcore silicone products when I straighten, I tossed my Biosilk and was determined to try PM. Such luck, then, when on my recent vacation when my bags were lost, my hotel was right across the street from a Paul Mitchell training salon! I picked up a handy three-pack of the Smoothing Shampoo, Conditioner, and Super Skinny Serum, and I am totally wowed (I went back and bought full-sizers before I headed home).

The serum is very very cool - super skinny is right! I find that I can use a ton and I don't get that greasy look, and I can even get away with applying it on dry hair and not having it look bad. It seems to give better shine than most similar serums, and when I used the trio to make my hair curly instead of straight, it was lovely and soft and not bushy at all. And I feel like it holds a "straight" better than other serums - even in the LA heat and comparative humidity, my hair stayed smooth, shiny, straight, and not at all greasy-looking. I do have hair that drinks up oil though, so this stuff might make other finer-haired gals oily-looking, just to warn you. But I was blown away - usually my natural wave starts to come back after a whole day, but this stuff lasted me well into the evening.

The shampoo and conditioner are stellar as well - they have a similar feel on the hair as Redken All Soft, but there is one big difference with this entire collection - it is nearly impossible to get it off! Seriously. I tried washing my hair FOUR TIMES in LA to cleanse it of the silicones (since your hair won't really be able to absorb moisture from deeper treatments when you have it coated in silicones and polymers - so I always try to strip that stuff off every few days and do a nice deep emollient treatment afterwards) and it would NOT COME OFF. I thought maybe it was just the hard water in LA plus my limited hair product arsenal, but when I got home last night I tried washing it off with my most stripping shampoo that always completely removes other silicones (and Redken All Soft), and no dice. I even mixed half ACV with it after that and washed AGAIN, and it was STILL on there, I could feel it!

So. I'm going to have to try washing my hair with freakin' Dr. Bronner's and baking soda tonight. I'm definitely still a big fan of the product, but it needs a HEAVY HAND to remove it, be warned! Over time I'm sure it could get drying so I do think it's important to strip this stuff off from time to time. Oh, and I forgot to even mention, but the shampoo and conditioner are allegedly formulated to cut down on drying time for hair - and while I don't know if this really applies if you air-dry it, it did seem to help for blow-drying (which I don't do very often). I couldn't really tell you that it for sure helped that much one way or another, but it did seem quicker and easier to dry, especially when I dried it only partly with a diffuser for my curly look - that happened faster than with other products.

Overall I highly recommend this stuff to other coarse/dry/frizzy/curly gals who want to smooth and straighten, or just smooth and define curl/wave. Please just be careful to remove and treat your hair to something less coating in between bouts of smoothed-down joy!

free skin care · Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:38 pm

Love the Super Skinny Serum, been using it for couple years, it worth the price, my hair is dry, coarse and this really slims/sleeks it down in a nice way.

free skin care · Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:16 am

I use the Super Skinny Serum. I like it, too. But, the shampoo and conditioner are crap. It's the shamp and condish that are sticking to your hair, not the serum. They left my hair flat (I didn't think it was possible), dull, and dry at the ends. Yuck.

Another good smoothing sysytem is Redken Smooth Down. I love the conditioner; it's not full of silicones like Super Skinny. I also love the Detangling Leave in cream, which works just as good as, if not better than, Super Skinny. It has macadamia nut oil in it, which helps to add moisture while smoothing as well.

free skin care · Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:14 am

I've been reading some user comments about Smooth Down, and I think I'll give it a try instead of replacing my All Soft when I run out. That's interesting about the shampoo/conditioner - I really like the effect they have for me (flat = FABULOUS in my world, haha, as I'm always combating big hair) - but I'll definitely be aware and strip them well when needed. I do love that they really do seem to cut down on drying time, and I love the effects overall of the three-part system - but perhaps I'll save the shampoo and conditioner for when I know I'll need to blow-dry. It's good to be able to target the culprit. Thanks!

free skin care · Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:06 am

I still have a bottle of the super skinny cond in my shower and I'm trying to use everything up before i make another hair purchase...(i got a little out of control)...anyway...I am really liking it! It does tame the frizz and makes it much easier for me to straighten my hair in the am.

free skin care · Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:35 pm

FYI, I posted this ages ago but discussions of it came up in another thread, so I thought I'd update:

1) The smoothing shampoo and conditioner are JUST like Redken's Smooth Down, which I also purchased. Seriously, the only difference is the smell and the packaging.

2) Both of these make my hair nice and smooth, but they do horrid things to my scalp! I have to alternate with something that helps get rid of the buildup on my scalp, because it makes my dandruff-prone head even worse.

Just thought I'd throw that out there for folks who are thinking about getting this. And if anyone wants my old Smooth Down or PM Smoothing duo, let me know -- I listed them on MUA as swaps because the scalp thing just drives me nuts! Sad

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