Vavoom Smoothing Gel (Matrix Essentials)

Introduction To Jane Bullock

Hair Boutique is very proud to announce the addition of Jane Bullock (pictured with Karen to the left) as our new ace short hair reporter.

A writer by profession, Jane loves to "play with her hair" just like Karen does.

Jane has very thick hair that "grows like a weed" and has to be cut about every 2 weeks. This gives Jane lots of opportunities to try all sorts of new styles and products on a regular basis.

While Karen is busy testing, researching, and writing about products and styles for medium to longer hair, Jane will be doing the same on the short hair beat.

Jane, like Karen, is "40something" and has promised to do some special reports on "40something" hair styles and trends along with product reviews and styling news.

Later this month Hair Boutique will be unveiling the new AskJane column for short hair related questions.

In the meantime, you can send email to Jane if you have any questions about this or her other product reviews. You can also look for Jane on HairTalk or HairBloopers which are her two favorite Hair Boutique boards.

My current hairstyle is the Bed Head, which works well on my short, thick hair.

I wanted to try something other than the standard Bed Head products, and I had used Vavoom gels and hairsprays in the past.

This time I tried the new Vavoom Smoothing Gel.

Vavoom Smoothing Gel

This gel is supposed to tone down frizz, waves and curls. It also claims to work well in high humidity, which is fortunate, because in Dallas we have lots of high-humidity days.

Usage

Apply as much or as little as you like to clean, towel-dried hair. I used my standard quarter-sized blob. My goal was to try it for a smooth, finished hairstyle, and to also try doing a Bed Head with it.

Packaging

The gel comes in the standard Vavoom sleek, black plastic bottle. My only problem with it was in figuring how to get the gel out! Here’s the deal—the bottom is flat, so you can stand the bottle upright. When you turn it over, there’s a flap you push up with your thumb.

Now when I opened it the first time, there was a clear plastic plug inside with no visible hole for the gel to come through. I thought perhaps I was supposed to pry the plug out first. That didn’t work. Then I thought that maybe the bottom part unscrews—well, it will turn merrily around and around as long as you want to play with it, but it won’t come off.

Frustrated, I tried lifting the flap up again. Just for fun, I squeezed it, and behold and lo, the gel came out! When you squeeze it, the plug reverses and you can plainly see an X-shaped hole.

Who knew a gel would come with an intelligence test?

Fragrance

The gel has a fresh, clean botanical scent; reminiscent of herbs and meadow flowers.

How I Tested The Gel

As I said earlier, I wanted to try this gel with a smooth hairstyle, and also see how it worked with the Bed Head.

The Smooth Hairdo:

The first day, I applied it to my clean, damp hair and worked it in well. I used my blow-dryer (my pet name for it is The Terminator—it runs hot and nothing but a power outage can stop it) to create a smooth, high and finished hairdo. I found I didn’t even need hairspray afterward, although I could have used it if I wanted. It was an overcast and humid day in the mid-80’s, and although I wilted by the end of the day, my hair didn’t. I also didn’t have those little "frizzies" around the face that pop out on a sticky day. So—the smoothing gel actually does smooth a hairdo. That much I expected. But how would it hold up in a Bed Head?

The Bed Head:

The next time I tried the gel, I styled a Bed Head with it. Again, I worked it into my damp hair, and this time I styled it with my fingers. I let my hair air-dry for about 5 minutes, then used the regular Bed Head hairspray. It worked! I had a great Bed Head ‘do for the day. I gave it one more test—I used the gel without using the Bed Head spray. This time I got a softer look—still a B.H., but less spiky. The hairdo held up well during another humid day.

Ingredients:

Water, PPG-24-glycereth-24, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, propylene glycol, polyquaternium-11, non-oxynol-15, fragrance, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidynl urea, chitosan, PPG-10 methylglucose ether, dimethicone copolyol meadowfoamate, lactic acid, phenoxyethanol, dimethicone copolyol, tetrasodium EDTA, simethicone.

Animal testing

The Vavoom products do not use animal testing.

Conclusion

I liked the Vavoom Smoothing Gel as a nice alternative to the Bed Head products. Some gels flake during the day; this one doesn’t. I like the fact that I can use this product for different hairstyles, and that it will still work well.

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