I love when people come to stay. I love when curly haired people come to stay. I especially love when my curly-haired mother comes to stay and she leaves her bounty of hair products in my shower and bathroom. I strongly encourage (ok force) international visitors to shower practically upon arrival in my apartment to “wash away their airplane worries and travel tiredness,” ahem. I then make them a nice cup of tea and while they sit and sip, I check out my new beauty bonanza in the bathroom. Yes! New shampoos, new conditioners, new gels, new creams, and new mousses! The apple didn’t fall far from the tree of course, and my mother takes full advantage of her stay with me to test out all my favorite products.

This visit, my mother brought Sunsilk Lively Blonde Shampoo and Sunsilk Summer Care Conditioner to my shower, and when she got back on a plane yesterday, she did so minus same shampoo and conditioner.

I’d been struggling of late to find the right conditioner. I have curly hair and it’s trouble to keep it conditioned but light all year round but especially in NYC Summer heat and humidity. My mother was quick to tell me that the conditioner I was using was to much for my hair, and my hair looked lank and limp. I’d known it already of course but I’d kept experimenting with different combinations of conditioner+hair cream, shampoo+conditioner+hair cream, and conditioner+less moisturizing cream+frizz spray to recreate that one day I’d had perfect hair.

The first morning after my mother arrived, I tested out her Sunsilk products. She lives in Australia, where every product on the shelf contains a UV filter and sun protection, and these products are no different. The shampoo contains chamomile natural extract and though the shampoo is called “lively blonde” and made to “revive sun-kissed highlights,” and though I don’t have blonde hair I do like the shine and light I see in my hair since swiping it a few days ago. The conditioner has coconut milk and a UV filter and my hair looks and feels soft, shiny, and frizz-free, but not greasy. I love that it protects my hair and I don’t have to add any more gunk to keep my poor sun exposed locks safe and soft.