This article is part of the Her Campus Kenyon series Love My Locks, in which our writers discuss their relationships to their manes. A huge thank you to Ulta Beauty and Bed Head for gifting us with so many hair goodies in the College Fashion Week Essentials Kit!
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While I fancy myself adventurous in most areas of my life, there are certainly specific areas in which I’m very much a creature of habit: My default burger is tomato and cheddar only. I use men’s razors because I’m seriously convinced they work better than those marketed to women. Cambria is my go-to serif font (pretty much just because)… And this list of things I “just do” goes on and on, and I really didn’t see a reason to deviate from my ways until I (surprise) tried something new that I ended up liking a lot.
See, one way to get someone who’s like me to try new things is to provide free samples. Recently, through Her Campus’s College Fashion Week, I received some thickening shampoo and conditioner by Bumble and bumble. At first, I wasn’t too keen on replacing my usual products with these new, fancy little bottles. Hadn’t my hair always been fine the way it was? What real reason did I have to try these new products? What if it wasn’t worth it to get out of my routine?
Well, it turns out that curiosity and sleek, minimalist bottle design got the better of me, and I ended up testing the products. I decided the experiment would let me know whether or not it really was worth it to try out new hair-care, or if all shampoos and conditioners were essentially the same. Maybe it would turn out that the stuff I’d been using for years was just as good as anything else…
While I was a tad thrown off about the directions telling me to keep the shampoo in my hair for 3-5 minutes (I had always previously thought conditioner was the product one was to leave in longer), the stuff smelled nice and felt kinda luxurious. Feeling pampered is always a win. Then it came time to try out the conditioner. Even though it didn’t smell like coconut (the scent of my usual conditioner), I enjoyed it and my hair felt really slick and nice. I was legitimately excited to go dry my hair and see the results. And I was more surprised and delighted when I discovered that my hair looked and felt better.
Happy with the initial trial, I’ve continued to use the products and have decided to do so until I run out. Using the Bumble and Bumble thickening shampoo and conditioner from Ulta Beauty has made my hair feel fresh and has also kept it kinkless after wearing a ponytail all day (which I think is incredible). Additionally, the experience has also made me rethink sticking to my default options when it comes to other areas of my life.
Even though being adventurous in big ways more recognizable and potentially more rewarding, it may actually serve you well to press your boundaries in the smallest of ways. Try to re-examine your small choices and not get caught up in what you usually do because there are lots of interesting options out there! Have fun with it: get different burger toppings, sample different brands for fun, or (if you’re still a little scared) try doing something new with a friend because then, even if the product isn’t gold, you’ll still have a fun memory to look back on.
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