Living Proof Full Thickening Cream

I was really excited about this product when I first got it. A cream that makes your hair look thicker all over? Count me in! Plus I'm a pretty big fan of the Living Proof Full products that I've tried so far, so I had really high hopes.  So let's jump right in.

Living Proof Full Thickening Cream is meant to create "beautiful, natural fullness and touchable body that lasts throughout the day. Because it's a completely felxible technology your hair won't collapse or become stiff and crunchy."

Living Proof says that finding the right amount of product to use can take some experimentation and I've read some reviews that said their hair looked greasy after applying this stuff, so the first time I used it I decided to play it safe. I used about a dime sized amount (which is what the directions suggest) Actually I may have used slightly more. But it turned out that I had played it too safe as this wasn't enough for my long, medium thickness hair. The results were still nice - it had an obvious smoothing effect and my hair was definitely shinier than usual as well! but it didn't look any thicker than usual. Having said that, my hair looked and felt super smooth and shiney for a couple of days, so I was pleased.

My second attempt was more succesful. This time I used about two nickle sized amounts, spread it evenly throughout my damp hair. The results were smooth and shiney, just like the first time, but this time my hair had a thicker appearance, while maintaining a lightweight feel and plenty of bounce. It looked so good, I didn't feel the need to style it any more! To be sure, this product does not provide a va-va-voom Dolly Parton-esque type look, but a you've-got-naturally-thick-and-beautiful-hair look. If you want something really dramtic you'll have to continue styling.

I expected things to be limp the next morning when I took my hair down from its nightly pony tail, but to my surprise everything was looking just as full and bouncy as the day before! cutting the time I had to spend on my hair down to about a minute. Perfect!

When using this product, keep in mind that it is not a lifter. So if you're wanting lift at the roots you need to use a root lifting product before applying this thickening cream.

Overall I like this product and recommend it to anyone troubled with flat, lifeless hair. I think Living Proof's Full Shampoo and Conditioner do just as good a job at providing lightweight body and bounce though, so I'm not sure that I will be purchasing this cream in the future for myself. (I don't see the need to use both) This thickening cream does have the added bonus of providing beautiful smoothness and shine, which I loved.

This product retails for $26 for a 3.7 oz bottle.