I've continued to wash my hair every 2-5 days. Usually I go about 3-4 days on average before washing, but some days (like today) I end up doing it after two days.
As I've continued using this system, I've discovered that I'm really falling in love with these two products. I love the way they clean and condition my hair without weighing down my fine strands. I ADORE the way my hair feels post-heat styling... like butter. So soft and weightless and clean. Pre-Monat, I always struggled with my hair getting tangly from daily life activities - since using this system exclusively, my ends are not as tangled throughout the day. I also find that I love the way my hair is on Day 2, Day 3, etc. Very often with other shampooing systems, you'll find that by day 2 your hair is looking a little worn, and day 3 it's looking beat... and don't even think about day 4 and 5 - at that point my hair was either 90% dry shampoo, or I'd have to squeeze out my ponytail from all the oils that had gathered in my hair. I find that even as far as day 3 (this is with no dry shampoo, keep in mind) my hair still looks reasonably fresh and full of body.
Here are some pictures taken from today with freshly washed, dried and flat-ironed hair.
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| Left: with flash, Right: without flash |
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| Right "bald spot" (left: without flash, right: with flash) |
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| Left "bald spot" (left: without flash, right: with flash) |
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| The back of my head - I didn't have anyone nearby to take my pictures |
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| So you can get an idea of all the baby hairs that are growing around my hairline. |
My hair hasn't stopped falling out, it's still falling out significantly, but it is lessening - probably because I'm now 6 months postpartum and my hormones are finally leveling out. I definitely wouldn't attribute this to the Monat system.
One con is that the right side of my head is getting very weighed down by the shampoo and conditioner. I have to be very careful not to get too much conditioner on the right side of my head by my ear. It gets very oily and doesn't rinse out easily. In the picture you might be able to see how flat my non-bang side of my head is, and that's because I did a crappy job washing the shampoo and conditioner out around my ear area. I don't know why it happens on just the right side of my head, but it's something I'm learning with time, but I don't consider it a deal breaker by any means.
One of the biggest pros to this system for me is the fact that my scalp irritation has finally settled down. Hallelujah!! It's not gone - after the 3 or 4 day mark, I start getting itchy again, but I assume that's because of a buildup of dead skin and environmental junk. As soon as I wash my hair out, my scalp is soothed and relaxed and happy. This is the happiest my scalp has been in a hot minute, let me tell you. And that includes using Denorex. This benefit alone has me wanting to use Monat forever, haha.
So here are my "before and during" comparison pictures:
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| Top: November 26, 2016 Bottom: January 7, 2017 |
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| Top: November 26, 2016 Bottom: January 7, 2017 |
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| Top: November 26, 2016 Bottom: January 7, 2017 |
This last picture is the most astonishing to me. You can see that I've grown a ton of hair in just over a month; albeit, it's mostly baby hairs. I'm not going to form all of my opinions yet, but so far, I'm REALLY enjoying the Monat system, and I see myself repurchasing it down the road. I'm also thoroughly intrigued by the other products, such as their hairspray and dry shampoo, and would like to try them out eventually.
All in all, I'm really impressed. Not because my hair has grown crazy lengths, but because this is a really solid product that has calmed my severe scalp irritation, has conditioned my strands without weighing them down, has prolonged my style several days without needing dry shampoo, and it's encouraged and facilitated growth in my postpartum bald patches!! I wouldn't say "I'm a believer" yet, and I definitely haven't signed up for the VIP membership, but if I'm still happy with this system in another 1-2 months, I will likely be on board for the long haul. But those are just my two thoughts :) See you in another month!
Here's my bottom line right now. All of those before and after pictures you see, they're just fabulous. As a consumer, they'd make me want to jump right out of my panties and run to buy an entire system. But here's the thing: most people are using chemical-laden, heavily fragranced, stripping hair products, and using them too frequently. Of course, after one wash with an all natural system such as the Monat, you're going to notice smoother, fluffier, shinier hair. For me, I was already using natural shampoo and conditioner products before starting Monat, so my progress pictures aren't going to look that miraculous. My hair is used to being washed infrequently without harsh chemicals and drying fragrances. You're not going to notice benefits until at least a few weeks of use. And if you're starting from using crappy products for your hair and jumping straight into the Monat, you're going to go through a "purging" phase for a few weeks where your hair gets all oily and crazy because it's not used to being washed without sulfates and such. If you're still washing your hair every day and heat styling it dry, you're not going to notice any benefits from the Monat. Washing your hair strips it of it's natural oils, and your head freaks out and overproduces oils making it greasy again in 24 hours. You can be using the best shampoo in the world, but if you're washing your hair every single day, you're going to be drying it out - not to mention all that heat styling. Even if you can wash your hair every other day, that's better than every day.
So don't get so sucked into the extravagant before-and-after photos that the company uses, at least not the "after one wash" pictures. Take care to look at the ones that are one-month, two-months, three-months, etc. Those are more telling to the benefits of this product.
**All the photos, content and material of this blog are property of Rebecca Ulmer. Please do not use my photos or testimonial without my consent. Thanks!!**
