Influenster TRESemmé Expert Selection Beauty-Full Volume Reverse System VoxBox

Influenster gives free trial products of everything from beauty products to household items. To qualify for programs, you fill out quick product surveys. Once you’ve qualified, they mail the products. Try them and tell people what you think in person and on social media. Complete a short exit survey and review the product(s) on Influenster. The more active you are the more programs you qualify for. Everything received from Influenster is free, so they never collect payments for products. If you are unfamiliar with Influenster, you can read my overview.

Influenster loves inviting me into VoxBoxes involving hair products. They’ve sent me Dessange and Pantene Expert in the past. I still have a bit of the Pantene products left, because it was not even that long ago. After completing a short qualification survey, Influenster invited me into the TRESemmé VoxBox on 06/02/16. The box arrived on 06/16/16, so I’ve used it on and off for a month.

Until the box arrives, you do not know what you’ll receive or how big the items will be. This is my third haircare box, and all three had full-size products. I can usually tell after a single use whether I like a shampoo or conditioner, so the sizes are very generous. It does take a few uses to see how the product deals with build-up and other issues. After incorporating a clarifying shampoo into my weekly deep conditioning treatment, I doubt that will ever be much of an issue with any shampoo. Influenster sent me a 25 oz Beauty Full Volume Reverse System Shampoo and a 16.5oz Beauty Full Volume Reverse System Pre Wash Conditioner. They retail for $4.99 each at Target.

The program card usually shows all the items in a line fellow Influensters are sampling. Of all the items available, I am happy I got the shampoo and conditioner. I’ve wanted to try reversing them since I first read about the trend but never did. Having products that are specially formulated to work in reverse finally convinced me to go for it.

I do think this particular combination is better suited to certain hair types. My hair is dry, but my scalp gets oily quickly to compensate for my dry hair. This results in hair that is somewhat brittle, a scalp that flakes, and hair that looks dirty less than 24 hours after washing it. With the help of dry shampoo or wearing it up, I can skip a day between washing. That is as far as I get. By the time I go to wash it at around the 48 hour point, it is very oily. The conditioner is medium density, so it does move nicely through my hair. It does feel odd to condition dirty, oily hair. I am not referring to a psychological feeling, although that is there as well. When I work the conditioner through my hair, I feel the natural oils, and miss the clean, fresh feeling.

The shampoo has a nice lather, so it seems like my hair is getting cleaned. It is actually thicker than the conditioner, or at least it feels that way. I always thought it was odd when companies gave more shampoo than conditioner, because conditioner is thicker and does not work through hair as well. You almost always need more conditioner unless you’re one of those people who avoid conditioner around your scalp. Although I know that could go a long way toward helping my oil and flaky scalp problem, I do put a light layer of conditioner on my scalp and focus most of it near the ends. This is a rare product where I actually use more shampoo than conditioner, so I accept that the conditioner is smaller. It may still be a little too much smaller, so I will probably run out of conditioner before shampoo. If you’ve seen Father of the Bride, you probably recall George removing the superfluous buns to match the number of hot dog buns. Never mind, that he removes 4 buns from each package of 12 when there are 8 hotdogs. He could have purchased 2 buns with 3 hotdog packages, but that is neither here nor there. George’s overreaction always makes me think of shampoo and conditioner sold in mismatched sizes.

Although my hair technically looks clean after conditioning before shampooing, it does not feel as clean once it dries. My hair is very frizzy, because it’s baby fine, tangles easily, and somewhat curly on the under sides. Despite the frizziness, it almost always feels soft. When I use these products conditioner first, it does not feel nearly as soft. It almost feels the way it does when I use some dry shampoos. There is an ever so slight film when I rub my fingers through it. My hair is definitely fuller, so this proves conditioner can weigh it down. This makes my frizzy hair worse though, because conditioning at the end leaves me less tangled. The good news is it is not much more frizzy, because the added tangles are not as bad as I thought they would be.

My hair actually looks a little dull in the first picture, but I noticed it was looking dull regardless of what products I washed with. I got  haircut between the first picture and the second picture, and it improved the overall look using the same products. Before the hair cut, my hair looked like the first picture every time I used this. After the haircut, it looked like the second picture. My hair is naturally wavy on top, so it curves more with 4 less inches pulling it down. Both pictures represent wet combing and air drying using the same hair styling products after washing.

If I had to rate this using it as a reverse system, I’d have to go 3 stars out of 5. I saw some benefits and some drawbacks. There is nothing urging me to buy the product, but I did not hate it enough to stop using it. It helps (with frizz and tangles) not to use this twice in a row. Each time I use it, I do get lots of added volume. My rating does have a lot to do with my hair type though. Someone with straight hair, that is not brittle or oily at the roots, may love this. Those prone to tangles or who have super curly hair, may hate this. The review has more to do with the hair type and how particular the user is than it has to do with the product.

If you love trying new things, and who does not love free things, sign up for Influenster and get started. Already signed up? I’d love to read about any campaigns you’ve participated in or any badge prizes you’ve received. See all Influenster articles. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

Disclosure: Referral and Affiliate Links