How Amika Hair Products Started a Hair Transformation Rebellion
Hair, folks. OUR HAIR! It’s a big, thought-provoking, conversation-stoking topic for us all. It takes some work to get your strands just so, but the payoff is huge. A “good hair day” – a beauty zeitgeist we first expressed in the 90s, sloganed ballcaps and all – lets us ease off the gas of any extra makeup and outfit efforts and feel truly put-together and bulletproof. Today, thanks to the power of online reviews everywhere and our visually-driven social spaces, we’re carefully-researched haircare consumers.
Right now, there’s a LOT of great product out there, born in response to a customer not afraid to spend a few bucks, who wants exquisitely textured, conditioned hair without outdated harsh chemicals. Amika is a standout haircare brand worth highlighting. And today, we all want to streamline the time we spend. Amika’s products boast a common time-saving thread: high-end dryers and blowout sprays truly reviewed and proven to reduce drying time, dry shampoos that save us from days of a new hair wash and style, and even fast-acting color correctors like a purple blonde-toning shampoo. Let’s learn about the #hairrebellion.
Amika Gets the Mood Right
As described in the company’s bio, “Amika was founded by industry OUTSIDERS in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2007 and is the antithesis of a typical beauty brand. Instead of purveying unattainable perfection, we believe in an idiosyncratic and totally individual version of beauty. The result is culture of inclusion and positivity, all while delivering puddles of fun and a sunny disposition from looking at our packaging.”
A bubbly, funny mood in product names and label design is a departure from the elegant, serious packaging and advertising of the salon-based products of the past. Their one-size-fits-all shampoo/conditioner is named ‘Normcore’. The volumizing mousse is ‘Plus Size’. Cleansing conditioner is ‘Nice Cream’. A hair-saving flatiron is ‘The Confidante’, and the $300 ultra-quiet, lightweight, long-life drier is ‘The Immortal’. Their graphics are adorable too; as you browse the site, your cursor turns into a little skull with a Janelle Monae updo. The packaging, as you can see, has a gorgeous Marimekko/psychedelic/Japanese cherry blossom color and graphic scheme. Amika knows that hair takes work, so why not make it fun?
You Seriously Need These: In Depth on Three Miracle Products
Here, we want to talk about a few special products we love, which exemplify the way Amika has married time-saving techniques with superior haircare.
Exhibit A’s Editor Charlene has gotten to know two Amika products, and shared her story for this article!
For the color correcting purple shampoo, she says, “Bust Your Brass" Shampoo which is their purple shampoo to help people who have blonde color treated hair, keep their color fresh, and not turn into a brassy hot mess. My hair is naturally very dark...almost black. But, I have a honey blonde balayage. I used to use a different brand purple shampoo to maintain my blonde tone fresh, but I still saw it turn a little brassy 2-3 months after getting it done. I actually just recently had my balayage retouched, and because I went even lighter this time with the blonde, I saw it was turning brassy. With just two washes with Amika's "Bust Your Brass Shampoo", my blonde shade was renewed completely. Brass was completely gone. It became a beautiful cooler shade of blonde. And, the fact that it smells amazing is a plus of course! Using this shampoo at least 3 times a week is enough to keep your blonde bold and beautiful.
Charlene goes on to school us on a pre-blowout spray that revolutionizes the whole experience from top to bottom, improving condition while reducing long minutes standing at the mirror! ”The second Amika product I have is their ‘The Wizard’ Detangling Primer. It cuts your blow drying time in half, undoes all tangles in wet hair, and also protects your hair from heat. The name given to this particular product is very fitting, because when I use it, I feel like my hair magically dries itself with a perfect finish. This spray is legit life changing. No more battling with your long hair, and long blow dry sessions. This stuff helps your blow dry so fast, and leaves you with a beautiful blow out finish....full of bounce and shine. My hair is naturally wavy, and I have a ton of hair. Plus it's a long length, so blow drying it can take forever. Not anymore though. Now, I actually look forward to my blow drying sessions. This spray also smells heavenly.”
Finally, let’s talk about dry shampoo. This product category has been around for decades, but in the past ten years or so, high-end haircare companies have really stepped into the blowout-refreshing game. Amika’s ‘Perk Up’ Dry Shampoo is a known bestseller, using rice starch and a host of other natural technology to do its job without the heavy, powdery onslaught of some other dry shampoos we’ve tried. One review on Sephora.com may put it best: “love! love! love! holy grail. I absolutely love Amika Perk Up dry shampoo. The smell is amazing! Best dry shampoo I've ever used, hands down. Doesn't make my hair have the chalky residue or anything. Perfect to go up to 4 days without washing. Amazing. Love this stuff.” There you have it. Your coworkers will never know the secret, looking at your freshly (*dry) shampooed strands at your early morning meeting. Extend your style for days and save time.
Lesser-Known Product Types You Didn’t Know You Needed. BUT YOU DO.
Hair Fragrance isn’t something you see all the time, but with the reputation that this brand’s product scents alone have built among users, it’s a feelgood game-changer. Amika Hair Fragrance boasts the combined scents of warm vanilla, fresh citrus and spicy sweet clover. Then there’s the fascinating ‘Show Off’ gold finishing spray, in a bottle designed from someone’s Old Hollywood boudoir, adding gold sparkle to hair OR body. And yes, they even sell their own Shower Cap straight from your hip grandmother’s cabinet, for that quick early-morning rinse-off where you want your hair untouched by water or steam.
Fun at the Amika Salon
Live in the city, or planning a girls’ trip to NYC? Book a service at Amika’s Williamsburg Salon, they have bundled-together services for savings, happy hours offering discounted ‘down-dos’ and conditioning glosses, and book-your-own hair parties with beverages and photos. Not to leave out the stylish kids of North Brooklyn, children under 10 receive 40% off.
Join the Love
So really, ladies (and gents) who love your hair and want to love it even more, order some Amika, take advantage of the site’s three free samples per order, and take your fresh new hair out on the town. It deserves a night out.
