Welcome to HuffPost’s Simple Pleasures, where I’m writing about the one purchase that made me happiest over the last few weeks, producing a much-needed hit of shopping serotonin. Today, we’re talking about hair care essentials. Specifically, Ceremonia’s Wash Day set.
Having come of age in the early aughts when pin-straight hair was king, I spent decades frying my thick, wavy and frizzy mane with a flat iron. Over the past several years, I’ve tried to embrace a less-is-more approach, have stopped coloring it, avoiding heat styling tools unless necessary and looking for products with high-quality ingredients that aid in the long-term health of my hair.
But this hasn’t solved the problem of what to do with my frustratingly frizzy texture. It seems that any frizz-taming products I try leave my hair looking and feeling flat, lifeless and oily — not to mention the fact that they eradicate any trace of my natural wave pattern.
To be perfectly honest, I spent years neglecting my hair and scalp for the sake of investing in my face. I always felt that I had to choose between my skin and my hair, that it was too much of a time and financial drain to try and keep up with both. As a result, I’ve long made do with run-of-the-mill hair care products that weren’t necessarily tailored to my hair type and needs.
But all that changed when I came upon hair care brand Ceremonia. The brand’s founder, Babba Rivera, wanted to fill what she felt was a void in the hair care industry for beauty products that cater to the many different kinds of Latinx hair textures and needs. All of the products in the brand’s lineup are inspired by Latinx rituals and make use of lush, nurturing and luxurious ingredients commonly found in traditional Latinx communities.
I got my hands on the shampoo and conditioner, called Champú de Yucca & Witch Hazel and Acondicionador de Cupuaçu & Castor, respectively, and I don’t see myself ever going back to regular drugstore brands. Luxurious and nurturing, they turn an everyday shower into a true spa experience.
The shampoo is as moisturizing as it is an effective cleanser; my hair has never felt smoother or softer immediately post-use, while still feeling super fresh. It’s formulated with yucca extract and witch hazel, which make it a really successful purifier that doesn’t strip your scalp or hair of its natural oils. I often find that most shampoos leave my hair feeling rough and dry, so this healthy, nourished sensation is an absolute dream.
That said, my partner, who has much thinner, finer hair than my own, found that it makes her hair feel a bit oily. It’s definitely formulated for thicker or coarser textures like mine.
The conditioner is insanely hydrating and able to fully tame my wild frizz without messing with actual waves. There’s nothing I hate more than when my hair feels limp and lifeless. But cupuaçu butter and caster oil leave my hair feeling healthy, shiny and soft, regardless of whether I blow dry or let it air dry.
And can we talk about the scent? I am very sensitive to products with fragrance and easily get headaches from anything that smells artificial or chemical-y, but the Ceremonia products smell like an absolute tropical dream. I get so many compliments on the smell when I head out with freshly washed hair.
One of the things that initially drew me to Ceremonia is its commitment to sustainability. The brand uses use recycled and low-waste packaging; its bottles are made with at least 30% post-consumer-recycled PET material, which requires the least amount of energy to be produced and recycled.
Ceremonia also is incredibly transparent when it comes to its ingredients list, and its sustainable, eco-friendly vegan products are free of some of the most common allergens, irritants and hormone disruptors. You won’t find any silicones, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, artificial colorants, formaldehyde or any other common problematic ingredients here.
In fact, one of my favorite things about this shampoo is that despite the fact that it is sulfate-free, it actually lathers, so my hair feels super clean after using it, but without that stripped-off feeling. And since the conditioner is silicone-free, I have peace of mind knowing that while it’s still deeply hydrated and silky, it isn’t just a false sense of smoothness masked under plastics. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
Don’t just take my word for it; reviews for Ceremonia’s Wash Day set speak for themselves. Keep scrolling to pick up these truly lovely simple pleasures for yourself.