The Product That Made Me End My Blowout Strike

Kim Kardashian. Megan Fox. Mila Kunis. The cast of a new reality show? Nope. What these women have in common are sleek, lustrous locksthe kind that spill over shoulders, cascade down backs, and inspires green-eyed envy in women the world over, including me.

Oh, how I have tried to recreate said silver screen dos. In high school in humid Miami, I would wake up at the crack of dawn to blow dry my thick, curly mop straight, leaving a bouquet of burnt hair in my wake. During my college years in New York, I struck while the iron was hot, quite literally, flash-frying my wet strands into a straw-like shock of hair that the carriage horses in Central Park would have happily chomped on.

Ive since thrown in the (microfiber, super absorbent) towelblow-drying long hair requires serious elbow grease, and I simply dont have the guns. That said, it also pains me to cough up 40 bucks to the blow pros at Drybar, even if I get to sip champagne while they break a sweat. So imagine my excitement (read: skepticism) when I discovered Number 4s Blow Dry Lotion.

Number 4 has achieved cult status among acolytes of eco-friendly, albeit lab-tested, beauty. The line is 100% vegan, paraben-free, cruelty-free, even gluten-free! And the Blow Dry Lotion is no less au naturel, featuring burdock root to strengthen, vitamin B5 to condition, oolong tea to hydrate, and myriad anti-aging antioxidants to enhance vitality. I ran a dollop of the lotionwhich smells wonderful, a little citrusy, a little muskythrough my damp hair and flexed my muscles, blow dryer in hand.

Some 20 minutes later, I was rewarded with a blowout that I dare say rivaled a salons handiwork. Smooth? Check. Glossy? Check. Red carpet-worthy? OK, Im reaching. But for once, it wasnt a struggle (or a major time commitment) to straighten my hair. Two days and a little dry shampoo later, my blowout has stood up to the citys steamy subway platform and the frizz-inducing breeze wafting off the East River. Needless to say, Number 4 has won over another convert from the big hair, dont care club.

Samantha Gurrie