*Made in Partnership with Aveda. As always all thoughts & opinions are our own.

I have shared a bit about my concerns with thinning hair in the past here on the blog. Earlier this year I dug a bit deeper into my family’s history with hair and where I was in my own journey. As someone who has always had a lot of hair growing up, and a mane on the thicker side, you can imagine my disappointment when I started approaching 30 and saw more and more hair on my bathroom floor and in my hair brush than I may have liked. Thinning hair runs in my family with my mom and my aunts. Even my younger sister has had her fair share of trials with it, just proving your scalp really doesn’t care how old you are, but rather how well you treat it. Coming from a family who has turned to Aveda products for their concerns, looking more thoroughly into their products for thinning hair was my first course of action.

If you caught this post a while back, you may remember me mentioning Aveda’s original Invati™ 3-part System. At the time of that post I was only using the product for about a week or so, so it was more of an initial thoughts post vs a full review…texture of product, consistency, ease of use, etc. I hate to admit it but since then I’ve been little lazy with my haircare routine, not keeping up with all the steps (the original Invati™ Scalp Revitalizer called for use twice a day, which I somehow always forgot come evening), and using whatever shampoos and conditioners were found on our travels this year didn’t do my hair any favors. Well, in October I buckled down and started using only Aveda’s brand new Invati Advanced™ system, determined to see optimal results. You see, it was leading up to this crazy holiday season, we had a ton of travel in the mix, my sister was planning her move, some family health issues began to arise…the list goes on, but you get it…stress! And with stress came a nasty habit of me picking at my split ends, being rough with tangles, and not giving my hair the love it needed, which all lead to more “shedding”. I feel like one of the first signs of thinning hair (at least for long haired ladies) is when you go to put your hair up/gather it for a pony tail and you realize you’re not grabbing onto as much as you used to. Another one of my biggest concerns was the top part of my head where my bangs separated from the rest of my hair. It was feeling super thin and I felt like I was seeing more separation in my bangs, which is what partially led me to trying a different cut with my bangs…more angled and wispy vs the usual blunt and straight across style.

So, with all those things in mind, I set out on this new hair journey and 12-week chronicle. Aveda calls their products Purescriptions which I kind of love. Their products contain plants and essential oils, so you feel good about what you’re using on your hair. Since the last time I tried the system, they made some changes to the products which I was pretty excited about.

EXFOLIATING SHAMPOO
For starters the Invati Advanced™ Exfoliating Shampoo has a thicker consistency and is more neutral in color than the original formula. The original formula was thinner/more of liquid which I didn’t mind, but I found myself using more of the product than I needed to get that lather going. The new formula has a more traditional texture and consistency, which is great because I just use a quarter sized amount to cleanse.

THICKENING CONDITIONER
I didn’t see any noticeable formula differences with the conditioner, which was fine by me because I love how creamy it is. As mentioned in my previous post, I tend to have an oily scalp, so I apply this on my hair from the nape of my neck down to the ends and comb it through with my fingers before rinsing. I feel like using this consistently has really helped with my dry ends and breakage. I used to literally sit and break the hair in half where I saw the weak areas. It was a horrible habit, but even if I wanted to (which who would want to), I don’t see those areas anymore to pick at. I will say however, watch how much of the product you use, a little goes a long way. A few times I became a little overindulgent with the product and felt a waxy residue left behind, which was very noticeable when it came time to blow-dry my hair. After a second rinse in the sink it was fine, but just something to be aware of.

SCALP REVITALIZER
My favorite step and probably the most important. Now with the modified formula, you only need to apply a few sprays of the Scalp Revitalizer once a day, vs twice a day with the older formula. You can use this on wet or dry hair. I apply this first, massage it in, let it dry and then use my dry shampoo.

I feel like the 3-part system was doing its work behind the scenes for the first eight weeks, then I started to feel a difference when styling my hair. Buns were thicker and even a pulled back pony tail worn just while doing things around the house felt more voluminous and polished. In the past it would just slowly slide down and the hair elastic would become loose, unless I put a lot of effort into it. This last month was the real game changer for me. My sister has been using it as well, for not as long, but for about two months (vs my three months) and we were chatting about it over lunch. I was saying how I think I feel a difference, but I’m not sure if I can see a difference. It’s kind of like aging, you look at yourself everyday in the mirror and you don’t realize certain things have changed until looking back on those old family photos. Then Rob and I started talking about it the other day and he said how he noticed a difference in my bangs area…that the thinning area looked fuller and my scalp was less noticeable there. It’s a section of my hair I always ask him about before going out or when a big gust of wind comes swooping in and messes up whatever effort I put into styling that morning, so he knows it well. 😉 I really thought he was just being kind, but then he took a photo…and I was so surprised and excited.

I’m really looking forward to keeping this routine going and see how my hair looks after finishing the bottles. I’ll definitely report back! 🙂

What are some of your hair care concerns? Have you guys tried this system before?

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