Joico K-PAK Reconstruct

OK, I'm not going to beat around the bush or mince words with this one.  I've been quietly trying this out behind the scenes and I must say that it does not work well on my tresses, which left me a little deflated since it has quite the fan base.  Thank God I didn't pay for it; it was an extra from Ulta during a shopping excursion.  So, without further ado, let me tell you about my experience with K-PAK Reconstruct from Joico.

K-PAK Reconstruct is a deep conditioner meant to rebuild and strengthen over-processed, weak and/or damaged hair.  It's from Joico, a salon professional brand that boasts a whole line of haircare products, from styling polishes to sulfate-free shampoos.  Curiously enough, this conditioner lists mineral oil as one of its top lined ingredients, which may or may not be one of the causes as to why my hair didn't react well to it. 

The conditioner is dense and creamy, and smells just like bananas.  It's a pleasantly sweet smell, but one that totally belies the not-so-sweet effect it had on my tresses.  After applying this to my head for the allotted time and rinsing it out, my hair immediately felt stripped of all its moisture - extremely dry.  Actually, it felt like hay... straw, even.  Now, I knew that a protein-based reconstructor - much like the infamously harsh, but effective Aphogee conditioners - could possibly have my hair feeling like this at first.  But after styling and going a few days into the week, my hair never seemed to recover.  The bounce and softness were gone.  It did feel strong, though.  Strong like steel with no bend, no suppleness, no joy.  And that's a big 'no bueno' for me.

Also, I don't know if it is just my bottle, but the conditioner initially oozed oil/liquid when I squeezed it into my palm.  Upon closer inspection, I saw that it had already started to break down and separate, leaving a generous amount of fluid pooling above its more solid component.  That left me kinda disappointed, too, since I didn't expect that to happen right out the gate.

So, this was not a hit for me.  To be fair, I've only seen my sister use reconstructors like Aphogee and heard her first-hand account of how stiff they can initially make your hair feel.  I've never actually used one on myself before.  But she used to love using them because of the way her hair always felt and behaved better afterwards, which is why I wanted to give one a try.   Maybe it's my naivete that had me thinking that Joico wouldn't be as severe a treatment or maybe my beloved GPB conditioner just has me spoiled rotten from all the pampering its proteins provide.  I dunno, but I wasn't impressed by this conditioner.  It's one that a lot of people seem to love, but it simply didn't work out for me.

Joico K-PAK Reconstruct Conditioner is available at select salons, including Ulta stores/salons, and retails for $20/8.5 fl. oz.