Hair Shine Wars: Is "Smooth Shine Hair Polisher" Superior to "Olive Oil Sheen Spray"?

Anyone who is familiar with African American hair knows that it is prone to dryness. Often along with dryness, African American hair also lacks adequate shine. For this reason, many black women will add some type of hair polisher or oil sheen spray to their hair as the final step of their hair grooming routine. If you're a black woman who is tired of dull hair that lacks a healthy shine then you're probably wondering which products work the absolute best. I have tried numerous products and finally narrowed it down to two products: Olive Oil Nourishing Sheen Spray & Smooth 'N Shine Spray-On Polisher. Although these products are somewhat different, they both have the same goal, which is to make your hair shinier. The burning question is, does one of the products outperform the other?

I must admit that I have always enjoyed using Olive Oil Nourishing Sheen Spray and my sister and I have used it for years. The large aerosol can is relatively inexpensive, the product does produce a nice shine, it's organic and supposedly stimulates the scalp, and it also has a pretty pleasant fragrance. Another thing that is attractive about this particular product is that it states right on the bottle that it provides natural, healthy sheen to dry, thirsty hair, and my hair is most definitely dry and very thirsty. In addition, the Olive Oil Sheen Spray provides a great finish to any style, adding shine that makes me look and feel attractive.

When it comes to the Smooth 'N Shine Spray-On Polisher, I wasn't as impressed with this particular product as I was with the Olive Oil product. It was recommended by my hair dresser, so I expected it to work optimally. One thing that I didn't particularly like about the hair polisher is that the product left my hair feeling sticky. The bottle says that the product is light-weight, and it actually is, but the sticky residue is undesirable. Despite this fact, the product does provide great shine and the bottle is easy to spray. The small bottle, however, wasn't as cost effective as the oil sheen, and in fact, the small 5 oz container cost just as much as the large 11.5 OZ can of oil sheen.

Although both products provided adequate amounts of shine for my dry and dull hair, I would have to say that the Olive Oil Sheen Spray outperforms the other product. Of course everyone is different and many women may actually prefer a hair polisher as opposed to oil sheen, especially if she's trying to get rid of frizz. So if you're specifically looking for a product to add a little bit more shine, the Olive Oil Sheen is the product you should use, but if you're looking put an end to frizz then you may want to give the Smooth 'N Shine Spray-On Polisher a try.