Brand Spotlight: IGK

Girl, there’s this IGK display at the Sephora by my house that I’ve walked past…I don’t know how many times, and I swear to gawd, up until about a month ago, I thought it was a display for R+Co!

Doesn’t the packaging look similar?

Still, I should probably, like, get my eyes checked soon. Maybe I should break down and get Lasik already.

IGK is a pretty new brand. I think they showed up in 2016, so they’re still the new kids on the hair block.

The name “IGK” is an acronym based on the names of the founders — two brothers and two of their friends — Frank Izquierdo, Leo Izquierdo, Aaron Grenia and Chase Kusero.

There’s a reference to “X-Men.” Wait for it.

They’re all US hairstylists who work in different cities, and if you look closely at the labels, they have a code at the top — MIA, NYC and LA — which is a shout-out to their respective city and the name of the scent, of which there are three in the line.

MIA, or the Miami scent, has guava, coconut water, pink lotus, violet and vanilla notes.
LA, the Los Angeles scent, has notes of bergamot, lemon zest, mimosa, heliotrope and black amber.
NYC, the New York City scent, has of black pepper, blackberry, violet, geranium and leather notes.

They’ve got everything you need to take care of hair — shampoos, conditioners and hair styling products. All of the products are cruelty free, offer UV and heat protection protection, and are made without mineral oils or petroleum.

Smoke & Mirrors Conditioning Cleansing Oil ($29)

I’ve tried a handful of things, and the product I’m totally and completely in love with is Smoke & Mirrors Conditioning Cleansing Oil.

You know how you use a cleansing oil for your face? Well, this is the same idea, except that it’s for your hair instead of your skin. It contains coconut and sweet almond oils to clean hair without stripping it dry. So, basically, it’s a next-level conditioning cleanser.

You use it in place of shampoo and conditioner. Just hop into the shower, wet your hair, then apply to your scalp. The bottle says to use a dime-sized amount, but my dollop is closer to a half-dollar for my long hair.

Work it through, moving the product down the shaft toward the ends. Then rinse it out.

The oil removes gunk and funk while moisturizing your scalp and strands, and it doesn’t leave your hair feeling coated or heavy.

IGK recommends Smoke & Mirrors for dry scalps, curly and/or color-treated hair. I have all three of those things, and it works like a charm for me. Love it!

Smoke & Mirrors ingredients
Water, Pentane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Decyl Glucoside, Cyclopentasiloxane, Behentrimonium Chloride, Panthenol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Cetrimonium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Alcohol, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, Polyquaternium-59, Polyquaternium-37, Silicone Quaternium-16, Silicone Quaternium-18, PEG-8 Dimethicone, PEG-14, PEG-33, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, C11-15 Pareth-7, C12-16 Pareth-9, Trideceth-12, Undeceth-11, Undeceth-5, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Butylene Glycol, Butyloctanol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone

Jet Lag Invisible Dry Shampoo ($29)

I think their dry shampoo, Jet Lag, is also really good. It’s completely invisible, even on dark hair. Like, I could spray half the can directly on my roots, and I swear, you wouldn’t see any residue at all. It’s kind of incredible!

It contains oil-absorbing volcanic ash and lifts roots. To use it, all you do is spray it on your roots (you’ll feel a slight cooling sensation on your scalp), then massage the product in with your fingers.

I like it as a dry shampoo (although I prefer R+Co’s Death Valley because it does a better job of sucking up the oil and makes my scalp feel a little cleaner after I use it), but I loooooooove it as a texturizing spray.

After I curl my hair, I spray Jet Lag on it from the midshaft to the ends to break up the uniformity of the curls and make my hair look windswept but not too messy.

Definitely gonna keep a bottle around for beachy wave hair days…which have been occurring almost daily lately, ha!

Jet Lag ingredients
Isobutane, Alcohol Denat., Butane, Zeolite, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Volcanic Ash, Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Extract, Hedychium Coronarium (Ginger) Root Extract, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Passiflora Incarnata (Passion Flower) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract, Solanum Tuberosum (Potato) Starch, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Acrylates Copolymer, Magnesium Carbonate, Water, Fragrance, Limonene

Mistress Hydrating Hair Balm ($27) and Call Time Styling Primer ($27)

I feel like these two products, Mistress Hydrating Hair Balm and Call Time Styling Primer are just OK…

Mistress is a leave-in conditioner with coconut oil, and Call Time is a smoothing and “detangling” spray. They both work fine…but I don’t think the difference is noticeable enough for $27.

Mistress ingredients
Water, Propylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Polyacrylamide, Laureth-7, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Benzyl Salicylate, BHT, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Coumarin

Call Time ingredients
Water, Butylene Glycol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sorbitol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzophenone-4, Cetrimonium Chloride, Panthenyl Hydroxypropyl Steardimonium Chloride, Silicone Quaternium-16, Polyquaternium-4, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Butyloctanol, Undeceth-11, Undeceth-5, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Benzyl Salicylate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Coumarin

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen