Worth it? Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque

After three rounds of balayage highlights and more heat-styling than I’ve done consistently…ever, some of my hair can use an extra boost of hydration. Last time I was in Sally’s (a while ago at this point – before Christmas for sure), I picked up their Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque ($2.49). I love Aussie 3-Minute Miracle and use it regularly, but figured it was worth investigating.

The Claims

Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque claims that it:

• Eliminates dry, frizzy hair and replaces it with shine
• Strengthens and adds nourishment
• Sulfate, Gluten, and Silicone free
• For battered and abused hair
• Leaves hair soft and smooth
• Repairs damaged hair

It goes on to wax poetic about fixing split ends and all that jazz.

First Impression

From the moment I picked it up this impression was set – I hate packets. Packets are a lovely evil when it comes to travel, but the idea of purchasing a packet was a bit annoying. Unfortunately Sally Beauty does not carry this outside of packet format. They’re hard to open with wet, mid-shower hands, damn it.

Beyond that, the product smelled odd. It isn’t offensive, but it does smell kind of like artificial grapes. The consistency is extremely thick – to make a somewhat-gross comparison, it is not unlike the ‘cheese’ packet that comes in a box of Velveeta Shells & Cheese.

Using Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque

Using this hair masque is fairly similar to using any other hair treatment, except this has you do an extra step before application.

• To use, start by shampooing and rinsing your hair.
• Kill the faucet for a minute, gently squeeze your hair from around your ears down to your ends to remove excess water.
• Grab a towel and vigorously towel dry it for about 30-60 seconds. Your hair should still be wet, but not sopping or one uniform-ish blob.
• Next, drench your hair with a mildly-to-moderately embarrassing amount of product.
• Let it sit for at least five minutes, then rinse.

How you go about that last step; personally, I clip it up with a worn-down Octo-Jaw clip and resume my shower. Typically, I handle shaving during this time. Then, I remove the clip and comb through with a wide-tooth comb. Do whatever you want, but know you have to rinse this goop out of your head!

The Bottom Line

Some of the claims are outright untrue. Like claims of shrinking pores, there isn’t a product that exists that can truly mend split ends. Then, they come forth with details about what it doesn’t include (sulfates – duh, this is a conditioner; silicones – fair for a shampoo; gluten – alright now) – but it is not paraben free, if you care about that.

As for my results? The hair masque feels thick and seems as though it would do the trick. After three uses (the 1oz packet got me three uses – so it ran about $0.83/use) over the course of two weeks, I couldn’t discern any impact. There was no difference between it and my regular conditioner – let alone my Aussie 3-Minute Miracle.

Ultimately, I feel that Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque isn’t worth it because it just didn’t perform or show any signs of even trying to perform. I’m all about saving money on products when they work, but this is a miss.