Care lines are easy to explain: dry hair, moisturising shampoo. Styling is harder, because a "styling cream" from one brand is a wax and from another is a leave-in, and milk_shake's Lifestyling range alone has twenty-seven products on ProHair.ca. Add the ten-product Curl Passion line and the Volume Solution system and you have forty-one ways to shape hair from one brand.
This guide organises all of them the way a stylist would: by what happens to the hair and when in the process you use it — prep, blow-dry, definition, hold, finish. Prices are the live Canadian prices when written.
Curly and wavy hair: Curl Passion, in order
Curl Passion is built as a sequence. The brand's own description is "cleansing, conditioning, blow-drying, styling", and every product uses the same complex of organic pracaxi and babassu oils from the Amazon rainforest to restore the lipids curls lose.
- Cleanse: Curl Passion Shampoo (300 ml $23.69, 1 L $56.99) — sulfate- and SLES-free, so it cleans without stripping the natural oil that makes curls clump.
- Condition: Curl Passion Conditioner (300 ml $25.63, 1 L $49.84) — the slip for detangling in the shower. Swap in the Curl Passion Mask (250 ml $25.63, 500 ml $58.95) once a week for frizz-prone or dry curls. The Curl Passion Duo is the pair.
- Prep, on wet hair: Curl Passion Primer (200 ml $23.13) — a leave-in spray that detangles, hydrates and seals the cuticle before the styler goes on; it doubles as a next-day refresher. The Leave-In Conditioning Spray (300 ml $23.69) is the richer alternative for coarse or very dry curls.
- Define, still wet: pick one. Curl Perfectionist (200 ml $23.13) is the defining cream — soft hold, smooth flexible curls, quinoa proteins for colour protection, organic chestnut for heat. Enhancing Fluid (200 ml $23.13) is the ultra-light gel-cream for waves and fine curls that a cream would flatten. High Definition Gel (200 ml $23.13) is the firmest option — humidity protection, sealed cuticle, no crunch once scrunched out. Curl Shaper (200 ml $37.80) is the styling fluid for long-lasting, defined ringlets with the most anti-frizz control in the line.
- Dry: diffuser on low heat or air-dry; do not touch the hair until it is fully dry.
Steps one to four with Curl Perfectionist are the Curl Passion routine on the brand page. Waves: shampoo, conditioner, primer, Enhancing Fluid. Tight curls: shampoo, mask, Leave-In Spray, High Definition Gel.
Fine, flat hair: Volume Solution plus one Lifestyling product
Volume Solution is a two-and-a-half product line: Volumizing Shampoo and Volumizing Conditioner (300 ml $22.00 each, 1 L $68.40 each, or the Volume Solution Duo) with organic sugar cane, milk and rice proteins for body without weight, and a Volumizing Hairspray (175 ml $28.29) for root lift and texture at the end. The styling step in the middle comes from Lifestyling, which is why our Volume Solution routine borrows the Lifestyling Volumizing Foam (200 ml $26.13): apply it to damp roots, blow-dry upside down, then set with the hairspray. Fine hair that is also thinning should move to Scalp Care Energizing Blend — volume products lift hair; they do not stop it falling.
Lifestyling, sorted by what it does
Lifestyling is the whole styling range and it has a product for every hold level and every finish. Rather than list twenty-seven names, here they are by job.
Prep and heat protection (on damp hair, before the dryer)
- Blow-Dry Primer (200 ml $26.13) — the smoothing base for a sleek blow-dry.
- Thermo Protector (200 ml $26.13) — invisible heat protection for flat irons and wands.
- Smoothing Miracle Shield (200 ml $27.50) — heat plus humidity protection for hair that frizzes after straightening.
Volume and texture (roots, damp or dry)
- Volumizing Foam (strong hold) and Shaping Foam (200 ml $26.13 each) — mousses for blow-dry volume and shape.
- Bodifying Cream ($26.13) — body for hair that hates mousse.
- Volumizing Pop Powder (5 g $24.75) and Memorable Volumizing Powder (5 g $16.62) — matte root-lift powders for dry hair; the cheapest instant volume in the range.
- Texturizing Spritz ($24.75) and Texturizing Cream (90 ml $24.75) — beachy, separated texture.
- Dry Shampoo (75 ml $14.96, 200 ml $26.13) — refresh and root volume between washes.
Hold and definition (creams, gels, pastes, waxes)
- Light: Liquid Styler ($24.75), Styling Fluid ($24.96).
- Medium: Medium Hold Gel ($24.75), Smoothing Cream (150 ml $26.13), Modelling Paste ($24.96).
- Strong: Styling Gel ($24.96), Definition Wax ($24.96), Glossy Wax ($24.75).
- Braids and protective styles: Styling Cream for Braids ($24.96), Defining Cream (grease) for Braids ($24.96), Smile & Weave Braid Lotion (150 ml $24.95).
Finish (dry hair, last step)
- Flexible Hairspray ($24.96) — brushable hold.
- Extra Strong Hold Hairspray (300 ml $26.13) — structure and UV protection for up-dos.
- Anti-Humidity Hairspray ($35.10) — the one to pack for July.
- Let It Shine Spray ($36.00) — gloss without hold.
Three complete styling routines
Sleek blow-dry: Blow-Dry Primer on damp hair → round brush dry → Smoothing Cream on the ends → Flexible Hairspray. Add Smoothing Miracle Shield before the primer in humid weather.
Big, soft volume: Volume Solution shampoo and conditioner → Volumizing Foam at the roots → dry upside down → Volumizing Pop Powder at the crown → Anti-Humidity Hairspray.
Defined curls: Curl Passion shampoo and conditioner → Primer → Curl Perfectionist or High Definition Gel → diffuse → a drop of Incredible Oil (50 ml $45.36) on the ends once dry.
Quick decision guide
- Curls or waves → Curl Passion, choose the definer by hold: Enhancing Fluid (light) → Curl Perfectionist (soft) → High Definition Gel (firm) → Curl Shaper (longest-lasting).
- Fine and flat → Volume Solution + Volumizing Foam + a powder.
- Heat styling daily → Thermo Protector or a Blow-Dry Primer, every time.
- Frizz after styling → Smoothing Miracle Shield before, Anti-Humidity Hairspray after; for the wash itself, No Frizz Allowed.
- Short hair, matte → Modelling Paste or Definition Wax. Short hair, shine → Glossy Wax.
- Braids, twists, locs → the three braid products.
Almost every Lifestyling product sits between $24.75 and $27.50, so the choice is about hold and finish, not price. Shop the milk_shake collection and filter by product type to compare them side by side, or read the colour care and repair guide if the styling damage has already been done.