Hair care routine

As a true beauty junky, my love for products is not just limited to make up but goes to skincare, body and hair products.
I have a very thick, resilient hair and I don't recall its natural colour or state as have been colouring and perming/straightening it since I was 15. Currently it is coloured and straightened (ionic straightening, aka. Magic perm). It is very processed and thus dry and brittle.

My goal is to make my hair as soft as possible. Initially I thought I need to use reconstructive shampoo and conditioners. The products I was trying were from Dove Nourishing oil line and Garnier Fructis. 

 The Dove shampoo and conditioner seemed to be working as it had heavier conditioning agents. However after a few weeks I noticed my hair seemed more brittle than before. From my research I see that any shampoo/conditioner with protein should not be used for a long time as it adds to the brittleness (amino acid build up?).
Garnier shampoo I used for a week and a half and threw away - it was stripping my hair and have to say was one of the worst shampoos I have tried.

I went on another quest to look for shampoos and found L'oreal Evercreme intense nourishing sulfate free shampoo. I had read that sulfate is a culprit in drying out the hair and was excited to find this. Even though it is sulfate free, it lathers wonderfully with thick foam (which I enjoy). The smell is of vanilla scent which doesn't linger too long. I do notice that my hair is feeling softer and tad more moisturized.

The game changer for me was the L'oreal Vitamino color conditioner, which I mentioned my my 2012 hits post. With the first use, I saw a huge difference. The conditioner is not as thick as some other moisturizing products yet hydrates wonderfully. My hair is so much softer.I plan to use this as long as I can.

Another line that I found that is good is Clear (same maker as Dove line - Unilever). I first heard about this though YouTube where people rave about it. These shampoos and conditioners are supposed treat your scalp as well as the hair. They are usually about $7 per bottle but I saw them on sale for $4 (and -$2 coupon) at Superstore so I had to buy them.
Just used it once and I am impressed! It made my hair super soft and almost fluffy (sign of my hair when it is hydrated). I kept on touching my hair all day long as it was noticeably different.
The shampoo I bought is Total Care and the conditioner is Damage & Colour repair. I am planning to alternate these with the L'oreal shampoo and conditioner.