information overload
many products make light work
wash day
Washy washy part 1 (Also product galore!)
Saturday, December 07, 2013Whew! It's been a hectic couple of weeks but for the most part, although I haven't blogged, I've kept up with the hair stuff. To be honest, it's not the idea of long hair that's keeping me going through interminable wash days! It's the fact that when I don't do all the good stuff to my hair, the sight of it snapping off centimetre by centimetre just kills me... Guess that's one type of reinforcement. I also kept my hair in a protective style for most of this week after I had a bit of a protein mishap and that definitely helped with breakage.
Onto products!
TreSemmé Keratin Smooth Deep Treatment Masque is just... wow. From the first second I put it on my hair two weeks ago, I loved it. It makes your hair feel ridiculously smooth so you're petting it in the shower and definitely strengthens greatly. I used this for two weeks but the second week, it left my hair feeling a tad crispy as opposed to the glorious soft smoothness of the week before. I didn't mind too much, because I've now been concentrating on pure moisture and I don't need to worry about protein for a bit. One thing is that it definitely dulls/coats the red colour I've got in my hair. Ah well, trade-offs! I leave it on for about 10mins after shampooing and then follow up with a deep condition (and a red rinse if I need it).
Shampoos!
I run out of shampoo a hell of a lot quicker than conditioner (because I have soooo many different conditioners) and the only one I have left is a protein one. I really don't need any more of that for the moment. So here is my new clarifying shampoo, Herbal Essences Moisture Balance Shampoo, which replaces my John Frieda Full Repair. It's 0% silicone, which is good, I guess. I'm very ehh about it when using it, but the problem is that I can't feel the positive benefits in the same way as I do conditioner because my hair is still wet afterwards... Regardless, it lathers really well and you only have to use the tiniest amount so I assume it'll last for ages as I will only use it when I have build-up (I also used it to wash my silk scarf, which is lovely and clean now).
Naked Shine Hydrating Shampoo got me because it's all ~*natural*~ and the labelling is cute. Not tested on animals, mostly biodegradable, etc. It doesn't have silicone or sulphates. It takes a bit more effort to lather but it does seem to clean decently. I'm going to test-drive this for the next few weeks as again, I'm not convinced.
So, after pre-shampooing with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and grapeseed oil (my new sealer, a complete D R E A M) overnight, I washed with Naked Shine in the morning and followed up with...
Conditioners!
TreSemmé Luxurious Moisture was on offer at Boots 2 for £6 so I bought it as a replacement (very similar ingredients) for my Aussie Miracle Moist, which is running out. I looove Miracle Moist but it's just so expensive and the bottle is not big enough. A little does go a long way, though. Didn't get a chance to use this this week, but I plan on mixing it with grapeseed oil next week.
I used Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Shine midweek by itself due to my crispy over-proteinedness. I put it on my hair dry (used up half the bottle, probably) and rinsed out an hour later. It definitely gave me some much needed moisture and my hair felt much silkier after. I was glad to use this as my junk conditioner because I haaaate this conditioner. Miracle Moisture only for me.
I'll be sad to see my Miracle Moist go! Probably got one wash left in there. But if it's on offer when the TreSemmé runs out, I'll go for it again. Always leaves my hair feeling hydrated and soft when I deep condition for an hour with this.
My ultimate deep conditioner ran out today... I only had enough for my ends so I combined it with the Miracle Moist on my roots. But Lee Stafford Argan Oil Deep Nourishing Treatment is £12 a pop and so it's just not happening until I've got enough points to get a considerable discount. I'll just pump up my normal conditioners with some oils to try and get the same effect. It's fab though, because I can now use the jar to store oil that was left over after pre-shampooing and use it for sealing.
(It's semi-solid because of the coconut oil)
And as always after deep conditioning, I squeezed water out with a t-shirt and airdried. Then I applied leave-ins and sealed.
Leave-ins!
Trevor Sorbie Volume Leave-in Conditioner is my new actual leave-in (I was using a heat protector spray instead) which I got for free when stocking up with my moisturiser. It has a small amount of wheat protein which I think is good for general wear and tear during the week. I separate my hair into 4 sections and spray 1.5 pumps on each one. I'm pretty sure it contributes to the mad volume of my washed hair but it's extremely lightweight if you use the right amount. Using too much is a definite crispy, greasy no-no.
Umberto Giannini Overnight Beauty Moisture Balm remains the only hair moisturiser I've found in shops. I'd like to experiment with others but I don't want to buy too many things online (shipping = no) and to be honest, it works for me. Very forgiving in terms of quantity you put on, little to no residue and can be happily used all week long without weighing down. I love this stuff - it's incredibly moisturising.
I'm completely sold on the benefits of grapeseed oil. Enough said.
I have a couple more products that I'm going to test out over the next few weeks, but I think we're okay for now, don't you??
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