I was
asked the other day if I could go through some hair care products and discuss
what is worth the hype and what really isn't.
As with
99% of the beauty industry, most products sell through hype and advertising
rather than by repeat purchase due to effectiveness.
I have long hair which generally behaves itself but I put it through a lot. I swim 5 times a week (did I mention that already? not like I talk about it much....) and use a lot of heat styling. My hair is fairly fine but I have a lot of it. When it dries it looks like a sad mop and while it would not be classed as curly, it certainly wouldn't be able to dry on its own and look nice. Think straight with kinks.
So before we begin with products, I will give you a bit of background info about the industry, which applies to skincare, make up and fragrance as well as hair care. If you are a beauty buff, you will probably know this already so scroll down to the good bit, if not, read on.
Pretty much all main stream designer brands get their money from larger brands rather than private funding. There are really only 7 companies who produce our main stream beauty products:
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Company
|
Who they own
|
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L’oreal
Procter and Gamble
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Between these 2, you
have covered pretty much any brand you will find in Boots (the drugstore) –
including Maybelline, Covergirl, max factor, Garnier, Olay, and my beloved La
Roche Posay.
They also own some of
the higher end skincare brands like Decleor , Skinceuticals and SkII
In terms of hair, they
also own Garnier, Clairol, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences and
even the higher end Kerastase, Pureology and Redken
Interestingly they also
own designer brands Saint Laurent, Armani, Diesel and Ralph Lauren
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Johnson and Johnson
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Neutrogena and Aveeno
|
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Beiersdorf
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Again, good old
drugstore skincare brands like Nivea and Eucerin but also, LA PRIARIE
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Unilever
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Dove, Ponds, Vaseline, Simple
For hair: Alberto
Balsam, TreSemme, VO5 and Toni and Guy
Interestingly they also
own Pot Noodle.
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Louis Vuitton-Mote
Hennessy
Shiseido
|
Unsurprisingly these 2
companies own the more high end designer brands like Dior, Guerlain and
Givenchy as well as stuff for us mere mortals from Avene
They also own make up
brands Benefit, Make up forever , Cle de peau, NARS, BareMinerals, Laura
Mercier and Jean Paul Gaultier cosmetics
|
Now the reason for giving you this information is that
the big mother companies will spend their money finding new ingredients or
cutting edge formulations. They then release them in products from the higher
end brands with the big launch. Once this hype dies down, the ingredient,
formulation or product trickles down into the lower end brands and finally ends
up in our drugstores so that the owner company can make the most money from the
research and discovery.
Haircare
example:
L’oreal owns Kerastase. Kerastase bring out their
Elixir Ultime Hair Oil (41). It’s wonderful, it’s very fancy.
A few months later L’oreal Professional bring out
their Mythic Hair Oil (£17)
Finally, L’oreal Paris (the brand you find in Boots or
the supermarket) brings out Elvive Extraordinary Oil (£8)
They are pretty much all in similar bottles, with a
similar fragrance and do the same thing. Yes the Kerastase has some more
expensive essential oils and probably less silicone, but you get my drift.
Make
up example:
Armani brought out Maestro fluid foundation, a few
months later, L’oreal bring out Nude Magique.
Same pigment-in-liquidy-formula
that you have to shake then apply. A bit like Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua.
My point is, pick a product from a big brand, spend a
little and you’ll more than likely be getting the same effect as the higher end
one.
So now onto my picks. Get ready for one of my infamous
tables:
|
Product
|
Why
I like it
|
|
Paul
Mitchell Shampoo 3
|
As
you can see, I have the massive size which means I must like it because I am
Fickle (capital F) with products.
For
years I was trying to battle my dry, chlorine damaged hair which almost felt
synthetic – like barbie hair- with moisturising masks. It wasn’t until a hair
dresser pointed out that the masks or conditioners cannot penetrate through
the layer of pollutants on the hair in order to treat it. In my case the issue
was chlorine, but dry shampoo or hair finishing products will also be
culprits
This
contains a chelating agent (fancy term for something that causes stuff to
stick to it, like a magnet) which binds the chlorine or pollutant, so when
you wash out the shampoo, out comes the impurity too.
As
soon as I started using this, within a week my hair was back to normal.
Genius
|
|
Twice
weekly shampoo:
Pureology
Strength Cure Shampoo and Conditioner
|
As
I mentioned, my hair is needy because of what I do to it, rather that it’s
natural condition being frizzy. It has a propensity to be flat and so whilst
it needs mega treatment and TLC it cannot be done with anything too heavy.
These products use more of a protein based healing system rather than just
adding oil or weight.
Due
to the price of these products, I only use them once or twice a week, for the
other days I use a variety of different shampoos
|
|
All
the other days shampoo: Pick any moisturising one from Garnier or L’oreal
I
like this one – Garnier Coconut Oil & Cocoa Butter
|
Honestly,
this shampoo does not really matter. I only use it because the Paul Mitchell
is quite drying and when I’m being speedy in the changing room, I just whack
this second one on to ensure I have removed all the swimming mask I put on
before I dive in the pool
|
|
Hair
mask
Macadamia
and coconut milk hair mask for dry hair
SMELLS
AMAZING
L'Oreal
Elvive Extraordinary Oil Very Dry Hair Mask
http://www.boots.com/loreal-extraordinary-oil-mask-pot-300ml-10183201#z4t2lcWWtKq0asTj.99
|
On
days when I don’t use the pureology – which is all the time – I use a hair
mask as a conditioner. I only use it in the mid lengths and ends, and if you
had limper hair, you could just run it on the ends of very wet hair. If your
hair is frizzier, squeeze or towel out as much water as you can before
applying so it is less diluted. Then leave it on for as long as possible.
My
logic is, if you only have a minute to leave your conditioner in, surely it
is better to do it in the most concentrated moisture form rather than with a
bog standard conditioner.
|
|
Heat
protection spray
TRESemmé
Heat Defence Spray
VO5
Heat Protect Spray
|
Again,
all of these are much of a muchness so the things I look for are:
1) That I don’t hate the scent
2) That the spray distributes the product in a mist,
not in a volcanic eruption leaving one part of your hair soaked and the other
dry
Spray
in, brush through, job done.
|
|
Lee
Stafford Dehumidifier Spray
|
If
your hair is frizzy, or like me, you have a fringe which when met with
humidity does all kinds of strange things,
this is a great product. If you have fine hair and have curled it, I
wouldn’t use this as it can make it drop, but for straight or naturally curly
hair its amazing, or just using on the fringe or side of the hair.
|
|
Garnier
Ultimate Blends Coconut Hair Oil for Frizzy Hair
L'Oreal
Elvive Extraordinary Hair Oil All Hair Types
http://www.boots.com/loreal-elvive-extraordinary-oil-100ml-10140048#zV3J70rSVTC0uWo0.99
|
Having
tried all the aforementioned hair oils, from Kerastase to L’oreal
professional to Morroccan oil, I genuinely find this to be the best finishing
product.
I
do not need to get extra moisture from my finishing products as I do that
with good masks etc, what I need is something to de frizz or calm. I use this
every time I have curled my hair to take away the poodly look, seal the ends,
smooth and give shine.
If
you really do want a more oil based product I also like the bogstandard
L’oreal oil
|
|
Pre
swim hair mask
Boots
Sun Swim and Gym Protection Masque for Normal Hair
http://www.boots.com/boots-sun-swim-and-gym-protection-masque-for-normal-hair-150ml-10140075
|
I
have used this religiously for about 3 years. Before this I had tried
everything to try and protect my hair whilst swimming. Leave in conditioners
just washed out as soon as the water leaked under my swimming cap (please
note, swimming caps are to streamline and keep your hair out the way not to
keep your hair dry), coconut oil was a pain in the arse to apply and even
more of a pain to fully wash out.
This
product is cheap, it is easy to apply, it stays in during swimming, it washes
out easily, and whilst it provides no real conditioning effects in itself, it
stops the chlorine penetrating the hair and more importantly does not cause
any spots in areas of the skin it might touch like my forehead etc.
Its
also a great one to use whilst on holiday too
|
|
Dry
shampoo
Batiste
2 in 1 Invisible Dry Shampoo & Conditioner Cocoa and Cashmere
Batiste
Dry Shampoo Tropical - Coconut & Exotic
Colab
dry shampoo spray paradise and Colab dry shampoo spray hype galactic are my
favourite scents
http://www.boots.com/colab-dry-shampoo-hype-galactic-200ml-10238530
|
Dry
shampoo is an absolute must. Whilst I wash my hair after swimming, I
definitely do not wash it after the gym, in an effort to try and preserve the
health of my hair. For those days, or in fact for the days when I have washed
my hair in the morning but need a refresh later on (aka my fringe looks like
an oil slick), I use dry shampoo, and a lot of it. In fact, I get the huge
size because my fringe needs topping up about 5 times a day
I
have tried them all, from cheap to expensive and I stand by the fact that
batiste is the best. The smells are great, and they absorb oil. Yes they
leave a white patch if you spray too close so:
1)
Hold the can a good distance away from your hair
before spraying
2)
Do not do a prolonged spray, literally blast and
move on
3)
Ideally leave this in for as long as you can before
brushing it out, after the gym, I spray in while I shower etc then quickly
blast my hair with a hairdryer to distribute it through and dry the roots.
This also gives LOADS of volume.
I
do enjoy the smell of the Colab dry shampoos but they really do not have the oil
absorbing power that I need due to my shiny-like-butter forehead. They are
however great if your hair is too clean to do an up do, or your curls have
come out too perfect. Even in this case, I tend to use the batiste dry
shampoo and conditioner, which can be used all through the hair not just the
roots, and the cocoa one smells great
|
|
Wet
brush
Tangle
Teezer Limited Edition -Skinny Dip Palm Flamingo
http://www.boots.com/tangle-teezer-limited-edition-skinny-dip-palm-flamingo-10228646#GKpWDfX2oriIFQDC.99
|
This
brush was originally designed for people with tangly hair, however I cannot
think of a hair type that would not benefit from this. The majority of damage
and breakage to hair happens when wet because we all use a bog standard hair
brush or worse, yank through it with our hands before rubbing the hell out of
it with a towel.
I
got this brush as a promotional offer with something I bought from look fantastic
so thought I would give it a go but was quite happy with my tangle teezer.
I
was wrong. The ease with which this goes through my long tangled hair is
amazing. I also use it on dry hair, it is especially good for brushing out
curls without destroying them. The amount of hair that snaps is significantly
less and it feels so much nicer. It is also designed to get wet, so you can
brush through conditioner and rinse the brush clean with no issues. They also
do a special brush for people with hair extensions.
I
still use a tangle teezer in my swim bag because its light, its really easy
to clean as it is pure plastic and it is cheaper and a bit smaller, however
when that goes, it will be replaced with another wet brush.
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