YBBF Challenge: nourishing haircare products

We extended our YBBF challenge to our followers on Instagram and @sarahhamburgers requested some advice on products for nourishing long hair, particularly natural ones. 

Jen and I both have long hair but Jen's is in much better condition than mine! To be fair, mine's been through the ringer with hair dye, dodgy straighteners and bad products when I was a young'un. But over the last few years, my hair has been pretty healthy, until recently. A bout of shingles along my hair line left the hair dry, lifeless and lacklustre.  So, the following products are the ones I have bought to help bring the life and shine back to my hair: 

I bought Pura D'Or Argan Oil Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo. As the name suggests, it is marketed as a hair loss preventative but for me, this wasn't really the draw. It was the Argan Oil, SLS free, paraben free and chemical free ingredients and I have to say, my hair has grown like a shaggy beast since using it. However the price tag is steep at £50 for 16 fl oz. The information says that each bottle lasts three months and actually, mine lasted four and a half. 

Something less expensive is Green People's Sensitive Shampoo. With aloe leaf juice, pineapple, green tea, 83% organic ingredients, plus it's free from nasty things like irritating emulsifiers and synthetic scents. It's a lovely, naturally based product that really cleans the hair and doesn't pump it with chemicals.

Aveda's Invati range is also really great for encouraging new hair and healthy hair growth by exfoliating the scalp and removing build up, allowing other products a chance to nourish the scalp. I tend to use it once a week, before using the Pura D'Or.

Ojon's Rare Blend Oil has been my recent hair oil of choice. It acts as a heat protector, so I apply it to wet hair and comb through with a de-tangling comb. It's also great for fly aways after styling. 

I apply it to the ends of my hair if I'm putting my hair up in a top knot bun and I leave them to soak up the product whilst my hair is up. 

Dry shampoo. It's become a beauty bestfriend because let's face it, sometimes we don't get up as early as we should and end up foregoing a hair wash! I have been using Klorane, which has far more natural ingredients and no talcum powder. It's made with nettles and whatever those nettles do, they can keep doing it! It easily brushes out, immediately makes hair look fresher and doesn't coat the hair in lots of yucky product.

Hair masks. I tend to use a mask or treatment once a week. Just after the shingles, I massaged Moroccan Oil into the scalp and hair and left it over night. It really gave the moisture my hair needed. Morroccan Oil's Intense Hydrating Mask is also great and as I don't use a thick conditioner (it weighs down my hair), putting this on for ten minutes or so, gives a moisture injection. 

Nothing beats eating the right types of food to help hair look healthy. Don't get me wrong, products like coconut oil are great for a home made mask but adding avocado to a salad or using coconut oil in baking is so nourishing for your insides as well as being good for hair. I, personally, don't take supplements like biotin. I tried it and my stomach objected! However, I used to take Pefectil's Skin, Hair and Nails Vitamin Supplement and it certainly did work. 

If anyone has any other suggestions for a YBBF Challenge, please comment below or Instagram us at: your_beauty_best_friend. We'd love to hear from you! 

SLS and sulphate-free products on the high street

In light of our dedication to 'Healthy January', I wanted to share a bit about SLS-free products. As Kay has already mentioned, approximately 60% of the ingredients we slap onto our skin on a daily basis are absorbed into the bloodstream. And funnily enough, after a long time of wondering why the skin on my hands got so irritated, a doctor finally decided that I should try avoiding products with SLS. 

She had ruled out food allergies and nickel allergies, but within a week or two of avoiding SLS my hands got better. I’m not the fount of all knowledge on the subject, but here is a little bit about why you might want to consider avoiding SLS, especially if you have sensitive skin.

What does SLS stand for?

Sodium Laurel Sulphate (also Sodium Laureth Sulfate) is an inexpensive and widely used chemical found in many products we use on a daily basis: shower gel, toothpaste, shampoo etc.

What actually is it?

SLS is a detergent and a surfactant, so essentially it cleans and foams up to create the kind of lather we have come to expect from our shampoos, cleansers and shower gels. The more bubbles the better right?! Wrong. SLS can be highly irritating to the skin, scalp, gums and so on. It is a harsh chemical and therefore far better suited to cleaning your kitchen floor than your face. Go and compare the ingredients in your shower gel and floor cleaner and you’ll see what I mean! I wear gloves when I am cleaning to avoid the chemicals coming into contact with my skin, so why would I put unnecessary chemicals on my face?!

Won’t I miss the bubbles?!

Nope. We have been trained to think that bubbles equate to cleanliness, but as soon as you tell yourself that a product doesn’t need to lather up to clean effectively, you will get used to it and be pleased with the results. If you want bubbles stick to champagne.

How can I avoid SLS?

The good news is that because the world in general is starting to become more aware of the ingredients in food and beauty products, many manufacturers have started to create SLS-free items. In fact any brand worth its salt in terms of using high quality natural ingredients wouldn’t even consider using floor cleaner in its face washes! I have only tried a few items, but here are some SLS free products at high street prices worth a look:

Yes to Carrots/Cucumbers shower gels

My lovely sister bought these for me from Waitrose when she found out I was on the hunt for SLS-free products. They are fantastic, smell great and last a really long time! They are 95% natural, Petroleum, SLS and Paraben free and cruelty-free.
£7.99 for 500ml 
www.yestocarrots.com 
Find a UK stockist here.

L’oreal Ever Riche No Sulphates shampoo

Shampoo is a funny one to review as the results vary so much depending on your hair type. First and foremost it didn’t irritate my hands which is a bonus, and the first few times I used it the results were great. It is surprisingly thick and almost lathery for a sulphate-free product so a good first one to try. However, although my hair is thick in volume, the individual strands are quite fine and poker straight, therefore the heavier consistency started to weigh it down. My verdict? If you have dry, thick or course hair and like a very moisturising shampoo this might well be for you. If you have fine hair, give it a miss. Another point to consider; it may be sulphate-free but L'Oreal is never going to be a go-to brand for healthy, natural ingredients.
£5.99 for 200ml 

www.loreal-paris.co.uk

The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Shampoo

The Rainforest Shine Shampoo is free from silicones, sulphates, parabens and colourants. Instead it contains pracaxi oil, caméline seed oil and Community Trade olive oil, sugar, and aloe vera. This shampoo works much better for my hair type. It cleans it nicely and I then leave my hair in a towel until it is 80% dry before blow-drying with a large round bristle brush. The result? Very shiny hair and a happy scalp!

For other hair types they also do Volumising, Moisture and Radiance versions.
£2 for 60ml, £4.50 for 250ml

www.thebodyshop.co.uk 

Unlike other ingredients we have discussed this month, there is no scientific evidence linking SLS and cancer, so I'm not suggesting you throw all your shower gels in the bin! However, if you have any trouble with skin irritation, or simply want to lessen the amount of chemicals you are putting onto your body, SLS-free is something to consider. Especially when you can find good products on the high street. And if the result is shiny hair that needs washing less frequently, who's complaining?!

I haven't eliminated SLS from my skincare routine entirely but, if I am stressed and my skin is feeling sensitive, I keep well away and it certainly does the trick for me. Unfortunately there are still one or two products that contain SLS that I really like which leaves me in a bit of a quandary... 

For lots more information about SLS visit slsfree.net

Have you tried any good SLS-free products? We would love some recommendations!

The Holiday Kit by Net-A-Porter

Looking for the perfect gift for a fellow beauty-addict? How about this rather fabulous beauty box from Net-A-Porter. It contains 14 skincare, makeup and hair products for just £60 and, being Net-A-Porter, you know it will all arrive beautifully packaged. I'll admit, I don't start thinking about Christmas shopping until December, but if you're a darn sight more organised and are already thinking about the perfect gift for someone, this might just be it. 

The box contains:
• Tata Harper's Rejuvenating Serum
• Erno Laszlo's Phelityl Pre-Cleansing Oil and Sea Mud Deep Cleansing Bar
• Verso's Day Cream
• Susanne Kaufmann's shower/shampoo treatment
• SHOW Beauty's Divine Thickening Lotion
• This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray
• Renouve's Anti-Ageing Every Day Defense Hand-Sanitizer
• De Mamiel's Salvation Body Oil
• B the Eyebrow Experts' Clear Brow Gel
• Malin & Goetz's Vitamin b5 Body Moisturizer
• Earth Tu Face's Face Balm
• Ilia's Bang Bang Lip Conditioner
• Chantecaille's Liquid Lumiere Anti-Aging Face Illuminator

The Holiday Kit, £60. For more details on all the products visit www.net-a-porter.com

John Frieda Precision Colour Foam

Deep Cherry Brown 3VR, £9.99

 

  

POSITIVES 

• Colour shown is true to life

• Easy to apply 

• Clean up and wash off was simple

• Minimal time to apply and for the colour to take

• Does not dry the hair and frazzle the ends

• Love the conditioner that comes with it

• Any dye that drips or goes onto the forehead/tops of ears is easily washed off

NEGATIVES 

The way that I originally applied it (see below) 

THOUGHTS

This colour falls into the red but not unclassy red category. I have been wanting to go red since this time last year but did not want my hair to have that orange look (which, as I was growing out blonde was quite likely to happen) or be too 'in your face' red. I wanted it to be sultry but classy. 

This colour is perfect for what I wanted. 

APPLICATION

Cover the shoulders and the floor around you just in case of spillage. Put a thick layer of moisturiser (i used Yu-Be) around the hair line to prevent the dye from running. You may also wish to put this on any baby hair that still has not grown out. Yep, that's right, I am 29 and still have baby hair. 

Pour the colourant into the developer and gently move back and fourth, five times. Squeeze the bottle in the middle into your hand and apply it to the hair. I would recommend segmenting the hair, prior to applying the colour, with either bobby pins or small butterfly clips.

Apply to the roots of each section, or, if you don't want to section your hair and do not have particularly long hair, get straight to it and apply to the roots  Then, work the product through to the ends. It will almost look like you are shampooing your hair, as it does start to lather and that is completely normal.

It took me 15 minutes to do my hair and 20 minutes for the colour to take. Wash off until the water runs clear and apply the conditioner for two to five minutes, then rinse. Save the rest of the conditioner for the next few washes as it really helps to lock in moisture and preserve the colour. 

MY ORIGINAL APPLICATION 

I decided to leave the front and side of my hair and dye the underneath, as my hair has a natural auburn tint to it. In the winter, this would have probably been fine but as my hair colour had lifted from the sun, it looked odd. Not to mention the time I wasted gathering the bits of hair that I didn't want to dye vs the bits that I did. In my own chaos, I stained the carpet...twice (which has now come out). When I realised that my own colour didn't blend and that I really liked the new colour, I went back and dyed those sections of hair. Talk about creating unnecessary steps. What an idiot!

RE-PURCHASE? 

I already have in preparation for roots but I might go even more daring. I'm thinking Colour XXL. However, this could lead to even more exotic stains on the carpet. Why did I choose a cream carpet? 

Original colour. Old t-shirt on, ready to start the dying process. I have blonde at the ends of my hair and the colour covered it completely. In my opinion, I don't notice a change of colour from where the product was applied onto brown hair to the reminisces of dyed blonde. 

This is the advertised colour. 

Pretty spot on. The colour advertised is the colour that I am now parading around. 

www.johnfrieda.co.uk

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil

TYPE OF PRODUCT

Hair oil with a blend of six precious flower extracts.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

I bought this product because I have very long hair and if I’ve left it too long between haircuts the ends can get pretty dry and dull looking. I used to get my hair trimmed religiously every eight weeks but I realised it was getting shorter and shorter so am now leaving it much longer between cuts! (Yes, I do subject it to frequent blow-drying, curling and straightening and no, I don’t always use heat protection…) 

APPLICATION

I use one pump and apply it to the length of my hair. Using it on wet hair prior to drying and styling immediately made my hair feel softer and using it on dry hair as a finishing serum gives it a really nice healthy shine. It can even be used overnight as a mask; I use twice the amount that I usually would then plait my hair overnight. It doesn't leave residue on the pillow and although I make sure to do it on a night I'll be washing my hair in the morning, it absorbs it so well I don't need to! Maybe that's a reflection of how dry my hair is.... 

LOOK

Even with dry split ends between haircuts this oil instantly made my hair look and feel healthier. 

REPURCHASE

Definitely, although I’ve been using it for several months and have barely made a dent in it so I doubt I’ll be repurchasing for a while. 

THOUGHTS

I really am impressed by this product. It’s very good value for money, lasts a really long time and has greatly improved the condition of my hair. Obviously the effects may vary depending on your hair type, but if your hair is looking at all dull and dry I encourage you to give it a go!

RRP £9.99 – Keep your eye open for this product in supermarkets because I got mine half price.

Aveda Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smoother

TYPE OF PRODUCT

Hair smoothing serum, which moisturises, prevents frizz from humidity and protects against heat from styling.

THOUGHTS

It moisturises hair and creates a smooth finish once blow dried. I tend to use a hair oil prior to applying it, but not always, as it is a moisturising product itself. What I particularly like is that it helps to give a smooth finish to the hair and protects against heat damage. This is very handy if you're rushing in the morning; it's fewer steps to do, even if it is skipping a quick spray of heat protector. The smell is yummy, in fact most Aveda products smell amazing – a spa in a bottle some may say! According to the Aveda blurb, three of the ingredients are bergamot, sandalwood and bulgarian rose. I have no clue how to describe this scent but a sophisticated spa day sums it up. 

APPEARANCE AND PACKAGING

The small or sample size is a tube, but the full size has a pump to distribute the product. The product itself is serum-like in texture. 

APPLICATION

Apply to wet hair. The amount of product depends on how much hair you have. I fairly short hair, which to be fair, probably isn't that short by most people's standards, but having cut 5-6 inches off it certainly seems that way to me! (Thank you to Sam at Treat, whom I utterly trust to have scissors near my hair.) A 5p size is a good amount of product. I apply it to my ends and then work it through the rest of the hair. I keep it away from roots as I have fine hair, which can look limp and a tad grotty if it is overwhelmed with product. Again, where this product is applied will depend on hair type and how easily hair absorbs product. 

I didn't buy this product. I was given several Aveda samples, some which suit my hair, some which don't, so I'll be giving those to Jen. (Jen, remind me to do this!) However, if I had purchased this, it would be exactly the same review. Obviously, this product suits my hair type, so it would be interesting to see if people with thick hair, or longer hair find this a useful product – again, Jen, remind me to pass this over to you!

REPURCHASE 

Yes but as I am fairly faddy when it comes to hair and make-up, I might want to try some different hair serums/smoothers first. 

£19.50 for 100ml

www.aveda.co.uk

Welcome to our beauty blog!

Once upon a time, two little girls sat next to each other at primary school and decided to be best friends. More than twenty years later those same two little girls were now grown women, who really should have known better than to trek through the woods in high heels just so that they could take some photos in front of a pretty patch of bluebells...

But despite almost twisting their ankles and some unrepeatable foul language shouted at high volume (our sincerest apologies to the local dog walkers!) they did it anyway, because it was the start of a new adventure. The two best friends had decided to own up to their joint obsession with beauty products, come out of the cosmetics closet and start a blog to share concise reviews of their most exciting discoveries…. and that, my friends, is what you are reading.

Welcome to Your Beauty Best Friend!

xxx