Haircare: Argan Oils!

Bleaching, blow-drying, straightening... I put my hair through a lot of badness! It's very thick and gets very dry, which isn't a great look and obviously isn't good for the condition of my hair. So anything I can do to add moisture, improve the condition, and make it look healthier and shinier (which isn't always easy for blondes), I am keen to give a go!

I'd heard great things about argan oils, and have bought a few bottles of the VO5 Miracle Concentrate over the last year or so. It's a leave-in treatment, to be used on wet hair. It claims to be high in Vitamin E, rich in anti-oxidants, hydrating and deeply conditioning. It is also claimed that it helps look after your hair by reducing drying time, so you don't need to blow-dry it for so long.

I really liked the VO5 Miracle Concentrate, and have used it up and re-purchased a couple of times. However, I don't use it as much since going blonde again. When I had dark brown hair, I really felt like it added shine and smoothed down any frizz. It's still a great product, but I don't like to put anything of this kind of colour on my hair as I'm trying to tone down any orangey tones I may have. It could purely be in my head, but after using brightening and tone correcting products to wash my hair, I don't want to counteract that by using this on top of it. It doesn't change the tone of my hair, but I do feel like it tones down the blonde shades I've been trying to bring out until I wash it next. 

I like the bottle for this product. The pipette means you have good control in how much you dispense, which is nice for an oil and it would be easy to squeeze or pour too much out. A little also goes a long way. You really only need one or two squeezes of the pipette.

I think it reduced my blow-drying time slightly, but not considerably. It does leave you feeling like you've done your hair some good though, and I think it smells gorgeous, which is always nice with a product you're putting on your hair.

A slightly more expensive option is the Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil - Penetrating Oil. I had never actually seen these Organix products before, but my mum bought this when she was in Boots recently and recommended it to me to help restore the condition of my hair. The product says it 'helps to rapidly penetrate the hair shaft restoring shine and softness while helping to strengthen and create soft, seductive, silky perfection.'. 

It also claims to help protect the hair from styling heat and UV damage. I liked this product a lot. It really makes my hair feel much healthier and softer, and is practically clear. This doesn't smell as nice as the VO5 Miracle Concentrate as it has a slightly more soapy shampoo scent to it.

The Organix Moroccan Argan Oil range also has a shampoo, conditioner and other treatments available, that I'd love to give a go.

I really like using both of these products. However, I am going to stick to using the Organix for a while. I like that it's a thicker kind of gel than the VO5 Miracle Concentrate, as you can sometimes feel like you're losing a lot of the thinner VO5 oil on your hands. The thicker consistency also feels like it's doing more for your hair.

Both products are easily absorbed, which is nice because they feel like they're working and hydrating without leaving a residue on the hair.

Although the Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil is slightly more expensive (I believe it retails for £7.99, but it isn't actually listed on the Boots website despite the other Organix products being listed) than the VO5 Miracle Concentrate (£5.19 from Boots), but you do get double the amount of product, and I feel like it goes even further than the VO5.

I'd buy both of these products again, as I enjoy using them both and think they're both great options for restoring some moisture to dry, over-worked hair.

Have you tried either of these or any of the other Organix range?

xxx

VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir with Argan Oil 50ml - £5.19 -http://www.boots.com/en/Vo5-Miracle-Concentrate-Elixir-with-Argan-Oil-50ml_1228559/

Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil - Penetrating Oil - Around £7.99 (Available from Boots) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moroccan-Argan-Oil-Renewing-Penetrating/dp/B006B6SE6E/ref=sr_1_22?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1340375822&sr=1-22

Purple Shampoos for Blondes!

I naturally have light brown/dark blonde hair but I've gone back and forth between dying my hair blonde and a brunette pretty much every year since I was 16. I've always found being a blonde is more costly, with root touch-ups, highlighting, toner etc, as well as the extra care your hair requires after being bleached.

When I go blonde, I tend to have a lot of brassy tones come through from the warm red tones my hair had when brunette, which can be frustrating and take a lot of growing out or many sessions of highlights. Thankfully, my hair has grown quite a bit, and where my natural regrowth has been bleached the colour has come out much better and paler.

However, I'm still keen to do what I can to fight the orange tinge that the ends of my hair has.I try to use an ash blonde semi-permanent colour every couple of months to tone it down, and I like to use purple shampoos, specially designed to fight brassiness in blonde hair, as often as I can.

However, these shampoos can be hard to locate on the high street. I've always bought John Frieda Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Shampoo and the matching conditioner when I could afford to, but with them coming in at nearly £12 for the pair I couldn't always afford to buy more (and I use a lot of conditioner!).
I recently found PRO:VOKE Touch of Silver Weekly Treatment Shampoo in Sainsbury's, and with a price tag nearly half of the Sheer Blonde shampoo, I knew I had to give it a go. I was excited to see that it was a much deeper, more vivid violet than the Sheer Blonde.

Although there is only 100ml in the Touch of Silver (compared to the 250ml Sheer Blonde bottles) it does say it is a twice weekly treatment (although I sometimes use it more often), a little goes a long way, and due to the stronger colour I really felt it was doing more to my hair. Also I like the fact it's a treatment (the bottle recommends leaving it on for 5 minutes) cos it feels like it's doing more for your hair. In between treatments I tend to use L'Oreal Elvive Nourish and Shimmer Highlights Shampoo and Conditioner, which I would recommend highly for an everyday shampoo.

I have found daily shampoo and conditioner available in the Touch of Silver range, which I definitely will be trying, and seeing how they compare to the John Frieda Sheer Blonde range.
If you have bleached hair, I would definitely recommend giving this product a try. Although it says on the bottle that it is for grey, white, or platinum blonde hair, it definitely helped my slightly darker blonde hair.

Let me know if you've tried any other purple shampoo or any tips you have for fighting the brassy look!

xxx

PRO:VOKE Touch of Silver Weekly Treatment Shampoo - £3.09 from Boots http://www.boots.com/en/Touch-Of-Silver-Silver-Shine-Shampoo-Weekly-Treatment-150ml_1047911/

PRO:VOKE Touch of Silver Daily Shampoo -£2.09 from Boots (for 200ml)
http://www.boots.com/en/Touch-Of-Silver-Silver-Sensations-Shampoo-200ml_1047907/

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Shampoo - £5.89 from Boots
http://www.boots.com/en/John-Frieda-Sheer-Blonde-Colour-Renew-Shampoo-250ml_122172/

L'Oreal Elvive Nourish and Shimmer Highlights Shampoo - £3.89 from Boots (for 400ml)
http://www.boots.com/en/LOreal-Elvive-Nourish-Shimmer-Highlights-Shampoo-400ml_929841/

Girlz Only Dry Shampoo....

Dry Shampoo is a beauty must-have of mine.
I'm regularly having highlights and root touch-ups, so my hair isn't always in the best condition.
I'm always trying to do what I can to keep my hair healthy and stop it getting so dry so I try to avoid washing my hair daily. My hair is quite thick, so unless it's been heavily styled with a lot of product, it will generally be fine the next day (even if it's not, I'll often stick it in a bun or a ponytail). But a spritz of dry shampoo before I go out and 9 times out of 10 I'm good to go, and looking and feeling fresher. Sometimes I'll even just dry shampoo for the third day (don't judge me!).

I had only ever used Batiste dry shampoo in the past, and it's always a product I try and keep in stock. It's cheap (200ml bottle retails at £2.99), effective and I like the scents they come in (I tend to use Blush).
But I'm always one to give new products a go, especially cheaper alternatives, so when I saw the Girlz Only dry shampoo range in Tesco, I knew I wanted to try it.

I bought it it in the scent 'Hazy Days', which smells pleasant, but I do prefer the 'Blush' from Batiste. As far as the quality of the product, it works really well, and just as well as other dry shampoos I have used. Brunettes and darker haired people might have the problem of the white residue that can happen with dry shampoos, but that happens with a lot of drugstore dry shampoos.
At £1.50 for 150ml bottle, I'll definitely be buying it again!

Let me know your thoughts and any hair tricks you have for keeping it healthy!

xxx

I've only found Girlz Only Dry Shampoo on sale from Tesco - £1.50 for 150ml - http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=268396108&sc_cmp=pcp_GSF_67656538

Batiste is available at most high street beauty stores and supermarkets - £2.99 for 200ml.