A little shampoo love!

It is very unusual that I am completely satisfied with my hair routine and the products that it includes.

More often then not, the hair routine I have is simply ok.

Sometimes there are even one or two products that actually wow me (The Body Shop Banana Shampoo+Conditioner, the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment and Moroccan Oil. This is probably the only other hair routine I've indulged in that brings my locks ever so slightly closer to Goddess standard though Phyto often delivers.) but I'm usually left still seeking that allusive something else to throw in to the mix, an additional product just to give my barnet that little bit more.

However, my current routine has got me wondering, realistically, is this as good as it gets?!

And you know what . . , if the answer is yes then ok, I will never have the beautiful locks of Angelina Jolie or Rachel Bilson but given the tragic hair history of my poor barnet and all, I've put it through, the future is looking brightish!

So, let me introduce you to my current hair saviours.

*The Redken Extreme Shampoo

*The Kerastase Ciment Anti-Usure Vita-Ciment Topseal

*The Kerastase Masque Force Architecte

*Moroccan Oil

*The Lee Stafford Heat Protector

I'm really enjoying all of these products, the Keratase conditioners seem very moisturising and little is needed. While the Lee Stafford Heat Protector is my favourite heat protector ever. Sometimes it is difficult to know if a heat protector is working but at the very least, this one does not leave my hair feeling greasy and weighed down like every other heat protector I remember trying. As for the Moroccan Oil, well, most of you will already know that I love the stuff and have written about it before here and here. I've recently used the Redken alternative, the Argan 6 which is ok but it is the Moroccan Oil that I repurchase again and again.

Anyways to the point of this post, shampoo . . .

To be honest, I've always thought shampoo is maybe the least important part of a hair routine. I've always thought that as long as you indulge in decent treatments and always protect your hair from heat then any old shampoo would suffice.

Fail!

The Redken Extreme shampoo is the newest addition to my routine and has wowed me. It has made such a difference to my locks .

Before the Redken, I was using the Keratase Bain De Force, a shampoo from the Anti-Ciment range (designed to stregthen weakened, damaged or fine hair) which was quite expensive. I have no doubt that the Keratase is a great shampoo but I think, compared to the Redken, it was a little too much for my locks. I found that the Keratase did not lather easily and I needed two or three shampoos before my hair felt clean. It almost felt as if I needed to shampoo again and again to shampoo the shampoo itself out ( if that makes any sense! :0 ). When I placed the shampoo on my hair and tried to conjure a lather, everything would come to a standstill. It was like the shampoo stuck where it had been placed, creating a film over my barnet. 

Despite this, the end result (after two or three generous shampoos! It goes without saying I went through the bottle quite quickly) was very clean, soft, big and fluffy hair which rough dried quickly before swelling again overnight and becoming a little bit too puffy and flyaway for my liking. The Bain De Force also seemed to strip my hair of its dark colour, not great when I'm in the aftermath of the ombre tragedy. All in all, the Keratase is quite possibly a fabulous shampoo, almost too much so and I think, next time I would use it as a clarfier and less frequently maybe once a week or so.

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Anyhow since I swapped the Keratase with the Redken Extreme, my hair standard has cranked up a notch or two. The Redken is cheaper and designed for distressed locks (look this phrase up and you'll probably see a pic of my natural locks!) and I love it!

The Extreme lathers very easily.Two shampoos and my hair feels clean and it remains so for about three or four days. Normally, I'm feeling ready to wash again every other day. I think, the extended good hair mojo results as this shampoo is so good at controlling my hair, few products required! Given, it does seem to take longer to rough dry but looks much sleeker and is easier to style once dry. My hair really is much more manageable.There is no swelling overnight and very few flyaways to tame the next morning meaning less product clogging up the hair. Also, my barnet looks healthier, shineier and more voluminous probably due to the fact that the lengths and ends are not swelling and puffing which sometimes can make my roots look flat and my extensions difficult to blend.

Oh and one more point, the Extreme smells friggin' delicious. A bit chocolatey and Easter-like actually! So if it actually also makes my hair four times stronger as Redken claims it could, well, bonus!!!

Have you used the Extreme? Do you think shampoo is important? What hair products are you loving?

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Christmas Countdown: Preen, preen, preen. . !

Image from We Heart It

So it is the first of December tomorrow and my Christmas Countdown officially started about a week ago. Four weeks to get Christmas Perfect!!!

This year I want to embrace Christmas (Yes indeed, I will be downloading the Michael Buble Christmas Album) and all it brings. I do not want to miss anything just because I'm having a bad hair day and I am certainly not missing out on the Chocolate Log (who needs Christmas Pudding?!) just because I'm having a fat day.




Image from We Heart It


Preen, preen, preen. . , is the call of the day for me at the moment. In between scrambling around trying to find any Crest Whitening Strips, I'm preening a lot!

- I am trying to apply the OPI Nail Matte Envy every day in an attempt to keep my mid-length nails strong. Then I might file them down slightly to give them the matched, groomed manicure look. I would love Gelish but I work in a health care environment and that type of thing ain't allowed :(

- The RapidLash is back on the edge of my sink again and I'm trying to apply it every night. Over the last couple of weeks (interestingly since my Phyto supplements ran out), I have noticed that my lashes don't look quite so bold and unfortunately, appear a little wispy on the ends. For me, natural lashes is where is at (how I struggle with the falsies) so I'm hoping that Rapid Lash will work its magic and make them slightly more lashtastic again (In my experience, lash enhancers may not be growth miracles but they always add something ) until then the L'Oreal Volume Million has been repurchased (a much easier way to fake it although the constant drizzle seems to have prompted the 'got a black eye?!' question. I think, I mentioned before what a diva this amazing mascara can be. Such fab results but how easily it smudges which can be a bit awkward. See this review.)

- There will certainly be some mega brow grooming going on in the next couple of weeks. I'm considering HD Brows. You can see some familiar faces with HD brows here, what do you think of the HD look?

- I'm also trying a couple of treats for my hair. Firstly, the Charles Worthington Salon At Home Strength and Repair Kit. This little kit consists of a haircare system which includes four products, an oil to use pre-washing under the plastic cap, a shampoo and an intensive conditioner. I have been using this for about a month now and I've got mixed feelings. It seems to bulk out the ends of my hair and theoretically, it is easy to use. However, I find the oil difficult to wash out and consequently ran out of the shampoo very quickly. I've found that this system tended to make my hair very frizzy as I had to use so much shampoo to get the oil out or on the other hand, I wash only so much and then my hair looks very weighed down. I expect that this system really does boost the health of our barnet but I need to work on my application method to get the dream result.

I also have a new hair oil. I went to the hairdressers to invest yet again in Moroccan Oil (Love! See this post and this post) but they didn't have any. As it was raining and I'm lazy, the lady found a sucker for her sales pitch about a miracle Redken alternative, All Soft Argan 6. This is meant to 'intensely nourish and protect dry, brittle hair'. It can be used before shampooing or blow drying to add moisture, after blow drying to smooth; on damp or dry hair to boost shine; or added to treatments to intensify replenishment and it can also be used overnight for deep nourishment.

I have been swapping it up a bit and using it in a mix of ways. So far, so good! It really does make the hair very soft and actually does not seem to weigh my hair down as much as the Moroccan Oil although I wonder if that will change with constant use.

- Of course, I'm also trying to eat very healthily (although this running/walking regime is making me so soo hungry) and am having lots of Green Monsters to keep my eyes bright and energy levels up.

- And finally, I'm also trying to save a little money for Christmas hence the lack of "haul" posts recently but I think, there is a couple of treats I haven't shared with you yet and I'll try and get those posts up ASAP but I'm still having a bit of a love affair with the New Look kimono that I posted here.

Sidenote: In case you're wondering, I'm hoping that Christmas will bring a DSLR, a Michael Kors Rose Gold Watch, the One Molecule scent (see Ruths secret), the ability to run thirty minutes plus nonstop (Er, that would be without a heart attack), a trip to Paris, my invitation to Pinterest (it is taking so soo long) 50 Blog GFC followers (hint hint, any ideas?) and some of those chocolate gold coins. Phew,much, you think?! Ok maybe between Christmas and my late January birthday.

Are you making any special efforts for Christmas? Have you tried the Redken Oil? Do you have HD Brows?

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