Overnight Beauty Moisture Balm

I had the Umberto Giannini Overnight Beauty Moisture Balm for Christmas last year and have realised that I never got around to reviewing it!

I try and remember to use it at least once a week and I’m just about to run out after using it for nearly a year.  You need to apply it evenly to dry hair.  That means I have to brush my hair which makes it extremely frizzy (you probably won’t have this problem if you haven’t got curly hair!)…..

….. but after I’ve been in the shower the next morning my hair feels much softer and is easier to control.  I think it’s also helped with split ends as well.

I think this product is perfect for hair like mine that needs extra moisture but according to the bottle, it is suitable for all hair types.  Has anyone else used the Overnight Beauty Balm?

Wondercap

A few weeks ago Gail McJorrow, the creator of Wondercap, offered to send me the Wondercap Pamper Pack to try out.  Having really curly, frizz filled hair I jumped at the chance!  Wondercap is like a shower cap which you heat up in the microwave and then wrap your hair in after applying a conditioning treatment.  I think this is a fantastic idea as I usually leave deep conditioning masks on for over an hour to make sure they work properly.  Using the Wondercap for a few minutes has the same effect.

The Pamper Pack includes lots of bits and bobs: a wide toothed comb for combing conditioner through your hair, a microfiber towel, a conditioning treatment and of course the Wondercap itself with some disposable shower caps which you wear underneath.  I didn’t think the conditioner from the pack was really that good in itself but the great thing about the Wondercap is that you can use it with whichever conditioner works for you.  The cap isn’t so hot that it hurts your head and it stays warm for a long time – ages after I’d taken it off!  The first time I used the Wondercap I ran downstairs in a towel in the middle of my bath to microwave it but you don’t actually need to do that as it stays warm long enough for you to heat it up first!

Wondercap is originally from New Zealand but there are a couple of places in the UK which stock it; Michaeljohn and Victoria Health.  This is a brilliant product, especially for anyone whose hair need that extra bit of conditioning!

A’kin Avocado & Calendula Conditioner

This month I’ve been using the A’kin Avocado & Calendula conditioner for dry and long hair from MyPure. Although it is really good, I’m not as impressed with it as I have been with other A’kin products. It smells lovely and does work well but I don’t think it works any better than other, cheaper conditioners I’ve used. The only thing that I do prefer about this conditioner is that it is 100% natural with no parabens, sulphates etc.

At £10.49 it is too expensive to become my normal conditioner and although I’d like to only use chemical free products, I don’t think I can really afford it while I’m at uni! If you do only use natural products then this conditioner is worth trying out as it seems to be the same sort of price as lots of other natural conditioners.

Lovea Bio Argan Oil

Lovea Bio Pure Argan Oil is literally just argan oil which is an oil produced from the argan tree found in North Africa.  It has been used by North African tribes for centuries because of all the natural goodness it contains!

You can use Argan oil pretty much however you want – on your hair, body or face.  It works really, really well as a moisturiser, leaving my skin perfectly hydrated and soft.  Even though it is an oil, it absorbs quite quickly into my skin and although it doesn’t have a fantastic smell, it isn’t horrible and fades quickly anyway.

I did try using the oil on my hair instead of my usual serum but found that it left my hair a bit shinier that I’d like – it looked at bit greasy.  However, after washing it out, my hair felt in really good condition so it works brilliantly as a hair mask.

It is a bit more than I’d normally pay for a moisturiser / hair mask but seeing as it does both, a little goes a long and it works so well, I definitely think it’s worth it!  You can either buy 100ml for £16.99 or 50ml for £14.99 from MyPure.  I’d recommend getting the bigger size as it’s much better value and I know you’ll love it!

Lush Double Strength Conditioner

Lush have some of the best smelling products!  A few weeks ago I had a bath ballistic which I planned to give my mum for Mother’s Day (it was a limited edition, especially for Mother’s Day! – I’ve just looked online and you can still get it here) but I ended up using it myself!  It was amazing though and don’t worry, I did get her another present!

Anyway, back to the point of this post, I’ve got this fantastic double strength conditioner from Lush called American Cream.  It has a gorgeous vanilla smell and leaves my hair smelling lovely all day long.  I was really impressed to find that I can get away with using the tiniest amount and my hair is still soft and manageable.  I think this conditioner would be perfect for taking with you on holidays as one 100g bottle will easily last the same amount of time as a normal 250ml bottle of conditioner.  You can also buy American Dream in bigger sizes – 250g and 500g.  It is quite expensive compared to other brands but is worth it for an occasional treat!

A’kin Vitamin Hair Masque

The A’kin Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Hair Masque is a fantastic product.  It is a nice, thick conditioning mask which can be used in a number of different ways….left in for 5 minutes, for half an hour or even overnight if you need to.  I left it on overnight as my hair is so dry and frizzy and it worked miracles!  I only used a small amount and it made my hair look shiny and a lot less frizzy.  It smells really good but I don’t know what it smells of, Ginko and Jojoba I guess?  I’ve just Googled ginko and apparently they are trees from China, Japan and Korea used in medicine to improve blood circulation and memory.  I’m not entirely sure why it is used in this conditioner but I don’t really mind as it is just so good!  If you have dry or uncontrollable hair then this conditioner is definitely worth a try.

Awapuhi Wild Ginger by Paul Mitchell

Awapuhi Wild Ginger by Paul Mitchell is a set of hair products for dry or damaged hair.  You can get a set containing the following products:

• Moisturising Lather Shampoo
• Keratin Cream Rinse
• Keratin Intensive Treatment
• Styling Treatment Oil
• Finishing Spray
• Texturising Sea Spray

As you can guess from the name, the products all smell quite strongly of ginger which I like but I’m not sure everyone would.  The shampoo and conditioners are really good and very moisturising.  When I first opened the shampoo I did a double take thinking it was the conditioner as it is so thick but lathers up loads and you hardly need to use any.  I’m also impressed with the Styling Treatment Oil which absorbs really easily into my hair leaving it soft and frizz free but not greasy looking.  The Finishing Spray and Sea Spray don’t really do anything at all with my hair at but they would probably work best for people with straighter hair.

I think these products would be brilliant for anyone with dry hair although I think the Paul Mitchell set I tried a few weeks ago worked better for my hair.

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Range

I think I’ve found my perfect set of hair products!  The Super Skinny range by Paul Mitchell aims to smooth and soften hair and it definitely does both.

The shampoo comes in a tall, skinny, stylish bottle and smells good – I don’t think it has a specific smell but it’s kind of melon like.  The conditioner comes in a matching bottle and is actually called a ‘Daily Treatment’ but basically does the same as a conditioner.  I hardly needed to use any of it to make my hair lovely and soft which is practically unheard of with my hair (usually I need to use handfuls of conditioner for it to have any effect!).

There are a few other products in the range but the one I’ve been using to style my hair is the Super Skinny Serum.  The bottle says to apply one pump of serum to your hair but as mine is so frizzy I decided to use two instead, which turned out to be the perfect amount for my hair.  I’ve used the Frizz-Ease serum before but found that I had to use loads of it to combat the frizz and then my hair would end up looking greasy.  It wasn’t really worth the money as the bottle really didn’t last very long.  This Super Skinny Serum though has got rid of the frizz while leaving my hair looking like I’ve got no product on.  It’s also made my hair the softest it’s ever been.

The serum costs £14.25 for 150ml, the shampoo is £9.30 for 300ml and the conditioner is £11.50 for 300ml.  As I don’t need to use very much of the serum, the bottle should last me a while so I think it’s certainly worth the money.  I really like the shampoo and conditioner as well but they are quite expensive so I would probably just buy them as a treat every now and again!

One last thing about the Super Skinny Range – it is supposed to reduce dry time although I haven’t noticed any difference in the time it takes for my hair to dry.  This doesn’t make much difference to me though; I would still buy the products.

Nicky Clarke Detox Dryer

I’ve never really dried my hair with a hair dryer as they tend to make my (naturally curly) hair quite frizzy so I tend to just let it dry naturally.  Over the past few weeks however I’ve been using the Nicky Clarke Detox and Purify Dryer.  It claims to make your hair shiny and sleek due to the nano silver technology which supposedly cleanses your hair from toxins.  I use lots of conditioner on my hair so have to use cleansing shampoo quite often which is why I thought this hair dryer would be good for me.

Here’s the annoying thing though…..I’m not sure exactly how this nano silver technology actually works in a hair dryer and I can’t find anything online.  All I can see is that it is used to kill viruses and bacteria on surgical tools, in air purifiers and water purifiers.  So I’m not sure whether this nano silver technology does very much in a hair dryer?  It feels like they are just talking about it to make people think the hair dryer more exotic so might do something different to a normal hair dryer?  It would be nice to see some sort of explanation on the box or even just on the website.

Anyway, back to the hair dryer.  There’s not much to say about its appearance – it look like most hair dryers look!  It comes with two nozzles, one of them being a diffuser which is the one I use.  The diffuser is much smaller than any I’ve used in the past but it does seem to work just as well, if not better.  The hair dryer has actually been leaving my hair shinier than normal and it doesn’t make my hair really big and frizzy which has happened in the past!  It has 3 different heat settings and 2 speed settings which, to be honest, I haven’t worked out how to use yet – does anyone really know how they work?!  (Not work as in how to switch between the settings but work as in how to style your hair differently using the settings!)

This hair dryer has surprised me in how well it’s worked for my hair but it is irritating that it’s not explained anywhere how the nano silver technology is used…..or is that just me?

Paul Mitchell Lavender Mint Range

I’ve got a fantastic new Lavender Mint shampoo and conditioner with Tea Tree by Paul Mitchell.  It smells so good that I keep smelling my own hair! They came with four tealights in a cute box which also smell gorgeous!    I’m especially impressed with the conditioner – it’s really thick and luxurious so need to use nowhere near the same amount of it as I do with other brands.  At £12.60 for 300ml it is quite a bit more than I would usually spend on conditioner which is probably why it’s so much better!  However, by buying from the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree range you are supporting Global ReLeaf which is an American Forests initiative that plants trees all over the world so I think it’s worth spending a little bit more.  And it seriously does smell amazing!!!