Review: Lush Big Shampoo

Hey all, this week I'm brining to you the famous Big shampoo from Lush. I've never been really satisfied with any shampoo I used except maybe the Body Shop's Banana Shampoo & Conditioner (but that was more a scent thing then actual performance). The problem is my hair is very fine and straight but sheds like crazy, but I also tend to get annoying dandruff every other month or so and the oily quality tends to weigh down my hair, on top of all that it's also colored (black) .

What I wanted (needed) was a clarifying and voluming shampoo and having largely failed in the department store variety, I did some research and as usual my first port of call when I have a skincare or haircare issue I think of Lush and after perusing their collection I picked up Big. A sea salt based shampoo that promises Big hair. 

I've since been using this for a week and a half and gotten my partner to try it too, and I'm very satisfied with it, it will be a clear and obvious repurchase. Depending on how long the tub lasts it might even reach HG status. Here is why; it cleans your hair exceptionally well (as in your hair will squeek, weird!), it get's rid of any build up from hair products including silicones and such from other shampoo that you might use, and it makes my hair fluffy, not huge and frizzy but full and healthy.

I was initially concerned about the sea salt, thinking it might too abrasive, too drying, or the texture would just be too uncomfortable or perhaps it might strip or ruin my hair color. Turns out that non of that was true, yes the texture was weird but not in a way that made it bad to use it just took a little getting used too.

I believe my boyfriend summed it up for us very nicely, here was his description when I asked him about it:

1.At first I was concerned with texture, felt like pointy bits covered in goo

2. Then it felt like shampoo with rocks it in...

3. then after scrubbing it felt like regular shampoo

4. then after washing it out my hair was crazy squeeky clean, which was weird because it's never that clean, and it felt really soft.

5. I also didn't have to wash it again as soon because it stayed clean longer.

My partner washed his hair with this and after one use it bubbled and foamed like crazy, where as for my longer color treated hair it took two washes to get the same effect, which is what to bottle suggests. He also didn't need any conditioner because his hair is short where as my hair was so clean that it stuck together so I required a small amount of conditioner to smooth it out. It's true though that I didn't need to wash my hair as often and it felt like first day clean hair for for an extra day and it didn't seem to get the same build up as quickly. I'm overall very happy with it but it's quite strong so some people will only need to use this one a week or less but personally I think I could be happy using it everyday without issue.

What's your favorite shampoo?

Review: Manic Panic in Hot Pink

As school is now over, I'm not sure how much longer it will be viable for me to stay as a pink headed girl but i figured id do a little review of the product i started using after Crazy Colors run out (that's what the salon gave me). I picked up this one as it didn't seem very complicated and seemed quite popular in the UK for hair coloring in crazy shades. Plus the color was a perfect match for what was on my head.

The product is quite watery and not very tacky so you do have to be careful with it, or else your entire bathroom will end up with hot pink stains. Trust me.

It's not very difficult to use however if you can be careful, use gloves, cover nearby surfaces and use a hair paint brush to apply to the product. As the pink is only on the front of my hair i used 4 foils to cover it up once it was slathered in the product; then heated it for maybe 10 minutes under a regular hairdryer to intensify the color then leave for an hour or more if it's not bothering you. The product is vegan so it's doesn't really smell like hair dye and doesn't seem to cause me any irritation.

The only issue i have is about three days after doing this my scalps gets very dry and i need to use a anti-dandruff shampoo to fix the issue.

Before (on foils)

After

The product lasts (brightly) for about two washes but then becomes more of a pastel shade and every time you wash it it will cause a flood of pink in your shower. This is on fact one reason I'm considering getting rid of the pink, much as i love it, half my life is stained pink now; my towels, my nails, my pillowcases and my shower walls. It's a lot to deal with for maybe a week of bright pink hair.

The product works but it's very temporary, its easy but it causes massive staining. (This is also a very easy and messy way to make a gradient nail polish effect, happened to me several times when i couldn't find my gloves when applying this).

Do you have any hair dye nightmares?

Review: Schwarzkopf Extra Care Liquid Silk Repair & Gloss Treatment

Ah long time no see, my fault and I'm sorry. This month has been crazy for homework (currently in last semester and everything is gearing up for graduation; getting portfolios ready, sending of work to Sydney for various competitions and meeting with various peoples about the future really takes it out of you and leaves little time for bogging or makeup) I probably won't be  back properly till mid-November or so. But i will try to show of some goodies none the less.

Today's lucky contestant is the ridiculously named "Schwarzkopf Extra Care Liquid Silk Repair & Gloss Treatment". Let's start with the good bits first; it's got a nice pretty pink bottle, it smells pretty wonderful for a hair care product and it's very easy to use.

That would be all be really great, if it did anything at all. So far as i can tell this is basically water in a pink bottle; so i guess it does what water does; makes your hair slightly wet and therefore shiny for a few minutes till it dries.

This was quite a disappointment, since i dyed my hair I've been looking to take better care of it and this hasn't really done the job, or any job really. It did not make my head itchy or my hair clumpy it literally just did nothing. Maybe i shouldn't be surprised as when i tried the matching shampoo and conditioner it also did nothing. Oh well, time to try something else i guess.

Please let me know if you have any reccomendations in terms of hair care :)

Review: Michel Mercier Detangling Brush

This is, i believe, my first venture into hair care; an area I'm nearly complete inept in. I mean besides washing and conditioning and actually brushing my hair, there isn't a lot that gets done to it. Since i colored the front of my hair pink about 2 months ago it's become a little disobedient.  Where previously it didn't really take a huge amount of work, it now seems to leave my scalp super dry and tends to get knotted up more then it used when it was longer (weird).

So for my first venture (unless you count buying a ton of tea tree oil to deal with the dry scalp issue) into actual hair care i purchased this Detangling brush; my other hair brush while good has very sharp bristles and sometimes i just can't face using it, especially now that my scalp is more sensitive.

This is, as you may already be familiar with; the Michel Mercier Detangling brush (for fine hair)

The pink brush that i have is for fine hair but there's a green for normal hair, and a blue for frizzy or curly or afro-y hair. So you should be able to find one suitable for your needs if your looking into getting a new brush for your mop. 

The idea behind this particular brush is that there are several sets of bristles; some higher and some lower which is supposed to help it glide through your hair, detangle, and above all do so without catching and causing any pain. I imagine this would be a perfect brush to use on little kids; i remember screaming my head of when i was younger and mum would try brush my hair, this brush could have saved a great deal of tears.

With this product i haven't needed to use anything other then this brush to de-tangle my mop, no water or conditioner or detangling spray. It does all the work through the mystery of varying sized bristles. It's wide handles so easy to hold but not as easy to grip if your hands are wet. It's the average size for a brush so it won't take up any extra space and it looks bright and cute.

So does it achieve it;s purpose? Yup, it de-tangles and it doesn't hurt. It's not a miracle product to make your hair shiny and obedient overnight but for what it claims to do it succeeds, The brush is a touch unwieldy but so long as you dry your hands first it should cause no issues. I would say unless you have specific issues with pain while brushing your hair or massive tangling then this brush is not really necessary, otherwise it's does a good job as sorting out those issues.

Have you tried these?