Weleda Week: Weleda Oat Replenishing Shampoo

I think it's important that I begin this review by saying that the Weleda Oat Shampoo smells really good. I know that fragrance is a very subjective thing and this particular one is tricky to describe but I just feel like most people will enjoy the way this smells. Also, as if you would expect an oat shampoo ( or an oat anything, let's be real) to smell fantastic! Oats are just bland, beige little fibrous things some of us like to eat for breakfast aren't they? Apparently not, if this shampoo is anything to go by.

As it turns out, the humble oat is actually really good for your hair. This is because oats absorb silica in liquid form from the soil that the crops grow from, and silica is an important mineral that promotes healthy, shiny hair.

Phosphorus and Iron are also found in oats and are beneficial to the hair as, along with the silica, they smooth the hair cuticle, therefore reducing hair breakage and split ends.
Who knew?

The shampoo has a Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate base, which is essentially an alternative to SLS made from vegetable oils and Disodium Coco Glucoside Citrate which is a Sugar Surfactant ideal for people with sensitive skin and scalps.
Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids ( a salt made from the fatty acid Lauric Acid and amino acids from oat proteins) is 4th on the inci list. I mention it's position on the inci as the higher an ingredient is on the list, the higher the percentage (hopefully that makes sense) and it's great to see a product marketed as an oat shampoo actually have oat as a vital component. You know when you see shampoos or body products with things like 'with lemon extracts' or worse, just called 'lemon shampoo' or 'lemon body lotion' (no idea why I'm using lemons as an analogy here) and then you look at the ingredients and lemon is listed right at the bottom, as if the bottle was once just in the same room as a lemon and that's it and you feel a tiny bit ripped off? There's none of that here. This is an oat shampoo and oats play a major role!

Using this shampoo is a slightly different experience to washing your hair with a typical SLS based shampoo (I don't have a problem with SLS as a side note) and the first time I used it my hair felt a little too clarified if you know what I mean. While it was still wet it felt quite stripped but bare in mind that I rarely actually use a conditioner after I shampoo (I prefer leave in conditioners) so that could have been a factor. Once it was dry, my hair went oily quite quickly and it didn't look or feel excellent by the next day. Not one to write off a product after one use, I persevered and washed with it again and things started looking up. Now I've used the shampoo four times and I'm really pleased; my hair is shiny and healthy looking with natural volume and it smells magnificent too.

Maybe the first wash was a bit weird because the formula was getting rid of some kind of build up left behind from my previous shampoo? Maybe I didn't rinse it out properly the first time round? Who knows. Either way, I think it's a lovely shampoo that's worth a shot whether you exclusively use natural products or not.
Weleda Oat Replenishing Shampoo is £11.95 for 190ml at Feel Unique.

3 Shampoos for Oily Hair - which is best?

I haven't really had oily hair since I was a teenager so it's sort of taken me by surprise that my hair's started playing up again. Lately I've found I can't go more than two days before things start really greasing up and I don't know if it's the change in weather, something funky going on with my hormones or another explanation but I do know that it makes me feel pretty gross. I like to have fresh, swishy, yummy smelling hair as much as the next girl so for the past few weeks I've made it my mission to track down an affordable shampoo that would banish the grease, not irritate my scalp and keep my hair looking nice. That's not too much to ask for now, is it?

Neutrogena T/Gel Shampoo - Greasy Hair

At £6.99 I had high hopes for this one. I know that T Gel is an incredibly popular shampoo for people with dandruff and itchy, irritated scalps and while I don't really have dandruff, I thought I'd give the Greasy Hair formula a go. This one contains Salicylic Acid, Tar and Zink that work to essentially exfoliate the scalp, removing excess sebum and breaking down dandruff. This stuff doesn't smell great (but obvs better than oily hair) and reminds me of the old school coal tar soap that my Dad has used for as long as I can remember.
Did it Work?
Heck yes it did. I like the dual function of the product - tackling greasy hair and dandruff all at once. By day two my hair was still looking pretty fresh, so it definitely does the trick. The downside? Well it doesn't smell very excellent and it's pretty expensive at £6.99.

L'Oreal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

(Currently on offer at Boots for £1.99) I'll admit I blundered when I bought this. I thought I was buying the Rebalancing version but neglected to actually read the label so I ended up with the anti-dandruff variation. I digress, this shampoo is still primarily designed for people with oily roots and dry ends with the added bonus of treating dandruff too. The addition of 'clay' in this formula is what really piqued my attention - after all, clay face masks are brilliant for oily skin so I figured popping it on my head would mop up the grease in a similar fashion. I also bought the matching hair mask, which thus far have found to be more effective than the shampoo in terms of banishing oil.
Did it Work? Yes and no. The immediate effect is brilliant - volumised, bouncy, fresh smelling hair that appears lifted at the roots. Unfortunately for me, the freshness and volume just didn't last that long. In fact, my hair only really felt and looked nice and clean the day after (I tend to wash my hair in the evening). It does smell nice though and I'm not going to completely write it off as a decent product - I'll just make sure I buy the rebalancing version next time and see if it has a better effect.

Alberto Balsam Juicy Green Apple Shampoo 

I'll admit I usually don't give Alberto Balsam shampoo and conditioner a second glance when I'm browsing in Boots. I'll put this down to some kind of shampoo snobbery that I didn't realise I was actually suffering from until now. That said, I decided to buy the budget bottle of green shampoo after extensively googling phrases like 'best shampoo for oily hair' and 'greasy hair shampoo' and finally accepting that Alberto Balsam was probably appearing in all the searches for a reason. This shampoo is only £1 so I thought there was every possibility that budget product equals budget result.
Does it Work? Oh how wrong I was to doubt this. Like the previous two shampoo's, this one is by no means natural and contains a fair whack of SLS but I personally have no problem with that because I don't have a sensitive scalp and I've never had a reaction to suds on my head. When it comes to shampoo, so long as it does the job I'm happy and this one ticks all of the boxes. Not only does it smell fresh and delicious (like apples, go figure) but it keeps the oil at bay for the longest out of the three shampoo's I've tested. This shampoo also makes my hair feel soft and swishy and just generally good - the clear winner for me with the added bonus of being £1.

Even though Alberto Balsam Juicy Green Apple Shampoo won this round, honourable mention needs to be given to Lush Big Sea Salt Shampoo which is utterly lovely and a joy to use!

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Lush Jersey Bounce Shampoo Review

I'd already tried (and loved) Lush Big Sea Salt Shampoo, so it was only natural that I was going to be giving its salty sister, Lush Jersey Bounce a round in the shower. I like Jersey Bounce, I really do. I just don't love it and would take Big over this any day. Here's the low down.

Jersey Bounce is a lemony-yellow sea salt based shampoo infused with honey and linseed that promises big, bountiful locks. The addition of fresh organic lemon juice gives the shampoo a tart citrus scent and Fair Trade olive oil brings the shine. 

The sea salt shampoo also contains a bit of free range egg. When I was buying it the other week I asked one of the staff whether I should expect scrambled eggs in my hair. They laughed and said no one's ever asked that before but I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question - hot water plus raw egg usually results in a cooked egg situation, doesn't it? Anyway, I don't really know how but Jersey Bounce does not scramble in your hair, so you can rest easy.

The salt granules in this shampoo are a little finer than the ones in Big and the formula in general is 'wetter'. It does lather up well and a little scoop goes a long way and does the job on my below-shoulder length hair.

Jersey Bounce also does give the hair body, volume and shine- just not quite as much as Big. It's a nice shampoo and I'm sure many people prefer it over Big but the scent of Big makes it the clear winner for me.

Jersey Bounce Sea Salt Shampoo is available from Lush for £15 for 300g and £26 for 600g. ETA* Jersey Bounce no longer contains egg (edited Nov 2019).

Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar Reveal #16

Drawer number 16 reveals a cute travel sized bottle of Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo.
I have tried this particular shampoo before and I have to say I'm rather fond of its scrummy coconut scent and shine-imparting properties. Enriched with wheat proteins and wheat starch, the shampoo includes coconut oil and amino acids and is suitable for all hair types. If you like your hair to smell all tropical and coconut-ty, you'll want to try this one.
It's £16 for 250ml at Liberty.

Lush Big Sea Salt Shampoo

I don't always wash my hair with a pot of salty mush, but when I do, I use Big shampoo by Lush.
I love an accidental rhyming opening sentence almost as much as I enjoy using this shampoo.
Sure, it feels kind of strange to lather up my hair with something grainy, but like most things in life, after you've done it the first time, it gets easier.

Lush Big Shampoo is created with a Seaweed Infusion (Toothed Wrack to be exact), Organic Lemon, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Lime Juice, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Orange Flower Absolute, Limonene and a fair amount of Coarse Sea Salt. It also contains Mandarin and Neroli oils and a couple of synthetic ingredients including Sodium Laureth Sulfate (for the suds), Lauryl Betaine, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone and Perfume.

The volumising shampoo actually does volumise - mainly down to the huge amount of sea salt and makes my hair feel soft and lovely and not greasy in the slightest, which surprised me because of the addition of coconut oil.
To use the shampoo, you just scoop some out (you don't need much) and rub it onto your scalp and hair to get a nice frothy lather going. This part can be a bit perilous because some of the shampoo is definitely going to end up in your bath/ down the plughole before it has a chance to do anything. It's OK though, there are worse things that can end up in your bath.
Rinsing the shampoo out is easier than expected (for me anyway) and it takes virtually the same amount of rinsing time as a more traditional shampoo.
The shampoo smells absolutely beautiful - the vanilla absolute stands out the most to me - and the scent lingers in my hair for a good day or so after I've used it.
The only downside of Big Sea Salt shampoo for me is the price point, but this is Lush we're talking about here and we all know their products aren't exactly cheap and cheerful. Cheerful? Yes. But cheap? Naaaah.
I have the medium sized pot of Big which is £15 for 330g but you can buy 100g for £8 or a bumper 600g for £26.
You can find out more about Lush Big Sea Salt Shampoo here.

Tousle Me Softly

The marketing team at Herbal Essences deserve a gold star, because the advertisement for the new Tousle Me Softly range had me at hello.

Conveniently, I ran out of shampoo & conditioner a few days ago, so I was left with no other option than to pop in to Boots and spend my hard earned card points so I could test drive this new range.

To be honest, I'm not usually a huge Herbal Essences fan (I'm a bit of a Mark Hill/ Umberto Giannini junkie), but I was intrigued by the 'violet' components of Tousle Me Softly.

The Shampoo & Conditioner are currently 1/2 price at Boots! :o

The Shampoo and Conditioner combine pomegranate and wild violet to refresh and moisturise tresses and promise to produce that sought after just-had-a-roll-in-the-hay effortlessness.

So does it come through with the goods?

First off, I love the smell. It's fairly strong with a pleasant and floral scent that I kept smelling throughout the day when I swished my hair about.
The shampoo feels clarifying, yet gentle and the conditioner left my hair almost impossibly soft.

Having a tousle! *sorry, rubbish camera today*

But what about the 'tousle' effect? Did I feel like wearing garish purple eyeliner and fronting a rock band while swinging my hair around in slow motion? Not quite. But my hair did feel baby soft and light and messy in a pretty way. It looks super shiny and healthy too :)

My verdict? All in all, a 'totally organic experience'. That was the old tagline wasn't it?

Have you tried anything from the Tousle Me Softly range? I'd love to hear your opinions.


Thanks for reading! :*


Hannah Rose xxx

Latest in Beauty

2011 has certainly been the year of the Beauty Box - Enticing packages of deluxe samples sent  to your door every month for around £10 - it's any beauty addict's dream come true. I've definitely been tempted by this revolutionary concept and of course I've already succumbed to the allure of Boudoir Prive and Feel Unique, but there's another similar box of goodies doing the rounds that's definitely worth a mention.

 Latest in Beauty is a 'try before you buy' beauty service offering members a monthly box for the teeny price of £1, so now beauty lovers who have been longing to get involved with the sample box phenomenon can do so for less than the price of a bus ticket!

Of course, because the cost of the box is so tiny, the samples are generally a lot smaller than those you find in the £10 boxes, though products such as perfume vials are the same size. If you order a Latest in Beauty box, expect sachets rather than bottles and tubes, but don't let that put you off, as you'll often receive 2 to 5 sachets of one product so you can get a real feel for it.

Latest in Beauty is unique to the other boxes because you actually choose your samples - one each from the categories of skincare, make-up and fragrances and hair and body. I think this is a nice touch because you can select a product you're actually interested in, and if there isn't anything that takes your fancy, you can just check back later and pick something suitable.

I picked my samples and ordered my box on Friday and it arrived today - talk about speedy service :)

Here's a peek at my samples this month:



The Samples

SKINCARE

4 x sachets of Lavera My Age Concentrated Lifting Serum

This serum was created to lift and plump the skin, fight signs of aging and make the skin appear more youthful. I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm a bit obsessed with serums at the moment so I won't be able to hold off for long :)

HAIR & BODY

1 x sachet Nicky Clarke Moisture shampoo, 1 x sachet Nicky Clarke Moisture Conditioner

I used the Nicky Clarke shampoo and conditioner last night and I'm happy to report that it's a really nice product. I have one major criteria when it comes to hair products - that they smell nice - and this range definitely fulfills it. Containing static eliminating wheat protein and ultra nourishing Moringa oil, these products left my hair feeling (and looking) rather nice indeed! Something worth mentioning is how incredibly soft my hair felt immediately after rinsing the conditioner out. It wasn't that slimey feeling you get with some conditioners - just an undeniable softness. I realise I might sound a bit like a Pantene advert right now, but it's true!

MAKEUP & FRAGRANCES

Keraskin Immuniste Youth Drops Elixir

This is my favourite sample from Latest in Beauty so far - an extremely cute little glass bottle of Keraskin Immuniste Youth Drops.

To be used on cleansed skin before your day or night moisturiser, this serum is an extremely concentrated skin plumping superstar.  For the makeup and frangrance category, I opted for the 'mystery sample' and this is what I got (though I'm not sure what it was doing in that category), so it was a really beautiful surprise.
I love!

The glass dropper contains 4ml of the serum

Latest in Beauty operates on a pay as you go basis, and you are only charged once you have ordered your sample box. Once you've signed up, you'll not only have the chance to order your samples for only £1, but you'll also have access to product reviews, competitions and specials and of course the option to purchase the full sizes of your samples if you so happen to fall in love with them :)

Check out Latest in Beauty, if you're a beauty junkie on a budget I promise you'll love it.


Hannah Rose xxx