We are most certainly in the depths of winter here in Australia, and although it doesn't snow where I live, we have had a lovely dusting on two occasions only about 30 mins away!My children were most excited!!
With the colder weather, comes a drop in humidity, and an increase in indoor heating, both of which can rob our skin and hair of much needed moisture. I have several posts coming up focusing on Winter Beauty, and thought that I would start with some of my favourite products for keeping my locks, and my family's, clean and nourished this winter.
Let's get started...there are quite a few products to chat about, many of which have been favourites of mine for some time now.
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| The Hair Care Wardrobe...it takes a village you know. |
I have featured the Australian hair care brand Affinage Professional previously here on the blog. They are a brand that I continue to enjoy using very much. The Moisture Max Shampoo and Conditioner are from the Essential Oils range, and are sulphate, silicone and paraben free. Enriched with essential oils, as the name suggests, they cleanse and condition my hair without leaving it feeling heavy with product. The Moisture Max Shampoo has a gorgeous velvety lather, which is often hard to come by with sulphate free products. It rinses cleanly, and never leaves your hair feeling squeaky or stripped. Love. A little goes a long way with the Moisture Max Conditioner. It has a thick, luxurious texture, and leaves my hair soft and manageable. I would highly recommend both products, and they smell just as lovely as the other Affinage products that I have tried. Have a look at their website here for stockists.
Another Australian skin care and hair care brand, MooGoo, has impressed me from the very first use. Designed especially for people with sensitive skin, their products contain naturally derived ingredients to care for your skin and hair, leaving out the common irritants which can cause unwanted reactions. The Milk Shampoo and Cream Conditioner were sent to me for trial and review, and I have since purchased the Scalp Cream from my local health food store, which I discovered carries the MooGoo range! Hooray!
Whilst I have used and enjoy the shampoo and conditioner very much, the results that I have seen when using it to treat my daughters scalp have been incredibly impressive. Some months ago, she had developed an area of seborrheic dermatitis at the back of her scalp. It was inflamed, irritated, had a build up of dead skin ( sorry ) and was very itchy! I had tried many topical, over the counter products with very little improvement.
When I received the MooGoo products, I started using them straight away on her hair and scalp, and could see a huge improvement after the first two uses. The Milk Shampoo uses coconut and glucose based cleansers, and does a brilliant job of cleansing the hair and scalp gently but thoroughly. The silicone free Cream Conditioner uses canola, jojoba and olive oils, and MooGoo's signature Milk Proteins to detangle and condition the hair without weighing it down or irritating the scalp. After two uses, the inflammation was markedly reduced, much less build up of dead skin, and the itchiness was subsiding. I was so pleased! Onto the website I went, and read up about the Scalp Cream, a protective cocktail of olive and coconut oils,Vitamin E, soothing Aloe Vera and Allantoin, and Tea Tree, Lavender and Rosemary essential oils. I gratefully found it stocked in my local health food store. We added the Scalp Cream to her regime, applying it daily. Within 3 weeks her dermatitis was completely healed. I cannot say enough good things about these products, and will continue to use them on all four of my children's hair! Highly Highly recommend!! You can check out the website here.
Treatments...
Keeping on the theme of great Australian brands, I have used and enjoyed the Lux Aestiva Endless Summer Hair Hydrator as both an all over intensive treatment, and also as a pre-wash, quick hydrating treatment just on the ends of my hair. I need to repurchase, as this pouch is now very much empty! This gorgeous, vegan friendly and cruelty free oil treatment nourishes the hair with a combination of Extra Virgin Coconut oil, Grape seed, Sweet Almond, Macadamia, Jojoba, and Pomegranate oils. You could certainly apply it in the evening and leave it on overnight if you wished. I find oil treatments to be particularly strengthening for my colour treated hair, and they also dramatically reduce static and flyaways, both of which can plague hair in the winter months. Oh, it also smells delicious! You can find Lux Aestiva's website here. Since their launch last year, they have also released a delicious sounding body oil that is on my list of things to try!
The Pureology Instant Conditioning Whipped Cream is a lazy girl's dream come true! The lightweight foam distributes evenly through the hair, and need only be on the hair for 1-3 minutes prior to rinsing. Perfect for the shower! It is hard to believe that such a lightweight formula can work as well as this does, but mark my words, it is brilliant. It melts into the hair immediately, whilst its deeply floral scent transports you to a luxury day spa. It's conditioning oils and strengthening proteins leave my hair feeling soft, detangled and nourished. I have heard many great reviews on Pureology products, however this is the first one that I have tried. I'd love you to leave any recommendations in the comments below if you have a favourite product to recommend to me? I am LOVING this one!
Fudge Clean Blonde Violet Toning Shampoo has been a staple in my shower for about 2 years now. I have chemically lightened my hair for many years, and it tends to throw a very annoying gold/brassy tone on a regular basis. This highly pigmented purple shampoo chases away the brassiness, without leaving my hair feeling like steel wool! I will typically use my regular shampoo first to clean my hair, and then use Clean Blonde as my second shampoo, leaving it to sit in my hair for a minute prior to rinsing. Once, sometimes twice a week does the trick, and it really freshens up my colour. Be sure to give your hands a quick wash after you have lathered with Clean Blonde... it has a very strong pigment that will leave a hint of purple on your skin if you're not careful!!
After my shower, I will reach for one of these three favourite products to further condition and protect my locks prior to styling ( unless I'm too tired and can't be bothered and it gets thrown up into a bun! ).
Both the Dove Pure Care Dry Oil , and the Orofluido have been favourites for quite some time, and I find them to perform fairly on par. In fact, I believe the Dove Pure Care oil has slightly more nourishing oils, and slightly less silicones than the Orofluido, and is less than half the price... you're welcome! Both smell deliciously good, and I enjoy using both. If you are on a budget, definitely try the Dove!
The Affinage Essential Oils 24/7 Heaven Cuticle Sealer is a lightweight lotion designed to protect your hair from heat styling, whilst smoothing and adding shine. I reach for this on the days that I don't feel like using a heavier oil, and it does a brilliant job to smooth and condition my hair when blow drying. Highly recommend!
Stylin' it up!...
Dry shampoo. Haven't those two words transformed the beauty world in the last couple of years? I have tried my fair share of brands during that time, and have come to fall deeply and madly in love with the Marc Anthony Clear Dry Shampoo. It is indeed, clear. Tick. It cleans and refreshes my hair. Tick. It doesn't leave any residue. Tick. It doesn't irritate my scalp. Tick. It smells good. Tick.
In a recent special at Priceline I purchased 2 more bottles. A back up for my back up. It is true love.
Oh L'Oreal Elnett Satin... another love of mine. I could not count how many bottles of this hairspray I have purchased over the years. It holds my hair without being crunchy or clumping, it brushes out easily, it adds volume at the roots without irritating my scalp when I need to do a quick up-do... it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, it is just a fab little hairspray. Love.
Another inexpensive find is the V05 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray. I will reach for this little gem when I need to do a quick up-do and my hair is too clean and slippery and needs a bit of grit and hold, or if I want to add some volume to my hair. A little goes a long way with this spray, and you'll get change from $10 for your troubles. Nice.
Well, that's a wrap loves! If you are still here with me then cheers to you!! I would love to know your favourite hair care products! Do we share any favourites? Please leave a comment below with any questions, or any product recommendations for me!
Do come back and visit again! More Winter Beauty posts are on the way!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Blessings,
Lou xo
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