Out with the old, in with the new - I've been loving mixing and matching my haircare lately, and as another haircare item bites the dust (this time Herbal Essences' Bee Strong conditioner, RIP) it's been replaced by something I've been wanting to try for quite some time. I've been slowly working my way through the whole Dove Nourishing Oil Care range, which aims to restore and repair dry, damaged hair with 'weightless argan, almond and coconut nutri-oils'. I've mentioned the leave-in conditioning spray from this range lots - as well as the US-version leave-in smoothing cream which I can't wait to get my mits on - but most recently I've been trying out the express treatment conditioner, which promises the nourishing, softening effects of a hair mask at the speed of a regular conditioner ie. one minute. I put it to the test...
'Full of the power of flowers, collected and concentrated by the bees. While they were collecting the pollen, we searched the meadows for beautiful flowers to fragrance their work'
I blogged about Fairtrade Honey in my last haircare post, however with continued use I do have a few things to add. Packed with beeswax absolute, rose, bergamot and neroli oil as well as 'lashings of honey for it's lovely effects on the hair', this is the perfect shampoo for gently yet effectively cleansing the scalp and roots while at the same time thoroughly nourishing the lengths and ends. When I use this I really feel like I'm doing my hair some good - according to Lush, the fairtrade Zambian honey (which makes up 50% of the bottle) 'conditions the hair and adds incredible shine' and I can't argue; the whole time I've been using this my hair has looked and felt so healthy, shiny and bouncy - not at all coated, stripped or weighed down. Refreshing and clarifying, smoothing and hydrating - this really has been a miracle shampoo in taming my somewhat rebellious mane. My only complaint about this would have to be the price - at near to £15 for the medium-size bottle this doesn't come cheap; I respect that there's a truck-load of natural and organic ingredients jammed in here but for my budget this won't be a regular repurchase. Also, much as I like the geranium/honey scent, it did get a bit much after a while - and also smelt a tiny bit alcoholic? - so I couldn't use this continuously.
'Instant deep nourishing power of a treatment at the speed of a conditioner... smooths dry, rough and frizzy hair'
The first thing you need to know about this - and the whole Nourishing Oil Care line - is that it smells really lovely; that clean, fresh Dove scent masterfully entwined with sweet almond and coconut, heavenly. The second thing you need to know is that this has a stripy, 'dual-action formula' - much like a toothpaste (wierdly enough). The gold stripe contains those infamous weightless nutri-oils ('to deeply nourish and replenish') while the white stripe is a regular conditioner that 'seals the cuticle to lock in nourishment and smooth frizz'. Consistency-wise this is thicker than a conditioner, not quite so thick as a full-on hair mask, but dispenses a sizeable blob easily enough from its squeeze-top tube. I use this every-other-day in place of regular conditioner after shampooing, concentrating mainly on the bottom two inches of my hair. The results? To my disappointment this hasn't worked wonders for my hair (and definitely hasn't left my ends as super-soft as my dearly departed Bee Strong conditioner). In fairness this could be down to the fact my hair is well due a trim, or maybe these two products just aren't compatible; nevertheless this works just as well as a regular conditioner for smoothing my flyaway ends - and makes my hair smell beautiful - so I'm going to stick with it. I also planning on trying this out with my L'Oreal EverRiche shampoo when the Fairtrade Honey runs out to see if the results are any different, so watch this space!
Do you like mixing and matching your hair products?
Or do you play it safe and stick with matching shampoo & conditioner?
Chandra
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