L’oreal Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-frizz Shampoo

I’ve never really had a favourite shampoo before and am usually content to try any brand which is on offer.  I selected this one as it claims to nourish and tame dry, frizzy rebellious hair and I quite liked the rebellious hair segmentation. 

Ingredients
The ingredients are pretty straightforward and fairy typical of most shampoo formulations which are intended to clean the hair of dirt and grease without irritating the scalp and stinging the eyes, smooth the hair cuticle and condition it, all in the quick time it takes to wash your hair.
Argan Oil – this appears halfway down the ingredient list and I believe is the main ingredient responsible for making this shampoo so effective.  Argan Oil is well known to revive and strengthen hair and tame frizz and is often used as a standalone product and I have friends who swear by using it as a hair treatment.  So to have it incorporated into a shampoo formulation gives you the benefits on a daily basis whilst getting your hair clean.
48 Hour Thermal protection is also offered, usually polymers provide this, but I’m not sure what’s giving the protection in this particular formulation

Natural vs. Performance Shampoos

I’ve been asked many times to recommend a good natural organic shampoo and I tend to ask if that persons hair is completely natural ie never been coloured, hi-lighted, blow dried, permed, heat styled etc.  As most women do not leave their hair completely natural, our hair is going to need ingredients that make it manageable and looking its best, and it’s very hard to achieve this with natural ingredients.  I’ve sold a lot of hair care and hair styling ingredients and it’s very hard to get a natural organic hair product with the performance of a more chemical based one. 

Good Hair Ingredients

Silicones are excellent, they smooth down the cuticles to give a more glossy effect with less flyaway
Vegetable proteins are absorbed into the hair keratin to strengthen the hair – actually beer would be a good source of this!
Quarternium and guar gums for conditioning
Oils – petrochemical or vegetable oil based are always good for improving shine and conditioning

Hair Type Segmentation

The only difference between blondes and brunette (hair that is) is that brunette hair is thinner, so not much difference between shampoos, extracts with blonde or brunette references ie chamomile or horse chestnut could be used but this would be in minuscule quantities.  Most designer hair ranges are made by contract manufacturers who also produce the supermarket ranges and would likely use very similar formulations, remember hairdressers are not cosmetic scientists, the biggest difference between a designer shampoo and supermarket shampoo is the profit margin, not the formulation or packaging costs!

Rating

Value for money – available from most stockists of shampoos and usually < £3.00 for 250 ml
Effectiveness – the foam is noticeably creamer than other shampoos and I now find after over a month of regular usage I occasionally need to use condition and serum instead of every time I washed my hair to make it look half decent
Pampering factor – nice creamy foam, fragrance, and hair is nicely cleansed without the aggressive squeaky feeling, and feels much softer and yes, is not so rebellious!
Highly Recommended

Why I Love Lush Shower Gels

There is huge amount of choice when it comes to shower gels with most of them making wonderful promises, most of them mood altering.   Flying Fox has been my favourite for the past 6 years, with very few exceptions, even taking 2 large bottles with me for my year living in Vietnam!

What’s the Difference between Shower Gels?

The vast majority of shower gels will all share the 3 following main ingredients at the very top of the label ie water, SLS/sodium laureth sulphate (cleaning/foaming action), cocamidyl betaine (to reduce irritancy of the sodium laureth sulphate).  If you are looking for shower gel that will get you clean with a pleasant fragrance, than there is no need to spend more than £1.    As there will be very little difference between most shower gels, and because the contact time with your skin is very quick, a shower gel will not be able to deliver anti-ageing, anti-cellulite promised etc.  If there is a deviation from those top 3 ingredients, than I would say its worth paying more, especially if contains a lot of botanical ingredients.

SLS/ SLES free?

In an ideal world no shampoo or shower gel would contain these, and it is possible to produce without, but a price, and the risk of losing foaming activity.  I do think Lush are very serious about using as few chemicals as possible, and the fact they use such a high level of natural ingredients, for me, balances out the use of SLS.

Skin Affinity

Shower gels are by nature rinse-off’s and are only in contact with the skin for a short period of time, therefore if a product does contain anything for anti-ageing, anti-cellulite it will be in at minuscule levels and give very little effect.  Sodium laureth sulphate is harsh on the skin, but is very cheap <80 p / kg and is gives the squeaky clean feeling with bubbles; therefore a betaine is always included as a co-surfactant to give mildness.

TIP: Use a puff for milder shower gels, as this increases foaming and makes the product last a lot longer.

Flying Fox Ingredients

The 1^st 7 ingredients are natural – so there’s a big difference already, and the next difference is having a higher quantity of the milder co-surfactant than sodium laureth sulfate.  It contains 15 natural ingredients (included 3 types of honey) compared to 6 chemicals, this ratio would be the opposite with most shower gels.

Rating

Value for money – more expensive than other shower gels, with prices ranging from £4.50 (100g) up to £15.75 (500g) however, not comparable with other shower gels. 
Effectiveness – contains the essential ingredients to be a shower gel with more than your average natural ingredients
Pampering factor – the heady fragrance of jasmine absolute and ylang ylang is divine
Highly Recommended – if you want a truly indulgent shower gel with essential oils
Available from Lush stores and online.

Happy Hippy Ingredients

The 1^st 4 ingredients are natural, followed by sodium laureth sulphate, and 2 milder co-surfactants and then 5 natural ingredients and have a ratio of 8 natural ingredients vs. 6 chemicals.

Rating

Value for money – less expensive than other Lush shower gels, with prices ranging from £3.25 (100g) up to £10.25 (500g). 
Pampering factor – wonderful combination of grapefruit, frankincense and bergamot essential oils

Ultimate Youth Eye Cream from Balance Active Formula

Here is another incredibly good value product from Balance Active Formula, this is the 3rd product I've tried from them and I'm not disappointed.  I've tested and researched the ingredients from the active manufacturers website and looked at the supporting evidence and its really good to see skin care products containing high quality actives that are affordable, goes to show how much money can be saved on packaging, marketing and not comprise the quality of the product.

Ingredients
1) EyeProx3X  - clinically proven to dramatically reduce dark circles in just 4 weeks and boost collagen production and hydration
2) Easyliance – proven to reduce crow’s feet within 4 weeks with immediate lifting and tightening effect
Paraben and Silicone free

Eye Creams vs. Day or Night creams

Eye creams tend to be formulated so that they sink into the skin quickly; the skin around the eye is typically thinner and more fragile, so it not ideal to apply a product that is draggy or takes a while to be absorbed.  Look for an eye cream that offers something specific ie dark circles, puffy eyes, and crow’s feet; otherwise you’re probably using a lighter version of your day/night cream.

How it Works

1) Two natural ingredients; Saccharomyces Cerevisiae & Rhodiola rosea work synergistically to break down fatty deposits and controls excessive fluid up which causes to puffy eyes 
2) Hydrolyzed rhizobian gum & acacia gum works synergistically to give a vegetable equivalent of Botox, it works by tensing and relaxing the skin thereby smoothing out fine lines, and improves appearance of skin with repeated use

Skin Affinity

It’s quite a thick consistency, but melts nicely into the under eye area with a little gentle patting, there is a tightening effect but its quite slight.

Rating

Value for money – hard to beat @£4.99 from Savers & online http://www.balancecosmetics.co.uk/about.aspx
Effectiveness – if used continuously you will see reduction of dark circles and bags within 7 days, after that it seems to level out, fine lines do appear to be reduced
Pampering factor – because its good value, it’s possible to apply liberally
Highly recommended –one will last a long time and give lasting results
USP – made in UK, so you will be supporting UK manufacturing