Wednesday 18 January 2012

My Favourite Cleansing Oil


This past year or so I have been exploring cleansing balms, and while I've used some lovely ones (notably Emma Hardie) and am continuing to explore what's out there, my heart belongs to the cleansing oil, and for me the best one I've used so far is Origins Clean Energy. I am on my 4th bottle of this oil, so I felt it needed a much deserved rave!

I have tried quite a few other brands (Shu, MAC, Nude, DHC, Dermalogica) but Origins beats all these as I find it to be very gentle (even around eyes) yet incredibly effective at removing everything easily with no panda eyes. It is packed full of different oils (and no mineral oil!) and has a wonderful subtle sweet citrus scent that feels uplifting and refreshing. It doesn't require a cloth to remove and rinses easily with water leaving my combo/acne skin feeling very clean and not dry. It also has a slight clarifying effect on the skin as well so a few minutes massaging into the skin helps to draw out impurities.

I think this is one of the most reasonably priced cleansing oils at £17 for 200ml and it lasts me about 4 months (I use it mostly in the evenings). The only negative is that the bottle doesn't come with a pump but I did buy one separately from Origins ages ago and I think it was £1.

I am tempted to try making my own easy rinse cleansing oil, but at the moment, I am content in using Origin's pre-made concoction!

Ingredients:



Sunday 15 January 2012

Scalp Soothing Products: Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo & Muji Hair Massage Brush

Welcome to my first post for the new year! I hope everyone's 2012 is off to a good start. 

I have been very laid-back on the blogging front these past couple of months but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things as there are quite a few products I wanted to share, so let's go!

As I've mentioned before I often go through phases of scalp issues like flakiness, irritation and sensitivity where at times I cannot keep my hands off my hair - it bugs me so much!
Towards the end of last year I had much more success with haircare so here are some things I'm loving.



Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo
A fitting name for this, it is like therapy for my hair. I think I'm finally coming across effective natural ranges and this definitely is one of them.

Intelligent Nutrients is a range that is without the common chemical nasties and uses food grade ingredients, their vision being 'everything we put into our bodies must be nutritious and safe' (Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Intelligent Nutrients).

I am always hesitate about buying full sizes in haircare, as I have wasted many products in the past as they just don't work for me. Often it's not possible to test or sample haircare in the same way as skincare so I was really pleased to see travel sizes and bought the shampoo to try out.

The texture is almost conditioner-like as it has a light, creamy consistency that is easy to work into the hair. The lather is creamy and rinses out well, leaving the hair feeling smooth and nourished but not weighed down in any way which is good for my fine hair.  I don't find this as effective for flakiness (there is something else I'm using for that which I will review), maybe with longer use I might see a difference, but it does really help soothe irritation.

What I love the most about this is the incredibly refreshing scent from the peppermint, spearmint, rosemary and menthol - the blend of ingredients is so therapeutic and feels cooling and very soothing on my scalp in a way that I have not come across before. It's because of this I actually look forward to using the shampoo which differs from my previous experiences of natural shampoos because it is enjoyable to use.

Intelligent Nutrients also have skincare and bodycare which I am looking forward to exploring as well - I have my eye on their Jasmine aromas which smell divine!

I bought this from Whole Foods but the range is available online from Lovelula & Naturisimo.

Ingredients:



The next thing which has been a revelation is the Muji Hair Massage Brush


I have heard of shampoo massage brushes but haven't really come across one before until I recently popped into Muji one day.

I've been using this every time I shampoo my hair since I bought it - I first work the shampoo into my hair and then use the brush to massage the scalp in circular motions. I massage a small section, then lift the brush and move to the next part rather then dragging it through the hair.  

The bristles are quite firm but as they are quite thick and have rounded ends, when used lightly it is excellent for massaging the scalp.
Contrary to what I initially thought, this doesn't make my hair shed any more then usual, I think it's actually less.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this might help long term with my hair, but at the moment I am enjoying the relief for my scalp.