Hey ladies!

 

This post is about my all time favourite type of hair products – Conditioners!

 

Conditioners are great for moisturising, hydrating and helping to treat dry/damaged hair. They are also key because they help balance your hair’s pH after shampooing (shampoo is alkaline, conditioner is acidic). The acidity in conditioners helps to close your hair cuticles which in turn gives your hair the shiny, smooth look we all love.

 

Moisture and hydration is a must have with kinky curly hair, so finding a good conditioner is key…here are some of my recommendations:

 

 

Normal Conditioners:

 

 

My staple, inexpensive and all time favourite conditioners have to be from…TRESemme! They retail anywhere from £1-3 depending on the size

 

I have been using TRESemme for 3+ years, ever since I went natural. They are amazing for providing your hair with that needed moisture and are also great for co-washing (washing your hair with conditioner only)

 

My 3 favourite from this line are:

 

• Re-moisturising Conditioner
• Nourishing Moisture Conditioner
• Moisture Rich Conditioner

 

 

…one common factor – Moisture! Ladies when looking for products, in this case conditioners, look for something that will meet your hair needs. I don’t bother touching conditioners that promise volume or anything like that lol, I have enough volume.

 

 

 

Another great conditioner is the Curls – Coconut Sublime conditioner! Now anyone that has read this blog for a while knows that I’m a Curls fan!

 

Honestly, when I first tried this conditioner, I though ‘meh it’s alright’. But mix this thing with a little Extra virgin Olive Oil or Argan Oil, and you have a winner – it’s super moisturising!

 

 

 

 

I’ve been using this interchangeably with TRESemme for the past year. However I don’t use this for co-washing much, it costs to much to use in this way. This retails for about £10-12 depending on where you purchase it from.

 

 

Deep Conditioners:

 

 

Onto deep conditioners. As I now have colour in my hair, I always take the time out to deep condition at least once every 1-2 weeks.

 

My all time favourite, inexpensive deep conditioner is, Parnevu Hair Mayonnaise. It’s a light protein treatment, as it can be used daily if needed. But when I use it I add some oils and an egg and leave on my hair anywhere from 30-45mins. I have been using this for 3+ years and it’s done me no wrong!

 

 

 

This retails for around £3-4, decent right?

 

 

Top 5 Luxury Deep Conditioners/Treatments:

 

 

Now onto my Luxury Deep conditioners/Hair Masques! I call these luxury ones because these are not conditioners I use willy-nilly as they retail from £14-30. These will give your hair the ‘salon-treated’ feel at home.

 

It’s great to have at least one intensive, deep conditioning treatment with quality ingredients for your hair. Especially for the times your hair is in SOS mode. They are pricey, but are so worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macadamia Natural Oil’s – Deep Repair Masque:  Revitalises dry, damaged hair. It contains a combination of macadamia and argan oil infused with tea tree oil, chamomile oil, aloe and algae extracts this masque will rejuvenate and rebuild the hair, leaving it deeply nourished for improved elasticity and shine with long-lasting conditioning benefits.

 

I’ve seen so many raving reviews about this product, so I just had to try it. Ladies, I can truly say I understand why so many people love it. Of all the deep hair treatments I’ve used, this is by far my favourite to date. I’m so glad it works well on kinky-curly textured hair .

 

 

 

 

 

As I Am’s – Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner: This deep-down hydrating and fortifying treatment is a must for strong, shiny, soft, springy coils and curls. This rich penetrating conditioner is an exceptional composition of extracts of coconut, sugar cane, green tea, apple and lemon, shea butter, vitamin E and proven hair fortifiers.
You can read my full review here

 

 

 

 

Alterna’s – Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Masque: is an intense moisturising treatment that infuses hair with the moisture that it lacks & aids every strand in retaining this moisture, improving overall smoothness & manageability. Hair is left silky, shiny & youthfully restored.

 

Caviar for hair? Definitely on the luxury list. Recently Alterna had a press event for their new Caviar range, where I received this and a few other Alterna goodies. I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to try it because honestly, before this I’d never really heard of Alterna Hair Care.

 

I applied this to my hair when it was extremely dry, sat under my huetiful steamer and vwah-la…all the moisture, shine and strength I needed was restored.

 

p.s. This hair treatment is definitely a masque so you can’t detangle with it applied to your hair – I learnt the hard way lol

 

 

 

 

Joicio’s – K-PAK RevitaLuxe Restorative Treatment: Indulge in the ultimate luxury treatment for dry, damaged hair. K-PAK® RevitaLuxe™ actively repairs, restores, protects, and hydrates hair. With each application, hair instantly becomes stronger, softer, more moisturised, with improved elasticity.

 

K-PAK® RevitaLuxe™ features patent-pending Keratin Peptide Complex™ (jojoba oil, aloe extract, and bio-mimetic peptides), which targets hair’s cuticle and intercellular matrix to create a “molecular bandage” on the surface that protects hair against damage and dehydration.

 

Yet another amazing hair treatment ladies! I find this works to it’s maximum potential with a steamer.

 

 

Percy & Reed’s –  TLC Hydrating Mask: This deep, indulgent treatment helps restores your hair’s vitality, and makes it soft and more manageable. They’ve enlisted marshmallow to lend a hand nourishing and strengthening stressed tresses, and coconut oil for deep conditioning and moisturising.

 

Random but first off I love the Percy & Reed packaging, it’s so simple, yet fresh and fun! However this TLC mask is far from just simple. It’s great! When I was contacted to try it, I was a little apprehensive about how well it would work with my hair texture. But upon using it shot straight up to the favourite list!

 

 

What are your staple & luxury conditioners?

Hey ladies,

 

Last Monday I was invited down to Darren Scott Salon to get my hair styled by the lovely Darren Scott himself.

 

Darren Scott is a qualified hair stylist and make-up artist who has worked his magic on some of the biggest celebrities and most recently Darren Scott was a P&G Salon stylist for the P&G Salon at the Olympic & Paralympic Village.

 

 

 

 

For anyone that knows me, you know that I’ve been contemplating getting colour in my hair for the longest. Those that know me really well also know I’m not big on drastic changes (says the girl that cut all her hair off). I very much like to keep things clean, classy and simple.

 

However, since the opportunity was there to have my hair coloured by a professional I thought I’d take the leap and go for it.

 

Heading up to the salon I was constantly texting friends letting them know that today would be ‘the day’ lol! Without a doubt I was going to colour my hair for sure, providing Darren was someone I could trust.

 

I walked in apprehensive of what the atmosphere would be like and to my relief as soon as I opened the door and was greeted I felt comfortable. The worst feeling is walking into a salon being treated like you’re not even wanted there – I’m sure many of you have experienced this…not at Darren Scott Salon.

 

 

 

 

Also, you know when you have a style in mind, but you get to the salon and look at the stylist and think ‘ahhh heck no, no siree…you cannot possibly be doing my hair’ I didn’t feel that – at all!

 

My coat was taken from me, I was asked if I’d like a drink and lucky for me it was a stylist’s birthday so I got some red velvet cake too!

 

 

Then Darren proceeded with asking me what I’d like to get done and the first thing that came out of my mouth was colour! He then brought out the L’Oreal Majirel colour book, with all the different colours under the sun, from warm to cool tones. The huge book looked overwhelming so I explained to him the colour I wanted and he found it spot on – “Light copper, Iridescent brown”.

 

 

He examined my hair and told me I would need a trim (which I definitely knew I needed after the trauma my hair went through at my last salon visit). I asked if there were any other things I’d need to add to my regime to make sure the coloured parts of my hair stay strong and he mentioned staying on top of deep conditioning & treatments and I should be fine. He also read the blog beforehand so he was familiar with the things I was already doing to my hair.

 

 

 

 

He mixed up the colour and used the ‘Balayage technique’ and Balayage paper instead of foil to colour my hair.  “Balayage – It’s a colour application technique where colour is applied away from the roots and painted on to sections of hair. Normally this is more around the face and used to highlight face framing layers and give a more natural colour look”

The colour was applied to the t-section and left in for 35mins before being was out (Darren had his timer right there – no guess work!)

 

 

 

Then onto my favourite part of the salon trip – the shampoo! I’m sure for most of you having your hair shampooed; especially at a salon is nothing special. A shampoo for some usually means vigorous, scalp scrubbing. But ladies, let me tell you my scalp has never felt so good! Darren took his time, washed out the colour, while giving me shiatsu head massage. Laaaawd no wonder people get head massages, it was amazing – so relaxing I fell asleep! Lol!

 

 

The shampoo experience was enhanced by the Label M ‘Organic Moisturising Lemongrass shampoo & conditioner’ (they smell sooooo good!)

 

Then for a deeper condition, Darren used Label M’s ‘Intensive Mask’ (I need to get myself some of this!)

 

After this was done it was time to blow dry then straighten!

 

 

Darren applied some Inoar Argan Oil and more lovely Label M products to my hair, the ‘Protein Spray’ and ‘Relaxing Balm’ (and no its nothing to do with a relaxer lol, it’s to stop your hair from frizzing out!) and proceeded to blow-dry then trim.

 

 

Once my trim was done, I was whizzed over to the makeup section to get my face ‘did’!

 

I love that you have the option of getting your hair and makeup done in the same place, great if you’re planning to go out after.

 

 

Lastly my hair was straightened using the GHD’s and Mizani’s Therma Smooth. It was so funny because of the wet humid weather that day you could see my hair reverting back as Darren straightened each section. It was ok though, I was more excited about having colour in my hair!

 

 

Darren Scott Salon is definitely on my list of recommended places to go! I had such an amazing experience and everyone is sooo nice! I assure you it wasn’t because I was going there as a blogger. It was evident in the atmosphere and the way Darren and his team of stylists interacted with the other customers. Hands down best salon experience to date!

 

One thing I learnt from this trip is that, more stylists need to take the time out to provide a comfortable, relaxing experience for each customer. Putting your hair in the care of someone else is a big deal. A salon should never feel like a war zone, I’m glad Darren Scott Salon is far from that!

 

The colour up close

 

 

 

Tried and tested rating 10/10…and then some!

 

Other points:

*All his stylists know how to work with every hair type from every race.

*Colour:  L’Oreal majirel – Light Copper, iridescent brown (5.42) and 20 vol peroxide, permanent