Wella SP Luxe Oil Review

Having naturally curly, frizzy hair that I love to straighten when I can, I'm always on the look out for new products to help keep my hair under control. I have only tried one hair oil which was a Tresemme one and it didn't really do much for my hair.  I've been using the Wella SP Luxe Oil for a couple of months now and I have to say that I really love it. I like to apply it to damp hair before I blow dry it straight and also when I'm leaving my hair in it's natural state. It can also be applied to dry hair to tone down any frizziness and make it look more sleek. My hair is so unbelievably soft after using this, I can't stop stroking it! It's extremely lightweight and non greasy so doesn't weigh my hair down at all or leave any residue behind. I think this would work equally well in fine or thick and unruly hair, it's the perfect consistency. It also smells AH-MAZING, like sugared almonds and I love smelling it in my hair during the day, it's not overwhelming just a nice, clean scent. The ingredients include Argan, Jojoba and Almond Oil and although it doesn't say that it "fixes" damaged hair, I definitely feel like it's been keeping my hair in better condition and I've noticed it looks a lot less dry and frazzled than it does when I don't use it.  The only downsides to this hair oil are that it comes in a pretty hefty glass bottle so it's not ideal for travelling or for those who are clumsy and tend to knock things flying off their dressing table frequently... It's also pretty pricey but still much more reasonable than MoroccanOil coming in at £15.90 for 100ml. What are your favourite hair oils?

Updated Hair Care Essentials

I'm on a never ending quest to tame my hair, keep the frizz under control and basically make my hair look as if it's naturally straight and not beaten into submission every couple of days.

I've been using the Dove Hair Nourishing Oil Care Leave In Conditioning Spray for months now and although I don't think it improves the condition of my hair, it definitely maintains it and keeps my hair feeling silky smooth and smelling good too. I couldn't find it anywhere in stores though so I recommend ordering it online to save yourself the hunt.

I recently picked up the Percy & Reed Wonder Balm free with a copy of Elle after hearing good things on Sandy's blog Absolute Beaut and I'm really glad I did. I definitely feel that since I've been using it, my hair has been staying how I've styled it for a lot longer than it had done previously. The Wonder Balm is being touted as a "primer for hair" and it is a lightweight gel formula that smells gorgeous and has been giving my hair added oomph and leaving it looking sleek and glossy.

I've been using John Frieda's 3 Day Straight for a few years now, it pretty much does what it says on the bottle and helps keep my hair straighter for longer. It's not a miracle worker but I can tell a difference when I don't include it in my routine and so for that reason, it's still a keeper.

I'm always changing up my heat protection sprays, I've not really found one that's wow'd me yet and after trying the Dove Style + Care Heat Protect Spray, I think the hunt is still on. I can't really say that it makes my hair look any better after using it and also the spray is too direct, it doesn't mist over my hair but tends to squirt it in patches, not good.

Review | Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment Conditioner

As I frequently style my hair under rather extreme heat using a combo of my hairdryer on it's highest settings and the 230 degree heat of my ghd's, I am always looking to make sure I'm using as many products as I can to keep my hair in the best condition possible. 

However, I'm also looking at trying to do that on a budget, as I just don't have the spare £30 or so required to pick up expensive hair oils, as much as I'd like to.

So, I took myself off to Boots in search of a conditioner that was purse friendly and also would do the job of maintaining my heat abused hair.

After scouring the shelves for about 10 minutes, I came across this lonely bottle lying forlornly at the back of the shelves. It was exactly what I was looking for and for only £3.39, definitely a reasonable price. I'm quite a fan of Dove products normally as they're cheap and usually pretty good so I happily picked this up and went off to the tills. I went and double checked the pink booth to see if there were any vouchers I could use with my purchase to make it extra cheap and surprisingly they had a 25% off shampoos and conditioners so that was an extra bonus!

I put it to use as soon as I got home and I could notice the results after styling straight away. It helped to keep the frizz away and my hair was soft and shiny too. It smelt lovely as usual and didn't leave any nasty residue in my hair, it was just left feeling smoother without the weight that conditioner can sometimes leave in your hair.

The gold stripe in the conditioner is the nutri-oil treatment that is their to nourish and replenish essential nutrients and leave your hair grease free, whilst the white stripe is the conditioning part that seals the hair cuticles to lock in nourishment and smooth any frizz. 

You can use this conditioner daily/whenever you wash your hair instead of your regular conditioner and leave it on for 1 minute before rinsing. If I'm leaving my hair curly, I'll still whack some of this in there and then use my curl conditioner on top just for extra frizz management.

Overall, this is a brilliant conditioner and I'll definitely be repurchasing, vouchers or no vouchers! I've used it a fair few times now and the bottle still has a decent amount in. You can pick this up at Boots at the moment and it's actually half price being only £1.69. You'd be crazy not to grab a bottle for that price!

Have you tried this conditioner? What's your favourite one?

Hair Straightening Essentials

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Happy weekend everyone! I hope the weather picks up a little bit, it's snowing here, yuck.
I've mentioned before that I've got naturally curly hair which you can see in my post here (if you're interested!) which makes styling my hair all that more effort. I prefer to wear it straight as I find it lower maintenance and I think it suits me better too.

I've been straightening my hair since I was about 14 but I never really used any heat protection or styling products on it until a couple of years ago, the shame! This resulted in my hairdresser frequently remarking how damaged my hair was and also quite a few inches being chopped off on my visits.
These are my essential products which have made such a different to the end result of my hair - before when I straightened it, it would look perfect for about 30 minutes and then end up frizzing out and going wavy, ruining all of my efforts.

Frizz-Ease Protective Styling Spray - I also featured this in my February Favourites post, but this is really my absolute essential and I use this before I blow dry my hair and also on every section of hair that the straighteners touch. My hair has definitely been smoother and less damaged since using this and I've bought about three of them now. Sadly, the one in the picture somehow managed to leak in my travel bag and I lost half of what I had left!

Frizz-Ease 3 Day Straight - I've almost run out of this now, but it lasts for ages. I've been using it for about a year now and I've only had to purchase two of them. However, I have had large gaps between straightening and also only need to wash my hair 1-2 times a week so that helps! This basically claims to keep your hair straight for 3 days after styling and whilst I do notice that my hair does take on a slight natural wave and doesn't remain poker straight, I have noticed a difference between when I do and when I don't use it. I spray this liberally over all of my hair before blow drying as it needs to be used on damp hair and it helps to keep the frizz away and just give my hair a sleeker look.

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum - This product I found through Flutura Whispers and after seeing how gorgeous her naturally curly hair came out super straight, I knew I had to get it. It's a little on the pricey side but I've had it for over a year now and you only need one pump every time that you use it. It smells so fruity I have trouble not eating it, haha! I apply this just through the middle to the ends of my hair as I don't want it to leave any residue in my roots and this helps make my hair feel silkier and look shinier. It also does help to speed up drying time by a few minutes due to it's "Super Skinny Complex."

VO5 Miracle Mist - This lay unloved in my drawer for quite a while, although I'm not sure why as I don't remember ever having a problem with it. When I rediscovered it, I quickly began to love it and I now use it on my hair when it's curly or straight. It's a leave-in conditioner and I spray this onto the ends of my hair when it's damp to help with any splitting. You can also use a light spritz of it on dry hair to help calm down any unruliness you might find after sleeping on your hair.

So that's all of my favourite products for straightening! All products are under £10 and can be found in Boots and Superdrug (apart from the awkward Skinny Serum which I've linked above.)