Ochre Body and Skincare Range

Natural Skincare is something I am always interested in trying and one brand I have been using of late is Ochre Body and Skincare. A philosophy which states "Ochre Body and Skin is designed to care for you and our environment and to be affordable for everyday use. We avoid the use of any ingredients that could be considered harmful to your skin and minimise the amount of packaging in the product or used in delivering the product to you".

So, having been sent three products to try - Enliven Shampoo, Harmonise Conditioner and Cherish Body Lotion, each one brightly coloured and eye catching whilst sitting on my shelf in the bathroom.

Enliven Shampoo is the first product I used, in fact I enjoyed using it so much, there is just a small amount left. Described as being for frequent use this shampoo is suitable for all hair types. I tend to use it once or twice a week as a sort of in-between shampoo because I find it really gives my scalp a good cleanse, whether that was its original purpose or not, for me this is what it does. When you flip the lid and first use this shampoo, the first thing you do notice is the scent because it combines both Rosemary, which is used in many hair products to improve scalp problems and Peppermint which acts as an antiseptic, together they smell amazing. 

 There is also coconut and vitamin B5 rich panthenol included and they enhance the appearance of your hair by increasing body, suppleness and sheen plus there are sea minerals to condition, moisturise and protect. Putting all these together results in your hair feeling soft, smooth, hydrated and your scalp clean.

As someone who has dry ends and greasy roots, I tend not to put too much conditioner on my hair regularly, it doesn't like it, instead I tend to use it once a week and then at least twice a month, I use a conditioning hair mask.

Harmonise Conditioner uses arginine, which is a natural amino acid and an essential component of your hair to help your hair regain its natural thickness. Again using ingredients such as geranium and lavender oils to help regulate your hairs natural oils and stimulate the scalp, it leaves your hair feeling clean and frizz free. Also included is coconut, sweet almond oil and vitamin B5 rich Panthenol again to enhance body, suppleness and sheen. As with the Enliven Shampoo, there is also sea minerals to condition, moisturise and protect.

Once the conditioner is on your hair, if I use a small amount, my hair feels really hydrated and silky soft and being used once a week as a treat, my hair has really taken to this conditioner. Gone is the horrid straw like feeling I sometimes get. The scent is light enough that it doesn't overpower the senses but it is most definitely noticeable as you wash your hair and as your hair dries, whether naturally or with a hairdryer. What I do like is how easy the conditioner lathers as soon as it touches your hair and comes into contact with water, thus meaning you need only a small amount. I tend to use this everywhere buy my roots.

The final product from this trio is the Cherish Body Lotion. Packaged in the similar bottles to the shampoo and conditioner and like those two products it using nutrient-rich sea minerals to revitalise and renew. As a formula it is non-greasy and is really easily absorbed into the skin where upon which it is so gentle, you can use it on all body parts, though I have never used it on my face.

Ingredients wise, there is a combination of sweet almond oil which smoothens, softens and protects to help the skin retain its elasticity and suppleness. Arginine is again present and in a body lotion it is said to benefit the radiance and vitality of the skin to help it maintain its elasticity and suppleness as with the sweet almond oil. There is also Cedarwood Oil which on the skin helps to soothe itching and is great for those with oily skin, as a scent it is calming and soothing. Patchouli Oil which is very effective in helping to deal with rough, cracked and overly dehydrated skin and as a scent it is hosts grounding properties which calm and relax.

The reason I like this body lotion is because it is really hydrating, particularly after being in the shower or a hot bath. It goes onto the skin really smoothly, is quite luxurious and absorbs really quickly with a little going a very long way. It has been some time since I have had a body lotion that I have continued to use like I do with this.

  Ochre Body and Skin products are all free from sulphates, PEGs, parabens, animal ingredients, synthetic colours, synthetic fragrances and other potential irritants. So if you are a big fan of natural skincare or just want to try something new, then I cannot recommend these three products highly enough, they are an absolute delight to use and smell amazing.  You can find more information about Ochre and the rest of their product line HERE along with any other information you might need.

Area H20 Hair Care

Living in London means hard water, very hard water which at times means is a nightmare for washing my hair and getting that 'clean' feel, instead it feels weighted down, becomes a struggle to untangle and i'm just left with that feeling of dirty hair, even though it has just been washed and it drives me insane.

I was recently introduced to Area H20 Haircare** which is scientifically tailored to water type, having become quite intrigued as to how this would work, I was very kindly sent a bottle of shampoo and conditioner to try.   Developed by Patrick Lehane, a hairdresser from London and a team of biochemists, they came up with Area H20 after 4 years of hard work. Now, I have to say having used it for the past 6 weeks, I am really impressed.

Living in a hard water area, it is suggested that the left over mineral deposits is limescale, it is formed after the water has evaporated and it is those insoluble salt residues that remain on my hair after washing. So, here comes the science which even I understand. By identifying your water type, Area H20 attracts the metal ions that are present within all types of water, like a magent and it is those ions which react with your shampoo and create what are referred to as mineral deposits which cling to your hair, having got their attention, this shampoo makes it easierfor you to wash them away much more easily than before thus leaving you with cleaner, healthier looking hair.

There are many benefits of Area H20 which include:

• Scientifically tailored to water type
• Gives a more thorough and effective cleansing of the hair
• Gives an improved lather using less water
• Metal ions present on the hair prior to washing are removed
• No known scum is formed
• Hair is less flyaway and has a noticeably smoother texture
• Paraben Free
• Both Shampoo and Conditioner contain a pH of 5.5 - the bodys natural pH

The shampoo itself is like a clear gel and the only way I can describe the scent is a fresh clean smell, one which remains on the hair after washing. For me this is not a shampoo I would use every time I was my hair but one I use at least once a week to ensure my hair gets a thorough wash and deep cleanse and then with the added luxury of using the conditioner, my hair feels just like I have walked out of the salon. I also find no irritation of my scalp, no drying feeling on my hair and nor does it feel greasy and dirty, instead it feels soft, smooth and easy to manage and style.

I had expected this duo to be really expensive but was surprised to find that it is not too pricey at all, costing just £8 each for the shampoo and conditioner or £17 for the duo which you can buy on the Area H2O website or sites such as Feelunique and LookFantastic.

Have you tired this shampoo and conditioner combination?  Do you find that living in a hard water area effects you?

Graham's Natural Skincare

Grahams skincare are natural based products for people who suffer from skin conditions such as Eczema or Psoriasis.  It is new to the UK and comes all the way from Australia and I was very lucky to get to try out a shampoo*, conditioner* and some bath oil*.

Grahams describe themselves as being:

“NEW to the UK Grahams Skincare, Australia’s best-selling natural skincare range of top-to-toe treatments for eczema and sensitive skin conditions has been borne out of a fathers’ desire to ensure his son did not have to suffer from such debilitating physical and psychological effects of severe eczema”.

Living in London, we have hard water and it is one of the things which my hairdresser thinks irritates my scalp (as well as stress) and every now and again I suffer from a flare up of dry skin and my scalp can become a snow globe and it is really annoying.  So I am more than happy to try anything that will help.

Each product came packaged in this lovely bright yellowness as you can see below, a product you certainly wouldn’t miss if it was on the shelves in your local drug store with the bright blue lid giving it a real finish.  Colour aside, the packaging is fairly simple to look at and everything you need to know if before your eyes.

The Shampoo and Conditioner both contain manuka honey and coconut and I should mention they are also SLS Free for those of you will need to know and that they include a gentle blend of organic and natural ingredients to relieve and protect a dry and sensitive scalp.  When using the shampoo, the first thing which shocked me was that the shampoo itself is a pale blue colour, not what I was expecting and having taken the lid off to look inside both bottles, it seems that the shampoo and conditioner are infact blue!  Colour aside, they smell divine, the honey and coconut scent hit your sense of smell as soon as they are released.

Having used this on my hair for the last month, really well timed because my scalp has been a nightmare, I have to say I am impressed that it helped clear up my issue, it didn't cause build up, didn’t make my hair any greasier and left my hair smelling really lovely.  The same with the conditioner, though I don’t tend to condition every time I wash my hair because it simply doesn't work for me, when I did use this, it left my hair really lovely and soft with no knots. Also, when I used my GHD’s to straighten, they glided through my hair.

Then we come to the bath oil.  My favourite of all 3 products and something I really love.  Whenever my skin feels really dry, despite how much I moisturise, I love to add a bit of oil to my skincare routine and sometime there is nothing better than a bath oil.  This particular bath oil contains manuka oil and honey as well as other natural oils such as Olive Oil, Apricot Kernal Oil, Almond Oil, Emu Oil and Vitamin E oil all of which help to cleanse, replenish, nourish and protect the skin without drying it out.

As you add a few drops to your bath water, and I mean a few drops because it is an oil and adding too much can make your bath slippery when you get into it, you can see the oil within the water, so it isn't a good idea to wash your hair (does anyone still do that?).  As you get into the water the oil literally coats your skin and once you emerge from the same water, again taking care not to slip, my skin was amazingly soft, the rough skin on my elbows as was very smooth, the same with my knees and I for one am very impressed with this product.  It can also be used on its own as a massage oil and is gentle enough on the skin to be used on a daily basis.

If you have a scalp issues like me or suffer from Eczema or Psoriasis, I would highly recommend trying out these products.  They are available HERE.

label.m Therapy Age-Defying haircare range

My hair can be the bane of my life.  I suffer from greasy roots and dry ends which mean I feel as though I have to wash my hair every other day and my life has been saved by my own discovery of Dry Shampoo.  I also have thin hair but a lot of it and when I am stressed it leads to a flaky scalp and as yet I have not found a product that can cure all of this, I doubt I ever will, but I have found products that can deal with one part of it.  I spend quite a lot on hair products and usually at my Salon’s request, stick with their offerings.  Until now!

I was recently sent a lovely gift package from the lovely people at Label.m and in that package was a shampoo and conditioner from their Age Defying Range.  Both items are packaged inside lovely purple/plum coloured bottles and both feature a pump action dispenser, to dispense the shampoo and the conditioner.  The bottles themselves are quite classy looking in design and wouldn’t look out of place in a top boutique hotel or hair salon, they are readily available online with the shampoo for a 200ml bottle is £13.95 and the conditioner is either £16.95 for a 150ml bottle.

What they say about the Shampoo

The label.m Therapy Age-Defying Shampoo has an ultra cleansing formula that is perfect to restore and replenish dull and weak hair and leave it feeling beautifully soft and full of life.

The Label.m Therapy Age-Defying Shampoo comes from the gorgeous range formulated with 8 ultra caring and technologically advanced ingredients to reverse the visible signs of ageing so you can enjoy hair that is left looking and feeling strong, radiant and beautifully youthful.  This sulphate-free shampoo will restore, replenish and rejuvenate. Designed to quickly transform weak, dull, aged hair into strong, radiant and youthful looking hair.

The first thing I noticed when I came to use this shampoo was how easy it was so dispense, even with wet hands, two pumps of the dispenser and I had more than enough shampoo to cover my head of hair, The shampoo itself has an almost peal-esque colour to it which shimmers in the light, but what caught my attention the most was the sweet aroma that came alive.  As soon as the shampoo is massaged into your hair and scalp, it lathers immediately where again the sweet smell that I instantly loved came alive.  As you wash away the lather, ensuring you have nothing left behind, my hair was already feeling soft and smooth and I was yet to try the conditioner.

What they say about the Conditioner

The Label.m Therapy Age-Defying Conditioner is a gorgeous sulphate free conditioner that has been formulated to restore, replenish and transform weak, dull and aged hair leaving it strong, radiant and youthful.

The Label.m Therapy Age-Defying Conditioner comes from the gorgeous range formulated with 8 ultra caring and technologically advanced ingredients to reverse the visible signs of ageing so you can enjoy hair that is left looking and feeling strong, radiant and beautifully youthful.

When it came to the conditioner, again, same classy design for the bottle and same dispensing action for the product.  With this conditioner are simple instructions -

“Apply to freshly shampooed hair, combing through from roots to ends. For extra conditioning benefits, leave in hair for 2-3 minutes before rinsing out”  

I don’t use conditioner every time I shampoo my hair because I have found it makes my hair greasier much quicker, but whenever I do use a conditioner I do leave it on for a few minutes to give it time to work and I always brush it through using my Tangle Teezer.  Then once I had washed the conditioner our of my hair, again the super soft feel was more evident than it was before, only this time the lovely sweet aroma more noticeable.

Looking closer at both products Sugar Cane extract which is quite possibly where the sweet smell comes from and as you can see from the photographs, there are a huge amount of ingredients which will ensure both of these products are good for your hair and naturally they are sulphate free too.

For me, my problem has always been one of three things.  My hair is either greasier after using a product, my hair becomes too dry after using a product or my hair feels lank and lifeless.  Having used these products for the last 5 weeks, my hair is none of those things, infact I am washing my hair every 3 days instead of every other day, my hair is soft and smooth with a natural shine and it is an absolute pleasure to style with my GHD’s, they glide through my hair.  Quite a few people have commented on how lovely my hair smells, one lady sat next to me on a bus assumed it was my perfume, only to my told it was actually my shampoo and conditioner that left the sweet smell that she was referring too, thankfully she stopped short of actually smelling my hair in public, but the aroma does last for a good 24 hours before it begins to fade.

The downside to these products? My husband likes them and I fear they will run out quicker than I hoped.

I have become a huge fan of Label.m products; I adore this shampoo and conditioner. Infact I love everything about it - the ease of use with the dispenser, the bottle design, the fragrance of both, how my hair feels after using and how my hair looks, it has a bit of life back into it.  If you have never tried these products, I would urge you to do so!