Peladophobia and the fear!

Other than losing all of my teeth, there is one other fear that I have - losing my hair. For many of us, our hair is something that defines us, for some of us it is a way to stand out from the crowd and for most it is their pride and glory, regardless of colour, length or style.

There are of course many reasons why our hair might fall out more than normal - stress, post-pregnancy, menopause, over-styling, poor nutrition, hereditary genes and age can all impact on the health of your hair and its growth. But all is not lost, there are ways in which we can try to help prevent hair loss.

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1. Having your Scalp Massaged - Have you ever noticed that when you visit a hair salon, you are often asked, when conditioner or a conditioning treatment is applied, whether or not you would like a head massage? Well not only is a head massage good for relaxing, but by activating and stimulating blood circulation it channels more nutrients to the roots of your hair to give the best starting conditions for every individual hair.

2. Hair transplants - Many celebrities have had hair transplants - think Wayne Rooney and Sir Elton John. At Harley Street they use the FUE Hair Transplant method which is a non-invasive, non-surgical procedure so you will remain fully conscious the whole time. Recovery time is short and the risk of complications is low.

3. Looking after your locks - One walk along the hair care section in Boots will leave you with more products than you can think of when it comes ensuring you can find everything you need. I use Coconut Oil on my hair and scalp which is said to help strengthen hair growth right from the roots to the tip as well as helping with moisturisation, which for me is something I need as I often have a dry scalp.

4. You are what you eat - You hair consists of keratin, a protein which is made up of amino acids. In order to encourage new hair to grow, your body needs to produce these amino acids: high-protein diets are therefore great for your hair, so make sure that you are including to your diet ingredients like eggs, meats and even dairy products like yogurt. Besides proteins, it is very important to remember that beauty is a reflection of what you eat, so be sure to stick to an overall healthy diet.

5. Managing your stress - Stress is a known factor when it comes to hair loss. Whether it is physical or emotional stress, it has an impact on our hair. The most obvious answer would be to try and avoid stressful situations, something that isn't always possible. So instead, try and find little ways to relax which helps to calm you down, for me, if it is work related, I often go for a walk to the local park and feed the squirrels, if it is anything home related, then out come the cleaning products or I run a bath, fill it with bubbles and escape from life for an hour or two.

Now I am only touching the tip of the iceberg with suggestions when it comes to preventing hair loss - healthy diets, shampoos, regular hair washing, wide toothed hair combs and even meditation are all said to help.

What would you do?

*collaboration

The Wet Brush

I went for years using my one trusty Denman hairbrush, I had it right through my teens, through University and even a move to London, then one day it vanished never to be seen again and I was devastated, even more so when I learnt that particular brush was no longer made. Since that fateful day, I have tried so many hairbrushes and have liked them all - AirMotion Pro, various sized Tangle Teezers, the Denman Tangle Tamer and now I have the much raved about The Wet Brush. Some people have referred to this brush as being their holy grail hairbrush and others haven't rated it at all.  

My hair is shoulder length and fine but there is lots of it (something you will have heard me mention), I don't tend to have any issues when it comes to knots and tangles, but frizz really does seem to be an issue, but that is just how my hair is unless I use copious numbers of products on it.

So when the Wet Brush** landed through my letterbox, I was quite keen to see what all the fuss was about having read quite a few reviews.  Designed specifically for wet hair to help with knotty and tangled hair without stretching or snapping it.   

When I first looked at this brush I wasn't to sure what all the fuss was about, it looks no different to similar brushes I have owned, but it is anything but. The Wet Brush features thin, strong and flexible Intelliflex Bristles which are designed to glide through any type of hair. The SoftTips, or white bits on the bristles, massage the scalp as you brush which helps to stimulate the circulation of hair follicles.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been told never to over brush my hair when it is wet and if I do, use a wide toothed comb, so using a brush felt very wrong to begin with. Firstly the bristles are really flexible and are designed so that they eliminate the dragging, pulling, tearing and ripping feeling when you do brush wet hair, infact the brush is so brilliant, it glides through my hair as easily as any wide toothed comb ever has and my hair feels so soft and smooth once it has started to dry, that I don't dread the thought of having to drag a brush through my hair to style it.  Since using the brush ive seen no sign of slit ends or extra hair loss.

The Wet Brush s also so versatile that it can also be used on dry hair, wigs and extensions. The handle, of which mine is decorated with smiley happy faces, is made from a rubberised coating so it sits securely in your hand whilst brushing so it doesn't slip out of your hand.

This is a fantastic hairbrush and if you have children who hate having their hair brushed, as I did when I was a child, then it is worthy of spending £11.99 more so if you have thick knotty hair too!

Have you tried the Wet Brush?

The Selfie Brush: Genius or Ridiculous?

Whether you like it or not, everywhere you turn people are taking selfies, celebs, your mates and even your mum and dad.  Living in London I see endless people taking selfies outside famous stores, with celebrities and even on the tube (weird).   I however struggle to get a decent selfie! I am always gurning like my Gran after chewing on some tough meat with her dentures or I am looking anywhere but the camera, so anything that can help me perfect the technique and get something half decent is more than worth a go right?

Well, let me introduce you to the selfie-brush, yes you did read that correctly. This brush has been designed to give you picture perfect hair in every shot and as you can see it is one of those neat little multi-tasking tools in that it also doubles up as a case for your phone, has a mirror and can be used to brush your hair! It might surprise you that this Selfie brush is:

• The perfect social media tool. Look good on Facebook Instagram & Twitter
• The handle extends your reach to get the best possible angle for Selfies
• Paddle brush gives professional results
• Easy to find in pocket book
• Offers superior phone protection
• Ability to text or make a phone call with phone in brush

As you can see, it is very much the normal hairbrush with the inclusion of a mirror and somewhere for you phone.  The brush itself works really well on my hair and ive used it more in that respect than I have for taking selfies.

Whether I would buy one for myself or not is another matter, I like that it is quirky, does what it says it will do and is easy to use, im just not the selfie obsessed person who could get the most out of it, my god daughter however has already hinted that she loves it and could possibly need it asap - so it might just find itself a loving owner!  The brush costs £16.99 and is suitable for the iPhone 5 and 5s.

Is the selfie-brush something you would use? Is it genius or ridiculous?

Gina Conway Salon Experience

Have you ever wished you could find that perfect haircut, go along to a salon and say "I'd like that please" knowing you will love it? Well, I was recently introduced to website called HAIRCVT which was described to be as something that would allow Londoners to find the very best salons and stylists around them to give them the very best hairstyle possible. Relying on Google maps or friend recommendations (when you have completely different hair to your friend) is a thing of the past now! Finding those great little salons and stylists throughout London!

So I decided to put it to the test! Once you get to the site, you simply choose your options which are clearly shown in the left hand side of the screen. Then once your options appear in a matter of seconds, you choose the one you want, call the salon where it was styled and off you go. This is the style I liked the most, note this is not me in the photo.

To get this style, my selected salon was Gina Conway in Chelsea and last week I finally went to have my hair sorted out. I have been quite bad and havent had so much as a trim since April, which meant my hair had got to that stage where it was in dire need of sorting out and the Gina Conway Salon in Chelsea came to my rescue. 

Gina Conway salons are part of the Aveda Salon and Spa who like to approach every guest with fresh eyes and by listening and caring about each individual we can create a bespoke plan for them and deliver and delight above expectations.

The salon is situated down The Kings Road, one of my favourite roads in London and it looks amazing from the outside, never mind the inside. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted like a long lost friend which really put me at ease and as my coat as taken, I was shown to a chair to begin my consultation with the lovely Saffron. As we went through my options, the one thing that struck me is that for once, I actually felt I was being listened to about my hair rather than guided to or having styles recommended to me, something ive found quite rare. Once the options had been taken through, I was told I was about to have a lovely Chakra Ritual & Massage which as more amazing then I can begin to describe:

"Balance your energy systems by choosing from the Chakra Aroma Range while you receive a relaxing shoulder and head massage"

I won't give away any of the secrets of how this works, but by the time it was finished, I possibly resembled someone who had just woken up from a very deep sleep, that is how relaxed I was and I had had an extremely stressful day with one of my cats being taken really ill resulting in frantic calls too and from the vet and then to work.

Once my hair had been washed, cleansed and conditioned, I was back in the chair ready to await my transformation. The whole time my hair was being trimmed and cut, Saffron would constantly tell me what she was doing and how she was doing it, so throughout the entire process I felt at ease and almost in charge of what was happening, rather than the stylist just cutting away with their scissors and you waiting until they have finished to see what has happened.

One my hair was complete, dried and then styled, I was able to go through a list of products that had been used and the one which really caught my attention is the Aveda Smooth Infusion Style Prep Smoother which is appear in its own review shortly.

This is one amazing salon, the whole experience is wonderful and the staff are just really lovely from the minute to arrive to the second you leave. There is abslutely no pressure on you the customer to do or have anything you do not want or are uncomfrtable with and the added extra of a spa treatment is such a nice touch, it is worth booking an appointment just for one of those.

If you are looking for a new salon, then please visit Gina Conway who can be found via the website HERE and if you are looking for some hair inspiration HairCVT might just have something you'll like and I would love to know what you think to it!

How to: choose the right hair colour to suit your skin colour

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It’s a really difficult thing to choose a colour based on your skin tone – you may want to go blonde but are afraid that the paleness of your skin will cause you to become washed out. Annoying as it is, your skin colour will definitely determine how any hair colour will look on you, BUT there are ways around it. Keep reading to find out what bests suits you.

Fair skin - You’ve probably always thought to yourself that if you dyed your hair blonde it would look silly because you’d look washed out, blah blah blah. It’s not true! Many girls with fair skin can pull off blonde – as long as it’s got the right, warm blonde highlights throughout as well. While platinum blonde may make you look a bit sickly, the right shade for you won’t! You should be looking at really warm, neutral colours – like warm, soft, light browns and caramels. Be sure to avoid your more, dark, harsh browns and blacks as the contrasting hair and skin colours will not be flattering on you. You can also check out some auburns, or unnaturally bright reds. With the right highlights and lowlights strewn throughout, you’ll realise that blonde truly do have more fun!

Olive, tanned skin - The ideal colour for olive skin is light to medium brown, with warm blonde highlights. Opting for colours like this will look stunning especially if you want to highlight your blue or green eyes. These kind of colours will also work well to blend with your skin tone and diminish any skin imperfections. You don’t have to stick to darker colours though; tanned skin also looks great with blonde hair, as long as it has multidimensional tones to it. Avoid going for one bold colour – unless said colour absolutely suits you, the different tones will definitely help to bring out the warmth in your skin tone.

Dark skin - Dark skin can be tricky if you get easily bored of black or chocolate brown hair colours. While those are the best colours for you, there’s always the option of being brave and going for a light, bright hue. However, this usually only works if your very confident in how perfect your skin is – a light colour with a dark skin tone often brings out imperfections that most girls would rather hide. If this is the case, it would definitely be a smart idea to go for a really warm and rich chocolate brown, or a dark black. Perhaps throw a few high and lowlights through it and see if that is wild enough for you. Remember, just because you can’t change the colour much, doesn’t mean you can’t change the look of it! Keep it interesting, have fun with your hair!

There you have it - the best colours to suit your skin tone. If you’re brave enough to try something new, remember that nothing is permanent and you can always change it back. It’s a good idea to keep in mind that too much peroxide or hair colourant can leave your hair in a less-then-perfect, thinning state. If this happens to you, a place like Transitions Hair has all the answers. 

Have fun with your new look!

**This is a sponsored post

Micro Mist Hair Treatment at Easton Regal Salon

Last week I was very lucky to go be invited along to the Easton Regal Salon Clerkenwell to try out a treatment called 'The Micro Mist'.   The salon itself is rather quirky from the outside as it sits right on the edge of St John's square it is both tranquil yet manic all in one go.  

Inside the salon it was nothing at all like I expected it to be.  I was expecting to find a nice quaint little salon but in its place was a huge gallery like space with the most amazing decor and the cutest little dog called Teddy, I have ever seen.  All of the staff were extremely friendly and welcoming and really attentive, which for me is a huge plus because there is nothing worse than going into a salon for the first time and being told to simply sit and wait.

So the treatment, The Micro Mist comes all the way from Japan and the machine used is said to have taken over to years to develop and perfect!  Slightly different to any other treatment that I have ever had in salon, where a lotion or potion is applied to the hair, some clingfilm put over the top and then you are put under a heater for 5-10 minutes wondering whether or not it has melted into your hair (I can't be the only one??). Instead the machine under which you are placed, looks totally space age which you can see below:

So what is it and how does it work? It uses the power of water to penetrate deep into your hair, in doing so it swells your hair and allows the treatment to work much better by locking it into your hair, instead of just sitting on it.  A treatment is applied to your hair once it has been separated into sections and then you are placed under the machine for around 6 minutes, during those 6 minutes this happens:

Convenient steamers boil water at 100 degrees to create steam. However the height of this temperature often causes more damage to the hair than it repairs. The micro mist system is different as it doesn't steam water; it uses ultra sound to generate mist and warms it in accordance to your hair type; keeping the temperature far below 100 degrees.

The micro mist treatment main functions are:

• Hot wind - for warming up
• Hot fog - for helping hair absorb nutriments via utilizing the energy generated through cavitations effect.
• Cold fog - for helping the hair cortex absorb nutriments by adapting the quantum technique
• Ozone - for sterilizing and disinfecting
• Aromatic remedy - purifying the hair with water

I was told that it will make my hair silky, stronger and give it an amazing gloss, all of which it most definitely did and that the affects will last for 7-10 days.  Well after 8 days I can still see a huge difference in the silkiness of my hair and when I have washed it, left it to dry and then straightened it, the ease of doing that is amazing. No flyaway hair, just lovely straight hair with a bit of volume and a lot of shine.

I would highly recommend this treatment to everyone, it is like nothing I have ever had before, it is fun to watch and the results are as long lasting as you are told they would be.  You can read more about Easton Regal Salon and their treatments by going to their Website.

Have you ever tried anything like this or have you had this treatment?

HER Haircare Rituals

Whenever I am asked if I would like to try some new haircare products, I always jump at the chance. As well as trying my best to ensure my skin is kept in tiptop condition, my hair is just as important.

HER Haircare Rituals is a brand I had never heard of until a wonderfully packaged lot of products arrived at my door. The brand, if you haven't heard of them comes from a place called Veneto in Italy and is co-owned by entertainer John Barrowman who is also the co-creator. From his own eyes, he has seen first hand what women’s hair has to endure on a daily basis. whether it is colouring and blowdrying to curling and straightening, a performer’s hair has no time to recover from these treatments. And neither does yours. It is said that the average woman’s hair endures a great deal more stress than most men’s. This is why John and HER haircare have designed these products which help combat the effects of daily styling, air conditioning and many environmental factors to reverse the damage caused by everyday life.

So in my package was the Nourishing range which comprised of a shampoo, conditoner, hair treatment and a nourishing oil. My hair is combination, it has greasy roots and dry ends, is quite fine but I have a lot of hair on my head. I tend to wash my hair every other day in the summer and every two days in the winter unless I feel it is necessary to wash it more frequently. Once a week or at least once every two weeks, I use a treatment on my hair as I have always been told to do by any hairdresser.

The first things to note about this range is the rather stylish packaging. Pure white bottles with black lids and the HER logo right in the centre of the bottle, they are sleek in design whjch wouldn't look out of place in an exclusive salon.

Nourishing Shampoo, £15.00. This is described as follows:

"This luxurious cleanser offers complete nutrition for dry, damaged hair. A blend of revitalising natural sugars with hydrolysed sweet almond, wheat and rice proteins, intensely nourishes the hair leaving it soft, supple and brilliantly shiny"

As soon as you open the lid, as I always do with any new product to smell it, this is most definitely a scent I really like. It has one of those fresh scents combined with a citrusy blend which makes for an uplifting scent and something you would probably like as a candle to create an atmosphere to give you that get up and go. Once on the hair it lathers with ease and you only need a small amount to cover your entire head, something I particualy like in a product as there is nothing worse than using half the bottle and only get minimal lather, it never feels as though you have washed your hair. It is as easy to wash out as it is to apply and once you have done so and my hair always feels lovely and soft, not lank or overly heavy.

Nourishing Conditioner, £17.00 described as follows:

"This velvety conditioner contains natural oils including Olive, Avocado and Brazil Nut which effortlessly nourish, to replace lost moisture and protect dry, distressed hair restoring weightless body and natural shine".

I don't use a conditioner everytime I wash my hair, I have found they weigh to heavy on my hair, but this conditioner I really really like. Again ti has a fresh scent too it, though totally different from the shampoo and you can get a definite scent of Avocado. Once this has been applied to the mid-lengths and ends of you hair, you leave it on for 30 seconds before rinising out, again an easy task which doesn't require a lot of rinsing to ensure every last trace is removed.

The final two products withing my package was the 300 Trecento Treatment and the Nourishing Oil.

The 300 Trecento Treatment comes packaged in a box which mimics the design of the shampoo and conditioner bottles, only inside the pot if black and looks even more exclusive. It won't surprised you to hear that this treatment smells good enough to eat, it is almost heavenly. Unlike most treatments, you actually use this before washing and conditioning and to use you ensure your hair is slightly damp, towel off any excess water and then apply from root to tip and leave for 300 seconds (clever name) or 5 minutes. You can of course opt for a deeper conditioning treatment which you leave on for 15 minutes.

This Treatment is described as follows:

"This weekly pre shampoo treatment is at the core of the Her haircare ritual. A one-step deep conditioning treatment clinically proven to rebuild and repair dry/damaged hair. A must have for anybody using hot styling tools.

In just 300 seconds (5 minutes) natural plant extracts including Shea butter, Olive and wheat protein penetrate the hair to rebuild, strengthen & moisturise from within. The Trecento Treatment creates a protective layer to restore resilience, strength and elasticity to minimise frizz, enhancing health & shine". 

Once you have had the treatment on which the allotted time, you simply wash out using warm water (not hot). When I used this for the first time, I had expected it to leave my hair feeling lank and greasy, a problem I have encountered with similar products, however it did neither of those and once I had completed the washing and conditioning process, my hair felt soft and smooth and really well conditioned. Given it is packed with oils, vitamins and natural ingredients like Shea Butter, Olive and Ginseng, it is no wonder my hair always feels so lovely after use and what's more, an absolute pleasure to style.

Finally the Nourishing Oil which is a clear see-through bottle this time, is described as follows:

"This luxurious, weightless elixir powered with four precious oils; Argan, Radish, Sweet Cherry and Moringa nourish, tame, detangle, and protect the hair leaving it feeling silky, supple, and with a lustrous shine".

To use you simply rub 2 or 3 drops between your fingers and run all the way through the mid lengths to the ends of the hair, it is easy to use because the bottle has a pump action dispenser to make life much easier. Once you have combed through and styled your hair as you would normally do, like me you should notice how super soft and shiny your hair is, not to mention how amazing it smells.

I have really enjoyed using these products, they smell amazing, they leave my hair feeling soft, smooth and super shiny and I just love the packaging.

Have you tried this range?  

Michael Van Clarke Event

Last week I was very lucky to be invited to attended an event at the Michael Van Clarke hair salon in London, not only that but Michael himself was present and it was so amazing to meet such a brilliant man who was able to explain so many things to us in such a straightforward manner, I probably know more about haircare now than I ever did!

As we (Kimberley from Kimberleysbeautyblog) arrived, I was already impressed at how fabulous the salon looked, everything exceptionally clean and sparkling and the greeting we got from the lovely receptionist was a great start to the event. As we had arrived a little bit early, it was nice to be able to wonder wonder around the salon picking things up, smelling them, taking photos and generally being made to feel really welcome with a glass of bubbles to start things off.

As the event was quite exclusive there was just around 10 of us in attendance, so when you have the chance to question Michael as much as we wanted and his knowledge is phenomenal. The evening began with a presentation from Michael about his first venture into hair care, how products were created and a little bit of educating along the way about ingredients found within certain products - namely silicone and what it doesn't do for your hair, truly scary and after the event I went home and checked every bottle of product I have for my hair looking for the names of ingredients that had been mentioned.

What I found really interesting about the presentation was the explanation as to how the structure of your hair is, essentially 97% protein and 3% water and with that how our use of certain products work and affect out hair, namely those containing silicone - serums, sprays, shampoo, conditioners and even treatments which essentially do very little to protect or repair our hair, just improve its appearance for a short time.

Then we were introduced to the Michael Van Clarke '3 More Inches' range which includes shampoo, conditioner, treatments, hairspray, mousse, supplements, hair tools and more. Described as follows:

"3''' more inches cares and protects your hair like no other product. Born from a scientific understanding of hair and decades of couture hairdressing, the 3''' more inches range has redefined hair care in the marketplace"

As we were talked through each product which took years to work on and perfect.  It was interesting to hear that the range was created from the perspective of what professional stylists look for when working on their clients hair and what the clients themselves look for in a product.  Unsurprisingly, none of the products contain those chemical nasties which have been mentioned earlier within this review and their purpose is to ensure that your hair does not get dried out as well as prevent the structure of each strand of hair getting more damaged. This means, after long term use your hair should be the same thickness all the way down and be far healthier.

Having heard all about the products we were then lucky enough to have a one to one hair consultation with Michael which for me was a great experience. I was bursting with questions that I wanted to ask him, namely why it is that hairdressers insist on your hair being washed before they cut it when one of his own methods of hair cutting is called the Diamond Dry Cut™ which means that by cutting the hair clean and dry allows Michael to work with the hair’s natural movement and texture, interpreted with face shapes and features, to create brilliant styles with an unrivalled level of precision and balance.  So it was nice to hear that was the reason for doing this.  He then looked at my hair a little more closely...look....

A truly amazing opportunity to have and Michael look at my hair, he was brilliant at answering questions about the condition of my hair, my scalp and even advised me on what haircut I actually should have as opposed to the ones I am given and went into great detail about the 'one bob, two bob' system with layering the hair and how my hair had been cut, he even managed to guess what I had asked for and then showed me what I actually got, which was quite eerie yet fascinating at the same time.

I had a fantastic time at the event and was very lucky to be a given a fantastic goody bag which will appear in a post on its own along with my thoughts on the products I was given. In the meantime if you want to know more about the range, read more about 3 inches or even the diamond cut, then click on their website here.

 Have you tried anything from the 3 More Inches range? 

Have you ever been to the salon?

Things I love having done!

Do you ever sit back, daydream, think wishfully that you could just pop into your local spa/hairdressing salon or even spend the day with your closest and mostest for some pampering?  I know I do.  I have gone from hating strangers touching me, fear of the hairdressers to absolutely loving being pampered, though please stay away from my feet, that is one phobia I cannot deal with.

This is a post about some of the things I absolutely love being done to me and why, honestly it isn't as rude as it sounds.  As a beauty blogger, you won't be surprised to find out what they are and why.

I have quite a busy and stressful job, at times all I want to do is sit back or indeed lay back and escape from that world and just do something for me, sadly I don't get too many opportunities to do those very often, but if I did, well this is what I would want.

Someone washing my hair for me

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One thing that I absolutely love having done whenever I go to the salon for a haircut/trim is having someone else wash my hair.  Not a chore in itself and it is something I actually don't mind doing, but it is just so relaxing when someone else does it for you and combined with a head massage, hair brushing and temple rubbing, I am almost snoring in minutes.

Having a facial

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I haven't had many in my life, well two actually but I do love having a facial.  Both times I have been lucky enough to have one, it has been totally amazing, relaxing and de-stressing not to mention that feeling of total cleanness afterwards is something I can never repeat at home.

Having a manicure

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This is something I have recently started to really really enjoy.  I had a bad experience of a manicure when I was at University and the manicurist at the time, instead of filing my nails, used scissors to cut them, slipped with the scissors and anyway... needless to say I have had a fear since. 

 Now having been to a few blogger events and met some absolutely lovely manicurists, this is something i had begun to enjoy and something I look forward to having done.

Hand and arm massage

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This is another treatment that I find really relaxing, though it has been a while since I have had it done.  It is incredibly relaxing to have something massage both your hands and your arms using many lotions and potions.  The last one I had was at a beauty event with Debenhams last year and the lovely ladies of Elemis were on hand to do this exact treatment and it was pure heaven.

Back and Shoulder massage

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This is possibly one of the best treatments ever, though again, a bad experience when I was at Uni for a spa day with my housemates terrified me.  The masseuse was so rough with massaging my shoulders that I screamed in pain for her to stop because it was utter agony and for weeks it hurt like anything to move.

Then a few years ago, I took the plunge having had chronic back-ache for weeks to go and have a massage and honestly it was the most amazing thing ever, so relaxing and de-stressing and something that almost had me in a deep sleep.  I find that with having a stressful job my shoulders are usually always quite tense and having them massaged literally cures everything for me.

So there you have, the top 5 things I love having done.  

Do you have a favourite treatment you like to have? is there anything you absolutely swear by?

Ambience volumizing dry shampoo

How I have survived without dry shampoo in my life is a complete and total mystery to me, infact it was only a few years ago that I did discover it and one brand or another has remained a staple product within my bathroom cupboard. So when I sent some Ambience volumizing dry shampoo in blonde, I was really keen to try it.

Arriving in its black box, everything you need to know about the product is clearly displayed for you to read. It states that it is 100& natural, instantly cleans and refreshes hair without water, is both Paraben and preservative free, not tested on animals, contains no alcohol, is non-flammable and is sulfate free - wow!

This product is quite unlike any that I have used before, for example it isn't in an aerosol can and it has an applicator brush that you use to apply the product to you hair, as you can see in the photos shown below. Like many dry shampoos it states that it will:

• Lift roots to add body and fullness to hair
• Cleans hair and absorbs excess oil, leaving hair looking, feeling and smelling freshly shampooed
• Tinted powder blends with hair colour, does not leave white residue, which can cause the hair to look grey

The applicator brush is found inside a protected lid to keep the brushes shape and a retractable sleeve, as soon as you remove the lid the brush comes to life and to use you simply tilt the brush and having sectioned your hair, use the brush in circular motions to distribute the powder, which was much easier than I was anticipating and it doesn't create any mess, then I used my Tangle Teezer to brush my hair through once I had finished and voila, those greasy looking oily roots were no longer. If you are someone who has their hair highlighted or coloured regularly, this dry shampoo also works to conceal those roots which is an added bonus.

So how did it fair? Well it did leave my hair looking as though it has just been washed and feeling clean, my oily roots had disappeared and there was no white residue or stickiness, so it ticks all of those boxes for me. Did it add some volume, yes it did, once I ran my fingers through my hair there was a bit of a lift round the roots so my hair was no flat against my head and it saved me having to get my hair dryer out and add any further products, so again another ticked box. The only thing I would change is to get a darker shade, as my hair is dark blonde, I think a darker shade would be more suitable, though this one did work really well.

Ambiance Volumizing Dry Shampoo has a RRP of £26.98 though if you look around you can find it priced a little cheaper around £14.99 HERE , however as it is more than just a dry shampoo it is something I would recommend people who do highlight and colour their hair regularly to try because it does conceal those roots, which is brilliant for those inbetween hairdresser appointments. I have been using my dry shampoo for a good few weeks now and it shows no sign of running out anytime soon.

The Ambiance Volumizing Dry Shampoo is available in Blonde, Black, Brunette, Grey and Red the box I was sent did contain a refill which is one of those limited time offers, so it is worth hunting it down until the offer is rescinded.

Have you tried the Ambiance Volumizing Dry Shampoo?

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.