HairCare Products & Hair Care Guides

Hair Care & Healthy Hair Growth

Best Ingredients by hair type. Hair Growth Research. Effective hair growth vitamins, serums, and laser devices. Hair expert advice. How to use T3 Luxe Hot Rollers, NuMe Curling Wand.

Luxury & minimalist hair Oils, Shampoo, Conditioner, styling products. How to rescue very damaged hair.Â Hair oiling. Haircare holy grail products including ROIL, Viviscal, Olaplex, Oscar Blandi, Philip Kingsley Elasticizer.

Primiracle Natural Replenishing Hydrating Conditioner

June 9, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Primiracle Natural Replenishing Hydrating Conditioner

Hair conditioning is crucial for those who color or highlight, use hot styling tools and irons, spend time in seawater and chlorine or just have longer and thereby older, weaker hair. PriMiracle Natural Replenishing Hydrating Conditioner is a compliment to the PriMiracle shampoo, using complementary natural ingredients to hydrate and treat hair.

INGREDIENTS
PriMiracle conditioner contains several quality ingredients for both hair and scalp. I like that in a conditioner so that it can be used even as a Co-Washing (using conditioner as a good massage for the hair and not using Shampoo) since it won’t make the hair oily or greasy.

Aloe Vera is well known for its’ skin soothing properties but also is a natural treatment for the scalp and conditioner for the hair. It doesn’t leave hair greasy or dull. Some research into Aloe Vera shows that its’ protein contains 18 of the 20 amino acids found in the body plus Vitamins A, B, C, and E. Aloe gives intensive hair nourishment and adds shine.

Aloe Vera has a similar makeup to hair keratin, so it can provide nutrients to the hair, giving it more elasticity and add strength to prevent breakage. If you are considering a Keratin treatment for your hair, there are possibly dangerous chemicals and at times, accidental hair loss and breakage. Aloe Vera is a very safe way to enhance your hair’s keratin.

Olive Oil is frequently used as a deep conditioner for hair because it repairs damage and adds shine. It is especially effective on coarse and unruly hair to make it softer and more manageable. The moisturizing properties of Olive Oil are undisputed, but on normal to thin hair, it can make hair appear weighed down and limp. While direct hot oil treatments are common and effective, it is often difficult to fully rinse the Olive Oil from the hair, so Olive Oil as an ingredient within a conditioner is an efficient way to get this benefit without excessive rinsing, weight or dullness from residue.

Rosemary Oil promotes the growth of strong, healthy hair and reduces hair loss and imparts shine.

Grapeseed Oil address problems such as weakened hair, hair loss, and dandruff making hair stronger, healthier, more attractive hair. Grape seed oil contains Vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps to build tissue, and linoleic acid, a fatty acid which promotes hair and skin growth.

Several of these ingredients are not only moisturizing to the hair but are also hydrating and beneficial to the scalp. For example, Rosemary, when teamed with Olive Oil, helps minimize dandruff. Peppermint Oil normalizes the production of scalp oil, balancing the scalp’s pH level. Peppermint also combats dry scalp and dandruff and assists with hair loss. Aloe Vera reduces dandruff and helps maintain the scalp’s pH balance.

USE
Scented, emollient and thick in consistency. After massaging it into my scalp and hair. I tend to leave it in for 5 minutes to allow it to penetrate well. It washes out easily without feeling greasy. The scent does not last after rinsing. I found this conditioner also makes for a good pre-shampoo conditioner, leaving it on for about 30 minutes as a hair masque gave my hair a nice soft feel and shine.

RESULT
My hair is soft but not oily, there is no dulling residue, and my hair feels strong, clean, lush and full. Typically I use some leave-in treatment in my hair since my hair is fairly unruly without some sort of product to tame it. But after using the PriMiracle Shampoo and Conditioner, I let my hair dry naturally with no leave-in treatment to exactly what the conditioner did. I did not have to add any volumizing product to my hair to make fuller, my hair just felt naturally thicker even at the more fragile ends. There was a beautiful shine. To tame my wild mane into acceptable for the office appearance, I only had to touch up my hair lightly with a hair dryer and brush after it dried, and a quick run-through with a flat iron would have worked just as well. I was very pleased to find a conditioner that my hair felt thicker and soft without being greasy.

The PriMiracle conditioner is Peta Certified, not tested on animals, cruelty-free and Vegan.

Primiracle Natural Replenishing Hydrating Conditioner

Primiracle Natural Restorative Moisturizing Shampoo

June 9, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Primiracle Natural Restorative Moisturizing Shampoo

It seems shampoos often accomplish just one goal, whether it protects color, or it is clarifying, leaves hair volumized or shiny, reduces dandruff or helps stimulate new growth. Natural Restorative Moisturizing Shampoo packs in several shampoo objectives into one product by having a slew of natural ingredients that are great at hair care multi-tasking.

Like many people, I have a go-to shampoo intended towards certain objectives: I have one that clarifies, one that helps my hair color or new highlight retain their vibrancy, another that treats my scalp to moisturizing ingredients that give an invigorating scalp massage and encourage lush hair growth. The combination of ingredients in Natural Restorative meets many of my shampoo objectives.

INGREDIENTS

Aloe Vera: My Grandmother kept an Aloe Vera plant in her kitchen to treat burns and abrasions by cutting a leaf and applying the gel inside. Long used in skin care, Aloe Vera is also very useful as a non-chemical based treatment for dandruff and to keep the scalp healthy. It also contains proteolytic enzymes which repair dead skin cells on the scalp. It promotes hair growth, prevents itching on the scalp, reduces dandruff and conditions your hair.

Peppermint oil is used for hair growth and scalp stimulation. It feels cool and invigorating while giving the scalp a good lather. It regulates the pH balance of the scalp skin, which quells yeast and dandruff on the scalp. Peppermint Oil binds to hair follicles which increase blood flow thereby encouraging hair follicles to grow hair. It is rich in fatty acids, so it can treat the scalp without drying hair, which is a perk over many dandruff shampoos. It also makes hair smell fresh and clean.

Rosemary Oil is a blood circulation stimulant that is hair-growth inducing. In addition to clearing up an oily scalp without excessively stripping the hair, Rosemary has Antioxidants to combat pollution and harsh chemical products. It is also antibacterial which helps reduce dandruff production.

Argan Oil gets a fair amount of press as a hair conditioning ingredient. While it has hair softening and conditioning properties, it is most useful for conditioning the scalp and keeping hair follicles in optimal condition.

Don’t you love getting a long, relaxing scalp massage during a shampooing at a salon? Massage your scalp the same way with this shampoo, because each of these ingredients are valuable assets in natural hair care, and I found my scalp benefits from allowing the shampoo to stay on my hair an extra minute or so after a good massage to encourage blood flow, get my hair clean and release tension. I usually wash the ends of my hair out first, then my scalp and then the whole length of my hair.

SCENT
The scent is suitable for men and women, primarily a fresh scent of the Aloe, the Argan with a hint of the Peppermint and Rosemary.

APPLICATION
The shampoo lathers after working it into the hair a bit, and rinses clean.

RESULTS
I had just colored my hair a few days before, and the first shampoo after coloring I am always concerned about stripping the color. The shampoo did not strip my color but still left my hair feeling very clean and fresh. It has been difficult for me to find a shampoo that both protects my hair color but can remove styling product or deep conditioner residue from the hair, so I am glad to see a product that accomplishes both.

Primiracle Natural Restorative Moisturizing Shampoo

InstaNatural Thermal Protector Hair Spray

April 25, 2016 · Leave a Comment

This is a protectant for use with hot styling tools and for generally heat/humid weather that might damage hair.

OVERVIEW:

SCENT: Nutty scent when sprayed on, less detectable on dry-down

APPLICATION: Don’t use too much, only a light spray and not on the scalp, focus on the length and the frail ends. If you apply close to your scalp your hair may look greasy (unless your hair is very dry/damaged)

WHEN HEAT IS APPLIED: It does not clump, flake or get sticky when used with a hot iron.

DRY-DOWN: Slightly stiff, but not as stiff as hair spray or a spray gel. Does not flake or make hair seem dry, greasy or dull, but so far it doesn’t really seem to add any shine to my hair. Not sticky like other hot iron protectant sprays such as CHI. Hair looks soft and feels mostly soft to the touch, but I can tell there is a product in my hair, but it feels fuller and thick, not weighed down and oily.

HOLD: There is not a styling hold to the product, it is a protectant that is useful with or without heat styling.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER PROTECTANTS
I have long, dry, colored, unruly hair that is curly in some places and straight in others. To make my hair uniformly curly I use hot rollers, to make it straight I use an InStyler hot iron brush. Each requires some sort of protectant spray during styling. The CHI protectant spray that came with my flat iron is sticky and the scent is too strong for me even after it is dry. The CHI spray also was heavy and left my freshly washed hair looking an oily in spots like my hair needed a wash.

THE INGREDIENTS
I personally am not that fond of the scent of Argan, but it is really not detectable once it dries and it is not sticky when I use it like some other hot tool protectant sprays. It also contains Sunflower Oil, which is a wonderful conditioning agent for hair, Vitamin B5 and Castor Oil which are found to help regrow hair and make hair seem lusher and full. Being able to use a conditioning protectant spray is a big perk for me knowing that I can condition my hair while it is styled instead of damaging it or drying it out with heavy chemicals. Argan Oil has become very popular in hair care due to its ability to stimulate the follicles and condition dry, frail hair ends.

HOW MUCH TO APPLY
Don’t use too much. There is not a need to saturate the hair, apply it and comb it through, maybe a bit of extra on the ends if needed. If you are using this on hair that is already dry, you need very little. I don’t apply it to my scalp because if I flat-iron my hair I want it to last a few days without another washing, and these types of products can make hair seem to need a wash faster than normal. I focus on the parts of my hair that need protection.

CONCLUSION: I like it. I am glad to find a conditioning protectant, a little goes a long way, my hair does not feel sticky after use. It did not make my hair seem shinier than normal, but that might just be the condition of my hair. I would recommend not using it near the scalp if you have oily hair as it might make your hair look greasy/dirty very quickly.

Find it at Amazon.com.

Argan Oil Thermal Protector

I received this item for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with the product, leave a comment in the box below and I’ll get back to you!

The Essentials of Essential Oils Part 1: Organic Carrier Oil Gift Set for Hair, Face & Body

February 28, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Today we’re starting a series on Essential Oils and Carrier Oils, and how to use them to make your beauty routine more effective and enjoyable. First up, we’ll be reviewing a lovely Carrier Oil Mixing Set we received.

The Gio Naturals Organic Carrier Oil Gift Set for Hair, Face & Body contains four bottles of carrier oils and one empty bottle to mix your own concoction, and is great for both as a gift and as a starter kit into DIY beauty oils The four carrier oils are Jojoba, Argan, Castor and Tamanu, which makes for a very versatile set. Here is an overview of each oil, its’ uses, and the quality and presentation of these particular oils.

Jojoba Oil is one of my favorites. I use this to both help other oils penetrate into hair and because it fills the hair shaft in porous hair. Helps repair heat damage, great for scalp problems like dandruff. Very soothing. If I have a free day, I apply Jojoba earlier in the day and let that sit for a bit, then apply other oils or conditioners atop the Jojoba. A small amount of Jojoba can be used on the ends of hair for styling and protecting, it is not greasy. Similar benefits to olive oil for scalp but it is much easier to wash Jojoba out of the hair. If you are a “No ‘poo” shampooer, you will definitely like Jojoba over olive oil for scalp conditioning. Adds shine. Unscented and absorbs easily. I found the quality of this particular brand to be unscented, thick, and rich and a nice rich golden color.

Jojoba is also very nice as a facial moisturizer, especially if you oily skin, as it is very close to sebum, so it helps the skin regulate itself.

Argan Oil is for the repair of damaged follicles and for hair loss. Argan is the popular buzz word in many products these days, but for hair, the real value is to apply it to the scalp. Personally I don’t find much value to Argan in the length of my hair, but many prefer it to other conditioning oils. I do find it beneficial for nail beds to retain moisture on my nails that split and crack easily. It is also good on cracked, dry skin on feet, and for stretch marks. This particular bottle has a warm, nutty scent, but it is light enough to not be noticed, especially when combined with other oils.

Castor Oil thickens thinning hair and acts as a humectant for frizzy hair. Also useful for eyelash growth/conditioning. Apply to a cotton swab and blink your eyelashes over the tip to avoid getting it in your eyes. Also good for conditioning eyebrows. This bottle was thick, golden and no scent.

Tamanu Oil was unfamiliar to me, in doing some research it is used for skin conditions such as cold sores, psoriasis, eczema, acne scars, general scars, burns, stings, stretch marks, mosquito bites, toenail fungus, dry scalp and flaky, scaly or overly dry skin. Tamanu oil is also topical healing agent with antineuralgic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibiotic, and antioxidant properties. Unlike Jojoba, there is a definite scent to Tamanu, sort of a mesquite smell. It is not terrible, but it would conflict with a floral scent perfume. It is however, less of a scent than some topical ointments. There is a greenish tint to the golden color; a very tiny bit goes a long way.
The fifth bottle in this set is the white Blender bottle to mix your own combinations. A good example might be 3 parts Argan Oil with 1 part Castor Oil for applying to the scalp to reduce dandruff and encourage hair growth, and add a couple drops of Jojoba to help the mix penetrate into the scalp and to condition the scalp skin.

The oils also mix nicely with sugar scrubs and to ramp up your basic facial moisturizers.

Gio Naturals Organic Carrier Oil Gift Set