2017 Quarter One Empties - Hair Care - Yes To, DGJ Organics, Superdrug, 7th Heaven, Batiste

So, if anyone read my life update in January, you'll know things were a little chaotic at the end of last year/start of this year. I haven't done empties since November, December and early January don't count because of Christmas and travel, so I've been collecting these since the start of January. The only sensible thing to do seemed to be to split them down into categories and hair care was the smallest so I decided to start with it.

Not crazy big or scary. Anyone that's been here for a while might recognise one or two of these from my 17 by 2017 project, which sadly got scrapped when the boiler died in my old flat. 

So we have the Yes to Blueberries Shampoo and Conditioner (full review here) which I loved, and sadly Boots now only stock online in the UK. They smell great, don't irritate my scalp and sort my hair out. I'll definetly buy them again. Having to order online and collect in store is a pain in the bum but, in all honesty, I really think they're worth it.

DGJ Orangics Hair Juice Shampoo and Conditioner. I didn't love these as much as the Yes To Blueberries ones but they're still pretty nice. Again, zero scalp irritation and worked fine with my crazy hair. The smell is to die for though. I never thought I would like melon scented shampoo, that sounds kind of gross I think about it, but it was so nice. Thinking about it again (I finished these over a month ago) makes me really want to re-order it. Bad Kirstie, Bad. I have three or four shampoo and conditioner sets in my stash right now, and thats not including whats in my bathroom so I need to get through them before I re-purchase anything.

Onto masques and treatments (and the photo had to be blurry!!). On the left is the Superdrugs Coconut Water and Coconut Oil Masque, it's the only other product in this particular post I've done a dedicated review on (here). I really like this, its more like a thick conditioner than what I expect a masque to be, and it leaves my hair really soft and shiny. I've already re-purchased it and am half way through that one. Also because it's not so masque-like its really easy to wash out, meaning I can use it during the week and not have to stress about it taking seven rinses and an extra 23 minutes to wash my hair. 

So, want to know something funny, this is the second time I've typed up this next bit. Blogger thought it would be hilarious to not save, despite me hammering the save button about twenty times. So, I'm sorry if it sames extra sassy and angry but I worked two hours overtime, had salad for dinner and took the time to actually spell check the original post, only for my hard work to disappear off into the ether. 

And then we have this little stinker. And by stinker I mean it literally stinks. It has the same strong fake powdery honey sent of a Lemon & Honey Lemsip, and that smell does not bring back good memories (because who wants their hair to smell strongly of "my nose is snotty, I'm coughing and my ears need to pop so badly they hurt" medicine. I don't like it, it didn't do much for my hair and I wouldn't repurchase or recommend it.

So now we have an *shrug* product, something I hated with a passion and dry shampoo. If its OK with you I'll skip the Batiste as everyone knows what it is and what it does. It's that magic in a bottle that gives me an extra 20 minutes in bed some morning, if I don't mind a slightly irritated scalp for the rest of the day.

Pantene Aqua Light Something Spray, I've binned the bottle already. I got this out the Poundshop a couple of years ago and it didn't do very much for my hair so it just hung about in my collection. I don't really know what else to say, it didn't do a lot, but it smelled nice, There we go, lets be positive here.

And last, and also least, we have the DGJ Organics Argan Oil. Smelled OK but weighed my hair down more than I thought was possible. It also felt sticky and I had to wash my hands after using it. Normally with hair oil I'm wet, my hairs wet and I'm wearing a wet towel so I can just rub my hand on my hair and then rub them on the towel and bobs your teapot, no more hair oil. This stuff needed a proper soapy lather to get it off. 

Like I said, I can't believe how much more curly and bouncy my hairs been since I went back the Superdrug Macadamia Oil. Lesson learned, the thing that costs at least 2x what the thing you know works won't always be better.   

So thats all, not to painful (despite the double type). Thinking next it will either by makeup or body care. I'm currently undecided.

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com

Superdrug Coconut Water & Coconut Oil Hair Masque Review - Cruelty Free

A while ago, around mid August, I picked this masque up with the intention of taking it on holiday to treat my poor sun damaged hair. In the end I didn't pack it, due to bulk, so it never got used or reviewed in my holiday products blog (link here).

Fast forward to last weekend. Friday was Halloween day at work and I went as a zombie bride. Unfortunately that meant washing my hair on Thursday, brushing it once and then leaving it, Friday morning I woke up, sprayed some dry shampoo into it, fuzzed up the roots with my fingers and then didn't touch it again. By Saturday morning when it became time to deal with things like washing it and looking presentable, my hair really wasn't in a good place. 

That's when I remembered about this. I don't use a lot of hair masque type products right now (have in the past, will again in the future) as my current flat only has a very deep, and very awesome *cough*, bath in it. I find trying to rinse anything thicker than normal conditioner out my hair a pain without the use of a shower head and good water pressure. My hair was so knotted and brittle feeling I made an exception though. 

Before getting in the bath I sprayed a tonne of de-tangling spray through my hair and tried to get most of the tugs out with a Tangle Teezer. It hurt a lot, and when I was done I had some very fried, very dry, very brittle feeling triangle head hair (when your hair just frizzes out from the top, getting bigger and bigger and giving you the appearance of a hair triangle)

I then washed my hair twice with the Yes to Blueberries Smooth & Shine Shampoo. I'll have a full review of both this and the conditioner coming out in the next couple of days as I've now been using for a month(spoiler alert, I like it). I rinsed it with a jug, squeezed the water out my hair and applied a couple of big dollops of this to all the hair from my ears down. I then twisted it all together and lay back and watched some How I Met Your Mother... Yeah I occasionally watch Netflix in the bath, if it's one that I'm going to be in for a while. Lush review, Netflix. Hair masque, Netflix. Rough week so drinking cider and wanting to lounge, well OK, I'm maybe going to listen to Classic Rock in that type of bath, if not though, Netflix.

It's a really thick, but very liquid, conditioner. It's not set or stiff and my only criticism is that I would have preferred it to come in a big squeezy bottle. I don't love sticking my fingers into and having to scoop wet products out of pots.   

After about 15 minutes I rinsed it out. It took a bit more work than standard conditioner but not loads, maybe one or two extra jugs of water. I don't think I would even notice if I was using it in the shower, but I don't have a shower , so meh. Once I'd blotted my hair dry using a microfibre towel, I brushed it again and it went so much smoother than before the bath. I then smoothed some of the Superdrug Hair Therapy Macadamia Oil through it, which is one of my favourite hair products ever. I didn't feel right reviewing it and missing out a step I would always do as it wouldn't be a fair comparison.  I then left my hair to dry naturally. 

Once my hair dried, I was amazed at how soft, shiny and bouncy my hair was. It eliminated almost all my frizz (the frizz is never completely gone, never) and left my hair soft and shiny without killing the curl. The masque only cost me £3.99, and is currently on offer at £2.59, so I really hadn't expected much at all. It's really good though. Also it smells really, really nice. My other half even commented on how coconutty it was.

I used it again today as well and had the same results. I've been away in the Czech Republic using the combination of Lush Shampoo and Conditioner from the holiday review linked above. And, even though I took my macadamia oil and used it religiously, I think the mix of not a thick enough conditioner and my hair being constantly exposed to cold weather for four days (all we did was explore, and occasionally stop at a pub) left it feeling a bit more frizzy and tangled than usual. It feels back to normal now though (and smells delicious). This is definitely something I would recommend to anyone looking for a moisturising masque for frizzy or dry hair, or a deep conditioner that's also cruelty free.

Given this a go? Let me know what you think.

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com