hair oil

The Body Shop Rainforest Coconut Hair Oil {Product Review}

Swathy · June 16, 2013 · 9 Comments

I have never been a fan of coconut oil but I have been using it for sometime to remove the sunscreen and that is all there to it! I did never really try coconut oil for hair seriously because I did not see it doing much for my hair. So, lets see how this product worked on me!

Price: Rs 625 for 200ml

Pros

can be used as a leave-in treatment!

gets washed out easily

leaves subtle shine on the hair

Cons

very expensive!

its a clear oil

My Experience
It always looked to me that doing the reviews are the easiest thing on Earth because you just have to use the product and write about it! No thinking and no brainstorming. Easy-peasy.

And, then the reality crashes saying “What do you know? It is the most difficult part of blogging!” The blogger has to test a product in thousand possible ways and then list them down as to what passes the test and what doesn’t!

And, when it is a hair care product, it is even worse! So, forgive me if the review is too much or too less and please read on 🙂

I have been testing the product since a month and I can safely say I hate the smell. The oil is clear and colorless with a cocoa-buttery smell. Its not like I am a fan of the coconut oil smell but cocoa butter smell is even worse. And, the ingredient list states fragrance as well. They might have done better with few hair nourishing essential oils instead!

Anyways, barring that issue, I do not see any problem in the product. Incidentally, it is so different from coconut oil in texture probably because of the mix of all other oils. It is very less sticky and thick as compared to the regular coconut oil and does not weight down the hair if you apply as a leave-in serum. That is something I totally loved about the product.

it has all sorts of oils other than coconut and pracaxi (Pentaclethra Macroloba Seed Oil)!

Now, it says about some Pracaxi oil which comes from South America. The oil comes from the Pracaxi seeds and has high concentration of behenic acid which apparently is good for hair! Behenic acid is a saturated fatty acid which has smoothing properties. (Source: Wikipedia)

Now, lets talk about how the product functions. Honestly, the product is so expensive that it will break your heart to use it as a hair oil. And, fortunately, I do not think I saw any difference in my hair when I used this oil as a pre-wash treatment. It did not contain the frizz or show any extraordinary difference compared to any other oil.

oil does not come drop by drop from the fliptop cap!

But, it was a hero when it came to post-wash treatment. You can easily skip the conditioner and use this product on a daily basis. Just two drops would be enough for mid-waist length hair and the leftover oil on the palms can be rubbed on the scalp. That prevents dryness of the scalp. And, even if you apply it everyday, your hair would not get weighed down.

Oh I forgot to mention – whether the product is used as pre-wash treatment or a post-wash, it leaves the hair really soft and provides subtle shine to it which makes the hair look really healthy! Hair looks full of life and bouncy. Since I wash my hair on alternate days on weekdays, my hair behaves relatively well.

Also, it brings out the color of your hair (if your hair is colored or naturally possesses some very interesting shade) which I totally loved. So, yes, it is a product which can be tried as a leave-in treatment. And, it will last you ages that way so you can spend on it in one shot as well 🙂

PS: Product provided by brand.

5 Oils I love for my Hair {Five Series}

Swathy · June 10, 2013 · 13 Comments

I am so stumbled by the writer’s or shall we say bloggers block so I thought of one topic I would love to write about and suddenly, it popped. I love oils and I love taking care of my hair so combine them both and voila, oils for hair 😀

Ok, that was no rocket science but trust me, it is not easy to write a post with full conviction. So, one has to constantly either evolve their likings or stick ot something they believe fully in!! So, lets check out which oils I totally love using on my hair.

Coconut Oil

Not my first choice generally but it is said that coconut oil gets absorbed very easily into the hair. And, since I started to try TBS Rainforest Coconut Oil, I am liking it a lot. I am using it as a leave-in serum as well which is working out decently!!

Almond Oil

Ok, Rogan Badam has to be my favorite. It has revived my hair, after all.

These were the bring oils so lets move to something exotic now!

Grapeseed Oil

It is supposed to stimulate hair follicles and improve hair growth so how could I pass this one? I included a few drops of rosemary EO and use 3-5 drops of the mix as scalp treatment for my hair after washing it. In case, you are wondering, it is not oily AT ALL!!

Pomegranate Seed Oil

Ok, this was part of my hair conditioning and frizz-fighting arsenal. And, of course, it sounds so exotic so I picked this up when I saw it on Soulflower. I used to use it as leave-in serum but can’t say how much it has really helped my hair. Probably, more testing is required!

And, now, lets move to the good old ayurveda!

Neelibrigandi Oil

It is one oil in the recent times which has tamed my hair and has been giving it a healthy appearance. The one variant which I got recently is pretty non-sticky as opposed to the general belief that ayurvedic oils are extremely sticky so that’s a plus!! In fact, in the recent days, I have been using few drops (2-3) of this oil as scalp treatment instead of the Grapeseed oil mentioned above!

So, what about you? Which oils do you like? Have you used any exotic oils lately for the hair?

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Just Gossip Vol. 15 – A trip to Ayurveda!

Swathy · May 26, 2013 · 14 Comments

It has been like ages since I have written about hair. But, there was an interesting development last month. Have you heard of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala? They have quite a number of outlets in Hyderabad which I came to know through google. It is a long story!

Anyways, there is a store decently close to my house so one day I went forth after the office. Now, they have Ayurvedic doc also coming to their store every alternate weekday so I went at the very moment when I could find a doc! The doc holds MD in ayurvedic studies so that was reassuring.

I went to the store with a very long list of products to get from there. And, I asked the doc about the hair growth issue. So, he prescribed me two tablets (lets call them A and B) and Neelibrigandi oil. Now, I have no issues talking about one of the tablets, A which is meant for hair, because it is I think pretty much available everywhere but I shall do it some other time.

this is tablet A

Now, you would ask me if I saw any benefits? First, the hair doesn’t generally show any significant changes in the first month of some treatment so lets say I shall continue those tablets for an indefinite amount of time for now. Second, I don’t know about the B tablets. These tablets for weight loss and taking care of the metabolism and digestion issues.

I am completely against such tablets but since they were totally ayurvedic, I was fine with them. But, I don’t think I shall get them again and that’s not for the want of the benefits. But, I think its better to maintain weight with physical efforts than resorting to all kinds of tablets, howsoever safe they might be! But, the constitution of both A and B tablets are totally safe.

this is tablet B

And, coming to the oil, I did not use it more than twice by now but it smells really really bad! Everything ayurvedic smells or tastes really bad, it seems. Coz, the tablets also taste bad 🙁 Anyways, this oil should be used every night before going to bed on the scalp. But, since I do not wash my hair everyday, I avoid doing that!

But, an interesting discovery was Neelibrigandi helps in cooling the scalp! Thanks to Pranali, I came to know of this. So, I think I shall try using this oil at least on alternate nights or may be every night! I shall do that and let you guys know about how effective it is! In the mean time, let me tell you that the store is pretty popular and many many people came in the time frame I was there. I think you might also want to visit and check it out.

Have you ever been to Kotakkal Vaidya Sala’s clinics?