Product Reviews

The Body Shop Bath Gloves {Accessory Review}

Swathy · May 15, 2011 · 6 Comments

They are so famous among the blogosphere. So, I had to try them.

Price: 225 INR for a pair (I got at 15% discount!!)

My Experience

First of all, the biggest point of these gloves are that they are so easy to put on even when your hands are wet. I have extremely small hands and generally no size fits me. I have to wear kid gloves. These gloves are elastic fit and free size so one fits all. And, not only that, I have never been in my entire life able to wear gloves properly without taking them off at least once. But, this one is so easy to put on and I have never gone wrong with them till now. I have used these gloves like probably four-five times. In the starting, the gloves might feel a bit rough but they soften up in the consequent uses but it is very necessary to use the gloves with a light hand otherwise it can cause the skin to become sore due to over-exfoliation. It is very easy to go overboard with the gloves.

They make the soap or face wash or body wash lather well (I do use face wash as body wash too sometimes!!). And, they clean the skin really well. Squeaky clean. I guess they will remove the film which some products tend to leave but since I use no such product, I have no idea. Also, the gloves don’t entirely dry out the skin leaving it to feel stretchy or something. They are not that costly especially for a TBS product but they should be washed after every usage coz they get really dirty!!! I toss them into surf after every use (which I am really not sure is a great idea so next time I’ll see what to do). And, yes, the gloves leave the skin feeling extremely soft and supple and hydrated after the bath. That’s the reason why your skin doesn’t feel stretchy. But, I have no idea how long a pair would last!! Some change it in a year and some in six months so it depends mainly on how much you use them. Oh, and you can see the loops which are for hanging the gloves. And, it really makes the skin glow.

I tried to use this on the face but it made my face really dry afterwards. I used only a single finger very lightly for scrubbing the face so it wasn’t very harsh on the face. But, it is best to avoid it on the face and neck as they are sensitive regions and can get sore very quickly. The best part is that they are very portable and handy during travel.

My Recommendation

It is great for all kinds of skin but I am not very sure if it is a good idea for sensitive skin. So, sensitive skin gals should watch out!!! Otherwise, it is a must try at least once 🙂 and I am sure, you wouldn’t leave them ever. They can be used with exfoliators too but I guess that would be too harsh (I am not sure, though) but for me, it replaces the body scrubs. I don’t belive in over-doing things so if I am using this, I wouldn’t use anything else and if I use the body scrubs, I wouldn’t dream of using this.

Combs and Hair Care {Product Review}

Swathy · May 13, 2011 · 9 Comments

Combing is one of the most essential activity of our daily routine. And, the quality of our combs determine the health of our hair. I have changed a lot of combs in my life and my preference has always been the wide-toothed comb even before I had become interested in beauty and started reading about it. Wide-toothed combs make it easy to detangle and comb through the hair whatever the mass of the hair be. So, let us see how various combs in my latest years ave affected my hair.

My yellow Giant Comb

This one I had received as one of the goodies from Sunsilk when they had launched their revamped version sometime in 2006 as part of the promotions in malls. And, since then, I have not touched another comb.

As you can see, the teeth in both parts of the comb are wide and they help in combing the hair very very easily. So, since I had started using this comb, my hair had improved drastically. Also, his comb has rounded tips though the plastic is jagged at some places due to the poor finishing.

Bad Buy – Roots Comb

Then, I got interested in vanity and read everything about hair care which includes a huge section on hair accessories of which combs are a staple part. Now, somewhere, I had read that the tips of the combs should touch the scalp and distribute the oils equally. Now, my yellow comb had been over-used in the years (2006-2010). So, I decided that it wasn’t doing its job well-enough and I had to get a new comb. So, I hunted low and up in some vanity store (starts from ‘K’ and I am not able to recall its name though I have been trying since quite a long time). Finally, I checked all the combs and decided that roots would do the job well even though I could have settled for 30 bucks cheaper on another comb which was essentially the same (don’t remember the brand). Bought it and very happily tried it on my hair, a little more hair than usual on the comb. I decided that was due to the change in the comb and hair will get accustomed.

Now, when I opened the comb, I got the shock of life coz its edges were really pointed though they didn’t feel at all that way through the packing. They even look rounded. So, I was a lot disappointed coz the combs are not supposed to be rough on the edges as that snags and pulls the hair. Subsequently, my hair fall went to worse when I started usign this comb very regularly. I couldn’t’ guess the reason at first though the thunder bolt struck me probably a month or two after. I shifted back to my lovely yellow comb which I had so ruthlessly disposed off and voila, my hair fall was back to normal.

Moral of the Story: Check the combs properly while buying combs. Do not settle for something which is cheaper coz your hair pays heavily afterwards. And, yes, your combs might be leading to your hair loss. Analyze them now.

History of Combs

So, let us come to a little history of combs. Earlier in ancient times, single sticks of either wood or animal bones were used as combs to detangle hair. Since, wood would splinter so animal bones were preferred. In the Victorian era, there were ivory combs too. But, then, regard for animal life increased and such luxuries became privileges. I definitely do not support elephant slaughter for tusks. Or, any other animal for any part of theirs. So, we do not have animal bone combs any more. They were majorly made out of Sharks teeth and ribs. But, now, some companies do sell combs made of artificial keratin coz they don’t get jagged. Otherwise, a simple substitute is wooden comb which is available for a cheaper rate courtesy The Body Shop.

The Body Shop Detangling Comb
So, I was searching madly for a wooden comb since I had no access to bones comb. And, when I saw it in TBS, I felt crazy happy. I wasn’t aware of TBS as a brand and didn’t trust it so didn’t buy the comb and 295 INR for a comb seemed really costly to me. Then, my birthday happened and this was one of my self-selected gift set. And, I obviously used it without further ado. And, voila, my hair was so soft in the first use. Though, the first time you handle this comb, you wouldn’t feel comfortable. It needs a little getting used to and the wood gets little polished with regular usage. So, probably in a week or two, this was my favorite comb and this time, I didn’t dump my yellow comb. But, here is the catch. When I tried combing my hair with the yellow comb after my hair got used to the wooden comb, there were more strands to be seen on the yellow comb which clearly proved that wooden comb is better.

I have been using this comb since February and I can say there are less splits considering my previous track record with the split ends, my hair is more shinier and softer, has a better growth rate as far as I can tell, hair fall which I had been facing had reduced to a considerable extent, probably has a little more volume (can be attributed to the growth fact) and no breakage (I had little breakage earlier). Overall, my hair quality has improved with this comb. Now, I have wavy to curly hair and curly hair people should not use brishes as they lead to more hair fall so I am more of a comb girl (more coming on brushes in some other post!!). Ok, yeah, it is a little costly but I think worth spending for the results!!!

Now, here comes the biggest catch of this comb. Cleaning. It is wooden so cleaning with water is something unthinkable. So, I have no idea how to clean it. I do use water coz I have no other choice. I sprinkle baking soda on the comb and use a wet brush to clean the comb between its teeth. I nicely scrub the comb with the baking soda and when I feel its done, I wash it quickly with water to keep it for as less time as possible in water. IF you can suggest a better method to clean, please do so!!! Another problem is the packaging. The comb comes with a sticker stuck to it and the sticker is literally stuck to it. It takes weeks to scratch out the sticker (you can’t use water, remember!!) and its really sticky. I don’t know why TBS does that horrible packaging but that is something where it can be improved upon.

The comb itself is really small and extremely handy. It has polish on the upper frame. It is a wide-teethed comb which is said to detangle wet hair but I don’t use it on wet hair. I use it on damp to dry hair. It says that it distributes the oils well. Well, seeing the results, it certainly must be doing its job. The edges of the teeth are not pointed but not even rounded. They are blunt edges and are wide enough to distribute the oils properly. Wooden combs also reduce the static in the hair so less frizzy hair. It is made up of the wood from trees which are some forest steward council approved (I don’t remember what exactly it was but I think it was a rain forest preserve or something!!! It was on the sticker).

My Recommendation

Absolutely!!! You should invest in this comb for better hair. And, this is for people who have gorgeous hair too.

Don’t forget to give this a try!!! Pin It

Neutrogena Deep Clean Shampoo {Product Review}

Swathy · May 11, 2011 · 2 Comments

I didn’t buy this but got the Neutrogena goodies at Hilton, Delhi. I don’t think Neutrogena has launched its hair care products in India. Heard that the Triple Moisture range is just awesome. I hope it launches the hair care range in India soon.

Ingredients

Oh, it has got a really big ingredient list and is full of chemicals as all Neutrogena products. Since you have seen the size of the bottle and the print is not very clear since it is transparent, so I can not reproduce the entire list here. But, it does contain SLS, Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate (is same as SLS) and Propyl Paraben in case you are interested in these specific ingredients.

My Experience

I loved this shampoo. Generally, I wouldn’t know how to review a shampoo coz for me, generally, all are one. But, I have used this one following up with and without any conditioner. For the first time, I used no conditioner coz I wanted to see how it works and it cleansed my hair really clean without making it dry (my hair is quite dry and gets dry very easily). Very less of the product required and it does lather well. No frizzes and no flyaways. My scalp was also not feeling dry and stretchy as it does sometimes with some of the shampoos. And, it does make my hair feel heavy and voluminous which is a very big thing for a shampoo. It leaves hair soft, shiny and bouncy even without the help of a conditioner which is a lot from a shampoo. I think it has been now replaced with Clean Replenishing range.

My Recommendation

Should be tried once to see if it suits your hair!!! So, try it out when it gets launched here 🙂