Thursday 25 February 2010

Lush locks

I long for thick, lustrous locks. Unfortunately, I have an abundance of fine hair which does a lot of strange things. It has its own natural wave which can be coaxed to a full on curl, but sometimes chooses not to. Likewise, it can be coaxed to a shiny straightness, but sometimes chooses not to. I think you get the idea.

I've never really done much with it, due to its changeable behaviour. I tend to keep it shoulder length, with a half fringe as I also have a cowlick. This way I can tie it back occasionally but mostly I just - ahem - wash and go.

I have to wash it every day becaue it's so fine it looks greasy quickly. I have to wash it each morning because even if I go to bed with a beautifully clean, silky barnet I wake up looking like the lovechild of Tim Burton and Don King.

It will be no surprise that I tend to chop and change when it comes to hair care. In TK Maxx I scored some bumper bottles of Tigi oatmeal and honey shampoo and conditioner which I love but I get bored using the same thing day in, day out. Lately I've been mixing it up with Phytolisse shampoo which is great if I want straight hair (I'll do a review at some point) and L'oreal kids cherry and almond two in one which smells exactly like Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewells.

In Lush the other day, I bought some small bottles of Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo and American Cream conditioner. I first used these many years ago and loved them, but I tend to forget they exist thanks to my fickle nature.

Cynthia Sylvia Stout is meant to give 'condition, body and shine to wavy, fluffy and frizzy hair' and it works well for me. It's a very thin and runny gel which smells amazing. It reminds me of the glass wash area in a bar after last orders. I know this is very specific but as I've said before, I'm big on olfactory memories and this takes me back to my short lived stint as a barmaid in the mid 90s. It's the combination of lemons, cognac oil and Guinness that give me that 'behind the bar' fragrance. I find it lingers well in the hair too, which masks my daytime drinking (just kidding ...).

I follow this with American Cream conditioner. The Lush site describes this as a double-strength conditioning cocktail that smells of honey, vanilla, strawberries and oranges. I'm not sure about either of those things. I feel it provides lovely light conditioning for my hair. It is quite thin and does not feel at all rich, in fact it can feel as though I have not used enough. Then my hair dries and looks and feels glorious to me, so I know it's worked well. As for the smell, I don't get any of those individual fruits, I just get something heavenly that reminds me of a French patisserie. Along with Cynthia Sylvia Stout, American Cream's fragrance also lingers so I spend all day catching whiffs of beer and cake . This is fine by me.

Anyway, here's a slightly rubbish pic of my air-dried hair after I've used both of these products. I haven't even brushed it but the shine is great and it feels smooth and tangle free yet with a decent amount of body. I don't know how these products would work on hair of a different texture to mine, but the smallest bottles are about £3-£4, so it might be worth giving them a go. The smell alone makes it a pleasurable experience.

3 comments:

  1. Loving the blog, think i'll be giving the Cynthia Sylvia Stout & American Cream a go. Wafts of beer & cake sound perfect! You made them irresistable!

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  2. I'm going to try those too, my hair is similar in texture if not length.

    Sadly the Don King/Tim Burton image will stay with me...

    Rach

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  3. Lanyb - thanks very much! Definitely give them ago, the smell is so delicious it's almost a bonus that they actually work well too.

    Rach - think yourself lucky you haven't seen it in person!

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