Thursday, 23 February 2012

Spiezia Organics Head and Hair Oil

There are so many hair treatments out there, lots to choose from! I wanted to try something different and new, and found this great Head and Hair oil by Spiezia Organics. I knew that oils are great for nourishing hair and thought I could give this treatment a try. Another thing that attracted me was the company itself and the fact that their products are 100% organic (that's right, 100%, certified by the Soil Association).
Lets hear a little bit about the company first. Spiezia makes 100% organic and natural products on an Organic Gear Farm based in Cornwall, England. They have a range of 34 products for face, body and hair care, mothers and babies oils and balms and a range of men products. It has been possible for Spiezia to make truly 100% organic products because they don't use water in their stuff: and if there is no water, there is no need to use any type of preservatives or anything else that may exist only in non-organic form. This means that Spiezia moisturizers are balms, not creams.
Now the treatment. The Head and Hair oil was created to stimulate healthy scalp and nourish hair. It contains lots of great ingredients, such as jojoba, sweet almond, apricot seed oils, and other healthy things such as burdock root extract, nettle leaf extract, rosemary leaf, sage and lavender. It is advised to massage into the scalp and along the hair and leave it on either for 20 minutes or overnight for a more thorough treatment. 
I have not had the courage to put it on my head... My hair tends to get oily quickly, and I do realize that the oil will not necessarily make it more oily, but balance it, but I just could not do it! The main thing I feel I personally need to get from a hair treatment is nourishing dry ends, so I happily just put it along my hair.
The oil itself is like any oil: pale yellow colour, no particular strong smell. I rub a little oil between my hands and spread it on my hair, then repeat a couple of times until I feel there is enough oil on my hair. Don't overdo it: the first time I applied the oil I thought I needed to put on lots of it for the hair to get moist, but you really don't, I would say overall about a tablespoon or a bit more for medium length hair. I then wrapped my hair on my head and pinned it up. I didn't leave it on overnight, although its very possible - just pop a towel on your pillow. I left the oil for about 30 minutes every time I used the product. 
The oil washes out relatively easily, although (perhaps due to paranoia) the first time I used it it did feel like there was something left on my hair. The second time, my hair felt completely fine and clean. The overall result without exaggerating is that after 2-3 uses my hair felt more nourished, silky, shiny and generally healthier. I was very impressed with the result. I have medium thickness hair, and this oil has definitely worked much better than any intense treatments that I have used on my hair for that extra nourishment. 

Saturday, 18 February 2012

Live Native Exfoliating Cleanser

Well, it has been a little while.... The reason for my lengthy absense was not at all my abandonment of pure and green beliefs, but the fact that I thought it was a good idea to do all the big things at once (you know, the moving house, starting a new job, and also, being with no internet for 3 weeks). But now I am settled in my new place, so, lets see what new natural products there are in store!
I have, now not-so-recently, been kindly sent a sample of Live Native Exfoliating Cleanser, which lasted me a few weeks, using it every other day. My first impression was how natural and 'earthy' the cleanser was. It kind of looks like mud - its quite dark brown, textured, it looks like there is nothing artificial in it whatsoever, which there isn't.
Live Native the company specialize in making natural, handmade skincare products. Their products are all handmade on the =Isle of Skye, where the beautiful unspoiled landscape must have been an inspiration for Live Native creator, Vicky Ewbank. Live Native products contain only natural ingredients and are vegan. Not only that, but the ingredients in the products are all cold-pressed and the company uses heat-free-blending of ingredients to save the active properties of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. 
The Exfoliating Cleanser is based on Absorptive Moroccan Rhassoul Clay, which helps to deeply cleanse the skin as it attracts all the oil and dirt trapped in the skin. Organic oats in the  cleanser help to gently but effectively exfoliate the skin. I loved the other ingredients in the product, such as argan, coconut and calendula oils, which all help to cleanse the skin, but also nourish and calm it at the same time. The full list of ingredients, all natural and lovely stuff, is below. The product is 90% organic.

Oat (Avena Sativa) Kernel Meal*, Rhassoul Clay (Montmorillonite)*/***, Chamomile Macerate in Sunflower oil*, Argan (Argania Spinosa) Kernal Oil*/***, Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Oil*, MSM (Dimethyl Sulfone) from Pine Trees, Chamomile (Chamomilla Recutita Matricaria) Flower*, Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) Root Powder*, Kelp (Ascophyllum Nodosum)**, Marigold (Calendula Officinalis) Flower Oil*, Vitamin E (natural d-alpha tocopherol), Glyceryl Caprilate, Grapefruit (Citrus Grandis) Seed Extract in vegetable glycerin, Acerola cherry (Malpighia Glabra) Fruit Extract*.* organic   |   ** wild harvested   |   *** Fairtrade
The cleanser is gentle enough to be used everyday. I really liked that, as its quite rare to find a cleanser that is a gentle exfoliator as well, and to be able to use daily. As I mentioned before, when I opened the pot, the cleanser looked like rough mud. But with contact with water it forms a brown-grey paste, that starts to feel much more gentle than the dry product. When washing my face with it, it felt like I was putting 'food for skin' on it and I would leave it on for a minute before washing it off. I guess that would allow the clay and oils to work their magic. After washing off, the skin would feel soft and clear, without any residue of the product. I really enjoyed this cleanser, and loved the gentle exfoliating properties of it, as well as its interesting and natural ingredients list! Highly recommended!