Review Neutrogena Shampoo, Anti-residue formula

A couple weeks ago I reviewed a build-up cleansing shampoo which did not work for me. It prompted me to review a shampoo that I have been using for build up.

On to the review.

Brand: Neutrogena

Product: Neutrogena Shampoo. Anti-residue formula

What is it? A shampoo to remove build up on hair

The directions: Wet hair thoroughly. Massage shampoo into hair, lather and rinse well. Repeat if necessary.

The results?

It's worth noting my hair type and water situation. My hair is very fine and thin, but I have lots of it. I'm also currently in hard water land. (I tried hooking up a softener to my shower head, but it's not really made much difference). In soft water, I don't have any issues with shampoo and conditioners, but in hard water, I have so many hair woes. Many shampoos and conditioners are too heavy and leave my hair feeling greasy, and my hair isn't as shiny as it is in soft water.

With that said, I find I only need this shampoo in hard water areas. I don't use products on my hair generally, so I really find the only build-up I have is from shampoos and conditioners, or hard water (I guess?!).

This one is a keeper. I'm happy with this shampoo. My hair feels light and clean and shiny after using - in hard water. I have actually been using this shampoo for years, and I use it only occasionally, so I find the little bottle lasts me ages.

Review: Living proof. Perfect hair Day(R) Triple detox shampoo

I got a sample of this from Sephora with points and I thought I'd give it a try. When I saw it was a detox shampoo, it sounded appealing because I have issues with build up on my hair when I'm in hard water areas (which sadly is often now!)

I have to admit, I've never heard of either the brand Living proof. or the product.

Side note: 

I also have very fine, but lots of, highlighted blonde hair and I currently live in a very hard water area. I do have a softener on my shower head, but I find it only makes a minimal difference. I have issues with build-up on my hair especially in hard water areas - I don't use any styling products. This is just from shampoo and conditioner, and I guess the water. ugh. I've found my hair less fussy in soft water areas. I can use a variety of shampoos and conditioners in soft water areas, but in hard water, many of the same shampoos and conditioners deposit too much gunk on my hair leaving it feeling heavy, sticky, and dull dull dull.

On to the review! 

Brand: Living proof. 

Product: Perfect hair Day (R) , triple detox shampoo

What is it? A shampoo to remove build up on hair

The directions:

Apply to wet hair. Lather. Rinse. Follow with conditioner. Use in place of regular shampoo as needed. For hard water buildup removal, leave on for 1-2 minutes before rinsing. 

Excellent, so they know about the hard water issue! 

I was surprised when I opened the product to find it's black! An opaque creamy black. 

My first thoughts were 'um, is this going to leave colour on my light blonde highlights?' 

I went ahead anyway. Wet, lathered, waited and rinsed. Then used one of my lightest conditioners. 

My results? 

Well, before drying my hair, I was not convinced. Sometimes you can't tell when your hair is still wet, but I can tell if my hair is going to be a tangley mess to deal with, and it didn't feel smooth and happy like my hair does after what I consider to be a good shampoo and conditioning experience that usually then dries to a glossy and soft, not-weighted down finish. 

Upon drying my hair, my suspicions were confirmed. My hair felt heavy and there was a bit of dull tinge to my locks, especially the lightest bleached strands. (For those with light blonde hair or highlights, it was a bit like when you use the purple shampoo/conditioners a bit too often, only instead of a bit purple, it was a bit grey). I caution to say this was only slightly noticeable. 

Overall, I wasn't happy with this product at all. I'm glad I could try it without cost, but I think it's safe to say I won't be spending any money on this product in future. In fact, I'm actually not finishing this sample bottle. It didn't seem to detox my hair of anything, it deposited a bit a colour (which did wash out in the next shampoo), and it left my hair feeling heavy and what I describe as 'dirty' - to be fair, with fine hair I find many shampoos leave too much behind. I wouldn't recommend this if you have fine hair, or very light blonde hair. So to me, it didn't deliver - my hair felt heavier and grosser than before I had washed it. I'm not sure what the triple element of the detox in the title of the product was referring to, but given the poor result, I don't even care to look on their website for more info. Sorry! 

However someone with darker and thicker hair types may find different results. Also if you have soft water rather than hard. As always, hair products really do need to be tailored to your hair type. Any quality hairdresser will tell you that, yet so many brands of shampoo/conditioner trade on the premise that 'hair is hair' as if they are all the same! 

Alice in Wonderland x Sala

When I saw this, I had to share it! My favourite Japanese brand of shampoo and conditioner has released special Disney Alice in Wonderland bottles. Aside from being incredibly cute - each bottle has a drawing from the Disney animated film on it, I love these products.

Okay, I have to admit, I've not tried all the products and the last time I was in Japan, I believe there were 3 products in pink, blue, and yellow. But hey. Anyways, there are 3 different types and all of them I suspect will be lovely as I've never had a bad experience with this shampoo brand. Kanebo produces the Sala range. Sala in Japanese means 'silky'.

Rose Repair featuring a sweet rose scent, it claims to repair your damaged hair and leave it shiny.

The classic (for which the namesake Sala comes from - Sara sara) Silky makes hair silky, smooth, and velvety. This one is my favourite.

And lastly, we have Deep Moisure which moisturizes hair as well as gives it a smooth finish.

Silky (Sara sara) is my favourite but I've also used Deep Moisture (Deepu moisuchaa) and they both were so lovely. My hair was definitely silky and light, and smooth. Ah, if only this stuff was easy to get outside of Japan. Ahem, easy and cheaper! You can get this stuff on ebay and some beauty websites, but it's ridiculously expensive. Oh well. Do you have any shampoos that you just can't find anymore?

Desperately Seeking Shampoo... and Conditioner... and Styling Products

Looking for the right shampoo and conditioner?

These websites offer interactive quizzes to help you determine the right product or products for you.

Also, they're kind of fun!

John Frieda: http://www.johnfrieda.com/en-US/Product-Advisor/

TRESemmé: http://www.tresemme.co.uk/Hair-Profiler/Question/

Dove: http://www.dove.pk/Interactive/HairProfiler/

Redken: http://www.redken.com/your-hair-profile/
Redken has 4 different experts you can have your hair profiled with!

Herbal Essences: http://www.herbalessences.com/en-US/hair-care-products


It's like a quiz for your hair :)

And if, after all that, you're still like me and can't find the right one, you're not alone!

On my last trip to the salon, I told the stylist how my hair kept feeling greasy and weighed down. I never used to have that problem, and I don't really use any product (I know I should use a heat protectant before blowdrying and/or straightening, but I often don't! Oh, I'm so guilty), so was really disappointed when lately my hair hasn't felt light and shiny as it used to. She told me that actually, a lot of the high street brands (or brands in drug stores and supermarkets) - i.e. not salon professional - have too many chemicals in them to try and make your hair look shiny. If you have really thin, fine hair, like I do, then you're much better off with a professional brand that doesn't add anything in.

So, at her recommendation, I have been using Matrix Biolage for colour treated hair and so far with really positive results. Although, it's still early days and it's hard paying twice the price for shampoo and conditioner, but my hair was really positively awful with my other shampoos :/

How about you? Have you found your hair's soulmate?

TRESemmé Split Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner

I've used a few of TRESemmé's haircare products over the years, so when they realeased a new line called Split Remedy, I thought it was worth checking out.

Split Remedy (US site/UK site) claims to reduce the number of split ends and fix 80% of split ends after 3 uses!

For someone with long locks, that's a serious claim.


So I've given these babies a spin and see if they deliever on their claims:

Less split ends - Yes, a definite reduction in split ends
just cut look - definitely not for me! My hair does not feel smooth or silky, but kind of easily knotted...
frizz-proof - uhm, my hair is pretty frizzy, and I'm not prone to frizzy hair at all

So I found that while it did improve the number of split ends I can see, my hair has been left feeling heavy and greasy. Ya know that feeling you get when you've either over-conditioned or forgot to rinse all the conditioner out? Yep, that one.

It might react differently to different hair. I have thin and fine hair that's usually pretty healthy and shiny. I do colour my hair, but at a salon about 3-4 times a year. My hair is also long, so yes, prone to split ends, but honestly, it's never really bothered me and I haven't had a problem with frizz before. It's usually shiny and sleek with no products other than just a good shampoo and conditioner.

Since my faith in TRESemmé is so high, I did think maybe I was doing something wrong. I've been trying everything with this shampoo and conditioner - including shampoo only, less conditioner, more conditioner, but all coming up with a similiar result.

This is the first time I can honestly say that I'm not sure I want even finish out the bottle on these. What a disappointment.

My hair and Split Remedy just don't seem to have a happy ending.

Tools of the trade: keeping those brushes brilliant

When I clean my brushes, I use shampoo to wash the bristles. This may or may not be obvious, but think of the bristles like hair, and your brushes will love you back.

Well,,, not exactly like hair. I don't condition or style my brushes. I just use a shampoo to clean them in luke warm to cool water and then let them air dry.

My favourite shampoo to use for washing my brushes is Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo. It's gentile as can be.

Do you clean your brushes regularly? 

Totally not related...

I'm sharing this song from S.H.E. today, it was in Bullfighting, a Taiwanese drama with Mike He, and I adore him, but anyway, really been feeling this song lately, and look, complete with English subs Sorry, it's a bit bittersweet and kind of sad. Hope you enjoy!

Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner Review

I've already told you about how much I love Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Body Lotion so when I browsing online at Bath & Body Works and saw they had some Shampoo and Conditioners in the Warm Vanilla Sugar scent, I was so tempted. They have two different types: moisturizing and volumizing. Since I'm visiting the US and feeling the dryness of winter, I decided I would go with moisturizing. It also didn't hurt that they were on sale for $4 each and I was already ordering some Wild Honeysuckle Body Lotion ^.^ 

Reviews on the Bath & Body Works website were a bit split. Some people seemed to love it, and others seemed to feel it wasn't worth it. So what do these promise? 

To restore moisture and shine to dry, damaged or color-treated hair... to reveal hair that looks and feels soft, silky and healthy. 

..Smooths and protects dry, damaged or color-treated hair with shine-enhancing moisturizers that leave hair soft, manageable and strong.

Here's what I found. 

Shampoo: Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Moisturizing Shampoo

Strong scent - love! 

Surprised by how thin the formula was. I expected it to be thicker, but a small dollop soaped up just fine in the soft water here. (Curious to see how this fairs in my super hard water at home!) 

Conditioner: Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Moisturizing Conditioner

Again, lovely scent. Didn't seem as strong as the shampoo, but it may be that I got desensitized from the shampoo! 

Love the formula! The texture is nice and creamy, and pretty much as I expected. I didn't need to use a lot. 

Verdict: 

I've used both of these for about 4 days now in a row and I love them. Yes, I can say that in all seriousness. My hair styled beautifully after using these products. My hair smells lovely, although it's not too strong. If you don't like the scent to begin with, it might not be a good idea, but my mom says she loves it as well (on me!) My hair feels soft and silky and well conditioned and moisturized. So yes, I would say this product does deliver what it promises and I'm very happy with it! I also like that the conditioner is very light. My hair doesn't feel heavy or greasy the next day, which you can sometimes get with conditioners. 

My biggest concern now is how I am gonna get my hands on some of this stuff in the UK >_<  Please, Bath  & Body Works, we need you in the UK!