Our Cosmetic Experience: January and February

In January and February, we emptied quite a few cosmetic containers.

⓵ Body care: Aloe Fresh Moisturizing Body Lotion - another body lotion by Dermasil.

I really liked it. It has a pleasant, light scent (vanilla + Rosa Damascena?). The lotion formula is creamy and rich, rather thick but not greasy at all. It spreads on the skin evenly. I used the product after showering - the moisturizing agents of the lotion made the skin of my body finely hydrated. I also applied it to my feet and I loved how soft and gentle they felt then.

The lotion ingredients which I liked best:

• Sunflower seed oil,
• Aloe Vera leaf juice,
• Borago officinalis seed oil,
• Sweet almond oil,
• Sandalwood oil,
• Rosa Damascena extract,
• Vanilla Planifolia fruit extract.

Our Pros:
- fast absorbing moistens dry skin well,
- pleasant scent,
- non-greasy,
- paraben free,
- not tested on animals,
- affordable price

The tube contained 10z / 296 ml of the lotion. Quite a lot of good stuff for a low price.

Would we buy it again? Yes 👍

⓶ Body care: Oil of Life Sensitive Skin Body Wash - rather creamy but a bit watery at the same time. The latter was rather disappointing and made the wash not efficient. It did not foam much but cleaned my skin well. A positive thing was that the body wash did not dry my skin, the creamy side of the formula seemed to give the skin a kind of moisturizing protection.

My favorite ingredients of the Oil of Life Sensitive Body Wash:

• Soybean oil,
• Shea butter.

The bottle contained 15 oz/444 ml of the body wash.

⓷ Hair care: Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Hair Conditioner

My favorite ingredients of the conditioner:

• Rosa Centifolia flower extract,
• Passiflora fruit extract,
• Corn Silk extract.

I used to have the shampoo from the same Herbal Essences series. I loved the rosy scent of both products. The conditioner made my hair soft and fluffy. After the hair wash + using the conditioner + drying my hair with a towel, I was able to comb and style my hair easily The strands were soft,  fluffy and they looked fresh. All in all, it made me and my colored hair happy.

Would I buy it again? Yes 👍

⓸ Face care: Daily facial Moisturizer by Cetaphil 👍

It is a very light face cream with SPF 15. It is fragrance-free which is a reason my damaged facial nerve tolerates it *. The cream does not clog pores, it slightly hydrates the skin. However, sometimes it seemed the moisturizing effect was not long lasting enough for my dry skin. I think the cream will be a good summer face care option. On hot days my face needs much lighter creams than in the wintertime. The face cream worked well as a makeup base. Since it is one of the very few face care products which I can actually use on my entire face, I am certainly going to buy it and use it again

* It means I can apply the cream to both sides of my face and no painful reaction to the cosmetic.

⓹ Hand care: Udderly Smooth Hand Cream

I wrote about it in that post. A good hand care product, improving the condition of the dry skin

⓺ Body care: Belle D'Opium perfumed body lotion was part of a cosmetic set, accompanied by body wash and Belle D'Opium Eau de parfum.

The lotion was light but it nourished/moistened the body really well. The fragrance, when spread all over my body was strong enough not to use the regular Eau de parfum afterward.

 ⓻ Foot care: Gold Bond Ultimate Softening Foot Cream

We bought the cream being encouraged by a sample of another Gold Bond product which we had happened to receive.
The cream softens and nourishes the skin = improves its condition. It enveloped my feet like a soft shawl. Pleasant scent.

My favorite ingredients:

• matricaria flower extract,
• lavender extract,
• acacia flower extract,
• rosemary leaf extract,
• urea,
• panthenol

Would we buy it again? Yes 👍

⓼ Face care accessory: Clarisse Cotton Rounds made of 100% cotton. 

This kind of product is something which I use almost every day - a little but necessary item. I must admit, the rounds helped remove eye and face makeup very efficiently. They absorbed the makeup removal products and tonic well enough to finely support the skin cleansing. All in all, good quality product.

Would I buy it again? Yes 👍

⓽ Hand care: Oriflame Diamonds & Pearls Hand Soap

The soap was a gift from my dear friend in Poland. When I lived in the country, I used to purchase Oriflame cosmetics (they originate in Sweden). I liked their face care and makeup items.

The soap bar smelled nice and felt very creamy on hands during washing them. It seemed more like a balm than a soap. Tiny pieces of mica were part of the soap formula. Although it did not foam much, it cleansed the hands well. I liked washing my hands with the soap bar. I wish the Oriflame products were available here (for the same price/prices as in Europe).

⓾ Expired -Throw Away Item

When I bought the hair conditioner, I was pleased with its quality and hair volumizing properties. I wrote more about the product here. I used it from time to time but the size of the bottle appeared to be too big for me and my short/medium length hair. The conditioner expired and became not good before I managed to reach the bottom of the container (20 oz/ 591ml).

Would I buy it again? Yes, but then I would need to use it very regularly to avoid the throwaway option.

My Cosmetic Side: Hair

Clean, neat hair and hairstyle can make the look. And the opposite. Greasy and untidy hair spoils it totally - unwashed and neglected hair says more than any fancy attire. At least, I think so.

My hair has always been straight and rather fine - it has never been thick at all. When I was in my teens, it also was more on the greasy side. Therefore, in my senior year, I had it permed (slightly) by my mom. My permed hair looked thicker and fluffier. The perm made it drier too so I was not bothered with the 'greasy again' problem.

When I got older, at some point, I started coloring my hair and I always did it at home. At first, I used some shades by L'Oreal only. Later I switched to Wella and Londa, which became my favorite brands as well.

When I moved to Texas, I was trying to find a similar hair dye shade which I used in Poland.
Unfortunately, neither Wella nor Londa coloring products are available in the local stores. For that reason, it took me almost two years to discover which brand and color would be the best for me and my hair. During that time, I experimented a lot - trying to get what I needed, I was buying a different hair dye every month. At the beginning, most of the time, the results were poor. Firstly, it was a grayish shade on my head - despite dying the hair with a blond, not gray hair color. The gray hair made me look older and feel bad/frustrated.

To make matters worse, after a few months, the hair endings felt as if they had been made of rubber. Of course, I knew it was bad, so I tried to treat my hair with some conditioners to improve its appearance and shape. From time to time, I also had my hair shortened and then, the bad endings were gone. Till the next hair coloring time, more or less.

I used two hair color brands once only and I knew I would never put those products on my hair  again. They either stung and burned my scalp horribly or caused my hair much thinner. I am not going to give the name of those items/brands here because I am aware, they may work perfectly well for somebody else.

Anyway, one day, about a week after using a certain hair dye, I needed to call a plumber to have the bathtub drained. When he came to fix the problem, it appeared the pipe had been blocked with bunches of my hair. Needless to say, I also noticed a dramatic change in the thickness of my hair. Disaster! I got scared but it also reminded me the time in my life, when due to totally different reasons, I lost a lot of hair as well. To stop the hair loss, many years ago, I used to make a mixture of raw egg yolk, grated onion, and castor oil. I cannot recall what the proportions of those ingredients were, but I do remember I put the mixture on my scalp, then I covered it with a piece of foil, and fixed a towel on my head/over it all. I did that twice a week for a few months. Every time, I kept the 'conditioner' on my head for about 15 to 20 minutes, then I shampooed the hair twice. It was a necessity because the onion smell was quite strong + the castor oil made the hair extra greasy as well. It was all a kind of nasty, but it did warm up my scalp and, somehow it worked. My hair grew back. It was nice to feel the new growing hairs, which were so soft and seemed like fluff when I brushed my hair with my fingers. I continued the treatment and my hair regular thickness got back. There was no more bold spaces/clearance on my scalp. Not to mention I was much happier too.

Nevertheless, that was why I thought about castor oil again. I looked for it in local stores but I was unsuccessful - no pure castor oil was available. Luckily, I found conditioners which had castor oil as one of their components. And I did apply such a  product on my hair two or three times a week, before hair washing time. Besides that, to strengthen my hair, I was also taking a vitamin supplement once a day.

My scalp saver :-)

I think I should have used the conditioner longer but, inconveniently, castor oil causes slight hair discoloration (it was eating my hair color), so I stopped that part of the treatment.

Well, in the meantime, I finally came across the right hair color taht makes my hair look and feel good. It is the L'Oreal Excellence series which I am content with. What I like about it is that, besides the coloring kit and regular conditioner, every LE box also contains hair endings protector, and it is to be applied 5 minutes before the hair dying itself.

All in all, my hair is in a much a better shape now. More over, despite using a hair color from time to time, the rubber-like endings have not come back.

Regular hair care & styling

1. Shampoos and conditioners
The ones which are best for my strands are meant for fine and colored hair or very gentle ones - for babies. I have been told by a dermatologist that it is not good to use the same kind of hair care products for a long time (it can be compared to a monotonous or one-sided diet), that is why I change them now and then.

2. The hair dryer with a diffuser which helps to dry the hair faster and, at the same time, protects it from overheating. After washing my hair and drying it gently with a towel, I use the hair dryer for a few minutes only. I stop when the hair is slightly damp.

3. The hot air brush is great for styling shorter and medium length hair. The styling works better if the hair is not totally dry. In the case of the long hair, the hot air brush is good only to style the hair endings - it can get stuck in the strands when you try to use it similarly to a curling iron.

Having been advised by a hairstylist, I also used a hair volumizing product while doing it. However, I noticed that it made the strands of my heavier which resulted in an increase of hair loss, comparing to the time when I did not use that volumizer. So I quit applying it. Moreover, to let my scalp 'breath', I stopped treating it with hair spray as well. Without it all, my hair is soft and seems so light and it does feel really good. And it looks natural too - no 'crash helmet' effect anymore!

Take good care of your scalp and hair, and do not make the mistakes I did. :-)

PS
L'Oreal Excellence is for (originally) dark hair.

Hair Styling Time: Thickening Lotion 06 by Redken

This was my first try of any hair care product by Redken. Since my fine look better with some volumizing support, I decided to get this lotion.

From the manufacturer:
'Thickening lotion all-over body builder. Bodifying hair lotion that builds extra volume and texture for full, fabulous style. The formula of this volumizing hair lotion is enriched with proteins that will reconstruct and strengthen hair while adding extra body and shine.'

The lotion has actually gel consistency.  It is quite efficient: every time, after washing my hair, I used a drop of the lotion and applied it to the hair endings. Then I blow-dried my hair a little bit and styled with a hot air brush. The results were always quite nice: fluffy, thickened hair and a lasting hair style. Yet, whenever I happened to use too much of this thickening product, I ended up with stiff and glued hair strands. All in all, when I avoided the unnecessary excess, all worked well.

The thickening lotion contains also witch hazel leaf water, hydrolyzed wheat protein and hydrolyzed soy protein.
06 means medium hair control.

About Color Me Happy Shampoo by Herbal Essences And Roses

I chose this shampoo for color-treated hair because it contains Rosa Centifolia flower extract. Both rose water and rose oil are known for their great properties, beneficial for the skin. They soften and smooth it, and make it look nice. That is why they are commonly used in skin care products such as lotions, toners, creams and others, including shampoos. Another good reason to use rose flower extracts as components of beauty products, is the amazing scent of roses which makes the cosmetics smell beautiful.
Rosa Centifolia, one of the ingredients of Color Me Happy Shampoo by Herbal Essences, is grown in Morocco. Some of the other ingredients included in the shampoo composition are corn silk extract and passiflora incarnata (known as maypop or purple passion flower) fruit extract.
Color Me Happy foams and cleans the hair quite well. I like it and I am glad I bought it.

This shampoo reminds me my visit in the Rose Valley located south of The Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. The area is famous the Rosa Damascena plantations and industry.  When the roses bloom, the valley is full of beautiful flowers and sweet, fragrant smell.
While visiting a small local rose distillery, I learned also a bit about the rose oil production process. During the picking season, rose petals are collected by hand (mostly by women) very early in the morning, before the dew touches and moistens the flowers. It is quite amazing that to make 1 kg of rose oil, 4000 kg of rose petals are needed. Can you imagine how many hours it takes to pick four tons of flowers?

Rose petals in the distillery - Rose Valley, Bulgaria

Anyway, at that time I purchased all kind of cosmetics containing rosa damascena in one of local shops of Kazanlak - the center of Bulgarian rose oil industry. The products were surprisingly very inexpensive there, so I got a supply of rose goodies for family and friends, not too much for myself though. I wish I could get those facial toners and body balms for the same price right now! I would get much more for my own beauty shelf this time ....

Rose distillery, Bulgaria

Each year, during the rose season, the festival of roses is held in Kazanlak and other towns of the Rose Valley. The celebrations include rose parade, beauty pageant (choosing the Queen of Roses) and many other attractions. If you ever happen to have a chance to visit that region, go there when the roses bloom!

Part of Rose Parade - Rose festival in Kazanlak

Hair Care: Silkience Silky-Smooth Conditioner

I bought this conditioner hoping it would be good but, since I had not used any Silkience Hair Care products before, I was not sure what I was buying.
I have been using it for some time and I am really pleased with the quality of the conditioner. Its creamy texture makes my hair smooth and easy to comb/style. On the other hand, it does not make the bands look greasy or flat. The conditioner (made in Canada) has a nice but not an overwhelming scent. The Silky-Smooth conditioner contains aloe vera (beneficial for the skin), panthenol and hydrolyzed soy proteins which improve the texture of hair.*
You couldn't get more, meaning both quality and quantity, for $1 (the price of the conditioner at a Dollar Tree store).   

From the label:
'Silkience is a registered trademark of Silkience Holdings, Inc. and Evergreen Consumer Brands, ULC.'
 

How I use it: After washing my hair with a shampoo, I apply the conditioner to the wet hair and then (I do not wait the advised 2-3 minutes) rinse it with water.

Silky-Smooth Conditioner - Ingredients

Aloe-derived ingredients enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness - See more at: http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/aloe-ingredient-family#sthash.muylHLYd.dpuf

Aloe-derived ingredients enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness - See more at: http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/aloe-ingredient-family#sthash.muylHLYd.dpuf

Aloe-derived ingredients enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness - See more at: http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/aloe-ingredient-family#sthash.muylHLYd.dpuf

Aloe-derived ingredients enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness - See more at: http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/aloe-ingredient-family#sthash.muylHLYd.dpuf

Aloe-derived ingredients enhance the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness - See more at: http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/aloe-ingredient-family#sthash.muylHLYd.dpufand hydrolyzed soy proteins which improve the body and texture of hair

* Find out more on these ingredients here.

Hair Care by Suave

Trying cosmetics by local brands (besides the ones which have been available in Europe) is like discovering new worlds. The names of the manufacturers most often say nothing to me, so I need to try a product to know what it is like and what to think about it.

The Refreshing Waterfall Mist Shampoo by Suave (Naturals) contains vitamin E - an antioxidant - but actually I chose it because of the 'Hypo-Allergenic' on the bottle. The product is really quite mild, considering the scalp, and it foams and cleans the hair quite well (which makes the shampoo efficient). Another positive side of the shampoo (in my opinion) is its rather light fragrance. Besides, the form and shape of the plastic bottle is convenient - easy to open and hold - using the product involves no effort, considering the container.
However, after applying the Waterfall Mist Shampoo, the hair is crying for a conditioner as it becomes dull and difficult to be combed.
Luckily The Refreshing Waterfall Mist Conditioner helps a lot and solves the problem. It does make the hair soft and moisturized although I never leave it on my hair for two minutes. I simply put the conditioner on my hair and wash it off. And the hair is ready to be styled and looks nice also after using the hair dryer - the conditioner does not make the hair strands heavy or greasy in anyway.

Some of the ingredients of the shampoo and conditioner by Suave Naturals are:

• Spirulina Maxima Extract: spirulina maxima is a microalga rich in proteins and known for its antioxidant properties;
• Mentha Aquatica Leaf Extract - conditioning agent;
• Nymphaea Alba (White Water-lily) Flower Extract.

Ingredients of Refreshing Waterfall Mist Conditioner

Ingredients of Refreshing Waterfall Mist Shampoo

All in all, quite a good quality for a very friendly price. Maybe in some time I will try some other hair care products by Suave too.