A quick note before I get going today: I realise I’ve only posted once during August, and really I haven’t got that much of an excuse aside from the fact that we’ve opened up a new department at work that we’ve been working really hard on. It means I’m spending a lot of time looking at blogs, thinking about blogs, emailing bloggers, and at the end of the day, I just want a break from blogs and looking at a little computer screen! As I said though, it’s not that much of an excuse, I’m just lazy. I’ve also had a bit of a blog identity crisis that I think a lot of us are going through at the moment. I’ve had this blog for more than 4 years now, it’s been through uni, graduation and 2 jobs with me, and it’s evolved and changed with me. I read this post Charlotte wrote the other day about becoming more self conscious in blogging, and I’ve definitely done that. My posts are now only ever written when they have a good set of outfit photos to go with them – I’ve even got a few sets of outfit photos that in the past I wouldn’t have thought twice about posting, but now I’m reluctant to put them up because I’m not sure they’re “good enough”.
So, I think there might be a little bit of a change around here from now on – I’m going to try not to be a super perfectionist, I’ll post what I want to, when I want to, and it won’t necessarily be outfit posts all the time. I’ve never thought of myself as a “fashion blogger”, more of a “lifestyle” and “personal style” blogger, but outfit posts became my most popular at some point, so I stuck with those. They’re not always what I want to do though, but I feel a bit stuck in them. My posts don’t have to have perfect pictures, and hopefully they won’t have so much rambling because I’ll be posting more frequently!
Right, onto this post now! I was contacted by an independent organic hair care company called Old Wives Tail recently to try out their products. I’m not that big on beauty, but Old Wives Tail sounded like the type of thing I’d go for, so I decided to have a look around, and I liked what I saw. You might remember back in January I decided I wanted to try to support more independent and British brands; at the time, I was referring to clothing, but I’ve come across a few beauty brands (including one on a market stall in York where I bought a lot of presents and a lip balm for myself) that are independent and made more locally to me than half way round the world.
Old Wives Tail drew me in when I read that they donate 10% of their profits to charities against animal testing and that their products are chemical free and environmentally friendly. I don’t pretend to I know a lot about these topics, but I do know that a lot of work and passion must be put into a company to hold these high standards. I also loved that the About page has a proper back story – you really get a feeling of why the brand was set up and how much it means to the owner, using an old family recipe for the hair care products that’s been tried and tested through the generations.
The company has several different types of hair treatment, and searching through the product page I made my decision based on the ingredients (what I thought would smell nice!) and what the product does. In the end I settled on the Argan & Rosemary Organic Oil Treatment which promises to nourish, condition and protect thick and unruly hair. The other treatments include ones for hair loss and to promote hair growth, which I decided I definitely don’t need – I think my hair has grown at least 8 inches over the past year, so I don’t need help with that! My hair is crazily thick though, even though it might not look it, I’m always subject to cries of terror from hairdressers when they realise just how much of it they have to get through – a hair appointment for me will generally take double the amount of time it does for anyone else! But keeping my hair in good condition is important to me, even if it is usually messy because I haven’t had the time to sort it out!
The treatment came in a little tub (100ml) which costs £13.99. It may seem expensive on first glance, but remember that this is an organic treatment, made to a specific recipe and is high quality. Most of the other oil treatments on the site appear to be liquid and “oily” (if that makes sense!), whereas this one is more of a solid consistency and is opaque. The smell in the tub is lovely – it’s natural and fresh, and you can definitely smell the rosemary. This will sound silly, but I have to tell you anyway – when I was younger I had a horse called Bertie, and we used to put an oil treatment on his hooves to keep them in good condition – essentially this smelled like that to me! And I promise, this isn’t a bad thing because I liked the smell of that – it was interesting to be reminded of it in this way though!
You apply the treatment to damp hair, then leave for at least an hour. I ended up wrapping my oiled up hair in a carrier bag on my head while I had my tea, because that’s just the way I work. I then washed it out with shampoo and conditioned the ends as usual.
So, how did it do? In the past I’ve used cheap oil treatments (ie. the one you pick up at the tills in Primark for £1) that haven’t made the tiniest difference to my hair. I’ve also tried coconut oil, but I used far too much and didn’t have long enough to wash it all out, so ended up having to go to choir with an greasy mess on my head. So I wasn’t really expecting groundbreaking results on the first use with this, but I’m pleasantly surprised with the effects I did have. Okay, it didn’t turn my hair into glamorous supermodel locks, but it definitely did have a bit more shine and was softer the next morning, staying less frizzy and knotty during the day too. It was easier to brush, especially since my hair gets tangled so easily, and had more of a sheen. I was worried that the smell of rosemary might stick too much and be overpowering, but it actually at first seemed to disappear when I washed it out, and there was a faint aroma left on my hair, but nothing too much and I like it. Above are pictures from the evening after I’d used the treatment after a day at work – you can see kind of how crazy thick my hair is there, but also that it turned out shiny and smooth.
I’m planning to use the treatment again (obviously, I still have plenty left!), and I imagine the results will only get better with use. You can also use very small amounts to make your hair more manageable after blow drying, or you can leave it on overnight wrapped in a warm towel for hair in bad condition. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t sleep if I did that, but I may try leaving it on for a few hours before rinsing sometime too since I’ve recently bleached my ends. Overall, better than all the hair oil treatments I’ve used in the past, in terms of smell and results, and I definitely like the feel of the company as a whole – I’d recommend them to anyone looking for organic hair treatments, and I’d definitely try out their other products in future too – think I’ve found a new favourite!
So, I think there might be a little bit of a change around here from now on – I’m going to try not to be a super perfectionist, I’ll post what I want to, when I want to, and it won’t necessarily be outfit posts all the time. I’ve never thought of myself as a “fashion blogger”, more of a “lifestyle” and “personal style” blogger, but outfit posts became my most popular at some point, so I stuck with those. They’re not always what I want to do though, but I feel a bit stuck in them. My posts don’t have to have perfect pictures, and hopefully they won’t have so much rambling because I’ll be posting more frequently!
Right, onto this post now! I was contacted by an independent organic hair care company called Old Wives Tail recently to try out their products. I’m not that big on beauty, but Old Wives Tail sounded like the type of thing I’d go for, so I decided to have a look around, and I liked what I saw. You might remember back in January I decided I wanted to try to support more independent and British brands; at the time, I was referring to clothing, but I’ve come across a few beauty brands (including one on a market stall in York where I bought a lot of presents and a lip balm for myself) that are independent and made more locally to me than half way round the world.
Old Wives Tail drew me in when I read that they donate 10% of their profits to charities against animal testing and that their products are chemical free and environmentally friendly. I don’t pretend to I know a lot about these topics, but I do know that a lot of work and passion must be put into a company to hold these high standards. I also loved that the About page has a proper back story – you really get a feeling of why the brand was set up and how much it means to the owner, using an old family recipe for the hair care products that’s been tried and tested through the generations.
The company has several different types of hair treatment, and searching through the product page I made my decision based on the ingredients (what I thought would smell nice!) and what the product does. In the end I settled on the Argan & Rosemary Organic Oil Treatment which promises to nourish, condition and protect thick and unruly hair. The other treatments include ones for hair loss and to promote hair growth, which I decided I definitely don’t need – I think my hair has grown at least 8 inches over the past year, so I don’t need help with that! My hair is crazily thick though, even though it might not look it, I’m always subject to cries of terror from hairdressers when they realise just how much of it they have to get through – a hair appointment for me will generally take double the amount of time it does for anyone else! But keeping my hair in good condition is important to me, even if it is usually messy because I haven’t had the time to sort it out!
The treatment came in a little tub (100ml) which costs £13.99. It may seem expensive on first glance, but remember that this is an organic treatment, made to a specific recipe and is high quality. Most of the other oil treatments on the site appear to be liquid and “oily” (if that makes sense!), whereas this one is more of a solid consistency and is opaque. The smell in the tub is lovely – it’s natural and fresh, and you can definitely smell the rosemary. This will sound silly, but I have to tell you anyway – when I was younger I had a horse called Bertie, and we used to put an oil treatment on his hooves to keep them in good condition – essentially this smelled like that to me! And I promise, this isn’t a bad thing because I liked the smell of that – it was interesting to be reminded of it in this way though!
You apply the treatment to damp hair, then leave for at least an hour. I ended up wrapping my oiled up hair in a carrier bag on my head while I had my tea, because that’s just the way I work. I then washed it out with shampoo and conditioned the ends as usual.
So, how did it do? In the past I’ve used cheap oil treatments (ie. the one you pick up at the tills in Primark for £1) that haven’t made the tiniest difference to my hair. I’ve also tried coconut oil, but I used far too much and didn’t have long enough to wash it all out, so ended up having to go to choir with an greasy mess on my head. So I wasn’t really expecting groundbreaking results on the first use with this, but I’m pleasantly surprised with the effects I did have. Okay, it didn’t turn my hair into glamorous supermodel locks, but it definitely did have a bit more shine and was softer the next morning, staying less frizzy and knotty during the day too. It was easier to brush, especially since my hair gets tangled so easily, and had more of a sheen. I was worried that the smell of rosemary might stick too much and be overpowering, but it actually at first seemed to disappear when I washed it out, and there was a faint aroma left on my hair, but nothing too much and I like it. Above are pictures from the evening after I’d used the treatment after a day at work – you can see kind of how crazy thick my hair is there, but also that it turned out shiny and smooth.
I’m planning to use the treatment again (obviously, I still have plenty left!), and I imagine the results will only get better with use. You can also use very small amounts to make your hair more manageable after blow drying, or you can leave it on overnight wrapped in a warm towel for hair in bad condition. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t sleep if I did that, but I may try leaving it on for a few hours before rinsing sometime too since I’ve recently bleached my ends. Overall, better than all the hair oil treatments I’ve used in the past, in terms of smell and results, and I definitely like the feel of the company as a whole – I’d recommend them to anyone looking for organic hair treatments, and I’d definitely try out their other products in future too – think I’ve found a new favourite!
