Hair Care

Alexandra Soveral - Sweet Orange & Rosemary Shampoo

We’re always wistfully wishing for thick and more luscious looks here at The Amazing Blog but the goal of achieving this is easier said than done! While many haircare products claim to nourish and strengthen hair, the reality is that many contain harsh chemical cleansers that actually strip the hair and scalp from all its natural oils, making it brittle and dry. That’s why we were thrilled to discover Alexandra Soveral’s Sweet Orange & Rosemary Shampoo’s with its nourishing natural and organic formula, which is why it is one of this week’s #amazingfinds.

Cult facialist Alexandra Soveral’s beauty and fragrance brand launched over than 10 years ago, all with the ethos of delivering natural artisanal products produced with cutting edge science. All Soveral‘s products contain natural raw ingredients that are hand-blended in small batches here in London. They strive to ensure sustainability, and have been awarded the Positive Luxury Butterfly mark for its clean formulas.

Their balancing Sweet Orange & Rosemary Shampoo have no parabens, animal products, harmful chemicals or fragrances and most importantly no sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). This shampoo is enriched with organic essential oils like sweet orange to vitalise the hair and rosemary to leave hair shiny and bouncy. An added bonus is that these oils give the shampoo a zesty, rosemary scent for a reviving smell every use. It doesn’t dry the scalp and is enriched with anti-inflammatory properties making it perfect for those who have an itchy or sensitive scalp. Since it doesn’t contain this drying foaming agent, the shampoo doesn’t lather as much (no SLS’s) as others might. With all these organic ingredients ensure hair is left shiny and luscious.

As the products are hand-blended and comprised of organic ingredients, the consistency and fragrance of the shampoo can vary depending on the season it’s produced. However, the ‘organic, antioxidant and multi-vitamin formula’ still remains the same.  We used the Sweet Orange & Rosemary Shampoo, as a frequent wash shampoo. We’re very happy to report that it not only helped to balance the pH of our hair and scalp, but is also suitable for coloured hair too – a big bonus in our eyes! To purchase a 250 ml bottle of the Sweet Orange & Rosemary Shampoo for £30 see here.

IdHair - Fiber Foam

Blowout hairstyles are back! They have been increasing in popularity for the past few years especially with the emergence of blow-dry bars. While it’s great to have smooth and sleek hair without the damage from the hot flat iron straighteners, the cost for a professional blow dry every couple weeks certainly adds up. That’s why at The Amazing Blog we’ve got into the habit to do our own home styling! To help us try and achieve salon-quality results, we’ve started using products that are specifically for blow drying. One product in particular, which is new to the UK, and has helped to give us good and lasting effects at-home blow dries is IdHair’s ELEMENTS Xclusive Blow Fiber Foam.

Inspired by their Nordic heritage, Danish brand IdHair launched the Elements Xclusive line in 2018. All products in the professional haircare and styling line are packaged in a recycled plastic bottle and are produced in IdHair’s own factory in Sweden. A part of the recently launched range, The BLOW series in the range includes products to use pre-styling before you blow dry your hair. The BLOW Fiber Foam in the series is a hair mousse that distributes fibres in your hair to add texture to hair before you blow dry. The mousse is made with ingredients derived mostly from nature and is free from gluten, sulfates, parabens and irritating perfumes. The Argan oil and other natural ingredients like blueberry extract, shea butter, rice and amethyst enriched in the mousse softens and nourishes hair while the fibres give an extra voluminous boost.

To use the IdHair ELEMENTS Xclusive Blow Fiber Foamshake and hold the bottle upside down to dispense a generous amount of the foam. Then, simply work a generous amount of mousse between your palms and evenly distribute into damp hair. Then you are ready to start blow-drying for full volumised and sleek hair. The BLOW Fiber Foam is currently not available online (coming soon) it will be priced at approximately £12.50 for a 200 ml bottle to find it at your nearest salon visit their website here.

Eleni & Chris - KeraMin Strengthening Shampoo & Conditioner and BoostaMin Instant Hair Treatment

Regular readers of The Amazing Blog will know that we're fans of the Scandinavian brand Eleni and Chris. We have recently reviewed their skincare products, the Bio-Cellulose Age Renewal Face and Eye Mask, and had the chance to try their ColourPro Shampoo and Conditioner and ColourPro Leave-In Treatment Spray in 2017.  

So when we had the  opportunity to try latest lauch KeraMin Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner as well as the BoostaMin Instant Hair Treatment. We grabbed at it with both hands! The shampoo and conditioner both have the brand’s signature ingredient: cloudberries. These small orange berries are native to cool temperate regions of the earth and have been called "Scandinavian gold" as they are high in magnesium, calcium, and vitamins A, B, C, E. These elements, coupled with proteins and moisture, help strengthen and rebuild hair from within. Keratin in the Strengthening Shampoo additionally repairs hair while carefully selected proteins in the Strengthening Conditioner add extra softness. After using this duo, your hair will look stronger and healthier.

Whereas The BoostaMin Instant Hair Treatment should be put in towel-dried hair after shampoo but before conditioner 1-2 times a week for the maximum effect of strong and radiant hair. This product is named rightly so because keratin, cloudberry, and other ingredients combine to create an immediate effect — leaving your hair smoother and shinier than it was minutes before. It works on all hair types and it’s paraben free. On top of that, it comes in individual 20ml packs  ready to throw in your bag and take on your travels. Afterall we all know how sun, sea and sand plays havoc with our crowning-glory!

Whether you need to repair your hair from heat damage or want to maintain your locks, these products are perfect additions to your shower. You can purchase the Shampoo here for €26 and the Conditioner here for €28 or buy both for €50. You can buy single packs of the hair treatment here for €8 or a pack of six for €44. All products are in Euros but they do ship to the UK. Also by the time this post goes live, it might well be included with the rest of the haircare products in £ on FeelUnique.com

Tyme - Upstaged Thermal Protectant

At The Amazing Blog we’ve collectively bought dozens of hair oils, masks, leave-in conditioners in an attempt to treat our heat damaged or coloured hair. Whilst some these products have helped in reversing the damage of hair dryers and hair dye, it’s great to discover just ONE product, that does what all! Step this way the creator of the revolutionary TYME Iron, who have now delved further into the world of haircare, by releasing their one-stop Upstaged Thermal Protectant. This spray that not only protects the hair it also helps to improves hair strength, shine and softness.  

TYME, is US based haircare company, whose mission is to '…create a hair care line that will perform its best.’ As someone who has dyed, straightened and curled their hair, those words sounded like music to my ears. It’s difficult to find products that help with my combination of damaged, fine and sometimes frizzy hair without weighing it down. However, I’m impressed with TYME’s Thermal Protectant spray that has really ‘upstaged’ my daily haircare routine.  

In addition to being heat resistant up to 300° C, Upstaged Thermal Protectant is also gluten, paraben and sulphate free so it doesn’t weigh down or cause unnecessary build up in the hair. The spray protects from heat and UV rays while giving hair volume, texture and shine in the process. Whether you have coarse, thin or even extensions in your hair, this spray will leave your locks looking pumped-up and shiny. A sulfate and paraben-free formula,  the key ingredient is extracted from the baobab tree, the hydrolysed adansonia digitata seed extract which is then infused into the heat protectant spray as the all-in-one repairing, strengthening and moisturising agent. Added Aloe Vera provides the shine and softness while additional polymers keep hair from feeling stiff and greasy. For optimal results, TYME recommends using the Upstage Thermal Protectant spray on towel-dried hair and comb through. After evenly distributing the spray, style as you would in your regular styling routine. So you can now reduce the number of products in your bathroom cabinet, but not forfeiting the results towards getting softer and stronger hair. See here to purchase your Upstage Thermal Protectant at £18.99 for a 120 ml bottle. We think you won’t be disappointed.

Paw Paw & Quinoa Colour Radiance Shampoo and Conditioner by Natural World.

At The Amazing Blog, we know what a pain it can be when your hair colour begins to fade, especially if you go into considerable costs to have the colour added in the first place! It can feel pointless to fight this struggle at times as often nothing seems able to prevent the fading, and some hair care products even increase its progression. Therefore, searching for a product that will act as a remedy to this problem is a priority of ours. Thankfully, we came across Natural World in this quest to evade the bland. Their new organic Paw Paw and Quinoa Colour Radiance Shampoo and Conditioner is remarkable, it could not only keep our hair soft and smooth but it also helped to prolong the life of our hair colour all the way up to our next touch-up!

The organic Paw Paw Oil helps to both revive, re-live and maintain the gloss that colouring can strip away; while the protein packed Quinoa Extract is the star ingredient that helps maintain the colour – who knew there was another reason to love quinoa. The four essential oils (Rosemary, Lemongrass, Orange and Ylang Ylang) give the products a beautiful and fruity scent which you won't be able to get enough of. Our hair was visibly softer and shinier as the shampoo and conditioner aided in keeping hair hydrated. 95% of the product is made from naturally derived ingredients, and these gentle, but powerful ingredients allow the products to fight the ill-effects of dying without stripping the dye away! The products are free of parabens, phosphates, phthalates, dyes and gluten – so you know the high magnitude of safe and natural ingredients that your hair is in close contact with.

So if you are worried about the lifespan of your hair colour, you can purchase the shampoo here for £6.00 and the conditioner here for £6.00 which is a wise and worthy investment for treating and maintaining the colour and lustre of your hair.