Phillip Kingsley Smooth & Shiny Review

You might remember my post last week on how dry my skin on my body had been…well my hair had been feeling quite similar as well. Ever seem I came back from holiday, it has just felt a bit dry and coarse. I think it was caused by all the lovely sunshine and salty water…. not complaining about that but my hair was definitely in desperate need of a fix.

So I picked up the Phillip Kingsley Smooth and Shiny trial pack whilst I was in the M&S beauty hall on Oxford Street recently. A little off topic but have you been in there? If not you really should check it out. They have done such a great job and have a nice range of brands/products.

Now onto the review. It’s no secret that I have a love affair with the Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer and have written about it in the past. I used to use it back when my hair was relaxed. If you don’t know about the brand, you definitely need to check them out.  Phillip Kingsley is one of the most renowned trichologists and has over 55 years of trichological experience. The retail brand is a trichologically driven hair and scalp range and has won numerous awards. The Elasticizer itself was originally created for the legendary Audrey Hepburn and is a hero product for many people.  However since going natural I have been trying a whole range of new products and thought it might be good to see how an old faithful would perform on my now curly afro hair.

Love Hair Online – Virgin Brazilian Hair Review 2 months

I am currently transitioning and haven’t relaxed my hair in about a year eeek!!! …more about that in a future natural hair post.,…. To be honest I haven’t quite figured out what to do with it yet, so for the last year I have mainly had my hair in a variation of extention type protective styles, be it braids, twists, weaves etc…So about two months ago I decided to install a weave using virgin brazilian hair and this is my personal experience and review.

I bought the brazilian hair from Love Hair Online and actually went into their office as I wanted to see the hair before I bought it, however you can also buy the hair directly from the website. I bought 4 packs of hair in three 18 inches, one 14 inch and a 12 inch top closure.

The Bad

When I went into their office, I was told that they had recently had a huge sale so unfortunately didn’t have too many options of hair for me to pick from. Additionally I noticed that some of the packs had quite a few of those annoying white strands of hair.

I bought a closure to use in the front as I really didn’t feel like leaving my hair out and for some reason whenever I curled my hair I found that the curls in the closure hair just didn’t last as long. Also I didn’t really like the texture of the closure hair after a few weeks as it felt a little rough.

The biggest negative for me is that the hair sheds quite a bit, it’s almost like it’s trying to get off the weft as quickly as possibly!!! especially when I comb/brush it or run my fingers through it…this is very annoying as two months into it you can see that it’s not as full as it used to be. If you are someone who likes a very full head of hair then you will definitely need more packs to balance out the shedding

The Good

Now onto the positives, I have to say that this brand is one of the most competitively priced virgin brazilian brands that I have found. They are actually a wholesale company but sell their hair to the public and regularly have a “mega sale day” where they offer the hair for even cheaper….be warned though the queue to buy the hair on those days is meant to be ridiculously long but as a friend mentioned “worth it”

I had originally planned to attend a mega sale day but they changed the date at the last minute. I still went down on that day as I was traveling shortly afterwards so couldn’t make it to the next date. To the brands credit they gave me a 10% discount as an apology which I thought was great customer service.

Finally aside from the shedding the hair had very minimal tangling and 2 months on it still looks great. Additionally the texture of the actual weave was quite nice

Maintenance and pictures

To maintain my hair at night I either put it into two bantu knots or a couple of plaits. Here are a few pictures of the hair, I simply took it out of a couple of plaits (I was going for a boho look) and bare in mind that its two months old so my regrowth in the front is quite shameful J - lol, don’t judge me guys J it’s coming out very soon.

The hair retails from £40 for a 12 inch to £110 for 32 inch and my top closure cost £60, check out their site for more information http://www.lovehaironline.com/

The hair before I used it - this is just some leftover hair so you can see what it looks like 

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#28 Hair Ye, Hair Ye: Phillip Kingsley’s Elasticizer Review

So over the last few weeks I have been trying out Phillip Kingsley’s Elasticizer- an intensive super moisturising treatment.

They say it’s a highly concentrated moisturising treatment that’s suitable for all hair types and helps to improve suppleness, stretch ability, bounce and shine.
You are meant to use it before shampooing by applying it to wet hair and covering it with a shower cap for 10-20minutes before washing.

Now what’s quite interesting, is it seems to have received mixed reviews – with some people saying they didn’t really notice any difference to their hair's condition or they actually felt like their hair came out coarser afterwards! Personally I loved, loved, and loved it! I think one of the reasons their hair came out coarser was because, wait for it – they just didn’t follow the instructions. You will have noticed that it mentioned leaving it on for 10-20 minutes, well several people were writing about leaving it for 45 minutes, 2 hours and even overnight.

Now the only reason I can be so smug is not because I always follow instructions (I have been known to strut around the house with conditioner + shower cap in my hair for hours much to the distress of Mr Lotions & Potions – who feels this wasn’t part of our marriage contract) but because when I bought my Elasticizer, I bought it in a salon and was lucky enough to be advised to follow the timing instructions carefully. This is because apparently the product works to strengthen your hair and return it to its natural healthier state prior to any damage. Now with this warning ringing in my head and with visions flashing of me washing it out and seeing my relaxed hair revert to its afro state – trust me I was watching my clock with precision.

My hair came out softer (its in the I need to be relaxed state again so this was a big deal), more manageable, silky and with continued use it seems much stronger as well.

You can buy Elasticizer from most salons and it’s also available at www.hqhair.com/ for £23.50

# My Frizz Free Hair

So I was sent some John Frieda Frizz –Ease products to test out and having tested them out I have to say that I really quite liked the range. The Straight Ahead Daily Shampoo and Style Activating Conditioner are said to have a straight defining complex which helps to smooth and tame hair strands and yes I agree that they did. While washing my hair it felt like the strands had been coated with moisture and they also felt sleeker than they normally do. The only negative I have was that it didn’t detangle my hair as much as I would have liked so I needed to apply a bit of elbow grease with my comb. The product that I like best, however, is the Miraculous Recovery Strengthening Triple Creme Masque which left my hair ultra shiny, completely hydrated, eased the styling process afterwards and left me looking ‘like I just stepped out of a salon’. The range is available at Boots and Superdrug Stores.

Xoxo