Vosene Kids - New Hair and Body products for scrumptious-smelling kids!

This summer Vosene Kids are adding three new products to their range of haircare and skincare for kids and Lara and Holly have had a chance to try them out.

In the Gentle to Skin range you'll soon find this exotic-smelling Caring Coconut & Mango Hair and Body Wash which comes in a 200ml bottle and reminds me of summer holidays!  With coconut oil to help sooth and cleanse sensitive skin it is suitable for use on both hair and body so makes an ideal two-in-one product to take with you on your travels.  Holly and Lara love this!

We also love the strong scents from the fruity goodness range, particularly the cirtussy scents of pink pomelo which you'll now find in both the Pink Pomelo & Vitamin C 2 in 1 Shampoo and also in the Vosene Kids Pink Pomelo & Vitamin C Hair & Body Wash.  Both products are paraben free so gentle on little people's skin.

The 2 in 1 shampoo leaves the girls hair feeling really clean. It is designed to also help reduce tangles in the hair.  The smell of this shampoo is so zingy and fresh and the girls have really come to enjoy the smell of Pink Pomelo.  With added Vitamin C, this shampoo offers a deep clean which gets rid of the build up of several days worth of school and nursery gunk!

The Pink Pomelo & Vitamin C Hair and Body wash from Vosene kids is now Lara's favourite bathtime product. We haven't tried using this directly on the hair but as a body wash it leaves the girls feeling fresh and clean and they love the smell and always seem happy and excited for bathtimes at present.

Look out for these great-smelling, deep-cleaning kids bathtime products from Vosene Kids hitting the shops very soon.

Back to School with Vosene Kids

So, the school term is back in full swing.  Beaver scouts term has started.  Swimming lessons have started.  It's all go in the life of a 6 year old.  This time last year I can clearly remember the added stress for the new school term of headlice.  Interestingly though, they came from Holly's nursery and I really wasn't prepared for my first experience of lice!  This year we are far better prepared with the Hair Heros from Vosene Kids.

The Vosene Kids advice centre has several tips for how to prevent and treat headlice.  I'll admit that, after last year's experience I have become a bit obsessed with checking the girls heads so that I can spot them early.  Number one on our list of defences this year is the Vosene Kids advanced conditioning defence spray which is packed full of tea tree essential oils.  Headlice hate tea tree oil but thankfully, I LOVE the smell of tea tree which is a strong, medicinal smell.  We use the spray after each wash instead of a traditional conditioner and it helps remove tangles as well as coating and scenting the hair.  It took me a few uses to get the right amount on (not enough = too many tangles, too much = heavy shiny hair).

Next up is the Vosene Kids Lice Repellant Conditioning Shampoo with citronella.  I know citronella more for its mozzie-repelling properties than headlice!  It is a nice light shampoo which seems to suit both girls well and leaves the hair clean.  I think I'd still want to use a conditioner or a spray afterwards as well.

Hopefully this autumn we can avoid the arrival of headlice but at least this term I am prepared.

For more advice on tackling the risk of back-to-school headlice and for your chance to winone of over 5000 Vosene Kids mini sets (perfect for use after swimming lessons!), visit the Vosene Kids Back to School hub.

Disclosure:  I was sent a bottle of each product for review.  So far...no headlice!

Naked Mini Knee High De-Tangling Shampoo Review

Here in the Mellow household we love our natural and organic skincare and bodycare products for both Mummy and baby so we were excited to find out about Naked Mini. I've known about Naked skincare and bodycare products for a while but until recently I didn't know that they made a range of products specifically for babies and young children - Naked Mini.

Holly and Lara have been trying out the Naked Mini Knee High De-Tangler Shampoo. Naked make products using active natural ingredients instead of harsh cosmetics - their products are all free from parabens, sulphates and petrochemicals. It is an approach to skincare and body care that we are very familiar with in the Mellow household and for the girls, it is the most sensible option as they both suffer a lot from dry and sensitive skin so I have to be extra cautious about what products I use on their skin. I always look for products for them which are free from parabens and SLS - it is a choice I made very early on and I'm glad to say that this is the Naked Mini mantra too.

Naked Mini products are for people who want a little more cleaning power for their baby's skin and hair than just plain old water (which is as natural as you can get!). The De-Tangler Shampoo contains aloe vera extract to help keep your baby's scalp soft and avoid cradle cap - we found it to leave Holly's hair and face feeling beautifully soft. The Shampoo does lather, despite being SLS-free and so we are able to use it on our big girl's hair too which is so long that it needs lots of love and attention these days.  We loved the very gentle lavender scent (I can find lavender very overpowering sometimes).

In the space of the last month Holly has reached the age where she has started to moan about getting water and shampoo in her eyes (as her big sister did at exactly the same age). Because the origins of the ingredients in the Naked Mini Knee High Shampoo are all natural there is less chance of irritation so I know that if either of the girls complains about sore eyes, it is almost certainly them just playing up.

I didn't really understand the 'knee high' reference in the product name (OK, Holly is knee-high on me... but so?) but I thought that the Knee-High De-Tangler Shampoo was a good product at an attractive price compared to other natural baby products (currently £2.99 for 250ml on the Naked website). Having used this shampoo I will certainly be looking at the Naked for Kids range for my older daughter too.

The Naked Mini range also includes Go Ga-Ga Gentle Body Wash, My First Butter and Cute as a Button Bath Foam. You can buy the baby bath and bodycare products from Boots and online at www.boots.com and www.nakedbodycare.co.uk.

John Frieda Everlasting Blonde Colour Preserving Shampoo and Conditioner Review

Three weeks ago I had my highlights done for the first time since Holly was born and my goodness it felt good. Not only did I get over 3 hours baby-free on a Saturday but I came out of my salon with a fresh blonde head of hair that made me feel ready for spring!

John Frieda sent me some of their new Everlasting Blonde Colour Preserving Shampoo and Everlasting Blonde Colour Preserving Conditioner to try out on my freshly blonded hair!

I would say that past experience has told me that it is hard to find a shampoo that keeps my colour looking fabulous and within the first few washes after getting my highlights done I notice a big difference in the brightness of colour. The John Frieda Colour Preserving products seem to have slowed that process and although it doesn't look like I'm fresh out of the salon, I am definitely impressed at how bright my highlights still seem several weeks on.

The very first time I used the shampoo I noticed instantly that it seemed to cope well with my notoriously tangly hair, especially given that hair can be very troublesome and dry after a full head of highlights. The shampoo felt good and didn't tangle my hair. The conditioner was even better. It doesn't feel heavy on my hair but it does seem to assist in the de-tangling (I'm always suspicious of a conditioner that eliminates my tangles!!!

I like the fact that the Everlasting Blonde products come in great big 250ml bottles as my hair is getting pretty long now and needs a lot of attention regularly.  You can also buy it in a smaller 50ml bottle too.

The scent of both the John Frieda shampoo and conditioner is delicate and almost imperceptible.  There are natural oils included on the ingredients list (safflower and bergamot) but I think there is a lot of man-made stuff too.

Is Dry Shampoo Really A Mum's Saviour?

Dry Shampoo such as Batiste, or the slightly trendier Girlz Only, is not a new trend, it's just that I'm a bit slow to the party! Until I started reading other mummy's blogs, I'd never even heard of the concept of dry shampoo and until just before Christmas I had never tried it. I'd read a LOT of rave reviews about dry shampoo and once even saw a blog post on a beauty blog with literally hundreds of comments in support of Batiste dry shampoo so I figured I must be missing out and have now had the chance to experience the wonder myself!

Dry shampoo is often touted (and regularly applauded) as a must-have product for new mums because it means you can spruce yourself up a bit in seconds without having to find the time for a full wash, blow dry and style. So, is dry shampoo REALLY every new mum's saviour?

Dry shampoo comes in an aerosol can. You spray it onto your dry (obviously) hair around the roots and then massage it into your head to absorb some of the greasiness and bring a bit of life back. Dry shampoo doesn't clean your hair in the sense of the word I know and understand... it disguises the normal signs of dirty hair by absorbing the head's oils through an ever-so-slightly powdery deposit on the hair. In some cases, a dry shampoo will also act a little like a hair spray and offer volume and bounce to the hair.

Both Batiste and Girlz Only come in a number of different scents to suit your mood or the event! I really enjoyed the different scents of the Girlz Only range and found the smell alone to perk up a miserable day! The Batiste fragrance I tried was a little less noticeable but I found the 'cleaning' power of Batiste to be a lot more reliable.

My ultimate challenge for dry shampoo will come in the days and weeks after birth when I can't face the bath or the the shower or baby simply won't let me escape to the bathroom. In the meantime, my current biggest challenge for the shampoo is on a Thursday afternoon when, having been swimming in a private pool with no shower facilities and no time to get home to wash my hair, I have to turn up at work in a presentable state by 2pm. I would say that Batiste just about manages to transform me from embarrassing wreck but even so, I'm still not brave enough to let my hair down at work.

I remain to be convinced that dry shampoo is going to revolutionise my life as a new mum!

The Sunday Review - Living Nature Balancing Shampoo & Conditioner

Images courtesy of mypure.co.uk

I can't say that I'm at all impressed with my latest hair care goodies from mypure.co.uk. I really haven't got on with the Balancing Natural Shampoo and Balancing Natural Conditioner.

My first impressions of the packaging were good. They look like the kind of brand that you would see in a salon - smart and understated. At £14.99 a bottle, they are the same price as I pay for my current brand of shampoo and conditioner at the salon and so I expected the same level of pampering and the same level of effectiveness but with the satisfaction of knowing that Living Nature products are sulfate, phthalate and paraben free. I was disappointed.

I have learned to expect my hair to be a bit rubbish when I first move to a new shampoo and conditioner but even after several uses, the lank heavy feeling didn't go away. The blurb about the balancing shampoo suggests that it is clarifying and helps to restore my hair's natural oil balance but all I have felt is that my hair is heavy and greasy.

The conditioner is a little better. It is a relatively light conditioner but it doesn't seem to help me reduce tangles which, after all, is the main reason why I use a conditioner.

As you can see, I am STILL on the lookout for my perfect shampoo and conditioner. Ho hum.

The Sunday Review - Lovea Shampoo aka My Shampoo Snobbery

In the first of two reviews today, I'm going to tell you about my shampoo snobbery. I'm really fussy about shampoo. In my entire life I have tried about a gazillion different brands but have found only 3 shampoos that I like enough to go back to. One of them stops hair loss so was really only useful after I stopped breast feeding, one of them costs far too much for it to be my every day shampoo and the other... well... given my general leaning towards all things natural and kind to your skin, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit, is Pantene.

So, when I was recently asked to try Lovea's Moroccan Argan Brilliance Shine Shampoo, the green, natural-cosmetics-loving side of me thought, “ooh”, while the practical, shampoo-snob in me though “bah”. I was prepared to give it a try.

Lovea is a French brand of certified organic hair and body products. Lovea has been recently launched in the UK by mypure.

Image courtesy of mypure.co.uk

It took me a while to work out that Argan is actually an ingredient, and not just a groovy-sounding name! Argan oil is a traditional Moroccan ingredient used to bring hair and skin back to life. This shampoo is specifically designed to wake up previously dull and lifeless hair. At present, it is 8 weeks since I had my hair cut and several months since I last had it coloured. My hair is definitely dull and lifeless but I'm waiting until just before our holiday to have it done. In the meantime, I shall perk my hair up a bit with Lovea.

The shampoo smells great and produces a good lather (something that is very rare in paraben-free cosmetics). I found that it left my hair with that wonderful feeling of being TOTALLY clean. I pay good money for that feeling at the hairdressers, and when I buy my salon shampoo products so it is great to be able to reproduce it with something less damaging to me, my hair and the environment. My hair feels a lot lighter and cleaner after using it than it does with my trusty Pantene.

Lovea shampoos are not expensive (they're not cheap either... just above normal really at about £4!). As an organic, natural alternative to supermarket and salon brands I think its great value and I'm happy to add it to my list of Emma-approved shampoos!