Hair basics

Okays let's talk about shampoo and conditioner. Because that's interesting.

No seriously, it will be! Have you ever heard of a hair brand called Davines? I hadn't until about 6 months ago. Both Laura and Simone use it and as I was bored/frustrated with my L'oreal Mythic Oil shampoo and conditioner (very average) so I made the switch.

Before I start waffling about this though I should tell you about my hair: the texture is dry and my main concern is volume and condition. My hair has always moulted but I would like to try and reduce that by keeping my scalp as healthy as possible - especially as the water in Dubai is TERRIBLE for your hair and it's common to start losing a lot of it.

The moulting factor is one of the reasons why I tried the Energizing Shampoo first. This is one of the best shampoos I have tried for a long time. Okay, this is not the sweetest smelling formulation - it's medicinal and reminds me of coal tar - but I think it's a great product.

As with the Phyto line, you massage the shampoo in, leave it for a few minutes and then rinse off. You will notice a cooling sensation and once your hair is dry it will be noticeably shiny and fuller.

At the moment I use that once a week and then alternate with the Replumping. I do that more because I have it - rather than love it. The Replumping I won't repurchase - nice, but nothing to write home about - but the Energizing is a must have.

Right so once this is done I let my hair air dry and then apply something that I think is pretty amazing.

From the same Energizing line, this is the "Gel". You put this on the scalp - I apply it via the nozzle directly - massage in, and then feel the tingle. The cooling buzz is probably responsible for me thinking that this works but I really feel that this makes my scalp happy. If nothing else, when paired with the shampoo it gives intense shine and a nice root boost that negates the need for any other product.

At this point I typically go to bed - I only wash my hair at night because the thought of having to do all the drying and conical wanding at once depresses me. When I eventually wake up it's time to use the conical wand. I use the same Babyliss wand and the same technique that I blogged about before - Link! The only difference these days is the addition of the texturising spray.

Oribe is the bees knees. But it should be. This canister of air and powder costs a fortune and I refuse to believe that this cannot be duped. I have done some preliminary investigations and have concluded that:

a) Charles Worthington is NOT a worthy dupe. If we wanted a dupe for Umberto Giannini's Backcomb in a Bottle then this would be it because they are both of the sticky/hairspray formula, something that is the total opposite of Oribe.

b) Vo5 Give Me Texture spray is pretty close. It's a little bit thinner and doesn't give the same amount of volume but the price is low and you can therefore spray as liberally as you want to. I want backups upon backups of this.

c) I constantly loose lids to products like this.

Once I have sprayed my hair into submission I am pretty much done and ready to go.

Insert non essential but lovely picture of Mate, the Border Collie, and my hair :)

It's not quite "wash and go" is it but I think it's pretty simple. The key products are probably the Energizing Gel and the texturising sprays. If you want condition and volume then I think these two are a great combination.

Now tell me what are your hair must haves?