Summer care for dry hair.

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the glorious weather we are having!

Today I'm going to share my coconut oil hair mask with you.

As you probably all know, it is extremely important to look after your hair all year round but during the summer months is when I pay extra care and attention to my hair. A lot of sun exposure can take its toll on you hair, causing it to become dry and brittle. I find using this coconut oil mask at least once every 2 weeks is very beneficial for my hair.

Why is coconut oil so good for your hair?

• It stimulates hair growth, improves strength and flexibility by working deep into the follicles.
• It can help to fight dandruff and provides relief from dryness on the scalp.
• It adds shine, softens and moisturises dry hair.
• Preserves hair's natural proteins, which helps repair damage such as breakage and split ends.

Coconut oil is also good for your skin and is known to have health benefits (but I'll save that for another post!)


What you will need:

• pure/organic virgin coconut oil (available in all supermarkets and Boots)
• wide tooth comb
• shower cap or plastic bag (optional)
• bowl
• tablespoon
• towel

Directions:

1. Start with dry hair. 
2. Using a wide tooth comb, gently comb through your hair to get rid of any knots.
3. Part your hair down the middle and then part the top and bottom sections of you hair and tie or clip each section up. (you should have four sections of hair in total.)
4. Place a little coconut oil in a bowl and heat in the microwave until it has mostly melted and is of a runny consistency. (If your hair is long and thick, start with a tablespoon and add more to the bowl as you work through the sections of your hair. If you have fine or short hair, start with half a tablespoon - you can always add more, a little oil goes a long way.)
5. Starting with one quarter of your hair, apply the oil onto the ends of your hair and work your way up to your scalp or vice versa. Add more oil when needed, your hair should be completely saturated with the oil. Repeat this step on the other sections of your hair.
6. Once the oil is distributed, comb the oil through your hair from roots to ends.
7. Place your hair in a loose bun or clip and cover with a shower cap.
8. Leave on for 30 minutes to an hour.
9. Shampoo you hair twice and make sure you work the shampoo thoroughly through your hair before rinsing.
10. Apply a leave-in conditioner (this is optional) and style your hair as normal. If you are using heat appliances, don't forget to use heat protection spray on your hair.

et voilà, you should now have soft, shiny, manageable hair! 

 

(Pictures taken with Canon A3300is)

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful!

Please remember, I am not a professional hairdresser. I try my best to research everything before I try it out for myself. I have been doing this routine for a number of years and find that it works for me. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section and I will answer them as best as I can.

Do you have any 'holy grail' hair masks that you use regularly? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Natasha Carly x

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Bloglovin' / Pinterest

Follow me on Instagram @prettylittlelives

Natur Vital Colour Pack - Review

Hello everyone, I hope you are well!

Today I am reviewing the Natur Vital Colour Pack* in the colour Chesnut.

I used this to top up my hair colour after I dyed it darker a few weeks ago. My current hair colour is medium/dark brown and this pack worked perfectly on my colour.

The treatment packs are available from the Natur Vital website and retail at £9.99 which I think is a great price for the quality of the product.

This product does contain dye so I treated this the same as if I was using a regular hair dye and applied Vaseline around my hair line and on my neck before using the product to prevent any staining. I also used old towels and made sure the area I was working in was covered up etc.

(Pictures taken with Nikon D3100)

Active Ingredients

• Wheat germ - Used in cosmetics for its vitamin properties and restructuring of hair keratin and antioxidants.
• Sunflower seed extract - Protects colour of natural and coloured hair.
• Henna- Natural hair dye that has strengthening properties.
• Aloe Vera - Moisturises and sooths skin.

Directions

Step 1 Shampoo - Apply the cleansing shampoo to wet hair and massage in gently. Leave on hair for a few minutes and rinse out with plenty of warm water.

Step 2 Mask - After rinsing out the shampoo apply the mask on to wet hair. Comb through from the roots to ends and leave to work for 3-5 minutes. During this time, wash hands thoroughly to avoid any staining. Rinse hair thoroughly and style as usual.

Summary

Pros:

• Lasts a long time.
• Can be used on coloured and non-coloured hair.
• Makes hair shiny.
• Good amount of product.
• Doesn't smell too strong

Cons:

• Lessens contrast of colours on highlighted hair.

Overall my experience with this product was good and I would definitely use this again!
This product worked really well in my hair and the colour was noticeably different, I was very please at how shiny and glossy my hair was afterwards!

Have you tried this product before or any other products by Natur Vital?

*Disclaimer PR sample - My opinions are still 100% honest

Natasha Carly x

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

July Favourites

Hello everyone, hope you are well!

Here are my July Favourites, apologies for being a tad late but better late than never!

Most of the products are hair products as I have been working on getting my hair healthier.

 (Taken with Canon A3300is)

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Cream 150ml

I use this after I've washed my hair and after using my Aussie Leave-in Conditioner. It helps to make my hair soft and more manageable. I have also noticed that it stops my hair from looking so frizzy too! This product has raspberry and silk extracts and smells incredible!!

It retails at around £4.79 but it is currently on offer in Boots (view offer)

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Intensive Mask 200ml

Along with the other Spit End Protection products by Herbal Essences, I started using this Intensive Mask at the beginning of July and have to say my hair has improved so much! I have mentioned to you before that I prefer to use masks as I feel my hair needs more of a deep condition than what I get with a regular conditioner. I think this product is a must have! It is one of my top favourite hair masks! This product retails at £3.49 but is currently on offer in Superdrug (view offer)

Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Overnight Creme 120ml

I bought this at the end of June and since then I haven't stopped using it! It works really well on my hair and makes it feel really soft. I apply the product onto towel dried hair and leave it on my hair for the night, when I wake up the next morning my hair is so much more manageable and doesn't get knotted together as easily as it usually does! I will be doing a full review on this product so I don't really want to say too much about it here! This Overnight Creme retails at £4.99 but is currently on offer at Superdrug (view offer)

OXY Seaweed Power Fresh Skin Wash 150ml

You have probably been expecting this to be in my favourites since I did a full review on it which you can read here. I like how clean my skin feels after I've used it, the tiny microbeads help to work deep into the skin. This product is high quality and really inexpensive, for £5.99 you can't go wrong!

Soap & Glory Hand Food 125ml

I have been trying to grow my nails recently so as well as trying out hardening polishes I have been using hand cream more often to see if that helps them to grow. I love the smell of all Soap & Glory products and this is definitely no exception. The smell is amazing! This hand cream costs £5.00 which to me is very reasonable! I will definitely be repurchasing this!

Primark 'Tangle Teezer'

This 'Tangle Teezer' is brilliant, it cost me £1.50 and does a really great job of getting out knots in my hair without tearing. It is suitable to use on both wet and dry hair, I have been using this instead of a wide tooth comb since I got it. I think it works so much better than a comb. You can read my full review here.

I would love to know what products you were enjoying last month! Let me know in a comment!

Natasha Carly x

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton