Hair Myths 101: Hair Oils

Long time no see everyone! I thought I'd get back into the swing of blogging with a second edition of Hair Myths 101 :). We're going to be discussing a very much loved topic in the beauty world: Oils. Hopefully this post will clear up a few misconceptions, which unfortunately I have seen floating around the beauty community.

Before we get on with the myths, I just want to quickly explain what hair oils are meant to do. Sounds like a silly thing to explain to most people, but there have been a few misconceptions about them lately. Hair oils are to be used to nourish and hydrate and repair your hair. Now I know some of you are thinking: "but doesn't my conditioner do that?". Nope. Conditioners are designed to coat your hair to prevent tangles and keep moisture in, so in other words they help prevent your hair from drying out, but don't actually put moisture into your hair. For further details, check out my last Hair Myth 101 post here. So let's move on to the actual myths!

Myth #1: "Just leave it in your hair for 15-30 minutes". You hear this phrase in almost every youtube hair mask tutorial unfortunately. But luckily I'm here to tell you that this is absolutely pointless! Oils do not soak into hair immediately. It occurs gradually, ranging from a few hours to up to 24 hours or more! Therefore, leaving a hair oil in for half an hour will do pretty much nothing for your hair. My best advice is to apply your oil before going to bed and leave it in overnight. That'll give you a good 7-10 hours to properly penetrate and hydrate your hair. Also, more is more when it comes to how much to apply.

Myth #2: "All oils hydrate your hair". Nope! Only a few types of oils actually penetrate your hair, the top few being Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, and Castor Oil. Coconut Oil is the most effective. These oils are the only ones that deeply hydrate the hair, to the very cortex of a hair strand.

Now, the rest of the oils kinda, sorta hydrate/penetrate the hair, but only the very outer layer/cuticle of the hair strand. Examples of this type of oil include: olive oil, argan oil (which always made me wonder why people call it the holy grail oil for hair...), avacado oil, shea butter, etc. These type of oils are ok to use to prevent split ends and knots, but don't do a good job at injecting moisture into your hair.

And there are two oils that don't do anything to your hair: Mineral Oil and Jojoba Oil (too big to penetrate the hair).

As always, this Hair Myths series is meant to educate the world about proper hair care so please spread the word by sharing this post and letting your fellow girlfriends know! :). If you wish to read more on this particular topic (as well as have the full list of oils) or just do some general research on haircare, check out this blog (link here). It's written by an awesome female scientist who examines haircare with scientific experiments and shows you the results through an actual microscope!

Next week's Hair Myths 101 will be on Sulfates :).

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Review: Sally Hershberger - Super Hydrating Super Keratin Spray

Ladies, have you ever asked a man in your life, whether it be your boyfriend or father, to get you something at the store, and they come back with something totally different? *nods understandingly*. Well, the same happened to me a while back. I had asked my dad to pick up my beloved Sally Hershberger Supreme Lift since he was flying to the States and Sally Hershberger products aren't sold here in Europe. Oh ladies, what I can tell you.... When you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself or send in a fellow female to the job.

So to sum up the story, I ended up receiving the Super Hydrating Super Keratin spray instead. I was disappointed of course, but I was also curious to try another product by Sally Hershberger. Sadly, it did not impress.

I'm always keen to try out hydrating sprays, mainly because I have yet to find one I genuinely really like. Unfortunately, this spray did the opposite of what it had promised. It made my hair feel dry and just unpleasant to touch, not too mention also harder to brush through. And as if that wasn't enough, it also made my hair get greasy quite quickly. Needless to say, a huge disappointment. I have a feeling it might be due to the keratin, but I can't say for certain.

So do I have anything good to say about this spray? Well... it smells nice and has a very nice fine spray that sprays evenly. Yup, that's pretty much. Nice fragrance and good packaging & spray, but with horrible effects. I do have a feeling though, that it might just be my hair. It might be the case that since my hair is so fine, it can't handle that much protein in a spray. So I can't be certain if everyone will have bad results with this product. But definitely something to consider if you're debating on trying it out.

Ah well, t'is the life of a beauty blogger. Also, if anyone knows a website that sells Sally Hershberger hair products internationally, please let me know! :)

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Review: Kiko Sun Lovers Blush in 'Ipanema Peach'

Sorry for the long hiatus everyone! One of those "life got in the way" moments, but I plan on making it up with a week of blog posts, every single day :). I thought I'd get back into the swing of things by showing you one of my absolute favourite products that I've been loving recently. 

One of the perks of now living in Europe is definitely trying out products by the Italian brand "Kiko". They have tons of amazing stuff, all for very affordable prices. I'd been kind of stuck in a rut with my current blushes and really wanted to find something new. I went into Kiko with the intention of buying a blush that costed no more than 5 euros (which they do stock plenty of), but of course, I ended up falling in love with the most expensive one there (13.90 euros), that is limited edition. Luckily, I have no regrets whatsoever.

The shade is called Ipanema Peach and it is just beaauutiful. It's essentially a blush, highlighter, and bronzer all in one. You have one side with a very beautiful warm pinky colour with a gold shimmer to it, and the other side with a warm bronzer with a hint of hot pink blush running through it. It's just stunning. And to add to it's glorious baked-blush self, it's also extremely pigmented, so a light hand is definitely needed with this product.

I'm all about the blushes with highlight at the moment. However, I'm not a fan of anything glittery. Thankfully, the shimmer is really fine in this blush so it just gives you a natural glow on the cheeks. I'm quite pale, but this blush still somehow works for me. Though I can see why the line is called "Sun Lovers" because this would look especially gorgeous with a tan. 

Also, can we have just a moment to awe at the beautiful packaging? A sturdy rose gold compact that somehow manages to look high end. And a huge mirror to go with it. What more could you want?

This blush will definitely be a staple of mine during the summer. So I'd like to know, what are your favourite products from Kiko? Any recommendations of what to try next would be much appreciated :)

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