Friday 9 September 2011

review: argan oil

I haven't done beauty reviews before as my vision for Fabric Religion has always been first and foremost to become an established fashion blog. However, since I've chosen to share my new love for nail art, I thought it might be a nice addition to my blog to occasionally review a new product.
My friends will all know that I regularly complain about my split ends and my refusal to have hair cuts - I've had it cut once in the past year, and had it done by a close friend who has been trained in hairdressing as I trusted her to cut off the minimum amount. I have a sort of fear of hairdressers as they seem to have some scissor-happy language which means that when I say I want "one inch" off, it translates as "however much you want to cut off, three inches is absolutely fine". I've been trying to grow my hair long, whilst maintaining a healthy look, for the past three years, and have tried hair, skin and nail supplements, weekly intensive conditioners, regular haircuts, serums, leave-in conditioners... pretty much anything that promises length and health to my hair. At one point, I got so sick of my split ends that I went to the hairdressers and willingly had about three inches cut off so it was just below shoulder-length. It looked healthy for a while, and despite conditioning and using heat-protection products, the split ends were back in a matter of months. Since then, I've learnt to accept that this is just the way my hair is, and, although a better diet and better hydration would no doubt benefit my hair in the long-term, I want a quick fix.



I've heard about argan oil or moroccan oil before, and when I saw V05's Miracle Concentrate on offer in Boots (also currently on offer in Superdrug), I decided to give it a try. I think it was just over £3, usually retailing at about £5, which is the cheapest argan oil product I've seen so far. Lee Stafford and Proclere also sell argan oil treatments retailing at over £10. I've used the Miracle Concentrate for about a week now, and I am very impressed. I warm 4-5 drops (as I have long hair) between my hands and apply from the mid-lengths to the tips after towel-drying and before blow-drying. The product claims to reduce drying time, which I believe to be true - my hair would usually take up to 15 minutes to completely dry and now it takes just under 10 minutes. The result is that the ends of my hair are smooth, soft and sleek - miles away from the crunchy, dry texture I had before, and my split-ends are no longer noticeable. Sometimes I apply an extra 1-2 drops after I finish styling my hair for added shine, but the product is not greasy at all. The consistency is thinner than I would expect an oil to be, and the product has a lovely light scent. The pipette allows me to choose how many drops I wish to apply, and the tiny amount needed means that the 50ml bottle will last a while - I will definitely continue to use this product.

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