Original Sprout Miracle De-tangler

This week we are testing Original Sprout's Miracle Detangler. I read another blog post on the product and highlighted it in my monthly Britmums Beauty Round-Up. I was then lucky enough to be offered a bottle to test out on my daughter's completely unruly hair.

 

The quote, from my daughter, on first use on dry hair, when asked by my hubby what she thought half way through the usual hair brushing process, was;

 

"Normally I say ow, ow, ow, but this time I haven't said a single ow yet".

 

Praise indeed. Having received that rave review from a 7 year old, need I go on?

 

Well yes, I ought to really.....

Original Sprout: Shampoo and Conditioner review

Original Sprout's Tahitian Family Collection

The problem with trying out new shampoos is that, if you get it wrong, you look like a scarecrow. Not so with Original Sprout. My hair has never been as glossy nor as healthy looking.

I had been using the John Frieda range for coloured hair. Perfectly suitable, but my hair always felt a little fly-away, and it was difficult to style. Certainly it was difficult to run a brush through it, even after using the John Frieda conditioner.

So it was with great delight that, after two days of trialling the Original Sprout range, my hairbrush glided smoothly through my hair and it felt light, soft and controllable. I kid you not when I say this was an entirely new experience for me!

 

About Original Sprout

Inge Tritt founded the company after struggling to find suitable hair and skin products for her baby's bath time.

"Our founder delighted in her newborn daughter's thick hair. Wanting to use the safest bath products led to her trying natural baby shampoos. To her surprise, all the shampoos wreaked havoc to her daughter's hair and sensitive skin. To remedy the problem Inga created the first of it's kind, ultra moisturizing natural baby bath & styling products. The benefits of being a master stylist with professional experience & a mother with real life experience culminated into Original Sprout, a globally trusted natural family brand."

Boxdelux

It's only in the last couple of years, since Internet shopping really took off, that I heard about subscription boxes.

To start with it was 'fruit and veg' boxes, for those healthy eaters too busy to get to the local supermarket. Then came more refined meals in a box, for those of us watching calories and not trusting our own cooking. 

More recently it has been Beauty boxes. A great way to sample a selection of new beauty products, with the lovely advantage of a) the contents each month genuinely being a surprise and b) actually getting mail through the door, which, regardless of email, Twitter and Facebook, we all still get a kick out of. 

But what if you fancy trying more than just beauty products? What if you want a bit of beauty and a bit of luxury foods and, well, just a bit of a luxury surprise. 

Boxdelux has it covered. The June box arrived in a gorgeous black box, tissue paper-lined, with the following surprises:

Revitalash sample – worth £30

Ultrasun lip balm – worth £6

Ultrasun Factor 30 15ml – worth £2.85 (£19 per 100ml)

Aden Cosmetics Nail varnish – 3 pots in varying colours – all 3 are worth £7.50

Aden Cosmetics Lip Gloss - £6

Nakd Bar x 2 – 85p each so worth £1.70

We Are Tea tea bags x 2 – worth £2 together

Propercorn (varying flavours) – worth £1

Pampering facials: treat yourself at Pure

I have experienced an hour and a half of pure lush.

From the relaxing back massage, to the repeated application of cream after cream gently onto my face, to the head massage and the slightly weird and smelly, but incredibly relaxing, mud pack that bubbled away under my back as I lay there. It was all gorgeous.

Why should I bother with a facial?

Some of you lucky readers will have pure, silky, smooth, alabaster skin. Flawless and wrinkle-free; yours will be the faces that I glower jealously at, if I pass you on the street, for my skin, after nearly 40 years, is suffering.

5 tips for de-stressing after a busy Christmas day

I had a lovely Christmas day; good food, excellent gifts (both given and received), great company, and the magic that comes from having two children in the house under the age of 7.

We hosted the meal, as we have done the the last 6 years, and although there were 9 for dinner (it has been 13 before), it went pretty smoothly. Everyone ate their fill; there were 5 different puddings to choose from (if you had the room) and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of the drink that, for me, is a pure Christmas drink, port and lemonade. Yummy.

I am relaxing in front of the TV now and looking forward to Friday. Why? Because I have a pamper day planned. Shellac nails and a back massage in the morning and a cut, colour and blow-dry in the afternoon. Somehow, knowing that the pamper day was booked in, I was far more relaxed on Christmas day than I have been previously. So my first tip for post-Christmas de-stress? Get a treatment booked, be it hair, nails, facial, massage or otherwise. The rest of my list is below. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments or tweet me at @ymummyreally.

1. Get a pampering treatment booked, whether it's nails, hair, massage. Once it's booked you will have it to look forward to.
2. Get out for a walk in the fresh air. It's been a wet, dark winter here in the UK and it's all too easy to stay inside. Wrap up warm and face the weather. A good dose of fresh air will do you the world of good. (I sound like my mother, but of course she's right!)
3. Get some exercise. A good long walk (see tip number 2 above), or even better, a run. An exercise class, or a swim. It doesn't matter what it is and it doesn't matter if it's only 15 minutes. It's better than nothing and you will feel energised and more relaxed as a result.
4. Run yourself a bath, grab a book, play your favourite music. At the same time if possible. Chill out and turn off the phone.
5. Got the family visiting? Need some time to yourself? Then take a break. Even if you simply disappear off to your bedroom for 10 minutes to have a play on Twitter. Taking a small break from the folks will give you chance to take a breath and get ready for the next round of Charades!

I hope you are having a great festive season. Merry Christmas to all my readers. Thank you for visiting this small part of the web. Stick around for 2013! There'll be beauty, travel and parenting tips aplenty!

Blogging about beauty but over 30? Is it allowed?

I have been thinking a lot about the beauty element of this blog recently.  I have had occasion to nosy around on the web for other beauty blogs as part of my role as Britmumsbeauty round-up editor and I have noticed that Google search appears to have a liking for beauty blogs written by youngsters.  

When I say youngsters here I specifically mean anyone under 25 years old and that don’t have children.  The blogs that come up at the top of search engines including the words beauty and blog are all by women who appear to be industry experts, buying new beauty products on a daily basis, testing them all out, and dare I say it, enjoying the fact that they don’t actually need any make up (they are all under 25 years old with youth on their side after all), so if it goes wrong, or doesn’t suit their skin, it really doesn’t matter as they haven’t spent that much on it anyway, and their youth appears to provide them with a free pass to experiment with make-up styles happily without people pointing and staring in the street.

I, on the other hand, am fast approaching 40 years old and only started using make-up AT ALL 6 years ago when I returned to work after having my first daughter.

At fast-approaching-40, and an accountant, society seems to dictate that I am not allowed to make any make-up mistakes.  If I decide to try bright cerise lipstick, I probably shouldn’t do it the day I have an important meeting with my boss as I’ll get some really weird looks and, sorry but this is true, will have folk thinking a little less of my professionalism if I can’t even get basic make-up right.

So where does this leave those of us who desperately want to work out what suits us, at a time in our life where we are really starting to need the help, but missed the teenage-girls testing stage?

Are we even allowed to have an opinion on beauty products, having had so little testing time?  

Can we afford to switch products once we find something that works just to ‘try’ something else? Or will our fast-approaching-40 skin be too quick to punish us if we veer away from the few products we have discovered?

So what do you think? If we are ‘outside’ the beauty industry AND fast-approaching-40, can we talk about beauty products and express our opinions on them? And if we can, in the form of a blog, then where are all the fast-approaching-40 beauty bloggers hiding? 

Come on Google – find them for me! Or if you have one, or have a view on the subject, tell me in the comments below.

The BritMums beauty round-up: Collecting the best BritMums beauty blog posts each month

You may or may not be aware that I am lucky enough to write for the BritMums Blog.

I'm still not entirely sure how it happened.  One minute I was sending a light hearted tweet to the BritMums team suggesting that, of all the great round-ups that they regularly publish, they didn't appear to do a monthly round-up of beauty-related blog posts.  As a parenting and beauty blogger I was interested in what other mums were blogging about on the beauty front.  Were they blogging on this subject? Or once you have children, does it really all turn to talk of nappies to the exclusion of skin care or hair fashions?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on whether I'm having a productive writing day, the response that came back was; "Great idea, we'll set you up to start it next month".  Hmmmmm. What had I gotten myself into?

My reaction was a simultaneous "oh, pants" and "brilliant!"  And today my third beauty round-up, Shedding the pounds, goes live on the BritMums blog.

I now have to remember to bookmark the great blog posts I come across that provide skincare, make-up, haircare or other beauty advice.  It's an added pressure, but the great advantage is that I'm discovering some great tips and making new friends.  I am so pleased that the Britmums team had faith in me as I'm really enjoying myself.  Thank you!

This month it's all about weight loss.  Enjoy it and let me know what you think and what sort of beauty posts you'd like me to look out for.
 
Those of you who want to contact me, share your own beauty tips, or pass on your advice on how to be a yummy mummy, are welcome to comment below, or to join me on one of the many social networks I tend to roam in these days.  Sign up to follow via Google+, Twitter, Facebook or RSS feed via the feed reader of your choice (click the links here, or pick a coffee cup over on the right to click*)

If you're a BritMums blogger and you'd like your beauty posts featured in the monthly round-up, please comment below to let me know who you are, and sign up to follow via Google+, Twitter, Facebook or RSS feed via the feed reader of your choice (click the links here, or pick a coffee cup over on the right to click*) so you don't miss the monthly reminder to send me your links.  


*I am somewhat over excited by my new coffee cup social media icons. :-)

Before and After: Make-up in 5 minutes with Clarins

How to do your make-up in 5 minutes with Clarins.

I am trying to get over my fear of having my photograph taken.  It tends to reveal too many flaws for my liking, so I have photo album after photo album at home, we are up to number 46 now, with very few photographs of me in them.

So I decided to face my fear directly.

This is me before and after my make-up session this morning.

I have realised that the first is possibly the most embarrassing and poor photograph of me ever.  So if I can publish this post I will have faced up to my fears! I am such a wimp.  I get pretty red cheeks and a red nose now in the morning.  I am reliably informed it's because I'm 'getting on a bit'.  Nice.

Here's me less than 5 minutes later having popped on a little bit of Clarins Advanced Extra-Firming Day Lotion (SPF 15) rubbed on as if I was rubbing on suncream - with not much grace or sophistication; some Clarins SKin Illusion Foundation (SPF10), rubbed in with fingers like the moisturiser, there's no messing with brushes in this house; some Clarins Concealer, a quick dab with the brush then rubbed in gently with fingers again; a tiny tiny bit of eye shadow near the top lashes, mostly done with my finger; a quick brush of mascara, literally two upward strokes and a final splash of lip gloss, Clarins lip gloss of course, received from a good friend for Christmas.
 

It makes a subtle difference, and it took me next to no time at all. It has to be easy, as I'm clueless at this beauty thing really!

Many may say I didn't slap on enough!  But I never want make-up to look like make-up.  I prefer it if no-one can even tell I'm wearing make-up as long as they also think I look surprisingly healthy despite an age increasing approaching 40.

 

It's all Clarins, and I save up specifically for that, purely because it's the lovely lady at our local Boots Clarins counter that introduced me to make-up for the first time 4 years ago.  I don't trust any other products!

And don't look too closely at the moustache will you!  I'm dealing with that - honest!  Check out my post on my venture into Electrolysis here.

Oh, and I should say, that this is NOT a sponsored post.  I haven't received any freebies or benefits from Clarins whatsoever for writing this post.  I just love the products.

Will electrolysis stop me being a scummy mummy?

Avoiding being a scummy mummy would, for me, be a full time job.  My scummy confessions include;

1. Leaving hairs on my toes to grow too long before noticing I am turning into a hobbit and dealing with them with the nail scissors.
2. Not bothering to brush my hair, but throwing it into a scrunchie for the school run.
3. Only bothering with actual make-up on an official 'work' day or if I'm going out on a rare night out.
4. Leaving my roots far far too long before recolouring and thus generally looking a little like Cruella D'Evil.
5. Leaving the washing up in the hope that a washing up fairy will come and do it.  This is despite having a dishwasher as it appears that most of the children's crockery and cutlery we own is annoyingly NOT dishwasher safe.  (Are you listening, designers?  What were you thinking?!)

But my biggest confession and the one I get most embarrassed by; so I'm not sure how telling you will help, but hey, I've started so I'll finish; is that I have more and more hairs growing out of my chin and upper lip and instead of actually getting them properly waxed off I've just happily been snipping them with scissors for years.

To start with it was, obviously, one rogue hair.  I don't like plucking, so the scissors came out and I thought no more about it.  Over the years they appear to have been slowly breeding and now there is a veritable forest threatening.

Regular readers will know that it's only within the last year that I've started getting my eyebrows shaped having never touched them in any way previously, so you can imagine that I'm fairly clueless about this kind of thing.

Three weeks ago I lay on the beautician's table whilst she was shaping those bushy eyebrows and casually asked the question;

"So, do you think I need to do anything about my upper lip then?"

There wasn't even a pause.  No consideration took place.  There was only a gap tiny enough for her to breathe in in.

"Yes"

So there you go.  It's official.  I have a moustache and beard that is obviously obvious to all who see me.  My first thought was; why have none of my so-called friends mentioned this atrocity that I've been cultivating.  My second was: how do I get rid of it?

"So should I arrange a wax then?" I ask

There was a pause this time.  "I'm not sure that's the best option to be honest" she said "Have you considered electrolysis?"

E-what-ysis I thought to myself.  "Er no.  I don't know too much about it.  Could you remind me please?" I said.  I'm paraphrasing.  I probably really said "Huh? No? What?"

Only 2 weeks later and I've had 2 treatments. It's slightly painful, but no more than waxing and I find it pretty manageable.  I've not had a bad reaction (which is a risk apparently) and the hairs are slowly disappearing.

So what's electrolysis?

First port of call for research is probably the British Institute and Association of Electrolysis (BIAE) who confirm that it's the only medically approved form of permanent hair removal.

In layman's terms the beautician pops a small needle into the hair follicle (you hardly feel that), then heats the hair root (you feel it getting hot - very weird sensation), then teases out the hair. (It comes out really easily).

You need regular treatments to start with to ensure that, when the hair tries to regrow, the electrolysis catches it at the correct stage to permanently halt hair growth.

So everywhere then?

Apparently the hardest part for many woman is resisting the temptation to pluck stray hairs in the meantime.  Luckily my scissor happy approach is fine and won't detrimentally impact on the course of treatment.

I'm having it done weekly to start with; it only takes 10 minutes; which will then go to fortnightly, and eventually stop once all the hairs are killed off.  It's costing £12 per treatment at the moment.

I've worked out that regular indefinite waxing would end up being far more expensive, so I'm happy with the price.

I haven't yet plucked up the courage to actually look at any of the equipment she uses though.  I think if I saw the needle it would put me off.  So I go in there, lie down quick and close my eyes!  I am such a wimp!

Potential electrolysis side effects?

Temporary side effects can include redness, soreness and dryness.  There can also be an increased risk of ingrowing hairs.  But as long as these side effects are treated correctly, so long term damage should occur.

Natural Aloe products can be applied to moisturise the area.

Advice to patients include staying out of direct sun for a few days after treatment, and avoiding make-up or other products on the treated area for a couple of days.  So if you can't live without the foundation for a couple of days you may need to seriously consider how to manage that aspect.

Because the hair is treated one at a time, it's not the best solution for large areas; like the back or arms for example.

Always discuss your needs with an appropriately qualified professional.

You can find your nearest BIAE approved beautician here.

This post is inspired by the Yummy Scummy Mummy Meme started by Sonja at The Ramblings of a former Rock N Roll Mum.  I have Sarah, at Mum of Three World to thank for tagging me.  Sorry it took so long ladies and I hope you don't mind the multi-tasking nature of the post!  After all, multi-tasking is a standard state of being for all mums...

Home Hair Colouring: How to?

In the interests of saving money (all the more for the shoe fund) I have spent the last couple of years dying my hair at home.

Actually my hubby has had the job of slathering on the permanent colour, since I'm not at all convinced I wouldn't get dye all over the bathroom if I tried to do it myself.

I've nearly always dyed my hair, from light blonde to a rich red, and more recently  its natural brunette.  But with greys coming through at the roots so fast I needed to re-colour after 5 weeks, £50 a time at the hair salon was too expensive.

In this time, of home hair colouring; at a more reasonable £6 a time; I have learnt a few key tips I thought I'd share:

1.  Always do a strand test

I know it's boring.  I know it's difficult to arrange to do and wait for the results and only then get cracking with your own colouring.  Particularly as, once you've opened the bottle for the strand test, you have to use the colour within 24 hours usually.

It's also a 'do as I say, not as I do' one, because I never, ever do the strand test. But that's only because my mother's been dying my hair various shades of orange since I was 13 years old*.

Even so, each brand is different, so you should really test each one before you try.  Please don't risk it, especially if you've never coloured your hair before

2. Don't stray too far from your natural shade when home colouring

In general, those with light, pale and freckled skin will suit cooler hair shades; from platinum blonde, through strawberry blondes to light browns.  Darker skin tones will be better able to pull off darker hair.

You need to factor that in when choosing a colour; along with the colour of your eyebrows.  If your hair is substantially darker than your eyebrows it can overpower them.  At the other extreme, very dark eyebrows will stand out a mile (particularly if not well groomed) if teamed with platinum blonde hair.  Unless you have aspirations to colour the eyebrows as well (not a good plan at home by the way) then don't go too far from your natural shades.

3.  Protect your clothes and any furniture

We do this process sat on the sofa in the lounge.  I cover one end of the sofa with an old, dark blue towel, specifically allocated to home colouring duties only.  It's now got some lovely staining on it!

I also change into old clothes that I don't mind getting stained and place another old towel around my shoulders.

I keep meaning to invest in one of those capes that they make you wear at the salon, but just don't seem to get around to it.

4.  Protect your glasses

I wear glasses.  If I start colouring my hair without putting contact lenses in, I suddenly find that I am sat there, with nothing to do, for 40 minutes whilst the colour works it's magic.  Often I want to read, or watch the TV.  But I can't put my glasses on for fear of staining their arms.

The solution?  Take 2 plastic sandwich bags (or nappy bags), and place them over each arm.  Secure with sandwich bag ties.  It's not a handsome look; but you've got purple (it always seems to be purple) gunk all over your head, a towel wrapped around you and your scruffy clothes on.  Good looks are not on the agenda at this point.

5.  Get rid of any staining at the temples quickly

When you've applied the colour (obviously following the instructions on the box to the letter) and have waited the requisite length of time, you will need to rinse it off.  HOWEVER, if you have the colour on your forehead and around your temples you need to pause for a moment for this little task to stop the colour staining your skin in those areas.

I may seem to go off track here, but stay with me.

You know you can use a ball of blu-tack to get other remnants of blu-tack off a wall without scraping?  You simply press the ball against the scrap and it sticks and pulls off the scrap.

Well, hair colour works the same way.  If you get some around the edge of your temples, you can, whilst wearing your plastic gloves (obviously), rub that area of skin gently with the colour that's on your hair.  Give the area a little massage.  Then you can rinse off the colour and the colour should pull any staining off the skin.

It won't necessarily have got it all off, but it will have taken most and loosened the rest.  So when you've finished rinsing the hair and shampooed with a mild shampoo (children's shampoos are good after colouring as they are nice and mild and don't try and strip the colour back out!), you can then rub any remaining staining on the skin with a wet wipe.

Yes, those wet wipes come in handy for all sorts of things.

If you don't get the staining off with the wipe now, you may be stuck with it for a while, so scrub any reluctant bits hard!

I hope that was helpful.  Good luck!  



*She'd like to claim it was red, but my school colleagues would disagree.  And did.  Ruthlessly.

Save time toning your bum; with this exercise whilst brushing your teeth!

 I made a hideous mistake this weekend.  I got on the scales.

NNNOOOOO! I hear you cry.  Why, oh why, would I do that?  I honestly don't know.  It was Mother's Day and for a reason know only to my subconscious I stepped foot on those scales for the first time in over a year.

I am 5ft 6 inches tall.  I'm telling you that so you can make a judgement as to how bad, or not, the resulting 'weight' was.

11 stone 8 pounds.  That's apparently 73.48 kg (conversion chart here)

Since having children it seems to be true that if I hover around 11 stone I can fit, comfortably, in size 12 trousers.  At 11 stone 8, most of my wardrobe doesn't fit.  I am wearing jeans that, as I am writing this, I am desperate to take off, as the belt is digging into my tummy.  I know it's not a pretty picture I am painting, but I feel the need to share, in the hope it'll stop me reaching for yet another biscuit.

So I have started making changes.  One of the first is to try and cram exercise into every possible part of the day I can, but without actually spending special extra time exercising.  How?

My first trick is going to be to do the Yummy Mummy? Really? Bum exercise whilst brushing my teeth.

The Yummy Mummy? Really? Bum Exercise

Whilst stood in front of the sink; brushing teeth with one hand; use the other hand to steady yourself against the sink for balance  (ideally don't hold on at all).

Stand with your feet together.  Now take your right foot and place it behind your left at a right angle.  You should have the toes on your right foot (and your right knee) pointing to your right, and the heel pointing to your left.  The middle of your right foot, the arch, should be resting against the heel of your left foot.

Now lift your right foot up off the ground slightly (a couple of millimetres), bending the knee and keep your foot flexed.  You are ready to exercise your right bum cheek.  Lift the right foot behind you, keeping the foot angled from right to left and flexed (not pointed), and keeping the bend in the knee the same.

It won't go very high up, and the height doesn't really matter.  What does matter is that the lifting should be felt in your bum!  Trust me that if you are doing it right you'll feel it.

Return foot to the lowered position, and then keep lifting and lowering.  I do roughly 30 up-downs by the second hand on the clock.  Up for 1 count, down on 2, up on 3.  I do 1 minute on one side, and another minute on the other side.

That's the 2 minutes of teeth brushing done too.

Multi-tasking at it's best.  No time wasted, teeth brushed and bum toned.

Anyone got any others?

Eat your way to healthy hair!

It's often been said that the appearance of your hair has the most impact on your overall look.  You've only got to watch a couple of make-over shows to notice that no amount of make-up will compensate for a poor, unhealthy looking barnet.

So what can you do to maximise your chances of having healthy, glossy hair?

Look to your diet and eat your way to healthy hair.  All you mummies out there will know that the body is very good at getting nutrients to the important places first.  When you are pregnant, and so nauseous you can barely eat, it's easy to worry about the baby getting the nutrients it needs.  But it's likely they are getting plenty - it's just you, your poor body, that is usually second in the pecking order.  Your body is pretty clever at prioritising!

Similarly the nutrients you take in will go first and foremost to the vital organs.  And unfortunately for our appearance, our hair is a long way down the list.  So if your diet is lacking, your hair will certainly be loosing out.  It'll be dry and slow to grow, just like a plant starved of water and food.

If you are eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables - come on, you know the score - then you are giving your hair the best chance to grow at it's maximum speed, and be strong and healthy.

And what if you are doing all that, and still have problems?  Maybe these tips will help.

Dull hair?

If your hair is really dull it is most likely to be caused by chemical processes like bleaching.  The dullness is a result of the cuticle on the hair lifting, instead of lying flat.  However, if you haven't processed your hair, you may have a lack of protein in your diet.  Try gradually increasing the level of protein you eat (lean meat, poultry, fish, seeds, pulses, nuts and dairy products).  Don't do it too fast though.  Hair only grows at around 14mm a month (when supplied with appropriate nutrients) and so any changes due to dietary changes won't be noticeable for a good three months.

Thinning hair?
This can be caused by an iron deficiency.  Iron is found primarily in red meat and green vegetables and you need roughly 14mg per day.

Also, be aware of any supplements you are taking.  If they cumulatively result in a high Vitamin A intake, this can also cause thinning hair and too much Vitamin A is toxic.  Try and achieve the nutrients required through an increase in fruit and vegetable intake rather than via supplements if you can.

Suddenly oily hair?
If you have always had slightly oily hair, then it is genetically determined and you can't do much about it.  But if it suddenly turns oily check your spice intake.  Foods that make you sweat, like hot curries, similarly cause increases in oil levels on your scalp - which sweats too!

Dry hair?
Is your hair normally flyaway and frizzy?  This is often due to an essential fatty acid deficiency.  Eating nuts, seeds and, of course, oily fish, will help.  These foods will also provide the proteins needed to keep the hair glossy. 

I hope those tips help.  But don't forget the all important cut.  A good cut can camouflage a multitude of sins!


For 5 quick beauty tips for busy women click here.
For our quick 'jargon' buster - what ingredients are in my skin care products and what do they do? click here.