You've got the love.

Precisely three months ago i decided to embark on a journey of hair growth, strictly the hair on my head of course. After my lovely hair dresser announced that my shoulder length hair was simply just 'done' growing, i set out to prove her (and my stubborn locks) wrong. I decided the way forward was solving the problem deep down, completing changing my routine to conditioning it back to health, in order to stimulate growth. 

I'm rather well behaved when it comes to my hair, i religiously have it trimmed every nine weeks at my local Rush salon and it's never met a bottle of bleach either. I was however, intrigued to try a more natural approach rather than slathering my hair in chemicals - i'm looking at you Lee Stafford Hair Growth - by using products that are sulphate and paraben free.

  Let me break it down, sulphates and parabens are chemicals used within the cosmetic industry, whilst deemed 'safe' for usage, by cutting out these extra chemicals it is a more gentle, 'organic' way of washing one's hair. I'm not going to pretend that i know all the in's and out's of this chemical talk, but i gave it a whirl and had some amazing results.

My hair is definitely more healthy in appearance, in terms of shininess and being more sleek and manageable. I've also noticed a distinct lack of split-ends, something my rather thin hair battles when a hair dressers appointment is creeping up. And most importantly, the ultimate aim from this routine, my stubborn mop has grown - hurrah! Rather quite quickly, may i add.

Here are the products i bow down to:  

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner (bought here £7.50 each)

These two products have certainly been raved about constantly on blogs, so i decided to see what all the fuss was about and ordered myself a pair. Without the jargon of most shampoos and conditioners promising shine like no other, i was pleasantly surprised to actually see real results. It took a few weeks to kick in, but these bad boys have certainly had an astonishing impact on my hair. It wasn't until a work colleague commented on how shiny and healthy my hair looked did i realise how amazing they are.  

Being sulphate free i was worried how well they would lather, i found this not to be a problem in the slightest. Although the conditioner doesn't exactly feel moisturising in the shower, my hair is definitely soft and sleek for sure! I have gone on to purchase these products again and probably will do for the time being.

Cherry Almond Leave in Conditioner - TIGI (bought here for £5.70)

After searching high and low for a natural leave-in conditioner i finally came across the Love Planet Peace range from Tigi. I snapped it up in minutes when i saw the scent was cherry almond, its smells so yummy, i find my self having to stop myself from eating it. I'm a stickler for leave in conditioners, they add an extra surge of moisture for my ends, especially as my hair is so fine, it really needs that extra love and condition from heated styling.

 I've used all brands from the disappointing bog standard L'Oreal, to impressive yet expensive Kerastace, so i was interested to see TIGI would match up. It did so surprising well, each night i slathered a 10 pence piece amount on my ends and left to air dry naturally. In the morning my hair felt softer and tame, and three months on my split ends are no where to be seen. And that, ladies is the biggest test of all. 

Wen Intensive Hair Treatment - (bought here for £18.95)

Lastly was a hair mask by the brand Wen, of which i received as a press sample. This cucumber fresh smelling mask comes in at a rather pricey £18, but with only a selected number of brands producing natural products its clear to see why it holds a high price. 

Its important to add that I'm not fussy when it comes to hair masks, i've used all types of brands and been  fairly impressed with all results. I usually keep them for Sunday pamper nights, so every week i moisturised the thick cream in to my hair and left to sink in for 5-10 minutes. After washing out and styling, my hair was left amazingly blow-dry-esk perfect. Eat your heart out Cheryl. For such a thick mask, my hair was soft, light and bouncy. So much so, i found myself using this product every other night as it made styling a dream. Until i realised that i was quickly running out, so it was resigned to special occasion washes. Thinking back i seem to always go through this process with hair treatments, slathering it on like its going out of fashion.

Sadly my pot is no more, and however much i fell for this product, the rather high price is a complete no-no. Not when i can pick up a sachet of good old trusty Aussie for 99p, and still have similar results.

My rather long ramble on hair yet again. What products do you swear by? 

I'm trailing a styling product at the moment, so watch this space.

Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand.

First of all i must apologise for the abundance of hair posts, clearly 2011 is the year of the hair do's/don'ts. Since purchasing the Lee Stafford Hair Growth product mentioned here, i can honestly say that unless i bought this in the truckload, i don't think i would ever notice a difference. Of which firstly i can't afford and secondly, i don't think my local Boots would appreciate me rolling up in a white van really to raid their stockroom. Continuing my search for long tresses, and despite ignoring the fact that my hair dressers announced in a matter of factly way that my hair may just be done growing, i'm holding on to the thought with tightly gripped hands that if i nourish my hair and keep it in tiptop condition, it will bound to grow long. Heres hoping.

So heres the plan, let me introduce you the brand spankin' new hair routine, products that are paraben and sulphate free. Let me break it down in simple terms, sulphates and parabens are chemicals used within the cosmetic industry, whilst deemed 'safe' for usage, by cutting out these extra chemicals it is a more gentle, 'organic' way of washing one's hair. I'm not going to pretend that i know all the in's and out's of this chemical talk, you only have to look at my science GCSE certificates to know that i'm no expert.. trust me.

Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner - Liz Earle (£7.50 each)

These two products have certainly been raved about constantly on blogs and in magazines, but alas i bought these with my own pennies. After receiving a sample from a dedicated Liz Earle friend, i was instantly smitten. Without the jargon of most shampoos and conditioners promising shine like no other, i was pleasantly surprised to actually see real results. However, being sulphate free these babies do no lather like your average shampoo, so i'll be interested to see how much of a squirt i have to use to give my hair a good scrub.

Intensive Hair Treatment - Wen (£18.95)

Next up is a hair mask by the brand Wen, of which i received as a press sample. This cucumber fresh smelling mask comes in at a rather pricey £18, but with only a selected number of brands producing natural products its clear to see why it holds a high price. The thick cream will definitely be a must have to use on my Sunday evening routine, i'm interested to see if it can measure up to my trusty Aussie Three Miracle.

Let It Be Leave in Conditioner - Tigi (£5.70)

After searching high and low for a natural leave-in conditioner i finally came across the Love Planet Peace range from Tigi. I snapped it up in minutes when i saw the scent was cherry almond, its smells so yummy, i find my self having to stop myself from eating it. I find a leave in conditioner is vital for my ends, especially as my hair is so fine, it really needs that extra love and condition from heated styling.

I plan to give these products a full month trial before i present my verdict, some products are pretty pricey to go au natural (such as Aveda and Wen) but the products from the Tigi line are cheap as chips online. I bought mine from Active Beauty, which has free delivery and sells good quality brands such as Burts Bees and Kerastace at very, very good prices. 

Have you used any natural products?