That Magical Ingredient: haircare that delivers excellent results thanks to key natural ingredients
Natural ingredients and quality haircare have always gone hand in hand. Even in the ancient days when Cleopatra was being pampered, she’d insist on magical ingredients such as honey, aloe vera, almond and olive oils, to keep her long locks in check. Here, Cream selects some quality products on the market and highlights ‘that magical ingredient’ in each.
Revlon Professional’s UniqOne Green Tea Leave-In Hair Treatment
At the heart of this treatment is the refreshing botanical ingredient of green tea, which brings a nourishing, revitalising touch to a clever all-in-one formula. Designed to deliver 10 hair benefits in a single spritz, UniqOne helps moisturise, detangle, smooth frizz, add shine and body, prevent split ends and protect colour, all while helping damaged hair feel softer and more manageable. We tried it on wet and dry hair, and it works wonders either way. An easy addition to any daily routine – particularly when your locks are behaving more like a tangled mess than a salon-worthy mane.
THAT MAGIC INGREDIENT: The green tea focus gives the treatment its wonderfully fresh personality. A fragrant blend of green tea, along with lavender, zesty lemon, bergamot and mandarin creates an aromatic citrusy mist that feels as refreshing as it smells. Simply spray onto wet hair, comb through and style as usual, or apply a little to your palms before working through dry hair for a quick touch-up.
COST: Varies store to store and site to site but around $14.
AVAILABLE FROM: Quality haircare outlets and revlonprofessional.com.
Revlon Professional Re/Start Hydration Range
It’s no surprise Revlon have chosen to play on the ‘Re’ prefix for this very, very good haircare trio: hair is left reinvigorated, revived and feeling refreshed. In fact, when your hair is thirsty, frizzy and feeling more like straw than silky, these products provide a great three-step hydrating/moisture rescue. The Moisture Micellar Shampoo, Moisture Melting Conditioner and Anti-Frizz Moisturising Drops are designed to lock hydration into the hair fibre while leaving strands softer, smoother and easier to manage. All easy to use with no fuss or too many frills.
THAT MAGIC INGREDIENT: The star ingredient across all three products is betaine – a naturally occurring plant-derived compound best known for helping maintain moisture balance. In haircare, that makes it particularly useful since betaine helps retain water within each hair fibre, leading to softness, flexibility and better manageability. Revlon also reckons betaine can help improve hair strength, and who are we to argue? Use the shampoo to cleanse and hydrate, follow with the melting conditioner to smooth and detangle, then finish with a couple of drops through wet or dry lengths to tame frizz and boost shine. You’ll be happier with hydrated hair that feels softer, looks healthier and behaves itself considerably better.
COST: Varies store to store and site to site.
AVAILABLE FROM: Quality haircare outlets and revlonprofessional.com.
American Crew 3-in-1 Tea Tree
This is a great one for men who prefer a simpler haircare routine. Why clutter the shower when one bottle can do the lot? American Crew’s 3-in-1 Tea Tree Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash is the ultimate streamlined grooming multi-tasker, cleansing hair and skin while leaving both feeling fresh, soft and clean. It’s way easy to use, too: Simply massage into wet hair and body, rinse and get on with your day. It’s uncomplicated, efficient and very fresh – exactly what a three-in-one should be. And even if you usually stick to a stricter regime with an alternative brand, this product is great to have on standby on those rushed mornings.
THAT MAGIC INGREDIENT: Who isn’t familiar with the benefit’s of tea tree oil? This natural botanical ingredient is renowned for its cleansing, refreshing and invigorating properties. In haircare, tea tree is particularly appealing for oily scalps, helping create a brilliantly clean, fresh-from-the-shower feeling, while its naturally aromatic character gives the formula a distinctive cooling sensation and of course a fresh fragrance. American Crew specifically highlights the tea tree oil for its invigorating, refreshing effect. Their formula also helps wash away excess oil while leaving hair clean, conditioned, shiny and soft.
COST: Varies store to store and site to site.
AVAILABLE FROM: Quality haircare outlets; for more information visit americancrew.com.
My.Organics Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner
Our editor swears by this brand and particularly these two products. Where a few years ago, things were getting a little fine on top of head, since using My.Organics thickening products, the locks are looking fuller and healthier. Indeed, fine hair need never mean flat hair. My.Organics Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner create a botanical two-step designed to cleanse, nourish and give finer strands a fuller, healthier-looking finish.
THOSE MAGICAL INGREDIENTS: There are various pairings available in the My.Organics range, depending on what result you’re after but here, the Orange & Lemon Thickening Shampoo brings an invigorating hit of citrus essential oils. Rich in antioxidants, orange helps promote shine and freshness, while lemon has purifying properties and can help balance excess oils on the scalp. Together, they give hair and scalp a wonderfully clean start, while fenugreek and peppermint add to the formula’s strengthening and refreshing credentials. Then comes the Mango & Rose Thickening Conditioner, where the emphasis shifts from refreshing to nourishing. Mango is rich in vitamins A, C and E and fatty acids, helping moisturise and soften hair while enhancing shine and strength. Rose brings soothing, hydrating and antioxidant properties, helping leave strands feeling perfectly conditioned and revitalised.
COST: Varies store to store and site to site.
AVAILABLE FROM: Quality haircare outlets and pharmacies including Chemist Warehouse.
OTHER EXCELLENT NATURAL INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN HAIRCARE PRODUCTS:
Aloe vera – Used in ancient Egyptian medicine and cosmetics, aloe was valued for its soothing and moisturising qualities. It would have been particularly useful for skin exposed to Egypt’s intense sun and dry climate, and similarly is very good in helping to manage hair in today’s climate-changing environments.
Almond oil – Used as a nourishing oil for skin and hair, helps soften and condition.
Licorice root – Helps improve hair and scalp health by soothing irritation, reducing dandruff and basically assisting well in hair growth.
Honey – A prized ingredient with moisturising and antimicrobial properties, honey was used medicinally and in preparations for the skin, and also occasionally in hair. It’s great because it attracts and binds moisture from the air into the hair shafts, helping with long-lasting hydration.
Milk – The famous story of Cleopatra bathing in donkey’s milk has become part of her legend. Milk contains lactic acid, an alpha-hydroxy acid that can gently exfoliate the skin, although there isn’t solid evidence that Cleopatra herself regularly took such baths.
Moringa oil – Great for hair because it deeply moisturises the scalp, strengthens strands, and adds a natural shine without weighing hair down.
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A glorious book about colour in, yes, glorious colour
If you’re like us, you love it whenever you discover a glorious new shade of Pantone colour. And we love good book that combines art, history, science, and a healthy dose of weirdness. Which is just what The Mystery of Colour and How We Solved It does, published by Thames & Hudson and written by colour expert David Coles.
The book, illustrated beautifully by Margaux Samson-Abadie, takes readers young and old on a vibrant trip through history to discover how humans learned to capture the colours of the natural world.
Royal purples, brilliant blues, glittering greens and punchy reds were once precious commodities, extracted from everything from minerals and plants to crushed beetles, burnt bones and sea snails. Indeed, the fact that colour was once made from crushed insects, burnt bones and sea snails gives it plenty of personality beyond being simply a pretty book!
Ever wondered where your favourite colour actually came from? Before the modern paint aisle and the Pantone wheel offered every shade imaginable, artists had to get seriously inventive – and occasionally rather gruesome – to create their palettes.
The book brings together curious historical stories, scientific discoveries and iconic artworks to reveal how colour has shaped the way we see – and make – the world.
It’s the sort of book that manages to be educational without ever feeling like homework. Expect plenty of “Really? They made that colour from what?” moments alongside a fascinating look at the ingenuity behind the pigments we now take for granted.
A gorgeous introduction to art, science and history, The Mystery of Colour and How Solved It should appeal to curious kids, budding artists and adults who still like discovering that something as everyday as a tube of paint has a rather extraordinary backstory.
‘The Mystery of Colour’ is available from good bookstores and online through Thames & Hudson, RRP $34.99.
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BellyME Probiotics: a shot for every occasion
It was a Saturday a few weekends back and I was running late for an international flight. Tired as I was most of that day – doing last-minute packing, etcetera, I dialled an Uber to take me to the airport, and within the three minute wait, went to the fridge to down two small shots of bellyME Pre-Workout Probiotics because let’s face it, lugging luggage, getting through customs and battling for a decent seat on the plane is pretty much akin to a decent workout.
Seriously, this good stuff really works in upping your energy levels. The probiotic formula features exclusive strains that offer an impressive 80 billion beneficial bacteria per bottle to enhance your daily well-being. That’s a lot of good juice in one small bottle.
By replenishing and maintaining healthy gut flora, one probiotic shot promotes your health in multiple ways including elevating overall wellness, promoting nutrition absorption, enhancing skin rejuvenation, boosting immunity, and fostering digestive health. So you can imagine what two did for me. I felt refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready to take that flight.
And there are BellyME shots available for all occasions and good reasons: to digest and cleanse; to increase your clarity during long drives or extended working hours; to boost your immunity; to down for a pre-workout and one for post-workout if your aim is for shredding; even a BellyME specifically tailored to boosting your tan. Read all about the difference in each little bottle at bellyme.com.au.
BellyME shots are available from good pharmacies and health food outlets, and at bellyme.com.au.
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