Jo and Sarah answer real questions from readers: to put your query, go to beautybible.com
Q My fairly thick hair can suddenly go dry, wispy and frizzy at the sides – and sometimes all over, making my long bob wedge-shaped, even after I condition it quite liberally. Any ideas – other than a paper bag over my head?
A The instant solution we’ve found is to spray on a leave-in conditioner; you can literally comb through and go. You may have to do it every day though if your mop is going through a tricky wont-behave phase. Don’t forget to spray under as well as on top (easiest way is to tip your head upside down) so that your hair drops down out of the wedge and swings glossily.
The product we swear by is Jo Hansford’s London Leave-In Conditioner, £18 for 150ml, not cheap but worth every penny and it seems to last for ever. There are plenty of other options though if you look around.
Once you have a bit more time to prep and treat, slap on an intensive mask like Aveda Smooth Infusion Smoothing Masque, which does wonders, £24 for 150ml. Wrap a hot towel (or clingfilm) round your head to turbo-charge the effect and leave for as long as you can.
And, of course, do use a shampoo and conditioner designed to hydrate dry hair, like the matching Aveda Smooth Infusion ones.
Another masque that did brilliantly in past Beauty Bible trials is Ogario Restore and Shine Hair Masque, £28.50 for 200ml
PhytoSpecific Moisturizing Styling Cream with quinoa oil, £19 for 125 ml, can also help dry hair, and Sarah has long had a thing for Phyto 9 Leave-In Day Cream for Ultra-Dry Hair, which she keeps in her sponge bag. You can use it (sparingly) on damp or dry hair.
No need for the paper bag, then….
Beauty Bible loves…
Slow Ageing Essentials
Jolly clever name, this. And jolly lovely products, from a couple who’ve made quite a splash in beauty circles, in the past. We know David Lieber from his time running Decléor in the UK, while his wife Margot Lieber set up the brilliant Spa Illuminata, in Mayfair. (They met at The Chopra Center, in San Diego, when David was checked in there – and Margot was working as a practitioner.)
Devotees of the health-giving powers of Ayurveda, the couple have incorporated elements of Eastern healing with essential oils to create a capsule collection of four products, initially. They smell amazing; truly like a ‘spa-in-a-jar’ – and the very ritziest kind of spa, too; the kind where your blood pressure drops a point or two just by stepping over the threshold.
The Slow Ageing philosophy is that ‘in order to look your best on the outside, you have to feel your best on the inside’
Slow Ageing abandons the idea of skintypes and age groups, with four products that are targeted at all ages.
The Slow Ageing philosophy is that ‘in order to look your best on the outside, you have to feel your best on the inside’. So they also recommend an antioxidant diet, lots of fresh water, regular gentle exercise (yoga, walking) and plenty of restful sleep – which chimes 100% with our own knowledge and experience of what helps us all to look great for our age.
Integral to the effectiveness of the range is something else we’ve always believed in – a powerful facial massage (the Skin’ergy Application) to relax lines, boost glow and de-puff, which you can find on-line here.
A little of each of the products goes a long, long way, especially the Slow Ageing Essential Face Wash – just a dab, honestly, foams creamily on the skin to cleanse brilliantly and ‘prep’ for the next step, which is the Facial Essence. (£75) – a lightweight, skin-balancing (and again, soothingly-scented) facial oil, packed with ylang ylang, rosemary and chamomile. You need just a drop, honestly.
The Essential Moisturiser is skin-plumping and softening – powered by antioxidants and polyphenols from algae, leaving skin luminous and radiant. And last but not least, Slow Ageing Essential Face Balm (£80) – a rich, balm-style multi-tasker. Use it to turbo-charge the face wash, for dry skin – or (as we have), on dry bits anywhere; it’s incredibly softening, and calming the mind as effectively as it calms the skin. This is the one we’d like available by the vat, please, David and Margot.
And we know this is all about s-l-o-w – but make it snappy!
From £35 (£220 for the Slow Ageing Essential Collection) – buy here