Wyrd Wednesday - Haircare and the Mane 'N Tail Revolution

Online Etymology Dictionary: 

O.E. wyrd "fate, destiny" (n.), lit. "that which comes," from P.Gmc. *wurthis (cf. O.S. wurd, O.H.G. wurt "fate," O.N. urðr "fate, one of the three Norns"), from PIE *wert- "to turn, wind," (cf. Ger. werden, O.E. weorðan "to become"), from base *wer- "to turn, bend". For sense development from "turning" to "becoming," cf. phrase turn into "become." The modern sense of weird developed from M.E. use of weird sisters for the three fates or Norns (in Germanic mythology), the goddesses who controlled human destiny. They were usually portrayed as odd or frightening in appearance, as in "Macbeth," which led to the adj. meaning "odd-looking, uncanny," first recorded 1815.

I've decided to change my title for the Wednesdays, since I will use this section for "everything's that's not strictly nails". The association of wyrd with "uncanny, odd-looking", Norse mythology and the female triad figure makes it a perfect qualification!!

And to continue along the same logic (though this logic might be only in my head!!), today I'm gonna tell you about a very symbolic part of the female body, my hair. I already talked a bit about it when I revealed my Seven Beauty Sins, so you know it's been dyed blue-black for many years now.

But let's start at the beginning. I have a conflicted history with my hair, because it's quite as strong-headed as I am: neither straight nor curly, it remains in an in-between twilight zone. As a result, it requires just as much hairstyling as curly hair, but it's flat and not really thick. It took me a long time to find a style and a routine...

Almost ten years ago, I committed an Unforgivable Sin and cut it very short (Lisa Minnelli short). To summarize, it made me look as if I was 50, my parents adoooooored it, I swore never to cut it again!! So since that day, I endeavoured to make my hair grow while keeping it healthy. Almost ten years later, it's almost down to my bottom so I'm quite happy about that. But still, it's flat and thin. Or it was, until I discovered Mane 'n Tail.

I had read somewhere that the Hollywood secret for hair was a horse shampoo and dismissed it as "Hollywood bs", until I started to see reviews of Mane 'n Tail popping here and there, so I decided to give it a try. And the miracle happened!!! I've been using it for a month or so, and my hair is already unrecognisable, visibly thicker and shinier: whenever I tie it up, I can twist my hairband one less time!

The texture of this shampoo is a bit strange, way thicker and more gooey than usual shampoo, it doesn't really have a smell and when I rince it off, my hair feels so sleek and soft that I forgot my conditioner more than once!

So if the idea of using a shampoo that was originally designed for horses doesn't put you off, I can only recommend joining me in my new club: 

And just to show that this post is not only about beauty products, here's a view of some of the pretty and edgy thing I like to style my hair with. The silver hairpick is decorated with Celtic knots and comes from Ebay, and the dragon hairpick and comb are from Alchemy Gothic:

Minnie's Beauty Minute - How LUSH gave me my perfect shampoo

Hello everyone! This is the moment when I come out of my den (full of medical research stuff) to tell you about some beauty products. This week we're back with LUSH, testing some of their shampoos this time. I first tried three of their solid shampoo bars, Godiva, Squeaky Green and Seanik.

Some general remarks about the solid shampoo bars: 

It takes some time getting used to, you can either cut a bit of the bar or rub it directly on your skull. Honestly, it's not my favourite way of washing my hair, but well, one has to admit that it's very earth-friendly: you use very little product each time, so it lasts a long time, and there's no plastic bottle. All of my tests were done without conditioner and with two consecutive shampoos, because I found it was better with those bars: at the first round, it doesn't foam at all, I felt like adding a second dose. In the end, just as with the soaps, I did have a feeling of "really clean hair", more than with normal shampoos.

Godiva: 

Godiva is supposedly the sexiest shampoo ever, a shampoo+conditionner combo that will enable to cloak yourself with your healthy shiny hair. Maybe it was because of the big promises, but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by it. It's fine, but nothing more, and I'm not really keen on jasmine so the scent quite bothered me.

Squeaky Green: 

 

Natural products sometimes have a reputation of not being very glamourous, and that's the case with Squeaky Green. Of course, appearance is not primordial, but honestly, this "doubtful green" bar is no decoration improvement to your bathroom. I was neither pleased or displeased with the smell, it didn't make a long-lasting impression on me, and the result was fine, not much to say about it.

Seanik: 

Of the three solid shampoo bars I tested, this one is definitely my favourite. Very nice smell (because you don't smell the jasmine, or at least I didn't!!), it's very fresh and leaves your hair soft and shiny, even without a conditioner. I was about to elect this one as the top, until I discovered...

Rehab: 

Before telling your more about this shampoo, I'm gonna explain shortly what kind of hair I have. It's curly and very dry, which means that I never leave it curly, because it looks ugly and frizzy, I always take the straightening irons out and try to discipline my mane. It usually makes it look ok, but I seldom find it pretty, my hair always feels like straw under my fingers, and mostly, it bothers not to be able to leave it curly from time to time...

So one evening, I take out the sample from Rehab to wash my hair, toweldry it after the shower and tie it up before starting to work on my research. Maybe an hour later, I take of my hair pin and discover the most beautiful curls my hair had ever experienced: big, round, shiny, it was simply amazing. And even the day after, my hair still felt amazing, I straightened it in no time before going to work, and it was so sleek and shiny!! I never had that with any shampoo and there's no doubt that a big bottle of Rehab will be in my next LUSH shopping cart. If you have damaged dry hair, you have to try it!!

See you next week, I might take a break from bath/body products and do some make-up!!