The World's Most Expensive Blow Dry?!

How much would you spend on a blow dry? Would you be prepared to pay £320 for the pleasure?

I received a press release with information on 'The World's Most Expensive Blow Dry' which immediately caught my attention. The treatment, provided at Urban Retreat in Harrods uses Dutch haircare brand, Fuente's products and here's the info on the treatment, products and ingredients that I had sent to me for you to check out!

"The world's first self-thinking shampoo, Truffle by Fuente employs the skin of white truffle, pure diamond dust and meteorite extracts in order to restore the hair to its' finest possible condition, whatever the extent of damage. The unique combination of ingredients enables an individual, bespoke response to each specific hair type, resulting in an intelligent hair treatment that will deliver true scalp health and silken, glossy beauty from root to tip.

In celebration of this revolutionary product, the Urban Retreat has created The World's Most Expensive Blowdry.This extraordinary treatment utilises the transformative power of Truffle Shampoo and Reconditioner at our relaxing hairwash spa. Clients will enjoy a heavenly hot stone cranial massage, which will work to maximise the ingredients' efficacy and can also help to promote hair growth. To ensure guests leave the salon looking fabulously groomed and feeling their absolute best, the treatment will be completed with a glossy blowdry by Urban Retreat's Creative Director Flavian Abbas. Clients will be gifted with a full sized bottle of Truffle Shampoo and Reconditioner so that the luxury will endure long after they leave the salon.

Inject a little radiance into your hair and feed it with the Earth's rarest natural ingredients with the World's Most Expensive Blowdry at Urban Retreat.

The World's Most Expensive Blowdry: £320, 1hr 30mins.
Truffle by Fuente Shampoo and Reconditioner Collection: £275."

If I had unlimited funds (or at least a great deal more than I have currently) then I have to say, I probably would spend that on my hair, if it was worth it, and by that I mean that I'd give it a go and if I found it to be worth the extra then I would have no problem in paying it on a more regular basis!

Obviously I'm not anywhere close to being a millionaire, so I'll have to make-do with my usual haunts, which aren't all that bad if I am honest; but would you be able to justify spending that much on a blow dry whether you were wealthy, or not?

To book the 'World's Most Expensive Blowdry' at Urban Retreat at Harrods please call 020 7893 8333!

Aveda Scalp Benefits Shampoo & Conditioner!

I have psoriasis, I’ve had it since I was a child and it’s bothered me non-stop since then and I’ve tried all kinds of shampoos and treatments to try and ease, or preferably get rid of it. I’ve tried everything from those prescribed by the doctor, to shampoos like T-Gel and even head and shoulders (I thought it might work well for the scalp even though it’s for a different condition) and nothing has ever done it any good. I settled on using whatever shampoo I fancied that would benefit my hair at that time, since nothing was helping my scalp.

I noticed this on the Aveda website and was sent some to try out – I thought it couldn’t hurt and I do have a degree of trust in the brand from many years ago when I used to pinch my sisters Aveda shampoo when I was a teenager (I hope she’s not reading this now)! The website blurb says:

"Healthy hair begins with a healthy scalp. That's why our Scalp Benefits™ Shampoo is formulated to:
• cleans down to the root
• removes excess sebum and buildup
• creates the ideal foundation for healthy hair"

My first thought is one on the smell, and that that it is a million times better than anything the doctor has prescribed me and certainly better than T-Gel too. It’s quite herbal and whilst this isn’t the usual kind of scent I would go for, it’s actually quite nice – certainly not offensive.

The shampoo lathers well, and you don’t need to use gallons of the stuff in order to do so – so whilst it costs more than your average supermarket brand, you may find you go through less bottles for the same amount of uses.

I've used this in the same way that I use any other shampoo, always massaging into the scalp and giving it a good massage and I have to say, I noticed a difference after the first use; I can honestly say that my scalp feels much smoother with every use. It’s not completely cleared up, but I am impressed that with such relative ease and speed that it does feel much better.

My hair feels nice and clean when I’ve used it; it’s even dealt with my hair perfectly when I’ve been a lazy bum/running late and have used dry shampoo instead of washing it so that it’s had 2 or 3 days worth of product and dirt in it. This is without having to do any extra ‘washes’ or use any extra product – very impressive.

My hair also feels in great condition whilst I've been using this, so it isn’t suffering from the shampoo being aimed at helping the scalp – something that always bothered me about being prescribed shampoos from the doctor (that neither helped my hair, or my scalp and that stunk to high heaven – errgh) as my hair was always at its worst when using that stuff.

I always use some form of styling product when doing my hair after I’ve washed it, even if it’s just heat protection spray so I can’t say if it’s helped with being able to style my hair any better, but it has certainly not made it any worse to do so.

All in all, I would completely recommend this shampoo to anybody who has any kind of scalp problem or irritation, and even to those who just want to maintain a healthy scalp since this product also seems to work brilliantly for the hair, and not just the scalp.

I used this shampoo with the Scalp Benefits conditioner by Aveda, which is a lovely product in itself. It’s not too heavy and not too light (at least not for my hair), I was even able to massage that into my scalp without it making my hair limp or greasy; and once dry I found that it left my hair feeling lovely and soft, without any flyaway - bliss!

The website says about the conditioner:

"This daily formula nourishes and balances all hair and scalp types to:
• hydrate the hair
• soothe the scalp
• create the ideal foundation for healthy hair"

Denman - Brilliant British Brushes!

I remember when I first heard about Denman brushes; it must have been about 18 or so years ago when I was just starting high school. An older friend at the time was training to become a hairdresser and introduced me to the brand and I convinced my mum to buy one that we shared.

It seems that these days we’re getting more used to things not being built to last like they used to, so I was curious to see if their brushes were still of the same quality that they were all those years ago.

The Denman brand is synonymous with being the hairdressers’ choice of brush and I feel this is because of the quality of the products on offer; the fact that the brushes have stood the test of time, that they are still classed as some of the best brushes available today speaks volumes.

They have many varieties of their brushes available these days too, a brush for any occasion you might say; but the thing that stays constant, is the confidence in the Denman brand.

Their first brush (the D3) is still available, but has now also been released in a few new pimped up styles. This particular makeover of the brush has a change of colour which is generally expected when being made over I guess, but also includes the addition of scent to the brush; yes that’s right, scent.

I have the strawberry scented brush and it’s quite cute. The smell isn’t overpowering, and actually reminds me of the smell of the strawberry shortcake doll I had as a little girl, I don’t know if many (or in fact any) of you know what I mean by this, but it does.

It’s quite a novel idea really, although it doesn’t appear to have a specific purpose that I’ve noticed as the scent doesn’t transfer to your hair (well not in my experience anyway), but you can smell it when you use the brush with a hairdryer which is quite nice, but still ultimately pointless.

None the less I do like it, it does make the range stand out above other brushes available and I think would be a great little stocking filler gift at Christmas. As a standalone brush it holds up very well, it's anti static because of the rubber cushioning and it also holds the hair firmly in place whilst styling which makes it easier to control where the hair goes!

There are 5 different ‘flavours’ available in the aptly named ‘Tutti Frutti’ range:

• Strawberry - red rubber pad and fruit prints

• Green apple – green pad and fruit prints

• Lemon sherbet – yellow pad and fruit prints

• Wild dewberry – Purple (as above) – intriguing as dewberry was my favourite Body Shop scent when I was much younger

• Coconut – there are 2 different styles for this scent, one with a plastic handle as matching with the rest of the range and one that has a beech wood handle (and is a couple of pounds more expensive as a result).

These are priced from £7.16 to £9.45 (for the wooden one) and available from the Denman shop.

http://www.denmanbrush.com/acatalog/Fragranced_Range.html

The D14 appears to be a handbag sized version of the D3, but this one has added bling in the form of diamantes embedded into the handle and back of the brush that the magpie in me instantly loved. I'm glad they sunk the diamantes into the brush as this way they have the benefit of looking nice, but don’t dig into your hand when in use, which is a winner all round!

There are 3 colours available (black, red and gold) and these are also available in the D3 brush, with an extra addition of a turquoise one in the D3 diamante range.

The size is a good size for handbags that aren’t *too* small but I think for smaller bags and clutches, this brush would be too big to go in if you still needed get other essentials in there too.

I don’t think the brush suffers too much with being a smaller size as I've found it works just as well as the larger one, but I wouldn’t use it to fully style my hair as although I have no doubt that it would do the job, I just think on my longer hair that it would take too much longer to do so. If you have shorter hair, this would be brilliant for using on that in my opinion.

These brushes are again available at the Denman website and are priced at £12.21 each. The larger D3 brushes in this style are £15.28 and £18.91 (for the turquoise one).

http://www.denmanbrush.com/acatalog/Diamante_Range.html

Moving on to the smallest of Denman brushes (that I'm aware of) we have the D7. This is a very small brush and mirror that fold in together, and to be honest I didn’t think it would be any use as it is so small. Couple that with the fact that you have to pop it out to use the brush in it I really didn’t think it would be strong or big enough to go through my hair and tidy it up.

So imagine my surprise when I found that it does actually do a very good job of neatening hair whilst on the move and as with the brush above, whilst I wouldn’t use it for styling it I would definitely use it if I was out and only had a small bag or clutch to carry it in, as this would be perfect for that.

Obviously you can’t look in the mirror whilst using the brush bit so you’d need to brush and check, or get in front of a larger mirror but it’s a bonus that it does double as a compact that you can use to touch up your makeup too.

Looks wise, on the mirror side it looks like a regular compact mirror, but flip it over and it looks like what I can only describe as a spotted ladies diaphragm (sorry). However once the sides are together it’s perfectly fine, it just looks like a normal compact mirror.

This brush is £2.50 each and worth every penny.

http://www.denmanbrush.com/acatalog/Hairbrush_Compact.html

Tangle Teezer - Teeze Me Baby!

Advantages: Works on wet hair, Detangles, Decent price, Suitable for all hair, Good for children, Easy wash

Disadvantages: Maybe a handle would be good for those with restricted movement.

The Tangle Teezer is the brainchild of ex hair colourist, Shaun Pulfrey that was originally shown on the TV show, Dragons Den where it was deemed ‘not a business’ by the dragons. Thankfully this did not put Shaun off and he re-mortgaged his home to fund the launch of the product which has been a huge success ever since; I bet those dragons are really kicking themselves now!

The brush is essentially just a piece of well moulded plastic, but the vital difference in this brush from any other brush is that the bristles are specially positioned and designed to flex just the right amount to remove tangles and minimise tugging that can cause damage to the hair. These bristles are also said to help smooth the cuticle which gives a more sleek finish to the hair because smooth cuticles sit flat and create more shine.

I bought this brush because I started swimming, and hated leaving the pool with wet hair that couldn’t be brushed until it was dry. This brush has been perfect for this use; I have been able to leave the pool with relatively ok looking hair since its arrival, rather than messy wet rats tails that I had rather shamefully been sporting previously.

The Tangle Teezer doesn’t have a handle, and sits quite comfortably in your hand due to its shape and size. To actually use the brush, is pretty much the same as any other brush in that you just run it through your hair, and whilst most other brushes would possibly require you to not brush too hard, Tangle Teezer is said to work best with more pressure being applied. You can even use the bristles to give your scalp a little massage and get the blood flowing to the follicles – not to mention it just feels bloomin’ lovely.

This brush really does work well when getting any tangles or knots out, but also works just as well as an everyday brush on wet or dry hair. You can’t use anything heated with this brush, I expect this is because it could melt due to its chemical makeup, although I wouldn’t use this for styling anyway. I just love knowing I can run a brush through my hair right after washing or swimming though, so much better than having to use a comb in my opinion.

When these brushes were first released there was a choice of pink or black colour rise, now there are 5 of them in the original design according to the website comprising of oyster green, pearl blue, purple glitter and the original pink and black ones. There are also new additions in the forms of the Tangle Teezer Compact (3 colours black, pink/black and gold/black) that have an RRP of £11.99 each, and also the flowerpot that seems to be aimed for children’s use (2 colours, pink and pale blue) which has an RRP of £12.99 each. They are available in a variety of places from Boots to Amazon and many many other places, usually priced around £9.99. I paid £9.75 from Amazon, but rather annoyingly I have recently seen them for £7 at hairdressers shop near me.

http://www.tangleteezer.com