Quick Review: Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

I'm always on the look-out for something to whip my dry, damaged hair back into shape. Nobody wants to have to walk around with a dull, frizzy mop of hair now, do they?

I've heard so many good things about the Macadamia range across the bloggosphere, and about a year ago there was something of a craze for this line, particularly the Deep Repair Masque. But as I was getting on just fine with my hair at the time, I didn't really take much notice.

Fast-forward a year, and I'm in dire need, having tried and cast aside many a deep conditioning treatment since having my hair ombred around eight months ago. So, rather than fork out for a whole tub of this stuff and risk further disappointment, I decided to order a few sachets from Ebay and see what all the fuss was about.

Enriched with macadamia and Argan oils, this deeply nourishing mask claims to provide locks with long-lasting conditioning, as well as penetrating and rebuilding damaged hair, improving shine and elasticity. Tea-tree oil, chamomile oil and algae also give the hair a rejuvenating boost.

I spread this generously through my hair from the mid-lengths down to the ends, avoiding the roots and combing through with a wide-toothed comb for even distribution. It's recommended that you leave it on for seven minutes, but having now made my way through a few sachets, I've experimented with this a bit to see if the results would differ. It's thick and creamy in texture, and has a lovely salon smell, making it a pleasure to pop on while having a nice relaxing bath.

One sachet is enough for about three treatments, which I thought was pretty good. The masque is available in three different sizes from the Macadamia Hair website - 100ml (£12.50), 250ml (£23.95) and 500ml (36.75). I think it's great that they have these options, as if you know that it works for you then you can save money by buying a larger tub. Equally, you can try out a smaller one if you are unsure, without investing too much money, although I do think it's a shame the sachets aren's available as they are on the US website (here) for just $4. Still, there is always Ebay.

So, what did I think?

Well, unfortunately this did absolutely nothing for me. My hair felt vaguely conditioned, as it would do from using any standard conditioner, but there was no softness, shine or bounce, and the ends of my hair were still just as frizzy when they dried. As I mentioned before, I did give this numerouse goes, but sadly it has failed to impress me.

Having said this, I know that this product has something of a cult following, so as always, it just goes to show that different things work well for different people. I'm actually beginning to wonder whether there is a product out there that can penetrate my locks and do some sort of good at all, or if it is just beyond help. I've recently had the ends chopped, but it hasn't made a huge difference to the condition.

The search continues!

xx

L'oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil

I have always been reluctant to use oil on my hair. When I first started hearing about people doing so, I thought they were mad, imagining that it would turn their locks into a greasy oil slick rather than do any good.

The first time I relented and tried Argan oil on my hair, my suspicions were confirmed - I applied it to the ends of dry hair, as instructed, and sure enough, my barnet soon became an oily mop. After that, I decided not to dabble in using such products again.

That was, until I heard about the L'oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil (please excuse the fact that mine's a foreign version - it is exactly the same thing), Glowing review after glowing review persuaded me to give hair oils one more go, especially after reading time and again that this one did not weigh down your locks.

This oil can be applied as a pre-wash treatment (massage it into your hair and leave it for an hour or two, before washing as normal), or can be applied to wet or dry hair. Having had a bad experience applying to dry hair in the past, I thought I would give the wet hair option a try, and I'm glad I did.

One or two pumps is enough, even for long hair - with hair oils, less really is more. Just run it through, from mid length right down to the ends, avoiding the roots (and fringe, if you have one), and blow-dry your hair, just as you normally would.

It really is true that this oil doesn't leave the hair feeling heavy or greasy. Instead, it leaves me with soft, smooth locks that are much more manageable than usual. My hair is really quite dry at the moment, and while this doesn't leave me looking as though I've just stepped out of a salon, it's not all that far off. My hair is in dire need of a good cut, so it's more of a challenge for this product than most people's hair, I think!

I do sometimes use the oil to tame fly-aways once my hair is dry, but in this instance I would use the tiniest little amount, as it does seems to leave more of a coating on the hair when used in this way.

I now use this oil on my hair regularly - after washing and before drying - and am really enjoying the difference it makes to the condition of my hair.

xx