I Like Challenging Myself Sometimes...

it's good for you to step outside of your comfort zone, and challenge yourself a little, right?

This review is a first of its kind for me - shampoo and conditioner!

After how much I enjoyed the argan oil I reviewed a few weeks back, I knew that argan oil shampoo would be another product I would love a lot.

I was not disappointed! This product is very natural, if you are allergic to certain ingredients, or just don't like to use some, this shampoo is probably safe for you to use! "Free of SLS, parabens, gluten, DEA, artificial colors, artificial fragrances and harsh preservatives".

I'd looked for other blog entries about the Pura D'Or products, and read one blogger say that they didn't like the scent of this same shampoo, but I actually quite like it. This shampoo boasts a number of essential oils in its ingredient list - argan oil, tea tree oil, cedarwood oil, nettle extract, thyme extract, lavender oil, lemon oil, avocado oil and patchouli oil all come in on the ingredient list. I've got a bit of a soft spot in my heart for the scent of tea tree oil, so I liked the scent! If that's not quite your scene, worry not. The scent dissipates well, you won't be answering questions about smelling like patchouli for the rest of the day or anything. 

And, when I talked about the pure argan oil, I pointed out that some companies will just use some  argan oil, and splash it all over the label. Argan oil is the beauty ingredient of the moment. Unfortunately, Pura D'Or isn't 100% innocent in this case - "Argan Oil" is plainly easy to see, in great big letters. In the shampoo, it actually doesn't come in to play until line 5 of the ingredients list. Of 7.

At any rate. I like the performance of this shampoo. My hair was clean, soft, manageable. All great things. It's more of an "all purpose" sort of shampoo - no noticeable volumizing, frizz control, or anything of that nature. My 8 year old son used it, and his hair is considerably finer than mine, and he also had soft, shiny, manageable hair, without it being weighed down.

My biggest beef, I suppose, is that the formula is quite thin. I'm pretty free in admitting that I've got a big head, and a lot of hair. And it took a LOT of product. Because this shampoo is SLS free, it won't lather in the way that most shampoos typically will. I knew that. But still - it took twelve pumps of shampoo to be able to apply shampoo to my entire head. Compare to TIGI, where I can saturate my entire head - with a little room to spare - in five. Parents around the world are always joking about how their kids just dump the shampoo down the drain (I know I've used more than I needed...). If you personally have a weakness for using too much, or you've got a kid who does, this maybe isn't your safest bet.

Other than the thinness of the formula, this shampoo is a great all purpose shampoo. Clean, soft, manageable hair never goes out of style!

Now, lets turn our sights to it's counterpart, the Lavender Vanilla conditioner.

Since I pointed out that Argan Oil didn't actually make it in until line 5 for the shampoo, I'll point out here that it's at line 2. Of 4. And I know this reads a little like I'm trying to accuse Pura D'Or of something, and I'm not. They said there was argan oil in their shampoo, and there is. I point that out to show that you need to read labels. If you have something that's important to you in hair and makeup - if you're really after that argan oil content, or you need to know that your shampoo is gluten free, or that your eye shadow wasn't tested on a bunny, don't take the companies at their word. Learn to read the labels, and read them. The label would have you believe that Pura D'Or started with argan oil and formulated out from there, which isn't quite the case.

The formulation is done similarly to the shampoo - if you're sensitive to it, or outright allergic to it, it's not in here. 99% vegetable ingredients, according to the front. It is largely, it seems like, coconut based. Which is kind of amusing - I always thought coconuts were fruits. Go figure - we're learning together!

In addition to my big head and large amount of hair, I also boast a medium/coarse texture, and color treatment. So I might have the ideal household to test shampoo, because between my fine haired son and I, we cover the entire demographic, hair wise.

I thought this conditioner was OK. For my texture/color treatment concerns, I prefer my conditioners a little more emollient than this one is. You'll get shiny, soft, manageable hair. It's not the holy grail for my thick haired sisters (and brothers!) or anything, but it's pretty good.

My son though, might disagree. I wish I'd taken before and after shots of him. His fine, medium length hair (long hair is in style in third grade, I guess...) was soft, manageable and shiny, and the ever present fly aways are a thing of the past.

So I guess the secret is in the hair type, right? I've got thick, coarse hair, and liked this product very much, but wanted a thicker, more emollient formula. My fine haired son is obsessed (I've never seen him so happy to take a shower...), and has had some of the best hair days he's ever had since we started using this shampoo.

So I suppose, if I had to cut right to the chase, that's how I'd do it. This is a natural, SLS free product. If that is important to you, you will like this (it's better than most). If that is important and you've got fine hair, you'll LOVE it.

If you go to Pura D'Or's website, they're running a large variety of promotions right now - buy a shampoo, get 40% off a conditioner is going right now, and that is a great deal! 

DISCLOSURE: The good people at Pura D'Or generously supplied me with the shampoo and conditioner that I discussed here, in exchange for my opinions on them. All opinions are my own.

See you soon, lovelies! 

Argan Oil might be my new bestie...

If you prefer a more natural, simple beauty routine, then you're well aware of the benefits of products like argan oil. But did you know that a lot of the products that boast of oil have other ingredients in them as well? That argan oil hair serum is not 100% pure, it will often include silicones and other ingredients, making it virtually identical to any other serum you'd find on the market.

Argan oil is pressed from the kernel of the Argan tree, which is native to Morocco. It has gained popularity as a beauty treatment as of late, thanks to it's moisturizing and anti-oxidant properties, allowing it to balance oil, help with anti-aging concerns, and moisturize - leading it to be considered as "liquid gold" in some circles!

Radha Beauty Products sells 100% Pure Argan oil, and my friends, this stuff is magic.

This bottle is 4 oz., and comes with a dropper to measure out the oil that you will need. And you guys, a little goes a very long way, you can do so much with this!

Argan oil has moisturizing, and antioxidant properties - and is 100% safe to use in its natural form. And randomly, I just looked it up - it's food safe, and is safe to use on your pets!

I've spent a week using this oil in every way I could think of, and on everyone that would let me near them for long enough to try it, and was consistently impressed and surprised with the results.

My dry, scaly winter legs? A thing of the past, thanks to argan oil. And that's even after having showered since! The effects of lotion would have washed away, right along with the body wash. I'd like to be able to demonstrate this one in pictures, but you don't want to see pictures of my legs, any more than I want to show them to you!

Yesterday, I decided to do what I consider probably my ultimate experience - I have thick, coarse, color treated hair. So yes, it is often an out of control disaster. I showered, completely skipped hair conditioner, applied a generous dose of argan oil in it's place, and waited to see what happened. Imagine my surprise to see that my hair dried frizz free, smooth, and laying nicely! Curiously, a little straighter than normal, even. When I did this, I concentrated my oils in to the ends, and just smoothed over the part near my scalp. I'm on day two, and my hair is still smooth, and soft. Amazing!

My 8 year old has sensitive skin, and hates the feeling of lotion. Like they do sometimes, he got too close to me one night when I was feeling experimental, and he quickly found his legs slathered in oil. Once his giggles subsided (he's very ticklish, haha...) he marveled that it made his skin feel "like butter". He couldn't stop exclaiming over it! No complaints from his sensitive skin, either!

He also boasts a beautiful head of long blonde hair, that he takes a tremendous amount of pride in. It's fine, with a slight wave, so it made me nervous to do it, but I put two drops of oil in to my hairs, rubbed them together, and smoothed them over his hair. He was thrilled to see his hair look softer, shinier, and lay better than usual.

The next morning when it was time to go to school, and we didn't have time to use the oils again, he was honestly disappointed! I couldn't believe it! He went "But, it makes my hair so shiny and soft!" And I, like any self-respecting mom of a kid that's about to be late for school, went "But that won't matter if you're late!" Moms: causing bad hair days, all over town. :D 

And for the biggest, most impressive, no doubt weirdest picture I've ever posted? I have chronic, awful dry skin on my feet (I blame that on my own mom, because so does she). Every treatment I've ever tried has been temporary at best.

When I started on this post, about a half hour ago, I slathered a few drops of argan oil on the bottom of one foot. Ladies and gentlemen, exhibit A for why you need argan oil in your life:

In dire need of a pedi? Ain't got time for that? Ain't got cash for that? ARGAN. OIL. That's 30 minutes difference, you guys. That's unreal. 

I can't say enough positive things for this product. It's $16 on Amazon, and if you order before 4 PM EST today (by clicking here), you can have it in your hot little hands by this time tomorrow, and be slathering up things in your own house. Which you absolutely should. If you're not quite in that much of a hurry, it's also a Prime eligible item, so you could have it by Saturday for free! A little goes a long way, the 4 ounce bottle will last you a long time!

FULL DISCLOSURE ALERT: Radha Beauty generously supplied me with this bottle of Argan Oil in exchange for my opinions on it. All opinions are mine. As are the photos. Although I'd gladly give up those dry feet, if someone was crazy enough to want them. :)

Edited: I'd originally decided to tell you about these in two different posts, then decided I should probably pair them together.

I also was supplied with a full sized bottle of Fractionated Coconut Oil to try.

I used the Coconut oil in similar ways that I had the Argan oil, and was a bit disappointed with it. I honestly didn't care for the rate of absorption. Everything felt slightly slick after having used the coconut oil. It didn't feel as soft and moisturized as things had with the Argan oil.

In fairness to that ideal though, the advised uses on the package aren't uses I tried. Radha recommends the fractionated coconut oil as a oil for massage, and as a carrier oil for essential oils. Neither way that I tried. So I might actually like it much better in that instance.

This oil, like the other, is food safe.

So, where I would actually use the argan oil again, gladly, I can't speak with as much enthusiasm for the coconut oil. I'm sure if I were a masseuse, or made more use of essential oils, I'd be singing a much different tune.

Say what you will, the Radha packaging game is on point. Both of these are beautifully packaged.

Talk to you later, you well moisturized beauties!

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