JOHN FRIEDA FULL REPAIR

So, I'M SURE many of you will have read a plethora of reviews for the new John Frieda Full Repair line of haircare , but what the hell, I'm jumping aboard the good ship FRIEDA and chucking in my two-pence-worth.

Red. It's a theme.

Back at the beginning of the month I was kindly sent loads of these goodies to give away as prizes at the International Women's Day 2012 event I hosted on behalf of Oxfam. I just want to take a second AGAIN and reiterate how grateful I am for everyone who came along and donated money and to thank Laura from Oxfam for giving us a wee speech about how our money would be going to help. I know I said thanks already but I'm still so grateful there was so much interest in a cause which, as women, I know is one we all feel strongly about.

Aaaaaaaanyway, so yeah, I gave out loads of these Full Repair products in the goodybags and as part of the raffle but I'd never actually tried any of the range... Until now!

I've mentioned before about how unruly my fine hair can be (and I'm still loving secret agent perfecting cream by the way) but normally I just try and deal with it after I've dried and attempted styling it, never really bothering to wonder WHY its so tuggy, frizzy and unmanageable in the first place.

Turns out it's cos it's DAMAGED, PEOPLE! Years of dying, straightening, blow drying, ripping at it with brushes, back combing, hairspraying and generally treating it like crap have caught up on me. Obviously I was thrilled to be handed a range of products that claimed to sort it right out :)

I'll say right now that sadly I didn't love everything in this range, nor have I seen a DRASTIC change in the quality of my hair, but some products did really stand out for me...

Firstly the shampoo. I really, really, really like this. It smells lovely, lathers well and rinses away easily. Shockingly, and don't all faint here, but I don't always like to use a conditioner as my hair can get really easily weighed down and I find it goes up into a top-knot or dohnut bun much easier if it's less slippery. With this shampoo it definitely feels moisturised enough to go without conditioner every time. Also, I don't know if it's just this or a combination of products but I have definitely noticed less hairs falling out in the shower. Like normally the drain is kinda clogged by the end (gross) but not any more. Which is awesome cos losing my hair is like my biggest fear, apart from losing my teeth. I digress... This shampoo is well nice.

Next the deep conditioner. I mean, the normal conditioner is alright, but I kind of prefer to use something like this a few times a week rather than conditioner every day. The best thing about this is that it feels very nourishing but also really light. The weirdest thing is the consistency - it's actually quite runny for being a tub-based deep conditioner (if you're thinking of a think cream you'd be wrong) so it gets kind of messy if you're a BUTTER FINGERS like me and tend to drop things in the shower... But regardless, I really like the shiny, moisturised, swishy effect that doesn't feel slimy or greasy. I use this at night if I know I'm not doing anything the next day so my hair can get a nice rest and by the third day it's got its texture-mojo back for the top knot. If that makes any kind of sense. Which is probably doesn't.

Finally the styling spray. Again, I never use a heat-defence spray or a styling spray. Like ever. But this here is a two in one so it's ALL good and I actually really love it. If, on the rare occasion when I can be bothered to blow dry AND tong my hair into an acceptable style, I use this first, I find the curls stay in for way longer than they normally would. I also find that while I'm blow-drying I can feel some kind of coating on my hair, but in a good way. I don't know if it's all in my head but I feel like I can ACTUALLY FEEL that it's protecting my hair from the heat. It definitely looks smoother and there are WAY less flyaways when I'm done blasting it dry.

#Overall I like the range but in particular I reckon these are the stand-out products. If you have fine, frazzled hair and hate it to feel weighed down by thick creams and conditioners I would definitely recommend these products. If you have thick, very damaged and broken hair I'm not sure how well this would work but you could definitely give it a go. Especially the oil serum which really didn't work for me at all but might be better for someone with very dry hair.

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Also, I just wanted to point out, I was sent these products, along with a few others from the range, for review purposes. On the rare occasion this ever happens (it like never happens) I will always make it clear in the post and OBVIOUSLY I will always be completely honest in my review. If you know me in real life you know that I would never bullshit anyone to keep a company happy. I'm too old and too ugly to play any kind of game like that. Anything you see and read here is the real deal. Peace!

JE SUIS ME CHEVEUX

I've seen this John Frieda PR post about LOADS over the past few weeks, which at first kind of put me off wanting to try out their products, but SERIOUSLY, I'm now a convert!

I was contacted by Jilly from JF asking if I would like to try out some freebies in order to aid me in trying to style my hair a la THIS:




So, long story short I hate my hair. I've had it short, long, black, brown, blonde, red, bleached, braided (Rastafari!), shaved and crimped and it never ever looks how I want it. Much in the same way I am useless with makeup, I am similarly challenged when it comes to doin' a hot do. It's OK, I've made peace with it. There's more to life than hair, right?

(WRONG)

I actually had a go at this tutorial with my Babyliss curling wand I won from Ann (Girl in the City Glasgow) and it looked PRETTY GOOD. I mean, it was still a bit wonky at the back, and some bits were more tightly curled than others and I burnt my ear fairly badly, BUT STILL, it was OK.

However, one thing ruined the whole look more than anything else... STATIC. I literally could flip my head upside down and back again and it was crackling with the stuff. Completely unruly, tuggy and sticking out sideways. Yuck. It's always been like this, especially when I try and style it - flyaway central and staticked oot it's nut. Normally I just attack it with hairspray or shove it up in a bobble, dejected and disappointed in my lack of styling abilities...

Thank God Jilly had sent me along some of the John Frieda Secret Agent Perfecting Cream, because this stuff is my new favourite hair product EVER!

Honestly you guys, if you have staticky, unruly, frizzy or flyaway hair this cream is amazing.

At first I was like, "no way am I slathering this stuff over my finished do," but once you get the hang of how much you need (clue, not a lot) and rub it between your hands before smoothing it through the ends, it'll work wonders, I guarantee!

The texture is creamy but it doesn't feel wet or thick on the hair and it doesn't weigh it down either. I can imagine this working well in the humidity of summer too when my hair decides it hates me and does a Monica for a solid three months...

I mean, this is probably a fairly useless review for most of you out there who have been using styling products for yonks, but for a novice like me who basically just uses her dad's Head and Shoulders, forgets conditioner, towel-dries and goes, this is my new holy grail item.

You can pick this stuff up for a fiver(ish) at Boots and I'll definitely be getting myself some more when this runs out.

BY THE WAY you only have 2 days left to register by the 10th of Feb to attend the International Women's Day get together blogger event next month. I'll be letting you guys know the location next week hopefully, and will confirm more good stuff over the coming weeks :)

Apart from being an awesome excuse to meet up and have a giggle, the money raised will go (via Oxfam) to some truly inspiring women's charities across the globe, including ones fighting for the banishment once and for all of FGM, equality in the work place, the right to basic maternity care, education for women and girls, the closure of the poverty gap and loads more. Click here for more info.