Tried and Tested: Mizani Supreme Oil

When we first came across Supreme Oil (silicone, mineral oil and paraben-free), we had mixed feelings. We were excited because Mizani is very popular in the US and as it comes from the beauty giant that is L’Oreal, we knew lots of research and development would have gone into it.

On the other hand, the list of things this product could be used for was, for want of a better word, unbelievable!

I mean read all this!

• Before or after blow-drying, heat styling or finishing
• As a pre-shampoo treatment
• To hydrate the scalp and relieve dryness
• As an overnight treatment
• To moisturise natural curls, locks, braids, relaxed hair, human hair extensions/wigs
• To moisturise skin (apply a few drops to bath water or on skin after bathing)
• Layered over or under other hair or body products

How can one product do all that we thought?





Well we tip our hat to Mizani because their Supreme Oil did all that plus tax! Ignore Public Enemy and do believe the hype!

With ingredients like sesame, jojoba, almond, avocado, apricot and sunflower oils, the 99% naturally derived product was so mild we used it (and continue to) on a 10 month old baby and a 4 year old girl's hair. Natural hair of course!

We used it in a variety of ways - pre washing as a mini treatment, post washing before blow-drying, as a serum before using irons, on dry scalp patches, on natural, mixed and relaxed hair. All testers said the product was amazing. It leaves the hair and scalp shiny but not weighed down and is incredibly lightweight. It also smells nice. Is there nothing this oil can’t do!

The bottle says you only need a couple of drops but we found we had to use a few drops a few times to get the result we wanted but that may be due to the fact that a lot of our testers had mid length hair.

The cheapest place we found it was online here. The only downside is that you can’t just pop to the shops and buy it as it is only available in salons so call 0800 121 4676 to find stockists near you.

With a RRP of £19.95 for a 122ml bottle, you don’t use much at a time so it should last a good while. We give it a well deserved 5 out of 5!

Tried and Tested: Fair Naturally

Fair Naturally is a luxurious new range of 19 Fairtrade certified beauty products. We see the Fairtrade mark on coffee, cotton, chocolate etc but what does it really mean?

According to The Fairtrade Foundation, ‘Fairtrade is a strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Its purpose is to create opportunities for producers and workers who have been economically disadvantaged or marginalized by the conventional trading system.’

Basically it means farmers and workers get a fair price for their goods/services instead of being screwed over as they have been in the past.


We’ve seen with our own eyes the good that has been done in St Lucia and Ghana when locals are paid a fair price and are able to work themselves into better economic conditions.

So we were rather pleased to hear about the new Fair Naturally product offering. We tried the Bath Cream, Body Scrub and Body Butter from the Cocoa and Walnut range (ingredients include Fairtrade cocoa butter, walnut oil and cane sugar) and were very pleased with the outcome!

With rather dry skin, it can be difficult to find products that don’t leave our skin feeling like we've just rolled around in a vat of lard and are leaving greasy handprints wherever we go. Thankfully that wasn't the case with the Fair Naturally Cocoa and Walnut range.

The Bath Cream left our skin feeling all silky  and made nice bubbles; the Body Scrub (when used with exfoliating mitts – 99p from Morrison’s) left us squeaky clean and the Body Butter left us all moisturised and hydrated (you know that feeling when you first get out of the bath and your skin starts to tighten with dryness? Well the Bath Cream alleviated that).

The true test comes next morning – is the skin still hydrated or has it turned sliver/grey with dryness? Pleased to say that next morning, everything was still looking and feeling good.

Besides knowing this range is helping workers in Pakistan, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, the prices won’t break the bank either. The Body Butter and Scrub are £5.99 for 200ml and the Bath Cream is £3.99 for 300ml. What a bargain! When you think that The Body Shop’s butters are £12.50 for the same size tubs, we know which ones will be on our bathroom shelves!

So far the Fair Naturally range is only available online at www.fairnaturally.com and delivery is free if you spend over £30.

28th February – 13th March 2011 is Fairtrade Fortnight so a good time to invest in something good for you and the world around you.

Shea Butter, Sheer Beauty

As the natural hair movement has gained pace in recent years, so has the use of the wonder product, shea butter. For many brown-skinned women, it has become an essential part of their beauty regime. Here it is in its raw form just as you would buy in any market across West Africa.

Raw organic shea butter

Shea butter comes from the shea-karite tree that can only be found in Africa. But what makes it so special? Well, frankly, it has far too many fantastic characteristics to list here. Suffice to say, it is a great moisturiser and conditioner which helps the hair retain softness and prevents breakage. 


In its natural form, it does have a slight odour that some people dislike, but that is less of a 
problem these days as many people choose to whip their shea butter with other carrier and essential oils. We've tried it, we love it and absolutely recommend it. If you would like to try it at home, here is just one of a number of videos to help you out.

However, if you really can't be bothered, then there are several online retailers who sell whipped shea butter. The wonderful thing about shea butter is that it is not just an amazing product for hair, but also for the skin. It is blessed with vitamins A, E and F which maintain, protect and rejuvenate the skin. It can even help get rid of eczema.


We are also pretty impressed that French skincare brand L'Occitane En Provence sells 100% raw Organic Shea Butter straight from Burkina Faso. It's not cheap at £24 for a 150ml tub but it is lovely! Our favourite product is their luxurious Shea Butter Hand Cream at £17 for £150 ml tube. Sometimes though, it really is worth spending a little extra money to enjoy the small luxuries of life.

£24.50

£17

Alternatively, get into your kitchen and start whisking.