2 weeks ago I tweeted complaining that it was like hair carnage every time I brushed/dried/styled my hair; every time I look down the surface below me is covered in broken hair and it absolutely guts me because I've been trying so hard to grow my hair for ages and to see it just break off like that is not nice. I usually look for hair products for greasy hair but I think this problem calls for me to change up my routine. Luckily I have some really helpful Twitter followers and this time Jayne came to my rescue and suggested I give my hair a detox from silicones and sulphates. I know the products I had been using were pretty much packed with these kinds of things so I figured a detox could be just what my hair needed. Jayne explained that silicones are essentially plastic, these plastics build up in your hair and can then melt onto the hair cuticle during heat styling, making it brittle and fragile; causing breakage. This is why she recommended some products from the Naked range as they do a silicone free shampoo and conditioner.
Naked Rescue Intensive Care Conditioner*
Naked Strength Renewing Shampoo*
Naked Style Little Miracle*
The idea behind 'Naked' products is that they are just that, 'Naked'... they use 97% natural products and what's more important in this instance is that they are all free from silicones, sulphates, parabens, phthalates and petrochemicals which is what I hoped would help my hair back to strength so that it doesn't look like hair carnage every time I brush my hair.
The Verdict
Naked Strength Renewing Shampoo - £3.98 Naked Bodycare*
With hibiscus and frangipani, this shampoo is designed to 'rescue' your hair by fortifying brittle hair, no harsh detergents; just plant based ingredients. To be honest I was a little apprehensive about using this as I'm so worried about products that are designed for weak/mature hair being too much for my easily weighed down, greasy rooted hair! I was warned that this wouldn't foam as much as normal shampoo because it's the additives that generally cause lots of foaming, however I found that if I shampooed my hair twice a better lather was created the second time, which is good because I use the bubbles as a guide to know that my hair has been properly cleansed.
It was explained to me that I would need to give this some time to start making a difference to my hair which is why I've called it the '2 week detox' and I'm quite pleased I gave myself a goal because I think I would have stopped using it after a few days because it seemed to leave the crown of my head as if it still had product on it or it was still greasy no matter how much I got back in the shower and rinsed I even stopped using the conditioner to see if it was that. However, after using it for a week my hair seemed to get used to the shampoo and a double cleanse did seem to work... it just didn't feel as squeaky clean as it normally does.
Naked Rescue Intensive Care Conditioner - £3.98 Naked Bodycare*
Containing shea butter, this is designed to help repair and improve the appearance of split ends without causing a build up of silicones (which can weigh your hair down and cause breakage). The consistency of this is much like a mask rather than a regular conditioner (hence why it's called intensive care) so I have just been using this every other wash during the past 2 weeks as I felt any more would be too much for my hair. I just applied this to the very ends of my hair, left it on for 2 mins or so and then rinse out, this left my ends feeling lovely and helped to prevent the knots which were causing my hair to break so much when brushing. However, there is no way I would use this on my roots under any circumstances because it is very thick and heavy; absolutely perfect for every day use for people with really dry/frizzy hair but because my hair is prone to being greasy at the roots I found that once every other day was enough.
Naked Miracle Worker Leave In Conditioner - £4.99 Naked Bodycare*
This also contains shea butter but has the added ingredient of argon oil, I found myself using this on the days when I wasn't using the intensive care conditioner as this was much thinner in consistency and I figured this is the closest thing I'm going to get to my beloved Moroccanoil without using a silicone containing product! Again, I just used this on my ends and it made my hair much more manageable, especially if I used my tangle teaser rather than a regular brush just to get the majority of knots out without breaking the hair too much. I'm thinking I may continue using this product even with a regular shampoo/conditioner because it's doing the job for me at the moment and although I love Moroccanoil, this is a sight cheaper at £4.99!
Overall I've found that this range has done my hair good, even if it's just while I lay off all the products I was using; my hair does feel stronger and although it still seems dry at the ends it's not breaking as much as it was. I won't lie, I missed using 'normal' shampoos and conditioners just because they're what I'm used to and I don't think I could ever go silicone/sulphate free forever, but I will be keeping these in my collection so I can do another 2 week detox again because I do feel my hair has benefited from it and it's made my reconsider my choice of regular shampoo/conditioner. I'm going to scrap what I was using before I detoxed and look for a different range I think, maybe not necessarily silicone free but I don't think a bit of internet/blog research would go amiss to help me decide!!
If you're vegetarian/vegan/against animal testing, Naked products are absolutely fine for you and the brand itself is very ethical; with relationships with charities such as Oxfam, using recycled material for packaging where possible and their ingredients are all 97% natural. You can buy Naked Body Care products from various high street shops including Boots, as well as the Naked Body Care website.
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