Biotique Bio Flame of the Forest Fresh Shine Expertise Oil {Product Review}

Price: Rs 159 for 120ml

Ingredients

Pros

leaves hair soft and shiny

smells pleasant

gets washed off easily

My Experience

I have been meaning to try this oil since a long time and you might have seen this oil being mentioned in the hair diaries. I finally managed to finish the oil after using it on and off for a long time. The first thing to notice about the oil is its fragrance which is really pleasant.

The base oil is groundnut oil which is thick but even then, it gets washed off easily and leaves the hair really soft and adds a bit of shine as well. It did not give me any hair fall and whether it helps with hair fall or not is something which I don't know because I did not have hair fall at any time I was using this product specifically. 

Missing the cons? Well, I am not able to think any!! One more piece of information - "Flame of the Forest". It is a flower called "Palash" in hindi. It is supposedly amazing for dandruff and hair loss. The name of this flower is the only reason I got attracted to the product :) Have you tried it?

Other products I love or hate from Biotique:

Biotique Bio Almond & Cashew Fresh Repleneshing Hair Serum
Biotique Bio Honey Gel
Biotique Basil and Parsley Cleanser

Biotique Watercress Fresh Nourishing Conditioner

Biotique Bio Henna fresh Powder Hair Color

Biotique Mountain Ebony Fresh Growth Stimuating Serum

Biotique Carrot Protective Lotion

Biotique Avocado Body Massage Oil

Biotique Basil and Red Sandalwood Powder Talc

Biotique Kelp Hair Growth Protein Shampoo

Biotique Bio Pistachio Ageless Nourishing and Revitalizing Face Pack

Biotique Bio Musk Root Hair Mask

Winter Skin Care Lotions

Aloe Veda Herbal Hair Oil {Product Review}

Price: Rs 125 for 200ml (pretty decent)

Ingredients

Absolutely love the ingredients!!! Sesame oil is one of my fav oils for hair as its not very thick and heavy and is extremely nourishing and also prevents gray hair. A little information about Allantoin:

Allantoin is also used in medications for dermatological conditions including acne, impetigo, eczema, and psoriasis. Allantoin is moisturizing and keratolytic, meaning that it causes keratin in the skin to soften. This property helps skin to heal more quickly and to bind moisture more effectively, making products containing allantoin useful for dry skin and for healing wounds, burns, and scars. It is also effective against sunburn, chapped lips, cold sores, diaper rash, and similar skin irritations. (Source)

Pros

- made of amazing ingredients

- gives a bit of shine to the hair

- isn't a heavy hair oil

Cons

- smells too sweet for my nose

- has some green color added to it perhaps

My Experience

I have been using this hair oil since almost a month after I have left the treatment. I have talked about this in my June hair diary. So, to start with its a green colored oil which has a really sweet smell. I am not a fan of strong smells and I am not a fan of this either.

Moving on, I have applied this with the help of cotton as well as I have mentioned here. Incidentally, the usage on the website talks about the same method.

For best results, oil your hair with Aloe Veda's Herbal Hair Oil at least twice in a week. The best time to oil your hair is in the night. Leave the oil overnight and wash it next morning as this allows deeper penetration. If possible use heated oil as hot oil penetrates scalp better and carries the active ingredients to the hair roots. If done appropriately using a cotton ball directly on scalp this can give amazing results. To ensure that you do not damage the properties of the hair oil place the bowl over boiling water to heat the oil. It is advisable to apply oil in the night and leave your hair oiled overnight. Massage your scalp for few minutes even while shampooing and finish off with a light conditioner. Regular application stimulates the scalp and activates the hair follicles which leads to better hair growth.

it comes in a flip top bottle

So, I can say that yes, it does give shine to the hair. But, to be honest, the shine is less compared to the treatment I was on which really strengthened my belief in the treatment. I did not face any major hair fall or any other problem while using this oil.

One thing which I would say is that it seems to have some green color added to the oil. Why? I apply the oil from a silver bowl so there is always some quantity of oil which remains in the bowl and I don't wash it unless I apply the ginger tonic as well (which is generally next morning, I apply oil at night). And, I always noticed some green color spots on the place where oil was present.

As to how much it helps with hair growth, I am not really sure coz its too early to say something like that. Overall, I found it to be a decent hair oil which gets washed off easily and doesn't weigh down the hair!!! It leaves the hair shinier and softer if you haven't used a better product than that.

Availability

Online - Aloe Veda Websites

PS: Product sent by brand for consideration. 

Other products from Aloe Veda:

Aloeveda Moisturising Bathing Bar Indian Khus with Kewda Extracts

Aloe Veda Chocolate Vanilla Lip Butter

My Hair Diaries - June 2012

that's my hair last month after the treatment

Verdict on the Kamini Hair Treatment

Well, the results are, as far as I can notice, positive. I have noticed my hair line on the crown become fuller and my hair is definitely more shiny and really soft which I am absolutely loving. But, I still need to work on the weighing down issues. Now, regarding the volume, I really wish my hair would grow overnight but since that doesn't happen except for Rapunzel, I need to wait and watch!!!

Current Routine

this is my hair after leaving the treatment this week

My mom said that we should check it out for 6 months before finalizing. But, now, I have temporarily stopped the treatment because I wanted to see if I follow the same routine with over-the-counter products, will I get the same results. So, I have started using the Aloe Veda Herbal Oil but continuing with the ginger tonic and the shampoo. Right now, I am using L'Oreal Total Repair 5 hair mask as a conditioner and Dove Nourishing Oil Serum as a leave-in serum. 

So far, I have been using the changed routine for the past one week and the one thing which I was afraid of was that sudden change from the treatment might result in hair fall. Thankfully, that did not happen. And, even now, my hair is extremely soft and shinier but the shine is lot less as compared to the treatment oil which was amazing!!! So, that was my hair this month. Let's hope I have positive things to say about the Aloe Veda oil as well.

Related Posts: 
My Hair Diaries - May 2012
My Hair Dairies - April 2012
My Hair Diaries - March 2012
My Hair Diaries - February 2012
My Hair Diaries - January 2012

Essential Oils for Hair Growth {Hair Care}

Since I have started putting up posts on Essential Oils, I have received so many queries regarding essential oils amazing for skin and hair and acne. So, I decided that I shall do a post on them. This post would contain essential oils I have explored as of yet which are amazing for hair growth.

For all hair types

• Ginger: It stimulates the hair follicles, makes the scalp feel a little warm and helps promote hair growth. It may also tingle the scalp. Ginger is mostly suitable for all hair and scalp types. It needs to be only applied on scalp. Helps with dandruff too.

• Cinnamon: Similar to ginger in all properties, but it can be a little irritating for the sensitive scalps. It helps warm up the scalp and should only be applied on the scalp. Suited to all scalp types.

• Rosemary: More suitable to oily scalps and hair but doesn't dry out the dry hair either so can be used for all hair types. Helps in controlling dandruff, promotes hair growth by helping in scalp stimulation and also conditions the hair and makes it look darker. Brings shine to the hair as well over long term use.

Oily Hair

• Lavender: Suitable for oily scalp. It helps control the oil production in the scalp. Conditions the hair and promotes hair growth. Also, makes the hair shiny in long run. 

• Ylang Ylang: One of my most favorite EO's, it helps a lot with oily hair and scalp by not only promoting hair growth but also making the hair smell really awesome and controlling the oil on the scalp. 

• Cedarwood: I haven't yet used this EO so I have no idea how it works. Its supposed to control hair fall and thus, aid hair growth in reverse. Also, its great for preventing dandruff and hair lice and other fungal and bacterial infections!!

Dry Hair

• Myrrh: Probably the only EO suitable for dry hair. It helps promote hair growth and stimulates sebum production as well. I haven't personally tried this product so I have no idea how it works.   

Related Posts:
Hair Types and their Hair Care Routine 
Hair Textures

Products which helped my hair {Hair Care}

I wanted to do this post long back after the one on home remedies for hair growth but somehow forgot. I would definitely recommend all the products I list down under here:

• Biotique Musk Root: helped combat my hair fall last year in January and really nourished my hair. You can read the entire review here. 

• Lush Caca Noir: Well, technically, this is just a hair coloring agent and nothing else. But, it improved my hair texture and made it so soft and shiny. I love it and I wanna lay my hands asap on Caca Maroon. It wasn't a first love and my first review was almost that all money spent on it went into drain. But, the second review which I did after using the noir again after a spell of 3 months almost was what made me a fan of this product. Read about the Caca Noir here.

• Biotique Mountain Ebony: This is one of the really un-talked product of Biotique but I love it to bits and it wasn't an instant love either. I took my own sweet time to analyze it and use it and decide on it. I bought it in December 2010 and used it sometimes and left it. Later, again started using it after a spell of almost 6 months and used it daily in fact. Read about it here. 

Update

• Rogan Badam Shirin: I really forgot to put about it. Padmaja asked me about hair oils and this is my one go to hair oil and the best ever which has actually shown me results on a long term basis. Read about it here. 

All the products mentioned above are tried and tested on a long term. I shall keep on adding if I find something equally good in the subsequent future :)

When to remove Face Masks and Hair Packs?

Hey guys!! I am really sorry for not being at all particular with the posts. Kinda really busy these days so I'll probably even miss the first birthday of my blog which is on December 14. I can not believe a whole year has passed. I definitely have been very lazy in writing my posts many a days but I have tried to be as regular as possible. In case, I do miss the birthday of my blog, I shall do the festivities along with the Christmas and New Year or may be Pongal even. Gosh!! That will be really late but I am sure you will all forgive me. So, for today, I have a very simple tip to share with you all regarding the face packs and the hair packs. Now, I had shared the correct procedure for applying face masks. So, this is one additional procedure which should be followed stringently. 

Always remove the face masks and hair packs as soon as they are close to drying. When the face masks and hair packs dry completely, they start absorbing water from your skin or hair to compensate the loss of moisture in them due to the reverse osmosis process. And, this becomes very drying for your skin and hair in the long run. So, always remember to wash off as soon as the mask is close to drying. For hair, I have a tip that wash off your mask after an hour. One hour is enough to let your hair get the nutrients from your mask. If you are applying henna, always remove when the mask has dried otherwise you will find that your hair has become dry in nature. This is especially true for dry hair. Whenever you apply a hair mask, always put a shower cap on. This helps to hold the moisture inside. When you keep the hair packs and face masks beyond stipulated period, they can causing aging of your skin and drying of your hair. This holds true with the home remedies too. So, follow this tip and reap the benefits.