Hair Hair Hair

Long hair, short hair, long hair, short hair... you get the jist. Like almost everyone out there, I always wants what I haven't got when it comes to hair -which is fine when I'm craving short, but not so much when I want long. If you're like me and haven't got the money, or time for extensions, then you'll know how excruciatingly slow hair grows. By the time you're at the length you wanted so badly, you're bored so chop it all off and are back at square one!

Over the last few months I've been sifting through products, trying to find something which actually works for hair growth. I can happily report back and say that I think I've found some! Obviously everyone's hair is different and something which works for me, may not for you (and vise versa). But, these are the products I've been testing out and my opinions of them: (I think this goes without saying as I'm such a small blogger, but this blog post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own).

• Lee Stafford Scalp Scrub, £8.99, BUY ME HERE

So I had high hopes for this scrub, thinking it was going to get rid of all the crap in my hair and make my roots clean and healthy, encouraging growth. Honestly, the only thing this scrub did was make my hair super greasy super quickly! As you're supposed to apply this one directly to the roots, I think it might work better with shorter hair, or if you're trying to grow out a fringe, as the application for me was so tricky as my hair is thick and of a reasonable length. Truth be told, when I actually got it on my roots it did feel nice and cooling, but it wasn't worth the hassle or money. Oh, and as a side note, I noticed no difference in my hair length!

• Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment, £8.49, BUY ME HERE

Now I've bought this mask a few times over the years, and although (sadly) I've seen no difference in hair growth, it does make my hair feel incredibly soft, smooth and silky. Now, I believe there are two factors to hair growth: the first being the hair actually growing from the roots, the second being that the hair is healthy so it doesn't just split and snap at the end -actually making your hair shorter. So I think this mask really does the trick in keeping your hair ready for growth!

• Lee Stafford Scalp Serum, £9.99, BUY ME HERE

So if you've been trying to get your hair to grow for some time, then you might have come across the 'inversion method'. This serum is basically that, only you don't tip your head, only massage it in. I honestly didn't see any difference when using this stuff, only that my head smelt FANTASTIC! I think if you want to give this serum a try, then give the Inversion method a go on it's own first (there are loads of videos on Youtube about it). To me, £9.99 is a bit pricey for what it is, especially as I saw no result. 

• The Body Shop Shea Butter Hair Mask, £12, BUY ME HERE

Now this one is a little different as this product doesn't claim to make your hair grow any faster -and it doesn't. But what it does do, is keep your hair in a good healthy condition, making sure it's fully moisturised and looked after. I use this mask about once a week and it just keeps my hair happy, keeping split ends and breakage to a minimum. What I will say about this though, is make sure you focus the product on the ends on of your hair and not the roots -it will make your hair greasy due to all the buttery and oily ingredients if you put it too close to your scalp.

• TRESemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protect Spray, £5.99, BUY ME HERE

Yes, I know this isn't a hair growth product, but honestly, this one has been a life saver... or hair saver I should say. This product really does what it claims and keeps my hair smooth and frizz free! As someone with naturally curly/frizzy hair it's actually reallyyyyy difficult to find a product that control my hair, so I love this spray! The last time I went to the hairdressers, I was told how letting my hair naturally dry (which was all I did), was actually really damaging -as when it's wet, hair is at it's most vulnerable where it can be snapped and broken... leading to shorter hair. Since that appointment, I've blow-dried my hair every time and by using this spray have seen no heat damage! Truthfully, I will buy this product until they stop doing it!

• L'oreal Elvive Dream Lengths Shampoo, £4.99 for 400ml, BUY ME HERE
• L'oreal Elvive Dream Lengths Conditioner, £4.99 for 400ml, BUY ME HERE

When I was testing these products I made sure to use them together (as that what the instructions recommended), so it's only fair that I review them together as well! Honestly, I couldn't tell a difference when using these products. Yes, my hair was shiny and moisturised, but any good shampoo and conditioner will do that anyway! Eventually, my hair got bored of these products and started to become greasier quicker and also show more damage. By the time I'd finished the bottles my ends were split and also my hair got tangled more often -because it was so dry! I think there are a lot better shampoos and conditioners out there, that will keep your locks healthier and happier -keeping splits and breakages down so your hair and get some length. 

• Lush Wasabi Shan Kui Shampoo, £18 for 300g, BUY ME HERE

I usually love Lush... usually. But this product did NOT do it for me. I can't comment on hair growth as I only tried a sample of this shampoo (let's be real, £18 is a lot to spend!), but thank god I did! My hair has never felt so knotted and damaged! When washing with it, it did feel tingly and nice on my scalp, but as soon as I washed it out my hair felt so dry and disgusting. I blow-dried my hair after the shower and couldn't even get my brush through as it was so tangled (and yes, I did use conditioner). After my hair was dry I couldn't even brush my fingers through without coming across a knot. And don't even get me started on the ends! My hair felt like it had been stripped of all its moisture and as a result my hair spilt in places I've never seen split before! Out of everything, this product is the biggest no for me.

• Umberto Giannini Grow Long Shampoo, £8.25, BUY ME HERE
• Umberto Giannini Grow Long Conditioner, £8.25, BUY ME HERE

Same as with the other shampoo and conditioner, I used these products together so am going to review them together as well! And let me tell you -I've saved the best till last! Using these products I could actually tell a difference in my hair growth (so much so, that other people commented on it as well!).  I know they're quite expensive, but I would honestly buy these again and again. Not only did my hair start to grow quicker, but it also looked super healthy and my frizz was contained. For maximum results, I'd also use with the next product I'm going to review, the:  

• Umberto Giannini Scalp Scrub, £9.25, BUY ME HERE

So unlike the other scalp scrub I've reviewed this one is super easy to use and in my opinion, really effective as well! It lathers up on wet hair meaning that you can really massage it in and get scrubbing that scalp! You are instructed to use it instead of shampoo so I used this bad boy ever other wash just to keep my scalp healthy and to promote further growth. Honestly this scrub with the above shampoo and conditioner were the only products where I could tell a difference in my hair growth. Obviously it's not magic, so your hair isn't going to grow 5 inches overnight, but for me my hair did grow significantly quicker. This scrub also doesn't try out you hair so keeps it super healthy and shiny.

And there you have it!

I hope this post will help some of you to reach your dream hair... until you want to chop it all off again anyway!

Thank you for reading,

Hollie xx