Tara Smith is a hair stylist to the stars (she even did the hair on the Sex & The City movie) which explains why her new range of natural and organic haircare products carry the slogan 'Tested on film stars, not animals'. The range hits the shelves of Tesco this month, and is also available online from Cult Beauty.
I tried the 'C Curls' range for wavy and curly hair (from £4.99) on my long, highlighted wavy locks...
First up is the shampoo, which forgoes some the controversial ingredients often used in hair products in favour of gentler alternatives. This is an admirable idea and will be good news for those people who've been frightened by the bad press surrounding the surfactant Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Paraben-based preservatives.
However, this is not an all-natural product. There are still surfactants in it, like Coco Glucoside, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine and Glyceryl Laurate. These are much gentler alternatives to SLS, but they result in a product that takes much longer to foam up than rivals.
For that reason, you might find washing with this a little strange at first. On slightly greasy hair, I found I needed a good two shampoos for my hair to feel clean as it didn't lather at all on the first application. However, rinsing after that second shampoo my hair felt squeaky-clean, and once I'd got used to the lack of foam (which is, after all, a reaction between detergent and air, not anything on your hair) this did the job just as well as something with harsher chemicals in it.
With the addition of natural ingredients like Rosemary leaf extract and Grapefruit, Orange, Lemon, Eucalyptus, Peppermint and Clove essential oils (among others) this is a good morning shampoo as it's got quite a herbal, warming scent. The texture is a little strange - quite tacky and sticky, more like glue than shampoo, which is odd at first but no real problem in use!
The matching C Curls conditioner uses those same essential oils, along with olive oil and soybean protein to strengthen and add shine to the hair. This was the product that really impressed me. When you first put it on it feels very light, but leave it for a couple of minutes and when you rinse, your hair will feel incredibly shiny. I don't think I've ever used a natural-based conditioner that's given such instant results. My hair was easier to comb through and dried in really nice, natural waves with lots of softness and shine.
Beware though, because the conditioner feels light you may be tempted to apply loads of it, right up to the roots. Don't! A little goes a long way and even on my dry, frizz-prone hair I only apply this on the lengths and ends. This means a £4.99 bottle will go a long way.
Overall I was really impressed by the range, and I love the fact that Tara Smith has chosen to create something affordable, rather than going 'boutique' because of the natural and organic ingredients. It's great that she's bringing gentler products to the market at good prices that actually deliver results.
My only slight gripe? The bottles are identical, which means on bleary-eyed early mornings I really have to be careful to use them in the correct order!
