Month: October 2020

Briogeo Strengthening Treatment Hair Oil Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ 1 Comment

Briogeo’s Strengthening Treatment Hair Oil is from their Don’t Despair, Repair! line and claims to be lightweight, to provide shine and smoothing to the hair and to hydrate, reducing frizz, damage, split ends and breakage, citing an 88% repair of damaged split ends after two uses.

Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride*, Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer*, Ethyl Macadamiate*, Rose Flower Oil*, Ceramide NP, Squalane*, Rose Extract*, Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Oil*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil*, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract*, Panthenol, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil*, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Prunus Domestica Seed Oil*, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dicaprylyl Ether*, 1,2-Hexanediol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate*, Malic Acid, Tocopherol, Fragrance (Parfum). *Coconut, Vegetable, Plant, or Sugar Derived.

The Strengthening Treatment Hair Oil is silicone-free and contains a number of oils and triglyceride, ceramides that help strengthen the hair and hyaluronic acid to help lock water in the hair shaft. Dicaprylyl Ether is a fatty acid. Fragrance is the last ingredient. The product is pretty, with a real rose inside.

Directions: Apply a few drops to wet or dry hair, focusing on midlength to ends of the hair.

My hair is thin, dry, frizzy and has a number of split ends that are just starting. I ran out of the Olaplex hair oil I had been using and wanted to give the Briogeo oil a try; I have used for 3 months about 3 times a week. I’ve used the hair oil on dry hair and wet hair after using a leave-in conditioner. The oil has a similar scent to other products in the Don’t Despair, Repair! line with more rose fragrance. The scent is relatively heavy but dissipates pretty quickly.

Just trying the oil on the skin, it leaves a shine and feels moisturizing.

The left photo is the oil applied to dry hair after blow drying, and the right on dry hair after air drying. I shake two drops in my hands, spread on the palms and apply to the hair. As above, the oil is good when using to control frizz and fly-aways, however, with just two drops, my hair looks and feels a bit heavy and is more greasy than silky. Once the oil absorbs a bit, about 10 to 15 minutes, my hair feels oddly dry, so I prefer to use on wet hair. After the 3 months, my hair is not particularly improved; though some say that once hair is damaged, there is nothing that will improve it because the hair is dead. Also, once the hair is split, the only thing to do is cut it as no product will mend a split end together; products like creams or oils may stick the splits ends together, giving a temporary fix.

For comparison, the Olaplex oil is much lighter, more repairing and the hair feels very silky (likely due to the silicone). Another oil I have been using is the Fable and Main HoliRoots Treatment Oil; this is a scalp oil, but I use it on the lengths of my hair as well. HoliRoots is silicone-free, lightweight and makes my hair feel silky, and I also prefer this over the Briogeo oil.

I have since stopped using the Briogeo oil on my hair, but I really like mixing it into body lotion, adding extra protection and ceramides to my skin. I also use as a cuticle oil and layered over hand and foot lotion.

While improving frizz and fly-aways short-term, Briogeo’s Strengthening Treatment Hair Oil is heavy and leaves a greasy yet dry feeling on dry hair and I will not repurchase for use on the hair, however, may keep using on the skin.

Murad Clarifying Body Spray

~ Michele Raiyne ~ Leave a comment

The Clarifying Body Spray by Murad is a spray that works for application at any angle, even hard-to-reach areas, claiming to reduce the number and severity of breakouts on the body and prevent new breakouts from forming, while soothing the skin.

Ingredients: Water, Alcohol Denat, Butylene Glycol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Niacinamide, Allantoin, Glycerin, Nymphaea Coerulea Flower Extract, Panthenol, Glycolic Acid, Menthol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil

Denatured alcohol is the second ingredient, which can be drying to the skin. This contains 0.5% salicylic acid – for home use, the maximum strength is 2%, and this is what I see in many skincare products, so was surprised that this Murad product has only 0.5%. This also has glycolic acid. Glycerin is a humectant. The spray also contains menthol, which provides a cooling effect, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), niacinamide for reducing inflammation and allantoin to soothe and protect the skin. Cymbopogon schoenanthus oil is also known as lemongrass oil, often used for fragrance.

Directions: After cleansing, spray an even layer over affected areas. Start with one application daily, increasing to two of three times daily if needed. If dryness of peeling occurs, reduce application to once a day or every other day.

My teenage daughter and I both used the clarifying body spray, she for back acne for 1-1/2 months and me for chest acne for 4 months, once a the day in the evening. Her back has larger pimples and hyperpigmentation from the breakouts. My back has smaller pimples and whiteheads. The clarifying body spray is a fine mist that spreads easily, is easy to apply and dries fast. It was not drying to the skin. The scent of the product was odd, first smelling like alcohol for a couple seconds, then I thought a mix of almost a urine smell and licorice for a couple seconds (maybe the lemongrass?), however, the scent does not last long as the product dries very fast.

As above, the spray did not prevent new breakouts from forming and the skin was not particularly improved. Since it was not helping, my daughter stopped applying after 1.5 months.

For me, I used daily in the evening for 4 months on my chest. I did not really feel a cooling or soothing effect, nor see a reduction in inflammation. This also did not help prevent new breakouts nor really improve the texture and breakouts already on the skin. I should add that I’m not sure if the breakouts on my chest are keratosis pilaris (this product has helped the KP on my legs particularly); my chest has looked like this for years now (KP is hard to improve and there is no cure), but the breakouts randomly look worse and better. The Murad body spray may not be as beneficial for KP as other products. In any case, I would not repurchase.