I very rarely steer away from my beloved Aussie products, as they have such a wide range of goodies that there is little need for me to go elsewhere. However, when I received a Percy & Reed Hydrating Hair Mask as a freebie in this week’s Glamour magazine I thought I’d give it a go (as it must be getting quite boring hearing me rave on about Aussie products and not much else in the way of hair care). Plus, it seems silly to waste a perfectly good magazine freebie!
So, the basic premise of the product is that it ‘restores your hairs vitality, making it more soft and manageable’, which let’s face it is pretty much what they all say. The real proof is in the pudding (is that the right saying?), so I decided to give it a try. I liberally applied the hair mask to dry hair (as instructed) and then left it on for ten minutes. It does say to cover your hair with a towel to create a warmer temperature so the hair cuticles will open, however I keep my room at such a baking temperature anyway (I like to be cosy!) that I didn’t think it would need any help.
The mask itself smells gorgeous, it’s a really musky, florally scent teamed with marshmallow which apparently is the secret ingredient. The smell itself lasts hours after you eventually rinse it off, which is lovely if you enjoy quite strong smelling hair products (like Aussie) but not so great if you prefer them to be more natural scented.
After washing off the mask (and shampoo-ing and condition-ing), I blow dried my hair anxious to see the results. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting (flowing, gorgeous, long, silky locks) but the final result wasn’t much different to how it normally looks. Admittedly whilst showering, my hair felt much softer and silkier than it normally did and it was much smoother when brushing my hair but I didn’t notice a considerable difference in the texture of my hair when dry. Perhaps it might take a few uses before I notice a real difference, however I was surprised at how much I loved the smell of the product – and so I think I’d probably continue using it purely for that reason (is that bad?).
At £12 a tube, I’m not sure it’s something that I’d use as a regular product however I’m definitely going to keep trying it because it has made my hair much easier to brush through (which is normally half the job in itself). Next time I use it I will try and follow the instructions a little more closely and make sure it cover my head with a towel to create a warm environment.
I know this shouldn’t be part of the review, but the packaging of the product is gorgeous. I love the simple black and white design, and the cute illustration. Whilst it won’t necessarily stand out from the shelf with its design, it’s certainly a product to look out for if you wish to try something new! If you’d like to try out the product for £2 instead of £10, look out for this month’s edition of GLAMOUR which contains a selected Percy & Reed hair product (they contain either a shampoo, conditioner, mask or polish).
** On the other hand, GLAMOUR magazine’s issue this month is a really interesting read. If you don’t normally pick up GLAMOUR, but love hair & beauty tips, health advice and entertaining articles then I’d definitely recommend it to you. I’m a real lover of GLAMOUR and pick up a copy every month, as I love the main ‘celebrity’ interview, as well as the quirky tips and captions. It’s £2 this month (as some months it bumps the price down to a £1), but I definitely think it’s worth it as you get a lovely freebie and lots of fantastic articles!
