Mix up your routine

Yesterday, I had a topsy turvy start to my day; first, I washed my hair with conditioner, rinsed, then lathered my mane with shampoo, second, I put moisturiser on my wet skin, rinsed it off then jumped out the shower.

No, I wasn't half asleep, bleary eyed mixing up the bottles in the bathroom. The reason for my shower shake up was to put two new beauty routine theories to the test.

First up, reverse hair washing. Sounds like a completely ridiculous idea doesn't it? I mean, we've all spent our lives washing our hair with shampoo then following with conditioner, in that order, every time. No questions asked. It tells us so on the bottles themselves! Of course you have to wash your hair first before adding conditioner, it just makes sense.

Well, apparently not. The latest trend to cause a buzz in the beauty world is to wash your hair first with conditioner, rinse, then follow with shampoo once or twice, depending on your usual preference.

'But why?' I hear you cry!

The theory is that washing your hair this way round is that it won't dry your locks out, with the promise of soft, shiny, full of body hair.

The great thing about this trend is that anyone can give it a go - no purchase of new products required. I thought it sounded completely mad but was interested to see if it made any difference. It felt strange to start with conditioner but I went with it, then followed the advice of using a small amount of shampoo (around the size of a 10p coin - the amount we should all have been using all along), before rinsing then drying.

I added my split end protection cream before brushing and blow-drying as usual, and was pleased not to have been faced with a head full of tangles. Straight away, I noticed my hair had a nice shine to it, but didn't look greasy at the roots as I had feared.

The end result isn't too far removed from how my hair normally looks but I do feel like I have more natural body and shine than usual. My advice? Give it a go - you never know unless you try and this could be one beauty trend that could make all the difference for you.

Source

Secondly, I recently bought the Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser (currently on offer in Boots for £2.37 for 250ml). A gimmick of a product if ever I've heard one, you are meant to apply this in the shower after washing, leaving it for a couple of minutes before rinsing off then towel drying as usual. It's like conditioner but for your skin.

I wanted to give this a go as I am too busy / lazy to moisturise my body as much as I should and dislike the still-tacky feeling I'm left with when I put on my clothes for the day. I love the new Vaseline Spray and Go as you can read here and wanted to see if an in-shower moisturiser could really add anything to my routine.

I chose the honey version as I'm a little obsessed with the stuff at the moment (I have the Body Shop lip butter and face mask and I even drizzle honey in my morning juice).

The Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser smells lovely and has a nice creamy texture. It's easy to use and I did notice a difference when I stroked my arms later on in the morning. My skin felt smooth and my dry patches near my elbows weren't as bad as they can be.

I do still think it's perhaps another product that you don't really need but if you're like me and you often skip on the moisturiser as you have somewhere to be / something better to do, then this is a nice addition to your shower routine.