Putting an End to Animal Testing: Old Wives Tail


Haircare is one of my favourite types of beauty products- I've been trying to grow my hair long for a couple of years now, and I'm always interested in anything that can help speed up the process by protecting my limp locks. Deep conditioners really can be little wonder products, and so whenever my hair is feeling a bit drab or lifeless a hair mask is always my first port of call. Most recently I've been using an organic haircare brand called 'Old Wives Tail' which makes a range of all natural masks for different hair types, and very generously donates 10% of their proceeds to stopping animal testing. 

Old Wives Tail have a few different oils and treatments targeted to different hair complaints, I chose their 'Jojoba, Clove and Organic Oil' mask which is a hydrating, natural and balancing hair treatment for dull, thinning, brittle or broken hair. While I've managed to get my hair out of a state of what only can be described as 'disrepair' over the last few years (yeah, it really was that bad) I still thought that this was the treatment best suited to my fine, bleached hair. The pure organic jojoba oil in the mask works by penetrating every hair follicle to add strength, volume and texture to weak, lifeless hair and it also has both anti-bacterial and stimulating properties. Massaged onto the scalp it's even said to stimulate hair growth, which is probably something I would have been skeptical of a few years ago but reading up on haircare (in a bid to grow mine to a decent length!) there does seem to be ingredients out there that actually can do this. You apply to damp hair and leave on for one hour- you can also leave it on overnight if you hair is in really bad condition. The pot is fairly small but you get a good three to four treatments out of it, and as my hair isn't in too bad condition I'd only use it once a week. After using this my hair did feel nice- really smooth and 'swishable', you know the feeling! I reckon on really damaged hair this stuff would be a lifesaver- I could have done with this about four years ago when my hair was literally breaking off!

On a slightly more negative note, I really don't like how this particular treatment smells and was glad to wash it off after the hour was up. I couldn't have left it on overnight for this reason, although maybe I'm just being a wimp and other people wouldn't find it to be too bad. After chatting with the owner of the brand she explained it was probably the clove oil which can be quite a strong smell (although it's this clove-y goodness that contributes to the effectiveness of the mask, so it's swings and roundabouts really). Overall the company is for such a great cause, and while I personally wouldn't go for this scent again I'd most definitely give some of their other treatments a go.

Have you heard of Old Wives Tail?