♥ Summer Skin & Hair Necessities+ Reviews

I've been planning this post since the heatwave in London started, which was about a week ago. I wanted to post it when I had time to do all editing, writing and researching. So here you go!

These are my Skin & Hair necessities for this summer. None of these have SPF in them, except for the hair leave in. This is because not everyone gets sunburnt easily, especially not black people. I should probably use it to protect my skin, as I am mixed (Black and White), but for now I'm just protecting my hair.

Sunscreen is really easy to make though and the commercial ones contain a lot of nasty chemicals and additives. To make your own just add Zinc Oxide to your face cream or body lotion.

Holland and Barret 99.9 % Aloe Vera Gel.

Forget after sun creams. They usually contain Aloe Vera because it's extremely soothing as well as cooling. Use this after you've been in the sun for long or after you have shaved.

Pros:

-Cooling

-Natural

-Lasts for long 

Cons:

-Pricey, abour £10

-Can usually only be found in health stores

-Not 100% Aloe Vera since it needs preservatives in it

Dermalogica Soothing Protection Spray 

I have had this for really long, I bought this in a travel size set. I've just rediscovered this because I am so impressed with the ingredient list. This is what Dermalogica says about it here: "An ultra-calming spray formulated with Anti-Ozonate Complex to help protect skin from reactive ozone while active botanicals help reduce irritation and redness. Contains no artificial fragrance or color."

Pros:

-Great for sensitive skin (and for those with rosacea)

-Contains no artifical fragrance or color

-Sinks into skin quickly

-Contains loads of natural extracts.

Cons:

-It's discontinued and replaced with the Not so popular "Ultra Calming face mist", reviews and ingredients here. From what I can see there are similar ingredients but less.

-A bit pricey

Redken Color Extend "Leave-in smoother for sun-exposed hair"

A lot of people forget to protect their hair in the sun. I started to use this about 2 years ago, and this is my second bottle. It lasts for extremely long and is £15-£20, I can't remember. The one I had prior to this was called "UV protection" or something similar but it now discontinued.

I do usually use any silicones in my hair, and do not find them beneficial to my hair, but I figured since they work as heat protectants they might just be beneficial in this sun screen product:

Key ingredient breakdown:

The first half of ingredients in order:

-Silicones & Emollients. 

-Laureth 4- Sun protectant

-Perfume (Synthetic)

-Vitamin E

-Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate- Sun protectant

The last half of ingredients:

-Wheat protein

-Quite a few not so good looking ingredients

-Mango Seed Oil

-Iron Oxides (Colouring)

Pros: 

-Contains Vitamin E 

-Contains heat protections

-Contains Wheat protein

Cons:

-Very pricey

-Silicone based

-Probably too greasy for "white" (non afro) hair. I even find this quite greasy.

-Not very natural ingredients.

What are your summer essentials?

Do you protect your hair with SPF and do you have any recommendations?

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