Irregular skincare for your hair?

Sounds unusual but yes indeed this is how Australian based hair king Kevin Murphy describes his brand of haircare.  Born from the philosophy of skincare, the products are designed to deliver performance, strength and longevity. The company looked for micro cultivation and organic growing practices to ensure that their collection is of the highest natural quality, furthermore, all Kevin Murphy products are sulphate free, paraben free and cruelty free. Kevin is an Australian-born hairdresser who trained in London with the Vidal Sassoon team before returning to Australia to build his fashion career which involves hair for catwalk show, editorial and films, and he has been credited as the hairdresser who invented the iconic “beach hair” look.  On top of that Murphy has won a prestigious D&AD design award for packaging and design for his products.

We tested some of their shampoos for different hair types and these are our experiences with them:

Blonde Angel:
This is a colour enhancing shampoo for blonde hair with Murmuru Butter, Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter, Jojoba Seed Oil, Keratin Amino Acids and Sunflower Seed Oil. These natural ingredients avoid the stripping of colour, promote glossy hair, improve the flexibility and elasticity, bring shine, volume, hydration and strengthen damaged hair. It is made for blonde and grey hair.

Annika from the team tried the shampoo and conditioner on her bleached blonde, thick hair.  The first thing she noticed when using  it was the bright purple colour of the shampoo and the strong lavender scent of the product. It lathered really well, so that you don’t need a lot of product to cover all of your hair. After using the products, her hair felt very moisturized, soft, shinier and the bleached blonde colour looked a lot brighter and with a colder undertone instead of a yellow one, which was really good. She definitely noticed a difference in her hair with this product and it kept all the promises on the packaging.

Balancing:
This is a strengthening daily shampoo for coloured hair and its ingredients include Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Extract, Canaga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil, Superoxide Dismutase, Pelargonium Gravelons (Geranium) Flower Oil, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Camellia Sinesis Leaf Extract (Green Tea), and Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract. It is an antioxidant for everyday washing which protects the hair against damage caused by hot irons or dryers. It strengthens the hair and supports the vitality of it and suits normal to oily hair, as it also balances out the sebum production and adds volume to fine hair.

Our team member Brenna who has normal hair that is neither very thick nor fine tried this. She felt the shampoo felt very silky and soft and smelled natural, fresh and like citrus with hints of lemon and lavender. It lathered quite well, but not overly foamy which made it easier to apply to the hair all over and afterwards, she explained that her hair felt much softer, less fizzy and shinier. We also tried this one out on fine, hair that was not dyed and it made the hair a lot stronger and gave it more volume. It kept the hair looking clean and healthy for more days than with other products. Overall, we had only great experiences with this shampoo and would absolutely recommend it.

Hydrate-Me including
Hydrate-Me .Masque
Hydrate-Me. Wash
Hydrate-Me. Rinse

A Kakadu Plum infused moisture delivery shampoo with ingredients such as Hydrolysed Silk Extracts, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Shea Butter, Bergamot Essential Oil, and Evening Primrose Oil. This wash is extremely smoothing and hydrating and it is made for dry and damaged hair types. The formulation is packed with antioxidants to give the hair a healthy glow and moisture. The rinse nourishes dry hair and makes split ends unrecognisable and the mask delivers hydration and moisture.

Lucy from the team tried the whole “Hydrate-Me” range on her fine bleached damaged hair and especially the conditioner left the hair feeling very moisturised and soft; she also felt the masque (used twice a week) was VERY thick and moisturising and smelt amazing! Lucy pointed out that all of the products have a very fruity fresh smell and they lathered up very quickly. After regular use, her hair has become stronger and showed the high quality of the products, which she is keen to go and purchase again!

Young Again:
This restorative softening shampoo contains six Australian Fruit extracts, Baobab Seed Oil, Immortelle, and a complex of 20 Amino Acids. Anti-aging extracts from Lotus Flower and Orchid help to renew youthful lustre and shine to dry hair.

Hannah, one of our writers, tried this but because her hair is of African heritage with a mixture of relaxed and natural hair , she felt that the shampoo and rinse didn’t really moisture her hair but apart from that, the texture was very light, it was beautifully scented and smelled more of a rich perfume than of a shampoo. It was also easy to wash out and the packaging is designed really well.

Motion lotion

This product contains sunscreen to protect your hair and claims to add  body and control, enhances curls on long or fine hair in a weightless, invisible lotion. It contains Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract and Antioxidant that protects the hair from free-radical damage, anti-inflammatory, increases circulation and regenerates the hair. It also contains Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Pelargonium Gravelons (Geranium) Flower Oil for shine, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil  to balance hair and scalp Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil  for nourishment and  also acts as an excellent remedy against dandruff, untimely fall of hair.

Our contributor Laura tried this on her thick, curly greying hair and she said she ‘had given up on trying to control her frizzy hair.  Using it gave me well defined curls,  but was vary  of the amounts I use as I found I need so little of it, as too much makes my hair a bit limp. It smelled great to and that was an added bonus’

The products are just a small fraction of the range which is available here but visit the Kevin Murphy website to see all the range and find out more about this Aussie hair King.