Mr Thickening Shampoo and Conditoner + Giveaway

Back in May of this year when I opted to move away from the boy band hairstyle (it was starting to look more Wrong Direction rather than youthful One Direction) I was given an outstanding hair makeover and hair care master class by Jamie Stevens. If you read this blog a lot then you’ll know that I have been raving about how it boosted my confidence no end and I’ve raved about the cut and style, I’ve raved about the salt spray from his Mr Range and even done my first ’in conversation’ piece with him about his background, motivation and tips for us blokes when it comes to looking after our hair. Today, yes, it’s another review of products from the Mr Range, this time I’m looking at the MR Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner.

The first time I used this myself was a set gifted from Jamie for me to try and review and when I went and had my hair cut and styled I was given another set to take away. That set got binned at Heathrow when I stupidly packed it for a flight to Glasgow. Since then I have been and bought two more bottles of the shampoo and I have plenty of the first conditioner left. I’m massively addicted to this product and this will come through my thoughts on it below, but be assured, it is an unbiased view and as a product I’ve only one found shampoo and conditioner set either before or since that comes close to having the same exceptional results.

You can read about the Jamie here and get the low-down on the shampoo here and the conditioner here.

You can pick up the shampoo and conditioner at most larger Boots stores or direct from the Mr website here. For a 250ml bottle of the shampoo costs £10 while 200ml of the conditioner again costs the same, £10, which to me is really reasonable when you consider the price of other shampoo and conditioner sets which more often than not leave my fine hair feeling brittle.

The shampoo has dual active Pea Peptide and Hexapeptide-11, and it promises to remove dirt, grease and product build up. They also say that ‘MR. THICKENING SHAMPOO helps promote thicker, stronger hair that’s resistant to breakage when used in conjunction with MR. THICKENENING CONDITIONER’. Bold claim indeed, bold claims!

Every time I use this I have flashbacks to having my hair cut and the smell of Jamie’s salon in Kensington. It brings a smile to my face, and when you are using a product on a daily basis, and first thing in the morning that smile is a great pick-me-up. It’s fresh, light and gives of an air of almost sterile. As a person who loves the smell of bleach (yes, I’m weird) I love it.

It does what it says on the tin, it removes even the most stubborn of hair products, it strips out the pollution and grime that builds up on a daily basis and ewww you can see the grime in the water as it comes off. With a dab of the conditioner and a rinse my hair feels really much stronger (after using it about a month). Patting dry rather than rubbing (excellent tip from Jamie that one) does seem to have stopped the thinning on either side of my forehead and my hair is now sooooo thick!

Styling does appear to take me a lot less time now as well which is weird as I have so much more hair to style!

Personally I really can’t see myself moving away from this shampoo and conditioner set. When applying a touch of salt spray after drying my hair has extra thickness, has greater volume and feels great to the touch. It’s the bees knees people and that is why I’m offering a set to a reader. See below for details and remember to complete the mandatory entries otherwise your entry will be invalidated and if you are under 18, ensure you have parental permission to enter because I will need your home address!

a Rafflecopter giveaway If you don’t win this set, I suggest you dip deep and go and try it. There are often deals to be had if you check out the Mr or Jamie’s own Twitter feeds.

FORGET THE REST, TRY THE BEST 

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Schwarzkopf 3D Molding Wax

When it comes to hair products I’m not short of things to try, and that is why nearly a year after sending me a pot of the Schwarzkopf 3D Molding Wax (shouldn't that be moulding?) I’ve finally gotten around to writing about it. Oops, sorry! I could pretend that it is purely because I wanted to use the entire tub but I’d be lying, it’s actually because I’ve found this one of the hardest posts to write…..ever, and what’s weirder is I have no idea why (indeed, I appear to becoming more and more clueless as I get older).

Anyway, before I digress any further from what is essential about some goop you put in your hair to hair it a bit of background into my hair and the product itself.

When I started using this months ago my hair was in a permanent state of shock, by which I mean I had short and spiky hair. This has grown out and more often that not now I can be found with longer hair that is swept back. The two photographs below show the general styles I’ve been sporting for the last six months.

So, onto the product……at just over £10 this is more expensive than other styling products from Schwarzkopf. In the past I have picked up their products and been mildly surprised by their affordability and performance – you can read about my experiences of got2b Spiking Glue here and got2b Glued Spiking Wax here if you so wish. This is what they say about it over on the Schwarzkopf website:

‘Get maximum, 3D care and protection for your hair with the Schwarzkopf [3D]MEN range, a collection of products that address the daily challenges of a man's hair.

3D MEN STYLING

The first styling brand matching the 3 key performance dimensions of male styling:

[1] Hold

[2] Texture

[3] Definition

Molding Wax

The versatile wax is ideal for creating supple styles with a natural hold, and it is particularly effective on medium-length hair that craves volume and shape. The creamy texture of the wax melts onto hair without stickiness, and offers a natural shine finish that lasts.

•    Maximum moldability cream wax

•    Create and re-invent with gravity-defying shapes

•    Natural shine finish

•    Apply to dry hair and mould into style’

Styling with 3D is actually quite easy no matter how long the length of hair - personally I find that even with short spikes or a messy look the style is held perfectly in place even without blow-drying. I have to admit that with a short style it does help slightly when applied to damp hair. That said, even after being exposed to stupidly strong wind it only moves the hair slightly which makes manipulating back into style a breeze (pun intended). 

As my hair gets longer I think this is where 3D comes into its own - with a brushed back style like the photographs show it holds, and it holds all day, and then well into the night with no hassle. Seriously, apply this at 8 a.m and it'll still be holding your hair in place at 10 p.m - you can't argue with that kind of staying power. It’s so hard wearing that it is on a par with Structure Adhesive Paste, one of the most hardwearing hair styling products I’ve ever used – the main difference is that this is much easier to style with on medium to longer hair.

Can it all be that good? Affordable purchase price, easy to apply and long lasting hold. What are the downsides? Well, there aren't any 'downsides' per se but my minor bugbears are that hair feels a tad greasy to the touch a few hours after using (simple solution: stop touching your hair) and finally you will be disgusted at how much pollution and grime it attracts and helps clings to your hair. Washing it out every morning brings the inevitable "eurgh" as I watch the manky (Mancunian for dirty) water wash away in the shower - so not a fault of the product, but still not nice thinking how much s**t has been stuck in your hair overnight.

Personally I love this stuff – while it looks like a cream, makes it easy to style as though you are using a cream you could be forgiven for thinking that this may be a cream. I was actually a bit confused when I realised that it is in fact a wax. The purchase price is an irrelevance when you consider that I’ve been using this nearly every day for over six months and it is only just now running out. That’s value people, and value that should be applauded.

This won’t leave horrific residue that starts to flake, makes styling easy and has hold that lasts for ages.

What’s not to like?

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Tigi’s Mini Bed Head Manipulator

A funky gunk that rocks! - that is what Tigi’s Bed Head Manipulator cries out as soon as you remove the lid, but is it funky, is it gunky and will it actually manage to keep my hair in place in the face of gale force winds on a trip to the South Bank in the name of cultural enlightenment.

At £3.74 for a 30g tub it looks tiny, but hey, good things come in small packages (sometimes). This does seem incredibly cheap for a hair styling product that claims to do all sorts of things! This came in a beauty box some months ago and the missus ignored it like an elderly relative in a care home so I stole it and gave it a try. 

This is what they say about it over at the Tigi website here:

‘Be a Master Manipulator. Get whacked-out hair – spike, twist dreads or go punky. More mainstream? Get body and texture.

Support factor: 3
Texture factor: 5
Separated & textured with a matte finish
Pliable, supportive & long-lasting
Good for any hair length or texture
Separates & smoothes fly-aways.’

First of all, being whacked out means something completely different to me! It usually involves heavy nights out and waking up under a trampoline, falling down stairs or just simply forgetting which city I’m in (I kid you not). As for being a master manipulator, well, I don’t need any help with that thanks Tigi. Anyhow, once again I digress! 

This has a lovely aroma to it, I say it has the smell of fresh apples, whereas my other half suggested it had a tropical hint to the notes. Either way, I think it smells delightful and doesn’t have any hint of chemical undertones to it, so no chance of being accused of smelling plastic. 

Once you’ve stuck your fingers in you get that gunky feeling (just take a look at the picture below), it’s like a thick pliable goo on your fingertips, but actually, once spread across the palms and applied to hair it soaks in really well, absorbed into each and every strand it comes close to. Great stuff.

Now, the big thing - can you style with something that it so gooey and gunky? Well yes, actually I think it’s a breeze. On short styles it is fantastic and makes hair so pliable you can style anything, and I mean anything. At Halloween I styles a pair of devil horns (which I thought looked great) but as I was going out for a serious dinner with colleagues from work had to take out (booooo). On longer styles it doesn’t lose any of its appeal at all, and I like this when going for my ‘cable thief’ style (it looks like I’ve been electrocuted when trying to steal some copper cable). 

I’ve added in a photograph of my hair styled using this to help you get an idea of what it is capable of - and to save me having to describe it to the Nth degree (lazy, yes I know). 

Me, being a bit of a tool in Perth on Halloween.....

It dries quickly, sets firm, but hair retains the ability to be restyled. As I’ve said, I styled horns but didn’t have to go and wash it out and start again. I simply used my palm to flatten my hair and then whoosh, with a flick across the top the spikes were back. Brilliant. 

Fiddly as f*** to apply, but the results are simply too good to cast this aside and say “sod it”. I like the fragrance, it’s so refreshing first thing in the morning. It also appeals to the inner (many would say outer) child in me as it is gunky but by far and away the best thing, thankfully (otherwise it would be getting panned) is the hold. It isn’t going to hold massive spikes in place but on shorter styles it looks as though it has a wet finish for a few hours and then actually develops a matte look finish and for me, that makes it look as though my hair is staying in place naturally - excellent (said in a Mr Burns voice). 

Yes, yes it is a funky gunk that rocks - and a product I will be keeping for when I need to style some extreme spikes.

RECOMMENDED

If you want to pick this up cheap, I would suggest you head over to ASOS here where it is currently available for the price above. 

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The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

Being a big fan of The Bluebeards Revenge range of products the opportunity to get my hands on three of their new hairstyling products was not one I could turn down, especially when challenged to come up with three styles using:

The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Paste
The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Clay
The Bluebeards Revenge Pomade

At £9.99 each for 100ml tubs of these beauties they are affordable, but the proof in pudding firmly comes down to the tasting, well, not the tasting, but you known what I mean - do these babies make styling easy, have acceptable levels of hold and finally, once dried is there fear of flakes? On with the show….

The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Paste

I call this hairstyle ‘The Porcupine’ as once my hair grows long it’s either huge vertical spikes or styling them into more of a diagonal direction which reminds me of the prickly creature. An absolute breeze to style with the Matt Paste.

I find that waiting until my hair has nearly dried naturally before taking the paste and rubbing it between my palms. After running through my hair it is as easy as running the left palm over the top from back to front. Simple! 

As the hair is drying the paste seems to be absorbed really quickly which removes the need for any additional heat to dry - it becomes almost instantly sticky and the style holds, and holds and holds. The image below is the final style taken on my way home from work some ten hours after first styling.

The paste smells great, has excellent hold and even when wearing dark clothing I haven’t managed to detect a hint of those dreaded white flakes that come from some lower end hair styling products. 

The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Clay

I had managed to successfully avoid using clay for years until I was converted towards the end of 2014. Since then I have found that it is brilliant for shorter styles but given my laziness on my week off work I haven’t actually managed to drag my carcass down the road to my hairdresser. 

With this in mind, I have used the clay to create ‘The Serious’, it’s actually a homage to Yahoo Serious (if you haven’t seen the film Young Einstein, where have you been?). This is Yahoo....

This is me....

Again, applying to slightly damp hair I use the clay on my fingertips to rub it in from root to tip. Once this is done a combination of palm and brush is used to create a wild style with the hair shooting off at any old angle. Some would say this is a scruffy look - I laugh in their faces, this is the best I can do with hair this thick and long.

The hold is great. It isn’t absorbed into the hair as such, but it does coat the strand and makes it brilliant if later in the day or night you want to alter the style. The clay leaves the hair pliable and completely residue free. Awesome.

The Bluebeards Revenge Pomade

I call this hairstyle ‘The Seabreeze’, not because it’s some kind of cocktail inspired hairstyle but because I styled it when stood in a force six gale on the coat in Suffolk earlier in the week. 

The pomade looks black in the tub but actually when you remove it (and it is really pliable) it seems like a tar/brown colour.

Having just showered and with a lack of hairdryer I applied this to my damp hair and simply brushed it back into the style I wanted. Add a lovely North Sea breeze and it dried quickly and set solidly. It really takes very little to style for hours of hold and while on drying my hair does feel a touch crispy, running your fingers through over and over again won’t leave your hands full of residue or sticky. This I like a lot. 

As the image and smile below shows - a) I had a cocktail in hand and b) my hair was set for the night.

All three of these products have excellent and long lasting hold, they are affordable and a little really goes far meaning that these tubs will last me for an absolute age (even more so when I finally get around to having my hair lopped off). 

Next to no residue, no white flakes and easy to style you can do a lot worse (and I have in the past). With this in mind I can wholeheartedly recommend these. Check them out.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

What do you think to my three creations?

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Sumotech by Bumble and bumble

Sumotech by Bumble and bumble, no it’s not some new nappy system for Sumo wrestlers but in fact a lo-gloss elastic moulding compound for styling your hair.

If you read my recent post about Bumble and bumble grooming crème you may recall that I said I wasn’t a fan of Sumotech. Well that was then and since smashing palm into keyboard to commit my ill considered thoughts to the Internet I have done a bit of a three point turn, mainly because:

• I actually discovered some patience and persevered in using it instead of having a mild paddy, stamping my feet and launching it in the direction of the bin.

• After figuring out how to apply it easily, the hold and finish kicked most other hair styling products into the long grass.

There, I’m man enough to admit that I’m wrong (that makes two admissions in my lifetime) but readers, read on and I will tell you more….

Sumotech came with a batch of other hair products for me to try, and here I will give my balanced thoughts on the compound, particularly my first impressions, why you should take your time when using it and why if I could afford it on a regular basis this would give some of my favourite styling products a run for their money.

When I say if I could afford it this is because it costs so much, it is expensive I think for a hair styling product. Maybe I’m just getting tight with cash in my old age. For a small 50ml tub of the compound it costs £21.50, yes, £21.50.…(insert expletive).

What do Bumble and bumble say about Sumotech? 

‘Flexible hold, lightweight structure, matte finish, water-soluble, pliability

What: It's not a wax, not a paste and not a creme, but a midweight moulding compound that's a combination of all three (and a miracle of modern technology).

Who: Anyone; a natural for short hair; won't overwhelm fine hair; perfect for highly textural cuts. 

When: Anytime; after Prep or Tonic Lotion; use on damp or dry hair to style.

How: Spread a pea-size dab or two onto palms and work through barely damp or dry hair with fingers and style; work quickly and try not to overwork; spray down with Tonic Lotion (or Bb.Shine) to rework or to cut hold.’

OK, the first time I used this my hair was far too long - it was actually so long I had developed a full blown Shawcrest (a massive quiff, the name comes from a very funny former colleague blending my surname with crest - if Carlsberg made communications folk…..). Had I taken the time to read the packaging instead of diving in fingers first to see what it felt like I would have seen that this compound is actually for shorter styles.

Trust me, in my head there is a man continually slow clapping my original efforts. It was just too fiddly to style and I had to use quite a bit to get the hair moulded and styled how I wanted it, and even then, in the end it just didn’t have that oomph so I used something else. Total time wasted, 30 minutes.

Had I read the blurb above I wouldn’t have been so frustrated, but after having my hair taken down to two inches in length I decided to have another go. With hair slightly damp after washing I took just a pea sized amount (shown below) and massaged it into my palms. 

This is where it gets tricky to describe - to the touch when scooping it out of the pot it has the feel of a wax, but isn’t a wax. It’s almost like a solidified cream that had gone hard in the sun. As it warms though it takes on more of a pomade feel, silky in nature making it really easy to run through hair from root to tip. The fragrance is nothing to write home about but that really doesn‘t matter, personally if it doesn‘t smell like Fructis (fresh apples) I would prefer them to be scent free. 

Styling the second and third time around took just minutes - result. What I found really interesting (well, novel) is the way you can feel the hair becoming more and more rigid as you style. As this happens the shine from damp hair and the product starts to fade down to the final matte finish. It doesn’t look like any hair products have been used and that is a big thumbs up from me. 

The hold is excellent - the style and hair isn’t crunchy in a way some gels, glues and pastes can set. As an example, I styled my hair using this on Friday morning, didn’t wash my hair on Saturday morning and headed out fishing (and wrapped up, even with a ridiculous hat). In the evening the style was still there, a quick brush with my hand and it was back, some forty hours later. As an additional bonus, the residue on hands is negligible and if it doesn’t bother me then it is unlikely to bother others. 

For short hair this is perfect and when worked into a choppy style I have to say that even I find myself nodding in quiet agreement that my hair looks fabulous (and that is rare). 

Yes the initial purchase price probably will put people off, but you shouldn’t let it. A 50ml pot, using just a pea sized amount daily will mean that will still be hanging around waiting to be used in six months, with more to give. A little goes a long way and when you consider that in my opinion it has the best matte finish ever then you should give it a try. 

Is it a wax, is it a creme, is it a wax paste? No, it is a cracking little compound that keeps hair in place and looking great for days on end. 

RECOMMENDED

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got2b Glued Spiking Wax by Schwarzkopf

Last month I wrote about a bargain purchase in Manchester, got2b Spiking Glue by Schwarzkopf - it was an urgent buy after I had forgotten my hair products and was hours away from giving a eulogy at my grandfathers funeral. As part of a buy two for £4 deal I also picked up a 75ml tub of the got2b Glued Spiking Wax, like the spiking glue, promising ‘screaming hold’. 

Without going into the usual hilarity that is my own mental illness (the voices, the voices), I needed to style some long hair, some four inches in length and I needed to do it quickly. By the time that I got around to using this, opting to use the glue on the actual day I wasn’t in need of screaming hold, just something to keep my then five inch long spikes upright.

This is what Schwarzkopf say about the spiking wax:

‘The first wax from got2b with screaming hold for remouldable extreme styles without the crunch. Moulds like a wax, holds like a glue!

How to use: Rub a small amount of wax between your palms, work into dry hair and style as desired.

Extra tip:

For outrageous spikes twist a small amount into the hair tips.’

First thing first, I love the smell of this wax, it is so fresh and reminds me of the Fructis gels I would use in my teens. While the teen flashbacks resulted in me shuddering at the clothes I used to wear, the strong apple fragrance is simply lovely. While writing this up I have literally had my nose buried into the pot sniffing away.

If you can get over the lovely fragrance the next thing that is a little bit weird is the actual texture of the wax. Expecting something that would need to be warmed to make pliable I was presented with what can only be described as a cream like substance. 

With the texture of a cream it makes the spiking wax so easy to apply, but even easier if applied to slightly damp hair. When I apply to dry hair I find it just a little bit too tricky to style into spikes and have to make do with a choppy look after I had it cut down. When applied to damp hair spikes are a breeze and when dried hold as well as when applied to dry.

In terms of hold, the claims of being ‘screaming’ it isn’t far from the truth, it does hold and hold and then hold a little bit more. It’s excellent. When applying early in the morning the style is still going strong at three the following morning after a night in a sweaty bar and nightclub. Nothing knocks this off its stride.

Now for the best bit, how my hair looks when styled. This leaves my hair with a great matte look finish, which when styling shorter lengths looks good in my opinion. It also retains a bit of pliability so the style can be changed. 

Unlike the slue, where hair feels crunchy, there is no danger of this and while changing the style can result in a little residue on the hands it isn’t as bad as my experiences with Wella products.

As someone who can take or leave wax I have found over the last couple of weeks that more and more I am reaching for the spiking wax over every other hair styling product I have to choose from. It is excellent value for money (hey, it only cost me £2), makes styling easy, holds hair brilliantly and leaves it looking really quite natural.

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