#WeAreTesting Antonin B Paris Bio-Organic Haircare

If there’s one rule of thumb in my world, it goes along the lines, ‘my hair is the most misbehaved, disobedient bodily feature I own, living somewhere on a distant planet called I Do Only What I Want, Regardless What You Want. You wouldn’t want this mantra to be internalised by your children or life partner, and you’d also kinda want your hair to oblige — well, at least the rules of gravity. Sounds already like a lost case, doesn’t it? 

However, whenever there’s a situation without a solution, I would desperately want to fight the odds and make the impossible seem possible. To make the misbehaved voluntarily cooperate in the same rhythm with other bodily features and creatures I am forced to live with all my life, unfortunately hair (that doesn't want to behave) is one of them. Recently, I’ve started growing a fond interest in ethical and organic products in every aspect of life, so it followed quite naturally I also started looking into removing the chemicals found in my haircare products and treatments. All as natural and chemical-free as possible, s’il voussss plait. I screamed and yelled at the imaginary attendants on my imaginary flight from Messy Hair to Hair Heaven. The greatest Hair Emergency always seems to take place when you least expect it — on travels to the most distant lands, deserts and plateaus, whereas it is guaranteed your most beloved creams and serums are sold miles away, or when worse comes to worst, not at all. 

This time, I took these 2 miracle hair products by Antonin B. along with me to my latest travel adventure to a rather sticky and humid country, Tunisia, North Africa, to be precise, hence I needed my hair to be held well — neatly and nicely — in place, and not to let me down even once in this hectic 24-hour cycle. Firstly, the eco-certified hair oil Ceramides Enriched Desert Serum, boasting the ability to restore long-lasting hydration, helps to fight hair dryness, and bio-organic Intense Honey Butter with honey extract makes sure your hair starts behaving even under the most tricky weather conditions, without even attempting to lose its silkiness and smoothness. 

Antonin B: Ceramides Enriched Desert Serum.

I applied this Antonin B. bio-organic hair serum overnight every day by massaging a fair share of three to four moisturising elixir droplets into my hair, without rinsing it afterwards. I felt like the overnight treatment proved to be effective, as my hair was getting repaired during the hours I was enjoying my much needed beauty sleep. The delicate aroma of — well, just pure natural oil — is indistinct enough not to come across overwhelming or even cause headaches, which I personally always appreciate about personal care and beauty products. 

In the morning, after treating my hair to a light rinse, I truly saw the repairing effects of the serum: the oil had transformed my misbehaved bangs into a resilient, obedient citizen, always willing to walk the line and follow the rules of authority. As per instruction for a longer lasting result, I applied two to three drops on damp hair followed by a blow-dry. You could even flat iron straight afterwards, and make sure to add one to two drops for extra shine. Blow drying the hair after applying the serum helps the results show effect much faster and also guarantees your hair stays intact for longer. And well before starting the strenuous hikes and wonderful strolls around the ancient city’s Medina area, I also needed a strong, secure fix to fight any unexpected breeze along the way. 

Antonin B: Intense Honey Butter.

Here another product by Antonin B. came to help, appearing as miraculously as a life-saving Ghostbuster, the bio balm with natural honey extract guarantees not even a single misbehaved piece of hair stays floating unkemptly in air. As a result, your curls are fixated neatly, making the hair look healthier than ever before, and even adding additional density and glow to the ends. The texture is so light and the product dissolves naturally on its own, so you do not even need to wash your hands after applying the balm! (however, for hygiene reasons I would still recommend to do so). I was 6 hours on road and my hair stayed intact for the entire day of discovering the marvels of ancient Tunis city and even remained entirely photo proof: yes, sometimes it is all we, women, need… merci, Antonin B., for not taking our recurring hair troubles and concern about ethical matters entirely lightly. 

If you have any doubts regarding choosing the right gift for all the haircare freaks, or those obsessed all over with chemical-free products, Antonin B. is here to help you out with a fresh, Christmassy take on vegan haircare, with the limited edition offer also featured in our Conscious Gift Guide 2016.

Still not entirely convinced? Find the range of products and story here.

#WeAreTesting: Artisanal Apothecary by Evolve Beauty

Artisanal producer of green cosmetics, Evolve Beauty from Hertfordshire, UK, shares their expertise on the benefits of hand-crafted, natural beauty blends. Their organic apothecary range so far consists of facial, body and hair products. All their products are vegan, cruelty-free and produced in small batches, to ensure the freshness of superfood based ingredients. 

Hyaluronic Serum 200, Evolve Beauty UK. 

Hyaluronic Serum 200, Evolve Beauty UK. 

Savant tested their most popular products — Hyaluronic Serum 200 and Daily Renew Facial Cream with Argan oil for a week. The delicate pomegranate-infused serum with rose petal scent gave our skin a nice healthy glow and repaired the skin’s uneven surfaces when applied overnight. The Daily Renew cream, scented with delicate coconut aroma, offers 24-hour protection against irritation and is perfect for preparing the skin for winter, when it is more receptive to dryness and eczema.

What are the benefits of organic facial oils and serums?

Using Organic skincare is highly recommended. Not only are organic products better for the environment, containing no nasty ingredients or synthetic fragrances, but they are more earth-friendly and truly repairing your skin texture. Synthetic ingredients can cause irritation and, ultimately, ageing of the skin (inflamm-ageing). 

What's the most popular product out of your own range?

Our most popular facial product is the Hyaluronic Serum 200. It contains 200mg of low molecular weight Hyaluronic Acid which has the ability to retain 1000 times its weight in water. It also contains Organic Pomegranate extract, which softens and protects. It has been delicately fragranced with organic rosewater. 

What could be the reason behind our beauty counters turning more organic and fuss-free? Why do we now care about what we put on our faces as much as we care about what goes into our bodies? 

Same as above really — fuss-free cosmetics give therapeutic and more effective results. Customers are becoming more and more aware of the effect of synthetic ingredients in they beauty products and are therefore turning to organic en masse

"Plants that survive in very harsh environments have developed special coping mechanisms — think about the rainforest, where it’s very hot and humid… perfect place for bacteria to grow! Some rainforest plants have the ability to fight off bacteria when applied to the skin."

Name your other organic go-to products and brands that deserve a shoutout. 

This is slightly biased, but I’ll say S5 Skincare! S5 is a range of organic cosmeceutical products based on ingredients sourced from the 5 most extreme ecosystems. Plants that survive in very harsh environments have developed special coping mechanisms — think about the rainforest, where it’s very hot and humid… perfect place for bacteria to grow! Some rainforest plants have the ability to fight off bacteria when applied to the skin. Fascinating!

Besides beauty, what other  'green lifestyle' principles are represented in your everyday life?

100% organic food! Also, cleansing products that are as natural as possible.

Daily Renew Facial Cream, Evolve Beauty UK. 

Daily Renew Facial Cream, Evolve Beauty UK. 

How did you do the testing and find out which combinations would actually work together? 

We work in very close collaboration with our ingredient suppliers, who advise us on formulation. Our little lab is also excellent at coming up with trump formulations! We are also running customer surveys to ask our customers, what they feel is missing from the range, and what they would like to see launched. 

Who is the target audience for green beauty?

Anyone and everyone. I see more people, who were accustomed to using only conventional skincare, now slowly turning to natural and organic, so we see everyone as a potential customer.

The beauty of the healing effect of organic beauty is that, in order to see the difference, you need to religiously apply the products every day, but after noticing the visible, lasting results that help us feel good in our own skin, this becomes a second nature.

http://www.evolvebeauty.co.uk