Noughty – The Greenwich Mummy

My Noughty Wave Hello Haircare Review

December 1, 2018May 29, 2019Posted in Hair & Beauty, ReviewsTagged ad/sponsored post, Brand Collaboration, british curlies, Curly Girl Method, curly hair, haircare, natural products, Noughty, Reviews, wavy 2a hair, wavy hairLeave a comment

…so Noughty it’s good!

I LOVE British brands when it comes to beauty. Especially now that we’ve been able to step up our game in offering high quality, natural products that actually work! I’ve become a convert with my skincare and have left a lot of my beloved Dermalogica products behind, swapping it for more natural brands like Neal’s Yard Remedies and Australian skincare brand, A’Kin because I also really like Aussie skincare and haircare brands.

I recently got my hands on some lovely samples of the Noughty Wave Hello range. I’m no newbie to the products, I’ve used them before and fell in love with some instantly but then moved away to try others, so it was nice to give them a go again. There’s also a vlog review which you can watch at the end of this post.

Check out my vlog at the end of this post!

I love experimenting with products but there are a few ranges that I really can’t be without and these definitely include the Noughty Hair care products. So without further ado, here’s my review on Noughty’s Wave Hello haircare range. If you don’t fancy reading, you can watch the video review instead. 🙂

My Noughty Wave Hello Haircare review…

For my loose wavy type 2A hair, I really love it! It’s nice and lightweight, cleanses my hair properly but still remains gentle and smells lovely and fresh. I used the Wave Hello shampoo, conditioner and curl creme in a number of different variations and can say after two weeks, I prefer using just the shampoo and conditioner as I found the curl creme just too heavy for my hair.

Wave Hello Shampoo/Low-poo
Enriched with sea kelp (to help soothe the scalp) and avocado oil (locks in moisture, strengthens hair), this low-poo gently cleanses the scalp to leave it fresh and clean without stripping it of natural oils.

As I only wash my hair twice a week maximum, I tend to get oil buildup on my scalp but just one application (sometimes two if it’s VERY OILY) and my scalp is squeaky clean. I feel like the shampoo lathers up much more than when I first tried out the range but that might be due to my hair now being used to non-sulfate/non-silicone cleansers. When I first used this range my hair was still getting used to changing over to the natural products so maybe it was more greasy then making it seem like there was less lather during each wash.

Post-washed hair (left) and 1st day after washing (right)

I cleanse my hair either in the bath if I’m having a soak or over it if it’s just a hair-wash day. I run warm water down the hair and lather up with this low-poo once or twice depending on how much buildup I’ve got. I concentrate the low-poo on my roots and spread the lather to the ends to keep them from being over-cleansed. I then rinse and always follow up with conditioner. When I am doing a clarifying wash, I would follow up with an intensive hair treatment/deep conditioner instead.

Wave Hello Conditioner
Definitely one of my favourite conditioners. The conditioner contains the same active ingredients as the shampoo. The two that I think really comes out in this product is something called ‘Quinoxy’ which somehow reminds me of ‘quinoa’. It’s similar – quinoxy is Noughty’s “blend of wheat extract, camellia oil and linoleic acid to blitz flyaways, decrease volume, boost smoothness and retain shape”. My fine to medium hair always seems less frizzy with the shampoo and when I mix it with water as part of my 2nd day hair refresh mist (1 part water, 1 part conditioner) it really revives my waves and keeps it as frizz-free as possible…

2nd day hair: near enough frizz-free!

I also really like Shea Moisture’s weightless coconut-fusion range and find it a great alternative to my Noughty Wave Hello collection. I alternate between these two as Shea Moisture products contain protein-based ingredients, Noughty doesn’t.

Wave Hello Curl Taming Creme
As much as I wanted to love it, it wasn’t for me. It made my hair feel heavy and just weighed down my sensitive, loose waves. From the video, you can see that my waves will literally straighten out if you brush them with your fingers. I think curlier hair or wavies with a tighter pattern will benefit from this cream, especially curlier hair as it’s a rich cream. It’s just too heavy for my fine and sensitive waves. My daughter’s 3A/3B curls really loves this cream and so I use it for her instead.

I use the Noughty curl taming creme on Ame’s 3A/3B curly hair

**Get a third off all Noughty hair care products on Boots.com**
shop here

So… do I recommend Noughty?

Hell yes! If you’re based in UK and following CGM, you will love this brand. It’s curly girl friendly and whether you have fine, loose waves like me or super curly hair like my daughter, there’s going to be a product that you will love. And with most products priced at £6.99 what’s not to love?! They have just launched their Christmas gift sets so you can even try a whole range for less. There’s also a promo on at Boots (see above link) and if we’re lucky we might see a half price promo on their website like we did on Black Friday! 🙂

What’s the ONE Noughty product I can’t live without?

This one I can answer hands down, without a doubt.. the To The Rescue intensive conditioning mask. O. M. G. I have not had anything like it! Super weightless but super hydrating and moisturising! The closest consistency I could measure it to would be the Shea Moisture JBCO leave-in conditioner; super creamy but super light like a whip.

It’s definitely going to stay on my shelf for many more years. A little goes a long way so I don’t need more than a scoop for my long hair. I love using the deep conditioning mask straight after a clarifying cleanse or whenever my hair seems a little dehydrated.

My #1 ultimate favourite Noughty product: To The Rescue intensive conditioning mask

… et voila!

And that’s my Noughty Wave Hello haircare review done!

If you’re planning to give Noughty a try, go for it. They’re an affordable range (all around £6.99 per 250ml bottle), 97% natural which is pretty damn good, cruelty-free (no testing on animals), vegan-based ingredients, and free from all those chemical nasties ie. silicones, sulfates and parabens.

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Watch the vlog review:

NB. I received a sample of Noughty Wave Hello haircare collection (shampoo, conditioner and curl creme) in exchange for an unbiased review on this blog and vlog post. All opinions, photos and content are my own and shouldn’t be used without my consent.

My type 2 wavy hair care routine (CGM friendly)

October 3, 2018October 15, 2018Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged Curly Girl Method, hair journey, haircare, Noughty, Shea Moisture, squish to condish, wavy hair1 Comment

The Greenwich Mummy | My complete wavy hair care routine

If you read my first post about starting my Curly Girl Method hair journey, you’ll be able to see how my hair has transformed so much since then. Before I started bleaching and dying my hair for the second time, my waves and curls were much more defined but they’re slowly starting to return to their lovely shape.

My curl pattern has changed slightly, my hair doesn’t clump well so it’s difficult to tell how it’ll look on a daily basis. Some days the waves look more defined and I even get a few loose ringlets forming. Other days I get a loose S-shaped wave, it all depends on how much I scrunch and which products I combine together. I need to keep a journal because weeks later I can never really remember what I did.

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | My complete wavy hair care routine

Front

Left

Right

Back

Since my 6 months update which you can read here, I’ve had my hair cut professionally at Jones & Payne in Shoreditch by a lovely lady (who’s also a fellow wavy) called Lisa Ind. I was my first wavy girl cut so I really didn’t know what to expect but it was fab and she styled it fabulously. She did do lots of hair combing which made me want to die inside as I haven’t combed my hair since going CGM (I only finger-comb when in the bath/shower) so I wasn’t sure there’d be any waves but she managed to really bring them out which was fantastic. The cut set me back £80 but as I only get my hair cut once a year, it was a good investment! Here’s a photo of my hair post-cut:

As I mentioned above, my waves pretty much change daily. I usually wash my hair at night after putting the kids to bed so it gets a little squished and looks a little different the next morning. I find that by the afternoon the curls spiral more and looks a little more stretched out.

My hair still has difficulty clumping which I think is because I don’t have a specific curl pattern, it’s kind of waves, bends and curls in all directions. My hair looks shorter in the first photo but it’s not shrinkage, I think it’s just the angle of the camera and maybe because the curls are more defined and haven’t dropped yet. Personally, I prefer when my waves hang loose although sometimes I do wish they were a little tighter.

So here’s my current routine for my wavy type 2 hair:

1. Cleanse & Condition (1-2x weekly)
I use a low-poo and conditioner – either the Noughty Colour Bomb range or Shea Moisture Weightless Coconut Fruit Fusion range which smells divine. I alternate between the two as I have coloured hair but love using the Shea Moisture weightless range as it gives me just enough moisture but feels completely weightless. To my surprise, this Shea Moisture low-poo lathers up more than the Noughty Colour bomb one. My other Noughty fave is their Wave Hello range which is great for wavy hair. Noughty is cheaper too! 😉

Once the conditioner is on, I sometimes finger comb my hair to detangle it then scrunch my hair to ensure the product goes into the hair. I then move on to rinsing using the Squish to Condish method.

2. Hair Mask (bi-weekly)
I use the Noughty ‘To The Rescue’ hair mask once a week. If my hair doesn’t feel like it needs the added boost that week I skip this step. The Noughty hair mask smells soooo good and works really well. Despite it feeling really thick to apply, once it’s on, it feels really lightweight. Very surprising but a nice surprise. 🙂

3. Leave-in Conditioner (each time after step 1)
I use the Shea Moisture JBCO leave-in which not only smells good, it is also feels super lovely on the hair and very weightless. It’s the ideal product if you have coloured/chemically processed/damaged hair. I scoop a good amount and apply when my hair is still wet using the prayer hands method then squish to condish again to get all the product into the hair.

I tend to skip the curl cream step (Cantu Curl Cream Activator) because it can weigh down my hair however when I prefer not to style it with gel, I’ll use the curl cream. I then scrunch-dry my hair until it’s about 50% dry then go in with the gel.

4. Enhancer & Gel (each time after step 3)
I use the Eco Styler olive oil gel for a hard hold gel but also light switching between my Umberto Giannini scrunching jelly which is a medium hold. I make sure my hands are wet with water before adding the gel to my hands. I gently rub my hands together then apply to my hair. I apply the gel with prayer hands then cup the ends of my hair to my head without closing the fingers. I do this instead of fully scrunching because I find that I get less frizz like this. Once fully dry (the next day if I’ve washed my hair at night), I scrunch out the crunch using my hands and a cotton tee or a microfibre cloth whichever I get first.

And there you have it!

I will eventually get round to writing a review on the actual products as well as writing my review on the popular DevaCurl range. I have recently bought the DevaCurl Wavy hair mini kit so will be excited to give that a try as so many wavies and curlies swear by this US brand. I purchased it on a UK website called NaturalisticProducts which I think are one of the only UK stockists of the brand.

Have you tried CGM and it didn’t work for you? Here’s an article by NaturallyCurly.com that can help: https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/regimen/curly-girl-method-letting-you-down-you-re-not-alone

6 months update: My Curly Girl Method hair journey…

May 31, 2018December 12, 2019Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged CG Approved, CGM, Curl Type 2A, Curl Type 2B, Curly Girl Method, hair journey, haircare, Noughty, Reviews, Shea Moisture, straight hair, wavy hair2 Comments

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | Curly Girl Method: Straight to Wavy Hair Journey

From straight hair to wavy hair…

Last year, December to be exact, I decided to start a hair journey called the Curly Girl Method (CGM). This method is known by many hair bloggers as the technique to really bring out your natural waves and curls. The method encourages using natural hair products that contain no parabens, SLS, sulfates, silicones, alcohol denat and other chemical nasties. It’s said that by eliminating these ingredients, wavies and curlies will be able to unleash their hair’s full potential.

My hair has always been – what I thought – was pretty much straight hair (fine/medium density) with a few kinks. It wasn’t until I started looking back at some of my photos that I noticed I did have a wave halfway-down my hair and thought I might as well give the Curly Girl Method a try…

Here’s a pic of my before and afters. Wow oh wow! What a difference right?! I’m telling you, no matter how much I tried to scrunch my hair before going CG, there were no waves were coming through. Now I can even get my waves to come through with a quick spritz of water on the second day!

My hair type:
Curl Type – a combination of 2A/2B
Density – fine/medium
Porosity – high as it’s coloured
Length – long

Here’s what I was using/am using now:

Shampoo: I used Noughty Wave Hello until March when it ran out and switched over to Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion as I bought it when it was on sale for half-price on Look Fantastic.
Conditioner: I used Noughty’s Wave Hello conditioner and also switched over to Shea Moisture’s Fruit Fusion weightless conditioner in March.
Deep conditioning hair mask: I didn’t use one to start with as I couldn’t find one that was good and cheap but then found Garnier’s new argan silicone-free mask in February and was using that once a week. I now use Noughty’s Hair To The Rescue mask once a week.
Styling: for styling I was using a CGM favourite, Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly which smelt amazing and worked well however I got tired of scrunching out the gel cast and moved over to my new fave styling product, the ECO Styler olive oil gel (green one) which I got from the African/Asian hair shop. I still use both. When I prefer to have a natural, softer wave I opt for my daughter’s leave-in product, ORS anti-breakage monoi oil curling creme however it’s too heavy for my hair so I’ve been thinking about purchasing the Noughty Hydrate & Shine serum. As my hair is fine/medium it needs really light products and I’ve found Noughty is great for this (more below)… 🙂

My favourite products/brands

There’s no doubt about it, the two brands I really love is new UK brand, Noughty and popular US brand, Shea Moisture.

I first heard about the Shea Moisture brand from my friend who is mixed (Jamaican/Chinese) and she has coily hair (roughly 4B curl type) and she recommended the castor oil range for my children’s hair. When they launched their weightless Fruit Fusion I decided I had to give it a try. Unlike Noughty, Shea Moisture’s shampoo still lathers up quite well without SLS and sulfates. For people who are just starting out on CGM and feel like their hair might not be able to handle the little/no lather and have fine to medium hair will love the Fruit Fusion range. It smells really nice too and the coconut water in the Fruit Fusion range seems to help my hair stay a little more hydrated.

Noughty is a brilliant UK brand and I can’t recommend it enough for curlies and especially wavies. The products are always weightless and smell amazing too! Every product is 97% and vegan-friendly – they never test on animals. I was sent the ‘to the rescue’ hair mask by Noughty to try and I was a little skeptical at first because I tried the Garnier argan range and as lovely as it smells and feels on my hair in the bath (the only silicone-free range by Garnier), it tends to weight it down – it’s great for Baby Girl’s curl type 3A/3B hair though! Noughty’s hair mask is extremely lightweight, easy to apply and smells absolutely delicious – think sweet, sweet almonds! The mask was light enough to not even fully rinse out. I really loved it and it definitely offers my hair more moisture without weighing it down. On the Noughty website, they offer free delivery for orders over £10 – happy days!

Another brand I’d like to try is Boucleme, I’ve heard lots of good things about their products so might try them out once my Shea Moisture products have finished.

6 months on…

I started off with straight hair that had a few kinks in it here and there. After six months of going CGM, I would say my wavy hair curl type is a combination of 2A/2B. There’s few good clumps of 2B but it’s mainly type 2A. I’m really excited to see how my hair journey progresses in a few month’s time, and eventually in a year’s time.

It’s been a difficult six months as I loved dying my hair and now it’s so tricky as each time I dye it, it gets damaged. Hair masks with protein does help but my hair eventually feels weighed down by it so I’m still looking for a protein-based hair mask that doesn’t do that… still searching! If you know if any, please comment and let me know asap. Plus if it’s available in the UK that’ll help as US products are really expensive to ship over. I would love to try out the Deva Curl range but it’s expensive to ship and I’ve read reviews about it being watered down from Amazon purchases… yeah I’ll pass on that one.

My top tips and advice for fellow wavies…

Squish to condish is one of the most important steps in our hair washing routine. After adding conditioner, I comb through my hair with my fingers to detangle then squish to condish from there to rinse and finish.
Don’t fully rinse out all of the conditioner – stop rinsing one cycle short to leave a little conditioner in, I find it helps with the flyaway hairs. If you find this too ‘greasy’ you can run water over the top of your head and cradle your hair to prevent the waves from stretching out.
Scrunch scrunch and scrunch! When towel-drying use an old cotton or jersey tshirt as it’s much softer and prevents frizz. Stop scrunching halfway to add your styling product however I found with gel it’s best to add it to the hair when it’s wet then add in again when it’s halfway dry.
Plopping works great unless your hair is very long. A quick blast with a diffuser will help cut drying time and helps prevent the waves from stretching out, I usually switch from a blast of the hot setting to 5 secs of the cold setting then wait 3-5 secs before taking the diffuser away to do other sections.
Regularly trim your ends to keep your hair healthy.
A weekly hair mask is vital especially if you have coloured hair like me. Experiment between products with and without protein (if your hair is low porosity, it won’t like the protein).

The Curly Girl Method does really work but it is definitely NOT a quick hair fix. You do really have to work hard for your waves and watch out for the products that are not CGM-approved. British Curlies can help with their extensive list of ingredients to avoid if you get stuck.. there’s lots to remember! Learning more about my hair has also made me realise how much I need to teach Baby Girl about her hair when she gets older. Unfortunately our products are different and she requires a little more care than I but it’s a good learning curve. She loves her curls and I’m so glad that she does! 🙂

If you haven’t had a chance to read my first Curly Girl Method blog post, you can do so here: https://thegreenwichmummy.com/2017/12/22/curly-girl-method-for-wavy-hair-my-haircare-journey-and-routine/ – there’s some pretty useful links on there too and good to know hair tips and advice for wavies and curlies starting out their hair journey.

I was kindly sent a sample of Noughty’s ‘to the rescue’ hair mask to try in exchange for a product review. All words, photos and opinions are my own content. This post also contains affiliate links.