Hair – Gracie Talks Beauty

Hair care was a range of products I particularly struggled with to find a Cruelty-Free brand that actually made my hair look great. My hair is naturally mousy brown and can be extremely dry and frizzy, so I needed a product that added moisture, tamed frizz and could give my blonde ends some gloss – sounds like I was looking for a miracle.

After visiting my local beauty wholesalers and talking to an extremely helpful sales assistance I was introduced to Maria Nila.

Who are Maria Nila?

My first thoughts were who are Maria Nila and why have I never heard of them before. Well Maria Nila is not your average hair care company – they are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, certified by Leaping Bunny, PETA and the Vegan society (so there really is no confusion) – if you are not sure what the certifications mean click-through to my post here. If that wasn’t enough Maria Nila also climate compensate the packaging of their full product range – so every time you purchase a Maria Nila product, you contribute to the planting of new trees in South America. So all the ethical boxes are ticked – but how does product quality compare.

The collections

Maria Nila has the following product ranges;

Head & Hair Heal, True Soft, Pure Volume, Structure Repair, Luminous Colour, Sheer Silver, Colour Refresh, Style & Finish, Minerals, Maria Nila Soaps

I have mixed and matched three different ranges into my one routine to try and manage all my hair care needs.

Shampoo

I chose to use the Head & Hair Heel shampoo, as I often suffer from a sore and flaky scalp. The Head & Hair Heel shampoo is an anti-inflammatory, hair growth stimulating shampoo that uses natural Aloe Vera extract to treat and prevent scalp problems, with Vitamin E to stimulate the hair follicles for increased hair growth. Due to my large head of thick unruly hair, I usually have to use around a palm of product but with Maria Nila, I only needed half. The instructions advise you to massage the shampoo into the head and hair then rinse.

After the first use I noticed that my scalp wasn’t dry and after two days, didn’t start to flake. I no longer had the embarrassing “dust” on my black jumpers. After three uses my hair felt stronger and after five uses I no longer had issues with my scalp – I am still using this today and have no problems.

Conditioner

After heeling my head with the Head & Hair Heel shampoo, I decided to help my dry, frizzy hair become soft and silky. The True Soft range is designed for coloured hair, using aragn oil to moisturise and revitalise dry, brittle hair and help reduce the loss of color usually associated with washing and heat styling.

I cannot begin to describe how much I love this conditioner. My hair is soft, silky and smooth without being greasy. After using the hairdryer I don’t look like a crazy poodle – I have a less crazy beach wave going on. I use my trusty large paddle GHDs to straighten out the waves with my hair usually deciding to go static, but this didn’t happen.

Colour Refresh

I love having my hair cut and coloured but as it is so long and thick it can become really expensive, so I only get it treated 2-3 times a year. Thank goodness for the ombre and balyage trend!

Maria Nila’s Colour Refresh range is a great fix for in between treatments and doubles as a nourishing hair masque. The masque contains temporary colour pigments that come in 13 different shades;

Pearl Silver, Vanilla, Sand, Bright Copper, Autumn Red, Cacao Red, Cacao, Cacao Intense, Black, Pink Pop, Azure, Vivid Violet, Bright Red, White Mix

The various pigments can never brighten up an already existing colour and only work on coloured hair, with the result depending on the hair’s existing colour or quality. You can mix the different shades together to get your perfect pigment. The Application was relatively simple; Shampoo your hair and then apply the Color Refresh to towel-dried hair. Let the product sit between 3- 10 minutes, then rinse the hair and finish with conditioner – using supplied gloves.

I used the Pearl Silver to rid my hair of the slightly warmer blonde tones that lurk within and left the Colour Refresh on for 8 minutes.

My hair did not turn out silver but looked as if I had been to a salon for a toner top up – and I am really pleased with the result. The most impact this Colour Refresh had however was how incredible my hair looked and felt after using it. Soft, silky, glossy and in great condition even though my last haircut was 4 months ago.

The Verdict…

Maria Nila is 100% winning on product quality. I am not saying this brand is a miracle to the hair care industry but alomost and I absolutely love it. I can honestly say my hair and head is in the best condition it has ever been.