Let me start this article by making it clear that I absolutely DO NOT have any greys and my hair is as colourful and glossy as it ever was.

But purely in the name of research, I gave Schwarzkopf Essential Color (that’s the product’s official name but because we are in Australia I will be using the word colour from now on) a go on weekend - one of the first permanent home hair dyes on the market that doesn’t use ammonia.

Using products with ammonia on your hair is very, very bad for it - you’ll basically ruin your tresses and make them as dry as anything. This is why most experts recommend using semi-permanent colours at home. For the last few years I’ve been using L’Oreal Casting Creme Gloss and while I’m generally pretty happy with it, it does have a few downfalls, including the fact that the colour ALWAYS comes out darker than it says on the box.

I’m actually really happy with the results of Schwarzkopf Essential Colour:

* I used the shade medium brown, and it actually came out medium brown.
* This consistency is firmer than many other home colours so less mess to clean up in the shower.
* However because the consistency is firmer, make sure you comb the colour through properly for even distribution.
* The smell is gorgeous - thanks to the inclusion of ingredients such as lychee and white tea.
* Grey coverage is excellent. So Schwarzkopf claims. I can’t really comment on this as I don’t have any.

All that remains to be seen now is how the colour pans out in the long run. But if it has any sort of longevity, I think I’ll be making a permanent switch to Schwarzkopf Essential Colour.

RRP is $15 at selected supermarkets and pharmacies.

By Caroline Warnes

Sometimes those discount cards or programs you pay to be a member of can be a false economy - I’ve joined a couple in the past and then have totally forgotten to use most of the offers.

However a new program for beauty and hair services around Sydney could be worth a go - the Platinum Beauty Card will only set you back $34.95 and it’s for a good cause (the company is a fundraising partner of the National Breast Cancer Foundation).

There are some pretty good discounts on offer, too - especially if you are a regular salon-goer. I like the look of 50% off facial treatments and 20% off Dermalogica products at Ella Rouge salons, plus lots of discounts at hair salons, sorted by suburb.

Members will also get invites to VIP beauty events as well as the card’s launch party.

If you’re a busy person and tend to neglect yourself, this could be great motivation to treat yourself once in a while. Personally, I think I will buy one because I don’t think I spend nearly enough time talking or thinking about myself at the moment.

By Caroline Warnes

Despite big-noting myself for the last two years about no longer needing shampoo and conditioner, I have to confess that in recent times I have been considering reverting.

I am sick of the looks of pity and disgust that cross people’s faces when I reveal my hair is au naturel, and when it comes to demanding people smell or touch your hair - forget about it, most people won’t do it, and if they do they act like they’re in a petting zoo or humouring a sideshow freak. What’s up with that?

I’ve heard some good things about Nature’s Organics, a local manufacturer of skincare, haircare and bodycare products that don’t cost the earth (in more ways than one).

The company is committed to making products that help the environment rather than hinder it - sustainable solutions and all that hoo-ha.

And this stuff is dirt cheap. I mean it’s literally the cheapest stuff on the shelf at my local supermarket. I already use the vanilla berry body wash, which was around $3. The shampoo and conditioner is also around the same price and comes in some droolworthy flavours such as wild berry and peach delight.

My next purchase for the shower will be the creme brulee shower milk, pictured here.

By Caroline Warnes

Back in the days when I used shampoo and conditioner regularly on my hair, I was never a huge fan of Pantene products.

There’s no doubt that your hair feels great when you first start using them, but after a while I noticed my hair snapping and breaking. Apparently this has something to do with the silicon content of the product - it coats the strands of hair, leaving them soft and shiny, but after a while it weakens the hair shaft, leading to breakage and hence frizz.

However I’d heard a few things about a newish product from Pantene Pro V, called 3 Minute Miracle. It’s a hair treatment designed to be used once weekly, left in for three minutes (duh) then washed out. I decided to give it a go after quickly scanning the ingredients at the supermarket and duly noting that nothing resembling the word “silicon” in any of its scientific forms could be found on the packet.

I gave it a go last night and I have to say that for a supermarket treatment product it does actually leave your hair much softer and helps alleviate dryness (which my hair eternally suffers from). For around $8 you get three individual treatment tubes, which will last you for three weeks.

By Caroline Warnes

Trying to blow your last $20 before pay day? I advise investing your money in one of these smart beauty buys…

1. Maybelline XXL Curl Power mascara, $15.99 at Chemist Warehouse: As mentioned earlier this week, the new Maybelline mascara looks to be a beauty - and it’s already on sale at various discount pharmacies. Save $4 at your nearest Chemist Warehouse.

2. Dove Summer Glow body lotion, $5.75 at Cincotta Chemist: This body lotion-cum-gradual tanner will give you soft skin as well as gradually add a touch of natural-looking tan to your skin. The fragrance is quite pleasant, too.

3. Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers EDT, $12.99 at My Chemist: It may not be quite in the same calibre as Chanel or Dior fragrances, but at $12.99 you can’t go wrong with this sweet-smelling fragrance for everyday use.

4. Hamilton Everyday Face SPF 30+ moisturiser, $9.99 at Amcal: This is a great price for this combined tinted moisturiser and sunscreen, which is light and non-greasy on delicate facial skin.

5. Vaseline Treatment hand cream, $3.95 at Cincotta Chemist: If it was good enough for our mothers to cure dry skin on the hands, then it’s good enough for me. And so cheap. I use it every night before bed.

6. Organic coconut oil, under $20 at health food stores: Organic coconut oil is a miracle product that I use to moisturise dry hair and skin, though there are thousands of others uses as well. One tub will last you forever as you don’t need much of it to get results.

7. Fish oil capsules, $12.99 at Chemist Warehouse and My Chemist: A couple of fish oil capsules a day will supply all kinds of oily fish goodness to your skin and hair, as well as help with aches and pains in the joints. I already have arthritis, no joke, and this helps.

8. Bio-Oil, $11.99 at Amcal: Many women swear by this inexpensive beauty buy for fading scars and stretchmarks, as well as for its general moisturising properties.

9. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter, under $10 at most pharmacies: An inexpensive moisturiser for the body that has the added bonus of making you smell like a mug of hot chocolate, if that’s your thing.

10. Simmons Paw Paw salve, under $10 at most health food stores: My all time favourite beauty product. This can be used for everything from dry elbows to dry feet to nappy rash… well, I can’t swear by the nappy rash thing but I’ve heard this is the case from a lot of mums. I prefer the Simmons brand of paw paw ointment as it contains no petroleum.

By Caroline Warnes

As I’ve previously mentioned, my hair occasionally takes on the texture of a bale of hay.

This is especially true when I’ve been swimming or out in the sun, although occasionally it decides to be temperamental all on its own for no apparent reason. This annoys me no end.

I bought some Redken All Soft Velvet Whip leave-in cream about a year ago after reading some great reviews of the product, but never got around to testing it out. However recently my hair has become a fully-fledged disaster zone, thanks to the combination of salt water and humidity life has been brewing up for me and I decided to give it a whirl.

This leave-in treatment is definitely a great product. After towel-drying your hair, you distribute a tiny bit (around the size of a 20 cent coin for medium-length locks) through your hair. You can also use a little on dry hair before straightening for a silkier, smoother finish with fewer fly-aways.

The key ingredients are gold camelina, avocado oil, olive oil and silk amino acid, which work together to strengthen and replenish hair as well as compensate for loss of protein, which is generally the cause of dry or brittle hair.

All Soft Velvet Whip retails for between $20 and $25 from salons that sell Redken products.

By Caroline Warnes

Well the heavens finally smiled upon us and provided us with a few beach worthy days over the holidays.

Basking in the sunshine on the beaches of the NSW South Coast, I was reminded how great the salt water and sand is for your skin.

I’ve always maintained that the beach will fix most minor skin problems, including blemishes and dry skin (sand is a natural exfoliant and salt is a natural antiseptic, combined with a good moisturiser this could be your whole skin care routine).

In fact one friend I was holidaying with delighted in informing us all that she was sporting an enormous cyst under her arm and was looking forward to the salt water fixing it up. Luckily, it did fix it pretty quickly as I was getting sick of hearing about the cyst’s progress every time we sat down for a meal (it almost put me off my calamari at the Mollymook bowling club one lunchtime, and for me to be put off my food is a pretty rare occurrence).

Anyway, the point of this Internet blog entry is not to discuss the ins and outs of my friend’s cyst, and to tell the truth I’m not quite sure how I came to be discussing it in such great detail. What I was originally leading up to saying is that while the beach is great for your skin, it can absolutely ruin your hair.

This is especially true if you are like me and already have fairly dry hair. But after all the salt and the sand of the last couple of weeks, by yesterday my hair was pretty much like straw. In fact I was having difficulty brushing it.

Yesterday I got fed up and decided to do a hair treatment. As I don’t use shampoo and conditioner, I also try to use natural hair treatments. Usually this involves coconut oil (the pure stuff from health food shops, not the supermarket skin cancer variety), but as I was out yesterday, I decided to go through my fridge for alternatives. Bingo, I found a couple of eggs left over from Christmas morning pancakes.

Egg yolks are one of nature’s best moisturisers, especially the yolks. To create a conditioning treatment for your hair you separate the yolks from the whites, which can then be used as a separate purifying masque for your face (followed by a good moisturiser) or in egg white omlettes if you are being healthy. Beat the egg yolks with a little bit of water and you’re ready to go.

Wash your hair first with cool water and pat off the excess moisture, then apply the mixture, concentrating on the ends. Leave it to sit for as long as you can under a towel.

When it comes time to wash it off - and this is very important - make sure you use cool water. Eggs tend to cook at low temperatures so if you use hot water you will end up looking like someone chucked a bowl of eggs over you.

This calmed my hair down considerably. It’s still in the recovery phase and will need some more work in the coming days, but it feels ten times more manageable than the unholy rat’s nest I was sporting on my head a couple of days ago.

By Caroline Warnes

I know I shouldn’t be proud of applying the word “lazy” to myself, but in certain situations, that’s what I am and I’ve learned to accept it.

Especially in regards to beauty and grooming. I do go through occasional bouts of manic activity involving careful primping and preening, then after a couple of days I’m all like “whatever” and back to my usual cut-corner ways.

I have found, however, that there are some shortcuts you can take that will actually do you a world of good.

1. We’ve all heard you should take your make up off before you go to bed every night. That’s a no brainer. However if you feel that taking your make up off every night is too much effort to keep up on a long-term basis, consider… not wearing make up. Don’t commit to a face full of make up unless you can commit to taking it off. While I do generally cleanse my face every night, I do forget every now and then after a couple of snifters of port. It’s no drama because the light tinted moisturiser I wear won’t ruin my skin. Thick supermarket foundation, on the other hand, would.

2. Consider skipping the shampoo. And the conditioner. Without meaning to put anyone off their lunch, I haven’t washed my hair with either for almost two years (and before you ask, yes I still wash it with water). You can only imagine how much time this saves me in the mornings (and money too, goodbye Kerastase). My hair was pretty gross at first but eventually all the natural oils balanced out and it’s doing okay. I do occasionally use conditioner after colouring my hair, but firmly believe you don’t need shampoo. It’s just overpriced detergent, and who wants that on their head?

3. Don’t blow dry your hair, unless you absolutely have to. Air drying is so much better for it. Plus I always get sore arms when I try to blow dry it. Who could be bothered?

4. You know that old saying by Coco Chanel about how you should get dressed, then look in the mirror and take one thing off to get the look absolutely right? (Presumably not your pants.) You know what I say? Stop fussing so much and get it right the first time.

5. Consider investing in elasticised clothing. Elasticised clothing these days can be quite stylish and can also accommodate dramatic weight fluctuations. This way you don’t have to go shopping for a new wardrobe everytime you put on or lose a few kilos. A good piece of elasticised clothing can be very versatile and can do as part of an eating outfit or as a piece of business wear. Just make sure you wash out the food stains first.

By Caroline Warnes

If there is one trend I will be glad to see the back of, it’s the metrosexual.

Wikipedia explains metrosexuality better than I can: “Metrosexual is generally applied to heterosexual men with a strong concern for their appearance… the term is closely related to dandy.”

That sentence alone should strike fear into the hearts of men considering pursuing a metrosexual lifestyle everywhere. I mean, when was the last time anyone thought being called a “dandy” was a good thing? For that matter, when was the last time anyone even used the word “dandy” outside an Agatha Christie novel?

I’ve always said that I don’t trust men who spend more time in front of the mirror than me, or who have better hair than me (unfortunately, this limits my options considerably these days after years of making damaging alterations to my hair).

Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I’ve always thought that metrosexuality and rugged manliness don’t really go hand in hand. If you are busy applying the latest potions to your skin and shopping for a new pink shirt then there isn’t really much time to be fixing cars, ogling women and getting into punch-ons at the local pub.

I am all for moisturiser, cosmetics and shopping, but for me, not for a man. How scary (but kind of funny) would it be if you came into the bathroom one morning and your boyfriend was busy “testing out” your favourite red lipstick. But what would be even scarier is the combined debt if I partnered up with a metrosexual who loved shopping as much as me.

Footy dandy (my new favourite word) Craig Wing, as pictured above, really epitomises the whole metrosexual thing for me. Yeah, I guess he’s an ok looking guy, but seriously, I can’t get past the time he walked down the catwalk for Morrissey wearing the above outfit. As my dear old 80-year-old dad infamously said when he first saw this photo, “that’s a bit of a strange get up”. Yes Craig, it is a strange get up, and if I ever saw you walking down the street in it you would have to accept that I would laugh in your face.

I’m sure there has to be a happy medium for men these days that doesn’t involve rampant metrosexuality. Sure, apply a moisturiser if you must, but then go and drink a beer afterwards (local, not imported).

By Caroline Warnes

When it comes to putting things on your skin, in my opinion you should keep things as natural as possible.

Aside from my beloved NeoStrata, which I’m guessing is about as natural as Nicky Kidman’s preternaturally preserved face, I really do try to keep it simple.

I’ve recently discovered the Burt’s Bees range of beauty products and am intrigued. The company started life making homemade beeswax lip balms and has since expanded into producing a full range of honey-based products for the skin and hair, as well as using other organic and natural products.

Why honey? Well not only has honey long been considered one of the greatest natural moisturisers, but it’s also recently been discovered that it contains antiseptic and antibacterial properties (great if you suffer from breakouts).

I’m keen to try the Honey Lip Balm, which sounds good enough to eat - it also contains shea butter, almond and cocoa butter.

I also like the range of products for your hair (shampoos, conditioners and treatments) - how good does a raspberry and brazil nut conditioner sound?

The range can be bought online at Adore Beauty and from selected health food shops.

By Caroline Warnes