Now this title is somewhat misleading in that Lee and I, unfortunately, are not besties! In fact if he passed me on the street he wouldn't bat an eyelid unless I wasn't acting anywhere near as cool as I should do when meeting a sleb! Anyway, what I mean to say is that Lee Stafford's hair care range has long being a favourite of mine. So much so that I never even thought to blog about them because they have always just been there and are not a new product or indeed new range. However as I run low and need to head to Boots (Lee Stafford products are sold exclusively through Boots in the UK and Ireland.) to re-stock I realised that up to now this was my little secret and for the sake of hair everywhere I suppose I should share it!!
The Details:
One of the many things I love about Lee Stafford is he is a real business man, making it to the top through hard work and slog. He got his big break in 1997 when he won British Men's Hairdresser of the year and he's gone from strength to strength since. In 2001 he launched his hair care range, now called ThE PiNK RaNge (yes spelled all funny like that), and I remember getting my grubby little hands on some soon after for my 19th Birthday. My first and longest love was his Poker Straight Glistening Balm which was a pot of silver speckled hair smoothing balm which tamed my frizz and gave super sparkle...god bless me I went through pots of the stuff and when it was discontinued I nearly lost all reason! However, today I am thankful for this as he replaced it with an entire Poker Straight range and the Shine Serum is clearly a better, more mature product than the glittery balm guise of it's predecessor! I also adore from this range his Poker Straight Treatment which comes (pictured below) in a giant tub, well 200mls, which lives perennially in my shower. I whack it on between shampooing and conditioning and when your hair dries (either naturally or by hairdrier) it hardly needs a straightener as its so sleek and shiny after this treatment. This comes in at apx €10 and I reckon is a bargain for the wonders it works.
Another staple in my bathroom is his Dry Shampoo and again I have been using this for years, long before people even knew about dry shampoos much less the market leading brand Batiste. I will admit I bought a batiste mini once to compare but unsurprisingly there was no comparison. I have continued to use Mr Stafford's ever since and with much delight last year they brought out shades also for mid brunette and dark hair. For anyone who has never used dry shampoo shame on you!! GO, grab a bottle now. It is amazing... you spray it on and its all grey & powdery (unless you use a coloured one) you rub it in with fingers or my preference, a dry towel and hey presto you have non greasy lovely locks for one more day. I use this to get an extra day from my salon blow dry, used it to train my hair out of ever other day shampoos, use it to shade greys when I'm overdue a colour touch up and finally i ALWAYS use it when styling my hair into an upstyle to give it extra hold and volume. As you are probably beginning to gather - it's entirely multifunctional and great! Coming in at apx €8 for 150mls.
The Images:
Poker Straight Treatment packaging (a little worn from living in my shower!):
Poker Straight Treatment - the actual product:
Dry Shampoo Dark:
The Sciencey Bit:
The poker straight treatment includes panthenol which is a provitamin of B5 and basically acts as a moisturizer. It frequently appears in shampoos and conditioners as it seals the hair by coating it and lubricating it making strands appear shiny. This treatment also contains hydrolysed silk extracts to prevent breakage and split ends. Finally it contains P2FiFTY COMPLEX which apparently contains vitamin E, a thermal protecting polymer and living desert extracts of olive leaf and cactus flower for extreme heat protection.
Dry shampoo is a powdered shampoo which acts without water. The powder absorbs excess sebum (hairs natural oil) and is then brushed out. Regular shampoo removes sebum, scalp particles, styling products, and dirt from the hair and is then washed away. Therefore dry shampoo, while not as effective at removing everything it does improve hair's look and feel between washes.
The Conclusion:
By the way I've raved about Lee and his lovely products so far I reckon you can guess what my conclusion is but humour me....
Lee Stafford products have long been a favourite and for good reason too. Since their launch 11 years ago he has modified and expanded the range bit by bit with each new addition being as high quality or even better than the rest. My favourite bit about ThE PiNK RaNge? well it has to be the smell... these products smell good enough to eat which makes slathering them all over your head very enjoyable indeed! I could have blogged on so many more of his products but for brevity had to show restrain! Hold Tight Hair Spray, colour love shampoo & Conditioners the list goes on and on - I've yet to try one of his products I don't love.
Rarely Boots do a 3 for 2 on these but when they do get buying ladies... they are well worth it. In the meantime if you fancy dipping your toes in the water without splurging grab some of his mini's to see what works for you. More recently Lee has brought to market a new range called AgranOil from MoRocco which I have yet to try so if you go for any of these let me know what you think!!
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