Beauty Hacks Hacked – Part 1
I don’t do beauty. Not really. I have one small bag of ‘essential‘ beauty products. I find a perfect face wash that doesn’t bring my sensitive skin out in hideous spots and I stick to it (until of course they discontinue it and for me the world has ended!) I have a small makeup clutch that contains my perfect foundation, concealer and mascara and that’s about it. I don’t have the time for it. I am a mum for god’s sake.
At least that is what I tell myself.
In truth. It’s probably because I don’t know enough. I didn’t learn all of that make up stuff when I was younger. I was the ugly ducking so why would anyone teach me that stuff?! I didn’t get obsessive at school over nail polish and hair straighteners, I was more interested in showing my English teacher I would be the next big novelist to hit the New York Times Bestseller List!
Talk to me about pearls, diamonds and accessories! That I can get behind. The perfect bag or beautiful shoes and the gorgeous cocktail dress to wear to an all important dinner party.
Beauty. Nope. Sorry. I am no good at recommending the perfect mascara. Better ask Lady Lolita for that kind of advice.
So why am I doing the beauty hacks? Because I am the perfect person to test them. I don’t buy into quick fixes, I don’t generally follow health fads. So I am the perfect person to try these quick fix beauty must-dos and expose the truth. So here it is. The Coca Cola Hair Rinse.
A few months back, Suki Waterhouse (the kick-ass beautiful blonde model who has been the face of H&M, Burberry and even graced the pages of Vogue!) announced to the world that her effortless beach waves were not created by highly skilled hairdressers or even an expensive salon product. No, her waves came out of a Coca Cola bottle.
What? Really? Come on now! This one had to be tested.
In an interview with US Weekly, Suki admitted that she doesn’t like her hair, “…when it’s just washed it’s fine and limp.” Apparently the Coca Cola made it tousled, as if she had been ‘through the Amazon’.
Okay. So now I have to try this. The effortless look of a tousled beach babe trecking through a rainforest all for the price of a can of coke? Bring it on!
I was intrigued to say the least, and decided I absolutely had to try it. I’m down for anything that might give my hair more volume while also defining my natural texture.
So a little background – I have dark long brown hair. It is fine and straight. To get tousled waves in my hair takes a LOT of time and effort. To make my hair look anything more than poker straight and limp takes…. time… and product… a LOT of product.
So one Friday night, instead of spending the night tucked up on the sofa with a glass of wine, the hubby had his movie, and I spent the night in the bathroom with a 20 oz bottle of Coca Cola!
Here’s the blow by blow!
The lovely Dr.Google told me that the Cola should be used in place of both the shampoo AND conditioner. I have to admit I was more than a little hesitant – I love my silky hair. Was Cola really going to give me the desired result?
Oh and just as a tip – if you are going to try this… don’t… I mean don’t take the bottle of coke straight from the fridge! Gives a whole new meaning to ‘brain freeze’.
The smell of coke was a little overpowering at first and certainly didn’t conjure up the same relaxing experience that my eucalyptus shampoo rinse offers. But alas, all in the name of The Glass House.
I rinsed the Cola out… and again… and again. I kept the water running for longer than I normally deem acceptable! I kept going because my hair felt ‘hard’. Not silky or smooth. Maybe it needed to be hard for the waves to stay in? Either way, I managed (painfully) to resist the urge to slather my hair in white truffle hair conditioner.
I stepped out of the shower and stared into the mirror. Nope. No Amazon babe staring back. Not even remotely. In fact, I looked more like an unwashed teenager crossed with a nasty beach bum.
As I rough dried my hair my fears seem to escalate. My roots were not drying… and if they were, they didn’t look dry at all!
If it was at all possible, my hair looked greasy! Like 5 days without showering type greasy! That will not do. I was mortified. BUT – all in the name of work, I decided to leave it as it was. After all, it would look better once it ‘settled in’ by the morning, right? At least that’s what I told my sniggering husband when I climbed into bed that night.
The next morning things were not looking up. The worst of it was that the other girls were due round for an editorial meeting! Lady Lolita and Miss Pollyanna are used to a certain kind of look from The Duchess and greasy unkempt hair was not it!
Lady Lolita’s first reaction was to laugh. That girl never minces her words and her innermost thoughts are generally displayed perfectly across her face without her even realising it. Miss Pollyanna, being as positive as ever, was quick to congratulate me on at least trying something new.
My hair looked anything but tousled. It looked anything but silky and was nothing but painful! The hard but greasy matted mess was a nightmare to brush and the very next night I could not wait to slip into a long hot shower with my expensive truffle shampoo and conditioner and wash the greasy Coca Cola can sugar out of my dark tresses!
The Duchess’ Verdict: Don’t do it. Suki Waterhouse may have tried it but I am pretty sure she had a million hair stylists to call on the next morning to make her effortlessly beachy waves look perfect. Me, I prefer to use the old fashioned methods. Shampoo twice and let a good conditioner sit for 5 mins before rinsing off.
Conditioner ladies, not a can of Cola. Trust me. It’s worth the extra few pennies.
