Just when you thought there couldn’t be another type of detox. Here it is. The next healthy living project, staring you in the face.

As my regular readers will know, I am on a *bloody awful* but effective ‘Clean and Lean’ diet masterminded by Ufit (I’ll be posting my stats at end of the regime). On the basis I am detoxing my body, why not do my hair at the same time?

I was skeptical as I squeezed a decidedly poo-colored, runny organic shampoo into my hand that I’d been sent to road test (70% of what I test doesn’t make copy – so this is unusual). The PR emailed to say I should expect a period of adjustment when switching from chemical – i.e. silicone – based products to natural*, so I prepared for the worst…but other than requiring a major date with a tangle teaser, all was good. It felt, well, sort of new. Not mine. A bit stiff I suppose but quite nice and glossy. I couldn’t stop touching it.

Poppy Dog has sneaked, uninvited, into my shot. She is in rather dire need of hair-help. Are you?

Fast forward to wash #3 and I really noticed the difference. My colour-treated, usually dry, sometimes frizzy hair felt bouncy and generally pretty great. In fact it still feels great – even after having highlights done last week.

The shampoo lathers well (one of my gripes with eco cert products as I like the feeling of foam and so many out there don’t create any) but you do need a ton of their conditioner afterwards to smooth out the post-shampoo tangle. The conditioner smells good enough to eat – like buttery vanilla icing; what’s more it lands in your palm in a sort of piped mass, like it’s been squeezed through a piping bag. Yum (spot the person undergoing a sugar detox – everything looks edible at the moment).

I was also sent a bunch of other products to try (all good but not remarkable) along with one other that deserves a special mention: basil and lemongrass mosquito repellent by Victorian Garden.

I tested it out on five children over a week long family holiday in Bali. It worked – number one priority – it smelled divine and I loved that it was natural. I hate to use deet on small people – and on myself for that matter – and with this I didn’t have to.

The downside to all this? I’m not sure there is one. I had rather assumed it would be the price point but I’ve have just looked everything up and I’m astounded to say that they are all really rather good value. Or have I been living in Singapore for too long?

Basil & Lemongrass Mosquito Repellent $18

Baobab Shampoo for stressed, treated hair $23

Baobab Conditioner for stressed, treated hair $23

My products were courtesy of Vines and Roots, an organic beauty website set up by a Singaporean family who were expats in South Africa with access to a mass of organic, natural, South African products. They have now returned to Singapore and brought what they found with them.

*The full explanation as to why you have to ease into using organic shampoos and can’t expect instant results: this is due to the prior use of commercial hair products containing silicone derivatives and other synthetic products that artificially coat the hair with plastic or protein polymers to make it look and feel undamaged. The more damaged the hair, the more porous it becomes; the more porous the hair, the more it absorbs all the synthetic and plastic polymers and gum coating agents. Your hair will need to be gently and slowly cleansed of all this toxic build up to enable it to receive moisture and protein. During this time, your hair can feel more brittle and tangled than usual. This can last for up to about three washes, but stick with it!