You weren't bornyesterday; I'm sure you know that not everything that companies claim is exactly true.

Many of us have been brainwashed by their fibs and myths (including myself!) into buying their 'miracle' products which basically have done nothing but emptied our wallets.

I personally like to do my research on the products I intend to buy before actually going out and taking advice off a sales advisor. They're obviously going to be biased towards their branding and want to sell as much as possible and make as much profit as possible.

It really helps looking at review websites, and one of my personal favourites are https://www.makeupalley.com. It's a forum style review website where thousands of people review products they purchase!

(I feel it's necessary to mention I have not been sponsored to recommend Makeup Alley's website)

LIE NUMBER 1: YOUR SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER NEED TO BE THE SAME BRAND

This is not even remotely true. It may be the case where you're comfortable with a certain brands shampoo but not their conditioner, and vice versa. You may have combination hair where the roots are not so voluminous but you have damaged ends, so using a shampoo and conditioner which only works for one of them (say the damaged) is only going to leave you half satisfied.

As shampoo is mainly for your roots, you could use a volumising shampoo but use a conditioner which is deeply hydrating for your ends.

This leads me onto the next lie.

LIE NUMBER 2: YOU CAN FIX DAMAGED HAIR

I cannot express this enough guys! If your hair is damaged, such as split ends, you can't fix them! No matter how many claims the shampoo or conditioner makes, it's almost impossible to fix the problem without chopping them off. This is because your hair has been stripped of the essential proteins and oils your hair holds onto from bleaching or heat.

When a shampoo or conditioner claims that it can fix your split ends, it essentially means that it can provide the necessary hydration and lock in the moisture to make it feel much healthier and silkier but the physical damage remains the same. Shine and life may have been added back into your hair, but your ends will most likely get worse if you leave them uncut for longer. The split will just travel higher and higher up until the entire strand becomes weak and brittle.

My advice is, try to GROW healthier hair from the roots. The ends of your hair? That's done. It's fully grown you cannot undo the damage!

Chop the ends off, as much as it pains to do it, girl it's not a good look to be walking around with straw-like hair. Try to prevent any new damage after you get it cut by knowing what is actually going into your hair. If you do get it bleached, keep it moisturised! Try Moroccan Argan Oil and use it religiously every day in your hair (I promise you it doesn't make it greasy if you use tiny amounts) on the ends of your hair and run your fingers through the rest of your hair afterwards.

Alternatively, try hair masks! These are a life saver and I recommend using them once a week. Or my favourite, hair oil. My mum has always told me since I was a young girl, that I should apply coconut oil in my hair atleast once a week (if I can) and then wash it out at the end of the day! (Ensure you're not leaving the house during the day though!) It leaves your hair feeling luscious and smells divine!

LIE NUMBER 3: ANTI-AGING

We want to look young for as long as possible right? Well, sorry to burst your bubble but you're still going to get wrinkles. Many products claim that their 'anti-aging' properties will diminish fine lines and wrinkles, but in reality they only reduce the appearance of them; they're still there!

They will add all these fancy ingredients that sounds so great like some kind of oil from South of Asia or a plant extract from Italy to create a propaganda effect.

Accomplishing younger and healthy looking skin is harder than it looks, it cannot be created from a cream which cheats your skin into thinking it's receiving all the nutrition it needs when in reality, your skin is relying on your body from the inside. The skin is the body's largest organ and it's created of many layers, which simply cannot be hydrated just by applying a moisturiser on top. It needs a range of ingredients to be kept happy and healthy, just like watering a plant.

LIE NUMBER 4: THE MORE EXPENSIVE IT IS, THE BETTER IT WORKS

This can apply for make up or skincare. It is NOT true guys! A £40 face cream may claim it has superhero powers but in reality, it's probably got the same ingredients as one you can find in boots. You're paying for the brand name. In my previous affordable skincare routine blogpost, I mentioned that I am using a face cream costing £7.99 and it's doing absolute wonders to my skin. A price tag really doesn't determine the ability of a product.

These companies are hoping that you they can win your heart over a product with a massive price tag and branding rather than caring about the actual results.

For example, foundations. Foundations can occupy a hefty price tag and we be the first to purchase one if it comes from a well known brand. A £50 bottle of foundation may not be better than a £6 from a drugstore. Do NOT be fooled!

Thanks for reading guys, and I am over the moon with all the love and support I've been receiving! Thank you so much!

Lots of love, Shelly x