Saturday 6 November 2010

Ouchless Hair Brushes, Combs and Bands

If you're a mum to little girls, I'm sure you know the scenario - it's always in the final minutes just as you're getting ready to rush off to work leaving Dad to drop them off at the childminder's (or just as it's time to head out for the school run if it's your turn !) that your darling daughter decides that "Mummy, I want bunches in my hair today". You have literally seconds to scrape her hair back into something resembling a neat hairstyle and it always ends in tears - "Ouch that hurts, it's pulling on the little hairs, aaagghhh it's ripping my hair out, I'll be bald before I get to school" ! I had long hair when I was at school (well, I still have, I just don't go for the pigtails look any more !) so I know that they're not just whingeing, it does really hurt - especially at the end of the day when it's time to pull them out and the hair ALWAYS get snagged in the metal part of the hairbands and really hurts when you try to tug them out.

Well, help is at hand ! Goody hair accessories have come up with the aptly named Ouchless range and were kind enough to send us some products to try out. First up was the Ouchless Vent Brush. As its name suggests, this brush has holes in it to allow the hot air through when you're blowdrying your hair for quicker and simpler drying and styling. As Goody say, "Need to vent? Take comfort in knowing that Ouchless technology will dry your hair quickly and gently for Snagless Styling at its best. Start by lifting hair at the roots to blow-dry. The open vented pattern allows for maximum airflow which means less drying time for you."

Well, I have to admit that I haven't actually used it with a hairdryer because I always let my hair dry naturally. I have however used it on both wet and dry hair and am impressed on both counts. I have extremely thick hair so some brushes just skim over the top without getting out the tangles in the bottom layers of hair. The long bristles of this brush manage to get through the whole volume of my hair but the rounded bristle ends make it totally comfortable. My hair seems less frizzy and flyaway and it seems to take less time for me to get knot-free hair in the mornings.

I share a hairbrush with the girls (something that will change the day one of them gets headlice from school, but - fingers crossed - so far so good !) and in the mornings, after brushing my hair and theirs, I always have to rip out the hair that's been left in the bristles of the brush. Since I've been using the Ouchless brush, there is hardly anything to pull out - literally just a few strands. Which surely explains why it is so Ouchless. There has definitely been a lot less whingeing about the brush pulling and every time I tell the girls to grab a brush, they automatically go for the Ouchless one. 
We were also sent a Goody Start Style Finish Ouchless Detangle Comb to try out. Detangling is a big problem for the girls, who love running around outside but invariably come in with rosy cheeks and totally windswept knotty hair. Juliette is also highly skilled at getting sticky fingers in her hair with anything from glue sticks to jam to - eeek ! - chewing gum, and even with detangling sprays or leave in conditioner, getting the tangles out is always a nightmare. Well, the detangling comb is so wide-toothed that I wasn't convinced it would actually work but it does. Sophie has the same thick hair as me but Juliette's is much finer and for her in particular, I could really see how this comb helped her hair look sleek with no tears. Juliette (age 5) can even manage to comb her own hair which is a miracle in itself because with my usual narrow-toothed comb, she invariably comes to see me with the comb tangled up in her knotty hair and a painful detangling session ensues. Yet again, Ouchless is very apt.


The final product we tested is pure genius - hair bands without the little metal clasp which always gets tangled up in your hair and painfully rips out a few strands whenever you try to take down your ponytail. Now that I know they exist, I will never use the old-style ones again because they have just overcome the huge design fault that most hairbands present. Absolutely brilliant and as easy to put in as to pull out. I've thrown all my old ones in the bin - our hairbands box is now an exclusively Ouchless zone, much to the girls' relief.

I've noticed that since we've been using the Ouchless products, the girls have been brushing their hair without me nagging them to do it. Also, I don't know if it's a coincidence (but I doubt it !) they've asked to have their hair up a lot more frequently than before we started reviewing them. As well as being effective and pain-free, they also look pretty - I love the pearlescent pale blue plastic.

Both the brush and the comb are from the "1 - Start" stage but the Ouchless range is comprised of three stages. They explain, "Goody brings you the Start.Style.Finish. Collection so you can finally get the best results from your styling routine. Your hair has different needs when you start out with wet strands, when you style with heat and when you smooth and finish a dry style. Select a tool from each of our steps and you’ll see your best results yet." So if you want some seriously efficient and well-thought out tools for getting your tresses in tip-top condition without the tears, Ouchless fits the bill. I can also vouch for the fact that, as a busy mum trying to get kids' hair into an acceptable state before school without even giving a second's thought to a hair styling routine, they also work very well indeed !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £3.49 for the comb, £7.99 for the brush

Goody’s Ouchless range of products is available from Boots, Morrisons and ASDA stores nationwide.


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