First encountered hair/body oil in a review of Aveda Men’s Pure-formance online at The Chap Blog (See Chap Blog Review). I liked his description of the scent, skin moisturizing, and hair softening effect it had on his hair. So I ordered a 50ml jar of it for myself.
The fragrance includes: Kunzea, citrus, Spearmint, Vetiver & Lavender. What’s Kunzea & what’s it’s aroma? I go to a search engine and investigate.
What The Scent Kunzea Is
Kunzea is the essential oil derived from the Australian plant Kunzea ambigua. Related to the Tea Tree. (Explains the medicinal quality of the aroma.) It’s often been utilized in the treatment of muscle pain as a rub. When I whiff the aroma concoction it does bring to mind a scent some masseuse at a spa would use. It’s invigorating with the spearmint.
Oops, I Over Did It
How I Apply The Oil For Best Results On My Hair/Scalp/Body
I step out of the shower and towel off lightly, so I am still dripping a bit with moisture. Then shake out about five to ten dime-sized drops into my palms. Rub them together. Quickly rub the oil all over into my skin. Avoiding my head until the end when there’s just a little oil left on my hands, that’s when I brush my fingertips in my hair.
Ahh, Just Right
I do like the effect of the oil (when used sparingly) on my hair. It gives it a nice subtle shine and a bit of texture. My skin feels nice after applying too. And the scent is good, again only if I use a little and don’t over-do it. I plan on buying another bottle when this one runs out. I may even see how this scented oil works in a batch of my home-made soap. A side-note: the dry down of this scent reminds me a smidge of Liz Zorn’s earthy perfume Underworld. Which makes perfect sense as vetiver is a major component of both.
Caution: Don’t Mix Strong Scented Body Oil With Cologne
When I put on the body oil, I skip applying any cologne. At least for a few hours as the body oil itself has a strong silage. I find that with most Aveda products I have to use a light application because of the strong aroma.
My Rant About The Bottle Design
To the naked eye, being that the glass jar is clear & full of transparent liquid- it creates a sort of magnifying glass convex lens. As I try to read the lettering on one side of the bottle, the lettering on the backside becomes a jumbled mess of over exaggerated backward facing letters, making my eyes cross.
This effect would be cool to explain during a junior high science fair, but is out of place in a grooming product.
For me, when design gets in the way of function, the design must be so wonderful that the user is willing to forgo function. An example would be a woman wearing Stiletto heels. Ouch, but hubba-hubba!
I’d rather be able to read the words in this case.
On Going Experimentation
I am curious to try out some more. I notice that Liz Zorn (My current favorite artisan perfumer) has a line of oil perfumes called Acoustijus that are built on a coconut oil base. I think I may be able to dilute with some Vitamin E and use in a similar way to this Aveda hair/body/scalp oil.
Thanks to The Chap Blog for writing about this oil. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise.
Has anyone else used body oils before? This one by chance? Any other good ones?