Just How Well Do Bizarre Beauty Ingredients Actually Work?

BellaSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:00 PDT

There are so many odd ingredients in high-end beauty treatments these days, from bull semen to pigeon excrement to snail trail slime, but there's only a little information out there about how - or if - these things work, as the Los Angeles Times examines. A lot of these treatments seem a bit gimmicky to me, and I can't help but wonder if many of them are just a way to charge more for the same old deep conditioner. Along with the likes of caviar and gold facials, hair treatments are getting incredibly expensive these days, and I just can't see the results justifying the prices in this case. Have you ever had an experience with a treatment like this? And if so, was it worth it in the end? Tell us what you think, and take my beauty ick factor quiz to see what you know about all-things creepy when it comes to cosmetics.

Photo by randysonofrobert

Definition: Bull Sperm

BellaSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:00:57 PDT

Believe it or not, bull sperm (yes, bull semen) is becoming a cult hair treatment at a swank UK salon. The solution combines Angus bull semen and a plant root called katera. Both ingredients are protein packed and help penetrate and condition the hair shaft. Supposedly it's deeply nourishing and revitalizing as it has earned a nickname "Viagra for the hair."

A treatment costs just over $100 and takes about 45 minutes. Hair is shampooed, the treatment is applied, and then you are put under a steamer. And from what I hear, the semen is kept in a refrigerator so it stays cold and fresh. There certainly are great measures people have taken for shiny, healthy hair, but bull semen is a little much for me. Would you try something like this if it makes its way across the pond?

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