The chop

I wouldn't normally blog about a haircut, but this was no regular haircut.

Not only was it much needed, it is far too hot to maintain long hair here, but it was my first haircut ever by someone other than my mum and it was by a hairdresser that only speaks Arabic. Luckily, I had my sister-in-law with me to explain that I wanted a haircut and I wanted to go short. And this is the result. 

Her cutting style was new to me, not that I can explain what it was. The stylist didn't agree that I should go too short so she kept my hair long in the back and added lots of layers, framing my face with shorter sections. The result still looks quite short though, as my hair is lighter and my curls tend to bounce more.

On the day she showed me how I could roughly dry it and then blow dry some big, loose curls. I'm too lazy to do that on a daily basis and just use a moose when my hair is wet and allow it to dry naturally. The best part is that even day two hair looks amazing. My curls tend to fall out, and when my hair was long it just looked like a matted, frizzy mess. It now still looks messy, but much more like an intentional messy bed-head look. 

To style I use the Glossy Curl moose by Kera Science and then leave my hair to dry naturally. When I was living in the UK I always hated the texture that a moose would give, so I'm not sure if this moose is particularly good, or if it just works better with the water and the weather here. Or it could be that this is the only curly hair product I can find and I have to like it. 

At least for the foreseeable I'll be sticking to this shorter style, so I just need to learn the Arabic for "same again please”.

Messy side bun, curly hair up-do

I've always worn my hair loose because I feel it suits me better but I really love nothing more than to have it in a high bun or a pony tail and out of my face.

So I decided to play with more up-dos, trying to achieve a style that includes my curls, suits my face shape, makes me feel feminine and at the same time is out of my face!

Essentially this is a side messy bun look. After using the Toni and Guy waver to get defined waves, I put in a side parting and brought my hair to one side twisting it loosely into a bun and letting the hair fall naturally.

Some spin pins and hair pins later and I was done.

I was really pleased with the outcome. With a bit more care the look could be much for polished looking for a formal event and I think the addition of a flower or other hair accessory would also make the look that much more fun. 

What is your go to hairstyle, up or down?

Curl revival - tips from Bumble and Bumble

Girls with curls will know by day two of a wash curls can start to fall and the only way to fix it is to wash and style again.

I rocked up to a Bumble and Bumble event having rushed out of the house with wet hair in the morning so my curls were loose, frizzy and had no volume. I wasn’t sure what the stylist could do when he offered to do my hair but lucky for me he taught me how to get my curls back simply and quickly.

He started by spraying my hair with Bumble and Bumble Prep, which does exactly what it sounds like and prepares the hair for the next products and treatment. He then followed this with the Curl Conscious Reactivating Mist, again spraying all over.

The next step was to take a blow drier with a diffuser attached and use it to dry the hair while scrunching it.

I was talking to one of the PR ladies the time when he was doing this so wasn’t really watching what was happening but when he stopped I looked to see bouncy curls and hair with a lot of volume — and the best bit was that my hair still felt natural and not loaded with product.

The stylist then finished off with a little hairdressers invisible oil to tame fly-away hairs, reduce frizz and add shine.

I’ve repeated this styling at home since and it is so easy and quick to achieve. I don’t own the Prep product but I was given the Reactivating Mist and I have been able to use that alone and achieve the same results.

Curly girls what do you do to keep your curls? If you give this a go please come back and let me know how it works for you.

Doughnut head — the effortless bun hair style

The first thing I do when I get home in the evenings is put my hair up in a bun. I like to have my hair out of my face, but that being said, I rarely wear my hair up to leave the house.

It has been years since I sported any sort of up-do, since generally I don’t think it suits my features and having my hair down acts like a shield on bad skin days or, occasionally, weeks!

That being said after my colleagues returned from the Superdrug press event with a huge doughnut, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

The doughnut is really easy to use. I feed my hair through the hole (you can tie it into a pony tail first but I prefer not too for a looser/messier look) and pin in the ends underneath the doughnut using bobby pins and/or hair pins. Simple!

I usually leave my hair curly, which adds to the messy look but I imagine with straightened hair and a bit more time put in this would be the ideal look for a wedding or any other formal event.

Since, I have also picked up a smaller sized bun and played around this. This is less dramatic for the day time but I have found it takes a bit more fiddling, because I have more hair that needs to be tucked away.

I’ve always had compliments when wearing my hair this way and everyone has commented that it looks much harder to achieve than I have described. The doughnuts can be found in Superdrug, Boots, Clare’s Accessories and almost everywhere that does hair accessories. The larger doughnuts are usually around £10 and the smaller around £5. I have noticed a difference in the quality though and would suggest looking for one that feels firmer.

On a side note, I am loving accessorising the look with flowers. I picked up a selection from a Clare’s Accessories outlet for between £2.50-£4 each.

Blow dry using Richard Ward’s tips

So I finally got round to blow-drying my hair straight using the tips I learnt at the Richard Ward masterclass a few months back.

I have to admit, I don’t really like my hair straight as I don’t think it suits my face shape. I have to add lots of volume and a level of curl, to feel comfortable.

To help with the look, I applied Richard Ward’s memoriser holding serum throughout my hair when it was about 80% wet. The product is designed to hold any shape you apply to your hair whilst blow drying.

I only needed a small amount of product to spread through the entire length of my hair, which spread easily and did not leave a sticky feeling on my fingers or my hair. In fact, after blowdrying, my hair felt really smooth and soft. To get the curl all I did was hold the ends of my hair taunt in the comb and apply heat for about 20/30 seconds.

The combination of the drying technique I learnt and the product meant that the photographs I am using here show my hair the day after! I didn’t have to touch up the look other than ruffling my hair into place a bit and combing through with my fingers.

So honest opinions, what do you think?

Hair waving tools review - deep waver and boho waver

I have two hair wavers which I love. I purchased both nearly new on eBay after not being able to find any stockists in the UK. Now the trend for loose, beachy waves has really taken off and I feel I can finally post a review of my favourite hair tools, which make the look so effortless.

I know I have shown this picture many times before but this is the look that can be achieved with the Tony and Guy deep waver. For a while I could not find this anywhere in the UK, but I am really excited to see that it is on sale in Argos for around £35. I am assuming it is a similar model and I have no doubt eventually I will be going out and repurchasing one of these as a spare.

The deep waver differs from other wavers that are on the market which have three barrels, resulting in two waves in the hair for each section. The Toni and Guy model has one deep continuous groove which covers all the hair within a section.

It features a temperature dial so that you can adjust the heat depending on your hair type, having thick curly hair I always use any hair tool at the maximum setting. The waver is comfortable to hold and not to heavy, and the on/off mechanism is on the top of the tool so no risk of accidentally knocking it off, which I have done with other hair tools.

The second waver I own is by Vidal Sassoon. I don’t believe this particular model is available anymore but it is more like a traditional three barrell waver. The barallels on this are different sizes but I have not noticed a difference in the look of my hair compared to other three-barell wavers I have tried.

It is worth noting that I always use these on my curly hair. I feel it would be redundant to straighten my hair for the purpose of waving it! In my case it works well to revive my curls once they have fallen out in between washes, and to give a different look to my traditional curls.

In the case of both of these tools I can do my whole head of hair in 10 minutes if I am in a hurry by waving thick sections of hair at once. For nights out or when I have more time, I wave smaller sections at a time which gives a more defined look.

Finishing the style with hairspray the waves last all day, and if I tie my hair up at night correctly I might even be able to carry it over to the next day.

Spin Pin review

After seeing numerous reviews of the Goody Spin Pins I wanted to try some out for myself. Having thick curly hair any up-style take numerous attempts and endless numbers of pins and usually results in me giving up and wearing my hair down so these worked perfectly.

The pins work like a corkscrew, after putting your hair into a bun (no elastic band needed) a pin gets spun into the top and another into the bottom of the bun. I tended to go for a looser style of bun so that my curls could fall out and tested out a few different ways of doing this.

Low messy bun, this was the tightest style I did just leaving the ends of my hair out to create a messy look.  

Mid-height bun, looser than previously to look more styled and less like a bun

High bun and loosest of the three styles. 

The pins were perfect on holiday, having my hair down was just too hot so I was glad to be able to put it up in a more stylish way without using a scrunchy and that wasn’t a ponytail. Because I tended to go for looser buns I found that these did not hold well in the water although for use now I am back in the UK this is not going to be an issue! The tighter the bun the better the hold and because of the greater density of hair you are less likely to get the two pins colliding, which was the only other issue I found using these so I had to be careful to angle the pins to avoid this.

I purchased my spin pins in a Claire’s Accessories outlet for £3.50. They usually retail at £5 and can be found coloured for blondes or brunettes.

Quick Review - Samy Jooouge Fun Fibre Curls Creme

I am yet to find a hair styling product for use in between washes for reviving my curls. This product by Samy comes pretty close. I brought it from Superdrug in the clearance section, I’m not sure if this means that they are discontinuing it! The bottle was a bit grubby so I suspect that is why.

My sister is a big fan of Samy products, so I had been wanting to try them. The first thing I noticed on opening this is that it smells amazing! That being said I cannot put my finger on what it reminds me of!

The creme consistency is not too sticky, after rubbing between my palms, I just smooth over the parts of my hair that have lost the curl or have become frizzy, and it works really well to smooth it down and hold it in place. The only down side is that you have to be careful with the amount you apply since too much can leave a sticky and almost greasy feel. At £3.99 for 115ml, it works out at great value since I don’t use it very often. 

Hair cut and treatment

I was in desperate need of a haircut. My hair was starting to look dull and the curls were falling out from the weight. Lucky for me my mum is a hairdresser, so I am able to let her do her thing without too much worry! Having curly hair, and wearing it that way the majority of the time, I am a bit limited with style, so I usually get a few inches cut off and some layers put in, and have found that works best for me. 

I washed my hair immediately after and decided to treat it with a hair masque. I was sent this “hot miracle” by Montagne Jeunesse for review and picked it seen as it only needed to be left in for a minute. I let the hot water of the shower heat up the packet a little before applying and then left it on for approximately one minute. The packet is separated into two, with the hair mask in one, with just enough product for one application. Although it is meant to have an avocado scent, I could not really make one out. The mask isn’t as creamy as ones I have used in the past and I also didn’t get that immediate soft feeling that you get after rinsing. The second half of the packet contained a hair serum, again enough for one use. This had a great texture to it, not sticky at all and spread throughout my entire hair easily. I then styled as normal and let my hair dry naturally. 

This was the result…...

My hair feels so soft to touch now, I can’t help but touch it, plus it has a nice bit of healthy looking shine. Curly hair has a tendency to be dry, so to feel my hair so soft is amazing! Immediately after using the products, I was a bit ‘meh’ about it, since I could not feel any immediate effect. I am not sure if it was the mask that improved the condition, the serum or the combination of the two. Either way I think Montagne Jeunesse should think about bringing that out alone as a bottle, and potentially even the hair masques in larger tubes as they have with the face masques. I have never really been a fan of serums since I never saw a result. 

I hope this isn’t a case of ‘one time wonder’ since I personally have found with hair using something new makes it feel great for a while and then it almost gets used to the product. At £1.01 it is definitely worth a try and will be one I will be repurchasing. 

Babyliss Waving Wand The Review

If you have read my previous posts you will know I purchased the babyliss waving wand (look here). Having used it a number of times now I wanted to do a full review.

Overall I really love it, the look is very unique to a curling wand, essentially due to the shape of the barrel. Typically for curling wands these are round, or more recently you can find conical ones, but for this waving wand the barrel is oval shaped. Although other curling/waving wands claim that you can achieve a waved look from their product (which I have seen can be done), they seem to require a bit more of a technique that simply wrapping your hair around and I personally have not been able to achieve the look easily. With this product you simple use the same way as you would any other wand.

The styler is a deep purple colour and has a swivel cord which is always more convenient. It is actually surprisingly light, but not in a cheap way and of course this just means that your arm doesn’t ache half way through doing your hair! Aside from the on/off switch there are 5 heat settings depending on your hair type. I am able to use the 4th on my thick curly hair and achieve a long lasting result. Inside the box also came a heat protective glove, which is also worth talking about. I no longer use any gloves when I style my hair since I have got used to the products, but for a beginner these are a must. In the past however the gloves have been cheap and difficult to work with since they are always oversized and do not allow you to hold your hair firmly. The glove provided with this is much more fitting and lets you have better control.

Having curly hair I typically just take the strands as they are already separated, which means that I get different thicknesses and styles of waves. The thicker the strand of hair, the looser the wave. I personally like the mixed look, but you can of course make everything more even. I do not take any special care in making my hair all lay flat on the wand as I have seen done with curling irons, so essentially, grab the hair and wrap. I hold for approximately 10 seconds and release. For my entire head I needed about half an hour and I do finish off the style with a medium hold hairspray.

The wand itself heats up extremely quickly, within a matter of seconds. There is a cool tip at the end of the barrel which never heats up acting as an additional safety feature. Since the wand is ceramic from what I have understood you still need to use a heat protectant. Other handy safety features are an automatic switch off function after 72 minutes, incase you have forgotten. The function I think is very clever is the integrated heat rest, so you don’t have to think about heat mats or worry about ruining your dressing table.

The waves last a very long time. Having done my hair in the morning they lasted all day and through to the next and fell out to looser waves.

I rate this product very highly and cannot think of any negatives. Usually the price would count as a negative for a lot of styling tools but I managed to get mine for £21 online at Amazon and they retail for £30 in most other shops. I think it is great value for money, I have paid more for other styling products and have not rated them as highly as this one.

                                           

If you were in two minds about this tool, I can’t imagine you will be disappointed. Although I can’t speak for people with straight hair, I cannot see why it wouldn’t work just as effectively, and as for my fellow curly heads, it’s a great way of changing up your look.

Deep waver (toni and guy) launch? SS11 LOOK

I have just managed to get myself very excited and very disappointed in a very short space of time. I have only just read through an old copy of LOOK magazine (7th March) and came across this picture.

A DEEP WAVER. I love these, I own one. Having searched high and low on eBay and online I managed to get a second hand one and use it at least once a week. I love the look it gives me straight on my messy curls, in fact you will have seen this in a previous post.

I never chose to review the tool thought since I know they cannot be found. I thought Toni and Guy (or hair tool manufacturers in general) weren’t making them anymore, you can find them from US sellers but with the postage and duty as well as the need to buy a power converter it would end up being quite pricey. I even went as far as to email Toni and Guy directly over a year ago to ask if they had any and where, but I never got a response. So I counted myself lucky to have one and have my fingers crossed that mine does not break (I have actually broken the catch to keep it locked already).

So after I saw the picture in LOOK magazine I was really excited. There are no details as to when it will be launched, but there was a link to a video showing how to achieve the look, with the tool being used. What I found funny was that there is a list of products used to achieve the look which omits this most crucial tool! I have searched over the internet to find a link to a possible launch date, I don’t even know what it will be called, big crimper? deep waver? I can’t find anything up to date. Maybe a beauty or hair insider would know more but I do find it frustrating that LOOK have been so vague with it and yet featured it. I would be SOOOOO grateful to anyone who has any insight since I would be desperate to get my hands on another.

The link to the stylist look featured in the magazine is here. The LOOK Show SS11 Hair How-To Video: The Catwalk Crimp | Look I think I am the biggest fan of this hair tool so I hope that it does appear to buy soon!

Babyliss Waving Wand Look

If you read one of my previous blog posts then you would know that I ordered the Babyliss waving wand at a bargain price. Arriving this morning I tried it out immediately and these are the results…………..

I even felt inspired to model a bump-it and a flower headband with the look today.

First impressions…... I love it! The look is unique to that of a curling wand. I know I want to have more of a play with different thicknesses of hair etc before I give my final review, but so far so good.

** 19th March 2011 Please see here for full review.