Hair Refresh

I feel that we have all been there.. Making that one hair decision that we always wish we had never done. Whether it be trying a new cut, styling it differently or being brave and trying a new colour. Back when I was in year 10 at school, I had my first lot of highlights. I loved them! A nice subtle blonde running through the length of my hair. I loved it so much so that I decided next time I went back to the salon, to add a little bit more blonde. I did the same the next time that I went.. Until I was pretty much bleach blonde. 

Now being that age, looking back, I definitely did not look after my hair at all. I would wake up at 6am every morning, to wash it and style it before heading off to school for the day. That being said, the amount of product I would put into my hair was horrendous! It was so dry, it could have literally just been hay used to make a birds nest. Not a good look.. 

As you can guess, it didn't last for very long. Maybe a couple of weeks at max. She was back dying it to be a brunette once more. Even more damage to my hair.. It took years to grow out the bleach underneath the home box dyes, under the semi permanent dyes done at the salon. It was such a long process. The colour never stuck to my hair due to the bleach stripping back any sort of colour or pigment. Of course, there was nothing for the dye to cling too! I always remember being wary of being out in the direct sun as you could see how my roots were growing through. 

Since then, I have always been a bit against doing anything with my hair that's different. Other than minimising the amount of product used on my hair.. After seeing the balayage trend coming in, where colour was added to look natural, or the opposite if you fancied, I was obsessed! After umming and arring, I took the plunge and decided to go for something super natural, with no colour anywhere near my roots. I wanted that look of natural highlights from spending time in the sun. 

I have been over the moon with it! Even a month on from having it done, I still wish that I had done it sooner. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to go back as blonde as my school days (I am not going to insert any photos, to save myself the embarrassment haha), but I am in love with it!

Do you have any hair regrets?

Amber X

Heatless Waves

One of my go to hair styles has been heatless curls/waves. After not having a hair cut for that long because of lockdown, it takes far too much effort for my hair to look presentable. This trick however, isn't one that will be new to you, but is one that saves me so much time in the mornings before work and before a day out, and makes it look like you have spent time styling it. It's a win-win. 

After washing my hair, I always apply some argan oil, >this< one has been a long time favourite of mine. It works it's magic on wet hair, as well as dry hair, and always leaves my hair looking so shiny and healthy looking. I'm a massive fan of products that have multi use. I then go in and use a heat protection spray. >This< spray is one that I have enjoyed using. Not only does it smell incredible, but it does make my hair feel sleek and soft. I rarely use a hair dyer. I personally think my hair feels better and driers better when I let it air dry naturally. Because of this, I always wash my hair at night, before bed.

Once my hair, is somewhat dry, but still feels a bit damp underneath, I French plait my hair in one big plait, starting from the very top of my hair, all the way to the bottom. Use a hair band to keep it in place. 

When it is time to style my hair the next morning, I take the plait out and am left with waves. (Above is what my hair looks like once I have woken up and am just about to take it out of the plait). I usually use my straighteners to smooth out the top of my hair, and to curl the pieces that are framing my face, away from my face, and that's it. Hair done in a minimum of 5 minutes! Give it a quick hairspray and you're good to go. So quick and easy.

Once done, it looks like you have spent a good 30 minutes going through it with a wand that makes waves. I have seen so many influencers use them recently! But we all now know, that you don't need to splash out on one of those wands to get the same effect :-)

What's your favourite way to style your hair?

Amber X

Curling With a Straightener

First things first, I am NO hair stylist. Trust me. I am definitely an advocate for, spend as little time as I can to style it. But every once and while, I do like to spend the time to make it look lovely. I have always had long hair. Ever since I was a child I always remember it being long. My Dad would wash it for me, and plait it before I went to sleep, so it was all wavy for school the next day. But recently, it was getting a little bit too much. I always found that I had to put so much effort in to it for it to look half decent, which was a definite no. That being said, I booked a hair appointment and decided to give it a good old trim. I walked out the salon, super happy with the outcome. It doesn't take half the time to do my hair in the morning now, and it looks so much happier. (Although I truly do miss the length shhh! Haha) This is how I achieve curls, with my straightener, when I am willing to give my hair some love.

The photo above is my hair freshly washed from the night before. We can blame that lovely kink through it, on the hair band it was tied up with. From here, I section my hair off, running my index fingers from the top of my ears, round to the back of my head and tie up the top section in a bun on top of my head. I then take a small section of hair, and get the straightener ready.

There are different ways that you can hold the straightener to achieve a curl, and I tend to switch it up as I do it, to give my hair a different texture. For example, starting near to the root of your hair, point the straightener downwards, clamp the hair and twist the straightener a half turn away from the face. Pull the straightener through the hair, slowly, until you reach the end of the section you selected. Carry on doing the same throughout the bottom layer of hair. You can switch up the way you rotate the straightener to give your hair some depth. When you get to the section around your hair, rotate away from the face, to shape your face.

Once the bottom section has all been curled, hair spray in place. I then let down the top piece of hair and section it off again, with a second layer, ready to be curled. Repeat this until all of your hair has been curled into sections. Run your fingers through your hair, loosen up the curls, sort out your parting to how you like to have it, and you're all ready to go.

The second technique that I like to use if I really don't want to spend long making my hair presentable is the one below. Starting the curl lower down the hair, with the straightener pointing towards the root of the hair. Rotate the straightener with the hair in, a half turn away again in whatever direction you wish, towards the face or away, and slowly drag the curler through the length of the hair until the end of the section. Repeat.

Once I've ran through all of the hair, I'm left with something that looks like this! There are loads of great tutorials, step by step guides with photos and videos on the GHD website, which I have had a little browse through from time to time, just to have a look at the hair styles you can achieve using their stylers. I swear by GHD and have been a long time user of their products. They're amazing.

Hope this inspires some of you to give your hair some love. What is your favourite hair style on yourself?

Amber X 

Curls Curls Curls

So last week, I made the trip to my hair dressers and decided that I was going to cut my hair (well duh). For as long as I can remember my hair has been super long. Something in me recently has been more than bored with it, and quite frankly, I wanted something a bit different. Now I know what you're probably thinking.. Amber love, your hair is still long.. Yes, you're right. But for me, this is the shortest it has been a long time. You never seem to realise how much your hair needed a tidy up after you've done it, and this is exactly how I have felt. Last summer, my hair was crazy long, and I wish I had it chopped off sooner. My favourite way to have my hair is in curls. I know that not everyone has the time or realistically, the patience, to spend their mornings tediously curling their hair, but I am going to share some of my tips for achieving curly hair. 

Find a tool that works for you - I love to use a curling wand if I am curling all of my hair. Don't forget to use a heat defence glove if you use a wand - your hair can become super hot. Not only that, but your hands will be close to the wand and burns aren't fun. If I am after a few curls throughout my hair, I'll use a straightener. It's all about finding out what works best for you. 

Alternate the way you wrap your hair around the wand - Doing this will add texture, and volume to your hair. Curl the pieces of hair nearest your face, away from your face. This will help frame your face.

Hairspray - Your best friend when it comes to ensuring all your efforts stay in place. The Silvikrin one is a favourite of mine - it holds the curl and doesn't feel crunchy. You can always brush out the curls once you have locked them in place with the hairspray. This will soften the curl, and give you less of a hairspray crunch. 

Sectioning your hair - Using sectioning clips will make your life much easier to make sure that each piece of hair has been curled. It also helps keep previously curled pieces of hair out of the way. I find that when I don't section my hair I spend much longer trying to curl. Even if it's tying your hair up, sectioning it off will save you sooo much time. 

Let me know if you'd like to see more posts on hair - I really enjoyed putting this one together!

What's your favourite hairstyle?

Amber X