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