Haircare ♥

I love finding out little tips and tricks from other people about their beauty regimes, and now it's my time to share mine, focusing on my hair!

First off, naturally my hair is very curly, fine but a lot of it, and I've been having blonde highlights since I was 16, once or twice growing them out to be left with my natural brunette colour - only to decide to go blonde again! I've definitely loved my GHDs far too much over the past few years... I say few, when really, it's been since year 8 at school. 10 years ago! But this all said, and a rather delightful picture of my frizzy, blonde, overdyed hair emerging... Right now I'm the happiest I've been with my hair for years!

Now for my twopence worth in the 'how to have healthy hair' drama every girl has!

♥ Change your shampoo regularly

Your hair gets used to things, and after a while you'll stop seeing the benefits of the amazing shampoo you once loved. To combat this, I regularly swap between L'Oreal Nourish & Shimmer shampoo and Pantene Aqua Light, but also once a week adding in a tiny amount of Provoke 'Twice A Week Brightening' violet shampoo to counteract any brassiness

♥ Blondes - use a violet shampoo

Inevitably, all hair dye dulls and fades, and never stays looking as shiny and full of life as it did when you left the hairdressers. The tendency for blonde dye is for it to turn yellow-ish; therefore given blue and yellow are contrasting colours, a violet shampoo is perfect for eliminating the yellow tones and leaves highlights looking fresh! However, it is very drying and therefore should be combined with your normal shampoo and be followed by using a hydrating conditioner

♥ Intensive conditioners, everyday

For hair like mine which is severely dried out through excessive heat use (and because the curly hair cuticle is naturally drier than a straight one), using an intensive conditioner with every hair wash does no harm at all. A few of my favourites are Andrew Barton 'SOS Help Me' (smells like toffee... Amazing!) and Dove 'Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment'. One I'm also looking into trying is the Moroccan Oil conditioner (my hairdresser used this on me at my last visit, and it was incredible!)

♥ Wide tooth combs only

Fragile hair is very sensitive to breaking, therefore ultimate care must be taken when it has been unwrapped from the towel. A wide tooth comb is suitable for gently de-tangling your tresses and works especially well for myself as if I want to leave my hair curly, it doesn't pull and therefore straighten the hair shaft.

If you are going to use a hairbrush, Denman's Tangle Teezers are ideal, however I still prefer a wide toothcomb!

♥ Moroccan Oil!!!

Words cannot explain how awesome this stuff is. A small bottle is pricey (£12.85), but does last around three months! And working out at about £1 a week for beautiful hair... It's worth it! I take a 10p sized amount, and really work it into the ends of my hair (from about ear length downwards) for about 4 minutes. It can also be used after your hair has been styled to combat any frizzyness. It leaves hair looking and feeling extremely soft and shiny!

♥ Heat protection

Whether your drying your hair or using a styling tool, heat protection spray must be used! It takes two seconds to spray it through the ends of your hair, and saves hair getting frazzled. Currently I'm using a Vo5 one which I quite like!

These are the main tips I can recommend, alongside other obvious ones such as not too much backcombing, using hair bobbles which don't have metal bits to snag your hair on, and not over-washing your hair!

If anyone has any other fab tips for getting healthy hair, I would love to read them!

x x x

Spring Scarves ♥

I love the versatility a scarf can bring to an outfit. Even the most plain ensemble can look completely different with the addition of a cotton scarf. With that thought, and the painful fashion season we are faced with at the moment - you know, where shops showcase masses of tiny denim shorts, gladiator sandals, floaty vest tops and bikinis, yet all we really want is to cosy up in our knitwear still. Cotton scarves are ideal for this time of the year, they still keep your neck toasty but add a little bit of spring colour to your life; perfectly reminiscent of the odd day of sunshine here and there we are privileged to encounter of recent :)

  

These three scarves were bought from Primark, costing £4 each - absolute steal. The first is a beautiful rosey coral coloured, vintage inspired pattern, the second is a classic snakeskin in black and white and the third is my definite favourite. Packed full of quirky scribbles and cute drawings of teacups, deck chairs, birds and little hamsters, it makes for an adorable scarf.

I feel Primark has outdone itself with these beauties. Over the past year or so, I feel their prices have hiked up ridiculously, simply because of their popularity. Having studied business, I know this is natural progression, but I feel for a certain period everything was overpriced, making me steer my purchasing away from one of my favourite high street retailers. However, either I've become conditioned to price increases, or Primark has remembered their lost consumers like me, who love a bargain! Gone are the days of buying a new vest top, a chunky wide belt and a pair of shoes all for a tenner with my EMA in college (circa 2006!), but I'm very appreciative of Primark's affordable accessory range :)

x x x