Hair Care Routine - How I Rescued My Damaged Hair

  

 

Today's post is something that I've been meaning to put together for a little while now, and that is a hair care routine / current favourite hair products type of post. I don't often talk about hair care on my blog as I'm very minimal when it comes to my hair - I don't do very much in terms of styling and I pretty much have had long blonde locks for as long as I can remember. However I recently had it done a little differently and I've also been using a bunch of different products that have made a hell of an improvement to my hair.

 

So I thought I better give a very quick history - as I mentioned above I've always been a blondie, I'm naturally fair (well dark blonde) but I've had highlights put in to make my hair look lighter for probably over ten years now, luckily for me my dad is a hairdresser. And considering that I've been colouring my hair for over a decade the condition of my hair has always been pretty decent. I also wash my hair every day too, which most people gasp at when I tell them but I just can not stand my hair greasy. Anyways for the last few years I have mostly been dipping in and out of bleaching my hair or if not using really light blonde highlights and again it was in a good condition. However over the summer I tried a different shampoo and conditioner that absolutely ruined my hair - you can read this post if you want to find out exactly what product it was.

 

It was a gradual process but I decided that it was definitely time to rescue my poor damaged hair. Here is exactly what I did; firstly I dumped the offending products in the bin and switched up my products . In particular I choose a lot more wisely with the sort of products I am going to use from now on. I am currently using the VO5 Cherish My Colour shampoo and conditioner which I've really been enjoying as I feel like it protects the colour without stripping it. Another thing that I like about this duo is that they are really affordable - VO5 is always on offer somewhere too. The star product for me has to be the RedKen Extreme Anti-Snap leave in conditioner as I have seen so much improvement in my hair since using this. It effortlessly gives life back to dry and limp ends making your hair visibly look healthier and feel better. Not a cheap product but 100% worth every penny, I get mine from FeelUnique where its a bit cheaper than in the shops.

 

When it comes to brushing I tend to leave things up to my Styler Tangle Teezer, as it does the job so easily without having to forcefully yank and tug at any knots or tangles. A product that I've gone back to using lately is my Tresemme Argan Oil Spray - for special ocassions or days when I want to give my hair a gorgeous shine this is such an amazing product. It makes your hair look so vibrant and glossy. This is probably it when it comes to products - to style my hair I half dry it and leave it in a plait to give me natural looking waves

 

Switching up my products certainly helped my hair, but there was only so much that these could do and my hair really had been through quite a lot so last week I decided it was time for a change up. I got some golden blonde highlights put in my hair, instead of my usual ones and I also had about 3 - 4 inches cut off my ends. I'm really happy with the colour, it has a warmer tone to it that I think will be nice over the upcoming winter months.  Just having the ends cut was enough to make my hair look and feel so much healthier - its got so much more life back in it now and if I continue to stick to the products I've been using it should stay this healthy looking.

 

Fresh from the hairdresser's.

 

QOTD: What hair products do you use?

The Body Shop Hair Chalk Review: Falling For Blue

 

 

 

Hair Chalk | The Body Shop | £5 | Link

There has been one thing that I cannot get enough of the last few weeks or so and that has been the latest releases from The Body Shop with their brand new hair chalks. I think that these launched at the beginning of the month so they really haven't been out for long. If you've never heard of hair chalks before or are unsure what they are they are basically a temporary way of colouring your hair. When browsing one of the stores a few weeks ago my eyes were instantly drawn to the stand in the window showing off their brand new product. As soon as the sales woman saw me eye them up she quickly ushered me into a seat to give me a demonstration.

The hair chalks come in two bright shades 'Tickled Pink' or 'Falling for Blue' and instinctively I opted for the pink. The lady chatted through what she was doing as she applied the chalk to my hair, so if you felt unsure about how to apply them don't hesitate to ask for a demonstration. Although there are also some simple 3 step instructions on the packaging as well. Within a couple of minutes the ends of my blonde locks had been transformed into a bright explosion of colour - I was in love! The colour was so pigmented and bold against my blonde hair and it was unlike anything my locks had ever known. Needless to say that I hurried straight over to the till clinging excitedly on to my pot of pink hair chalk. I have since used that pink pot up, I think it got around five uses but you should probably take into consideration that my hair is quite long and you can apply as little or as much as personally desired. A pot would probably last somewhat longer on someone with shorter hair depending on how it was used. I prefer to apply it somewhat lightly so that you can still identify some of the blonde poking through underneath.

Today I was feeling a little experimental and went back in to try out the second colour option 'Falling for Blue'. Above you can see a couple of pictures showing the end result on my hair. I was really pleased with how it looked! Now I've tried both options I do think the pink is my favourite though (check my Instagram if you want to see a picture of how my hair looked pink.) But for now my ends are an exotic shade and for some reason I keep thinking of a mermaids hair when I see my blue ends - even though the little mermaid had red hair? I don't know maybe its just the blue reminding me of the sea...  I think if you're blonde like I am this colour combination works a treat and is right on trend too. Adding such an eye popping colour also seems to make my hair look blonder which I quite like too.
Overall I am completely taken with the new releases from The Body Shop, but I thought I would finish up by weighing up the Pros and Cons for you.

Pros:

- Extremely well pigmented (against my hair anyway)

- They rinse out with just one hair wash

- Add colour to your hair without damaging the condition of it

- Inexpensive way of colouring your hair

Cons:

- They can be a little messy to apply for the first time at home

- The colour pay off will not be the same for all shades of hair

 

So I think that's everything I wanted to say, I think that I've given the hair chalks a fair review. If you are interested in trying these out from your local Body Shop I would recommend trying them out first to save any disappointment.

Have you ever tried hair chalk? Would you ever add a bold colour to your hair?

Feel free to tweet me @graceyblossom or check out my pink hair on instagram @graceyblossom :) x