A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If we’re not straightening it, we’re curling it.  If we’re not dye-ing it, we’re stripping it.  Our hair goes through more daily turmoil than the cast of Eastenders and I’m always on the lookout for ways to protect my locks, because heaven forbid, I should actually just stop mistreating them!

Philip Kingsley, major hair guru (or trichologist to give him his proper name), offers an anti-breakage, heat protecting conditioning spray for all hair types in the form of his Daily Damage Defence* spray.  It’s spendy at £22.50 for 250ml but if you only straighten your hair a couple of times a week (like me), this hefty bottle is going to last you 6 months or more with no trouble.  If you straighten your hair daily, stop that at once!

Many of us straighten our hair to eliminate the frizzies, at least… that’s what I do.  I’m a little bit addicted to the glossiness that ironed hair imparts and I haven’t yet discovered the secrets to achieving the same with a decent blow-dry.  I’m only washing my hair a maximum of twice or three times a week at the moment because I lose too much colour, too quickly if I wash more frequently and I’m finding that this by itself is helping my hair retain more moisture than normal.

I wash (still keep cheating on my SLS-free shampo), condition (deep condition once a week), pat dry with a towel, spray with the Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence, and comb through with a boar-bristled brush.  Then I blow dry, and finally… run my straighteners through at as low a temperature as I can (anything above 180 degrees is really too hot for hair to handle).

The Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence is a silicone-based heat protectant (silicone avoiders beware) with added nourishing benefits from ingredients such as: hydrolised elastin, almond seedcake extract, amino acids and other hygroscopic (moisture-attracting) properties.  It smells good and dispenses a fine mist so I don’t overload my fine hair and weigh it down.  It’s the only styling product I’ve been using except for hairspray in an attempt to grasp any other benefits that it may be delivering.

Has my hair been breaking less?  Not really… at least, not that I’d directly attribute to the use of this product.  My hair breaks more so (in my opinion) because of my polycystic ovarian syndrome, I’m also a terrible shedder and I can’t have a shower without emptying the plughole of enough hair to stuff a pillow.  I haven’t noticed any improvements in this regard since using the Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence.

Do I see any benefits at all?  I find that it’s helping my straighteners glide through my hair more efficiently and more quickly, something which I believe is lessening the scope for damage whilst still delivering good results when I’m done.  I haven’t noticed it causing any additional colour leech, infact… I’d say that I’ve had less since I’ve been using it (and it does say “suitable for use on color treated hair”), something which has become a bit of a priority recently.  I’ve just been for the chop (4 inches off) so I can’t comment on split ends but I hadn’t noticed a significant improvement and really don’t believe that any product will deliver on that score!

It’s more than I’d want to pay for a heat-protectant… but you get a lot of product for your money and it’s packaged in such a way that there is no waste during use, so if you don’t already have something that you’re happy with and can stomach the initial splurge, I do recommend the Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence.  If you already use something that you swear by at a more bargainous price, I’m all ears!

I’ve tried a few and hadn’t (until now) found a happy balance between the product weighing down my hair and not actually achieving anything other than a bit of additional scent!  Thumbs up for this one.

Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence (250ml) is priced at £22.50 and available to buy instore and online at Marks&Spencer

* press sample

I know what you’re thinking… “Charlotte, don’t be stupid – you don’t just “accidentally” dye your hair”.  But allow me to explain, because it’s not as black and white (and red) as it may initially seem.

You remember that time when you accidentally ate someone else’s Krispy Kreme because you weren’t paying attention?  Or that time you innocently forgot to take your pill and had a baby as a result?  There are all kinds of accidents, it’s just that some of them aren’t completley blame-less.

I didn’t mean to wake up this morning with bright red hair that leans menacingly toward the cerise, but I’ll admit that it didn’t just ‘happen’ either.  It went something like this…

I bought a bottle of Crazy Color semi-permanent hair color cream online from Amazon… after umm-ing and ahh-ing over the shades, I went for #56 Fire mainly because the reviews of some of the other reds in the range were pretty poor.  I bought the Renbow Crazy Color because I was looking for something to refresh my recently dyed hair without causing further damage.  The Renbow Crazy Color range works by staining the hair shaft without opening the cuticle and penetrating into the hair, it’s a vegetable dye that doesn’t inflict damage in the same way as conventional dyes.

In order to refresh my locks and give them a little boost of colour, I intended to mix a little dye into my conditioner and let it sit for a couple of minutes before rinsing out.  Easy peasy!  Except, it didn’t quite work out like that.

Once I’d blow dried my hair, I could see that the dye had really taken to my lighter roots, creating an uneven halo effect.  Not only that but thanks to my cackhanded application, only the very top layer had grabbed the colour.  I tried to live with it for a couple of hours… but I couldn’t kid myself, I looked ridiculous.

So I went for it.

Ignoring the instructions, I applied 3/4 of the bottle to my dry hair and concentrated on ensuring that I was evenly distributing the product throughout.  I can’t lie to you, it was messy.  At one point, Paul commented that it looked like he’d been trying to murder me.  I knew from reading reviews that vegetable dyes are notorious for staining skin and bathrooms but I don’t mind admitting that I got to the point where I didn’t care!

Once I was satisfied that every strand had been covered (and combed through for extra insurance), I set to work on the cleanup.  I’d been wearing disposable gloves… an absolute must, trust me.  The rest of the cleanup was surprisingly easy – the sink was treated to a hefty dose of Cillit Bang and any ‘staining’ wiped off without any bother.  As for my skin?  I used a damp flannel and rubbed until  my skin bled I decided that I’d rather live with the staining than keep going.  I left the dye on for around 30 minutes before rinsing.

And rinsing.  And rinsing.  I was stood under the shower for another 30 minutes in an attempt to get the water to run clear.  Eventually I got bored (and a bit cold) and gave up.  At this point, don’t reach for one of your nice towels – you’ll ruin it.  I’m gonna burn mine to hide the evidence.

Enough talking… it’s just hair dye.  Here’s how it turned out….

BRIGHT!

I’m anticipating that it’s gonna fade quickly (6-8 washes maybe?) so I’ve bought another bottle online and I still have about 1/4 of the first bottle left to go back to my original plan of refreshing the colour by mixing a little in with my conditioner when I wash my hair.  I’ll be honest, I’m a bit unsure of my new ‘do’ – it makes my eyes look really green but I think it clashes with my skintone!

Anyway, that’s the story of how one might become an accidental redhead.  Call it a cautionary tale if you like.

Do you use vegetable dyes?  Got any favourites?!

* oh, by the way, I need to tell you that you all disgusted me, disgusted me with your grubby ways on yesterday’s post – you brilliant, brilliant lot.

It takes a special kind of lady to rock certain styles – I’m not a special kind of lady, “speshul” maybe…

I’ve been eyeing up some pretty hair jewellery around the interwebs and wondering what it would take for me to take the plunge and invest in a pretty piece.  I think the answer lies somewhere near the bottom of the bottle of Malibu lurking in the fridge.  Yes, I’m uncool enough to still love a bit of Malibu!

Silver Wings ($40.00)  |  Wildfox Daisy Chain (£47.47)  |  Kyoto Moon-Kanzashi Geisha Hair Stick ($40.00)  |  Moustache Ear Cuff (£8.00)

Honestly? I can just imagine getting horribly tangled up in it all the time.  Perhaps it’s a trend better suited to those with effortlessly sleek locks that seemingly never frizz?

Me?  I’d turn my head too quickly and attach myself to a fucking kitchen cupboard.

Do you own and wear any hair jewellery?  Hair bands and combs don’t count – I’m talking proper barnet bling!

I think I’ve cracked it.  It’s only taken me 30 years but I’m absolutely, definitely, completely (most-likely) going to return to the hairdresser I visited yesterday for a trim.  I was doing some shopping in town whilst Leila was on her first-ever play date *bites knuckles* and I dared myself to walk into the first hair salon I saw for a cut (I do shit like this to myself all the time – I think it’s a touch of OCD).

I did have some exceptions to that rule: no salons with the word “cuts” and “super” in the name, no salons with more children than adults in the chairs, and no salons which filled their windows with the products they would be blatantly hard-selling me thirty minutes later.

The first salon to cross my path was Trevor Mitchell on East Street.  From the outside, I wasn’t convinced, it was like the 1970s had met with a 1990s revival and gotten lost on the way to the nought-ies.  The inside wasn’t a whole lot better and I don’t like the name Trevor.  Still, I can’t deny that I wasn’t tempted by the offer of a £25.50 haircut on the price list.  I mean, I didn’t want anything too drastic… just a (good) trim and a fringe-reshape.  I shuddered at the thought of all the different ways the fringe-reshape could go horribly wrong.  I stepped inside anyway.

There isn’t much in the way of luxury going on at Trev’s place.  There are no cups of tea on offer and the dayglo gowns felt and looked like something I’d put on Leila to protect her from a Play-Doh attack.  Does anyone else get anxious about which way round you’re going to be asked to wear the gown?  Posh salons have ones that you put on like a coat and the rest make you wear them like a straight jacket right?

I’m not a big talker when someone is holding a pair of scissors centimetres from my ear, mostly because I’m fairly socially-retarded and tend to giggle inappropriately.  Thankfully, my stylist Kylie wasn’t much of a talker either – except for where it mattered.  I gave her free reign to chop off what she needed to restore health, tame the over-processing and neaten everything up.  Before she started cutting, she showed me the various lengths of my old layers and reassured me that she would leave it well-beyond the annoying ‘growing out’ length.

Admittedly, a basic trim isn’t the easiest thing in the world to mess up… but the scary bit was still to come.  The fringe.

Long story short, she cut it perfectly and not only that but she had my hair foibles sussed within seconds of looking at me.  Dodgy lick on one side of fringe = don’t touch it until it’s dried.  I went to one hairdresser in January who literally snipped in a straight line across my wet fringe… I had a puffy sticky up bit for weeks.  Traumatic.  She suggested that the outer edges needed more blending and by this time, I trusted her.  She also thinned the hair at the edges and boy, that’s made a huge difference as to how it sits against my forehead!  Before I left, she gave me some tips on fading old colour and apparently Vosene works better than Head & Shoulders for lifting dark dye!

I hadn’t had a good, full haircut since I first got my fringe cut in last year and had only found one salon in Soho (Studio12) who had trimmed my fringe to my liking.  A bit of shine spray and £25.50 (+ tip) later and I’m walking somewhat taller with my noo doo.

Cheers Trev!  Oh and just for giggles, Trevor Mitchell (the man behind the local salon chain) introduced Kevin Keegan to his infamous perm in the 80s!  I think I had a lucky escape!

Have you had a happy haircut recently?

I bought a hair-dye from TK Maxx last week (it sounds like a bad idea already) and decided that the recent crop of ever-increasing greys needed a severe talking to.  That night, I checked out the packet… L’Oreal Recital Preference Hair Color Ultra Lightening in 6.3, Golden Brown.  I knew I was taking a risk… a). I’ve never tried the L’Oreal Recital Preference range before and b). Golden Brown?  Do I look like Beyonce?  I can’t remember the last time my hair was golden anything.

I calculated my options in my head and decided that I’d spent the whole year being a very careful home hair-dyer.  I’ve been touching up only the roots for a very long time now and felt that the ends had gradually faded in colour.  There was still a lot of build-up but nothing like it had been a year previously.  I deserved to take a chance.

I’ve been wanting to go lighter for a long time, I’m working on the assumption that if my hair is lighter it will make the regrowth a little bit less obvious leading to less-frequent dying and ultimately, healthier hair.  It’s all good right?

Except that I’d do well to remember that I haven’t seen myself anything other than a dark, dark brown for many years.  To put it bluntly, I nearly shat myself when I took the towel off my head.  My grey roots were a delightful shade of Donald Trump, glowing furiously under the hallway light.  Fuck.  I took to Twitter and said as much.  Fuck, said I.

Long story short, a wash or two later and a little bit of time to get used to it?  I’m loving it.  Sure… the roots are lighter than the ends but I’m gonna head to the hair-dressers next week and get it all cropped back to just below my shoulders again which should go some way toward helping the situation.

My problem is that I have no idea where to go from here.  I’m tempted to try and go a touch lighter again… but when and how?  I don’t want to overload my hair or damage it seeing as I’ve been trying to be so good for so long!  I’m giving my hair regular coconut oil treatments and treating it to some proper TLC while I weigh up my next move.  I’m thinking that colour remover thing next… (but not for a few weeks yet!)

Anyone else wanting to go lighter for the Summer?  Are you DIYing it too?

I don’t talk enough about hair on here, mostly because I’m pretty rubbish at taming my locks.  Not only rubbish but also a little bit intimidated by hair looks, styles, accessories… the whole kit and kaboodle.  Anyone else feel like this?

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my new favourite blog; Hair Romance, because if anyone can inspire me to reach for my kirby grips, Sydneysider Christina can.

And on another hair-related note, I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the hair-madness that goes on backstage during London Fashion Week.  I already experienced first-hand just how crazy it gets behind the scenes… but throw in a bunch of styling tools and I bet it gets even hotter in the hair corner!

You can see some more Fashion Week videos from ghd including some great how-tos from their creative director Kenna on the ghd youtube channel.

Did you have a bad hair day today?

I’m not a “hair” person.  Hairy, yes.  Hair. No.

However, I have been a good girl for the last 6 months and have stopped over-processing my poor locks to within an inch of their life.  To battle the greys, I make sure to dye only the roots and am starting to see a slight colour lift as the regrowth gets longer.  My poor, sorry ends are still very dark and I’m not sure that anything can be done to save them apart from a pair of scissors.

my hair always looks this glossy – honest.

Condition-wise, well it’s not too bad.  A little dry – but nothing serious.

Where am I going with all this? Well…

I want to go lighter but I have no idea how.  Not massively lighter, just enough so that I look less pasty/ill as the days hopefully begin to warm up.  Please share what you know about lifting your colour DIY style.  I’m not in any rush, I know that things like this need to be done sloooowly and with care.

Have you gone lighter?  How many shades and was it a success?

My hair is prone to breakage, and thanks to my PCOS – there isn’t as much of it as I would like which means that I have to be very careful when detangling my hair not to end up with more on the brush than on my head.  I currently use my Tangle Teezer on wet hair and my Mason Pearson on dry hair.

I attended the launch of a new product from internationally acclaimed hairdresser Michel Mercier, a new detangling hair brush available in three varieties, each suited to a different hair type.  To choose the right brush for your hair, you simply need to check which colour you’re picking up:  Pink = Fine Hair, Green = Normal Hair, Blue = Thick or Afro Hair.  The difference between the three varieties lies in the flexibility of the bristles used.  The coarser the hair type, the more rigid the bristles need to be in order to combat the tangles.

The brush is made up of a patented system which involves placing 428 bristles (who wants to count ‘em?) positioned at different heights across the surface with a unique geometric distribution which helps to disperse the pressure placed on hair during brushing.

But does it work, and is it better than the Tangle Teezer?

Michel Mercier Detangling Brush*

I found that it works very well for detangling my hair, especially when my hair was dry but the efficiency came at a cost.  The Mercier Brush gave me more discomfort during use than the Tangle Teezer.  However, it really couldn’t be faulted for it’s rapid detangling properties… I often find that the Tangle Teezer misses tangles on the underside of my hair thanks to its very flexible bristles – the Mercier’s bristles are stronger, I think this will prove very popular for those with thick hair.

Sadly, I experienced more breakage with this one than my Tangle Teezer, probably just because it was more effective and gave me more discomfort but I’d rather have to section my hair to detangle than lose it on the brush.

Tangle Teezer

I was also hoping for better things from the Michel Mercier design.  The Tangle Teezer is notorious for flying out of unsuspecting hands thanks to the rubbish grip it offers.  At first glance, you’d think that the Michel Mercier solves this with the inclusion of a chunky handle but sadly, the handle has quite a strong taper which means that it doesn’t feel as secure as I would have liked.

Overall it’s a real mixed bag.  If my hair were stronger and thicker, I’d probably prefer it to my Tangle Teezer but as things stand, it’s back to my Tangle Teezer/Mason Pearson combination for the time being.

The Michel Mercier Detangling Brush is priced at £14.95, and available from www.michelmercier.co.uk and selected salons

* press sample

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I’m a total sucker for a bit of leopard print, much to my mother’s amusement.  Or is it disgust… sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Batiste have introduced a new scent to their legendary lineup… we all know that some of the Batiste ‘fragrances’ pong more than others *cough* Blush *cough* but I’m intrigued to try this new one described as: A feminine and daring Oriental aroma with top notes of cocoa, a floral heart and sensual vanilla, musk and wood base notes.

Batiste has become a bit of a staple in my haircare routine since the beginning of the Summer.  I seem to have developed a sorry case of the greasies (thanks hormones) and this stuff stops me from having to wash my hair every morning.  Does that make me a bit of a grot?  Whatever, bet you do it too.  Do you have a favourite Batiste scent?

Batiste Dry Shampoo in WILD is exclusive to Boots and priced at £2.99 for 200ml

As a global brand marketed to the masses, Pantene have never been known to rest on their laurels.  To remain competitive, uber-brands such as Pantene who dominate their markets in this way simply have to stay ontop of the latest technologies and even more than that, often be the first to implement them.

The downside to this, from a consumer point of view is that TOO MUCH CHOICE can be a bad thing.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood in-front of the haircare shelves in my local supermarket, taking far too long to decide which shampoo to buy and I know that most of us (unless you’re majorly brand loyal) face this same dilemma each time we shop.  I mean, ok… it’s one of those 1st world ‘problems’ that isn’t really a problem but in such a competitive market-place, these little things can make a big difference to consumers.

Pantene have relaunched, re-branded…. all that “re” stuff that doesn’t really matter too much to us unless we’re interested by the marketing side of things.  What they’ve actually done, in terms that I can get my head around is have a little re-jig.  And it looks something like this…

Still looks a bit excessive right?  It’s not!

Here are three choices, you can only pick one.  Is your hair?

Fine
Normal to Thick
Coloured/Highlighted (if your hair is coloured, choose this option regardless of the texture)

OK, got one?  Well, that’s all you need to know to shop the entire range easily and with confidence because Pantene have divided all of their products into these three categories which should in theory, make choosing the right product for your hair type, simple.

Gone should be the days of working out that “volumising” shampoos should be used for fine hair, “protecting” for coloured and “smoothing” for thicker hair types.  The industry loves a good buzz word and the above examples are some of the less “out-there” descriptions of what a hair product is supposed to achieve.  With the relaunch, stick to that initial question and you’ll be sure to choose a product designed with your hair type in mind.

As part of the relaunch, the brand are also introducing new formulas and ingredients, one of which involves a breakthrough ingredient for dry, frizzy hair-types called AM Triquat-76.  This patented whatsit (insert scientific word there) aids silicones to deposit themselves evenly across the hair shaft, thus smoothing the cuticle more effectively with less weigh-down than before and offering better protection from styling.

So, there you have it – the new look Pantene and the reasons behind all these changes.  To read more about the relaunch and what it means for your favourite products, click through to the Pantene site.

 Which hair type are you?

I’ve talked before about over-processing my hair to within an inch of its life and the difficulties I’ve encountered trying to find a happy compromise between routinely covering my greys and keeping my hair in a healthy condition.

Well, I’ve found the answer.  Almost.  It’s not completely perfect… but it’s close enough for now.

Clairol Nice n’ Easy Root Touch Up.  There’s something about paying the same amount of money for LESS product that kills me everytime I approach the counter to pay for this box.  The dye is intended only for use on your roots (you don’t say…), hence you get less in the pack than you would normal hair dye.  It’s not that it’s phenomenally expensive, infact, it’s really good value but compared to my Superdrug own brand Choc Brown that I’ve enjoyed using previously, it is a small step up in price.

However, it’s a little box of awesome.

I pick up shade #4 which claims to blend with all manner of dark browns and I will absolutely back those claims.  It’s never looked at all out of place alongside my older dye jobs and really does blend quite seamlessly.

I part my hair in its usual parting and apply the dye all along any visible roots, not forgetting the hairline.  Once I’ve saturated these parts, I usually part my hair a little further over in both directions and re-apply to allow room for error.  I usually still have some more dye left over and cover my centre parting too (just in case!)

It only takes 10 minutes before I jump in the shower and rinse.  The entire process is completed in under 20 minutes and because it doesn’t go anywhere near the ends of my hair, is a lot less messy than usual!

My only caveat is that I’ve seen a couple of photos of myself recently (where I’m trying to take snaps of my curls etc..) and I can see a bit of grey peeking through the roots toward the back of my head.  It’s probably been about 4 months since they’ve last been dyed and I either need to grab a normal box dye (which I don’t want to do) or get Mr. L to tackle the harder to reach areas with an extra pack of this stuff.  Better solution I think.

Either way, my ends are getting some MUCH needed respite and my overall hair colour is looking beautifully natural and non-blocky.

Win.

Clairol Root Touch Up is priced at around £4 a pack and available at all the usual outlets (Boots, Superdrug, Supermarkets…)

The second of the three new hair styling tools from Enrapture due to be released on the 15th August is the Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver*.  An odd-looking device with a trio of barrels that promise to coax your hair into a series of smooth “S” shapes, a.k.a “beachy” waves.

In theory, we’ve been here before.  I recently tried the Babyliss Wave Envy which although thoroughly impressive in design, abilities and price, left me with more of a ‘crimp’ than a ‘wave’.

These bad boys boast an impressive 25mm barrel (hence the Jumbo!) which means that they should ensure less crimping and more waving!

They’re heavy but not ‘too’ heavy to hold comfortably.  I found them a little unwieldy around the back of my head but I do have fairly short arms and a distinct lack of co-ordination.  The ‘flipper’ which controls the open/close mechanism on the waver is well engineered, with a light almost springy reaction.  This makes sure you don’t get thumb ache when ‘waving’!

The barrels are made from titanium which promises to give a smooth and snag free styling experience and I can’t argue with that as I experienced no issues with dragging or catching on my hair as I moved the styler through various sections.

It has an adjustable heat setting which I would have preferred to see digitised with actual temperature detailing so I could judge exactly how hot the tool was getting.  On the flipside, the controls are ridiculously simple.  An on/off switch and a heat dial.  Thassit.

So how did I get on with the styler?

Well… pretty well actually.  Similarly to the Babyliss, it’s ridiculously easy to use from a technical point of view.  I’m sure you’re ‘supposed’ to section your hair into accurate little pieces but I just fed handfuls of it willy-nilly into the jaws of the styler, clamped, moved down the hair shaft, clamped again… repeat until you run out of hair.

And that’s all I did.  I’m one of those ‘stylers’ who often start with the best of intentions.  All my little clips, brush, heat protection sprays surrounding me.  After about 7 minutes I’m just shoving my hair AT the styling tool and hoping for the best.

I was done in 10 minutes which goes against the brand’s ethos of “When everyday hair just isn’t enough” because I’d politely suggest that this is perfect everyday hair.  Everyday ‘tousled’ hair.

Wanna see what I managed to get from the Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver?

I had it on the ‘non-commital’ halfway heat setting as shown in the above photo and held the clamp shut for around 10 seconds.  That’s probably too long or something but my hair doesn’t seem to be complaining… I’ll try turning the temperature up and clamping for less time next attempt.

I’m really digging this styler, it solves the crimping problems I found with the Babyliss (albeit at a heftier price tag).

The Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver is set to launch this month into all major retailers (Boots, Argos, Debenhams etc.) with an RRP of £74.95 – for more information, check out www.enrapturehair.com or talk to the hair gurus on Facebook or Twitter

* press sample