Hair Heaven: Lee Stafford Argan Oil

Lee Stafford Argan Oil - £11.99

As I have said in previous posts, I'm not blessed with naturally beautiful flowing locks, my hair is curly, it has gone through years of bleaching and colouring and a shed load of heat abuse! Because of all this I find I need to really work at keeping my hair in good condition, using conditioning masks and the new holy grail - hair oils!

Lee Stafford Argan Oil is one of many hair oils on the market, many of you will have heard of Moroccan Oil but it is very expensive, the Lee Stafford oil is a bargain in comparison. It is a silicone based oil but it also contains a high percentage of natural Argan Oil, so it is both a styling oil and a nourishing one. Many people believe that silicones are bad for your hair, and indeed they are in some cases, particularly conditioners, are they coat the hair root to tip, however in hair oils, a bit of silicone can really help to maintain the hair condition, as it is only on the ends, it is not preventing moisture accessing the hair shaft. If you use a clarifying shampoo once a week it prevents the silicone building up and causing lack lustre locks!

I like to apply a small amount of this to the ends of damp hair before blow drying, it speeds up the drying process and leaves my hair smooth and manageable. This can also be used in small amounts on dry hair to give an extra smoothing effect. The pump gives the perfect size amount for my hair, but bare in mind I do have dry hair, if your hair is in better condition a smaller amount will be needed. This also smells amazing, typical of Lee Stafford products of which I am a big fan!

Quick Fix: Batiste Dry Shampoo

Batist Dry Shampoo in Floral+Flirty Blush 400ml - £4.99

Everyone loves that feeling of just washed hair, swishing about your shoulders, smelling fresh... Ahh! However, sometimes washing that hair is a bit of a chore! My hair is naturally curly, added to that the abuse of colouring and heated styling, it does become quite unruly, so the thought of washing, drying and styling frequently does send a shudder down my spine. I don't like to wash my hair too often, no more that once every two days, otherwise I actually find it gets greasy very quickly. I never let my hair get gross, god forbid anyone looked at my hair and thought "wow that needs washing!", a statement I'm often guilty of making myself, oops! But there are some days when hair can just do with a bit of a freshen up, a bit of a boost.

In comes Batiste Dry Shampoo, it's pretty much talc in a can, but boy does it work wonders! A quick shake first, and then spritz in at the roots, give it a good rub in and then brush out. Hello clean looking, big volume hair! I love it, mostly for the volume it offers, as I said before I don't actually let my hair get gross so I don't use it for major grease clean ups, I reckon it could get clumpy (wash your hair!). The Blush scent is lovely, far nicer than the original formula. It does have the potential to turn hair a little grey if over applied, but used sparingly I've never had this problem, there are even coloured versions for red, brown or blonde hair which are great for covering roots!

Hair History: Big Change Time!

A long long time ago, I had ginger hair; curly and crazy bright orange hair! Cue photo of a manic looking 3 year old me on Christmas day...

I had a mixed time with ginger hair. Little old ladies loved it, my family all loved it, but it is safe to say my fellow primary schoolers were not so keen on it. I had many a ginger joke thrust in my direction over the years, most of the time not bothering me in the slightest but it is true that over time these things can niggle away at you. So when I turned 14 and my mum said I could get highlights (after years of me nagging her!) I was so excited! Along we went to the hairdressers and my life as a blonde began!

Since then I have been varying shades of blonde, from peroxide to warm honey blonde, with a few forays in to the land of brunette (never lasted long, 6 weeks at most!)... Cue embarrassing photos from my teenage years!

Only joking, they are going nowhere near the internet!!

Anyway, until yesterday my hair looked like this.

Being blonde also has its advantages and disadvantages! Roots, split ends, brassy tones, over processed hair, the list could go on and on. The products needed to nourish and maintain it are also expensive, particularly if you style your hair a lot, which I certainly do!

So a few weeks ago I made the decision to go back to my natural colour, I started looking for pictures of ginger hair that I liked. Gemma Arterton and Karen Gillan were the two that stuck out the most!

Dyed                                                                                                                      Natural

After weeks of research into various colours, salon or home choices, prices etc. I decided to take the plunge and do a home dye, I figured it was too expensive to try and decide I didn't like it, so I worked out what level and warmth to go for and took a trip to boots. I came home with 2 boxes of L'oreal Excellence Creme in shade 6.46. On offer 2 for £10 in boots (bargain!)

The colour is deliberately not as vibrant as the ginger inspiration photos of Karen and Gemma because I knew putting that colour on top of blonde highlights ran the risk of highlighter orange hair! So I've ended up with a more auburn tone, I will work my way back to the more copper toned ginger over the next few months!

I would really recommend the L'oreal Excellence Creme, it is super easy to apply and provides a deep glossy colour. My hair does not feel too damaged from the process however I did do a deep conditioning treatment the night before. The conditioner with the dye is lovely but is in one of those annoying small plastic containers, the only downside I would say!

What do you think? Let me know about your home dye experiences and if you have any brands you recommend!

Review: Wella SP Repair Mask

First, I would like to apologise for my absence over the last few weeks, things have been pretty busy for me at university but I've now had my results back, I passed, hurrah!! So I'll be back blogging more frequently again.

Now, onto my latest hair care miracle! The Wella SP Repair Mask, available from Beauty Bay for £14.95 (or £11.96 if you hurry, sale on now!), is an intensive treatment mask for damaged hair.

It claims to restore up to 100% of damage with the first use and protect the hair from further harm! As someone who has bleach highlights every 6-8 weeks, blow dried and straightened hair every day, I know all about dry hair... topped off with split ends and fly away frizz! I first tried this last year when my hairdresser recommended I try something to keep my hair from getting destroyed by all the stress I put it through. I took her advice and tried this product, it was amazing but when I finished it I didn't repurchase because the salon was selling it for £26 and that was just too steep for me. A year passed by and I completely forgot about it; my hair also started to get into really bad condition so when I saw this on Beauty Bay at such a good price I snapped it up!

The mask is almost paste-like in consistency and is best applied to towel dried hair after shampooing. It spreads through easily and I like to comb through my hair and tie it on top of my head. The longer it's left the better but 5 minutes should be sufficient. It smells lovely, I feel like I'm getting an expensive salon treatment when I use it and it's best to use it about once a week. After I've washed it out, my hair feels silky smooth and it does not make my hair greasy at all. I've been using it again for the last month now and my hair is in amazing condition, it's regained its glossy shine and feels gorgeous.

If your hair is in need of some serious TLC then this is the mask to go for. I think it's a good price compared to other high end products as it's as good if not better, and will last for about 3-4 months depending on how long your hair is.

Have you used this before? Got a product to recommend? Pop your questions in the comments below!