On my last post I got some lovely comments about my hair and I realised that I haven't yet blogged about my hair care routine! As most of you will know, I really only buy things that I can afford with my student budget (although, I'll admit on occasion I'll treat myself to a designer brand product!). These 6 products are the only things I use to look after my hair - I've found these all to be great products that I've used for at least the past year.


   I thought I'd just point out to start off this post that I wash my hair about 3 times a week on average. I find this is all my hair needs and there's no point putting my poor, bleached hair through any more exposure to heat / chemicals than it needs! I also never use straighteners on my hair unless I need to. This helps the ends to stay in relatively good condition, as I'm a bit hairdresser-phobic and very rarely get my hair cut... tut tut.. I know!

   Of course, the first two products are a shampoo and conditioner. I've used Tresseme Colour Fade Protection (renamed to Colour Revitalising?!) for probably around 4 years now - I find it conditions my bleached hair just the right amount so that it's not straw-like but not stretchy either (if you know what I mean?!). The 900ml bottles last forever! I think my last lot took me over 6 months to get through! I normally buy these in when they're on offer, but they're only £4.69 each at Tesco without any offer, pretty darn amazing for more than half a years worth of product! 


   I also mix in a small amount of the Pro:Voke Touch of Silver Twice a Week Brightening Shampoo (phew!) when I shampoo my hair. Probably twice a fortnight I'll shampoo with just this to reduce brassiness. They sell this for £2.50 at my local Factory Shop, but I used to buy it on Amazon for a similar price. It lasts me about 3 or 4 months.

   Onto post-wash care. I guess the most important thing for anyone these days is heat protection spray. I've used Tresseme Heat Defence Spray for about 2 years now - this is the bottle I bought two years ago and it's still going despite using about 4 sprays each time I wash my hair. I still have about a third of the bottle left! I use it when my hair is damp. It's suitable for use with GHDs as it protects against heat up to 230 degrees (I've found this important to check if you use high heat straighteners / curlers, as some only protect up to 180 degrees etc). This retails at £4.69 (300ml) at Tesco and Superdrug.


   I also use this Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Spray. It's not the best leave in conditioning spray I've come across, but it's still a great product. It does make my hair more manageable. It's also lasted me a long time, after a years use I have a third still left. I spritz 4 pumps of this into my hair after using the Heat Defence Spray. This retails at £4.49 (250ml) at Superdrug.

   Finally, I use Moroccan oil on the lengths and ends of my hair about once or twice a week max. I apply a couple of drops after using the sprays, then I'll leave my hair to dry off in a towel for half an hour or so before finishing it off with a hairdryer. As you can tell, it's a bit of a messy product, but it works a dream! You'll also notice it's not the real deal, well, not the 'real' Moroccan Oil brand! I spotted this in T K Maxx for £9.99 (120ml) - saving a bucket load on the branded oil! It's by Monica Olsen and I'd really recommend it. I've seen a few other lesser known brands' versions of Moroccan oil in TK Maxx too, so before you fork out on the real deal have a look in there to see if you can find any bargains. This has lasted me probably nearly two years now too and I have more than half left.

   Well, this has turned into a rather long post... I hope it's not too overwhelming! If you have any other questions about any of the products or anything else to do with my hair feel free to contact me here or on twitter (@RobynMayday), I'll be more than happy to answer!
3.7.12

My budget hair care routine

   Hi,
   I am Katrin from Tarte Aux Fraises. I am 23 years old and live in Geneva, Switzerland. I wanted to show you today how to do a Switzerland inspired messy bun. I wear this a lot when my hair is dirty, it takes super short time and I only need 5 bobby pins for it! 

Step 1

Begin with brushed dirty hair. 
Step 2

Split hair in two parts, lower and upper.


Step 3

Twist the upper part and form a bun, bobby pin it down. (I use 1 - 2 bobby pins)


Step 4

Split the lower part into two parts and start braiding one side.
Step 5

Pin the braid on the opposite side of head with a bobby pin


Step 6

Do the same with the other half.


Step 7

Make sure the braids are stuck and the bun is holding. Spray with hairspray if you want (I never do)

As you can see the hair needs to be long to do this. 

If you want to know what make-up I am wearing in these pictures, it is from my Make-Up Monday #10

Bisous :) 
Ps. Robyn: This hairstyle is so cute! I might even try it out on holiday! Doesn't Katrin have the most gorgeous hair you've every seen?!
20.6.12

Guest Post by Tarte Aux Fraises: Switzerland inspired messy bun




 Top image - indoor lighting
(my bra decided to make an appearance.)
Bottom image - natural lighting
ps. do you see what I mean about my camera not focusing?! All my pictures are slightly out of focus :(


   Don't panic. It's not permanent! I'm not that adventurous. There's no way I would colour my hair without being able to revert to my regular, boring, blonde self within a few washes! But yes, I've attempted pastel pink! And my hair looks horrid and lank in these pictures as it was up all day!

   It took two goes using diluted Stargazer baby pink (which I can pick up at a fairly local hippie-esque shop!) mixed with conditioner to get the right potency! (Before this I applied some toner to whiten my hair) I think I was a bit tentative first time round, as last time I tried to go lilac my hair went pretty dark, even with a tablespoon of dye in a ton of conditioner! This was about a year ago. But a couple of weeks later it washed out to a nice granny rinse look, as you can see below - apologies for rubbish picture quality. Thank god for semi-permanent dyes!




   I'm thinking next of attempting lilac and pink bits throughout my hair, but it kind of reminds me of being in my last year of school and having bleached streaks in my hair that I dyed all different colours, which the teachers did not approve of! I'm unsure, but I'll probably do it anyway as I get bored with just being blonde from time to time. Does anyone else like to experiment with their hair? Any suggestions for future hair experiments?!
16.4.12

Pastel Pink Hair - Using Stargazer Baby Pink

   I've had a few questions about how I colour my hair, so I thought it might be worthwhile making a post about it. My natural hair colour generally looks a lot darker than it actually is, as when my roots grow through they are right next to my bleached hair! I've been told by my hairdresser I'm a level 6ish, so if you're the same level as me naturally this post is probably most appropriate to you, but obviously different hair types and so on influence the processing time and so on. So please don't follow this exactly, you will have your own processing time and perhaps need a different developer. This may be wrong or not perfect but it does the job for me.

   I'm no expert, I've picked all of this up from watching my own hairdresser bleach and tone my hair several times when I've had the money. I end up doing my own when I am lacking funds of if I'm at home, as I have never found a salon I really like at home, whereas here in Nottingham have found Jacks hairdressers to be brilliant. I went there having highlights and came out fully blonde in May last year. I was really happy with it and I've been bleaching my hair the same way, just with a different toner, ever since.


The Result

   First off, a quick comparison of my hair with roots vs. my hair pretty much freshly bleached and toned today... it's a pretty stark difference! When I do my roots it takes a bit of getting used to for a few days. I think the picture on the left is the longest I have ever left my roots since using full head bleach - somewhere between 2 and 3 months I'd say. It's much easier and quicker if you leave it about 6 weeks! Next time I won't leave it so long...



The Products


Creme Peroxide, Wella Blondor, Koleston Colour (Note: I now use Koleston Rich Naturals light tones usually), tint brush, mixing bowl and scoop.


   I use Wella Blondor Multi Blonde Powder as this is what my hairdresser uses on my hair. I buy this larger container now. I've always had good results from this powder, but I don't think it matters massively what powder you use, I personally would rather pay for the brand my hairdresser uses in this case though!




    20 vol developer lifts my hair fine. It's also preferable to avoid 30 vol (I hear...) as it's even more damaging to the hair. I also find it's better to let your hair lift gradually (50 mins max with the Wella Blondor) with 20 vol as if you imagine putting 30 vol on hair that's already a dirty blonde colour the bleaching process would probably be done within 20 mins, meaning I would only have applied bleach to half of my hair before the already bleached parts had finished processing! Nightmare situation!




   You need non-metallic tools when colouring hair like these; a plastic tint brush and mixing bowl are great - they're inexpensive and will last forever! I just use this kitchen measurer to measure out my bleach and developer ratios as I'm a cheapskate. Gloves will also be needed in bleaching and toning.




   The Wella Koleston Perfect range can be used to lighten already light hair with 20 vol developer or above, or darken for shades darker than your own hair, but I follow the instructions on the leaflet inside for 'Pastel Toning' (I think that's what it says). I dilute my 20 vol developer to 10 vol by adding the same amount of water to it, then mix with Koleston - usually I now use Rich Naturals rather than Perfect.


The Process

   1. I section my hair into 4 sections (like + on my head!) and secure each section.

   2. I mix my powder and developer to the ratio of 1 : 1.5 to 1 : 2 max. Basically anywhere between these two ratios, to a consistency that seems good to work with.

   3. I start applying from the back of my head at the bottom. If you want a better idea of how this is done take note of how your hairdresser does it or watch a professional do it on Youtube. Take relatively thin linear sections of hair, applying plenty of bleach. Coat the underneath first then pull the layer down and apply to the top of the layer. It's important to work quickly but only apply the bleach to your natural hair - any on already bleached hair is likely to cause damage! So the key is work quickly but carefully. I get my Mum to do the back two sections of hair and I do the front as it's very tricky to do the back well yourself I find!

   4. Once all the roots are coated, make sure you have really covered all your roots, especially the parts that will show in your parting. Even baby hairs need covering! Here's a hilarious picture of how I look once my roots are all covered (about 20 mins into developing here).


   5. You don't want to bleach to the colour of the rest of your hair... it sounds gross, but you want to scrape some bleach off and find your hair is a light yellowish colour. Google 'bleaching stages' if you want to get a good idea of what I mean. You can see the hair goes from orange to yellow to light yellow then white. You want to start washing the bleach off at a light yellow for a colour result similar to mine. This takes up to 50 mins on my hair, usually between 40-50 mins.

   6. Wash off the bleach. Shampoo and if you need to, apply a little conditioner. I usually do as my hair is quite fine but I have quite a lot of it, so it tangles like mad. Try not to apply too much though as I remember my hairdresser saying that it can hinder the toning process.

  7. You will now have hideous yellowy, probably slightly brassy, roots. Yum. To counteract this you NEED a toner. You don't reach bright blonde through bleaching alone, or you'd probably have hair that tears and looks like candy floss or, actually, none left at all! So, for my toner, I follow instructions for 'Pastel Toning' in the leaflet that comes with my Koleston Perfect tube - toner to developer 1 : 2. I simply put in 1 scoop of toner, 1 scoop of 20 vol developer and 1 scoop of water (diluting the developer to 10 vol - which will deposit colour but won't lift the hair).

  8. Apply the toner at the roots first - I separate my hair into 4 again usually, applying in the same way, but in larger sections than I bleach, as I find I need to be pretty quick applying my toner for an even finish. Make sure the roots are covered well again though, I usually put a glove on one of my hands and mush the toner around my roots a bit after roughly applying it to make sure I've covered the roots evenly. My hairdresser said you shouldn't apply toner to the front of the head until it's had a bit of time to develop as it clings to this area, but I'm not bothered about this. My colour leaves a lilacy hue to these parts, which I don't mind at all! It goes in a wash or two.

   9. After about 7 minutes (including the time it takes to apply) I'll take the remaining toner down the ends of my hair then comb it through. You don't want too much product on the ends / lengths as these parts are drier than your roots so the product will cling to them.

   10. Once your hair has become a more even colour from root to end (some people say to leave it just 5 mins in total, I leave mine like 10-15 as I like a very light result and don't mind the toner making my hair a bit lilacy) wash it out well. I shampoo and condition after this. Then I dry my hair, applying heat protection before hand of course. Voila! You have ashy, light blonde roots once again! And lovely freshly toned hair!


   Sorry this is such a long post - I thought I'd go through the whole process to avoid missing anything out. I hope this has been useful to someone! EDIT: May 2013: sorry if I have not replied to questions. I am really not qualified to do so - it's best to go see a hairdresser if you are unsure about anything!
22.3.12

How I Bleach My Roots in 10 Steps

  Charlotte (her blog is A Blonde Mess) gave me the idea to do this post just over a month ago when she commented on this post, about my recent Forever 21 order asking how I'd wear this shirt. I really love the shirt, I haven't actually managed to wear it out yet though. So, having made this post now - hopefully I'll start wearing it! Unfortunately I can't seem to find it on the Forever 21 website anymore, I'm guessing it was popular and sold out as it's a great, cheap alternative (at about £10) for this Topshop shirt, now also sold out online, which was £30.

   Here are 3 ideas of ways to wear the shirt, I tried to make each of them quite different.


Way 1: With Denim Hotpants

    Probably the outfit best suited to summer - you could pop some tights under the shorts and maybe throw a leather jacket over the top to make it suitable for spring! (These shorts are VERY short, I know, but your only young once! Haha!)






Necklace - eBay
Shorts - DIY
Belt - Primark
Lipstick - Maybelline Extreme Moisture in Royal Red



Way 2: Under a Dress

   This is pretty suitable for the weather right now here in England I think. It's also a little bit quirky and cute! 



Dress - H&M
Belt - Primark
Bracelet - Miss Selfridge
Necklace - Forever 21


Way 3: Under a blazer

   A really simple way to dress up this shirt a little. I think this would look great for a drinks or a meal out.



Blazer - Primark
Shorts - Forever 21
Bracelet - Miss Selfridge


Ps. My new blog design will be up in the next few days! I got my boyfriend to help me bleach my hair yesterday - think it might need a bit more lightening at the front / re-toning as it's too warm for my liking, but at least  I am rootless now. Still waiting on two of my giveaway items to arrive. They should arrive by tomorrow so fingers crossed I'll get the giveaway set up this week!
18.3.12

3 Ways to Wear... The Vertical Striped Black and White Shirt

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Youtube

Contact

© Robyn Mayday | UK Fashion and Style Blog
Design by The Basic Page