An Honest Chat About Hair & What I'm Using Right Now
Hair is the one topic that I find never performs that well in term of stats but it’s hands down one of my favourite things to write about. I recently made the decision to get rid of the balayage which is something that I’d spent a year putting into my hair and I returned back somewhat to my natural colour. Although it might not sound like it is a big deal, hair for me is one of those things that I take quite seriously as I have a somewhat complicated relationship with my tresses. It’s one of those things that is undoubtedly an awkward conversation but I do believe if we never talk about it then all that does is make people feel even more alone and isolated when they go through something similar. So here is an honest chat about hair as well as a round-up of the products I’m using right now.
treating yourself and your hair
Getting your hair cut is something that can be a stressful experience, I’m sure we’ve all had the fear from having a bad cut and that can stay with you for a long time and finding a hairdresser that you not only somewhat get along with but have faith in isn’t easy. For me, I find one of the most important things about getting anything done to your hair is being realistic with yourself and not expecting wonders so something like going from black to platinum blonde isn’t ever going to happen. I know that more often than not I’ve perhaps had my hopes too high and wanted something that’s pretty much unobtainable and I always used to end up leaving disappointed. That’s not to say you should go in expecting the worst but it’s all too easy to expect miracles when you’re sat in that chair. Something I’m now very conscious of maintaining is a minimal effort kind of hair cut, so going in every few weeks isn’t something that I want to be doing and I tend to prefer to go in every few months to freshen things up. There is something so undeniably cathartic about getting your hair done, whether it’s a simple cut or something a little more complex. It’s something I want to be far more conscious of as I know that whenever I do make the effort with my hair I immediately feel more confident in myself and feel happier with my appearance.
when your hair does things that you weren’t expecting
Two years ago I started to notice quite a significant amount of my hair falling out. And we all know that we lose hair daily as that’s normal and natural but what I was experiencing certainly wasn’t normal and it had such a serious effect on me mentally. It was hard to say it to even my closest friends, I knew I hadn’t been feeling all that well physically and often when you’re not doing so well hair loss is quite a common symptom but still, it felt like one of the hardest things to deal with. I’m not ashamed to admit that my hair plays a big part of my identity and it’s also something that gives me a lot of confidence in my appearance so when I noticed that there was some quite significant loss it did really knock me. Things like hair loss or the first signs of grey hair aren’t things that women in their twenties readily want to discuss, it’s such an emotional topic and when those things happen you can feel seriously alone. It’s not the norm, it’s certainly not shown on social media either as when you’re young you’re told your meant to be in tip-top condition and those things only happen when you get much older but that actually isn’t the case and it’s far more common than we think.
products I’m using right now
So now my hair isn’t falling out anymore and the vast majority of it has grown back I’m able to treat my hair a little more normally. As I said, I have gone back to somewhat my natural colour but maintaining that when my ends were white blonde in places is going to be difficult. Trying to keep your hair an ashy colour is pretty hard and that’s my current biggest aim so this is what I’m currently using to ensure that as well as add volume as we all know the fine haired girl struggle.
MATRIX BRASS OFF SHAMPOO & MASK (MASK WAS GIFTED)
As my hair typically leans to the warm side I need something to kick the brassiness out of it and this product from Matrix is brilliant for doing exactly that. If you’re blonde you need to be very careful using this as it will turn your hair purple very easily so it's better for a brunette who wants ashy hair. I have to be careful when using this otherwise it clings to the blonde and then I end up with a questionable brown to purple balayage so right now it’s something I can only use every few washes but when I do it really does get rid of any brassiness which is brilliant. It’s not at all drying on the hair so if you do have damaged tresses then this shouldn’t be something that adds to the issue.
DAVINES OI OIL (GIFTED)
I’ve been using this oil for years now as I only wash my hair once every four days so I tend to go through products pretty slowly, treatments in particular. This oil from one of my most loved haircare brands Davines is a pricey option, there is no denying that but it really is fantastic. It makes the ends of my hair feel beautifully smooth, even when heat styling I feel like the ends still look and feel great. What I like about this the most is that it doesn’t leave any oily residue on the hair, everything is just smooth and feels nourished without being weighed down either.
OGX BAMBOO FIBER-FULL THICKENING ROOT SPRAY (GIFTED)
This isn’t a product I feel all that strongly about, it does the job perfectly well but it doesn’t wow me anymore for some reason. You simply spray this into the roots when your hair is damp and leave it to work its magic, it doesn’t add a crazy amount of volume but it certainly does lift sad lifeless tresses like mine. It feels very natural in the hair, which is key for me when it comes to anything volumising as although having lots of lift is nice I hate the feeling of sticky or crispy roots as that only leads to more frequent washes which I certainly don't want. Even though this isn’t something I’ll probably repurchase I do think that it's a really excellent, reasonably affordable hair product.
TANGLE TEEZER (GIFTED)
There is only one brand of hairbrush that I’ve used in the past 8 years and that is Tangle Teezer. And you cannot imagine my joy when they released one with a handle as any TT user will know that the biggest downside to them is that they typically don’t have a handle and it’s so easy for the brush to fly out your hand. My hair when it’s shorter isn’t too tangly thankfully but with these insanely strong winds, we’ve been having I’ve never been so thankful for my beloved Tangle Teezer as it gets out knots so easily. It doesn’t seriously pull on my hair or yank loads of it out when I have been out in the wind, it makes brushing somewhat enjoyable which is saying something. I cannot recommend them enough if you’ve got fine and tangly hair.
GARNIER ULTIMATE BLENDS SHAMPOO & MASK (GIFTED)
Although I rely on toning shampoos quite heavily I also like to use something nourishing at the moment. Typically I like to go for a volumising option but as my hair has been quite heavily colour treated and it’s winter I felt like something that could moisturise and revitalise my tresses would be a better option. Not only does this product from Garnier smell incredible but it makes my hair feel beautiful, not weighed down in the slightest which can often be the problem with rich products like this. Depending on what toning product I’m using that wash I’ll mix and match the shampoo or conditioner with this and the combination of the two work beautifully together. For a highstreet hair option this is absolutely wonderful and one I really rate if you have somewhat dry hair!
