Thursday 25 October 2012

My hair routine and product reviews..

Hi lovelies, hope you're all having a good week. I thought I'd pop up a post about my hair routine as have had a few people ask me what I use on it so here goes...

My hair is the type of hair that I can't wake up in the morning and it be fine..I either have to wash it or put it up which is a huuuuge nuisance. I want to be able to have it down without washing, but can't find a way for it to not look frizzy if I've not washed it. As soon as I brush it, it either goes huge or a big ball of frizz..so annoying..so if anyone has any tips, let me know!

1. Hair finished and dried, 2. Hair straight out of shower, 3. Hair with 1st product (leave-in conditioner), 4.Hair with second product (curl definition serum) 5. Hair after diffusing, 6. Hair after drying and fringe straightened, 7. Hair finished but not fully dry




Once out of the shower, I use a Boots own brand 'Coconut & Almond Leave-In Conditioner.' It has only been the past couple months that I have started to use this after my hairdresser recommended it to me. It's not very often that your hairdresser recommends a Boots own brand so was very pleased!

The description on the bottle reads,
"With extracts of coconut and almond, Boots Ingredients Coconut & Almond Leave-In Conditioner is specially formulated to moisturise and smooth, leaving hair soft and tangle free," and is designed for normal to dry hair.

Directions For Use:
After shampooing, towel dry hair.  Spray conditioner from root to tip and comb through. - As with every hair product, it talks about for best results using with other same branded products which I hardly do, so can't tell how well that actually works.

Although Liam doesn't particularly like the smell, I love it, and spray quite a lot of it on my hair..it makes me feel as though I'm abroad! And it does say to spray from root to tip.. those are my excuses when I am having an OTT spraying day! After that, I comb through with a wide toothed comb as find that easier to get through my curls especially when wet. I know it's bad to brush when wet but that's the only time I really can so always use a wide comb to do so. Before using this product and with any other leave in conditioner, I found my hair to curl and knot on itself by the end of the day. This however, is great for moisturising and leaving your hair silky smooth without leaving any stickyness behind. I can honestly say that before using this my hair was always knotty and dry, but now I can actually run my fingers through it and the condition of my hair has improved dramatically since using it. It also doesn't leave the horrible residue and hard bits in your hair like others do from spraying too much product. It smells great and is a bargain price at just £1.39...couldn't ask for anything more! (For that price, I think everyone should test it..even if it's just for that holiday feeling ;) !)

Next I use something from my favourite brand 'Aussie.' This is a tiny bit of the 'Aussie Dual Personality Curl Definition Soft Feel Serum.' It claims 'to revive and separate each curl. Giving unbelievable definition Aussie's serum conditions and softens hair leaving it shiny with beautiful, bouncy curls.'
 I use this when my hair is still damp for scrunching before blow drying, but have in the past used it on my hair once dry. Directions are to 'Use on wet or dry hair. Dispense a coin-size amount into your palm, rub your hands together and work through hair, distributing evenly. Use more as needed depending on the length of your hair.' When I say tiny, I use a 'coin' size as described but for me that's a pretty small amount but does the job! It makes my curls smooth and silky, but when too much is used it can make the hair a little greasy which with fine hair, I imagine could be seen. However, as I have thick curly hair this isn't noticeable.

I dislike mousse and products like that for curly hair, as although they seem to do what the bottle states, they often leave residue and hard sections of hair..these don't which is the reason for my love of all these products. On the bottle it does state that this has no hold which would perhaps make a small improvement, but as it doesn't leave hard bits, I'm not complaining. It softens my hair, calms down the frizz and doesn't look like there's any product in my hair at all which is great! But for anyone just curling their hair and wanting it to stay like that, I can't imagine this product to be that useful. Yes, it will calm the frizz down, but you'd also need a lot of hairspray to keep the curls there.


Once I've used these couple of products, I then use a diffuser on my hairdryer to get rid of the majority of dampness in my hair. A diffuser helps to dry individual parts of my hair meaning the curls are more defined, and I feel, less frizzy than when I use a normal hairdryer. I don't like to dry my hair fully as it goes a little frizzy, so find letting the last bit dry naturally helps in the long run. Once it is dried to how I like it, the last routine product I always use is another Aussie fave: 'Aussie Dual Personality Anti-Frizz Conditioning Milk.' (Whatever gave you the idea that I'm wanting to get rid of frizz..!)

It is described as helping to 'bring flyaways back into line-without getting heavy. Finally, gasp with astonishment as your moisturized hair does what you tell it, for once.' Directions which I don't really obey to are: 'Apply to wet or dry hair. Dispense about half a pump of creme into your palm. Starting at the tips, work evenly through hair. Comb through to distribute evenly-but don't rinse. Now blow dry using a diffuser or let Mother Nature dry it in her own sweet time.'

I only ever apply this to dry hair, hence not using it before diffusing it. This, unlike the curl serum from the same range, has a little bit of hold, and I find when using it on completely wet hair, it has more hold than I like. I literally use it as a styling creme at the end and just to smooth down the curls, so once it has been dried I just scrunch the end of hair. It leaves the curls bouncy and smooth, looking like it has some kind of texture which I love.

And that's it! Sometimes I decide to straighten my sweeping fringe which I have cut in.. especially when I have just had my hair cut as it looks a bit stupid curly, but when it has grown out a little, it doesn't look out of place.


All 3 products can be found in Boots, the Aussie products are often on 3 for 2s!

Hopefully I didn't bore you with all that..but those are definitely some products to try! I'm now off to paint my nails and decide what to wear to meet my blogging beauts, Charlotte and Rachel tomorrow! Have a good night :)



Gina xoxo

2 comments:

  1. Thx for sending me your link on bbloggers chat! Wow you've used a lot! That coconut product must smell delicious! I'm following now :). Hope you check my blog and join my giveaway if you like!

    http://www.curlsandbags.com

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  2. Sooo gorgeous! You've got laaavly hair xx

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