Have Curls Do Care With The THX Total Hair Experts Deep Barrel Waver*

I don't really like starting blog posts with an apology but in this case it's justified and much needed. This post is so late it bordering on the ridiculous and for that I'm truly sorry. Life and illness well and truly got in the the way when it comes to this one but as the saying goes, better late then never.

I've made no secret of the hair issues that I've had over the last few years. Although I've always been partial to a bit of hair dye , medication and illness have played havoc with my hair. As well as periods of hair loss, my hair texture has completely changed. Looking back through old photo albums my hair was deathly straight and I could do a passable Nana Mouskouri impression (look her up if you don't know who she is ;). Now though it's wavy and unruly at best - hence my obsession with trying new hair products and straightening irons.

Lately though I've been trying to embrace my natural waves and curls a bit more, and I've either been leaving my hair to dry naturally or I've been using products and heat tools to emphasise my curly locks. 

On the days when I'm in a rush, for a quick and easy curl I've been grabbing my tongs or my curling wands but on the days when I want a more dramatic wave or curl I've been reaching for the THX Total Hair Experts Define Style Deep Barrel Waver.

Exclusive to Tesco, this tool creates everything from a deep retro curl, to a gentle beachy wave.

Boxed and with full instructions, this deep barrel waver, has ceramic plates, to help your style to last longer and to help your hair maintain it's natural shine.

It features a 2 metre long swiverl cord, a hanging loop and a lockable handle for ease of storage.

The waver heats up in around 2 minutes and it has variable heat settings ranging from 140 to 210 depending on your hair type and the effect that you want to achieve.

It's pretty simple to use but there is a bit of experimentation involved. I find it easier to work with on straight hair so rather oddly I straighten my hair a bit first and make sure that it's smooth and free of knots.

Then I section my hair out either with bobble or clips, and section by section I clamp my hair in the waver, leaving for a few moments before repeating and moving down the section of hair before moving onto the next section, and so on.

The temperature and how long you leave it for depends very much on your own hair and how deep you want the wave to be. For the look that you can see below on my thick hair, the temperature was set to about 190, and the waver was each segment of hair for about 10 seconds

Before

After 

After - Close Up

As you can see this is quite a full on look, here the waver has been used all over my my entire head to produce a deep curl. but by using it on a lower temperature you could produce softer, more beachy waves. Depending on your hair type the curls and waves will drop and loosen in time but my waves and curls unusually last a couple of days.

I'm going to be honest here and say that I have a few issues doing a full head myself. The waver is quite bulky (it weighs just over 1kg) and since I don't have a lot of arm strength I find it quite hard to section it and do the back myself so Mummy Lou did this for me and it took around half an hour to do achieve this look. When I've used the THX waver myself though I've just tended to use it on the ends to give a bit of a boho twist to my traditional straight style.

Unfortunately for me like the rest of the deep barrel wavers on the market, I find this a little bit too cumbersome and time consuming for everyday use but if you want a versatile tool that produce fabulous curls and waves for a special occasion or a night out then this could be the product for you, especially since it doesn't break the bank. The THX Total Hair Experts Define Style Deep Barrel Waver retails at just £35 and is exclusive to Tesco stores, groceries online and Tesco Direct.  Are you a fan of curly or wavy hair ? or is straight hair more your style? Leave me a comment and let me know x

(*Sample)

A Meal With A Friend - Outfit, Face And Hair With A Review Of The Remington Ci8319 Keratin Therapy Pro Curl Volume Hair Tong *

My birthday is long gone now but my week of having a social life culminated is several days and evenings out, and on one of those occasions I managed to persuade Mummy Lou to take a few outfit pictures.

It was just something simple and a little bit dressy for a meal out with one of my best friends (read about the meal here). Alas in most of the pictures I appeared to be gurning or pulling faces - I really need to work on my posing lol but I'm putting them up anyway all be it with a bit of coverage on some of them :)

What I Wore

Indigo Skinny Jeans - George At Asda

Navy Blue Lace Peplum Top -  La Redoute

Tan Asymmetric Faux Leather Biker Jacket - La Redoute 

Gold Tone, Bead And Crystal Navy Blue Cord Necklace - Opia At Primark

Tan Sandals - AX Paris

Navy Blue Faux Suede Bow Detail Chain Strap Bag - Primark

On reflection, I wasn't that happy with the outfit, the peplum top does nothing for my shape and the dual fabric (the back is plain the front has a lace overlay) makes my look a lot bigger on the sides and hips than I world have liked. I love the lace detail tho and I have a dress in the same fabric also from La Redoute (below) that I love and that I feel a lot more confident in than I did in this. 

The jacket was a bit of an after thought but it was forecast for rain and I love the combination of navy and tan, and it went with my new favourite sandals which are from AX Paris

For make up I went for something really, really simple, I can't remember 100% what I wore but there was a bit of Mally, a bit of elf, a bit of Avon, a touch of Chanel and quite a bit of Benefit from what I remember x

The hair on the other hand was something a bit different for me. For as long as I've had hair it's been naturally straight. Due to illness and medication though my naturally straight hair has transformed into a mixture of curls, waves, and on bad days rats tails. I'm trying to embrace the curl a little bit more so I had a little play.

Fabulous beachy waves :) - you can really tell the difference when you compare the last two outfit pictures - sleek and straight to wavy and curly. I'm a bit obsessed with electrical and beauty and hair tools, so I had lots of options to choose from when it came to creating my curls and waves. What I decided to use in the end was this

Quite a while ago now I received a huge box full of Remington styling tools, and one of the products I received was the Remington Ci8319 Keratin Therapy Pro Curl Volume Hair Tong.

As you know I loved the straighteners from this range (see my post here) so it isn't surprising that I love these tongs too

Spot The Mistake - Ha Ha xx

The design itself isn't that different from any other tongs out there, they have a 19mm barrel and are in  in the traditional clamp style. They have a cool touch tip, and the clamp is also rubberised for easy,
and safe curling. The tongs also feature a long length, swivel cord, a 60 minute auto shut off,

and they come with their own heat protective pouch.

So yeah there not that different to the majority of tongs on the market in a lot of respects, where they so differ though is on the surface of the tongs. Like the straighteners they are ceramic infused with keratin proteins that are released during use, to care for and protect the hair whilst you curl. They are really easy to operate and feature just 3 buttons - an single on / off switch and both a + and a - button to control the temperature.

I love the fact that you can vary the temperature of these tongs. They feature a digital display and you can choose from 5 temperature settings between 130 and 210 degrees depending on the type of curl you want and your hair type and thickness.

I'm not amazing with tongs but these are pretty easy to use, I've tended to use them on the 190 setting, and whilst you don't need to I've used them with a heat protection spray, I've then just sectioned my hair, and starting either from the root or half way down the strands, I've just wrapped my hair around the tongs, clamped them down and waited for around 20 seconds or so depending on the strength of the curl I've wanted, and voila, tight curls or beachy waves.

I'm still a straightener lover but these might just have converted me to take a step over to the curly side. They do what they promise and I've noticed no issues with my hair after using them. There are cheaper tongs on the market but these are some of the best that I've used, they are light but substantial and I love the variable temperature setting x The Remington Ci8319 Keratin Therapy Pro Curl Volume Hair Tong retails at around £29.99 from most major retailers x

I hope you've enjoyed this little fashion and hair posts - I'm definitely going to have to work on the posing and do a bit less gurning but I enjoyed it and I'm definitely going to do more x Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x

*Press Sample