Collaborative / Partnered Post - Ways To Restore Your Hair To Its Crowning Glory*

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of having my photograph taken, I grew with a dad, who was a very passionate amateur photographer, so needless to say there are hundreds and hundreds of photos of little Louise! I often look through those photos, and the one positive thing that I always end up focusing on is my beautiful hair. It was long, just a tiny bit wavy, and super healthy! so what happened?

Well illness, and no doubt colouring, perming, and heat styling have all played their part, and whilst it can look okay sometimes, I still lose way more strands than I would like, and more often than not, it looks like a wavy, tangly hedge!

Sadly it’s not that uncommon for people to feel negative about their hair and how it looks, and feels. If you're having more bad hair days than good hair days, then it's probably down to the strength and overall health of your hair. Don't despair though if you're dealing with strands that just don't do what you want, or look the way you want, then there are some things that you can do to get your hair back in shape, and to make it healthy as it can be.

Don’t Expose Your Hair to Too Much Heat

This first one is pretty obvious, I don't know many people (both guys and girls!) that don't own at least a hairdryer and maybe a set of straighteners, or curlers! Whilst appliances now are way less damaging than they used to be (sticking your tongs in the fire anyone!), and there are now numerous products out there to protect your hair from heat styling, exposing your hair to too much heat can severely damage it and prevent you from being able to keep it healthy and looking how you want it to look going forward. You see those little flyaways that you get in the mid lengths and around your hairline? Breakage because of an obsession with hair straighteners!

I'm not telling you to give up your hair styling products completely, but do what I do now and try to use them a bit more sparingly, you really don't need to straighten your hair everyday, try have a few days off a week, let your hair dry naturally every now and then, and if you must use heat tools, try turning the temperature down a bit. Oh and whilst we're talking about heat, don't wash your hair in really hot water as that too can damage your hair, I'm not saying you have to end your shower with a cold rinse, just turn that heat down a bit for your hair wash at least!

Eat a More Balanced Diet

Another obvious one but you are what you eat and if you eat a healthy diet, then you should feel the benefits in all kinds of ways. Your body and your hair will certainly thank you and you’ll get the nutrients you require into your system as well. It’s as simple as that. So make sure that you’re always doing what you can to keep your diet as healthy and balanced as it can be with all of the major food groups, vitamins and nutrients covered. I'm not saying count calories, or deny yourself the food or drink that you love, just try to cover your food groups, and make sure your getting all your vitamins, and don't forget there are loads of specialised hair vitamins out there and multivitamins out there if you fancy giving them a try.

Leave Time for Hair Masks

I've reviewed a lot of hair products over the years, and as well as finishing products, shampoos and conditioners, I've also talked about and loved a lot of hair masks and deep conditioning treatments.

Washing and conditioning your hair is obviously something that’s very important but if your hair needs a bit of extra help then trying to integrate an intensive treatment or hair mask into your routine. Hair masks and the like can really help to repair and moisturise your hair in a way that regular shampooing and conditioning can't. There are loads of products out there that address all different types of concerns so have a little look at my Beauty Product Directory and all of my Trimming My Stash posts to find out more about some of my favourites, and some of the products that I've tried x

Explore the Benefits of Hair Transplants

I must admit I do tend to neglect the boys a bit on this blog, but this tip is especially for you. I think now more than ever, probably with the emergence of social media, and reality tv, men are now under the same pressure as women to look good, and they have their own set of insecurities, be that abs, or that perfectly natural thing, hair loss. If you’re a man who’s experienced male pattern balding there isn't a quick fix - obviously you can embrace it, there are loads of hot male celebs with little are no hair so there are some amazing role models out there but if you want to do something about it then that's fine too. and there are several things out there that you can look into . Hair transplants are more successful than ever before and the results can be very impressive. Be sure to check out these before and after pictures of hair transplants if it’s something you’re interested in and what to learn more about

Shield it From the Sun

Over the last couple of years, or so, most of us have probably haven't seen the sun that much, but with things hopefully getting back to 'normal', we can now start dreaming again of sunny beaches, and city breaks. Yes we probably all need that Vitamin D again but the sun can cause serious damage to your hair, especially if it's already coloured or over processed The more steps you take to keep your hair covered when the sun is out the better, so grab yourself a funky bandana, or a big straw hat, and a UV hair protector spray before you hit that beach or even that beer garden. It might not seem as important as protecting your skin, but your hair can get damaged as well over time if it’s exposed to UV rays so if you really want your hair to be your crowning glory then you should keep your sun exposure to minimum.

Hopefully putting some of these tips into practise will help bring back those good hair days, but if you're still struggling than maybe have a word with your GP, as some illnesses can lead to problems with your hair, and of course have a chat with your hairdresser, sometimes all you might need is a good cut and a pamper session to get you back on track x Wishing you many Happy Hair Days ! Now where's my Elasticizer...

*Collaborative / Partnered Post

Glamorous Hair With SHOW Beauty And SHOW Beauty Lux Volume*

Time flies when you're having fun doesn't it and thanks to the bank holiday and the indulgences of Easter, it's hard to believe that's it been nearly two weeks now since I was invited down to the SHOW Beauty concession in House Of Fraser.

I love bargain beauty when it comes to haircare as much as the next person, and in my bathroom you'll see everything from bargain basement £1 shampoos, to pricier trichologist led brands and guess what? they all do the job they are designed for pretty well, they all leave you with clean and presentable hair but in a lot of cases they seem to lack that bit of pzazz.

Why should an everyday task like washing and styling your hair be boring and mundane, like so many other tasks in beauty we all want to be spoilt and pampered, and we want to experience just that little bit of luxury on a daily basis.

If that's what you're looking for then SHOW Beauty is the brand for you. Founded by the ever glamorous and stylish socialite Tamera Ecclestone, with designer lead fragrances, and exquisite packaging, SHOW beauty provides a range of haircare products that take the mundane to the magnificent.

Last week I was invited along to Intu Metrocentre to find out more about SHOW Beauty, their products and to celebrate the launch of their new Lux Volume range.  After being greeted with bubbly and canapes,  I  had a good chance to talk to some of the lovely ladies from SHOW about the new launches, and about exactly what makes SHOW so special.

Yes the products look amazing but packaging alone doesn't sell a product, and it's clear that the brand concentrates as much on its formulations as it does on it's designer packaging and fragrances. All of the products are formulated with highest calibre of ingredients, including the caviar and white truffle extracts that pop up in the new Lux Volume range.

The whole aim of the range is to care for and repair you hair whilst giving it that body, bounce and fullness, without weighing it down or leaving it heavy or sticky. The lovely people at SHOW kindly gifted us a full size shampoo and conditioner that retail at £30 each to try, so I will be reviewing both of these for you and another SHOW product that I own in due course

As well as offering a wide range of luxurious products that you can use to pamper yourself in your own bathroom, SHOW also offer a range of pampering styling options that are available in both their standalone salons, and in some of their department store concessions.

They offer a wide range of quick, styling options from a basic revitalising blow dry to up do's, curls and braids that are perfect for that special occasion be it a wedding, a party, a prom, or even for a date with that special someone.

All of the bloggers and journalists that attended last weeks event were lucky enough to receive a complimentary express styling session courtesy of the SHOW Beauty team. On the night I saw everything from top knots, to waves, up do's and curls, but seeing as my hair was looking a little bit windswept my stylist suggest some crown braids.

I really struggle when it comes to braiding my own hair so it was fabulous to see a real master (or mistress ;) at work. My stylist used SHOW's fabulous non chalky Dry Shampoo which contains tapioca and rice starch, and a host of amazing smelling botanical extracts including kiwi, mango, aloe, and ginger lily, to give my hair a bit of texture, before finishing off my beautiful braids with one of SHOW's most popular products their non sticky, weightless Finishing Spray which contains vitamin B, lychee, and wheat proteins.

Unfortunately I didn't actually take my own camera so all of these photos were taken on my mobile, thankfully though one of my fellow bloggers, the lovely Amy Rebair took this amazing photo of the back of my hair, which really shows the intricacy of the braids, and my multi coloured hair eek :)

Source

I absolutely loved the style that the team created, and I'm going to be honest and say that it broke my heart to take it out. What surprised my though when I took the braids out though, apart from the amount of the volume that the style had given my hair, was how soft it felt, there was no stickiness or stiffness, which shows the quality of the products that the team used.

SHOW Beauty isn't just a haircare brand, you're buying into a lifestyle, and way of thinking. This brand is about real indulgence, whether you're having your own spa like, pampering experience in your own bathroom, or whether your treating yourself to blow dry to cheer yourself up after a rubbish day at work or spoiling yourself with a special up do for a day at the races, this brand is all about you, and making yourself feel special in one of the easiest ways possible, with a good hair day.

You can find out more about SHOW Beauty stockists, styling services, and products via their own website, and you can also find concessions with styling services in selected Harvey Nichols and House Of Fraser stores including Intu Metrocentre. If you aren't lucky enough to have a counter near you though you can also buy SHOW Beauty products online from various retailers including Selfridges, Harrods and lookfantastic.

Have you tried anything from SHOW Beauty before? Let me know your thoughts in the comments x

*Press / Blogger Event

Hair Loss And Me - The RESEED Complete Hair Loss System*

When I was a little girl my hair really was my crowning glory, it was long, thick, glossy and almost poker straight, and do you know what? I really miss it. Whilst ill advised hair cuts, styling and bad dye jobs have played their part, long term illness and heavy medication means that my poor hair is now a shadow of its former self all be it, a thin, lank, frizzy, wavy version

I can cope with the change in texture by embracing the curl or pulling out the straighteners but I've found the thinning harder to cope with. On average a human being loses around 150 hairs a day, through normal activity such as washing, and brushing but for whatever reason, be it hormones, medication, illness or stress, some people lose an awful lot more and unfortunately I'm one of those people. Whilst hair loss has historically been seen as more of a male problem, women account for 40% of all hair loss sufferers.

You could say I've been lucky, I've never suffered from any bald patches and I still have a lot of hair but when your hair starts to thin it affects your confidence and self esteem, just think about how you feel when you have a bad hair day, it's like that, only every day. Every time I washed my hair, brushed it or even just ran my hands through it, strands and strands, and occasionally chunks of hair came out and either fell down the plug hole, or fell onto the floor and clogged up the hoover. The picture below shows all of the hair that I removed from the shower trap after just one gentle shampoo.

It's frustrating but all you can do is just take care of your hair, and scalp the best way that you can. I think that's probably one of the reasons that I'm so obsessed with trying out new hair products, I'm always on the look out for that miracle product be it a supplement, a serum or conditioner that will restore my poorly tresses back to their former glory,

Way back in November I received in an email that made me think that miracles can happen. It was on behalf of a new brand called RESEED, that specialise in hair thickening products for both men and women. Using the latest innovations and technologies, this range which has taken over 15 years to develop, is environmentally conscious and they only use the purest of ingredients and natural extracts. All of their products are also dermatologically tested, and they aren't tested on animals and they don't use suppliers who partake in animal testing.

The RESEED line is divided into two ranges, one for men and one for women, each range contains a shampoo, a conditioner, a serum, a botanical solution, and some oral supplements. I was given the opportunity to try out the RESEED system for myself, and I was sent all of the women's products bar the supplements to try out and review for you.

All of the products in the range come boxed and come with full instructions which you should really read before your start. The products basically provide you with a 12 weeks system, which advises you which products to use and when. This sounded a bit scary at first but it's really easy to follow, and the products are simple and pleasurable to use.

RESEED Ginkgo and Sabal Fortifying Shampoo For Women 250ml*

The cornerstone for any hair care routine is a shampoo but it's something that's so easy to get wrong. A bad shampoo can strip and damage the hair but a good one can make all of the difference.
The RESEED Ginkgo and Sabal Fortifying Shampoo, aims to improve scalp health and to leave the hair looking and feeling fuller and healthier. It is specially designed to restore and strengthen the hair, and to help prolong the life cycle of each strand of hair.

It contains Ginkgo Biloba to stimulate, and revitalise the scalp and the hair follicles, and Sabal extract which comes from a type of palm plant and has been found to inhibit the scary sounding Dihydrotestosterone or DHT which is a molecule that has been linked to male pattern baldness. It also contains antioxidants and vitamins B5, B6, E, F, and Zinc for general hair health.

Packaged in a matte white bottle with black print, the bottle has a easy to use flip top cap. The shampoo itself has a clear, gel texture, and a pleasant herbal, almost fruity scent

Mix just a small amount with water, and you get a lovely fine, creamy lather. If your in a rush you can rinse it straight out, but RESEED recommend that you leave the lather on the hair for a couple of minutes before giving your hair a good rinse. The lather rinses out easily leaves the hair feeling clean and almost plumped. It isn't the most nourishing shampoo I've ever use but I do really like it, I love the smell, it's easy to use, and rinse out and it leaves, your hair and scalp feeling fresh and healthy. The RESEED Ginkgo and Sabal Fortifying Shampoo For Women comes in a 250ml bottle and retails at around £25.


RESEED Wheat Bran Ultra Volume Conditioner for Women 250 ml*

For years and years I used to just wash my hair and go - Conditioner was more often than not a step that I just didn't have the time for. How wrong was I though if you want healthy hair, and a healthy scalp you need to need to use a conditioner to give your hair that moisture boost and to protect the hair against daily stresses and strains.

The Wheatbran Ultra Volume Conditioner that comes in the RESEED range is designed for all hair types and it's designed to protect the hair from thermal and UV damage, it's also designed to help preserve hair colour and protect the hair from environmental damage, and lifestyle stresses.

The advanced formulation has been specifically created using a variety of herbal ingredients to improve the density of the hair and strengthen the roots. It also contains pomegranate extract and UV filters to help maintain hair colour, and lightweight hydrating and nourishing ingredients to add shine, improve hair manageability and to prevent hair breakage

Like the shampoo it comes in a matte white, plastic bottle, with black lettering and a black flip top cap to help you distinguish it from the shampoo. It's has a creamy lotion texture and it's off white in colour. I'm useless at describing scents but this one just has a gentle, herbal scent, that strangely enough reminds me of hair conditioners from my childhood.

You use it just like you would a regular hair conditioner - just wash your hair with the accompanying shampoo, then gently massage a generous amount of the product into your hair and scalp -since it isn't the thickest of formula's it massages in really easily without any pulling or tugging. Then you can either leave it for a few minutes or for a more intensive treatment you can leave it for around 5-10 minuted before rinsing.

It rinses out really easily which is an essential when your hair is at its weakest and in my experience my hair was again left feeling a little bit fuller, and it was left looking and feeling separated and detangled - exactly what you need when your hair gets as knotty as mine does.

If you like a thick and heavy conditioner, or if you have really dry hair then this conditioner probably wouldn't be enough for you but for me it was perfect. It definitely gave me hair a moisture boost, but most of all the light weight texture meant that it didn't weigh my hair down, instead it left my hair feeling smooth, and detangled.

The RESEED Wheatbran Ulta Volume Conditioner For Women comes in 250ml bottle and retails at around £28.

RESEED R12 Tri Peptide Active  Hair Serum For Women - 30ml*

Shampoo's and conditioners are a staple in most peoples hair care routine but being a treatment regime, RESEED takes take your whole hair care routine to another level.

This serum is probably the most hyped and power packed product in the range. Containing a wide variety of specially chosen plant extracts including ginseng, mulberry and japonica, this serum attacks hair problems head on.

It's designed to help thicken and strengthen the hair, working on the roots, and the follicles to encourage and stimulate hair growth and  volume. With regular use, the high concentrations of ingredients can lead to stronger, healthier hair which is less prone to dryness, damage and breakage. This really is the hero product in the range and with good reason, during clinical trials after just 8 weeks participants found that there was a significant changes in the rate of hair growth.

Packaged in a hard, glass or plastic bottle, this product comes with an ingenious dropper type, twist lid. The serum itself looks a little underwhelming, it actually looks exactly like water, it's a clear, liquid with a water like consistency, and no discernible scent

For the first two weeks of the 3 month RESEED system, you need to apply a few drops to the hair 4 times at week, and from weeks 3-12, you then only apply it once a week, and then if you want to continue the treatment you go back it applying it 4 times a week.
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It easy enough to use, after washing and drying your hair you just apply a few drops of serum to your problem areas, gently massaging it into the hair and scalp with your finger tips until it's fully absorbed. Most of the time I massage into into all of my hair and scalp, but on occasions I specifically concentrated on my problems areas focusing on my hair line and my crown.

When you're using a whole system or regime it's hard to say whether or not an individual product has made a difference so at the end of the post I'm going to talk about about the whole regime rather than trying to talk about whether this product alone made a difference

RESEED R8 Botanical Solution for Women 50 ml*

The final product I tried for the RESEED range is another serum, and it's another product designed to help, and make the best of weak and damaged here.

This serum, or liquid is designed again to work on the roots and the follicles of the hair, to produce strong, thick and healthy hair. Crammed full of plant and herbal ingredients including nettle, horsetail, green tea, arnica, rosemary, fennel, thyme and chamomile, this solution is designed to reduce that production of nasty DHT, and stimulate, refresh and protect the hair and scalp.

In the RESEED 12 week system, you starting using this product from weeks 3-12, you use it twice a week on days when you aren't using the RESEED R12 Tri Peptide Active  Hair Serum For Women.

Again packaged in a solid dropper style bottle, again this product has a very liquidy, water like solution, this time though it's brown in colour that reminds me a bit of strong. It has a strong herbal scent which reminds me a little bit of really cheap cola ;)

Unlike the hair serum, you need to apply the Botanical Solution, to washed and towel dried, damp hair. You can either apply a few drops into the hands or you can apply it directly onto the scalp. Then starting at the centre of the scalp gently massage the solution into the hair and scalp for around 5 minutes. Massage is key with this product, as it not only helps the product to absorb but the gentle massage also helps to stimulate the scalp

Again it's hard to review one product in a whole regime but what I will say about this one is that if you have a sensitive, itchy or flaky scalp, then this is definitely something to try. I'm just prone to itches everywhere and sometimes I want to rip the skin both off my body and my scalp, but this product has definitely made a difference since I introduced it into my routine, my scalp is way less itchy, and it doesn't seem anywhere near as dry

The RESEED R8 Botanical Solution for Women comes in a 50ml bottle and retails for around £45

My Results

So what do I think and what results have I seen? Well after the first shampoo and condition I saw an immediate difference, my hair was left not only cleaner but it also seemed smoother and plumper.
When I started to introduce the serums though that's when I started to see a real difference - it wasn't instantaneous and my hair didn't improve overnight but over the past few months I have seen a definite improvement.

I'm still losing hairs here and there but now at least I can run my finger through it, wash it, straighten it or tie it back without losing hamster size chunks, I still lose a few strands but I'm probably closer to the average of 150 hairs a day than I used to be. I'm also noticing less breakage around my hairline and instead of having a few inch long hairs, there now nearly all at least 3 inches long

I've also noticed a significant change in the overall length, thickness and health of my hair. I seem to have more hair than I used to and it's now taking longer to dry. It also seems to have a bit more of a shine, and as I said previously my scalp is less itchy and less dry.

My hair is still no where near as good as it was when I was child, but over the last few months I've seen a noticeable change thanks to using these products. This is only my experience and I can't guarantee that yours would be the same but if your a constantly bad hair day then this range could be something to try.

Personally I'm nearly finished a few of the products now and whilst I would love to keep going with the whole RESEED regime, for some people including me at times I think it has quite a prohibitive price point. The whole women's regime retails at around £154 but personally when I consider the results I've seen and all of quality ingredients and research that's gone into the line, I think it's a price worth paying, for the self confidence that a good hair day brings.

The RESEED range is currently available to buy from Natural Care Inc and John Bell & Croydon. and it should be available in most larger Boots stores later this year. You can also find out more about the RESEED range from their official website x Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll do my best to answer x

*Samples

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)