The last time I had my hair cut was 8 years ago… 8 YEARS AGO!!

In that time, I’ve had it trimmed only a handful of times, coloured far too many times to remember, and straightened almost everyday. And I wonder why it snaps off  and refuses to grow past my shoulders?!! Truthfully? I already struggle spending  £100 a time bleaching my hair to a cinder, and then to part with another £50 for a cut?… I can make do without.

And then someone  said to me  ” Sometimes  the key to style, is statement hair’‘.  Was this the push i needed?

Apparently so.

After putting the idea to my best friend that I was thinking of cutting off all my hair,  but how I wasn’t sure how to afford it, she promptly offered to cut it herself! My darling friend, with no hairdressing  or previous hair cutting experience, offered to chop off my golden locks. That’s 20″ of 8 years of growth.

And I immediately agreed, because the trust I had in her outweighed any underlying apprehensions any other person could have had.

So one Friday evening, with my best friends and a glass of wine for support, I took a deep breathe and smiled for the camera…

Result?: BEST HAIRCUT OF MY LIFE

God I’m so happy with it, and I felt the change immediately. In myself, I felt stylish, more individual and I guess, more confident. Physically, my hair feels a trillion times healthier, lighter, easier to manage and takes about 5 seconds style in a morning! PERFECT!!

And the last words should go to the hairdresser herself, whose advice and tips , I hope, will prove  invaluable to those long hair beauties longing for something new.

• ‘Make sure you’re both agreed on exactly the style that you are going for. Collect as many pictures as possible of people whose hair fits the brief, including pictures of the sides and back, which are harder to find. Try Getty Images for lots of celeb photos.’

• ‘Cut the hair whilst it is dry and straight. I would have no idea where to start cutting wet hair as there is no way to predict how it will sit once dry. As the sorry owner of curly hair, I have learnt this the hard way! It is much easier to work with the natural hair texture if you can see how it moves as you cut.’

• ‘Don’t be afraid of taking a break. Even when I thought Clare’s hair cut was finished a 10 minute break with a glass of wine, watching how the hair cut moved in ‘real life’, allowed me to spot where strands needed thinning, trimming or tidying.’

• ‘The most obvious tip: use hairdressing scissors. You will never get a good finish with kitchen scissors and they are much less damaging got the hair! Buy a cheap pair from Boots and take care of them and they will last for years.’

Thank you Cindy, I love you xx

I’m not the greatest lover of hair products! My hair seems quite content with its weekly deep conditioning session and the occasional spritz of hairspray. That was until my dearest friend handed me the tiniest bottle of hair serum and told me it might change my life!

And it did, a little. The best of the beauty world are currently raving about the contents of these minuture size bottles. CHI Silk Infusion  is the most deliously scented hair serum that apparantly “strengthens your hair“  whilst  “providing incredible softness, manageability and shine”.

Because I dont normally use a lot of hair serums, I immediately loved it! But then I don’t have a lot to compare it to.  However, it comes on good authority, and from my most trusted hair and beauty junkie, that this product is actually pretty good. Maybe  not so much as a finishing serum, but it certainly makes a huge difference to the softness if applied on wet hair then dried as usual.

Now for the best part. Good old Ebay are selling the little miracles for £8….FOR 8 BOTTLES! I’m no expert, but I know a good deal when I see one!

 I also hear that a certain gentleman has also been using the product… Good Man!

New Years Resolution #8:  Learn from my mistakes!

It was the most perfect lazy Sunday, snuggled up with the cat, a cup of Earl Grey and the cast of hollyoaks. Making plans of an evening in the bath, scrubbing, shaving, plucking, deep conditioning,  ultimately emerging a complete Goddess. hmmmmm.

I have this habit of spending far too much time on FashionSpace /MySpace /Facebook /Youtube  browsing through pages of style blogs and fashion related websites. I can spend hours lost in pages, profiles, pictures, photos. I find it completely inspiring – my boyfriend calls it plain nosey.

On this particular Sunday, everywhere I looked were amazing blonde hair styles! Dragging myself to the mirror, I frowned as my dull blonde hair stared back. No amount of bath time pampering was going to get rid of those crappy dark roots!

And so came the mistake.

Hidden away in the depths of my bathroom,

A bottle of bleach.

With a note “NEVER  USE ME”

… And so I used it!

I am now Ginger!

And NOT in a sexy Jessica Rabbit or Nicole Kidman kind of way. Nowhere near. I can think of at least 2 other times I have been fooled by the colour of the beauty on the box. And those were 2 other delightful times I have had to fork out my hard earned cash to get it corrected.

My Advice?

NEVER USE BLONDE DYES FROM THE BOX…get it done professionally!

to be continued….