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So I’ve had a few people ask me what I use to keep my bleached locks soft and in good condition, and I’ll let you know every secret now!

Products I use - (Please note that these were all the hair care products in my flat at the time, and I have many more that I love in my parents house, but I will review those in a separate post!)

Shampoo and Conditioners -

Herbal Essences Shampoo and conditioner for dry hair – I keep these in the bathroom and they always leave my hair feeling and smelling delicious.  My hair holds on to their fragrances really well which I love as I always get whiffs of lovelyness when I’m out and about.  I think Herbal essences are affordable, smell great and do the job of washing my hair and keeping it healthy.

T-Gel Shampoo – I use this twice a month max, only when my hair is behaving badly and getting greasy really quickly after washing.  I will shampoo my hair with this twice, then condition, and then my hair will be back to normal once again and I won’t need to use it for another few weeks.  I personally wouldn’t use it every time I wash my hair as its dry anyway and I don’t want it to strip all of the moisture out of my locks, but my housemate uses this every time she washes her hair and her barnet is lovely!

Aussie Three Minute Miracle conditioner – Probably my most purchased hair care product, I get through so many of them!  I use quite a few big handfuls of this as a conditioner and leave it in for five minutes whilst in the shower.  Smells gorgeous and I really feel like this product softens my hair and keeps it looking healthy and shiny.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Highlight Activating Moisturizing Conditioner (Platinum to Champagne coloured hair) – I can’t actually speak of the ‘highlight activating-ness’ of this product as my hair is bleached anyway and I’ve never noticed a change in my hair colour after using this, but its a lovely, thick, creamy conditioner that sorts my hair out when its feeling dry.

Masks -

Trevor Sorbie Ultimate Moisture Mask – I like to do hair masks whenever I remember (once or twice a month) and this is what I’ve been using recently and I adore it.  It smells divine and feels like a nice intense hair moisturizer.  Doesn’t leave my hair feeling greasy or heavy after.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Hair Repair Conditioning Treatment – I just finished a tub of this - it smells great and really puts the moisture back in to my hair when it gets a little too dry or frizzy.

Leave in products -

Prive Serum – I’ve raved SO much about this product already, your probably all bored of hearing it, but I’ve never been one to use a serum but this will now never leave my vanity table.  Its smoothes out flyaway's, split ends and general frizz and keeps my hair tame.  I use this on dry or wet hair, on the ends of my hair and occasionally swept over the top of my hair if its behaving badly.

Prive Leave-in treatment – A lovely leave in conditioner, nice and natural ingredients. Prive reviews here!

L’Oreal Elvive Nurti-Gloss Leave in conditioner – I’ve been using this for years now and I know I can rely on it to detangle my hair after its been washed.  I literally sweep a blob of this through knots and it makes my hair easier to comb through straight away.

Aussie Miracle Hair Care Insurance Leave in Conditioner – This smells lovely and detangles really well.  Its light so it won’t leave your hair feeling heavy or coated in products after you apply, which is good!

Katie’s Top Healthy Hair Tips -

1) Don’t use heat on your hair!!

Its a simple one but one I’m sure would be very hard to give up for most girls now days, but just don’t use heat on your barnet!  I have never been one to use straighteners, just because I don’t think poker straight hair suits me at all, and to be honest, I just can’t ever be bothered to straighten it.  The ONLY heat I use on my hair is a hair dryer and I use it once a week max.  This time last year I noticed that my hair was in quite bad condition and frizzy, so I stopped using my hair dryer, and within a month my hair was perfect again.  I can’t express how much of a difference it makes.  The only time I use my hair dryer is if I’m in a rush out and even then I’ll only blow dry my fringe and ends.  Try it out for yourself!

2) Leave your conditioner in for at least five minutes!

Conditioner makes SUCH a big difference to the softness of my hair so I always leave it in for at least five minutes in the shower/bath, if not longer.  Sounds difficult and time consuming but its really not – just shampoo your hair really quickly, wash it out, apply lots of conditioner and whilst you wait just shave and scrub!  Simple!  If you have more time, comb through your hair whilst the conditioner is on so it really reaches every lock.  In general, the longer I leave the conditioner on, the softer my hair is after.

3) Use a leave in conditioner to detangle and keep hair soft.

I always use a leave in conditioner to help detangle my matted hair after a bath and I pretty much rely on it to get rid of evil knots.  I just use a walnut size amount of either L’Oreal or Prive’s Leave in conditioner, and comb in through the underneath of my hair.  Makes it so much more manageable and keeps hair soft after its dried.

I hope this helps!  I have a few more favourite hair products which I’ll write about soon.

What do you use to keep your hair in good condition?  Have you got any tips?

XXX

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Highlight Activating Moisturizing conditioner (for Platinum to Champagne coloured hair) – Most used conditioner of the month, it smells absolutely lovely and has been keeping my hair soft and manageable.  I can’t speak of the ‘highlight activating’ statement, because I honestly haven’t noticed any change of shade in my hair, but its a lovely conditioner anyway.

The Body Shop Almond Hand and Nail cream – This cream never fails me!  I love it, I love the smell, how it sinks into the skin and how it makes my hands super soft.  I’ve been carrying this 50ml handbag size in my handbag, it hasn’t left my side!

Barry M Flamingo Pink Nail Varnish – So after about two months of wearing nothing but neutral nail varnish shades, I decided to embrace my girly side and whip out the Flamingo Pink.  I know I can rely on this to last well on my nails and to stand out.  One of my favourite nail varnish colours.

The Body Shop LE Brush with Fashion Eyeshadow quad in A La Mode – You can all read about this palette in depth here, but its been my most used palette of February (even out-beating Sleek’s Storm palette which is quite an achievement) so it deserves another mention.

The Body Shop Aloe lip balm – This was sold out in my store for two months over Christmas and I couldn’t wait for it to be back so I could get some.  Its really lovely, I’ve never tried another lip balm like it.  Its a bit like those blistex balms, but it applies really silky and really moisturizes my lips.  I have also been dabbing a bit of this on top of lipsticks to give them a bit of a shine and gloss.

L’Occtaine J’ardin Delice EDT – Not a fragrance I would usually go for as I’m more a fan of the sickly sweet scents as opposed to florals, but this is such a pretty smell.  Its quite a nostalgic fragrance for me, it vaguely reminds me of my grandparents old house when I was growing up – smells like roses, raspberries with a hint of musk and sandalwood.  I’ll write a proper review up of this soon :)

What have been your favourites recently?  What’s your favourite floral fragrance?

XXX

I’ve been using a few products from the Prive haircare range for about a month now and I’d like to tell all of you girls about it!  I was introduced to the range at a Beauty speed dating event last month and learnt a bit about the products and I’ve come to really adore their product and ingredient ethics.

 

Reparative Shampoo #6 and Conditioner #14 – Both designed for chemically treated or coloured hair, which is exactly my hair type.  They work to cleanse, rejuvenate and repair the hair.  The shampoo lathers up well, and is easy to apply evenly and the conditioner feels soft to apply to the hair and even softer to wash out.  Shampoo contains a Herbal Blendof Aloe, Evening Primrose, Heather, Jasmine and Orchid – but does unfortunately contain SLS, however it didn’t irritate my scalp at all.  The conditioner contains - Ginseng Root Extract, Rose Hips Fruit Extract, Blue Green Algae and Corn and Rice protein.

Leave in Treatment #24 – I’ve been using this as my leave in conditioner instead of my beloved L’Oreal one and it surprised me by doing the same job of detangling my hair whilst making it feel super conditioned and soft.  It somehow makes me feel better that I’m using more natural ingredients on my bleached hair than the ones found in my L’Oreal conditioner.  Contains Aqueous Herbal Blend of Aloe, Comfrey, Kelp, Spirulina and Honey.

Shine Serum #52 – This has got to be my favourite product out of the bunch, and I featured it in my November favourites.  I just adore it, how silky and soft it makes my hair feel and how it doesn’t leave it looking greasy or lank.  I apply this to my hair when its dry or damp, whenever I feel basically and I mainly focus on the tips of my hair, where its most dry and it gives the impression that my hair has never seen a bit of frizz in its life.  Love it! 

Thermal Protection Detangling Spray #30 – I don’t really use heated gadgets on my hair because I’m worried about damaging my hair even more, so I’ve been using this mainly as an extra detangler on the underneath of my hair which is most prone to matting.  It makes hair easier to comb through and I know this will last me ages and I only use around three spritz to detangle! 

Concept Vert Volumizing Froth #110 -  This stuff is quite hard to get used to but I’ve had loads of fun experimenting with it.  On the website they call it a ‘revolutionary non-aerosol mousse’.  You literally need the tiniest bit, about the size of a pea, you rub it around in the palm of your hands and style with it!  I’ve been using this near my roots to give some volume and it doesn’t leave my hair greasy or hard/sticky.  I haven’t had a chance to do a gorgeous up-do yet but when I do I’ll use this to style and let you know how it goes.  Contains Acai and Babassu oil.

  

Before and after – Before was obviously before I had used any Prive products, and After was taken after I’d used the range to wash my hair around three times, and with the serum, detangler, and leave in conditioner.  You can tell that afterwards my hair looks a lot more shiny and silky soft and a lot less frizzy.  Before my hair was hard to brush and comb through but its so much more manageable now.  Please note I didn’t straighten my hair in the after pictures either – it had dried naturally like that.

Smell of the whole range– All the products smell basically the same, like very fresh, floral, green smells.  Very natural yet clean smelling, which I think is great because men won’t be afraid to use the range either.  The smell doesn’t linger on after you apply the products so they’re not overpowering, which is also a bonus.

What I think – I’m really impressed with my before and after pictures and its great to see and feel a difference in my hair now.  Once the products run out I will definitely be purchasing some more, especially the serum, leave in conditioner and the reparative conditioner.  I love that the range is eco-friendly and that all the packaging is recyclable and that the products are sulphate and paraben free and do not test on animals.

You can read up on the Prive range on their website here - http://www.priveproducts.com/index.php and you can buy the products in selected salons in London and online here - http://www.luxuryhaircare.co.uk/

Can you see the difference in my hair now? Have you ever tried the range?

xxx

I’ve been bleaching my roots once a month for the past six years now (since I was 16) and I’ll admit that I have very strong, thick hair.  Its never fallen out, it holds the bleach very well and its still healthy and moisturized/soft, however recently I've noticed that straight after I bleach my roots, my fringe gets quite dry and has recently started snapping off straight after. 

I’m definitely going to change my hair colour soon to a more natural blonde, but in the meantime, I’ve decided to take this as a chance to try out some hair masks!  So I headed to my local Boots where there was a three for two on professional hair-care ranges and stocked up on products which claimed to help dry, damaged hair.

I bought:

• John Freida – Sheer Blonde Moisturizing conditioner for Platinum to Champagne hair colours
• John Freida – Sheer Blonde Blonde Hair repair Conditioning Treatment
• Trevor Sorbie - Ultimate Moisture Mask for thick hair
• Aussie - Miracle Hair Insurance leave in conditioner
• Aussie - 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor, deep conditioner for damaged hair.

I will take my time in trying out these products and will write back with a review of each.  I’m hoping at least one of these products will cure my dry hair and leave me feeling confident that I can continue bleaching until this summer!