the endless quest for a good hair day

Today I am going to talk about hair.  Specifically my long-ish, mousy brown, fairly nondescript mop, and how I try to make it a little more interesting.  If you’re looking for expert tips on how to achieve a glossy mane then I’m afraid you’ve probably landed in the wrong place, but if you’re looking for an idea of which tools an average girl uses in attempt to have a good hair day a couple of times a week, then do read on.

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I’ve felt stuck in a bit of a rut with my hair of late, and haven’t really been doing an awful lot with it.  I most definitely won’t be dying it again anytime soon after last years accidentally-dying-my-hair-black disaster (I do a good Morticia look, put it that way). I’d also like to clarify that I’m not stupid enough to use black dye without realising, but am stupid enough to use 2 full packets of ‘light brown’ dye when 1 and a bit would have sufficed, and am stupid enough to leave it on a little too long.  YAY BLACK HAIR.

I digress.  It’s pretty much back to my natural shade now and shall be staying that way for a very long time.

Changing the length drastically is out of the question since I’d have a completely different look and would need to shoot my portfolio from scratch, however I recently had a few inches chopped off and feel SO much better for it.  The difference isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it’s in better condition without 4 inches of scruffy ends and I’m tempted to have a couple more inches chopped off in the near future. I’ve decided long long hair isn’t for me, and I’ll happily settle for long-ish. 

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As for actually styling my hair, I’m always on the hunt for something quick and easy.  I don’t like to use *too*much heat besides blow drying my hair as it’s a) fairly fine and brittle in the first place and b) has lots of heat used on it on modelling days – BUT a good hair day really does do wonders for your confidence, don’t you think?  So curling my hair a couple of times a week (with a generous helping of heat protectant) probably isn’t a bad idea.

On the days I do style my hair I almost exclusively used the ghd creative curl wand I wrote about a couple of years ago.  The uneven barrel creates nice messy waves that look pretty natural so it’s been my go-to styler for the last couple of years.  When the lovely ghd team reached out to see if I’d like to give another styler a whirl I thought why not – let’s see if I can create a slightly sleeker everyday look with just a little bend at the ends, rather than full on messy waves.

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I’d love to be the girl who always has good hair.  Right now I’m just aiming for the bouncy, glossy look of someone who has their shit together – look like me, but when I’ve put together a nice outfit and arrived on time without forgetting anything, not when I’ve thrown together a bizarre combination, am running late, and can’t find my car keys.  If I can at least look like a put-together organised gal, then I’m halfway there, right?  Of all the possible hairstyles I think simple waves work best for this one.  Aiming for the Kate Middleton bouncy blow dry look but accepting mine will always be slightly more… dishevelled.  I can try.

Having my hair regularly done by stylists for work has shown me that there are so many ways to create the humble loose wave – some use a wand, some use rollers, some use straighteners, some just blow dry already dry hair with a load of product on it – and it’s also taught me that expert hairstyling is not a skill I possess.  Twisty turny French plaits all over my head?  Absolutely.  Up there with writing backwards on the list of useless skills I possess.  Smooth bouncy waves that last longer than half an hour?  Still working on that one.  And whilst I’ve seen hair stylists work their magic in many different ways, I’ve decided the classic ‘wrap it round a tong and hold for a few seconds’ is probably the best method for moi.

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My weapon of choice from ghd was the Curl Soft Curve Tong, which was definitely the right choice for this kinda style.  Super easy to use without burning your fingers, heats up freakishly quickly, and doesn’t take long at all to create a lasting curl.  Over the years I’ve amassed a collection of several different stylers and have definitely found ghd the best for not having snaggy bits that trap your hair and pull it out (possibly the worst explanation ever but I’m sure you know what I mean) so that’s of course a bonus too.  All round good reviews from me – if I miraculously do manage to increase my number of good hair days, this wand deserves the credit!

P.S. does anyone do their hair anywhere but sat on the floor in front of the mirror?

Ad-gifted – I received this product free of charge

Lily Kate x

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