My top tips for great hair Part 1

I'm quite chuffed with my hair at the moment. I've had a lot of compliments about it, both for the cut and colour. My hairdresser also comments on the excellent condition that my hair is in, despite the things I do to it!! So I thought I'd share with you how I do it.

Let's start with the cut. A good hair cut is everything, and I am very very lucky to have found someone who not only understands my hair but cuts it to fit my lifestyle. Too often you find a good hairdresser but they just don't seem to get you and your style/life/interests and how your hair fits into that. Ian @ Buff in Taunton cuts my hair (http://www.buffdayspa.co.uk/) and he gets it. He is particularly good with shorter hair, and is an expert in all things colour.

Colour... I bleach my roots (or my friend does it for me, because I can't quite manage that one!), running it through the lengths for 5 mins at the end, then cover the whole lot in Special Effects (SFX) dye. To get my perfect colour I mix in approximately equal quantities Burgundy Wine and Blood Red, to give a really good pinky red colour. The photo does not do it justice! It glows in the sun :) I order the dye from www.beeunique.co.uk who are fantastic and have very speedy delivery. They sell all forms of brightly coloured vegetable hair dye and have galleries of people's hair.

Finally condition. Bleaching obviously isn't that good for hair. It takes quite a while to get bleach onto my hair as it is so thick, so I use a lower strength bleach which takes longer, but that is ok. I have dark blonde/mousey brown hair naturally, so I don't need much to bleach it. The vegetable dyes are good because they are full of moisturising ingredients and put a lot back into the hair, which really helps the condition.
Shampoo and conditioner are important, especially for colour treated hair. I am currently using Tigi Catwalk Collection Fashionista Colour Safe Shampoo and Conditioner, which is absolutely fabulous. Sadly I think it has been discontinued, but you can still pick up large bottle twin packs for around £20 (Click here). You don't need much of either to really cleanse and nourish your hair, so a big bottle will last a long time. I've had my bottles for about 6 months and I've only got through about 1/3 of each one!!
Styling products are important for the condition of your hair. I don't like to use anything that contains silicone, as I find that it a) reacts with my skin, and b) makes my hair feel odd.
My favourite products are the Naked Styling range from Boots, particularly the More Volume mousse, Frizz Fighter serum and the Heat Defender spray. Used in combination I get amazing results, and my hair is really manageable and soft.

This is my regular hair care routine - I'll write again soon about the things I do for my hair on a less regular basis, when it needs a boost or I want to style it differently.