Big bun for messy 3 day old hair!

Looking for a super easy style for 2/3 day old hair? Read on, my friend!!

So.. as always I like to start with an awful 'Before' so you see my starting point. 

1. As my hair is 3 days old (ew.. I know but sometimes with hair as long and as thick as mine it's such a task that I really would rather put it up and still look pretty, than spend 2 hours washing and drying it each day!!!) I love to use this Batiste dry shampoo as it smells lovely and really takes that 'greasy' look away. 

TIP: Don't just spray the dry shampoo over the top of the hair as it will just look a dull off colour and won't really look any better. Make sure you spray it under some layers of  your hair and also throw your head over and spray underneath. As this is an 'up' do, it is important to make sure that all the hair looks fresh. 

2. Getting your bun in the right place is really important. The best way to get all the hair together when it is as long and as thick as mine is to throw your head over and collect it in a high ponytail on the crown of your head. Adjust the position before you secure it with an elastic.

TIP: A good guide to where to position your bun is to follow your cheekbones with your finger until they meet on the top of  your head. This is where your ponytail should go (and this will be where your bun ends up as well). 

3. Next is the fun part. Grab a backcombing brush like my Head Jog 50 one I have here. Section your ponytail into small sections and backcomb each part from the base to the tip. Secure each section with hairspray. The more you backcomb the larger your bun will be, although I find that 4 or 5 strokes is usually enough to create a full effect.

4. Here is a crazy photo of my hair after the backcombing!

5. Split the hair in 2. As it has been backcombed and secured with hairspray, you should find it will stay put with you split it in two. 

6. Wrap the two sections around each other creating the basic shape of your bun. Don't worry if it looks a little too big at this point. By the time you have secured it with pins it will shrink a little. Try and tuck the ends underneath so they don't stick out too much. 

7. Secure the bun with hair pins, using as many as you need for the bun to feel secure on the top of your head. Spray with a little more hairspray and.......... You're done!!

                                        Now you can enjoy your hair for one more day!
Love and hugs,
Sam xxx 

Easter Bouffant - amazing product!

Happy Easter Everyone!

I have found my new favourite product . . . . .

L'Oreal Paris Horizon Fix (Force 4). It is literally the most amazing product I have found for giving natural looking extra volume without any need to backcomb whatsoever! 

Below are some photos of the volume I have created using this product! Isn't it amazing! I promise you there are no hair pieces, Bumpits, or backcombing going on under that little hive.. just volume!

I love this product and it will definitely become part of my daily L'Oreal routine! God Bless you L'Oreal!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Love and Hugs

Sam xx

Big Beautiful Hair! (Cheryl Cole Inspired)

Thought it was about time I did another photo tutorial on how to get big beautiful hair inspired by Cheryl Cole!

I set up my station in front of the mirror, making sure I have everything to hand (including some strawberry bon bons and a cup of tea!) 

Preparing the Hair:

Here are the products I used to prep my hair.

My new favourite hair oil. I use 3 pumps on my hair. I rub it into my hands then throw my hair over and apply it to the mid-lengths and ends.

The other three products below are ones I have used in previous posts. Left to Right: L'Oreal Elnett Satin Heat Protector Spray: Volume (Apply to mid-lengths and at the roots, later); L'Oreal TecniArt Volume Lift Mousse (Apply to the roots section by section); L'Oreal Studio Silk & Gloss Volume Mousse (Apply to mid-lengths and ends).

Drying the hair
First, I rough dried the hair by throwing my hair over and using my hair drier on a medium heat. By throwing the hair over, volume is instantly created.

 

Next, I separated my hair section by section and secured the rest with a clip. 

For this, I am using a large round soft bristle brush (ionic 91 ceramic).  As well as this, I use the narrow nozzle for my hair drier. I find that this creates lots of volume and allows me to blow dry my hair fairly straight.

Below are the series of movements I make with the round brush.

1. Roll the hair around the brush right up to the root. Spray some L'Oreal Styling Spray: Volume onto the hair near to the roots for extra volume and hold. Blow dry underneath the hair to create volume.    
2. As you gradually unravel the hair from the brush, keep the nozzle close to the hair and follow it down to the ends. Work at the ends, rolling the brush around to smooth them.                                          
                                                                                                                                                      

 

When I get about half way up my scalp, I parted the front and back sections. This allows me to work on the crown area for extra volume and the front section for shape around my face. First I work on the crown area. Don't worry about making the hair too high at this stage. That comes later when we curl and back comb the hair. 

 

This is what my hair looks like when I have finished blow drying it section by section. You can see there is lots of volume in there. Sometimes I like to leave it like this, just readjust the parting, or clip sections back. Today, I am going to go further and add curls and extra volume to the crown. 

Curling the hair
Again, I sectioned the hair starting nearest my neck. I sprayed L'Oreal Elnett Satin Styling Spray: Curls onto the ends of each section before I worked on it. This helps to keep the curls held strong.

I alternated curled the hair in different directions. This means that when I brush out the curls later on, they will look more natural and wont clump together. After curling each section, I sprayed them with L'Oreal Elnett Satin Supreme Hold Hairspray. 

This is what my hair looked like after curling the ends. I could leave it like this and just pin back the front section, but today, I am going to brush the curls out and back comb the crown area to create extra volume.

 

Creating extra volume
Measure where to start by following from behind your ears onto the top of your head. Begin at this point and draw back a small section of hair. Spray the under side with hair spray and using a soft bristle back comb, hold the ends of the hair and slowly brush the hair downwards towards the roots. About 4 or 5 strokes should be sufficient. Spray with a little more hair spray, then seal with straighners on the back combed section for 3-4 seconds. lay this section of hair over to the front, and repeat with the next section of hair. Continue down to the occipital bone (the lumpy bit about half way down your head).
When you've finished, flip the hair back and you should have lots of added Volume!

 

Now to brush it out! Sounds crazy I know, but this will prevent it looking 'knotted' and creates a workable 'mesh' that you can manipulate more easily. At this stage, I will also gently brush out the curls I put in earlier. Again, this sounds crazy, but it will make the look appear more natural. The brush I am using is a soft bristle one. 

 

The photo below shows my hair after being brushed out. No matted knots in sight! 

Pin it back
If I wanted to, I could leave it as above, but I want to get rid of my parting, so I am going to use Cheryl as inspiration and pin back the front section. Use your eyes a guide as to how much hair you should pin back. Gather it up and back comb from behind spraying with hair spray before and after to secure the style.

 

Using the soft bristle brush, gently comb the top of this front section and secure it on top with two hair pins in an 'x' shape.

Final Touch
Spray L'Oreal Tecni Art Crystal Gloss to give added shine.

Done!

If you prefer, you can continue to back comb and work the crown section of hair to make it bigger and more 'Cheryl like'. However, I am going to stop here for today.

Before

After

  

Hope you like my new photo tutorial for big and beautiful hair! Let me know your thoughts!

Love and Hugs,

Sam xxx

Girls on Tour

Last night, I went to see the mighty Girls Aloud on tour at The O2 in London. It was absolutely AMAZING and even though Cheryl was feeling really poorly, she carried on like a trooper! The support the girls have for one another really showed, asking if Cheryl was alright between songs and looking out for one another. 

They all looked incredible! Perfect hair, perfect make up, perfect outfits, just perfect in every way.

So eventually the time came to get myself ready for the best night of my life! 

Outfit picked, make up done, next job.. hair! 

Obviously I decided to go with the Cheryl look - what could be more appropriate for a Girls Aloud gig?!

So, following my tried and tested method of getting big hair (see my Cheryl Cole Style Hair photo tutorial). I did change it slightly though and brushed out the curls using a soft bristle brush so create bigger waves and curls. I also added more back combing and sealed it using he method I learned from the L'Oreal Paris Tutorial video (see my entry on Thursday 6th December - Nourish it with Elvive Extrordinary Oil). This ensured my hair was big, curly and would stay put all day long!

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo!! (duh!)

I didn't get home until 2 am and decided that I would try Cheryl's trick from the video interview I included in my Big Hair Photo tutorial on Saturday 29th December 2012. She says that her trick for big hair, is to put it up in a bun before she goes to bed. Then, when she lets it down, it is big and wavy. . So I simple threw my head over, gathered my hair into a high pony tail on the top of my head and tied it in a bun. 

I spend all of today sitting in my GA10 hoodie, sporting that same bun, whilst I got on with some bits and pieces.

Now for the big reveal (and I mean BIG!)

I took my hair out tonight, so I can wash it and discovered that Cheryl never lies! Putting your hair in a bun like that really does work!!! 

Ok, granted, I had all the product still in from last night, but still............ HELLO VOLUME!!

This picture doesn't even do it justice! Felt awful washing it when it was so big and amazing! 

Just gutted I can't go and see GA again tonight (and tomorrow and the next day and the next)!

Love and hugs people!

Sam xx