HAIR HISTORY, STYLING AND CARE

My hair has been though many stages during my life so far, and I've decided to share this experience with you. I often get numerous requests about how I style and treat my hair, so I thought adding an extra bit of history seemed like an interesting idea.

When I was little, I used to have a bob (yes, a bob) of straight brown hair which rested at the height of my chin. I was quite chubby when I was little and now coming to think of it I kind of resembled a malteser, haha. My hair grew down to my waist and was very straight, shiny and fine around the age of six or so, which is quite a contrast to what it's like now. I then went through a stage of curly shoulder length hair with a block fringe which rested just above my eyebrows. I should've really inserted some embarrassing pictures for your entertainment, right?

At around the age of fourteen I decided I no longer wanted a fringe or short hair. I decided I was to grow my hair out. It took me two to three years to grown it to the length it is now (down to my belly button originally, but I've had it trimmed recently). During those few years I went through phases of curtains, backcombing it, quiffing it and many other weird styles which I still regret to this day.

Now I'm going to answer some of your most frequently asked questions:

How do I keep my hair in good condition?

I wash it using two or three shampoos, which are shown in the blogpost My Hair Care. I use a more sensitive shampoo on my scalp and roots, then Herbal Essences' Beautiful Ends Shampoo/conditioner on the ends of my hair. If I have time I also use a John Frieda Enhancing shampoo which emphasises highlights in my hair (I love it).  I wash my hair three times a week, as washing it everyday is effectively washing off the natural oils your hair produces, therefore your hair begins to produce a larger quantity of these oils which is why the hair turns greasy quicker - and nobody wants that!
Once washed I towel dry it and then apply Argan Oil on the ends to add silkiness and repair any split ends, then generously spray heat protection all over my head.
I let my hair dry naturally and only use a hair dryer for a few minutes so it's not soaking wet so I'm decreasing the amount of heat I use on my hair.

How do I style my hair?
I get asked this a lot. It varies, dependant on what mood I'm in, however my general everyday hairstyle is the one shown in the pictures above (my hair is actually darker but the photos seemed to have made it look lighter than it actually is!) For this I simply leave my old fringe down (which is now chin-length) and tie up my top layer in a sort-of pony tail, leaving my bottom layer down. Next I pin the ponytail forward using grips so it rests on my scalp and half the hair, bringing bits of it either side and securing them. Then with the fringe I take it to one side and plait it loosely, giving the illusion of curls. Then with a strand of hair from the opposite side of my head I plait it and pin in across where my fringe hairline is and secure it on the other side.
My favourite 'hair look' is definitely curls at the moment. Not corkscrews, but natural beach waves with the occasional ringlet. I use my Keratin curlers which I highly recommend because they are so good and even come with a heat protection coating on the rod. I've also reduced the amount of times I straighten my hair because I've found that although it tames the fuzziness it increased my amount of split ends. Admittedly I still do it occasionally but as Spring and Summer are approaching I prefer curls a lot more on me.

How did you get your hair so long?
Luckily my hair does grow quite quickly, so I can't really offer much advice on how to make your hair grow quicker other than maintaining it well and getting the ends trimmed two to three times a year. My hair is also naturally very thick so it does seem to grow wildly. My tips would be to not tie it up too much, especially tightly because this can stretch the roots which may damage your hair growth, and DO NOT apply heat when your hair is wet or even slightly damp, this is very damaging.

I hope this post was helpful!