HAIR: Tips on maintaining coloured red hair

When I was younger I always wanted the perfect red hair.  Unfortunately, being young and not knowing much about hair, I would use cheap drugstore dyes and always complain when it faded to that horrible rusty colour.  I have been a redhead since October now, and I have discovered the products and secrets that will maintain the colour and keep it looking vibrant and glossy.

1. Go professional
If ££ aren't a problem, go to a salon.  If money is an issue, either do what I do and be a model for a trainee hairdresser (totally advocate it - they are always supervised and never make a mistake) or risk doing it yourself.  If you do do it yourself, MAKE SURE YOU USE DECENT COLORANTS.  I recommend Wella Koleston Perfect (colour chart is below, not affiliated, just love it!) which gives glossy colour and has a massive range of shades.  This can be bought from Sallys or online.  I use 55/65 and it gives a beautiful violet/red colour that doesn't fade.

 

2. Stay professional
If you want mediocre hair, use high street/drugstore products.  If you want healthy, shiny, vibrant hair, use high end products.  They are so worth it!!!! For coloured hair, use shampoo&conditioner designed for coloured hair.  I love Tigi S Factor products, but am currently trying out Wella Professionals Brilliance s&c, which you can get in salon or online (I love lookfantastic for buying online - again, not affiliated! - as you get good deals and normally free delivery).  Even though the shampoo isn't sulphate free (shock! horror!) it still makes my hair feel soft and look glossy.  

3. Colour-depositing conditioner 

I don't know of any other red-depositing conditioner that is easily found in the UK other than Aveda Madder Root.  There's a shampoo for it as well, but I just use the conditioner once a week, mixed in with my normal conditioner as it's very very red! It contains red dyes to deposit colour into your hair, ensuring that your colour stays fresh.  It really really works.  The only downside is that the last ingredient is a brown colour, which makes my hair less violet/red and more natural red as time goes on (but I'm talking a couple of months here, by which time my colour needs touching up anyway).  

4. Resist washing every day

Red colour molecules are too big to penetrate the hair shaft like other colours, so the hair can't "hold" onto red like it can with brunette shades.  The more you wash your hair, the quicker it will fade.  Simple.  Dry shampoo is your new friend (but not your BFF as it can dry out your hair if you use it too much!)

5. Make sure you are committed

Even though red can fade faster than other shades, it won't fade completely and will leave you with that horrible rusty colour that will keep coming back (no matter how much you colour over it!).  I know this from experience from when I was younger - I would dye it red, dye it brown, dye it brown, dye it brown, and it would still end up being a horrible faded-red colour.  So make sure that you really want to be a redhead, and want to stay a redhead for a fair amount of time.  I'm the worst for colouring my hair because I get bored easily, but I absolutely love the violet/red colour I am at the moment and am prepared to commit to this colour for a while!

MEMEME: My blog has had a facelift!!

What do you think of the new layout? Pays to have a web developer boyfriend ahahha

MEMEME: Good morning 2012

So it's a new year and, while I don't generally believe in the whole "new year, new start" malarkey, I am hoping 2012 will bring power and kindness.   I have to admit that I am glad 2011 is behind us - it's been a tough year!!


While I normally talk about mental health and stuff in my other, personal, blog, I thought it was only right that I should summarise the year in this post, and all the other things that have gone on this year.  


I have bipolar disorder, and haven't been properly ill since, ooh, 2007 or so.  However, with health comes complacency, and I stopped looking after myself the way I should.  I moved up to Scotland November 2010, and my partner wasn't very happy up here - we were living in a horrible flat above druggies in a horrible neighbourhood (don't ever make yourself find a flat in 1 week as it will not end well!!), he was in a deadend job, and on top of that he was mega allergic to our new kitties (which we ended up keeping anyway and as long as I keep on top of the vacuuming, he's now totally fine).  It all turned around for him in September - he's now at a college he loves, with great mates, we live in a beautiful new development now, so technically we lived happily ever after.


Anyway, this ended up in me being mega stressed - I now have "atypical localised rosacea" (whatever that means!!) and discoid ezcema - both stress-related skin conditions.  My hair was falling out to the extent it's gone from thick to mega thin now!! And I never made any time to relax, which meant that I got so so stressed constantly.  I was fine at work, but at home I would just cook, clean, clean, clean and go to sleep.  That was my life. So needless to say, my MH started to suffer.  


Summer 2011 brought a few weeks of depression, which I got over and promised myself I would be more mindful and relax more.  I didn't.  In October 2011 I had a horrible mixed affective episode, which basically meant I had racing suicidal thoughts, was constantly agitated yet so depressed I couldn't do anything. It was hell!!! My psychiatrist and the Intensive Home Treatment Team up here got me seeing a Occupational Therapist, who made me realise my work/play/relaxation balance was totally skewed. So I'm working on that.  I also see a psychologist - getting therapy for the first time in my life believe it or not - who's helping me explore the origins of all my issues.  But that's getting too deep now!!


So 2011 was a pretty tough year, but it has made our relationship stronger.  I also got an amazing job offer in Brisbane, Australia which was literally my dream city for years!!! That again put a lot of stress on me, as I didn't want to move Mike yet again (would have been the third time in as many years) especially as he's happy now.  So it was either my dream everything, or my soulmate.  And being the hopeless romantic I am, I chose love :) so I'm staying here, which I'm actually really happy about - and relieved to be honest! It was pretty scary letting go of my dreams, but time for some new ones ey!


So goodbye 2011.  And hai 2012!  My new year 'resolutions' are to take more time out for myself, and relax more.  Be more patient and kinder to myself again.  And try and get my confidence back, cos I feel like a shell of my old self!! I also want to take more pictures, cos I've barely taken any this year!! And blog more :)


Some pictures of the year:

 My MRes graduation! With my sister

 We had a lovely warm summer up here, here's my geegee friend

 Beautiful Scotland

 Me, my sis and my kittens having a lol

 Beautiful Edinburgh

 Me with my BFF

 My disastrous 'ombre' (aka one inch of dark roots and the rest orange thanks to a moron hairdresser!) 

 Beautiful Scotland again - the Pentland Hills

 The Pentlands again

My babies ;)

Happy new year everybody!!! xxxxx

FASHION: Post-Christmas lull

So my in-laws have gone home now and it's just me, Mike and the kitties.  Have I introduced you to my babies by the way? Had them for just over a year now and in that time I have gone from cat-obsessed to full-blown crazy cat lady!!

Here they are when they were wee (yes I am turning Scottish)

And this is them now when they're all grown up!

They are seriously the funniest cats I've ever met, but I'll refrain from babbling on about my babies!

I've also been trawling the sales - only bought one top so far which I can't wait to arrive.  Going through a bit of a glam-grunge period at the moment, kind of All Saints style clothes (not that I can afford many of those though!).

Other things I'm loving in the sales are:


This ladder-knit jumper by Crafted at Republic

This cute leopard print skirt by Rare

I NEED NEED NEED these boots by Crafted at Republic.  Size 8 kthxbai

I've had my eye on this Rare skirt for months, and it's gone into the sale yay! Asymmetric hems are going to be massive for SS12.

This cutesy cropped tee from Topshop is only a tenner!

And last but not least, this Bench skirt (at HoF) which is awesome :)

Don't buy my size in any of these items though please guys or I will cry if it sells out!!! Hehe.  I'm really not feeling SS12 - too much sorbet tones and bright prints for my liking.  Guess I'm going to have to break with the trends....

MEMEME: What I got for Christmas!

I love reading other people's Christmas posts, so thought id join on the fun! Posting from my phone so apologies if this reads/looks crap!! Haha. So my boyfriend's parents spent Christmas with us up here in Scotland :) my family are coming up on the 30th dec and staying until my birthday (25 uuughh) On the 2nd january. Mike's parents Have literally filled our house with food ... 7lb of beef alone!! (and then the lamb, turkey, salmon...need I go on?) I have done nothing but eat since they got here 4 days ago!!! Xmas day itself was lovely - me and mike were snowed in last Xmas so it was just the two of us. This year was a true family celebration and it was ace :)Want to see what I got? Oh alright then ;)Here is the tree:

Mike got me some nice hair stuff - Babyliss wave envy which I've wanted for AGES and Tigi Small Talk, which stylists always use on my hair but I've never bought it myself:

Some books for depression and disordered eating, and my fave perfume Dior Pure Poison

Raw chocolate which I can't wait to try, and Debenhams £25 voucher. Think I'm going to get Diorshow Blackout mascara with it

RiRi albums cos I am obsessed hehe, and yummy Sanctuary body scrubs

Chocolate from friends and my boss!

Royal Jelly bath stuff, and a pair of woolly tights

Also, not photgraphed, some Body Shop cherry blossom bath stuff and some beautiful earrings. My skins going to be well looked after!!Can't believe how nice everything is, and I haven't even got anything from my side of the family yet! Disclaimer: Christmas for me isn't all about the presents even though this post is!!What did everyone else get? Link me to your pressie posts! I'm so busy window-shopping the sales at the mo, so much I want!!!Hope everyone enjoys their boxing day

FASHION: Winter is coming

Yes big love for Game of Thrones :p 

I cannot wait for winter, but that's probably because I've forgotten the craziness of last year's Scottish snow!  I just looove the clothes and fashion of winter.  I always fall for the 'luxe groupie' trend which Topshop and other stores always promote - heart the leather, lace and sequins.  And this winter gets even better, with all the faux fur that's around!!

I found an amazing faux fur and knit snood and headband both from Asos last weekend, and was almost glad of the cold weather yday so I could finally wear them!

I feel like a snow queen!

HAIR: Redheads do it best....

After a disastrous red hair dyeing incident that did not go well and took months, if not years, to stop rearing it's ugly rust-coloured head, I swore never to even consider going back to red!! That was, until I saw this picture: 

I was HOOKED.  The gorgeous red wine-esque, slightly violet, slightly pink tone was to die for! So I spent a month getting my dark-brunette hair in shape for the plunge (think masques and protein treatments).  

I also opted for this style of cut:

Even though I normally hate bobs! Yes, all change here!

My hair was bleached to an inch of it's life to lift the dark colour I had on there.  It looked amazing bleached though - very autumnal shades of russet, orange and gold.  I almost made the stylist stop right there lol.

So the outcome:

(DISCLAIMER: no pics do it justice!! It is full on magenta/violet and absolutely gorgeous.  Also an inverted bob which this pics don't seem to show!)

<3 <3 <3 <3