Before beauty, there was always hair. I've loved experimenting with it from a very young age (mostly on others due to my "boy bob" hair cut) and, having curly hair, I remember forever having my mum blow-dry my hair straight every Saturday since I was four (she'll back me up on that one). Not surprising really seeing as straight hair was the thing to have around 15 years ago (thank you Britney and Baby Spice). But it stuck and now I'm older, with a lot more hair than I once had, I've got the hair thing down and can do most things from waterfall to french halo braids. Though nothing has quite stuck with me like the four looks featured, and you guys always ask in posts, on Instagram and videos for a tutorial of them. So here they are, all in one video. Call it an early Christmas present. In case some parts skip too quickly I've jotted down a few directions on each look below:
Super Straight
My favourite ever hair style. I start off by applying a straightening cream or serum to my hair before working with it. My current favourite (featured in the video) is the Bumble and Bumble Straight cream. It's heavy enough to add some weight to fly away hair, but doesn't make my mop look too flat or greasy. I then go in with my GHD straighteners and a large paddle brush and work through the top and under side of the hair from (almost) root to tip. Once I've got super straight locks I backcomb the under side around the crown and tweak it into place. Simples.
Half - Up Half - Down
This works with straight or wavy hair. I start by giving my hair a lot of volume with a small red comb (I stole mine off my hairdresser when I was 13) and then use my fingers to pull my hair back (leaving sections at the front) and mould it into place. I like quite a volumised look at the back so after using a couple of hair pins to keep it in place, I pull the hair up slightly to create more shape. I keep tweaking it until I'm happy and then will stick in a few more hair pins for good luck.
The Fishtail Braid
Quite possibly the hardest (in my opinion) to master. I start by backcombing my hair at the roots (and a little through the lengths) and pull my hair to the side. I then split the hair into two sections. Once I've got a good grip on the hair I then take a small chunk of strands from the outside and cross them over to the other section of hair, leaving the new strands on the inside. I do the same from the other side and repeat until I reach the end of the braid. After I'm done I secure with a small band and pull at the braid until it gets wider and messier. Doing this the first time is always strange as you can never see if you've done it properly until you're around half way through. My tutorial isn't the best for this one, but there are so many on YouTube (which is how I learnt) that are amazing so definitely have a little search around. You need to be patient but it's worth it.
Curls
It's always hard watching someone else do this hair style, especially with GHDs. But the basic principle is to take strands of hair in between your straighteners and twist them away from your face, keeping the hair moving through the through the straighteners as you twist them. It's much easier with a curling wand and I actually prefer the shape they create. Unfortunately mine went walkies in the process of moving house. DOH.
Hopefully this was helpful. I know coming from a non-hairdresser this was never going to be perfect, but it is exactly how I style my hair on a daily basis, nothing overly flashy, perfect or product filled. Ain't nobody got time for that...
