Redken Extreme...

Blonde hair means one thing for me - BLEACH. Which means one thing for my hair - DAMAGE. I love and hate it at the same time. I love being blonde, I think I feel more "me" (apart from when I have ombre) but it is such a b*tch to maintain and keep my hair looking healthy. 

When I have had blonde hair before I have tried to keep it in check by using a mild shampoo then hair masks all the time. This worked a little bit, but the intensive masks left my hair so weighed down that it looked really fine and thin (which it isn't!). Plus having a two women very close who are/were hairdressers my splits ends are under close inspection and were always commented on. 

In comes the recommendation of Reken, coupled with a Look Fantastic discount code and I bought the whole range. The Extreme Shampoo, Conditioner, CAT Treatment and Anti-Snap. I think the whole lot was around £40 as the first three came as a discounted set. Which is the most I have EVER spent on hair products, do I regret it - nope!

The shampoo is a gentle shampoo that doesn't lather up too much in my hair, saying that it leaves my hair feeling clean, not weighed down and in general is a good shampoo. I don't think I would repurchase the shampoo purely because I don't think it's the star of this range. A decent shampoo would get the same results I think. 

The conditioner, I love. It's thin but gives the same results as a thick conditioning treatment. I have used this on it's own (with another shampoo) to test it out and the results are pretty impressive. My hair is smoother and looks so much healthier. Rather than just looking healthier it feels it too!

The CAT treatment is a product that had me stumped at first. I have never used anything like it before and I was dubious as to what it would actually do. For a start you use it mid hair wash, inbetween your shampoo and conditioner. Then you spray on your hair and leave for five minutes before washing off. It's a protein treatment which acts deep within the hair rather than a mask which works on the outside of the hair. Since using this my hair feels stronger, but I only use this once a week - I don't want my hair to rely on it because apparently if you use it too much it stops working?

Finally. The star of the show and something that I will ALWAYS have to hand - Redken Anti Snap. Boy this thing is the shizz, I didn't actually think it would live up to the hype that it's been given but it does. A leave in conditioner that stops your hair snapping when you brush it, acts as a leave in conditioner and protects against split ends - you just don't need anything else. My hair is perfect after using this, just so perfect. Soft, strong and just so manageable. I can't sing it's praises highly enough.

The combination of all of these have just made my hair the best it's been since, well, forever.

Have you used the Redken range?

Charli...

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Hair Chalks...

Hair Chalks - Ebay

People of the world with crazy hair colours, I love you. I admire your ability to rock whatever colours are in your hair and look on with envy as I am not brave enough to try them myself. I think it should be as socially acceptable to have amazing hair colours as it is to paint your nails. My sister has been red and purple before and it looked so good. She has crystal blue eyes and when her hair was these colours they just popped and looked awesome. 

Since being blonde (again) I have craved adding something a little different to my hair, something "out there" but also not permanent. A few months ago there was a fairly big buzz in the online world for hair chalking so I hopped onto ebay and picked up a packet of pink chalks for a few pounds and waited for them to arrive. I'm not going to pretend these arrived a few days ago and I couldn't wait to open them, when the reality was - they arrived and I put them to one side, then lost them and now have just found them again.

My hair was in such a bad way when I first went blonde that I really didn't think it was a good idea to go rubbing chalk all over it. So I waited until now, using really good products and my hair is in better condition. These will get a whole post to themselves, but seriously Redken - you have saved my hair. 

Anyway, with the help of Leanne, last week we set on the task to give me pink hair! I had in mind to change the whole of my hair to pink but once we started we quickly thought it would be best to stick to the ends. Mainly for the fact that if it didn't wash out in one go I could hide it in a bun but also because this was the messiest thing I have done in a long time (and I clean out 8 animals every week!). 

The chalking works better if your hair is damp before you start colouring so I sprayed mine in sections using a heat protection spray. I think there was some crazy logic in my head that this spray would also protect my hair from the chalk to! After the section is sprayed you just rub the chalk on until you get enough colour so it matches the look you want. 

In a short space of time we were both covered so: don't wear anything you don't want dyed, have something down to protect the carpet and have some wipes on standby. To help my hair dry I did give it a blast with the hair dryer and them brushed through.

What you can't see in the photo is the amount of colours we used. All five colours in the pack were used but you can't really see that because they seemed to merge into one colour when I started drying my hair. I would have liked them to be a bit more different - for my next trick I am thinking rainbow hair?

The MAJOR downside? They make your hair really dry. To the point that when I was brushing my hair I thought I would have none left with the amount that fell out. Ohh and this will go on what ever clothes you are wearing - even when it's dried.

The colour all washed out in one go but I did use the boots deep clean shampoo so that may have had something to do with it and I followed with a really intense hair mask to try and get rid of the dry feeling that had been left. It worked and my hair has been left no worse for where which is why I think I will try this again.

To sum up. A great product for a one off hair style, you'd need to wear something you won't mind getting stained and they wash out in one wash. Fancy dress? This would be great. For a longer lasting result I think I'm going to need to head to boots...

If you could dye your hair any colour - what would it be?

I want to give a little shout out to my friend Gwyneth who ROCKS orange hair like no other and she has an amazing blog *click here* her latest post? An update on an online dating experiment she's doing!

Charli...

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My Week #14...

Sat blogging with a dog laying on my feet makes me stupidly happy. For the past 24 hours I have been able to pretend I have a dog whilst dog sitting Ollie. He's a 6 year old springer spaniel but is just like a puppy. He's always so excited to see me that he immediately brightens my day. The one major difference that I've noticed whilst being in the house with him, more so when I've been on my own, is that he is instantly your shadow. In the few hours that I was on my own with him I have had constant conversations with him (that he 100% understands) and have not stopped smiling.

If you didn't know I am a huge animal lover. Animals make me happy, I have no idea why - but they do. I know that this was something that started when I was very young. Whilst having a much needed catch up with a dear friend from primary school we got talking about our animal adventures when we were little. A memory she bought up was one where I would go around her house for tea but take bits of ham and milk outside to feed the stray cats. Long story short after months of persuading (nagging) her mum took in these cats and they became part of their family. :). 

Wrestlemania was a huge part of my week. I love WWE and I am not ashamed to admit it. I really look forward to the pay-per-views (even though the prices are getting stupid) but Wrestlemania 30 left me really annoyed. I may even do a whole blogpost about what I thought. A match was drawn between the amazing Undertaker and the naked mole rat that is Brock Lesner. The Undertaker has a winning streak of 21-0 at Wrestlemania, well I guess now I should state that the streak was broken and it's 21-1. What are the writers thinking. If Taker was going to loose the streak then make it be to someone AWESOME and not a naked mole rat. It was confirmed that Taker went to hospital after the match and had to have scans on his head - which confirms my thoughts that he has passed his prime now. Plus at WM he over did the guyliner and fake tan!! That story line really frustrated me.

The Undertaker will always be my second favourite wrestler and have the BEST entrance in my opinion.

Does anyone out there watch WWE?

Charli...

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March Favourites...

Charli...

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