The Only Way is BLOGGING!!

MAHOOSIVE apologies that i have been absent from my blog for a whole WEEK!! 

My reasoning?? I'd been frantic all week trying to get everything for Uni out of the way and all my stuff ready for a little trip to LONDON that i had been planning for a wee while to visit the GORGEOUS Natalie from BlushBlendBeauty and to attend a few 'little' events here and there. 

The first of these events was the now-infamous The Only Way is Blogging (or TOWIB as we affectionately recognise it now).  I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to put some faces to names and check out some new brands which, because i live in the middle of nowhere (Bakewell, for those of you who don't know) i am unable to source locally. These were the FABULOUS Fashionista and VIVO Cosmetics 

Me and the wonderful Natalie (photo donated by the lovely Flossie) 

One of the first things that became apparent upon arrival was that my camera is, not only TINY, but also rather INFERIOR (bordering on prehistoric) and I did struggle to get any decent photos. Think a trip down to Jessops is in order to bag myself a Canon or a fancy Nikon or suchlike (yeah, when i win the LOTTERY).  I gave up towards the end to be honest. Most of the ones i did get were somewhat obscured by a certain tall, green HAT which i was very tempted to take my lighter to a couple of times. 

The girls from Fashionista demonstrated 3 different looks from 3 of their custom palettes that they had put together for the day. I really love their concept for these. You can pick up your eye colours and blushes seperately and then put all your favourites into ONE palette! All the looks they did were inspired by spring/summer catwalk looks including Mark Fast, Anna Sui and Rodarte. The palettes which were given away (very generously) at the end were based on these looks. I snagged a blush palette but the other contained blue eye shades and the last one was very Naked Palette-i-fied. I haven't swatched anything yet from the day but look forward to sharing my experience of them with you! You can snap them up yourself from selected Superdrug stores.

Unfortunately i failed to get ANY photos during the HTML or Photography workshops. Partly because at one point we were so HUNGRY we just had to escape for a pub lunch and there wasn't a break scheduled. What i did catch of them was very informative but as there were SO MANY attending this time it was hard to see and catch EVERYTHING that was going on. However, Faye and Zoe and Lily did an AMAZING job and well done to them for getting up there in front of everyone and telling us all how it's done!!

I had a much better position for the VIVO demonstrations! Despite this i still managed to be RIGHT opposite the photographer for the day and he was in the middle of almost EVERY photo i got haha.  I also had MASSIVE hair envy whilst watching the lovely Karla work on her models. She's got me DESPERATE for my full fringe back again as well as fuelling another possible attempt to lighten my brown again.

As with Fashionista before them, VIVO showcased 3 looks. A Twilight-inspired look using some INSANE false lashes, a golden eye look and a bold lip look. The best photos i got were for the Twilight look. The goodie bags were tailored to these 3 themes and we chose which one we would like. True to form i went for the gold shadow and bronzer option and walked away with this lovely lot. VIVO Cosmetics are solf exclusively at selected Tesco stores.

Can't begin to tell you how pleased i am that i was able to attend this event after totally missing out on the last one. MASSIVE thanks to Natalie for having me (but not for getting me HAMMERED on Friday night, resulting in the Hangover from HELL).
Thoroughly enjoyed meeting all my blogging/twitter friends! I LOVE how the first thing everyone said when they saw me was FERRET LADY!! I was a little disappointed i didn't get to talk to as many people as i would have liked. The venue layout had everyone sat in little groups and it seemed to stick in those groups throughout the day, but i enjoyed the company of some LOVELY ladies. Most notably....

Lauren
Yu
Anna
Charli
Em 
And most of all my GORGEOUS Natalie (love ya babe!!) xoxo


I can safely say that i was firmly installed in front of the TV from the second we got back to Natalie's house. I stayed home with the kitty while everyone else went out tearing it up round Islington. I had to conserve my remaining energy for Sunday as we had tickets for SALON INTERNATIONAL!! Which is another blog post entirely......

Thank you sooooo much to Zoe, Lily, Faye and especially to London Beauty Queen for organising another FABULOUS event!!

Great time had by all I'd say!! Anyone else done a TOWIB post?? Do link me because i need to see better photos!! 

Sunday Salon #2: Caring for Hair Extensions

Evening ladies!!

Has it really been a week since my last Sunday Salon?? WOWZERS!! 

Since I received a fresh set of Halo Hair Extensions this week (love love LOVE them), i thought i'd dedicate this week's Salon to caring for them and keeping them looking their best. 

My previous set of 20" clip in extensions are still with us. However, since i've been wearing them almost every day since i got them they are looking, what can only be described as "Well Loved". After all they are exposed to everything our natural hair is exposed to, but they need that little extra TLC and a gentle hand to keep them looking fabulous. Hopefully this post will start to cover some of the BASIC rules when handling, styling and caring for your extensions. 

First up?? Washing....

I've heard some girls lamenting over twitter that their extensions were never the same after that first wash. I'm going to tell you how to do it RIGHT.  Just the way you wash your extensions can really affect how well they work for you and careful washing can really help to prolong the life of your hair extensions. Unless you are CAKING them in product and hairspray (going easy with these is the best way in my opinion)  I definitely would not recommend washing the extensions after EVERY use as this really is not necessary. You will just KNOW when they are ready for a wash. Here are my top tips and recommendations for washing human hair extensions...

- Halo actually manufacture their own shampoos and conditioners for their extensions. I received miniature sizes of these with my first set and they work really well. They also smell YUMMY! (they retail for £4.99 each for 400ml from halohairextensions.com). If you do not have these to hand i also like to use a gentle shampoo such as Johnsons Baby shampoo which will give them a good clean but is not harsh enough strip the hair and dry it out. Similarly you want to be using a hydrating conditioner, but it doesn't have to be a posh brand. A 5-10p size blob in the palm of your hand should be enough for one weft of hair. 

- I prefer to wash my extensions in the sink, which i part fill with WARM water (not hot and not cold). I also put a little blob of conditioner in this water before i start. I tend to wash the 2 and 3 clip wefts seperately and then the single clip wefts all together. I usually use the same water for all wefts (as i always rinse each weft with clean water straight from the tap) but you can empty and refill the sink as many times as you like.

 - When shampooing and conditioning the BEST way to apply the product is by running it through the weft then gathering the whole thing in your palm SQUEEZING it into a lather in your hand. Do NOT rub it into the hair as this will roughen the hair's surface.

- After rinsing the shampoo apply a small amoung of conditioner using the same method. I like to leave this in the hair for a couple of minutes before i rinse to let it sink right it and give it maximum shine! 

- Rinse  the conditioner off with CLEAN water (i just run the weft through my hand under the tap) and, just to give it that extra glossy finish you can also do a COLD rinse after this as well. 

-Once you have thoroughly rinsed the weft and squeezed out the excess water with your hand, take a clean, dry towel and wrap the weft in it and pat or squeeze the worst of the water out with your hand (again, do NOT rub)!! 

Now you're ready for Drying!!

- I prepare the wefts by spraying them with a leave in heat protector and giving them a gentle brush through  to tease out any unwanted tangles.

- And THEN.... Here's my genius, DIY, top tip for the day: Although you CAN just place the wefts carefully on top of a towel and leave to dry, I do not have enough room in my SHOEBOX of a bathroom (and i need to keep them out of reach of ferrety paws), I have simply attached a piece of string across my shower rail to act as a washing line and simply clip the wefts onto the string. I also find this helps them dry quicker as the air circulates much better around the hair.

- I REALLY would not recommend that you blowdry human hair extensions. They will honestly last a LOT longer for you and remain much softer and shinier if you allow them to dry naturally. I usually wash them the night BEFORE i need them and it's a good idea to set aside that time. That way you can wake up in the morning and have a lovely, clean, dry set of extensions waiting for you!! 

So, now you have a clean, dry set of hair extensions.....

Whats the best way to Brush them???

I'm not being paid to say this and I have bought EVERY Denman brush i've ever owned, but i would highly recommend them for use with hair extensions. Both of these brushes are available from your local Boots or Superdrug for less than a tenner!

- When the hair is WET i like to use a medium sized Denman D3 brush. I start brushing from the ENDS of the hair and work upwards. This way you are teasing any tangles GRADUALLY and the hair will not break from tugging it at the root. You could also use a decent quality paddle brush using the same technique.

- When the hair is DRY i always use my Denman Grooming Brush. I would always recommend brushing dry hair with natural bristles because it is more gentle on the hair and promotes shine and these brushes seem to be PERFECT for extensions. Use them to brush the wefts before putting them in your hair or after tonging/curling to soften the curls and give a glossy, smooth finish to the style. 

And what about Styling??

So here's the rules about using heated styling equipment with your human hair extensions....

- Halo extensions (and indeed various other brands on the market) ARE made from 100% Human hair and ARE suitable for heat styling. HOWEVER, don't just go flying in there with your GHDs on full whack and expect them to come out unscathed! 

- GHDs are NOT the ideal heat styler to use on extensions, purely because they only have ONE heat setting. And that is HOT HOT HOT!! Supposedly, this setting is 160 degrees, but i really do believe that they heat up to nearer 200. 160 degrees barely touches my NATURAL hair. If you need to i would suggest purchasing a cheaper straightener with adjustable heat to use with your extensions. When i'm using my curling wand on them i ALWAYS use the lowest heat setting (see above).  

- A great and gentle way to curl your extensions BEFORE you want to use them (thus saving time and styling energy in the morning) is to use heated ceramic rollers on the wefts. I have actually done a video tutorial on how to do this over on my YouTube Channel

- Human hair extensions do not take as much heat to curl as natural hair. You only really need to hold your styler/wand/waver/whatever in the hair for a couple of seconds to achieve a decent curl. For a tighter, more defined curl effect you could take it a little longer but not a lot. Don't want to hurt your babies!! Another way to minimise the amount of heat you use on your extensions is to take LARGER sections.

- Before putting ANYTHING even remotely warm near your extensions make sure you give them a good spritz of a decent quality, leave in heat protector. This really is sooooo important!! I use the Aussie 'Take the Heat' spray but i know Tresemme also do a good one and i'm sure there are many out there worth checking out.

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I hope this post has given you some good pointers on how to keep you extensions at their loveliest for longer. If you would like me to expand upon ANY of the pointers i've given in this post please do let me know. I do intend to make more youtube videos on this kind of subject so give me a comment and tell me what you would like to see.  Apologies for the EPIC-NESS of this post but once i get a bee in my bonnet about something its hard to shut me up!!

I'd just like to put in a special mention (alright, it's a shameless PLUG) for the lovely people over at Halo Hair Extensions.......

Over on Twitter we are fighting tooth and nail to get them to 2000 followers. What's in it for you?? Well, once they GET THERE there will be a FANTASTIC opportunity to win one of TWO sets of Clip in hair extensions in their Celebratory GIVEAWAY!!!

So go and FOLLOW!! They won't bite... in fact, they're some of the friendliest, most approachable Tweeters i've come across! 

What else would you like to know about caring for extensions?? Ideas/requests for a topic for the next edition of Sunday Salon?? Comment me!! Cos i LOVE IT!!