Bleach Blonde Haircare

With bleach blonde hair, I can't afford to be sloppy when it comes to my haircare routine.  I use products both in and out of the shower that help to keep my tresses in the best condition possible after the strain I put it through with heat styling and regular bleaching.  Here's how I keep my goldilocks healthy, with a few tips and tricks thrown in for good measure.  

I wash my hair every two to three days as it's quite porous and will become dry and frazzled if I wash it everyday, plus I find that thanks to the bleach my mane doesn't get greasy too fast. Before washing, I always brush through my hair to get rid of any tangles.  I have a choice of two shampoo's depending on what my locks needs.  The first is L'Oreal's EverPure Colour Care and Moisture shampoo which helps to lock in moisture and prep my hair for conditioner.  The second is a tone correcting purple shampoo by John Freida, which helps to keep brassy yellow tones at bay.  I only use the John Frieda once a week as overuse can end up leaving a purple tinge to the hair.  I then follow up with a slathering of conditioner, which I comb through before washing out, to ensure the product is evenly distributed.  My favourite at the moment is also from the EverPure range.  Once a week I will go ahead and apply the EverPure Reinforcing Intense Mask, concentrating on my mid-lengths and most importantly, my ends.  It says to leave on for 3-5 minutes but for an intense treatment I leave it on for about an hour.  This is a great time to have a bath and read a good book.  

Fresh out of the shower I then brush through my tresses with a Tangle Teezer.  I think I would have a lot less hair if I hadn't had invested in this product.  It glides through my hair effortlessly, even without a detangling spray and it doesn't pull or snag, creating unwanted breakages.  If I'm going to blow dry my hair I will then go ahead and spritz some heat protection spray throughout, right now I'm using the EverSleek spray but I also like the TreSemme one too.  Another heat protection treatment I use is Kerastase Ciment Thermique, which actually requires heat to work.  This treatment helps reconstruct damaged hair and also acts as a heat protectant that needs to be replenished every five days.  Most times that I wash my locks, I like to leave them to dry naturally, so I will just use Moroccan Oil Light and get on with whatever I'm doing.  

Before I go to bed, I'll brush my hair and plait (braid) it, as it prevents any tangles forming through the night. Plus, if you're feeling lazy the next day, it's an easy, heat free way to get soft waves.  I hope some of you found this post helpful and picked up a few tips. My hair stylist is happy with the condition of my hair, so I must be doing something right! 

What's your holy grail haircare product or tip?

Full product reviews: L'Oreal Ever Pure Colour Care and Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner; L'Oreal Ever Pure Reinforcing Intense Mask

August 2012 Favourites

It's that time again and without sounding cliched - just where has this year gone?! Not long to go until I start my third and final (eek) year of university but that's a whole other post.  I don't religiously blog about my favourite products as some months I can't come up with an amount I deem suitable.  This month, as the weather got warmer, I kept tabs on just what I was using so much.  The majority of products I have reviewed in depth and I will leave links for those at the end of the post.  

When I've worn make up this month, I've kept it fairly simple and natural.  I've re-discovered my love for Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum foundation, which is my cheaper equivalent of Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua.  Under the eyes and along the bridge of my nose, I've been loving YSL's infamous Touche Eclat.  Another Bourjois favourite is my Little Round Pot blusher in #16 which both smells and looks amazing on my cheeks.  When it comes to lips it's either been Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream and a lip balm or one of the two pictured above.  Topshop's Innocent is a lovely rose colour which looks good both straight on or patted into the lip - if I fancied an injection of colour I reached for Jemma Kidd's Hi-Shine Hydrating Glosstick in #4 Hibiscus (bit of a mouthful).  On my nails, I've been loving Essie's Watermelon - a gorgeous hot pinky red shade which looks equally amazing on toes.  

My two skincare standouts have both been from Origins. After having a horrible time with my skin at the beginning of the month I started using the Out of Trouble face mask which has helped clear up active breakouts and reduce the amount of oil, especially around my T-Zone.  When I bought the face mask I was also given two samples.  I've really been enjoying using Modern Friction (which I keep calling Micro Friction - #fail) which has helped get rid of any redness or scarring that breakouts have left behind. Definitely thinking about a full size purchase! 

L'Oreal's Ever Pure hair care range has really stuck out for me, for at least six weeks now.  I use the Colour Care and Moisture system which leaves my hair feeling like silk - plus they smell heavenly.  Once a week I will slather on the Reinforcing Intense Mask and leave in my locks for about an hour before washing out.  As I have bleach blonde hair, it can be quite porous and it's important to give it a good soak to help better its condition.  I've come back to my Moroccan Oil Light, which is nearly all gone (sob).  I prefer the light formulation as it doesn't weight my hair down but still does the job.  

What have been your favourite products this month?

Full product reviews: Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation; Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush; Essie Nail Polish; Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Hydrating Glosstick in #4 Hibiscus; L'Oreal Ever Pure Colour Care and Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner; L'Oreal Ever Pure Reinforcing Intense Mask; Origins Out of Trouble Face Mask

L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise EverPure Reinforcing Intense Mask

Last week, I spoke of my new found love for the L'Oreal Paris EverPure range (here).  Continuing that love, I picked up the hair mask, as I needed something to replace my Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque.  The first thing I noticed was the smell, it's the same of the regular conditioner, which I can forgive because it smells extremely good.  The second is how thick the product is.  When I picked up the pot it looked a lot smaller than what I was used to and I wondered how long it would last, but because the product is quite thick, you don't need as much to cover the entirety of your hair.  

I use this once a week, when my hair needs a bit of TLC. I leave it in my hair for around an hour, although the instructions say 10 minutes. I think anyone who has over-processed, heat damaged hair should leave it in for longer, to better help put back in what straighteners and colour takes out. After washing the product out, my hair felt soft and nourished, but it didn't feel as silky as it would if the mask was filled with silicons.  At £6.99 for a 200ml it's certainly not as expensive as that of the Moroccan Oil and Macadamia Oil masks.  

What hair products have you been loving lately?

L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise EverPure Colour Care & Moisture

It's coming up to a year since I bleached my mousey brown hair to a vibrant, bright blonde and ever since I've tried a million and one hair products, hoping they will help maintain my hair's health.  I saw a review on FleurDeForce about L'Oreal's latest offering, but hadn't seen it in the shops to buy and alas, I forgot about these bottles of joy.  It wasn't until my mother mentioned free samples through Facebook that I remembered.  I ordered the samples and during the six week wait, I grew impatient and happened on a 'buy one get one free offer' in Superdrug. I'm so happy my impatience got the better of me.  

There are four different types of product in the EverPure range - Moisture, Volume, Shine and Smoothing. I went for the Moisture range as I obviously bleach my hair, but I also use a lot of heat on my hair.  My hair stylist has warned me off of sulphates since she doused my hair in peroxide, so these products already had bonus points.  Both products smell herbal, the shampoo contains rosemary and juniper and the conditioner features rosemary and mint.  

The shampoo is creamy and lathers up well throughout the hair and washes out leaving your hair feeling silky soft and squeaky clean. The conditioner is my favourite product - it's extremely thick and again, creamy and I find it extremely moisturising on my hair, especially my fried ends.  I always comb my hair through with conditioner, to get an even coverage of product and usually I have a few lone knots to comb out, but my comb glides straight through my hair now.  

When my hair is dry, that's when I saw the best results.  It's silky soft - like when you change shampoo and conditioner, except it ALWAYS feels like that. My hair appears to be healthier and I'm totally smitten with my new hair care system.  At £5.99 each, they aren't the cheapest of hair products but in my opinion are completely worth it.  I'm looking forward to trying the deep conditioner next!

Have you tried the new L'Oreal EverPure range? 

All L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise EverPure products are currently on 3 for 2 in Boots.