How I Curl my Hair

I was asked to share hair curling routine and tips a while ago and even though I don't do anything revolutionary and most probably won't find anything new, I've been itching to write another hair post, since they are my favourite to write. You may have noticed that I like to have my hair curled, actually when it was shorter, it was naturally quite curly/wavy, but in a very messy way. Now it's has only a bit of a wave due to the length, as the weight of the hair is straightening it. Since I was twelve my hair has been dry, frizzy, messy-curly and unmanageable, but I only started using curlers about six years ago (before I was trying to define my natural curls), anyway I use them just because I like more polished hair styles than the air-dry texture. Aside from that, if I curl my hair, I don't have to do anything to it for almost a week, while if I leave it natural, it feels dry and so bland that I constantly need to apply product to keep it in check (I tend to wear it braided when I'm giving my hair a break from the heat). My hair is thick and has natural texture to it (it's never soft), so it holds curl well, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to make it last longer. I'm a hair junkie so I have a lot of products and I included them here to maybe help you with possible product recommendations, but of course you don't need anything more than a heat protectant and a curler as the basics. 

Starting with the most important thing - the curler. I've tried a few in my many years of curling, but the two that made the cut are Remington Ci6325 Pro Soft Curl (bought in Interspar) and Sapphire 8 in 1 Wand (got it from Irresistible Me). I've tried many types of barrels and the 2.5 cm/1 inch is by far my favourite. I know a lot of people use 3.2 cm (1 1/4 ”), but honestly, I'm certain their curls last no longer than a day just like at me and that's a waste of time and effort. Still if you wish to see how those types of curls look, I have a picture in the review of Sapphire. I've used the Remington one for years and it's excellent for the price, but I'm currently using Sapphire a lot more because it's lighter, it doesn't have the annoying clamp, heats up a lot faster and I can see how it's heating up on the screen. Curling with a straightener is a massive waste of time at my hair as it lasts an hour or two (and ironically almost all hairdressers use this method. That's why I prefer to do my own hair). 

I always wash my hair at night because it weird to me to do it in the morning. I blow-dry it straight using medium heat and a round brush from Ebeline to reduce frizz and then pin it up in a high, very tight twisted bun, with which I go to sleep. This gives the hair volume, texture and a natural wave which is an excellent base to work on. If I blow-dry the hair when it's still damp and put in in a bun while it's still hot/warm, I get lovely natural waves in the morning, but if I don't want to torture my hair too much and let it air-dry till it's about 90% dry before I make it sleek with a hair-dryer and a round brush, I only get some volume and a messier texture. Both cases are fine. I'm currently doing the latter version and that's also why my hair looks more straight than curly, but here is how it looks if I do it in the first way.

I apply a heat protectant before I start doing anything. My favourites for dry hair are Kérastase Nectar Thermique and Tigi S Factor Flat Iron Spray.

I also love:

• Tigi's Catwalk Sleek Mystique Blow Out Balm - it's like a serum that also contains a bit of shimmer which adds some natural looking shine.
• Percy & Reed No Oil Oil - it's so light, almost like water, but manages to keep frizz at bay very decently.

Others I have are:

• It's a 10 Miracle leave-in product  - not that impressive, but does the job of protecting from heat
• Bumble and Bumble Invisible Oil Primer - very light, like a liquid milky lotion that works only as a heat protectant on my hair.
• L'Oreal's Hot & Go spray - the lightest one and probably best choice for thin or oily hair. It also adds texture.
• Label.M Mini Blow Out Spray -  too light for my liking, but highly rated by others.

I also have a sample of L'Oreal's Elnett Heat Protect Spray - Straight, which is very lovely and affordable, probably my top recommendation for a budget friendly heat protectant.

I set the temperature to 200°C. I've tried curling with lower temperatures, but then the curls last a day at most. However, I have thick hair that need more heat for an actually effect and if your hair is thin, don't mess with high temperatures. I curl my hair in two sections. I pin the top part away and curl the bottom half first, then I curl the top part. I don't really take care of how big the sections are, but they are about 2-3 cm wide and I wrap them flat against the barrel so I get ribbon curls. That's just the way I like it, but if you twist the strand before, you'll get more messy, beachy waves. I start wrapping in the middle of the strand and leave the ends out.

After I finish doing the lower half, I pin the curls into a loose bun while it's still hot, only then do I start curling the top half, which I also pin in a bun after I'm done. Sometimes I then merge both parts into one bun, it really doesn't matter much, but what does matter is that you're gentle at pinning and keeping it very loose. I use regular bobby pins for the job as I find that hair ties don't affect the curls well. I'm sure you know this, but only when the hair is cool, it sets into shape. If you leave hot curls just down, they will straighten to a degree or even completely. I used to pin every curl individually, but now I can't be bothered to do that any more. I release the buns only after they are completely cool. Even if they feel cool on the outside, they may be warm inside, so to be safe I leave it for at least 10-20 minutes, but the longer the better if you have time.

I then release the buns and I have these defined curls, which some may even like it like that already, so you can just add some hair spray and be done with it and by the way, if you do it like that, also maybe just comb the hair a bit with fingers, the curls will last the longest this way and will look its best on the second day. I gently brush out the curls with a Tangle Teezer(-like brush), so I get nicer waves. Brushing doesn't destroy the curls if you're gentle.

I then shape the waves/curls with my fingers and some hair serum. Mostly it's Orofluido, but I also use Kérastase Elixir Ultime or Avon's Advanced Techniques Moroccan and lately I've been really loving Dove's Advanced Hair Series Quench Absolute Supreme Crème Serum because it makes the hair look so healthy, tamed and shiny. I keep another oil in the bathroom and that is Aussie's 3 Miracle Oil Reconstructor. It's very light, so similar to the Kérastase one and I tend to use it when I want my hair to smell like vanilla-strawberry ice cream and bubble gum.

For hold I mostly rely on three products or two sets of products. Charles Worthington Texturizing spray creates a more lived-in effect, the curls look more messy and it also adds texture plus hold. It's a product that will make your hair more stiff and matte, so if you don't like that I'll tell you about an alternative later. I've tried a few texturizing sprays and this one and the VO5 Give Me Texture are my favourite, but both aren't sold here. I haven't found a decent one in Slovenia yet (I'm not a fan of the most popular one, L'Oreal's TXT Excess Volume), but you can use a dry shampoo to add texture. To seal all in place I use my all-time favourite hair spray Lee Stafford Hold Tight, which provides good hold, but feels like nothing on the hair. Unfortunately someone decided to stop selling this in Slovenia and has therefore gained my eternal wrath. I have tried a few others since and hated them, but before I was using Tigi's Mastermind, which I like and I had a small size of L'Oreal's Elnett, which is decent too.

 Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 07 Nude-ist on the lips

When I want my curls to look more polished and put together, I use a hair wax and my favourite at the moment is Got2b Rise 'n Shine Soufflé. It's has a very light, almost airy texture and apart from hold, it also helps define the waves. Used it on the picture bellow (don't mind the frizz, it was my 4548th picture of the day and it's from my "work blog post"), above it's Charles Worthington plus Lee Stafford.

Milani Matte Lipstick Darling on the lips, Rimmel Velvet Matte 014 Sumptuous Red on the nails.

And it's done. I make it seem like it's a long task, but it's 10 minutes of curling or even less, pin the hair up and after it cools, I use a brush (or fingers) and hair oil to break up the tight curls, then add a product(s) with hold and it's done. Nothing new, nothing exciting, but that's how I do it, that's what I learned over the years from my experience and tips from other places. I do curls on other people and some report it lasts days like on me and on some they drop at the end of the day, but those are the ones with thin hair. As I said before, when don't brush out the curls, but only break them apart with fingers, they last the longest.

I hope this was helpful and have a great day!

Sapphire 8 in 1 Complete Curling Wand

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Irresistible Me, who sells mostly hair extensions and they offered me some to try out. At the time my hair was 72 cm/28 inches long (I know, I know), so trying extensions would be a little bit ridiculous and that was almost the end of it, but then they kindly offered me to try out a curling iron instead. You might have noticed that I love wearing my hair curly, so this is totally up my alley. I've been using Remington Pro Soft Curls for years and it doesn't really offer that much variety, I do have another one from Babyliss with a 3.2 cm barrel, but it's astonishingly rubbish. I've been googling for the best 32 mm curling wands several times before and for some reason nobody talks about these things and the only brands that I could find were only available in the US, which was remarkably unhelpful. Sapphire Wand comes with 8 barrels, so you can make basically any type of curls you want, which should come very handy for me as I do others people hair occasionally. I'll admit that the price isn't the kindest to an average individual living here, especially considering we have to pay custom charges as well (expect a bill for 40 € in Slovenia), but I'm seriously impressed by it and just feel in love with it. I don't think we have anything similar in Slovenia, at least not something that would be of some decent quality, which is a shame, but luckily online shops exist.

First off, the important technical details you might need to know. The curler is dual voltage (110-240V 50/60Hz), which means it works in the US as well as Europe, so there is not worry about that. The original plug is American, so you'll need an adapter if you live elsewhere, which isn't that expensive or you do what I did and just change the plug.

I love how this shows the warming up process. It shows the exact temperature when it's heating up and that is so handy, because at my old Remington I have no idea how much time I have before it's ready. It heats up pretty fast, I'd say about a minute or so. You can set the temperature with those two arrow buttons. It goes up to 230°C (450°F). The temperature is in °F when it turns on, but you can easily change it by holding the right button for a few seconds. Totally cool to use in Europe is the summary. I also appreciate that the screen blinks when it's plugged in but turned off, so I don't forget to plug it out. It has an auto shut off feature as well.

There are 8 ceramic, tourmaline infused barrels ranging in sizes and shapes. There is a super thin 13 mm, the classic 19 mm, 25 mm which is the same as my Remington Pro Soft Curl, the big 32 mm, smaller cone shaped 18/9 mm, bigger cone shaped 25/13 mm, a pear shaped 13/25 mm and pearl.

The base is very light, to me it almost felt cheap at first because I'm so used to my Remington that's much heavier and my Babyliss one weighs a ton compared to this one, but actually the quality is pretty good. The buttons should be separated more because now they all move inside when you press them, but they don't interfere each other’s functions. I'm a weakling so it takes me a bit more effort of push the barrels in or pull them out, but for most of you it'd be easy. You're supposed to twist the round part at the base, so the barrel is locked in place. 

So far I've tried five barrels, the thin ones don't really interest me to be honest. The pearl one was the first because I really wanted to see what kind of curls it makes. It creates those beachy waves - very textured and messy curls. The pear shaped one was interesting to me as well. It creates curls that start high on the head giving you a more voluminous look. My absolute favourite is the 25 mm one. It’s the same as at my Remington one, which is the one I use all the time. The effect it gives is the same, I went for retro waves and it was my favourite style by far. The reason I might like it more than Remington is that it's lighter and more importantly; there is none of that annoying clip. I've never been a fan of clips, I always wrap my hair around the barrel and leave the ends out because that gives a more natural effect and the ends are the most fragile part of the hair, so I don't want to damage them with the heat. My second favourite barrel is the 32 mm. I have an old such curler form Babyliss and it completely useless because my curls drop within an hour with it. This one managed to create the same soft, curls that later dropped but not completely. They turned into very loose waves, more reminiscent of a blow-out. It's basically way better than my old one. I also tried the spiral one, which I also used to own a similar one (Remington Pearl) and its again better than that one I had before because at that one my hair got tangled in the bit between the barrel and the plastic cap at the end, but I’m not a fan of the curls this type of barrel creates. They are just so chunky.

Apart from retro curls, these are all pictures from already posted or upcoming reviews, so are you essentially having a sneak peak.

Curls last well at this curler, though that is also due to my natural hair texture, the techniques and products I use. Retro curls lasted particularly well at this curler, I've just happened to take pictures every day for all the swatching and future posts, so I though I might as well include it here. I kept the curls in a bun that was twisted in the direction of the curls over night. This was the last day of the curls. 

You get a very useful and well-made bag with the curler. The faux leather is soft to the touch and the inside has compartments for each barrel, the curler's base and even one for the heat resistant glove. With seven years of curling experience under my belt, I don't use the glove at all, they are actually very clumsy, but it's nice that they added it for all the beginners because they'll need it.

I'm really happy with this curler. I know I've only used budget versions so far, so I might be dazzled by a fancier one, but it's really good. I like that it's light, displaying how the wand is heating is super handy, there is a nice selection of barrels - I really find no fault in it. The price is really high, I know it's eight different barrels, but even so it's not something you just casually buy like groceries. It's an investment, but if you like playing with your hair like me, you’ll enjoy this. It has a 1 year limited warranty and you can get it on Irresistible Me website for 199$ (it had a discount once during the time I have it and I think it was 159$. I don't know if that happens often there). 

Have a great day!

*PR product

Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray

Well I sure took my time to make an actual review of this spray and the irony is that I've been using it all the time since I got it. I even got a back-up of it because I was worried I'll run out and I'll be without it for a while. I never thought I'd be that girl - the one who swears by texturising sprays. My hair has tons of natural "texture" due to being coarse and thick, so such products aren't what you'd expect I'll like. I also have a fair amount of natural volume, though even I'm never really happy in that department because I always see girls with way prettier and thicker hair than me. I use texturising sprays for one task and that is to make my freshly made curls look better and last longer. The first texturiser I tried was from L'Oreal #TNT and it's useless, but I loved the second one VO5 Texurising spray. Charles Worthington's one is very similar to the latter, but it has a stronger hold and that's why I prefer it, but both are great. 

Just like the VO5 one it's something like a mix of a dry salt spray and hairspray. It's a product that can feel almost like nothing on the hair if used in moderation, but it can also create a bit of that crispy-hairspray feeling if you apply it liberally. Personally I don't mind if it makes my hair a bit hard as I'm used to having loads texture in my hair because my hair is coarse and never soft, but it might bother all those who have silky soft thin hair. As far as volume goes, I'm pretty much set with what nature gave me anyway, but this does give that bit of texture and hold, so it holds the volume once the hair is "tousled" or messed. I like to apply this right after curling the hair to get the curls to look better and in conjunction with a hairspray it actually helps keep the hair curled a lot longer - something I greatly appreciate. With this my curls last for days, or better said, a day or two longer than normally as you may know that my hair keeps curls very well anyway.

It has a fruity scent that I can't point out exactly what it is, but I think that it may be grapes and watermelon, though it doesn't last long on my hair.

I've been trying out my new curling iron, Sapphire Complete 8 in 1 Wand (available here), so I did two looks meaning I used two wands (you'll hear more about the curler sometime in this or the next month). For the first I used the pearl wand for messy, beachy waves. 

For the second I used the 3.8 cm wand for very loose waves, it's more about volume than curls. So far I'm in love with this curling iron.

Ingredients:

If you read my lip colour and blush reviews then you've seen me after I used this spray many, many times. Basically it's on my hair in probably over 90 % of such posts since December last year. I love using this spray when I've just curled my hair because it adds a lot more hold, it makes the curls look more lived in, adds volume and basically it just makes it look better. I'd definitely give it a try if you have thin hair with no volume or if you have the type of hair that doesn't hold curl well because it adds that grip and texture that silky hair needs to retain a curl. To my delight this is a winner in my book and I'm glad I ventured into the world of texturizing spray as they have become indispensable to me.

I buy it on Boots Intenational where it costs £6.99.

Have a great day!

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Product

I got this way back for as a gift to myself for my birthday. As a hair junkie I was itching to try this because this is super popular and highly-rated in the US, so I really wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Much like the here more familiar Uniq One, it promises to do everything apart from iron your shirts and I must admit I'm always very apprehensive about such products, but rave reviews got to me. I have to say that my gut was right one more time, but it at least does the basic thing I expected from it and that is protect from heat. 

The texture was a surprise to me. I expected a regular liquid leave-in, much like Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave-in Conditioner simply because it's a spray, but this one is kind of a mix of a light lotion and an almost mousse texture. It's still easy to spray on the hair, despite the thicker-than-usual texture for a spray pump. You can also spray it into your palm and apply it that way if you wish to. It smells pleasant, but I can't describe the scent well other than it's one of those hair salon ones.

Moving on to the promises, I was most looking forward to the promise of reducing frizz, but there are nine more. Let's go through them one by one:

1. Repairs dry, damaged hair - honestly it's way too light to really help with the dryness. It's nothing like Kérastase Nectar Thermique, but I guess it should help with moderate dryness.

2. Adds shine - I don't know, I guess so. My hair is very dark, so it obviously has plenty of shine on its own. Blondes could tell you more at this point.

3. Detangles - my hair isn't that tangly, but I haven't noticed a massive difference when using this. The conditioner does the job of making the hair easier to comb anyway.

4. Controls frizz - much to my disappointment no. Sebastian Professional Potion 9 is still the best for this job.

5. Seals and protects hair colour - I don't dye my hair, so I don't know about this.

6. Prevents split ends - I haven't noticed a reduction in split ends or breakage. So no, it doesn't work.

7. Stops hair breakage - As I said above, no.

8. Creates silkiness - my hair is naturally never silky because it's so thick and this makes it a bit silkier, but not a lot compared to Kérastase Nutritive line.

9. Enhances natural body - I have plenty of natural volume, but this doesn't give me more body like for example got2b Volumania Mousse or Kérastase Forme Fatale. 

10. Flat iron spray and thermal protector - yes and that's actually the only thing I'd categorize this as -  a classic, light heat protector. It's doesn't weight down the hair, it does its job and that it. Nothing fancy about it.

So was it worth tracking down? I wasn't blown away by it. The rave about it is huge, but for me this is just a standard, light heat protection. I do like it, don't get me wrong, I actually like having such easy products, but there are so many other ones that do that bit more for my hair. I haven't tried Uniq One to compare the two, but I imagine they are very similar. Both filled with promises that mostly fail to deliver, but if they described the product more modestly and state what it actually is, I'd be a lot more pleased. 

If you live in a place where this is readily available and don't mind paying 18 $ for a nice heat protection spray, then go for it. But for us who need to track it down on places like eBay, I don't think it's worth the trouble.

I got it on eBay for 13.33 € without shipping, which was obviously high. 

Have a great day!