9 months into to grow out!

Here is my hair 9 months after having it all cut off!  Its not quite that neat bob yet but it is getting there.  I still have a bit of an odd neckline that seems to look heavy and my very front bits need to grow out more but other than that its looking fairly OK!  I usually clip that front bit back cos I hate it in my eyes.  I am sure it won't be long before I can get a stubby ponytail!

I have also found some real beauty gems lately including some fab nail polish and a mascara that I think gives benefit a run for its money at a quarter of the price, so will post more about them later this week.

Ooooh look almost a bob!

So its been 6 months since I started growing out my pixie cut.  How far has it got.....

Well, its almost a bob, almost, not quite yet in my book but not far off.  Definitely by the end of the year I will have that bob shape again!  I still think it looks and feels too heavy round the bottom at the back, but I am hoping to have this sorted at my next appointment which is mid October.  I still like being blonder but can't deny I have the urge to go rich brown again, i always do when the summer ends.

I don't feel like its grown much lately as it seems more about getting the right shape in place for it to just grow if you know what I mean?  I tend to just clip the top front bit back, or tuck it behind my ears - how good does that feel after it being so short!?

I recently became enlightened to Benefit cosmetics and I love them.  So I will dedicate a few posts to my fave finds so far including "they're real" mascara and the "POREfessional" primer.

3 months into the grow out......

Its about 3 months since I decided I would grow my short hair out, so here is a photo from its shortest in March 2013 and a photo of both sides now after I decided to grow it.  In April I was still umming and ahhing about whether to keep it short or grow it out.

As you can see its very short on the top and well everywhere really!

And here is how it is today....

Has to be said - right now I hate it.  Especially the left hand side, the side my parting falls, I think its looks hideous and awful.  The right hand side doesn't look so bad and kind of falls nicer and tucks behind my ear.  Its so thick and heavy right now I think it needs thinning and shaping a bit to make it more bearable.  Part of me wants to give up and cut it all off so it looks decent again and the other part of me says hang in there it'll be a short bob before long!

Might have to see a stylist very soon.

Latest nails, fingers & toes!

Its been a while since I have blogged so my apologies.

My next blog post will be about my hair and how I have finally returned it to its natural colour and of course how its growing.

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I am almost at the end of my Vitgel treatment course, I have one more treatment to go and that will be 6 treatments over 12 weeks.  I will of course do a before and after comparison and my final thoughts on it then.

But for now.... here is this weeks nail colour.  Starting with my usual base of Vitagel Recovery, then the nude peachy colour by Gelish is called Forever Beauty.  I think this colour really suits my skin tone however it would look great with a tan.  It then has a top coat of Vegas Nights - which is the holographic iridescent sparkle.  Has to be said I LOVE this and have almost every intention of wearing it over every colour.  I am like a magpie, I love shiny things.  If you are unable to have Gelish but love this holographic look I can highly recommend Electric Lane Holographic Topcoat by Nails inc special effects.  It gives exactly the same effect.  If you want a glossy finish using this though you definitely need to apply a couple of layers of a clear glossy topcoat.

I have been asked about the strength of the Gelish nails and although not as strong as acrylics I am impressed, when I caught my nail last week, the way it felt was "argh i've ripped my fingernail off" if I had been wearing acrylics it would have been without a doubt a clean snap.  However when I peeked through one eye gingerly I found that the gel had been popped loose but my nail was actually intact and no worse for the wear.  Today while sorting out the seat cover in my car I caught my nail.  Bearing in mind the free edges of my nails are still a little thinner than usual as my acrylic damage grows out, here is a picture of the damage.  You can see a little bit of my own nail came away and the Gelish is still perfectly intact - so thats how strong Gelish is!

Anyone who knows me knows that naked nails make me sad.  This week my bestest friend bought me a little gift when she went on the ferry over the channel.  This is what she bought me, how thrilled am I?!  I love Opi and have a couple of these little sets but didn't have this one.  Its the Euro Centrale set and contains mini bottles of Can't Find My Czechbook, Suzi's Hungary Again, You're Such a BudaPest and OY - Another Polish Joke!  Naturally I couldn't wait to try it out.

So here are my toes sporting You're such a BudaPest.  Its a sort of bluey lilac colour but perfect for summer.

Its all about the nails right now.

Its been 8 weeks since I started trialling Vitagel by Gelish and I have to say I am really pleased with the result.  Despite accidentally cutting off one of my thumb nails (curse you onions!) and breaking my other thumb nail, they are growing strong and resilient. 

I usually just have Vitagel recovery which leaves my nails clear and glossy, which I then paint over with a usual nail polish.  However this time we decided to opt for a gelish colour as well as the vitagel.  The colour we chose is called Light Elegant - I need to stick to fairly nude and natural colours for work, but again, I can paint over this with a darker normal polish should I choose to.

Anyway, here is a photo of my nails the day before treatment and then a photo today after 4 treatments (once a fortnight for 8 weeks so far)  I think you'll agree the difference is clear and they look fabulous.  I will also add the link to the facebook page of the lady behind the magic!

BEFORE

AFTER 4 TREATMENTS

Natural Nails & Beauty

Blonde!

Today my hairdresser Holly came round to trim up my neck area, shape the odd bits and bleach my hair out!  I have not bleached my hair since my teens (many moons ago!) so I was a little apprehensive  as to how it would turn out.

The result is lighter than we expected as we thought we'd have to lighten a little each time..... anyway, here is the result.

And I'm very pleased with it!  It looks more even now!

How i'm battling the "inbetween" stage

My hair has reached a truly awful stage, it can only be described as the inbetween stage.  I'm caught in between persevering cos i've come this far and chopping it off cos I am sick of not getting far enough.  Hair accessories have become my friend, simply as it gives my head a focal point aside from how awful my hair currently is!

I am going to add 3 photos this time, so you can see how I am wearing my hair at the moment and how long it has got at the back.  Not sure if my photos have uploaded in the right shape mind you as on my screen the look squished and square.

Tomorrow my hairdresser is coming to trim up the back and hopefully give it a nicer shape.  Also, big decision for me..... I'm going blonder so we are lightening and toning and praying to the hair gods I don't go orange, yellow or anywhere between the two!

Will update with a new hair colour pic soon.

This weeks nail colour was......

..Richmond Terrace by Nails inc.  Its sort of somewhere between a deep maroon plummy and rich chocolate colour.  Its the sort of colour I reserve for use in the darker autumn and winter months and definitely a colour that looks better on shorter nails.

Nails inc are my second favourite brand of nail care.  I think they have a huge range of fun colours with great names, something for everyone from classic shades to up to the minute trends.  Their top coats, Albert Bridge and Kensington High Street, are both fabulous and a must to not only finish your manicure but certainly help to prolong the life of your polish.

I still currently have Vitagel on my nails and am half way through my course now.  Having the Vitagel is a really good base for my polish and I get at the least 5 days wear out of my polish.  Having said that I have currently only used "quality" polishes such as Nails inc and Opi over my Vitagel, so perhaps next week I will try a "High Street" polish and see if I get as much wear.

I had the misfortune of slicing my thumb nail off earlier this week so have filed all my other nails down a little as I hate odd lengths, so I do feel like I have had to take a step back in my natural nail growing journey.

Tomorrow I have my 3rd visit to Naomi at Natural Nails & Beauty, which will be 6 weeks into the recommended 12 week course for Vitagel.

Nails inc Richmond Terrace

Hair Growth update.

This morning I took a picture of my hair and have compared it to one taken just over 6 weeks ago.  You can definitely see some growth, which I am pleased about as it feels no different to me.  In fact it has reached an awful stage where no matter how I try and style it, it kind of looks either stupid or hideous.  Even wearing it back in an alice band or a clip looks silly at the moment so I am for the best part ignoring it.

I need the back trimmed up and some shape cutting into the now heavy top layers, but I have yet to find another hair stylist who I am truly hand on heart happy with.  I had a fabulous stylist, then he left the salon. Gutted.  By a stroke of luck I saw him at the supermarket last week and he promised to call me so he could once again tackle my mop, but alas he hasn't called.  I *may* try a local salon that has received good reviews but it will have to wait til payday.

I by no means begrudge paying a good stylist, its just finding one!  I do begrudge however paying a stylist who I don't feel totally understands me, my hair and what I want from it.  I do not want a hair stylist who after 3 minutes of washing professes to know my hair better than me.  I know exactly how my cows lick and double crown behave thank you!  I also prefer a man to cut and style my hair, the best two haircuts I have ever had in my life were thanks to male stylists, but thats not to say I will only let men style my hair.  I always take the advice of the sylist, they generally know their onions, so I might go in with a few ideas and point out exactly what I like or dislike about a style then the hard work is down to them.  I have always been happy to try new cuts, colours and styles.  It always grows back!

My hair is currently quite dry and I believe one of the factors contributing to this is my lather, rinse, repeat routine.  My hair gets washed daily and I am beginning to think that lathering twice may not be necessary each and every day.  I have also introduced a weekly deep conditioning treatment in the form of Herbal Essences Bee Strong, which as you would guess contains honey.  I cannot seem to find it on their website to post you a link though.  It comes in a yellow/orange toned tub and as you would expect it is of a thick consistency.  I usually leave it on for between 5-10 minutes while I have a shower.  It does leave my hair feeling really soft and conditioned.  It has a lovely sweet honey smell but sadly this does not linger after rinsing out.  All in all though it does what you would expect it to and after using this product I would consider using the Honey shampoo & conditioner from Herbal Essences.

An update on my nails (as the hair isn't doing much!)

It had been a fortnight since I met with Naomi at Natural Nails & Beauty (link in previous post) so it was time to go back and have fresh Vitagel on my nails, as since the original application my nails had grown around about 4mm at least.

In my opinion my nails definitely looked a lot healthier than they had prior to the application of Vitagel.  There are still a few little blemishes left from my acrylics but within a few more weeks they will have grown out.  As my nails were so thin, weak and flexible some had naturally broken so my nails were filed so they are all more of a similar length.  Still short but this is important to get them strong and healthy so they can grow longer.

It took a little longer than normal Gelish to soak off the Vitagel but after applying gentle heat things seemed to speed up.  This time Naomi applied the thinner layer of Vitagel but a more thicker layer to finish.  From the feel on my nails and in using my hands this feels much better than the several thinner layers of last time.  The Vitagel instantly makes my nails look a more healthy colour and in general their appearance is improved.

I hate naked nails - they make me sad :( so I always paint my nails.  I have to have naked/nude nails for work though.  I have today painted my nails with a colour I got this week by Opi.   Its called Pompeii Purple.  To be fair its not really purple at all and if I were naming it I would have called it Marvellous Magenta or Fantabulous Fushia.  But thats neither here nor there the colour is bright, fun and perfect for summer.  I am pasty white but this would look great with a tan.  I have quite a few Opi & Nails Inc products and colours so will perhaps talk about them next time.

I will also post a new update on how my hair growth is going next weekend.  My hair feels very dry at the moment.  Not sure if this is because of the weather, my blowdrying or products I am using but I have introduced a deep conditioner to my hair care regime now.  Again more about that on my next hair post.

Opi Pompeii Purple

Another beauty journey - my nails....

As mentioned in a previous post I wore acrylic nails, have done for a long time.  They were ok but I'd love to have naturally nice nails (to match my naturally nice hair when it grows!)  So the other day when I broke one of my acrylic nails I bit them all off.  Please do not do this, it is not good to bite your nails anyway but certainly not chew the acrylic off your natural nail plate.  It had been 4 weeks since my last acrylic application so there was some lifting anyway.  But please get your artificial nails removed safely by a professional.  So my natural nails were thin, ripped off down to the end of my fingers and had ridges and bumps in them - not pretty.

I then had the stroke of luck of stumbling across a local home based nail technician who was looking for a client with nails in a soft, thin state such as having acrylics taken off so she could trial Gelish Recovery Vitagel.  It is recommended you have 6 treatments over the course of 12 weeks.  You can then paint your nails as you would normally or if your nails are in "good enough" shape you can have Gelish colour too, which would generally last a fortnight but if your nails are particularly soft and flexible it may not last that long.

Anyway, I went along today and met Naomi, who is a lovely lady.  She explained all about the product and the results we hoped to get over the course of 12 weeks.  Her nail room is beautiful, smelt welcoming and there was gentle, relaxing music playing in the background.  Naomi took details down on a client record card for future reference and carried out a very thorough prep on my hands and nails. 3 very thin layers of Vitagel were applied to my nails, with a curing time of only 30 seconds for each layer.

The result; my nails look improved already, they are even and nicely shaped even though they are short.  You can see some damage in areas but as the Vitagel is a clear product you would expect that.  My nails looks shiny as if I were wearing a clear polish.  They feel stronger than just my natural nail yet they are not in the least bit thick.  The plan is to return to Naomi in 2-3 weeks time when this Vitagel will be soaked off and replaced following the same method.  Repeating the process for up to 12 weeks by which time my nails should have grown and be looking more nicer - naturally!

Naomi gave me advice on aftercare along with a leaflet with tips on looking after Gelish nails and a little bottle of cuticle oil for me to use a few times a day to keep my cuticles healthy and moisturised and thereby encourage nice healthy nails to grow.

After work this weekend I will paint my nails with a colour and see how the polish fares over the Vitagel.

A link to Naomi's site;
natural nails and beauty.

Whilst on my wander in town this afternoon I meandered into "Savers." I often discover some great value beauty gems in these such places.  Today I came out with these, Supersoft superfruits shampoo (400ml) and conditioner (250ml) for dull & unmanageable hair, promises to give a shimmering gloss for hair full of suppleness and radiant mirror like shine.  Bothe bottles were £1 each so not bank breakers by any means.  I am off for a shower in a moment so will give these a whirl as I have to confess I am not enjoying the "cheap as chips" offerings from Wilkinsons.  

I am always on the look out for beauty buys on a budget as I would love to be able to spend less but still get pleasing results.

My thoughts on Fast Shampoo & Conditioner

As promised in my last post I have returned to do a more in depth review of the Fast shampoo & conditioner that I have been using for the past 3 weeks.

I bought my set in Boots and it was £24.99, in my opinion expensive for a high street shampoo & conditioner set but I guess comparable to salon exclusive products.  The bottles are fairly nondescript being a soft white colour with purple FAST details, they don't look stunning on your edge of your bath!  They come packaged together in a box which displays a model with gloriously healthy long hair.

Moving on to the actual product, they are both of a good consistency,  the shampoo isn't too runny and the conditioner is as thick as I would expect a quality conditioner to be.  The shampoo is a pearly pale green colour which I would liken to laundry detergent and the conditioner is simply white.  They do not smell gorgeous, don't get me wrong they are not an unpleasant smell.  Kind of like a soapy, clean smell.  Either way the smell does not linger on your hair once you have rinsed.

The product in use.  I have been lather, rinse, repeating as the instructions stated.  On first wash you don't get many suds but you do feel like the product is cleaning.  On the second lather you get lots more bubbles and you can really get a foam up.  I have always believed this is because on the first wash you are breaking down the styling residues on your hair and washing them away and on the second wash you are actually washing the hair as it were - I have no idea if that is true but its what's in my head!  I lathered for around a minute each time I used the shampoo.  When rinsing, my hair felt squeaky clean, yes I swear it actually squeaked. I can tell if my hair is really clean as it feels rough (a whole other post on silicones in products one day!) so I definitely needed to use the conditioner.  I didn't feel I had to use lots of conditioner and I would guess after 3 weeks use I have more conditioner left than shampoo.  I raked the conditioner thoroughly through my hair and just left it in while I continued the rest of my shower so it was on my hair for a good few minutes each time.  The conditioner rinsed away cleanly and my hair was left soft and easy to comb.

I have read on other reviews that this product left peoples hair feeling dry and lightened any colour products in the hair.  I cannot say my hair felt any drier than usual so I guess I am using the correct amount of conditioner.  Yes my hair does feel rough & dry after shampooing but thats how I know its really clean.  And I do think it did lighten the residual colour left in the front of my hair and certainly the small amount of platinum at my roots - it did not affect my natural colour growing through though.

In conclusion I am not convinced this product actually encouraged my hair to grow any faster.  If anything I am more inclined to think the massaging while washing and the vitamin supplements I take are helping more than the actual contents of this product.  I would probably not repurchase this product.  If I felt like splurging out on a shampoo & conditioner I would treat myself to something from a salon, however I am more like to choose a "professional" range from a High Street Store though.

I thought I would also add a picture of how I am wearing my hair today, its not always like this as I am not keen on it hanging down my forehead, but it looks ok like this for the time being I guess.

3 weeks into growing my hair

Just a quick post as I have been to work today so missed my afternoon nap, so I'm feeling a little more tired than a usual evening.

I have been using nisim fast shampoo and conditioner for 3 weeks now so thought I'd share a progress picture.   I think it's quite clear my hair has grown but has it grown "faster" due to this shampoo and conditioner?  Hmmm I'm not overly convinced.

So for the next 3 weeks I shall use an everyday shampoo and conditioner which holds no special claims other than its extremely cheap from Wilkinsons.  I shall continue with my 2 x 1 minute each massage of my head when washing and see how it affects the growth.

I generally give my hair a good wash and massage of an evening and because it sticks up at all angles when I wake up it often gets wet down or washed with 2 in 1 each morning.

Within the next few days I will do a full review of the fast shampoo and conditioner.   I also want to talk about collection cosmetics and opi nail products.

P!nk at the O2!

I saw P!nk at the O2 this week, The Truth About Love Tour.  It was a spectacular show, it was awesome, better than awesome.  She is a brilliant performer and show person.  She also rocks short hair really well, at the moment kind of longer and floppy on top but shaved at the sides.  Certainly made me want to chop mine off again and dye it platinum!

I have been taking Biotin for 2 weeks now, which is a supplement from Holland & Barrett.  On the bottle it says "supports the maintenance of normal skin, hair and mucus membranes."  So have I noticed a difference? Well I am not convinced it has helped my hair, I can't comment on my nails as I wear acrylics so that leaves my skin.  I do think my skin has improved a little since taking these, my skin feels softer, any breakouts seem to clear up quicker and overall the odd rashes I get up my arms seem to have improved noticeably.  I will not however re-purchase these particular supplements for a couple of reasons.  Firstly I don't like the "new smaller tablet", they are fiddly and chalky in my opinion which I personally find makes them harder to swallow.  Secondly I feel Biotin is quite expensive, with various holland & barrett promotions the price ranges from £7 - £12ish although I do believe its in their 1p sale from time to time.  I feel the packaging is wasteful, the bottle is roughly 5 inches tall and these tiny tablets barely cover the bottom of the bottle.  And finally I feel I would get just as much benefit from a hair, skin & nails supplement that costs £2-3 from other retailers.

I have been using fast shampoo and conditioner daily for a week.  I won't review those just yet as I want give it 4 weeks before I comment on whether I feel they have helped my hair actually grow, but I will do a general product review less results next time.

My hairdresser came by on Monday but all she really did was blend my shorter side so it looked less like it has a step cut into it and trimmed my side sweep fringe.  I think that shorter side is going to feel like its taking ages to grow down.  I am loving seeing my natural blonde colour growing through though.

Quick update

I'm attempting to Blog from my phone tonight.  I'm not sure it will work and auto correct hates me!

Now if I have done this correctly there will a picture somewhere showing how much my hair has grown in the 6 weeks since it was cut short back in March. Because my natural hair colour is lighter is easy to determine the amount of growth.

My hairdresser is coming by on Monday but I'm not sure how much if any will be trimmed off.  Meanwhile I have started to use hair grips and Alice bands to make my grow out look more like I have made an effort and less like I've just forgotten to do my hair at all!

I am a week into taking biotin and have just started using fast shampoo and conditioner but will talk more about those next time.

And so the journey begins.

My hair has only ever been short twice in my life, both times I hated it.  So what possessed me to wake up one March morning and decide to cut it all off again?

Well for one I had started a new weight loss plan and I figured it would all be part of the "new me".  And more importantly my hair was coloured.... repeatedly and had many layers of different colours so I thought it would be easier to grow out when it was shorter.

This is the length of my hair before it was cut short.  Not the best picture (showing off my winter hat!) but it lets you see the length and colour - I am naturally blonde.  Its a one length bob here.

Anyway, I went and had my hair all cut off really short and sort of spiky and I actually didn't hate it, I still don't hate it, so why do I want my long hair back?  I sort of miss it a bit but I mostly hate the amount of product I have to use on my short  hair to keep it looking good.  If I could get over that I would keep my short hair.

So here is the picture of the day my hair was cut and yesterday at 5 weeks later.

My hairdresser is due on Monday so I will discuss with her how best to grow this cut out so I don't end up with a mullet!  Its quite heavy on top so I am thinking that might need thinning out to keep it looking in shape.  Whilst my hair grows out I shall be doing my best to help it along, keeping hydrated, balanced diet and massaging well when washing.  I have not coloured my hair since it was cut short so its going to be fairly easy to see the new growth.