Getting my Autumn hair on at Michael John*

Like a lot of us, I tend to switch my hair up for the seasons. In spring and summer I’ll go lighter and brighter in shades and come autumn winter I'm craving richer, deeper tones to my Barnet. Every time I’m due that change, I’ll head to none other than Michael John Hair Artwork for premier hairdressing in Peterborough and this time around I thought I’d take you with me!

The salon is located at the back of Queensgate next to John Lewis and is really easy to find, plus they have such good opening hours! Working full time I’ve been limited in the past with salon appointments but Michael John has you covered with late night appointments up to 8pm on a Thursday and early bird appointments from 8:20am. I have been known to head there on a Thursday evening for a perfect way to unwind and relax whilst getting pampered and equally heading there first thing on a Saturday morning to get weekend ready and still have a full day ahead of me. You can also book your appointments online which again is perfect if the thought pops into your head that you need a haircut and its out of opening hours. I’ve been known to book online at 9pm on occasions and it’s brilliant that there’s the facility to do that!

I’ve been coming to Michael John since March last year and every time I visit the staff are incredibly attentive and friendly and this visit was no different. My stylist at the salon is Amy- a Creative Designer and master colour technician who I trust implicitly with my hair. She rescued me from a balayage disaster last year and with her magic she restored my hair as well as my confidence as you can see below!

My balayage from my last visit by the lovely Amy!

So with autumn being here, I wanted to add some auburn tones and richness into the mix with my hair colour and showed Amy some images of what I had in mind. Once we’d set out what Amy thought was best for my hair, she worked her magic and I sat and relaxed whilst the Wella colour did its thing. Sitting in the comfy chairs of the salon whilst the colour develop is oddly one of my favourite parts. I’m given an abundance of magazines to flick through at my leisure along with a coffee whilst I sit back and relax. It’s proper me time and I relish it every time I visit the salon.

Once the colour is developed, I’m guided over to the basins for the dye to be washed away. I’m always treated to a head massage which is honestly so good, I could melt into the basin and I tend to be in a bit of a daze afterwards! Like I say, the staff really know how to look after you at the salon and make you feel special.

The final part of the pampering is a good cut and a blow dry. I’ve changed my style up slightly in that this time around Amy popped some layers in, to frame my face and give a lovely soft look when my hair is curled. My fringe has been kept long as I’m in the process of growing it out slightly into more of a split fringe ad she tidied up my very silly self fringe cut. Note to self: cutting your own fringe is never a good idea and I’ll certainly be booking in for fringe trims from now on!! As Amy was drying my hair, I could see the colour come to life and I could feel my excitement brewing. It’s so cheesy but I always find it hard not to sit with a beaming grin on my face when my hair is being styled at the end as I’m always just so in awe of how Amy does my hair! And this is what she created this time...

We didn’t go for your typical balayage technique and came up with the name “Autumnal balayage with a twist” as Amy created something new and original, steering away from the typical balayage that everyone now seems to have. Being a creative colourist and with her years of expertise, she worked with the existing tones in my hair and the blonde balayage to create this Autumnal balayage effect that melts from auburn highlights down into a caramel auburn mix at the bottom. I am beyond happy with it and feel like a new woman!!

To keep my hair in tip top condition and as part of this blog post, I was kindly gifted some products to try out that are best for my hair colour and hair type so I’m really intrigued to use those and will report back on those very son!. Michael John also have a new loyalty card available. Each time you attend for an appointment, you get points added to your card and over time they add up to free products at the salon which is another lovely bonus for being a loyal customer.

Have you been to Michael John yet?

Hair Plumage: Feathers

Writing about hair feathers makes it impossible not to break into "her name was Lola, she was a show girl, with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there...."

That aside, I've always been one to put shit in my hair. When I was younger it was braids and beads, then I moved onto extensions and now it's hair feathers.

I got these from eBay for £7,99 which included the micro beads and made sure they were high grade genuine mixed feather hair extensions. If they're anything else, you're at risk of them frazzling under heat and not lasting anywhere near as long. You'll also want to make sure you get some hair extension pliers (like these) to secure them in place. I personally wouldn't recommend using normal pliers as they can crush and fold the micro rings, making them difficult to remove later on.

The easiest and most effective way to fix the feather extensions into your hair is when it's wet. If your hair is damp and the ends have begun to dry, you'll want to wet them down so the micro bead can easily slide up the hair. Another helpful tip is having someone on standby to help but you can do it yourself too just with a little more swearing involved.

Another thing to note is to use small sections of hair that are all in the same area of your head. If you have a stray hair in there it's going to pull like hell and probably rip out when you brush your barnett next! The smaller the section, the less likely your hair will become tangled and knotted too.

So, you'll want to slide the micro bead up the length of your hair and get it as close to the root as possible. From there you'll want to slide the feather into the loop and crimp it into place with your hair pliers.

You'll also want to think about the placement of your feathers. Will the microbeads show when you have your hair up? What about if you tuck your hair behind your ears? I personally like them to be noticeable but not always obvious and blend in with my hair. I tend to place them around my face and neck.

Once they're in you can style your hair as normal and enjoy the flashes or feathery plumage you have. They last around six months and after that you'll want to take them out so your hair doesn't become dreaded and matted. They're simple to remove, just use your hair pliers to crimp the micro loop open and they'll slide right out.

I'm personally quite obsessed with my hair feathers, having had them three times over the past year. It's an alternative way to mix your hair up without having to dye it and adds some interest to your fro.

The New Fro

Since moving back to the UK I've felt like I needed a change in the barnet department. Having long tresses is lovely but mine were lacking style and shape so I decided to try out middle parting fringe. 

HAIRSPIRATION

After googling a split middle fringe and centre parting fringe I came across these images for hairspiration and took them to my hairdresser. I still wanted to keep my length but cut a few layers in around my face and then the middle fringe. It's made such a difference and frames my face a lot better than the mop I had before!

I'm so happy with it and had lots of compliments too which is always a bonus. If you're looking to change up your long hair, I'd highly recommend a centre part fringe. It's a subtle change that'll really frame your face and gives a lot more shape to your hair. It looks great straight too but I'm a big lover of curls!

Have you changed up your hair recently?

Autumn Hair- The braided headband

Braids have been a big trend this year, with milkmaid and fishtail styles being at the forefront. I really did adore milkmaid braids but with no fringe and a larger forehead, I found them hard to pull off!

As Autumn is well and truly here, I thought I'd continue the braid trend into the winter months, so whilst playing around with my hair one morning, I came up with this! It's kind of similar to the crown braids but simpler and only spans half way round your head. It consists of a plait each side of your head, crossing over and being pinned on the other side. Easy Peasy!

I think it's a really pretty autumnal alternative to foral crowns and would look lovely with a wool hat propped above it. It's also a great style if you're like me and have hair ll one length to add a bit of interest to your hair.

What do you think to this style? Are you rocking anything different for AW14?

No Heat Festival Curls

Hello lovelies. Today I thought I'd try something a bit experimental with my hair and road test this Umberto Giannini Festival Hair Styling kit.

I've been wanting to try it for quite some time so thought cleverly decide it to try it out before heading off to a bbq... Brave or stupid? You decide! Anyway the kit contains:

-Comb

- Mirror (with a rather cute bird on)

-Ribbons

- Hair Accessory 

You may notice the hair accessory from a previous OOTD post (see here).

So to start with my hair was two days old as I thought it'd work better, being less slippery than freshly washed locks. I then wet it down under the shower head and combed through before sectioning my hair off and rolling into the ribbons.

I left my hair to dry for roughly five hours and then removed the ribbons. I then used the comb in the kit to gently brush out the curls slightly as they were rather ringlet-ey afterwards. Below is the finished result!

I'm actually really please at the way they came out and I must admit when I was tying the ribbons I genuinely thought that it wasn't going to work! The kit is easy to use and great for heat free curls with a natural looks to them. My only critique is it claims to be a festival styling kit but I can't imagine any girl having the time or patience at a festival to roll their hair up into ribbons!? Unless practice makes you super quick, I can't see anyone doing it as it's a faff in a tent but for a festival look I'd say it's pretty bang on for textured easy curls.

I also did a tutorial on my YouTube channel which will show you how I put the ribbons in, taking them out and styling of the curls at the end. What do you think to this kit? Have you tried any of the other Umberto Gianni hair styling kits?

The Argan Dew Review.. ooh that rhymes!

Argan oil has cropped up into many beauty regimes in the past few years. It's great for hair and skin, leaving it nourished and wonderful so for that reason I decided to sample the Argan Dew Miraculous Argan Oil and Replenishing Hair Mask. I received an abundance of samples from Argan Dew and put them to the test!

First off I tried the Replenishing Hair Mask and followed the instructions to leave for 5 minutes before washing out. The mask was a rich thick consistency, with plenty to use from the sample and it smells so good! I noticed a definite improvement afterwards, my hair being more manageable and easy to comb through. It also felt softer and more nourished which is an improvement on my dry locks!

I then used the Miraculous Argan Oil on my hair after washing whilst it was still wet. The oil was a thick and rich consistency which initially made me think it could be too heavy for my hair and leave it looking greasy and overloaded but I was wrong. My hair pretty much drank the oil and felt silky smooth and like it had just been cut! Again there was a large quantity of the product in the samples which I was impressed with and it left the texture of my hair considerably smoother and soft.

All in all I think these products are great. I'm usually a worshipper of the L'oreal extraordinary oil but I actually think these may be better? They are pricier but a little bit goes a long way and it's definitely helped to tame and nourish my dry fluffy hair. They have a full range of products on their website http://www.argandew.com/ from shampoos to treatments and oils and ship world wide! 

What argan oils do you recommend?

Kat

xxx