How to Protect Your Hair

Is you hair frizzy, uncontrollable, have lots of split ends, feels horrible, is greasy and or just looks and feels a mess. If so I might have some helpful tips for you.

My hair used to get really frizzy when I blow dried it after I had washed it and the split ends could be seen easily, it felt like a fake wig sometimes. It didn't feel soft to touch and it looked a mess whatever I did, then the good old hair straightners came out. I went and purchased a pair of pink ones think they cost £20, they took a long time to heat up, but when they did I could not only straighten my hair but get rid of the frizz that took over my head. I loved my hair straightners and proberly used them most days, but then I noticed my split ends had got worse and I had them half way up my hair not only on the ends, I didn't know what to do. Luckily it was summer and I had gone on holiday I had taken my hair straightners but couldn't be bothered to actually use them so I let my hair dry itself. After tow weeks of letting my hair dry naturally without the use of a hairdryer or my hair straightners I noticed my hair had calmed down, there was shine and it felt so soft.

Following my holiday I kept letting my hair dry naturally and I couldn't believe the difference my hair was suddenly looking really good, soft to touch, less split ends and no frizz. The more weeks I didn't blow-dry and straighten my hair the better my hair got so for months I rarely got out my straightners and if I did it was only to straighten out the front bits of my hair, but then winter came. I struggled to let my hair dry naturally as it was taking hours to dry and if I did go out I would of probably caught a cold so I began to blow-dry my hair again. I decided not to use my straightners the day I blow-dried my hair if this was possible as I found this helped a lot. If I was going out or wanted my hair to look good I did use my hair straightners but not for ages just a few swipes through my hair and it was done.

I have now been doing this for the past two years and I still can't believe the difference in my hair. It feels so soft, it looks good, yeah I still get split ends but I can cope with them as there just mainly on the ends now not half way up my hair and the frizz has completely gone I don't get it anyway which is fab.

I hear so many adverts, advertisements in magazines saying use this product this will protect your hair when blow drying and straightening but I just can't use any of these products as there too heavy for my hair. I have tried so many different products but they all do the same make my hair feel heavy, not nice and it gets a lot greasier quicker which is something I can't stand. So if your like me forget the products, try and do what I do allow your hair to dry naturally at least once a week whatever the weather, don't straighten your hair directly after blow-drying it wait if you can to the next day and if you do have to straighten your hair everyday only do it quickly don't spend ages doing it, your hurting your hair!!!!

Hair Styles for Wedding Do's and Don'ts

Your wedding is a very special day and you of course want everything to be perfect. There are so many things to do it can make your head spin. But, if you allow enough time to really research everything, then you are well on your way.

In this article I want to address hair. It is important to get it right because it can make or break the entire look you are trying to achieve.

Here are some pointers about hair in general and I wrote about it in an earlier article:

-If you are of Asian descent, then the hair strands are round and thicker than all other types of hair with the exception of the red head who has the thickest hair of all. Generally this hair can be easily worked with and is often healthy looking and lustrous if the diet is good.

-If you are of European descent with blonde or dark hair, then your hair strands are thinner. The strands are round to oval shaped. This type of hair is easier to curl or straighten.

-If you are of African descent, then the hair strands are flat and that is the reason for the frizz and curl. This can be the most difficult hair to work with.

Another important factor is the shape of your face. Getting the wrong cut for your face shape can be a costly and an agonizingly long mistake, especially when you are getting married.

If you don't know what the shape of your face is then here are some tips to help you find out. Get out a measuring tape because there are four places you will need to measure, the length of your face and the width of your face in three places; across the forehead, cheek bones and across the chin.

Once you have the measurements done, here is what to look for:

- A round face is approximately the same length and width with the widest part at the cheek bones. Don't wear short hair cuts unless you can sweep it back and have fullness at the top and the hair closer to the ear. This will give your face more balance. You can wear your hair longer but make sure to keep the fullness at the top and below the chin line. Keep the hair around your ears close to the face or it will accentuate the roundness. You want to lengthen the face.

- An oval face is longer than the width and slightly rounded at the forehead and the chin is a bit smaller than the temple. This face shape can wear just about any hair style, long, medium or short. Most models have this face shape and as you can see they wear all different styles. This is one of the face shapes that can pull off the slicked back hair. If you have this face shape then you might want to consider pulling your hair back and wearing your veil under the bun as apposed to the veil coming over the face.

- A rectangular face is long and slender and the forehead and jaw line are about equal (even though the chin may be a bit narrow). With this shape what you want to accomplish is giving the face a more rounded appearance. Don't wear the hair too long and try and get more fullness around the ears and cheek bones. This shape can wear wispy bangs or be parted at the side. With the forehead being already high, don't put too much height on the top of your head and don't wear it too long. You don't want to give your face too much length. This shape does well with the veil over the face or the veil starting at the top with the fullness being around the ears and cheek bones.

- A heart shaped face is wide at the forehead and temple and narrows at the chin. This face shape looks great with chin length hair with wispy bangs or parted at the side. You want accomplish balance by having your hair fuller under the ears and at the nape of the neck. A chin length bob is great. A short veil that is narrow at the crown and gets fuller as it nears the chin and past works well.

- A square face is strong in the jaw and somewhat flat in the forehead. You don't want to accentuate the strong lines of the face so you'll want to add width around the ears, maybe a part in the middle and you want to add height to somewhat elongate the face. Short to medium hair works well. If your hair is straight then try out some curl.

Research well ahead of time can save you the agony of a wrong choice. Find out what you face shape is and start looking at magazines, go online and look at celebrity hair cuts and compare them to your face shape and hair type. Talk to your hairdresser and discuss photos that you like and what might work best for you.

This is your special day so make it perfect!

Charlotte’s Chronicled Causes of Hair Loss

When Charlotte Moore lifted parts of her hair and noticed bald patches on her scalp, she immediately sought advice from her doctor.

Her scalp psoriasis was suggested as one reason for this, but unsatisfied, Charlotte sought help from a local trichologist who asked her, ‘Did something happen to you about three months ago?’

Then 24-year-old Charlotte unfolded her story about how, last October (three months before her trichology consultation), she had been treated in the hospital for ulcerative colitis.

She recalled, ‘I was on a lot of drugs and it was about New Year when I noticed I was losing a bit of hair. Then I noticed I had bald patches under my hair’.

The expert’s conclusion was that the drugs had prevented essential nutrients from reaching her hair and she was referred through to trichologist Katie Philips in Piddington, Northamptonshire, for a consultation.

Katie gave Charlotte a scalp treatment for her psoriasis and equipped her with some lightweight hair extensions.

Charlotte reflected: ‘I was highly embarrassed by the hair loss and initially no one could give me answers. My doctor had known I had been in hospital and made no connection to that at all’.

Although chemotherapy for cancer treatment is a well-known cause of hair loss, according to Katie Philips there are many more causes which are not often discussed.

With the number of straightening irons, hair dyes and other harsh beauty tools found today, modern fashions are not conducive to good, healthy hair, according to Katie. Combine that with crash dieting trends and the stress of a fast-paced lifestyle, the risk of women hair loss increases.

She said, ‘When people lose their hair, I have to try to find out why they lose their hair, I do a consultation in which I go into their general health and any changes in their health’.