For years I hated the way I look on top…
Do you love the way you look on top? No, not there *blushes*, a bit higher up, on your head. Do you love your hair? For years I hated mine. It’s a mass of curls that with the slightest whiff of moisture becomes a frizzy mess. When I was a child it was cute, I looked like Shirley Temple with a tight ball of blonde curls. I daydream that if it had been left to grow I would have ended up with a blonde version of Merida’s beautiful head of hair from Brave. But it wasn’t to be. When I went to school I was scalped by a hairdresser that had no idea how to cut curly hair, how much it shrinks when it dries, and I was transformed overnight into Mia Farrow. Except I looked more like a boy. Not a good look when you’re about to hit puberty.
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| Me and my mini-me – both Curly Girls |
Recently I wrote about my love/hate relationship with running and from the day of that haircut my feelings about my hair have been the same. I hated it all through my teenage years, trying and failing to style it myself, brushing it until it stuck out sideways from my head like an umbrella. (Small animals would seek shelter from the rain under one disastrous fringe episode.)
The fabulous Franglaise Mummy (I swear we were separated at birth) wrote about her curls and how important it is to find the right hairdresser to sort it out and I concur completely. A good hairdresser is worth their weight in gold when you have frizzy, curly hair. It’s hard to cut and hard to style. It’s often dry and drinks moisture, before spitting it out as frizz. You need lots of the right products to make it behave but the wrong ones will either make the frizz worse or flatten it to your head like a swim hat.
I searched for literally years to find a hairdresser that knew how to colour, cut and style my curls. I put my trust in so many that let me down and left me with hair that I hated. And then, just before I got married over 10 years ago, I met celebrity stylist Zoe Jasztal. And my life was quite literally transformed.
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| Zoe and Nathan from Silhouette Du Barry – celebrity stylists… and mine! |
Zoe styled my hair for my wedding and I fell in love with myself. Since that day I’ve actually had FUN with my hair, trying all sorts of styles and colours under her expert guidance from long curly blonde hair extensions to a short, straight chocolate bob. I put myself in her hands. I trust her.
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| Love coming here to hang out – check out the back stage passes! |
In preparation for next week’s Britmums Live conference in London, Zoe has transformed me from mousy brown to glossy brunette and next Friday one of her expert team, Johnny, will coax my tight curls into glamorous waves with a wave of his magic brush.
Zoe and her husband Nathan, who own the Silhouette Du Barry salon in Chelmsford, are in great demand, styling the X Factor contestants, working with Gok Wan on his Fashion Fix series and even *gasp* Rihanna.
Here’s a tip, when you darken your hair, check your eyebrows. If they’re not similarly darkened it can look unbalanced. Yesterday I treated myself to a session with Blu, freelance make-up artist and HD Brows expert who matched my thin and weedy brows to my hair and then styled them into these lovely arches. Blu also showed me how to pencil them in carefully to fill out the brows without looking too ‘done’.
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| Before and after brows n lashes – what a difference! |
So I’ve had my outfit styled by the lovely personal styling team at John Lewis in Cambridge (I’m the blogger on the ground for them next weekend), my hair styled by Zoe and her team and my eyebrows expertly shaped by the lovely Blu. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m ready for Britmums Live.
Do have a love/hate relationship with your hair? Have you found the perfect hairdresser for you? What are your preparations for Britmums Live 2014?
Have you seen these?
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Top 5 curly hair products REVISITED
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Reasons to be cheerful
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Curly locks – top 5 hair products for squiggly hair
LOVE love love the new look of your blog, so chic like you- and well done for moving to self hosted, yay! x
Thank you so much Vicki – that means a lot coming from a fashionista like you! x
Thanks for linking this up to #fashionfriday, my hair gets frizzy easily too so I veer between curls and lots of serum to the Hollywood style waves I like to call them when it’s blow-dried! You look fabulous both ways chick. Excited to see you soon
Oh wow fabulous stylists, you look amazing and I ADORE your hair, you can rock the tight curls or sleek waves! Gorgeous post x
Thank you SO much *blush* – your Mum and I clearly share the same experiences – it’s traumatic! Big hugs lovely x
Awww thanks so much – I love that photo too
And yes – let’s try to find each other at Britmums Live – this is what I’ll be wearing so you’ll know me when you see me! http://bit.ly/RZFYWj
You’re SO right – my confidence rests almost entirely on my hair – daft but true! Not so sure about the glam bit but I’ll certainly be seeking you out for more curls chit-chat!
You look gorgeous. I can relate to this as my mum used to be in tears everytime she’d come home from the hairdressers. She has natural curly hair and hated when the hairdresser cut it wrong. I have poker straight hair, not even a kink it point blank refuses to curl. Mum said I was swapped at birth 😉 x
Wow that’s amazing lucky you. Oh & that photo of you & your adorable mini me is just beautiful!! I am so not ready for it but hope to see you there xx
Oh the difference it makes to have a decent mop atop your head. You are going to be looking seriously glam me thinks next weekend! Thanks for the mention too lovely. One week to go…