Olaplex

 I’ve been aware of the brand Olaplex for some time now but had always held back on purchasing due to the hefty price tags of the products.

Olaplex is a haircare brand that features an array of innovative treatments to repair, smooth and transform your hair.

Our hair contains millions of disulfide bonds and it is these bonds that give hair its structure, strength and stability. When disulfide bonds are broken, it results in damage. 

 Olaplex restores damaged hair by repairing it from the inside out with their patented single ingredient, bis-amino diglycol dimaleate.

 

 

Hair damage can be caused in a multitude of different ways, from chemical treatments to thermal and mechanical.

Thankfully Olaplex has got you covered against all of these aggressors.

I finally bit the bullet and placed an order during the LookFantastic Black Friday sales and boy was that the best investment I’ve ever made.

I’m literally astounded by the results.

I opted for three of their hero products, the No 3 Hair Perfector, No 6 Bond Smoother and No 7 Bonding Oil.

 

 

I’ll admit I was slightly aghast when the bottles arrived as they are really rather tiny, however I was assured that a little goes a long way and not to be alarmed!

The No 3 Hair Perfector (£26) is their best-selling, award winning once-a-week at home treatment that is designed to be used prior to shampooing.

Silky soft in texture like a body lotion, you apply a generous amount to damp, towel dried hair and leave it in for as long as possible.

The deeply conditioning formula dramatically reduces breakage and visibly strengthens your hair, improving both its look and feel. 

 

 

You can now wash it off and shampoo and condition your hair as normal.

Continue your hair transformation with the No 6 Bond Smoother (£26).

Unlike No 3 this IS a leave in treatment.

Rich and silky but not at all greasy, you only need a little of this concentrated miracle fluid to see amazing results.

Apply to towel dried hair and marvel as it helps to protect your hair against heat damage while offering superior hydration, speeding up drying time and controlling flyaway hair.

 

 

Finally its time to introduce the No 7 Bonding Oil (£26).

This luxurious bottle of liquid gold restores and rejuvenates your hair without coating it in a greasy film.

 Deeply nourishing yet totally weightless, it offers unparalleled shine and softens your hair beyond belief.

Dispense a few drops onto your fingers and massage into lengths of your hair, concentrating on the ends particularly.

Then, simply blowdry and style as normal and prepare to be amazed.

After just one treatment using these three products my hair looked and felt insane.

Despite suffering from dry, damaged hair which hasn’t been cut in well over a year, my hair felt sleek, silky and wonderfully soft.

It suddenly took on a life of its own and its literally been years since I’ve seen it shine the way it does now.

My hair is quite glassy in texture and many hair oils, primers or lotions can be too heavy, weighing it down and leaving it feeling lank.

 

 

This is absolutely not the case with Olaplex, even when I have a tendency to over-do it with the oil.

I am absolutely blown away by the immediate, hyper-noticeable results of these products.

My one regret is I didn’t try them sooner because boy are they a game changer.

Sleek, glossy, shiny, soft, healthy hair can once again be yours thanks to Olaplex.

Olaplex and their array of products are available to buy online now from LookFantastic who have some fab offers and discounts available to save you a few quid so keep your eyes open for a bargain.

Cloud Nine The Original Iron

 Never in a million years did I think that I would find a hair iron that would make me consider cheating on my GHD’s.

Never ever.

I’ve considered my GHD’s to be the crème de la crème of straightening irons for as long as I can remember.

That was until recently however when I was introduced to the multi-award winning Cloud Nine The Original Iron.

This product hasn’t just made my cheat on my GHD’s, it’s made me ditch them completely.

I am not exaggerating when I say that they are without a doubt, THE BEST hair irons I have ever used.

My hair has never been so straight, sleek and shiny and I am totally in love.

If you aren’t familiar with the brand they are a haircare company that create fabulous, clever tools that are designed to reduce hair damage, leaving your hair visibly healthier.

Created in 2009 by the founder of GHD Robert Powls, the brand has become the epitome of luxury and innovation.

Cloud Nine tools are equipped with something called ‘Smart Technology’ which intelligently functions to maintain your chosen individual styling temperature and by combining four unique elements, their tools can create amazing results at lower temperatures, producing extra-smooth, ultra-shiny, healthier hair.

Their ceramic plates are infused with a natural mineral only found in South Korea and their irons and wands are emit negative ions.

These ions help to lock-in moisture, seal the cuticle layer and minimise damage to your hair’s natural structure. They are also believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, relieving stress and boosting energy.

How bloody incredible is that!

So, know you know the background and science, onto the product itself.

I tested out their award winning Original Iron, and it was quickly apparent as to why they are so highly acclaimed. 

Sleek and chic in appearance and compact and slim to hold in your hand, this fabulous iron allows you to fully customise your straightening experience.

It features a temperate control panel, allowing you to choose which temperature you’d like to style your hair at, from 100 to 200 degrees.

Simply click the ‘high’ or ‘low’ button next to the temperature gauge to select your chosen temperate and once the green lights have stopped flashing (indicating it has reached the desired temperature) you’re ready to go.

They heat up in super quick time, so quickly in fact that I hadn’t even finished separating my hair ready to straighten before they were ready!

Even at lower temperatures the iron effortlessly glides through your hair, leaving it feeling incredibly sleek, soft and highly polished.

The floating, super smooth, mineral infused ionised plates feature a delicately curved body which allow you to not only straighten, but curl, flick and create gorgeous waves without any dragging or catching.

Using the iron was like watching magic happen right before my eyes. My hair went into the iron course, frizzy and unruly and came out the other send seconds later sleek, shiny and beautiful.

Truly, I’m not exaggerating at all. I’m genuinely blown away by how gentle and kind they are to your hair and yet what incredible results they produce.

In fact, so shiny was my hair after using them that I didn’t need to use my shine-inducing finishing spray which I ALWAYS use.

At £139 they are slightly more expensive than their famous competitor, however for that you also get a rather brilliant protective heat guard to pop on the end of the irons after use and a luxury heat resistant carry case so to be honest I’d say that they are not at all badly priced.

To be honest, for the results they produce I’d happily up to £50 more they are THAT good plus, continuous use of Cloud Nine products at lower temperatures results in shinier, healthier looking hair and long lasting styles so its kind of a no brainer!

If you are thinking of investing in some new hair irons or straighteners then I urge you to consider cheating on your current brand too because without having cheated, I’d never have found the love of my life in the form of my Cloud Nine Irons, and I’ll never look back!

Cloud Nine’s Original Iron is available now for £139 from their website.

Boost Your Locks with GHD

My hair is quite ‘glassy’ in texture, which means it is pretty silky, shiny and straight.

Sure this sounds great in theory, but when it comes to doing anything with it other than wearing it straight, it makes it nigh on impossible.

Because it is so ‘glassy’ it means it lacks any real texture, which in turn means that getting any kind of volume or style into it is really hard work, frustrating and usually ends in failure.

Lucky for me then that GHD have a brilliant range of products and styling tools available designed to help inject some va-va-voom and lushness into your hair!

This super-hero trio have really helped me to style my hair in a way I’ve been unable to since forever with very little effort and fuss, plus they are all really reasonably priced and easy to use too.

First up you’ve got their Root Lift spray (£12.95). One of the hardest things for me to achieve is voluminous roots which in turn help to create big, bouncy hair.

This spray helps to create a firm foundation for your style and can even be used to boost styles that have become flat throughout the day or slept on.

Its really easy to use and though it can be used on both dry and damp hair, I find I get best results when my hair is damp.

Section your hair off and apply 1-2 pumps to the underside of each section concentrating on the roots as closely as possible then simply blow dry as usual for hair that now has visibly more lift at the roots without feeling sticky or crispy.

Obviously, a decent product is only half the solution when it comes to creating the perfect style and a top notch brush is going to be needed too.

I’ve found GHD’s Ceramic vented radial brush in size 2 (£15) is brilliant at helping to produce a full bodied, smooth look when blow drying.

Because its ceramic it retains its heat to allow for a faster blow dry and its sleek handle and gentle bristles work their way effortlessly through your locks.

The best way to use this brush is to dry your hair until its 80% dry and then work on small to medium sections, place the brush into the root area and direct the head from the hairdryer at the barrel. Keep the tension as you move the brush through your hair and continue to direct the head at the barrel.

I’m pretty rubbish (and impatient) when it comes to styling my hair but with a bit of practice this brush really does make a big difference to the overall finish of my style and when used in conjunction with the root lift spray, I can really see a difference in the volume of my hair which is great!

So now I’ve managed to inject some volume and pizazz into my hair which is fabulous, I now also want to ensure that it stays looking smooth and silky.

Their Straight and Smooth Spray (£12.95) is a super lightweight spray that not only helps to create smoother, straighter hair but also protects against heat damage.

Again, this can be used on damp or dry hair but this time I prefer to use it on dry hair once its been blow dried and prior to styling with my straighteners.

I spray about 4-6 pumps evenly across my hair before using my styler and find that my hair feels  softer and stays straighter with less kinks, for longer.

So, if you too are after bouncier, more volumised hair that is also straight and smooth then you know where to go!

All three of the GHD products shown are available now from the GHD website.