My new hair!

 I don’t get to review many salons as my friend Leanne has a salon and I am a loyal customer! However she is now on maternity leave and I was offered the chance to visit JAS Hair, in Wilton, Salisbury. Their other salons are located in Salisbury and Christchurch and apart from hair services include an extensive range of beauty treatments, using Dermalogica, Fake Bake, Electrolysis, Jessica and Minx Nails. JAS Hair hairdressers are also specialists in Brazilian Keratin hair straightening which I am hoping to review at a later date. If you haven’t yet tried a Keratin treatment you can read a previous review I have done here. It is well worth the money!

The salon interior

 The salon itself is lovely, as you can see by my photos and very welcoming which is quite rare in hair salons as you find staff sometimes tend to be too busy to look after you. Not here! I love the beautiful garden out the back of the salon where you can sit outside in the summer whilst waiting for your colours to set. Shame I visited on a cold February day!

The gorgeous garden - shame it was too cold to go outside!

First of all I had my colour consultation from the lovely Shelly, who is the sister of the salon owner. She recommended I stuck with the highlights, but with three shades of blonde to try (one darker) and get my hair as natural looking as possible. I find with highlights the regrowth is quite obvious and I can't afford to keep getting my hair retouched every 6 weeks. The more natural the better for me!

Outside the salon - photo from Lydia Stamps Photography

Whilst I was waiting for my highlights to set (which didn't take long on my hair!) I received this lovely looking tray of tea and biscuits, plus some magazines to keep me amused. I then met with the lovely Robert Baker who was cutting my hair. Robert also works for Fashion Beans and you can follow him on Twitter @R0burt. Robert suggested that I go for a more choppy look, with layers at the back to give my hair more texture. I have been growing out my old layers as I found them difficult to maintain (ie I always had to have styled hair) but these were much longer layers which I like. Robert also chopped my length and finished it off in a blunt style. Finally he blowdried my hair (with his hands as that is better for your hair) and finished off with SchwarzkopfProfessional BLONDME Volume Miracle Cream (£11.45).

The gorgeous tea set!

 You can see the final result here! I love how natural my highlights look and the contrast of shades compared to my hair before. The team at JAS Hair were very professional, friendly and I really enjoyed my experience there so thanks for having me along. The price list the salon can be found here, plus you get 25% off if you are a student which is excellent as not many salons offer this.

Final shot of my new hair - love it! :)

 Let me know what you think!

♥

Keratin treatments update!

I thought I would write an update on my campaign for sleek, smooth hair over the past few months. I had another Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy treatment in May at Haringtons in Southampton. The first treatment I had was back in September (Read my in-depth review here) and I found it lasted much longer than the suggested 4-6 months so 8 months in total which was amazing. I definitely recommend using the aftercare products (the Keratin Complex shampoo & conditioner) and trying not to wash your hair every day to ensure the treatment is effective for as long as possible. The second Keratin treatment I had a Haringtons took significantly less time to do (my hair wasn’t such a tangled mess after the cleansing wash!) and consisted of a new formula which doesn’t contain formaldehyde. The first time I had the Keratin treatment my eyes ran so much I had make-up all down my face, so this was a welcome alternative! 

Here is a photo of my hair after the initial treatment – very straight! 

I also found this time leaving my hair unwashed for 72 hours was SO much easy the second time round, my hair didn’t get greasy at all! I definitely recommend to have a follow up Keratin treatment as it’s much easier and quicker second time round. My hairdresser has also noticed that nearly a year on my hair is stronger, no split ends (I used to suffer BIG style from them) and much healthier because of the keratin. I may sound dramatic but it literally has changed my life being able to wash my hair and not having to battle with the frizz if I got wet/sweaty/caught in the wind. I can also wear my hair wavy if I want, so it's never poker straight unless I blow dry it like that. Going on holiday in May to Spain was also a breeze as I didn’t have to fight a frizzy, tangled dry mess! Thanks to Haringtons for providing me with the treatment and for transforming my hair!

If you can’t afford a Keratin treatment as it is fairly costy at around £200 (but well worth the money don’t get me wrong!) then try out John Frieda’s 3 Day Straight Semi-Permanent Styling Spray (£6.99). The spray is a good way to try out Keratin on your hair for under £10! You can transform curly, frizzy hair into a straight, smooth style that lasts up to 3 days.

It’s designed to work with your hair straighteners and contains heat protection which blocks out frizz as you straighten. The blend of polymers with keratin protein wraps each strand, sealing in a straight style for up to 3 days. Obviously I can’t really comment on the success of this spray as I don’t straighten my hair anymore but my sister who has wavy hair tried it out and said it worked really well on her hair. Definitely worth trying out for £6.99!

I hope you have found my Keratin treatment updates useful! I really believe this is the long term solution for my hair and will keep having the treatments for as long as I can. I’m interested to hear about other straightening treatments anyone has had? Are there other alternative solutions out there I haven’t tried? Let me know!

Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy - an essay!

I am sure you all know how long I have spent trying to find the perfect hair care products for my fluffy, wavy hair. Despite this, as soon as my hair gets subjected to wet/humid/windy conditions it all goes out of the window and my hair is a mess again! People tell me I have lovely hair anyway, which I am lucky to have as my hair is healthy and can be managed, however it’s down to my dedication/vanity that it looked half decent! Anyway, a few weeks ago after tweeting asking about keratin treatments, the lovely people at Haringtons got in touch and asked if I would like to try one out. YES PLEASE was the answer, after receiving positive tweets back from followers about how good it actually is.

Here is a little bit more info about the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy by COPPOLA, which is the treatment I had. I understand there are various treatments on the market but this is the best on the market according to Haringtons expert Heather. The revolutionary smoothing system infuses Keratin deep into the hair cuticle, eliminating up to ninety-five percent of frizz and curl, leaving the hair smooth, shiny and luxurious. Results typically last 3 to 5 months depending on hair type. It rejuvenates and revitalises the hair, giving it a softer, silkier feel that everyone raves about. Unlike other salon services, the more you treat your hair, the healthier it becomes. With each treatment, the build-up of Keratin makes the hair smoother and silkier, straighter and shinier, easier and faster to blow-dry and close to being “maintenance-free". Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy encases the hair follicle with a keratinous bond to promote healing (which my hair needed after years of straightening!) block the effects of humidity (the bane of my life in summer and on holiday!!) and prevent environmental toxins from entering the hair.

The most important aspect for me when researching keratin treatments was seeing real-life photos, not photos of adverts or models which I struggled to find. Especially photos from the UK, where people have the treatment done in the UK. So here we go - a complete step-by-step guide to my treatment in photos!

1. This is a photo of my hair before the treatment. It's a mess as I couldn't be bothered to straighten it too much as I knew I was going to the hairdressers the next day! Once I got to the salon, they washed my hair to cleanse the hair of all products and then applied the keratin treatment to my hair. I then had to wait for 40 minutes for the treatment to settle in my hair, before my lovely stylist Heather painstakingly blowdryed every section of my hair! She then had to straighten every section five times with special Keratin Complex straighteners that heat up hotter than normal straighteners. This stings your eyes a lot and made my eyes water, as the fumes are quite strong apparently! Here is the final result 3 and a half hours later - poor Heather!

2. As you can see my hair was now very straight! It also felt a little bit processed from all the heat, but still felt very smooth and straight. The worse part of the treatment was to come - I was told I had to wait 72 hours until I could wash my hair!! So no sweating, no tying your hair up, no putting your hair behind your ears! If you are a sporty person like me you will find this very difficult or if you have greasy hair but it is worth it as the longer you leave it the better the results will be. I'm lucky my hair is fairly dry so it didn't look too bad but by Tuesday afternoon it was starting to itch and I was desperate for a hair wash and boy didn't everyone around me and at work know it! After going back to Haringtons yesterday for a wash using the recommended Keratin Colour Care shampoo and conditioner (which are included in the price) and a quick blow dry, my hair now looks like this!

3. Here is the final result! No straighteners, no blowdrying, no serum, no leave in conditioner, no shine spray! This is going to save me so much time when washing my hair and also styling it! Plus a fortune on hair products. 

I had my treatment at the gorgeous Haringtons salon, Southampton (02380 237414) which was fantastic. The stylist Heather was really lovely and very reassuring and informative. I recommend going to a reputable salon like Haringtons as you are spending a lot of money (my treatment costs around £150-£250 depending on hair type) so you want it to be done properly. 

Obviously I have just had the treatment done, so I can't comment on how long it will last or if there are any side effects, but I will give you all an update in a few months to see how I found it! So far I am loving it and am amazed how soft and sleek my hair is and no longer dread the whole hair washing process! Thanks to Haringtons for giving me the chance to try this out. Two of my friends are already planning to have treatments done with Heather!


Who else has tried the Keratin treatment and what do you think?


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