How to go from Tomboy to Girly - Hair

Ok. As someone who has gradually transitioned from a tomboy to (more of) a girly girl, I'm going to do a little post series on how to make the change, starting with hair!

1. Hair length
Obviously, your hair could be of all different lengths. The overgeneralised standard stereotype is that long hair = girly, short hair = boyish. What you need to remember is that this is not true! You can still be girly with short hair. If you want to grow it out because it makes you feel more feminine, go for it. Remember to trim it regularly, use heat protectant (Tresemme do a good line of heat protecting sprays and products) and use deep conditioning products to keep it healthy and help it to grow faster.

However, short hair can be girly too. It's about softness. A very blunt short cut can be seen as more boyish, but what you want to do is have the edges softened, have layers added, maybe consider a side fringe/bangs (depending how short your hair is, this may or may not be possible), and shape the cut around your face. Study magazines to see what cut suits the shape of your face and brings out your best features.

2. Hair colour

I, personally, don't like the natural colour of my hair. It's bland, a sort of mousey medium brown colour. I dye my hair fairly regularly (L'Oreal's Casting Creme Gloss in Chocolate Brownie - a great, rich red-tinted brown) to flatter my skin tone and bring out my eye and eyebrow colour.

Time for another overgeneralised standard stereotype - blondes have more fun.

I don't believe that hair colour matters. If you have mousey hair, or like me don't like your colour, maybe consider dyeing it at home or getting it dyed professionally. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with dyeing it at home as long as you study the box and follow the directions exactly.

Something that I believe can help you look girly is highlights. This way, not all of your hair needs to be dyed, but the entire colour is lifted. I have never highlighted my own hair, or had it done at a salon, but I would personally be more inclined to have it done at a salon the first time.

Embrace your skin tone and your natural colour. A deep brown, a light brown, a dark blonde, a light blonde... all of these can be very girly and very sexy hair colours.

3. Hair styles

This will be fairly irrelevant if you have very short hair, but some you can still try I'm sure.

Try to wear your hair down (ie. not tied up) as much as possible. You may have frizzy, curly hair you're insecure about, but I'll get to that. Even if you do, that can be beautiful too, you don't need to hide it with a ponytail.

Ponytail's are fine too, of course, we all rock them out on bad hair days at the very least. The trick to making a ponytail look girly is having piece that shape around your face, ie. a side fringe/bangs or normal block fringe/bangs, shorter pieces around your ears to shape down your neck etc. And an instant girlier way to wear a ponytail is by adding plaits/braids, whether normal or French. (I can add photo examples if you wish).

Plaits/braids in general are a great way to make your hair look girlier, but don't look overdone or try-hard. They work with all different hair styles, depending on where they're positioned. Again, I can add more detail to this in a separate post if people wish!

Experiment with straighteners, curling tongs etc until you find a style that suits. If you have naturally curly hair, don't be afraid to try it straight (but with heat protectant, always), or if it's straight don't be afraid to try curly. If it looks nice, people won't judge you for trying to look girly, they'll just think you look nice.

4. Hair condition

This is, without a doubt, the most important thing for more girly hair. Yet another overgeneralised stereotype is a woman with beautifully shiny, flowing, glossy hair. The 'Greek goddess' sort of look.

In reality, not all girls have a head covered in long, silky hair. If you have naturally frizzy or curly hair, it's all about moisture and taming products. Use frizz taming products, like the John Frieda Frizz Ease series and 3 Day Straight, or try out my favourite hair miracle. Curls are beautiful, just treat them kindly and keep them moisturised.

Don't wash your hair every day. On the second or third day when it looks a bit greasy, try plaiting/braiding parts of it away from your face. Try to get used to it because the natural oils your hair secretes are so important and so good for your hair.

Always use conditioner, and use a hair mask once a week (when first starting out, try out a Herbal Essences or Tresemme one, as they're affordable and easily say which hair types they suit), but don't put conditioner on your roots. Go for about ear height downwards.

Don't brush your hair when it's wet, use a wide-toothed or afro comb to prevent split ends.

Get your hair trimmed regularly. It keeps it in good condition, and looks neater.

I hope you've found some of these types useful, please comment below with any more detail you'd like or expansion on any of the tips mentioned.

Good luck tomboys :)

Godsend - VO5 Miracle Concentrate! (Review)

Alright, sooo, there's a lot of talk around lately about this fantastic oil for your hair called Argan oil. Argan oil comes from the argan trees in Mexico (or so Wikipedia tells me) and is being described as a 'miracle' for your hair by several different companies.

I had seen a couple of videos where Sara (http://www.youtube.com/SWalkerMakeup) had used the VO5 Miracle Concentrate and said it was amazing, so went along to Superdrug (I could not find it in Boots) and picked it up.

First and foremost, the 50ml bottle only cost £2.99. As well as this, you only need a small amount (it says a few drops on the bottle, but I use more like a little pool - see the photo below) so for that price it'll go a long way.

VO5 claim that this 'miracle' ingredient is high in vitamin E (which is good for your hair, skin, nails etc), as well as other anti-oxidants which all fight free radicals (weak split cells that bond to things and can cause the breakdown of other cells - read about it here), and that it is hydrating and deeply conditioning.

VO5 promise that this product will intensively condition and help repair dry, damaged or frizzy hair, leave hair unbelievably smooth and silky soft, add radiant shine, reduce drying time, and reduce damage caused by blow-drying.

(Sorry for the gross photo of my hand, lol, I tried to unscrunch it as much as possible without spilling the oil!)

Stats: This contains the famous argan oil, which is on the ingredients list as Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil and is paraben free. The bottle contains 50ml of the product.

Review: I bought this only five days ago, have used it every day, and love it. Just so you know a bit about my hair - I don't wash my hair every day, I wash it every 2-3 days as it's healthier and my hair doesn't get greasy after one normal day. My hair is fine in consistency but I have a lot of it (feels like too much sometimes!! But I know deep down that it's a blessing!) and I would describe it as dry. It also can fall quite flat because of the weight of it, as it's fairly long as well.

I love the smell of this oil for starters. (It smells like a particular perfume whose name I can't remember, but it'll come to me at some random inconvenient moment I'm sure!) As far as what VO5 promise for this product, it certainly feels like it's repairing the dry parts of my hair (particularly the underneath of the longest layers) and feels very hydrating and moisturising. My hair feels a lot softer as soon as the oil goes in. I can't say I've noticed a huge difference in shine, but I only use the product from about ear length downwards. Drying time feels reduced which is a big plus for someone with as much hair as I do.

It's low maintenance, doesn't make your hair feel greasy (though I would not recommend applying this or any oil near your roots), and can be carried easily in your bag to be applied when you need a refreshing shot of silkiness.

Rebuy?: An unequivocal yes.

Recommend?: Yes, I would. There are lots of higher priced Argan oil hair products around and I can't speak for their effectiveness (though one of my friends has just purchased the Lee Stafford version, which I may ask to try to sample the difference), but at this price, the name 'miracle' may be a little strong, but this product is certainly a godsend.