Au revoir straighteners

CODE RED CRISIS: my straighteners have broken!! It may seem like an overstatement but in my world crisis is the only word for it.

So with my current misfortune, I've upped my haircare and tried to set myself a little challenge to try and get GHD -style hair without a hot plate in sight. Heat does a lot of damage to the hair; as we all know, so I thought it would also be good to give my hair a rest from the straighteners.

I start with Inecto's Intensely Hydrating Hair Repair Treatment which uses Coconut Oil to repair damage and keep hair looking smooth and sleek. I have used coconut oil on my hair since I was a kid and it's one of the best treatments I have found. I slather this over the mid to ends of my hair and leave for half an hour or so.

I then hop in the shower and wash my hair with Anelco's Beer Shampoo. Beer shampoo sounds like a strange one, but, the only thing it shares with a pint of Fosters is the use of hops. It doesn't smell anything like beer but ensures smooth, squeaky clean hair with amazing shine!

Shampoo done, I follow with my new wonder product, KMS California's Tame Frizz Conditioner. I've done a full review here. It kicks frizz in the arse and makes my straightener-free hair smoother and more tameable.

Onto the styling. I'm still using a hairdryer as I couldn't dare going completely heat free and my hair is horrid when dried naturally. I invested in this Revlon straightening barrel brush after my straighteners broke so that I could try an at home, salon style, blowdry.

I run a few pumps of Avon's Advance Techniques 360 Morroccan Argan Oil Leave in Treatment (longest product never ever?) through the ends of my hair whilst it's wet. I then set about blowdrying. Not as easy as it looks at the hairdressers. I think the trick is to do small sections at a time and not pull the brush through too quickly. Keeping the hairdryer against the brush also worked better but make sure you're using a metal brush, not a plastic one!

After the slightly laborious process of drying, I spritzed the Wella SP Luxe Oil (review here) all over my hair as a finishing touch.

Although my hair isn't looking as straight, glossy or sleek as it does when using GHDs, the results of this haircare combo are actually really impressive. My hair doesn't look slightly unruly or lion's mane-esque! The blowdry made the most difference and my hair was left looking tamed and straightened.

I can't wait to have straighteners back again but for now, these products have been saviours. Bonjour new GHDs soon, I hope!

N.