Having curly hair means that you are forever searching for the miracle product that will give you the perfect princess ringlets. I’ve tried countless products over the years and have found the best approach is to try and stop my hair from getting dry in the first place. 

On of the biggest changes I’ve made is to stop using shampoo with sulphates in as they can strip the hair of moisture. I made the switch about 3 years ago and have tried various different brands. 

While there are now quite a few brands on the market a lot of them tend to be quite expensive. Even the cheaper options can cost around £5-7 for a pretty small bottle. When you have as much hair as me you can get through them at an alarmingly rapid pace and the cost soon starts to add up. 

I’ve been looking for a more budget friendly option for a long time when I spotted these in Waitrose the other day. Honestly who knew Waitrose was such a treasure trove of own brand beauty products?

The shampoo costs £1 for 250ml which is pretty excellent value. 

I’ve spotted a lot of negative reviews complaining that this doesn’t lather well but this is often the case with sulphate free shampoos (and it even states this on the back) so I don’t think these reviews are very fair. The whole POINT is they don’t contain sodium laureth sulphate which is the ingredient that causes products to lather.
 

I found that this left my hair feeling clean and soft, without feeling stripped. It does produce a gentle lather but if you’re not accustomed to SLS free shampoos it might seem like a lot less than you’re used to. It rinses out well easily and hasn’t irritated my scalp.

Before I purchased this shampoo I had to make do with some normal shampoo that Jared was using for a couple of washes as I had run out. I noticed I had an incredibly itchy scalp with a lot of dandruff. I even had a few scabs in some places. The Waitrose shampoo has cleared this up in a couple of washes and my scalp is now back to normal. I can only assume that I was irritated by something in Jared’s shampoo. 

I picked the Dry & Damaged conditioner as I’m always trying to moisturise to prevent frizz. This is £3 for 250ml which is still excellent value.  This is a no frills conditioner that left my hair easy to brush and feeling soft. When my hair dried the curls were nicely defined with minimal frizz. In short this performed as well as some more expensive products I was using.

Both the shampoo and conditioner are free from fragrance, sulphates and parabens so they are ideal for those with sensitive skin. They are also suitable for vegans and are cruelty free so should appeal to a wide range of people. 

If you are looking for a good value shampoo and conditioner that is also kind to your hair I would highly recommend this one!

7 Hairstyles to rescue a bad curly hair day

Curly hair is a frickin pain. It looks oh so fabulously shiny and swishy on the day you wash it. You float about with a tumble of glossy curls that cascade down your back making you look at feel like a Disney princess. Once you've slept on it the nightmare begins. Normal straight haired people just brush their hair again, maybe use a little dry shampoo or a quick once over with the GHDs and they're set.

Just washed

For people with curly hair its a whole different game. Now don't get me wrong the good thing about curly hair is that it never looks as greasy as straight hair so you don't have to wash it as often which is great cos washing it is a total pain in the arse.

However you can't brush it without washing it (or you'll look like the local madwoman) so you're in a bit of a tricky situation. You could just wash it everyday but if you wash it all the time it will eventually start to look flat and lifeless as you strip all the natural oils out. But if you don't wash it everyday you can't brush it. The result is a tangled mess that takes you forever to deal with plus second day hair never looks as good.

My advice? Figure out what you can do with it to disguise what a mess it is so you can waste less of your life washing it and make your hair better in the process. Accept the fact that you cannot brush your hair everyday and you will have to get up 10min earlier on days you DO wash it so you can attack it with conditioner and a comb while in the shower. Sorry housemates who also need to shower in the morning but TOUGH.

First thing you need to remember is that unless its been quite a few days since you washed it or you've worn a sweaty riding hat on it (like I do) then its highly likely that to anyone other than you your hair looks no different. I swear that normal people think my hair looks exactly the same all the time and they regularly feel the need to tell me this. Its all part of being 'blessed' with naturally curly hair.

So now we've established the plan of only washing your hair every 2-3 days what do you do with it in the meantime? Well as I have a lifetime of experience in this area here are my suggestions. All of these though will obviously work with straight hair too.

Day 2. Difference is not that obvious. Really

1. Just wear it loose anyway. As I've already mentioned nobody else thinks it looks any different anyway so just leave it and don't care. This is obviously the easiest option but it is really only suitable for the day after you've washed it. Get yourself some decent serum and run that through it and 9 days out of 10 it still looks fine and you're good to go. Laugh at all the straight haired people who had to brush their hair that morning.

2. Plait it. Once you've gone past this point or you woke up with it all stuck up cos you slept on it weirdly you are going to have to tie it up. I find day 2 or three to be the best day to go for a plait because my hair is not yet knotty enough for me to have to rip most of it out in order to achieve this.
The classic plait will keep your hair under control and tidy and is ideal if you are trying to do something where you need it out of the way eg. at the gym.

3. The fishtail braid. Looks great when you get someone else to do it and have it all the way down your back but I usually end up doing it myself so have it as a side plait (congrats to anyone who can do it by themselves without making it a side plait). I think it looks cute like this, particularly in the winter when I wear it with a beanie. Plus it keeps it out of the way and under control.

4. The french braid. Although I can french plait I need someone else to do it for me cos it's just too fiddly to do yourself. As a result this one rarely gets a look in but if you are skilled enough then it looks incredible.

5. Pigtails. These take only a few moments to do so are great when you are in a hurry. Plus almost everyone looks super cute with pigtails.

6. The pony tail. This old friend will never fail you and is great for days when you don't have time but your hair is just so bad its beyond saving. Get yourself some decent hair ties that are tough enough to hold your curly locks and tie it up in a high pony tail. I like to pretend to myself that this tells other people I'm low maintenance and I just woke up looking this cool. Scrunchies are back at the moment so add one of these on top of your hair tie thats doing all the work and you're good to go. 

7. The messy bun. Now as your hair is curly every hair style you do it going to be messy so just embrace it. Those straight haired girls spend ages back combing and using curling tongs to get this look. Just grab your hair and wind it into a loose, messy bun. Secure with a nice strong hair tie and glam it up with a scrunchie/ribbon/hair clip etc. Use bobby pins to secure any bits that wont co-operate. This style can hide even the messiest of hair so no matter how bad it looks and how much you overslept it can always be disguised.

So there we have it, 7 different ways to turn around even the worse of hair days.
What do you find works best for you?

Christmas Cocktail Party

Bit late for this post but who cares, life got busy as I am currently drowning in work.

Last week was the Geology Society Christmas Cocktail Party and my god was it fun.

I've been to this event every year since being at uni and with each passing year I remember less and less of it and they seem to get better and better.

Kicked the night off with girly predrinks at mine getting ready. Found myself doing everyones make up and hair which was great because I LOVE playing around with make up. I also treated myself to a pair of hair curlers so got to work on making my hair EVEN curlier than usual. Fun times.

My housemates (who are not geologists) joined us as I decided to combine this event with my birthday night out as they are so close together. We all headed over to my boyfriends house as he lives just round the corner before heading to the venue itself.

The music was excellent, with yummy cocktails and I had a lovely evening chatting with my lecturers, socializing with my course mates and dancing with my housemates. My non geology friends did ridiculously well on the raffle and someone won a bottle of fizzy red wine. Yes it is as disgusting as it sounds.

The night was only slightly marred by high heel pain as I decided to wear my highest most uncomfortable (but sassiest) heels so I decided to drink to numb the pain. This works but also means you can't stand up in them very well.

Anyway I think the pictures of the night speak for themselves. Big thanks to my housemates for coming and I think we can all agree it was the best night we've had in ages.


But then again any chance to get glammed up is good with me!
Pictures courtesy of SU Photographic Society events team

A super cringy, yet funny pic of the dance floor.

Straight hair week

Woah, I look weird with straight hair

Ok, I have a confession to make. After my post the other day about curly hair I claimed that actually it is better than straight hair, but last week I got my hair straightened.

Now first of all let me explain this treachery. Over the summer I went on a massive field trip to the Isle of Skye for 6 weeks to do my Independent Mapping which is what geologist do to kickstart their dissertation. That's right, not only do we have to write the damn thing but first of
all we have to spend 6 weeks of our summer on it (and thousands of precious pounds). I

And fishtail braids are so easy when its straight!

returned from this adventure looking and feeling like a lady troll and vowed to rectify this as soon as I came home with some pampering.

Obviously as soon as I got home I got distracted with having actual FUN and forgot about my plans to get my hair done. But last week I decided to just do it and got my hair professionally coloured for the first time (embarrassing to admit I know). It was such a lovely treat and enjoyed every second of it.

The upshot of this is that I emerged from the hairdressers three hours later with straight hair which is also now a lovely rich brown as opposed to my natural mousy colour. I haven't straightened my hair for about four years because I am too lazy so nobody at uni has ever seen it when its straight.

When I walked into a lecture the next day (only slightly late, whoops) there was a collective gasp from my friends who couldn't stop wanting to touch it haha. When its straight its also clear how long it really is so there was lots of freaking out over that too. My boyfriend and flatmates were also pretty shocked but I was reassured to hear from all my friends that they prefer it curly. Which is lucky really cos I am sure as hell not going through all that hassle everyday.

Its so bloody long!

Anyway hope you enjoy the photos. I certainly enjoyed the change and being able to just get up, brush it and go like a normal human being. But I am relieved to be back to my curls because I actually like to be different and feel a little too plain without them.

30 Things that only people with curly hair understand

Anyone who knows me will know I have a love hate relationship with my curly hair. It is a pain and a constant battle to keep it looking half decent so people don't assume I'm a mad tramp. Here are 30 curly hair problems for you. Curly haired people can breath a sigh of relief that they aren't the only ones suffering and all you annoying straight haired people can sit and feel smug that this isn't your problem to deal with.


1. Brushing it is a joke.

2. Having it brushed as a child was a traumatic experience that you fear you may never recover from.

3. Washing it takes forever.

4. And it takes a geological age to dry.

5. To be honest you wash it as little as possible because it's all just too much effort.

6. When people find out how little you wash it they are repulsed.

7. But they constantly tell you it looks no different no matter what you do to it.

8. WHY ON EARTH WOULD I BOTHER WASHING IT ALL THE TIME THEN?

9. The idea that normal people just get up, brush their hair and go is both perplexing and infuriating. I mean what do they do with all that spare time in the morning?!

10. Blow drying it will make you look like Crusty the Clown.

11. Your hair is unfortunately the first thing people notice about you.

12. And usually the only thing they remember. "On Amber, she's the one with the mad hair right?"

13. Your mood can be completely dictated by how your hair looks today.

14. A hair tie lives permanently on your wrist in case your hair starts being fucking irritating.

15. Many a brave bobby pin has boldly gone into your hair and never been seen again.

16. To be honest you can only do two things with your hair: wear it down or tie it up.

17. You only trust certain hair products which you spend a fortune on. Everyone knows only the most expensive ones work.

18. A hat is your best friend/ worst enemy depending on how great/shit your hair looks today.

19. And if it's raining outside then just give up.

20. People who feel the need to say to you "oh you're so lucky! I wish I had your curly hair" are fools. Just shut the fuck up.

21. Also when they moan about how frizzy their hair is. Bitch please.

22. You shed a little trail of curly hair wherever you go. Friends and family constantly complain about this. Stop your whining. This is our inbuilt navigation system, how else will I find my way back??

23. People are perplexed as to why you own curling tongs. For the uneducated these are used for damage control.

24. They also want to touch it. All the time. Just fuck off. Do you have any idea how long it took to make it look like this?

25. Apparently it's also ok to ask if it's naturally like this. No I make it look this shit on purpose.

26. When you straighten it the whole process takes about 4 hours and nobody will recognise you.

27. However when they do they say to you 'OMG your hair looks so good straight!" Rude. Just plain rude.

28. They also tell you about this 'incredible' conditioner they use. No. I don't need your conditioner. I need a miracle. Got one of them?

29. Boys love it. Not sure why but they do. But they want to try and run their hands through it. This counts as touching my hair and is not ok.

30. You grow it as long as possible. Partly because the additional weight forces the hair to behave itself but also because hairdressers put the fear of God into you.

People ask me why I don't just get it chemically straightened and end all this hair related drama. The fact is that my curly hair makes me stand out. I'm proud of my curly mane, and I think in some respects my mental hair reflects my slightly crazy personality. And when all goes to plan curls win over straight hair every time.