Go Blonder With John Frieda

 

If you asked 100 people what they thought of the John Frieda Go Blonder range you'd get some very mixed reviews. I've heard awful things about peoples hair turning orange, breaking off and even.. falling out! These issues I believe are predominantly down to user error. I know that's a little controversial because there are a huge amount of people out there claiming that this range ruined their hair through no fault of their own but barring actual allergic reactions (eg. Fleur De Force - see her video review here) I think the majority just don't understand what they're putting on their hair!

I wanted to talk about this prior to my review because of the sheer volume of bad experiences there have been. There will be some who skim read this post or just look at the pictures and go straight to comment "don't use this, it will wreck your hair!!!" but I thought if I started with the cons perhaps they'd catch a few lines of text too. 

First of all the shampoo and conditioner contain no peroxide, they claim to lighten naturally with citrus and camomile and while I was skeptical lemon is a bleaching agent so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The way I use it is.. I wash my hair and leave the shampoo in for 5 to 10 minutes while I'm in the bath I then rinse and apply the conditioner. I cover my hair in a towel or a shower cap and leave the conditioner on for as long as I can, that could be hours but I haven't attempted overnight yet. When I wash it out and dry my hair it is soft, shiny and visibly lighter. People have complained of dryness and I'm not sure why, I don't know if its the amount of time I'm leaving the conditioner on that is combating this but my hair is not 100% healthy and I've had no problems whatsoever.

We'll break for some photos then get in to the spray...

My 'before' hair

 These shots were after using the shampoo and conditioner once

This is after 2 weeks of use and two applications of the lightening spray.

Now the controlled lightening spray is a totally different animal and this is where I believe people are going wrong. This product does contain peroxide and no matter how diluted or how gentle the formula you are effectively still bleaching your hair every time you use it. I would imagine many will use this along side the shampoo and conditioner as their regular hair routine and that regular use is going cause damage. We are so used to spritzing ourselves with all kinds of product that if it comes in a bottle we don't really think about how much or how often we're using it. I believe most are using this as liberally as we would a styling spray or worse still.. in the place of a heat protectant before blow drying. We wouldn't dream of bleaching our hair once a fortnight let alone several times a week and yet this is how this product is being used and that's why everyone's hair is falling out! One girl commented on my video that she was appalled to still be waiting for it to fade out months later.. that was when the penny dropped.. people have no idea what they're buying. I'm not blaming John Frieda at all and it would seem they've taken steps to clarify adding a new label to the the box stating in bold "this product contains peroxide' but it's not their fault.. it is in my opinion the fault of the retailer. This product should be sold in the hair colour aisle alongside it's dated equivalent, 'Sun In' and all the other at home bleaching products. If you saw it there you would treat it appropriately!

That being said I would have thought regardless of where you bought it it was pretty obvious this is a permanent lightening spray and not for regular use. I have used it twice and don't intend to use it again for at least another month, It's taken me too long to get my hair to the condition and length that it is to ruin it now. The comments that were common on the video where I hauled these products were "It will make your hair so orange" - it hasn't, "Your hair will be so dry" - it isn't and the most popular had to be "Don't use this!!". I wanted to put my views out in the blogosphere to counteract some of the negativity surrounding John Frieda's Go Blonder range. No it's not going to be for everyone and if you're worried.. just don't risk it but if you're already considering home bleaching or highlights It's going to be gentler than that so I'd say, why not? 

My personal experience has been positive, the shampoo and conditioner alone have been very effective and left my hair feeling no different to normal. The controlled lightening spray did leave it feeling a little dry but after a deep condition it was back to it's healthy(ish) self. I wouldn't recommend you use these products every day, it's common sense to alternate with something that's a little more nourishing when you're using colour products of any kind but I will continue to use them on and off to give my blonde a boost. My highlights have lifted considerably and because I'm not too light I could potentially put off a professional touch up for several months as my roots are also blending well. Overall I'm really happy that I tried this. Reviews of skin and hair care always have to be taken with a pinch of salt and a lot of the time it's impossible to know what will work for you until you try it for yourself!

You can purchase the range here with prices starting at £5.99

One last note, to give you a more well rounded idea of how this works for other people you can check out the review page at MakeupAlley here where the feelings are as previously mentioned.. mixed!

Miss BB

New Hair & Dog Walking...

So since my last hair post I used an ash blonde colour, I believe it was Satin Blonde from Castings which has blended the whole colour beautifully. I'm MUCH happier now and although I MAY have more highlights I'm toying with sticking where I'm at as the result is very close to my natural colour so I may just have sparse streaks put through the top as it grows out. It looks different in different light and in the photos below the tone is still a touch warmer than I'd like but the picture above is perfect and what I see when I look in the mirror. It will come down to how it looks on film I think.

I think I might dabble with the gradual tanner this evening as the colour is really washing me out in these photos but overall I'm happy enough to leave it as it is for our trip. 

I wanted sun kissed locks and that's exactly what I have.

*What I'm Wearing*

Jeans and vest - H&M (current)

Jacket - Next

Boots - Faith

Scarf - Primark

Bag - H&M (current)

Dog - Spike (Borrowed)

Miss BB

Not Quite Olsen Blonde

Okay this is just a preview as I know some of you are waiting for the reveal. I'll take better pictures for a full post tomorrow but for now... here's my new hair!!

Miss BB

A Hair Raising Plan

I look at this picture of Elizabeth Olsen and think, 'she's pale like me! Maybe I could pull off that blonde.. but the picture below tells a different story. I look paper white! I'm sure I'm not quite so ghostly in real life but you may have noticed my new hair colour. You can see the shade I was here. I used ColourB4 to take out as much of the dark colour as possible. It left me with warm brown tones. I have an appointment at the salon tomorrow and my intention is to have about an inch chopped off the bottom, all of my layers trimmed and... as many highlights as they can cram on my head!

I've been brunette for more than a year now which someone pointed out to me is probably the first time in a decade and I'm bored! I've been contemplating a change for a while and I thought, why not in time for our honeymoon in Vegas? I love experimenting with new makeup when I change my hair colour but it takes a while to find the right combos so I wanted a little while to get used to it before we go away. They also say that there's only 2 weeks between a bad haircut and a good one.. well we fly 2 weeks on Sunday so fingers crossed I'm loving my new honey coloured mane by then!

I wanted to share my plan ahead of the appointment to prepare you for the 'reveal' post and inevitable YouTube video that will follow. Annoyingly I did just buy a new set of chocolate brown hair extensions which I mentioned in another post. I never showed you them because they weren't a perfect match and now they obviously won't be. I'm sure I will be brunette again at some point so I will keep them until then. If you want to see them I uploaded a video wearing them (link)

Until tomorrow...

Miss BB

Salon Style Hair...At Home?

Now I'll admit when I first saw these promo shots of Louise Redknapp for the new Schwarzkopf LIVE Salon Style I wasn't sure. I've known and loved her as a boho blonde for so many years this was a radical change but we all like to switch up our hair as seasons pass and Winter has obviously tempted her back to her darker roots. I do think she needs to bring back her bronzed glow but her new shade really makes her eyes pop where blonde never did and I tend to think warm brunette tones are more youthful... 

but then I would say that wouldn't I?

Louise has been experimenting with darker shades recently and I think the chocolate brown she's settled on has brought back the natural shine to her bleached hair. I know that's what always steers me back to brunette! To achieve her new do she used the new LIVE Salon Style from Schwarzkopf (in case I hadn't already made that clear). It's the first professional quality hair colour to be developed for home use and promises to cover greys and leave you with healthy, shiny hair. 

Whenever I've had an all over colour at the salon it does always look better than my own efforts at home.. but why? I always thought it must be application but apparently not. Schwarzkopf claim to have bottled it so I can't wait to give it a go. Those of you that have tried other products from the LIVE range in the past will know the results are intense and less prone to fade so I'm excited to see how they've improved upon an already winning formula.

For more info check out the video below...

You know I'm a huge advocate of home hair colouring, you name it, I've tried it so when something new is launched my poor hair knows it's set to play guinea pig. Fortunately LIVE have developed an app for you to test out one (or all) of their 20 new shades before taking the plunge. I tried it out.. 

What do you think?

Try it for yourself here

Will you be switching up your shade this holiday season?

Schwarzkopf LIVE Salon Style is available nationwide now RRP £5.99

You can purchase from Boots.com right now for £3.99 here

Miss BB

*sponsored post*

Hair Envy

I don't know if it's the blonde or the waves or just the fabulous condition but I can't get enough of this girls hair! LOVE! Hair is definitely my next priority.. This weekend I will be shopping for super nourishing products and attempting these soft, polished waves in my own lacklustre hair.

Pictures taken from HRH Collection

Miss BB

My New Hair

I love being brunette, it's healthier for my hair and it definitely suits me more than blonde... but sometimes it's a bit boring, y'know? That and the darkest dark shades I usually use tend to make me look even paler than I am (which is really pale). So I decided to lighten up as a pre-baby treat and this is the result.

What do you think?

A hairdresser friend of mine (she's actually StyleSoCoy's sister) came over and did it for me in the comfort of my own home which is always nicer when we're talking time consuming foils. I told her I wanted lighter blonde pieces in the underneath and overall highlights and I think it came out really nicely. When my hair moves you can see the lightest sections and dependant of how I style my hair it will reveal different highlight effects, it makes me boring brunette shade much more versatile. The damaged ends of my hair always fade quickest so it's evened out my colour too. I loved the glossy dark on top but the lower layers never matched so it was about time something was done and I really like how it's turned out. 

It's not quite the Lauren Conrad brunette I was initially campaigning for but over time I think I'll have more blonde in the underneath to achieve that contrast look. 

Before and After

You can't ignore the difference in skin tone and I swear this is the exact same makeup I'm wearing in both photos. Ok so the lighting's different but neither were taken with flash.. the warmer shade just really brings out the colour in me. It's perfect for Autumn/Winter and most importantly I like it!

Miss BB

Project Profile Picture

After a conversation with Fee (makeupsavvy.co.uk) on Twitter about how she felt her appearance had  changed over the years I took a peek at my Facebook profile pictures and it turns out I'm quite the chameleon myself. Nearly every one of these was taken before I started blogging and vlogging so it just goes to show I've always been one for switching up my image. I love photos for this reason, you can look back and judge what style really suited you with more objectivity than you could when you were sporting said style. You can see what hair colour made your eyes pop and what just didn't go. You can see that wearing tight dresses did not make you look skinnier and you can see that sometimes it's better to "embrace the pale" than look like a Jersey Shore reject. This is just a selection of photos from the past maybe 5 years... this doesn't include any of my teenage looks where I dabbled with the "goth"trend or sported the (very popular at the time) croydon-face-lift. We've all had our disasters and I love Facebook for keeping them on record for all to see. I'd like to suggest you all give this a go.. it's eye opening!

 

 What's your favourite?

And if you do do this, please leave me your blog post link!

Miss BB