Minty fresh hair – KMS Makeover Spray

If you’re a regular at Hair Romance, you know I’m all about second day hair and I love dry shampoo.

KMS Makeover spray is my kind of hair product. Similar to a dry shampoo, it will absorb extra oil from the roots, but KMS takes it a step further as Makeover Spray is also a texturizing, styling product.

It has a fab matte finish and really creates volume. If you have thin or fine hair you will love this. Or, if like me, you have thick hair and love even bigger hair, this is fab.

It contains peppermint and grape extract and will leave your hair smelling minty fresh. It’s a total pick me up for flat hair. Perfect for a restyle at the end of the day before heading out. Will also add lots of texture to your morning bed head. 

How to get minty fresh hair

To get rid of oily roots – hold about 15cm away and spray directly onto hairline and part. Leave for a minute then brush through or work in with your fingers.

To add texture and restyle – lift sections and spray lightly onto roots and hair. Work through with your fingers to restyle and you’re ready to go

It is really easy to use but KMS have a cute video on their website that shows you exactly what to do. KMS is available from salons, check here for your local stockist.

Speaking of bed head hair, Kimmi at The Plastic Diaries has a great tutorial on how to get sexy bed head hair.

My real bed head hair cannot be described as sexy. Do you have any tips for bed head hair?

Cloud Nine Straightening Irons – It’s a miracle

This is the straightening iron of my dreams.

This is my hair before and after using the Cloud Nine straightening irons.

Do I really need to say which is before and which is after?

The photos speak for themselves but let me tell you a little part of my hair journey and my quest for straight hair.

It’s been five years since I last owned a hair straightener.

I developed an addiction to my ghds, much to the detriment of my hair. It’s a long story, and if anyone is interested maybe I’ll tell it one day but suffice to say I lost a LOT of hair.

So I went cold turkey and gave my irons to my sister.  The Oracle helped my hair back to its former glory and I have since embraced big volume blow-dries and my curly hair.

However I still longed for the smoothness that only comes from irons. Over the last five years I have had my hair straightened by the Oracle on occasion, and straightened my hair at my sister’s, and at friends’ places before we go out…OK, OK, so maybe not completely cold turkey, but my home has been straightener free. 

Then I heard about the Cloud Nine straightener. I heard it was from the people who started ghd and I started to get curious. I was lucky to get my hands on one and couldn't wait to try it out. The straightener looks similar to the straightener I knew but with some pretty important differences: 

* Patented Korean rock mineral plates that are super smooth to create more shine. That’s their blurb but the plates look pretty and not a snag anywhere so they might be right.

* Adjustable heat settings. Yes – seven heat settings from 70 degrees to 220 degrees Celcius. I did my hair on 200 for this shot.

Fine-haired girls should be cheering as these lower heats will allow you to straighten your hair without flattening it. Thick hair will still need high heat but the lower temps are great for touch-ups and styling. 

* Universal voltage 

So it can travel with you and never has to leave your side. This could be an issue for me.

* Swivel cord

For me, this is the best thing. So much easier to handle and no tangling yourself up in the cord. Genius. 

My straight hair is back! However, with the adjustable heat it doesn’t have to be so flat anymore, I can still keep some volume and shape in the style.

My best tip for irons is to use heat-protectant products. Heat-protectant sprays and treatments will help prevent damage from (over)straightening your hair.

Have you had a straightening addiction? Do you use heat-protectant products? What’s your favourite?

Is your hair feeling the love?

Hair Romance is feeling the love at the moment!

Hits are off the charts here for Hair Romance, especially for my Sweet Twist and Pin Updo and The Twist and Pin Side Chignon and How to wear a headscarf like Blake Lively, and I am so excited. Thank you to all our lovely new followers on Facebook, Twitter and Google Friend connect. You can also add us to your reader with Feedburner here.

Don’t you always find that just as one part of your life gets busier, the other parts start to compete and everything goes crazy? Well, that’s kind of life around here at the moment. So much so I’m neglecting my hair! I am in serious need of some hair treatment.

One of my long time favourite treats is Redken All Soft Heavy Cream. It really does turn your hair all soft. After washing your hair, towel dry and apply this treatment. Leave for about five minutes and then rinse off to see your new shiny hair. The Redken All Soft shampoo and conditioner are also brilliant if your hair is dry or damaged. 

My trick for a cheap hair treatment is just to leave your conditioner in for longer. Wash your hair and apply conditioner from the midlengths to the ends of your hair and leave in. I used to clip my hair up and cover in cling film and then get some chores done around the house. Rinse off, blowdry and style and you’re ready to go! 

Recently I discovered a fabulous hair blog The Mane Loves... Kat focuses mainly on hair product reviews and is a font of knowledge. I asked her for her hair treatment tip and she recommends Andrew Collinge Salon Treatment. I noticed Andrew Collinge also does a Complete Moisture One Minute Wonder Treatment. A one minute treatment? Sounds like I might actually be able to fit that into my day. Off to the shops now...

Now do you have any hair treatments you can recommend? What’s your tip for saving neglected and tired hair? 

Lovely balloon image from here 

Product images from Redken & Andrew Collinge

Cloud Nine TheO and my love of big hair

I love big hair.

Despite fighting my curls for so long, I have always loved big hair. I was poker straight for a while but I have since come back round to the idea that volume is a good thing. Plus, I have a theory that the bigger the hair, the smaller your hips look. It’s all about proportion, ladies.

So, if you’re not blessed with lots of hair, what do you do?

Meet TheO by Cloud Nine. It’s genius.

Ever since I heard about TheO, I have wanted to try it for myself. I have lots of hair but making it bouncy and shiny does not come naturally. I experienced TheO last Friday by the lovely Danae at Headcase Hair in Paddington and I am hooked.

What is TheO?

TheO is a heated Velcro roller system from the brilliant minds at Cloud Nine. Sounds simple but it’s a revolutionary hair idea. Basically they have cleverly redesigned the humble Velcro roller to heat up from the inside out using an induction heating system. Pop a roller in the pod and in 4 seconds it’s ready to roll and heats up in your hair, not in your hand.

Why is this such a good thing?

TheO is faster and easier than hot rollers. And it uses less power. It’s a triple threat.

There’s no burning your fingers as with hot rollers, and rushing to put them all in before they cool down. There’s no fiddling with clips and then having to apply heat as with traditional Velcro rollers. I have both hot rollers and Velcro rollers in a box gathering dust as they are fiddly and I never have the time to use them.

A bonus I noticed with TheO was that it imparts more shine to my hair than I expected from rollers.

The lovely Danae at Headcase Hair

TheO in action

My big bouncy curls

How do I use it?

1. Put a roller inside the pod and it heats up in 4 seconds. The rollers heat up from the inside out so you can handle them easily.
2. Roll sections of hair around each roller, starting from the top of your head. Continue with the back and sides from the top down.
3. Spray your hair with a medium weight hairspray and let the rollers cool down in your hair. This only takes about 10 minutes. You can tell when it’s done as there is a little dot at the side of the roller that turns red when it’s hot and back to black when it’s done.
4. Remove the rollers, gently brush and style.

Why do I want it?

I love big hair.

I also love volume and movement in hair.

This is the styling accessory for me.

If you like the same things as me, you will love TheO.

But TheO is not just about big hair.

It’s for bouncy Victoria’s Secret hair, gorgeous Hollywood hair and it’s also perfect for rolling beach waves. Depending on the size of the roller you can get tight Mad Men curls, soft Marilyn Monroe waves, or Blake Lively big beachy waves.

TheO is all about volume and body in the hair. You can curl your hair with irons or wands but it won’t give you the same root lift and all over body unless you blow dry it really well before. And if you’re going to go to all that trouble, TheO is quicker, easier and smarter.

My husband loved this hair and I received a lot of compliments. Now, just to get TheO at home…

Have you tried TheO? What did you think? Do love big hair? 


Note: My necklace is from Polli - check out their gorgeous jewellery and they have a cute blog too

I don't mean to go on...

but Gwyneth Paltrow also swears by dry shampoo. 

Her favourite brand is Klorane (which rated highly in my dry shampoo reviews) and she preaches

This stuff’s great when your hair needs a little spiffing up, especially when it’s starting to get a bit greasy. If you want to maintain a blow dry or don’t have time to do a full wash and blow out, this really does the trick. It gets right to the roots and brings back volume and makes your hair less oily.

I don't follow all of Gwyneth's sage advice (that she loves to dole out) but If you have straight hair that tends to get oily at the roots you must buy this.

Moroccan Oil

I’m a bit late to the Moroccan Oil party but I’m not leaving. I am now a convert.

Last week they had a cute little pop up salon at Bondi beach. They had a mobile salon offering free samples and a restyle after the beach. The salon may be heading to other locations soon so will keep you posted.

Do you have curly hair? Is your hair thick or coarse? Or both? Then you are going to love this product.

Moroccan Oil is actually made in Israel and is from oil extracted from the Argan tree. I guess Moroccan Oil sounded more glamourous. Good marketing. Anyway, this magic oil is combined with silicone and it is easily absorbed by your hair, makes it soft, smooth and manageable and cuts drying time.

You only need a very small amount (1 pump is about a 5c piece) and you apply to the ends of damp hair. Then dry or style as normal. I have found it so good on my hair that I haven’t needed other smoothing products that I normally use.

I want to try some of their other styling products too. They have just released a Curl Control Cream and I like the sound of it. Here’s their marketing blurb:

Moroccanoil® Curl Control Cream (300mL) is formulated for naturally curly and wavy hair with an advanced technology that offers unique conditioning and detangling properties.  It delivers exceptional movement to hair while enhancing natural curl and offers optimal hold. It also adds volume, control and shine as well as provides humidity resistance. In short, a no fuss all in one styling product which builds body and texture at the same time.

Big claims. Have you tried it? What’s your verdict?