Hair: 37 Week Pixie Update

37 weeks, that is 9 months & 1 week of hair growth.

Following my last update at 29 weeks, my hair has grown quite a lot. I have enough length to pin back the back(!) or put my hair in a tiny pony tail. This way the length doesn't annoy me and I can fake longer hair. I just got my hair tidied up and the weight taken out today as it was starting to look really shapeless and heavy.Personally, leaving my hair to grow as long as possible before getting it cut is the best option I find. I don't have vaults full of money where I can splash out on a haircut every 6 weeks. Sadly.

Last week I put a golden brown dye through my hair purely to cover the greys and for a little change without going for the chop. I quite like the colour against my natural skintone. So that is my 37 week update hopefully soon I will have myself a little bob that will allow me to style in some messy curls.

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Growing out a pixie: Tips

On the 18th of March this year I decided that the time had come for me to bite the bullet & begin the long, laborious task that is growing out a pixie cut. If you have followed me for a while you will have been that my hair was super, super short for ages. To be honest, I didn't even realise how short it was until I looked back on it! I knew it would take a while to grow but now 5 months on my hair now has a little bit of length, I have a fringe & some length round my ears but it has been annoying getting to this stage - to say the least.

 18 of March 2013

Through the past 5 months I have hunted online for tips & tricks to assist me along my hair growth process but didn't find a huge amount of useful information so I figured a little list of tips to growing out a pixie might be helpful to those of you considering a pixie or growing out a pixie cut.

Tips for Growing out a Pixie Cut

1. Perseverance.
It is a long process & at stages you will think why am I doing this?! Keep going! The last thing you want to do is chop any growth you have achieved off because you don't like how it looks one day or it is annoying you. There will be days you absoultely hate your hair but just think of the end result.

I have attempted to grow out my hair a few times & always given up, headed to the hairdressers ending up back with my super short hair. You will only think 'Why didn't I keep going 3 months ago?! My hair would be so much longer now!'

2. Keep it Tidy.
You are growing your hair so why would you cut it, you ask. There will come a point when your hair will need a tidy up & given a bit of shape. For me this was around the 14 week mark. Partly due to my graduation being that week & I didn't want shapeless hair for my photos and partly due to my hair needing weight taken out of it & a little tidy up. Now in week 23, I am considering going for another little tidy up just to lose some weight & to get my 'mullet' tidied up.

3. Conditioning is Key.
Condition your hair as much as possible be it with a regular conditioner, a leave in conditioner or a conditioning mask. Slap it on! If your hair is in good condition then it is more likely to grow & will mean less trims of dead hair from the ends! An add benefit is of course that if it is in good condition then it won't be as annoying when it is in an awkward growing stage!

I haven't used any Hair Growth products such as the Lee Stafford or Mane & Tail simply because I don't believe that they will make my hair grow! I figure they will get my hair into a good condition but so will using regular conditioners & looking after my health.

4. Experiment. 
Dying your hair a different colour might be something you choose to do while growing out your pixie but be careful with this one. Too many chemicals could result in the condition of your hair lagging... Wash out dye are an option if you fancy a little change.

I hadn't seen my natural hair colour for years so for me this process allowed me to let that come back & to be honest I love my natural colour! Why I dyed over it for so many years is beyond me!

5. Hairdresser Plan.
With my Hair Stylist we have a little plan in our minds. We know my end hair goal, she knows where I started & each stage that I will have to go through to get to the fore mentioned end goal. This way when I go for a tidy up, she won't get scissor happy & leave me with a new pixie cut...

6. Vitamins & Diet. 
Eating well will not only benefit your hair but  of your skin & general health - nothing bad about that, now is there?! Keeping yourself full of nutrients that benefit the body won't do you any harm nor will it halt the process of hair growth. You want healthy, strong hair so make the rest of your body the same!

I have been taking a Vitamin B supplement over the past few months simply because it has hair benefits along with a Vitamin E supplement. E is good for your skin & I have really noticed a difference in my skin & the softness of my hair.

Do a little research into what you want from your Vitamin supplements.

7. Be Patient.
Patience is key. It will not happen over night, you will need to focus on the end goal & just give your hair sometime to work its magic! You will get there eventually.

Happy Hair Growing! x

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14 Week Hair Update.

Growing out the pixie cut 

If you follow the blog you will know that I am currently in the process of growing out my super short pixie cut. (See the last two stages here) The simple reason being, I miss having hair to play about with! It has been 14 weeks since my last hair cut and my has grown - obviously! - quite a bit. It is getting there but it is a tricky little road to go down.

There are many obstacles on said road. Mullet being one. A fringe that is too short for the length of the rest of my hair. That's two. And finally having thick hair that builds up on the top of my head like a poorly chosen hat. All of these things I would like to keep to a minimum but I know that there will come a day when at least one will be bothering me. If it is all three then I am grabbing the clippers.

Apparently the first three months are the hardest so let us hope that soon it get's less bumpy... I will have a curly messy bob one day!

I haven't been blogging as much as I would have liked to recently mostly due to a really random, heavy cold consisting of a chesty cough, blocked nose and sore head. Who gets a cold in June?!

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Hair Lusting.

Marion Coitillard is so beautiful and I want my hair like hers soooo much. Grow hair, grooooow! In fact can I just be her please...

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Keep it under your hat

Finally got a haircut,  I love when my hair is freshly cut. It just feels so damn good! Having short hair & living in Scotland, it is pretty cold for my head at this time of year so I went hat shopping after my hair appointment & came home with 3...





 I think the black fur band & the floppy hat are my favourite, I look a bit like a poor mans fortune teller in the burgundy head band so I think I will keep the 1st two. What do you think?

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Short hair.

I have been writing a lot of university essay & the like as of late so I feel like my creative juices are in full flow which I is probably why I got up this morning & decided to write on short hair of all things. As some of you may or may not know I have had short hair for about 3 years & I highly doubt I will ever return to the land of long, tousled locks - it just isn't me. I feel like myself with short hair & it has allowed me to dabble in colour & cuts - it isn't as limited as you may think.

On Monday I decided to get my longer pixie cut bleached blonde barnet chopped super short & into a medium brown - I love it. I look tanned! I will know doubt get bored & go back to blonde but for now I am happy as a brunette.  I love thi article that I saw another blogger mention:

http://www.paulwhkan.com/pq/shorthair.html

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Style Crush #11

She may not be everyone's cup of tea in Made in Chelsea but personalities & opinions on such aside, the girl has style!

Rosie Fortescue mixes designer & high street to perfection. Along side a mixture of  textures, patterns & colours. Everything is pretty simple but styled to perfection & kept interesting through accessories including hats, handbags, jewellery & sunglasses.

My favourites have to be oufit 3, outfit 4 & outfit 5 ... or all of them! What is your favourite? 

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Style Crush #10

I think, don't quote me, that Ashley is in these pictures. I think, I find it extremely hard to tell them apart! Nonetheless the Olsen twins have the perfect mix of high fashion, boho & grunge to their style. Ashley, I feel, is the more put together twin with Mary Kate having a touch more 'grunge'. Whatever the opinion,  both styles I can't fault. They grew up in the spotlight & have 100% grown into their own styles in recent year. They own numerous successful fashion brands - they have to be stylish!

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Hair care

Hair care is something that I have really gotten into recently. Having bleached hair for the 2nd time in my life I know from my 1st experience that it requires a lot of care. It gets very dry, takes on a lovely fluffy cloud texture in the morning & feels funny when it gets wet. This said, these are my go to products in order to keep my hair soft & nourished as well as keeping brassy yellow tones at bay and adding some shine. You can see my full hair history here. 

Not all products mentioned are pictured as I am at my Mum & Dad's house, grabbing the most convenient products while packing has resulted in leaving a few in the flat! 

Washing & Conditioning
My 1st journey into Team Blonde saw me use firstly, John Fredia Colour renew shampoo & conditioner before moving onto the Lee Stafford Bleach blondes shampoo & conditioner. The Lee Stafford products I chose to use again this time around until I discovered the Touch of Silver line through blogs. This stuff is not only cheap but an amazing product that really cares for the hair. Currently I am using the Daily Maintenance shampoo, nourishing shampoo & the twice a week brightening shampoo. These three products, particularly the twice a week shampoo keep my colour bright & yellow free without breaking the bank!

To keep add some moisture back to my hair I use the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo, conditioner & hair mask. All three of these products leave my hair feeling soft & helps to combat the fluffy texture bleached hair can take on sometimes. Generally I use the The touch of silver line shampoo & conditioner one day then the Herbal Essences the next with the twice a week brightening shampoo funnily enough twice a week! I like to do a hair mask at least twice a week leaving it on for as long as possible. This can sometimes be up to an hour depending on time constraints.

Blow drying
My hair needs to be blow dried. It is of a style that if it isn't blow dried bad things happen...

I keep this pretty simple currently switching between two products. The first is the VO5 Miracle Concentrate with Argan oil. This product does wonders when blow drying my hair, it makes it smooth & soft along with taming any fly away. Although my hair is short I like to use a generous amount of this product simple because my hair is so dry it needs it! I was a total div & spilt my bottle losing about a 1/5 of it - not a happy bunny that morning! I will 100% repurchase this stuff when my bottle runs dry. Total miracle product.

The second is the Tresemme Split Remedy Treatment. Something I bought on a whim trying to make up an offer in actual fact it has become a firm favourite hair care product for me. It leaves me hair soft & tamed without weighting it down or making it greasy. I wouldn't chose this over the Miracle Concentrate but it is a lovely product that works really well. I like to think of this as my not doing much but am doing my hair-hair product. If that even makes sense?!

I also use the Toni & Guy Heat defense spray lightly on my fringe prior to straightening.

Styling
This last step is key in getting the style correct with my hair cut but it doesn't really have any products which particularly 'care' for my hair. For volume I like to use a powder/dust, currently it is a Schwarzkopf one that a friend left at my flat & later gifted to me but I loved the VO5 version too. I use this for a little bit of height &texture through the top of my hair. To mess it up a little & to hold the style in place I choose one of three products; Toni & Guy Defining wax for defined texture (silver pot) or the Toni & Guy Funky gum for flexible separation with shine or my one true hair wax love that is oh so expensive but fabulous the Shu Uemura Kengo Feather. If I could chose one product to style my hair with it would be the Kengo Feather but I can't afford it every time I need a new tube although the tubes last for ages. One day I will use this bad boy everyday but for now the Toni & Guy waxes do the job when I don't feel like using my Kengo feather. The defining wax funnily enough gives my hair definition & texture while adding a bit of weight whereas the Funky gum gives a lighter feel to the hair as well as giving the hair some texture & shine.

So that is pretty much my hair routine! Hopefully someone finds it useful?!

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Hair History

I thought I would take a little stroll through the history of my hair! What I want in my hair has changed so much. It's gone from longing for long locks to being super duper short so let's go through this...

 2008. Long dark brown hair with a fringe. This was the time when I curled my hair with a curling tong every single day! I loved this at the time.

 Spring 2009. Bit more blonde & full of volume. I used to do the hairspray, wrap hair round a big round brush & blast with the hairdryer. Again at the time I totally loved this, the volume was amazing.

 Autumn 2009. Dyed darker again. Long & wavy. It looks so so dry here which it probably was. First semester of first year at University it was more than likely to be dry!

 Autumn 2009. Still dark & shorter with a side fringe. Bit of a nothing haircut really...

 Spring 2010. Back to my natural colour & back to the old favourite of a big fringe. I loved this, this was a good time in my life so I guess I like the haircut due to that?!

 Summer 2010. I got the big chop! The Frankie cut came out to play. Best decision I have ever made. Loved this!

 October 2010. Shorter again.

 Summer 2011. This was the red face. I loved packing on a a box dye!

 September 2011. Blonde!

 October 2011. Even blonder! It was pretty much white by this point. Loved loved loved this.

 March 2012. I went a darker blonde & got it cut back really short.

 April 2012. Darker & cut really really short. Loved the cut, hated the colour.

Now. Loving the new cut.

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White, denim & lace

This was an outfit I planned in my head that actually came out how I hoped. I love it when that happens, it doesn't happen very often. I wore the outfit with my orange clutch & chunky heeled Dorothy Perkins heels. I kept the jewellery really simple just my 'love' ring & my gold River Island watch.

I can definitely see myself wearing this blouse/shirt a lot. It is a really simple basic piece but 100% a staple.

Blouse H&M . Shorts Zara . Orange clutch H&M .

Twitter  . Tumblr .

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Week in Photos #4

I cannot believe it is the 1st of July today! I am going to try & blog everyday in July. Lets see if I can do it... Commme on Emma!

Anyway my week consisted of; A sunny day in Edinburgh . Coral nails . Face mask & Strongbow - Classy . Mess made trying to find something to wear . New haircare . Hair cut & colour . Outfit lust . Outfit . Book about my favourite dogs . Last nights outfit . Hangover breakfast

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