I changed my hair!

Guess who's back, back again? Philly's back, tell a friend! (If you want to...or not, it's cool.)
So! I've been umming and ahhing about changing my hair since...well, when haven't I wanted to change my hair as soon as I've already changed it?!
I've had a side fringe now for around..oh god, since I was about 13, so nearly 10 years! Throughout that time period I've had it short, thick, thin, grown out, you name it, my fringe has probably done it. I've always wanted a long, thick, full fringe for as long as I can remember, but I've got a really big cowslick right in the middle of my parting, meaning any sort of flat hairstyle just does. not. work. on my hair, hence the side fringe! I've tried it once before when my hair was shorter than my shoulders, which made my face look super chubby and it just didn't suit me.
Fast forward about 6 years and my hair is now halfway down my back (probably more if I measured it properly) and it's been several different colours throughout that time. I've finally settled on the thought that I'm going to be a redhead for life (hence taking the plunge for henna dye again, I'll do another post on that! besides, no amount of "ginger skin" can fool people!) but I also had a desire to change my fringe. I last had it cut in September 2014 and as you can imagine, it'd grown out horrifically since then! I basically had a long flop of hair, which in all honesty just looked really silly. It would never stay straight, it'd somehow get really greasy easily and it was just really, really f*ing annoying. Girls and guys, you know my hair problems are real.

You can sorta see the long flop here...sigh!

My sister was up from London for the weekend and I had the usual "you need at least 5 inches off your hair" discussion with my family - no, I don't by the way! -  she actually approached me asking if I wanted my fringe cut (she is in fact a fully qualified hairdresser - it's great having someone who cuts it how you want it!). Now seemed like a better time than ever to get that full fringe chopped in. So, I sat in the chair, closed my eyes and as she uttered the words "I'm not an expert in full fringes so bear with me" - I hoped for the best. It's only hair right? It'll grow back, I may own shares in bobby pins to clip it back whilst it grows again but hey, who cares.
Turns out, she cut it perfect and guess what, I absolutely love it.

I went to check it out in the mirror and instantly fell in love with my new thick full fringe! Now my hair is long, it suits my face SO much better, it looks great whether I wear my hair up or down.
If you're thinking of changing your hair and you're not quite sure whether to take the plunge or not, just do it. It's hair, it grows back! If you'd of said that to me years ago, I'd of been sat in my room crying, wishing my life away until my hair grew back. Sure, I've had my share of disasters (albeit AFTER I was a hair model for my sister whilst she was training, I thought I was the biz with that brown hair dye, which horribly turned black!) but honestly, it really does grow back or you can strip colour out and start again. You can pin a short fringe back or style it slightly differently.
It's not the end of the world, just rock that new hairstyle in your own way.

♥

"Spin Pin"

When it comes to styling my hair, I'm always on the lookout for the newest craze going on. Im slightly late on this bandwagon (as im forever being a skeptic) but hear me out, these actually work.

I'm talking about the Spin Pin. Ive seen these everywhere but always resisted buying them as theres something about bobbypins I just can't get enough of. Although, they are really irritating because my hair is just far too thick to use them so they bend out of shape and my floors seem to eat the pins as soon as they touch it.

Now why is it when you actually want to buy something, you can never find it?! Everywhere in my town today that I knew stocked them, were completely sold out. Whilst in my local Asda, I noticed they actually have these in stock much to my surprise! Woo! I happily picked up 2 packs at £2.00 each. They weren't actually a brand name, just part of the George range but they are exactly the same as the Goody Spin Pins, but for a lot less money (I believe they retail at around £6.00 for two?).

I couldn't wait to try these out as I love having my hair in a bun. Luckily today was one of the few days lately ive actually worn my hair down so when I was back in my car, I quickly whipped my hair into a bun shape and twisted these contraptions in. Voila, a lovely messy bun...just how I like it. This literally took me seconds to do with two of these pins compared to about half an hour with hair bands, bobby pins etc. The thing I really like about these is that they are so sturdy. My hair doesn't feel like its going anywhere which is a massive bonus for me as I'm constantly moving about at work and at home. And, having long thick hair, means for me, its not always easy to get my hair to stay put once I've styled it. I've now had these in for a couple of hours and I've done all the housework, even had a little snooze with the kitten and my hair has stayed exactly how it was when I put it in.

Ignore my horrific gingery roots and faded red hair in these photos, it's my day off from work and my hair hasn't been washed in a couple of days...(don't judge!)

I am seriously impressed with these, which has really surprised me as I thought they were going to be a dud. If you struggle, like I do, to keep your hair up once its styled, give these a go. You never know, you might actually be surprised like I was.

♥