How I get my locks to look like glass (thanks John Frieda)

I had finished presenting a WI (Women's Institute) talk when a hand shot up and the owner of the hand asked

"How do you get your hair to look like glass?"

My response was

"Erm....(uncomfortable pause) I don't drink, I don't smoke, I eat prettily healthily (another pause and I began to wring my hands)....erm...and Moroccan Oil."

It really threw me to be honest. I know when I do talks about my business I am the centre of attention but the fact the lady had been eyeing up my hair made me feel a bit off kilter. I'm not a beauty expert, a beauty blogger, a hair fanatic, I just use what I use and have luckily found the products which work for me.

Before I start this blog post in earnest, I would like point out that over the years my hair has been all shades of colour under the sun: orange, blonde, a brief flirtation with black, light brown, dark brown and red. Growing up I was never satisfied with my hair. With eyes skewed by the ideal set by the beauty industry, rather than what I saw with my own eyes in the mirror everyday,  I fell for all kinds of 'promises' from the marketing of such products such as SUN-IN only to have my heart, and hair, broken. You 90's teenagers will remember that ghastly spray (which I pretty sure was just bleach in a bottle) that promised sun kissed locks. I wanted sun-kissed locks and since I didn't live in California where all the models in the adverts seemed to reside, I bought the Sun-In and sat on the back doorstep of my mum and dad's house using the pale rays of Yorkshire sunlight to enhance my dark brown hair. You know what you get when you mix dark brown hair with SUN-IN? Orange hair. Bright. Orange. Hair.

Me, Blonde, You, shocked.

At Uni I went all Sonic The Hedgehog and had red highlights which eventually lead me to blonde highlights and a short urchin haircut that made me look like a boy. So much so, my friend marched me off to get my ears pierced. For a while I was happy with brown hair, I grew it out and started fashioning it into an almighty quiff. Then I got restless. A hairdresser caught me at a weak moment and I started the slippery slope into full blown blondeness.  Hard to maintain, even harder to find the money for the upkeep every 6 weeks and the hardest thing? Coming back from an epic holiday in Ibiza, we headed out to a club in Manchester where I was thinking "I look awesome. I woke up like this" when a woman in said club approached me and asked "are you ok? You look really ill." Bye Bye blonde. That was the last time I dyed it.

Now it is in its natural state - a deep chocolate brown - which I don't dye and love heartily, I have finally made peace with my hair. I use Brilliant Brunette Shampoo & Conditioner in the shower, Moroccan Oil on the very tips of my hair (otherwise we have an oil slick situation on our hands) after I have towel dried my barnet, then I blow dry and straighten the fringe and front section with GHDs.

I'm glad I wasted days of my life in the colourist's chair because not only has the first 30 years of my life provided me with loads of photos which are hair-tastically hilarious, but I worked out what suits me, what I like and what I don't.

I guess sometimes you have to make many shaped hair wrongs to make a right.

Til next time...x

PS - any hair nightmares you want to share? Pop 'em in the comments section below...