The Latest Hair Care Trend Hitting The UK!!!

Pssst...Listen up, we have an exclusive for you! That's right, we have finally got our hands on something we have been excited about for a very long time. As usual, those in the USA seem to get all of the best things first, but now we can have a go. Do you go to bed and dream of having perfectly straight and smooth locks without any fuss? Well, finally our prayers have been answered and we think that all of the rave that has been following this new product around is completely justified. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy!

Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy

So, first things first, what is Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy? Put simply, it is an amazing salon treatment that will utterly transform your hair and take it from curly and frizzy to straight and smooth, and the results don't just last a day or two after a visit to the salon, nope, they last for months! Literally months!

Now, the first thing you should know about the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy is that there has been lots of talk about in different places. Cosmopolitan have featured it, blogs have followed it and others have just been discussing it! The common thing between all of this hype though is that Keratin Smoothing Therapy is amazing!

So, we know that we are not just dealing with your normal hair product here, this is something special. I like to think of Keratin Complex as the IPad of the hair care world! That's right, I am that excited about getting hold of it and seeing how it works, and most importantly seeing if it is really as amazing as all those blogs have been saying.

A Bit of History

I think it is worth looking at a bit of the histroy of the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy before we dive in. It is developed by Coppola who are based in the USA. Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy was launched in 2007 and as the official Facebook page tells us is now considered the "leading smoothing treatment in the world", this is certainly quite a claim!

Started by renowned hair stylist Peter Coppola, Keratin Complex hair products range consists of the full range of different products from shampoo and conditioners to styling products and styling tools. What we are interested in though, is the world famous smoothing therapy.

The smoothing therapy itself has gone from strength to strength since its launch and as it hits the UK shores it has recently been graced with some impressive accolades. In March, Keratin Complex won 3 awards in the prestigious Behindthechair.com's awards, including the 'best smoothing system'. Impressive stuff indeed, so, enough of the history of it all, let's take a look at the actual product!!!

Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy

Like all of the Keratin Complex hair product range, and as I am sure you can gleen from the name, Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy uses Keratin as its main ingredient. The Smoothin Therapy is quite importantly for professional use only, so you wont be able to buy a bottle and use it in the shower, it will end in tears believe me!

Now, one of my personal pet hates, and I know everyone else's in the office as well is frizz. Oh frizz how you blight the lives of women around the world, ruining nights out and days at work, you are the the main ingredient to a bad hair day. Well, take a quick look at the Keratin website and you will see the claim that the Smoothing Therapy will "eliminate up to 95% of frizz"! Wow, that is a lot of frizz, or not if the case may be!

Now, I am not really one for all of the science stuff, so I won't bore you with all of that, but basically the Keratin Complex Smoothing Treatment penetrates into the core of your hair, adding natural Keratin and other ingredients that will straighten your hair and make it frizz free. The other amazing thing is that it is gentle and so can be used on any type of hair quite safely. Another thing, and a thing I didn't know before is that is can be used on hair that has only just been coloured! Amazing.

The Demonstration

So, with a grip frimly on the bottles of Keratin Complex Smoothing Treatment we invited around some of our best salon freinds to the office, packed it full of people and proceeded with a demonstration of this new (to the UK) hair smoothing treatment to really put it to the test.

Now, I am quite enthusiastic, so you probably are not surprised that I am in love with this product, however some of the people at our salon expose are quite serious people. Well, let me tell you, they went crazy for it, not only did they demand they have some for themselves, but they simply couldn't believe the difference to our model's hair. We held the demo last week, and still this week we are getting calls from people saying that they have just seen the model's hair and can't believe how different she looks!

Now, we don't yet have a video of the demo, but are holding more so will get onto that, but I have trawled Youtube to find something to show you and here it is:



Now, the other great thing is that you can now buy the Keratin Complex Hair Products range of shampoos, conditioners and styling products online in the UK from an official Supplier. So, take a look at all of the info and give it a go, you won't be dissapointed!

Specialist Secrets to Youthful Looking Hair!

Everyone wants to look younger these days, nobody wants to look their age and there are lots of people claiming that they have the next 'quick fix' for all of your beauty problems. Well, not to be outdone, we have decided to compile a comprehensive guide to keeping those youthful looks without having to go to extreme lengths, and we will try and do it on the cheap as well! So, here is my jargon free youthful hair guide...

Photo: Nancy Frost

• Hair Length
  
  You can see it now, the temptation these days is that the minute you get over a certain age (40ish) you decide that you are not allowed to wear long, beautiful locks. So, rather than keep your long hair you chop it all off in something of an offering to hair gods in the hope that they will grace you with at least some hair on your head for the remainder of your days on this green earth.
  
  Well, I've got news for you. Hair life doesn't stop at 40 and there are no rules to dealing with your hair at any age. We thing that you should consider your hair length to fit in with a number of things, but not age. We think the length of your hair should be decided on things, like your general style and the shape of your face and other intangible things like that.
  
  Now I know that this is a very 'airy-fairy' tip but the real wisdom hidden in these words is that you should go and see a trusted hair stylist and they will know exactly what length hair would suit you, listen to them and not the voice in your head saying "cut it off, cut it all off!".



• Healthy Hair is Healthy Hair!
  
  A classic journey that many women take everyday is that of the 'road to healthy hair', you can throw as many products and styling irons and hair dryers as you like at your head but at the end of the day there is only one way to look at things; healthy hair is healthy hair, you can't fake it!
  
  So, with that in mind, I would like to encourage you, my loyal reader, to take a common sense approach to your hair care routine. As I always say, think of the hair care routine in three stages: wash, condition and style. So, with three simple steps in there you can set out with a clear head and find the best way to get healthy hair.
  
  So, you will need a shampoo. The shampoo you use should be selected specifically to suit the style and type of your hair. Here are some options to get you started: curly hair, straight hair, coloured hair, dry and damaged hair. You get the picture. Basically, you need to choose just for you the shampoo that will suit you best, by all means send me a message and a pic and I will give you a personal advice session!
  
  So, once you have the shampoo use it as advised on the bottle. There is no need to use too much and there is also no need to under do it either. Just a nice simple aproach will work wonders on stressed out hair and the more relaxed you are about the process the more cared for your hair will look! Be gentle!
  
  The same goes for conditioners and styling products. I can't really advise everybody what products to use here because it very much depends on your personal needs, but if I was to give you an amazing tip (and best kept secret) I would advise you browse Milkshake Hair Products.

More tips will be coming next week when we scale things down into specific hair types so that you have a specific rescource for your own situation. I would love to see some pics and hear some requests from you guys to get me started so by all means send them in to contactus@milkshakehairproducts.co.uk and I will be sure to include your message!

How To Get Hair Like...Katy Perry!

So, she is all the rage at the moment, she has even made an honest man of Russell Brand, so she must being doing something right. Now, we don't know if her hair has had anything to do with her success, but we certainly love Katy Perry's long, dark locks and we want to crack open the secrets behind her perfect hair. So, without further ado, here is our take on how to get hair as beautiful as Katy Perry's!

• The One With Shampoo...
  
  Ok, so with most guides to getting great hair, you are best to start with a clean set of locks, you can't get beutiful hair that isn't properley cleansed beforehand! Katy Perry has consistantly jet black hair that is always full of body and has a shine that draws you in to the deep dark beauty of her hair.
  
  It is important to take care of your hair colour, esspecially with a style like Katy Perry's that relies on having a consistant deep tone. As such, we decided to use a colour protecting shampoo that would cleanse and moisturise without taking away any of your hair's hue.
  
  The shampoo we used was the fantastic Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo. Colour Maintainer Shampoo, as the name suggests, protects the colour of your hair whilst you cleanse. Milkshake Hair Products use a mixture of natural ingredients and all of the ones in here are going to be gentle to the colour tones in your hair whilst also leaving you with a natural shine and moisture, it is the only place to start really!



• What Condition is it in?
  
  Next we need to sort out a decent conditioner that is going to give your hair the vitality and lift it needs to achieve those effortless, full bodied loose curls that Katy Perry seems to achieve with ease. We need a conditioner that is going to make the most of your hair by adding a bit of oomph and moisture to stop any unwanted frizz.
  
  We have decided to use Montibello Ultra Rizzo Instant Mask. Ultra Rizzo or Very Curly (in English) is specially developed to add some real body to your hair as well as bringing together some salon professional ingredients that will promote the generation of healthy curls. We also love how this conditioner gives hair an amazing elasticity meaning your curls look like they have a genuine boost in body that is flexible and strong, this conditioner really put a smile on my face!



• You've Got Style!
  
  Really, there is only one more stage to achieve the loose curls of Katy Perry. You have washed your hair using a good quality, colour care shampoo and you have bathed it in a luxury conditioner that has set your hair ready for some curls. You will need to now prepare your hair to keep the curls, whether you have natural curls or need to coax them out with a curling iron.
  
  The product we have chosen as the styling tool for the loose curls look is Milk shake Curl Passion Designer. Milkshake Curl Passion is a specially formulated hair styling product that will work absolute wonders on curly hair styles.
  
  We simply applied a small amount to damp hair (can be applied to dry hair) and styled it as we wished. The hair was left feeling soft, looking full of body and it had a genuine strength and a lot of bounce in it! Milkshake Curl Passion is also another of my so called 'friendly' hair stlying products that wont ruin your hair in any way and uses really good ingredients that will stop your hair becoming frizzy.

So, there you have it. From flat and lifeless to the Katy Perry, full bodied, loose curls look in three painless steps. Let me know how it goes and we will be back next time with even more good hair advice for you!

The Hair Products We Used:

Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo - £10.10 from milkshakehairproducts.co.uk

Montibello Ultra Rizzo Instant Mask - £12.40 from Specialist Hair Supplies

Milkshake Curl Passion Designer - £12.39 from Specialist Hair Supplies

Picture by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/machechy/ - Used under a Creative Commons Licence.

How to Get Hair Like Eva Longoria-Parker (Desperate Housewives)!

How To Get Hair Like Eva Longoria Parker

She might be a desperate housewive, but she isn't desperate for beautiful hair. Eva Longoria-Parker has permenantly perfect hair and we are desperate to find out the secrets behind her great look. So, with Desperate Houswives in full flow at the moment (ooh it's getting good!) we are going to crack open the secrets behind this desperately good hair!

Eva Longoria Parker has beautiful thick, dark and naturally wavy hair. She manages to keep it looking full bodied and her wavy locks look healthy with a beautiful shine and a natural vitality and tone.

• The Shampoo Stage
  
  The first thing we need to do is to use an excellent shampoo that will not only cleanse the hair, but add some real body and volume to the hair. There is another key ingredient to this shampoo that we require as well...luxury. Any desperate houswife worth their salt should count the actual experience of using a hair product as important as the end result, and so we have thought up an excellent, luxury shampoo that is not only a joy to use, but will take care of your hair salon style!
  
  The luxury shampoo we have chosen to use is Milkshake Volume Solution Shampoo. Milkshake is an excellent range of salon shampoo and hair care products. They are designed to be used by professional hair stylists in salons and so, as you can imagine, are excellent quality, if they weren't then there would be lots of salon stylists moaining! Milkshake Volume Solution Shampoo does what it says on the bottle, it adds volume to your hair. Give your hair real body that will turn heads and leave your hair looking and feeling healthy and amazing! The consistency and aroma of this shampoo is wonderful and you will be bathing your hair in the kind of luxury suitable for any housewife, desperate or not!



• Positive Conditioning!
  
  Ok, here I go again...conditioning hair is a bit of a speciality for me. As I have said in previous weeks, and I am sure the regular readers amongst you will be sick of hearing this, if you spend money in only one place, spend it on your conditioner. Having worked in the hair care and beauty industry for some time, I have learned that the best and most easy way to ensure that you have beautiful hair is to condition it with a good quality product. If you are looking to make cuts somewhere, make it on the shampoo, but don't sacrifice the conditioner! With that nugget of advice out of the way, we are looking to emulate the beautiful hair of Eva Longoria-Parker (of Desperate Housewives fame!). We have added some excellent volume using your luxury Milkshake shampoo, now we need to make the most of this volume and add some shine to it as well as promoting the hair's volume.
  
  The conditioner we have chosen to get the Eva Longoria-Parker look is again from the fantastic Milkshake range. If you haven't heard of Milkshake yet, then where have you been!? Just in case you didn't know then Milkshake are a fantastic range of hair products, that originated from Z.One concepts in Italy. Normally we would spend a little more time raving about Milkshake but we will save that for an article of its own, for now we are only interested in a good quality volumising conditioner for hair.
  
  The Milkshake conditioner we have chosen to use is the Volume Solution Conditioner, the perfect partner for the Milkshake Volume Solution Shampoo, it uses active volumizing ingredients that work with the keratin in your hair to give it a natural boost and leave it feeling silky smooth. As well as this, it is another luxury hair product that will suit you Desperate Housewives out there! We found that using just a modest amount of the Volume Solution Conditioner had some fantastic results. Just work it through your hair after using the partner shampoo and your hair will not only be left volumised but it will have a beautiful, natural shine. 




• Style and Class!

We have decided that we want to make this 'hair tutorial' as simple as possible and so we have tried to keep it to three helpful, bitesize stages. As such, we are looking for a hair styler that will take care of the remainder of the task in hand; namely, to get hair just like Desperate Housewife, Eva Longoria-Parker. The hair styler we are looking for needs to make the most of your hair's volume as well allowing your to hold those loose curls and waves in place without allowing frizz to spoil the fun.

It is worth adding here that if you don't have naturally wavey hair (I don't) then you will want to perhaps style it using a curling iron. Now, this is important, make sure you use a styling treatment before using a styling iron, otherwise you will damage your hair. I tend to use Simply Zen Cuticle Redefiner before I style with irons, it protects my hair from damage and promotes the style I am going for! Make sure you only gently cure your hair, we only want loose curls and waves here after-all!

With that taken care of, I have decided the best thing for the job will be to use a nice hair spray to finish things off. I have chosen to use Milkshake Lifestyling Open Air Hair Spray. This is a hair spray made by Milkshake who are specialists in natural hair care. The fact that this is a Milkshake hair product means that it uses the best ingredients and cares for all hair types.

To use the hair spray, be gentle with it and spray sparingly until you feel you have achieved the Eva Longoria-Parker look. The Milkshake hair spray will then do all of the hard work to keep your hair beautiful and in place.

So, there you have, now we can all be Desperate Housewives. If you have any questions of need any help feel free to send us a message and we will get our experts to take a look! Please send in your pictures of the results of trying out our guides and we will do our best to feature them in our blogs. We also take requests! Sign up to our e-mailing list and we'll keep you entertained with hairstyle how to's and wonderful hair care advice delivered straight to your inbox! Anyway, what are you still doing here?? Go and do your hair!

The Hair Products We Used in This Guide:

Milkshake Volume Solution Shampoo

Milkshake Volume Solution Conditioner

Simply Zen Cuticle Redefiner Hair Treatment

Milkshake Lifestyling Open Air Hair Spray

Picture by: Guadalajara Used under Creative Commons licence