How to Boost Your Roots

If you have fine and lifeless hair, follow these simple steps to help boost your roots and give your hair more volume!

Some are blessed with naturally thick and full bodied hair but for those of us who aren't, all is not lost. It's easier than you think to give your hair a thicker look...






Washing Your Hair

1. Don't wash your hair too often! Shampooing too often upsets hair and over time it will lose its natural bounce.
2. On days when you do wash your hair, use a good shampoo and conditioner which will not weigh down your hair and will actually give your hair extra body. Keratin Complex Care Shampoo the perfect shampoo for chemically treated hair that needs extra care to restore its natural beauty. Care shampoo is a professional shampoo which will add body and volume to your hair whilst giving it a deep, but gentle cleanse! A perfect conditioner to help boost your roots is: Milkshake Volume Solution Conditioner. This conditioner is formulated to restore strength and vitality whilst thicken your hair from root to tip and will leave your hair beautifully bouncy and healthy looking.
3. Try to avoid washing your hair on the day of styling as hair tends to hold volume and style better when it is not freshly washed.

Tips for Styling Your Hair

1. When blow drying hair, flip your head upside down to add volume and massage your scalp whilst drying to give lift to those roots.
2. Use a large vent or round brush when blow drying to boost the volume.
3. Gently ruffle hair with your hands after blow drying to give it some life again.
4. If your hair is still flat, scrunch hair with a thickening mousse. Try Montibello Densi Volume Treatment Mousse. This mousse will boost every strand of hair and will add amazing volume which will stay with you all day!
5. To seal this style, blow dry on a cool setting.

Bonus Hair Boosting Product

Milkshake Lifestyling Hair Styling Potion. This could be the answer to your prayers. Say goodbye to fine and lifeless hair! Whatever condition your hair is in, use this secret potion to add a brilliant boost to your hair. This product leaves hair natural and healthy whilst adding priceless volume!





Picture by Luciano Consolini on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons Licence!

The Ins and Outs of Split Ends

So many of us suffer from split ends but don't know the causes or ways to prevent the problem. When the cuticle is damaged and the cortex unravel, we get the dreaded split ends. But nevermind the technical talk, we want to know what we're doing wrong and what we can do to help solve the problem!

So, what are the common causes of split ends?
Well basically, when our hair is dry and brittle, the ends split. Common causes of dry/damaged hair and therefore hair with split ends are:

• Excessive heat styling
• Bad quality hair brushes/combs
• Lack of good hair conditioning (with a good quality conditioner)
• Rough treatment of hair (for example, harsh towel-drying)
• Over colouring

What can we do to prevent/cure split ends?
As far as a cure is concerned, we are pretty much out of luck. The only solution to get rid of existing split ends is to get a hair cut. However, we can prevent split ends. Here are some tips to help you out:

• Try not to scrunch your hair up too much whilst washing to help avoid tangles.
• Use a good quality, preferably professional, conditioner.
• Comb through a leave-in-conditioner after washing hair on occasion.
• Brush/comb hair very gently (especially when wet) to avoid breakage.
• Don't use heat appliances too often and when you do, use a good thermal protection product.
• Have your hair cut regularly to remove split ends.

Recommended products to help with split ends:

• Keratin Complex Care Shampoo 400ml
• Joico K-PAK Cuticle Sealer Litre
• Macadamia Hair Nourishing Leave-In Cream Natural Conditioner
• Senscience Hair Thermal Design Styling Spray 200ml

Now go fight those split ends!


Picture by *Zara on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons Licence.

5 Ways to Keep Your Coloured Hair Healthy

As we all know colouring our hair has its down sides. Colour can leave hair dry and damaged and often the colour fades faster than we want it to. So here are 5 top tips to care for your hair and to keep your hair healthy and rich in colour...


1. Don't forget to protect your hair in the Summer. Summer is a tough time for coloured hair, especially if the Sun is shining. Sun doesn't only dry out and damage your skin, your hair is also at risk (especially if it's coloured)! So just as you would apply sun cream to your body, use a  hair beauty product which will protect your hair from the sun's rays. Try Milkshake Summer Hair Beauty Mask, designed to replenish your hair's natural softness and beautiful shine. Simply apply this product to damp, clean hair and rinse thoroughly for hair that's protected against sunshine and against the chemicals in the swimming pool water.


2. Use a good shampoo which will give your coloured hair plenty of moisture! How about Montibello Colour Lock Shampoo, a gentle shampoo that nourishes hair by locking in moisture that will help to keep the colour lasting longer by keeping your hair healthier.


3. Use a professional conditioner which is specifically aimed at coloured hair. I would recommend to anyone who has colour treated hair to try using Milkshake Colour Maintainer Conditioner. This conditioner promotes healthy and vibrant coloured hair. Use this conditioner to leave hair stunningly shiny and easy to style whilst enhancing the beautiful colour in your hair.


4. If your coloured hair is dry and damaged, use a good quality hair care product to treat it and bring it back to life. Milkshake hair repairing system. is easy to use and provides professional results when it comes to restoring the damage caused by hair dye.The ingredients in Milkshake Hair Repair System care for your hair from root to tip to care for your colour and to provide the necessary moisture and nourishment for hair with body and natural control and shine. Use this hair beauty product as a nourishing treatment for your hair. Apply to damp hair and leave it to work its magic for 5 minutes (leave for longer the more damaged the hair) before rinsing for healthy, lively hair!


5. One final tip is to try and avoid using hair dryers, straighteners or curling tongs after every wash. This is known to dry out and damage any hair, so be extra careful if you colour your hair. Whenever possible, leave your hair to dry naturally. If your hair is too wild to leave in its natural state, why not use a mousse or another good quality product on damp hair which will lightly tame your hair and cause no further damage. A perfect hair beauty product for this is Milkshake Lifestyling Sparkling Glaze Mousse.


Remember... the healthier you keep your hair, the longer you keep your colour!


Picture by jkuttarkabat on Flickr, used gratefully under a Creative Commons Licence!

How to Tame Your Frizzy Hair!

Are you tired of spending morning after morning styling your hair only to see it ruined the minute you step out of the door? Well you're not alone! Frizzy hair affects all types of hair, be it curly, wavy, kinky or even straight. But don't fret, there are several ways to fight frizzy hair!

So what causes our hair to frizz?

Well unfortunately, it may just be the case that frizzy, coarse hair is in our genes. What we consider to be frizzy hair is often a result of dry, brittle hair. However, there are many other factors which cause or worsen frizzy hair. So let's tackle this problem head-on! I will list several factors which lead to frizzy hair and then go through some tips to help prevent or cure these problems.

Causes...

1. Lack of protein and moisture in the hair can lead to frizziness.

2. Humidity in the air.

3. Excessive use of heat appliances on the hair (hair dryers, hair straighteners).

4. Hair that is damaged from colouring can cause frizz.

5. Certain products which contain high levels of alcohol, for instance hairsprays, mousses and gels.

6. Daily mistreatment of hair (i.e. over brushing, brushing roughly and fiddling with hair).

Prevention/cure...

1. Use a good deep cleansing shampoo designed to strip away dirt and open the hair cuticle leaving it ready to fight frizz. Try Keratin Complex Clarifying Shampoo specifically aimed at frizzy hair for sleek and beautifully smooth hair.

2. Use a conditioner aimed at dry and damaged/frizzy hair. Try Keratin Complex Care Conditioner. This conditioner will detangle your hair and leave it with a natural shine.

3. Try to avoid washing your hair every day! Your hair contains natural oils which are essential for keeping your hair healthy and shampooing too often means your hair will lose this. Shampooing every day will also result in your hair's natural defence mechanism over compensating for its loss of natural moisture, therefore making your hair more greasy throughout the day. Natural oils will reduce frizz!

4. Be gentle when brushing your hair; tease knots out rather than tugging them as this will break hair making it appear frizzy. Also try to pat your hair dry with a towel after washing rather than rubbing it with the towel as this can damage your hair.

5. If you have coloured hair, make sure you use shampoo and conditioner which will treat dry damaged/coloured hair. Try Keratin Complex Colour Care Shampoo and Keratin Complex Colour Care Conditioner.

6. Use products which will help to tame your frizzy hair. Try Milkshake No Frizz Glistening Milk for soft hair which is easy to manage without frizz. Use Keratin Complex Infusion Therapy to thoroughly nourish your hair and to protect it against heat appliances.

Picture by Tessss on Flickr - Used kindly under a creative commons licence!

How to Get the Beach Hair Look - 5 Amazing Tips!

Create your very own beach look hair!

Ever wished you could hang on to those beach moments for a little longer? -Well now you can with our handy tips and versatile products.

We all know how great our hair looks after a dip in the sea and as straightforward as this sounds,  we are all not blessed with homes on the coast and we can't all afford a trip to the sea every few days. So, we need a simple alternative.

Photo: Ian Norman

In this entry I'm going to suggest some very simple tips and some great hair products to help create that surfer-style hair.
Holiday hair?! We can even turn this expression into a positive one... say goodbye to frizzy holiday hair and say hello to beautiful beach-look hair...

• Tip number 1: Use an uplifting shampoo
  Why not try Montibello Densi Volume Shampoo. This fantastic product is designed to give your hair a lift. Densi volume is a redensifying volume shampoo that reinforces and moisturises the hair fibre providing your hair with more body and volume. If you want to give your hair a boost, this is the shampoo for you!


Another great shampoo which would be perfect for your beach-look hair is Milkshake No Frizz Glistening Shampoo Oil. Apply this every day use shampoo for frizz free hair. The natural ingredients used in this product nourish your hair with vitamins A, D and E. So if you want hair that's prepared to fight the humidity of long Summer days, use this nourishing shampoo.



• Tip number 2: Condition your hair
  Try Montibello Densi Volume Conditioner to further boost that volume. This wonderful conditioner is designed to give a weightless lift to your hair, making it easy to style and even preventing it from being weighed down by the Summer's relentless moisture and humidity. So for lively, bouncy hair, use Montibello Densi Volume Conditioner!



• Tip number 3: Restore your hair
  If you suffer from dry or damaged hair, be sure to restore it before hitting the Summer heat! Milkshake Argan Oil Deep Treatment promises to fully hydrate your hair, leaving it lusciously soft, healthy and ready for styling. This hair treatment is as easy to use as any regular conditioner but manages to restore your hair and protect it against any harsh weather all in just 3-5 minutes!



• Tip number 4: Protect your hair
  Don't neglect coloured hair! Coloured hair is especially vulnerable in the Summer months so protect it with Macadamia Nourishing Leave-In Hair Protectant. This product is perfect if you're in a rush in the morning, simply apply to your hair style and leave in for lasting hold and protection.



• Tip number 5: Complete your beach-look hair
  One simple step to create the wavy look everybody seeks in the Summer...
  Apply Montibello Densi Volume Treatment Hair Mousse This Re-densifying restructuring foam reinforces, moisturises and gives hair volume and body. Apply to damp hair and scrunch chunks of your hair with your hands.Do not rinse off. Smooth out, gently brush or re-apply for your own personal look!

One final suggestion for home or holidays: Milkshake Summer Pleasure Oil for Hair and Skin! This product replenishes your hair, scalp and skin after a day in the sun. Use this product for soft and moisturised hair and skin.

Now you and your hair can enjoy the sun!

Hair Care Alert - Heads Against Dandruff!

Dandruff...what a bore! Dandruff is one of lifes ways of messing up your hair, and often messing up your day in the process. Dandruff is a nightmare, dandruff is irritating, dandruff is so insignificant in the big scheme of things that it becomes even more annoying when it does affect you. Dandruff is something we dislike and we think it is about time we took a stand. So let's launch the heads against dandruff club!!!

Well, this is where the Heads Against Dandruff Club begins. We are going to take over the net, we are going to get all over blogs, onto website and onto Facebook and Twitter like a flakey white batch of dandruff on your head! But fear not, we are here to help, we are going to find the best cure for dandruff, we are going to use a little science, a few case studies and lots of hair products to make dandruff a thing of the past. So, I guess there is just one more thing to ask...are you with me?!!

What is Dandruff?

So, before we wage war against dandruff, we are going have to know what we are up against. Dandruff is essentially dry skin, but of-course, there is a lot more to it than that. Dandruff isn't just called dandruff, oh no, it also has a really long and pretentious medical name as well: Pityriasis simplex capillitii, we aren't going to worry about that though, it took long enough to type correctly the first time.

The dandruff page on Wikipedia says that dandruff is "the shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp (not to be confused with a dry scalp)." Yes, like she said, don't cnfuse it with dry skin...silly.

It is a completely common for your skin to dry and 'flake' off, dandruff just abuses this normal right. Dandruff can be caused by a number of different things, and in true journalistic fashion, I have done some research and found a fantastic list of causes which I am now going to reference for you now...with full credit to the Hair Care Guide of course, thanks guys!

Causes of Dandruff:

Hormone imbalance
Excessive perspiration
Allergic reactions
Excessive stress
Poor hygene
Poor nutritioin/health
Lack of sleep
Inherited genetic trait
Inadequete shampooing and rinsing of the hair
Tight fitting hats
Excessive use of hair styling products (gel, mouse, hair dye, hair curler...)
Cold weather
Dry enviroment
Excessive Heat

Wow, looks like we have a job on our hands, in-fact, there is almost less stuff that doesn't cause dandruff. So, what has this research taught us? Well, we are up against a tricky customer. Dandruff has a heavy arsenal of weapons against your perfect hair and so you are going to have to be prepared. So, let's select our first weapons to fend off dandruff whilst we decide on our next move...and remember, don't flake out, we are all in this together (ahem, excuse the 'flake out' pun there).

Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Conditioner

Ok, so we are looking for a quick fix to dandruff. We will need two simple tools, a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner. Both will have to be optimised for fighting dandruff and both will have to used carefully to ensure the best results. These will be our quick fix shampoo and conditioner products for dandruff whilst we work on a long term strategy to give dandruff a kick up the bum!

• The Anti Dandruff Shampoo - There are lots of anti dandruff shampoo proucts out there, so finding one wasn't too much of a problem, what we wanted to do though was find a really good one, one that will do the job properly. So with a little hunting around we found one that is going to give dandruff a shake up (and it doesn't have Head and Shoulders in the name, come on, there are more types of shampoo out there than that!).
  
  We chose to go with Simply Zen Dandruff Controller Shampoo. This anti dandruff shampoo is amazing, it is top top quality, it smells really nice and most importantly, it works! From the science side of things, this shampoo includes "anti-bacterial properties of zinc pyrithione which soothes the irritation and itching whilst botanical extract allantoin help restructure proteins." If I translate this back into English, this basically means that Simply Zen anti dandruff shampoo is good for your scalp and it will help to get rid of dandruff. So, squirt a bit of that on and come back to me when you are ready to condition your hair.



• Anti Dandruff Conditioner - The conditioner for the job was a little more of a hunt. Whilst shampoos are ten a penny, finding a real good quality conditioner is very important. As I have said time and time again, if you are going to spend the money on your hair, spend it on conditioner, you really can't go wrong. So with all of that out of the way, let's see which conditioner to use.
  
  We have gone for a more un-conventional conditioner for our war on dandruff. As opposed to a normal conditioner, Milkshake Conditioning Whipped Cream is made of a magical formula that is wonderful to use. This anti dandruff conditioner is aimed at caring for dry and damaged hair, but take my advice, it is gentle and it works absolute wonders on dandruff and dry scalps. Because it is made using natural milk proteins, it is as gentle as a conditioner comes. It will work magic on your scalp and keep the flakes at bay, use it and smile!

So, the war is on! We have won the first battle but there will be more to come. The war will be long and scalp dust will fly, but in the end we will be victorious. So, go forth and tell your flakey friends of the revolution, Hair Care 1 - Dandruff 0!

Picture by: Ed Yourdon on Flickr, used greatfully under a Creative Commons licence!

Summer Hair Care Tips - Summer Shampoo

Ah, there we go...it is Summer, at last! Yes, we have been waiting a whole year for Summer and right on cue here it is. The birds are chirping, the waves are lapping and I'm sitting in the office with my hair sticking to my face and a fan blowing warm air in my direction, don't you just love it.

Well, actually I do. Summer is a great time of year, the best infact. When your not slaving away behind a computer, or whatever else you do, Summer is a fantastic time of year. There are holidays to enjoy, pools and the sea to swim in, tans to get and general relaxing to be done. But with all of this good life, must come a negative. That negative is what the Summer can do to your hair.

To put it lightly, Summer hair care can be a night-mare of epic proportions, infact it can be so bad that you spend your days wishing for the cold nights of Winter, and that is never a good thing!

Well, fear not, because in this series of handy, helpful hair care tips we will be blogging about what the Summer does to your hair and how you can counteract the negatives to keep your locks looking as bright and breezy as the weather itself, so without further ado, I introduce the 2010 Summer hair care tips!

Summer Shampoo

So, in this week's Summer hair care tip blog I am going to be looking at the foundation of any hair care routine; that is summer shampoo of course!

So, before we pick some Summer shampoo for you to use, we need to clarify exactly what the Summer season does to your hair so that we can determine the best ways to make sure that your hair doesn't get damaged.

To put it simply, as lovely as the sun is, it can be a bit cruel to your hair. The harsh Summer rays can be damaging on the hair's cuticle. This can result in your hair losing its necessary oils and moisture that keep it healthy and can result in dry and damaged hair. Another side-effect of too much sun on your hair is the most hated of hair hells...frizz! Yes, you heard me right, the sun can turn your hair into a humid frizzy mess.

The other major issue when it comes to Summer is swimming. Swimming is great, but it is important to remember what chlorine can do to your hair. If you have coloured hair then chlorine is probably your worst enemy. Chlorine can discolour hair as well as leaving it prone to breakage.

So now we know what the Summer sun can do to your hair it is time we looked into what Summer shampoo you should be using to keep your hair healthy and beautiful!

Summer Shampoo 1 - Macadamia Moisturising Repair Shampoo

Macadamia Natural Oil hair products are still a relatively new range of hair products. They are made using a natural oil, called Macadamia, as you may have guessed. Macadamia Oil is amazing stuff, and it is no wonder that they have gone all the way to the South Pacific to source it! The natural oil in this moisture repair shampoo ticks all of the right boxes to make it the perfect Summer shampoo. The number 1 plus of this Summer shampoo is that it uses natural oil that works in harmony with your hair's natural oils. It is essential in the Summer that your hair retains its natural oils, and this can mean over-washing is a big no-no but with Macadamia Natural Oil your hair will be cared for in a natural way and will stay looking and feeling healthy.

Buy Macadamia Summer Shampoo - £15.17

Summer Shampoo 2 - Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo

As we mentioned above, Summer can be a bit troublesome if you have coloured hair. Not only will the sun damage your hair colour but the chlorine in swimming pools can cause real problems with hair colour. So, with that in mind we needed a shampoo that is specially designed to care for coloured hair. Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo is without a doubt one of the best shampoos for the job. It is made using natural ingredients and it is gentle to hair that has been coloured. Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo will protect the colour of your hair and gently cleanse your hair to keep it clean, healthy and moisturised. For those of you with coloured hair, this is a must have Summer shampoo.

Buy Milksahke Colour Maintainer Shampoo - £9.89

Summer Shampoo 3 - Urban Tribe Flexibility Shampoo

The third pillar of the Summer shampoo world is a beautiful Summer shampoo that is designed for use on that is dry and damaged. Urban Tribe Flexibility Shampoo is part of an amazing range of hair products that are made by Urban Tribe and Flexibility Shampoo is the one that can repair dry and damaged hair. As we have already said, the Summer can be hell for hair and for many that means dry and damaged hair, so that makes this Summer shampoo choice a no brainer! Urban Tribe Flexibilty Shampoo will restore moisture and nourish your hair so that any cuticle damage caused by the sun will be repaired and your hair's natural beauty restored.

Buy Urban Tribe Flexibility Shampoo - £8.99

So, now you have no excuse, no matter what type of hair you have, there is a Summer shampoo for you. Now, go and enjoy the sun! Next week I am going to reveal the secrets of Summer conditioning! Bye x

Picture by: Richard0 on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons Lisence