I’m late to the ghd party. My friends were gobsmacked to hear that I’d never tried them, so I made it my mission to find out what the fuss what all about and finally, I get it. I’ve been using the Bird of Paradise V Sunset ghds with a metallic pink/purple ombre effect, glittery plates and matching heatproof mat that doubles up as a carry case. This limited edition set is definitely the prettiest I’ve seen... the actual irons are very slim with curved edges, perfect for curling.
Please excuse the mix of hair lengths and colour as I had to take the pics over a number of weeks. (I’d planned to share my findings sooner but was gutted to realise my pics were among hundreds of others I lost recently, so this is round 2: looks re-done - and breathe…)
I haven’t watched many ghd tutorials, so was making things up as I went along, but one tip from a friend stuck in my head and proved the most useful. The process of curling your hair with irons is a bit like curling ribbon with scissors - grip section of hair where you want the curl to start, twist the iron around the hair and pull it out twisting downwards. I discovered that pulling the iron down vertically gave me a more relaxed curl with straighter ends, while using it horizontally gave more traditional, curling wand style curls. You can see me twisting it vertically in the first pic below.
Very importantly for fellow frizzy haired girls, I had to smooth my hair before I started this whole process. I basically just blow dried it with the nozzle pointing down and smoothed through quickly with a brush, no major precision here, but for me there’s no point curling the ends and leaving the top full of fuzz - it kinda spoils the overall look. Starting this process with naturally smooth/straight/silky hair would be a whole lot easier. My hair is naturally wavy, frizzy, fine on top and coarse underneath. Truly blessed I know.
CASUAL CURLS / WAVY DAYTIME LOOK
I wasn’t hugely methodical in the casual curl process, just gripped random small sections and twisted the hair down vertically, curling ribbon style, occasionally changing direction. I’ve shown a close up of a single curl, next to an undone section of hair and the last pic is the final look. One side of my hair (your right) takes a curl better, which makes things look a bit uneven, but I wasn’t aiming for Shirley Templeness, so that’s ok… it adds to the natural effect.
CURLY CURLS / EVENING LOOK
{This gorgeous necklace was a gift from my lovely friend & fellow blogger, Avril, available from her shop here}
This look was more about traditional curls with rounded, bouncy ends. I sectioned my hair with a butterfly clip, styling the under sections first to make sure I didn’t miss any bits, then followed a similar process to the casual curls. I blow dried my hair smooth and used the ribbon-curling method - this time holding and twisting the ghds horizontally for a rounder, more distinct curl. Once the curls cooled, I ran my fingers through them to break them up a bit for a more natural look, then went in with the styling products.
STYLING TOOLKIT
Not gonna lie - I’m a bit paranoid about ruining my hair with this onslaught of high temperatures - my locks are very heat sensitive and I’ve had to abandon the use of tongs in the past (partly why I’ve avoided ghds for so long), so I’m very careful to do everything I can to protect. Here’s how….
First up, a double dose of protection: I start by spritzing on Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence through the mid lengths to ends - I had to have this as soon as I heard it described as spray-on Elasticizer - strengthening as it protects from heat/ UV damage and importantly for me, detangling! Once brushed through I go in with ghd Heat Protect Spray, a long term favourite to reduce heat damage, I use this daily and love how it sprays in such a fine, even mist.
Once I’ve finished styling and my curls have cooled, I smooth through the ends with L’Oreal Expert Sealing Repair serum. This comes out in a cool double pump; half oil, half cream and is brilliant for smoothing, de-frizzing and defining curls without weighing them down. I’m a bit obsessed with this range at the moment, especially the Absolute Repair mask, highly recommended for dry/damaged hair in need of tlc.
I use a light misting of Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Hair Spray to hold everything in place. I normally hate hair spray, but this one smells so good and doesn’t leave my hair tacky or stiff… maybe it’s extra lightweight because of the volumising element, but it does work well on curls.
My lipstick in the last pic is Clarins Rouge Eclat Pink Magnolia - my lips are loving the creamy formula of these lipsticks though my favourite shade is the slightly peachier Strawberry Sorbet.
Have you tried curling your hair with straighteners? I tend to switch things up depending on the occasion, what kind of curl I’m going for and how much time I have. Actually it’s mostly about the latter! If you’d like to see how I curl my hair with other styling tools, let me know in the comments below, leave a message on my Facebook page or email me at strawberryblondebeauty@gmail.com
