Tag Archives: hair

Towelling turbans

Swimming is a fairly big thing in our house. I don’t swim in winter, because I am a wuss. But my children do. In the summer, however, I swim every day. Sure you can wrap a towel round your head turban-style. But these (see links below) make the job so much easier, because you can fasten it up so it doesn’t fall off. Also of course, these are super useful every time you wash your hair. Especially now that I have LONG HAIR (almost). Indeed, I am actually writing this post with a turban on my head whilst my hair has a conditioning treatment on it.

Talk about method writing.

I must interrupt this post to tell you about the time I had to go to a party and face my nemesis, an ex girlfriend of my boyfriend who had caused a lot of trouble (this was the first and last time I ever let this happen to me). I took ages getting ready. And I thought I looked great. Except for one problem: I still had my hair all piled up on my head in a towel, turban-style. Without the turban it looked all wrong. Anyway, I went to the party – without a towel on my head – and I faced her and she was actually perfectly nice and we sort-of became friends. There is no moral to this story other than, sometimes, you can demonise people you’ve never met and there are very few people who don’t suit a turban.

Don’t be tempted to buy cheap ones. I have an Aquis Lisse one, which is made of microfibre; I was sent it ages ago when I wrote about beauty. For an adult head I think they can’t be bettered. But they cost £15 odd. For children the Cuddledry ones, £9 odd, are perfect and well worth buying. Once properly secured they pretty much stay put.

Silk pillowcases and how they might provide good skin and hair care

Silk pillow cases, said to reduce friction and therefore make your face less creased, your hair more glossy and less likely to fall out and generally the world to be a better place.

Last year, I went along to the John Lewis bed department as they were running “how to make a bed” workshops. I went along in a professional capacity because NO-ONE can teach me how to make a bed. I have a Napolitan mother and I was in the army. Although I rarely actually make my own bed, when I do, it is frighteningly precise.

And of course, I ended up teaching the people at John Lewis how to do a hospital corner. (They weren’t doing it properly at all.)

Anyway, while I was there we got talking about pillow cases and I did learn something new: that silk pillowcases are meant to stop your face creasing. I looked into this in a lazy, hazy way and I found out some women swore by silk pillowcases to stop your hair looking like you’ve been doing handstands in bed.

Although I have to say, I quite like my bed-hair.

And it made their faces less creasy and puffy in the morning.

Anyway. I got one and I’m simply not going to promise a silk pillowcase will offer a miracle anti-wrinkle/crease cure. But this is what I’ve found:

Your hair really does seem smoother and somehow more glossy after sleeping on one.

I don’t really suffer from creasy morning face (yet), because I took the precaution of selling my soul to the devil at an early age, and keeping a portrait in the attic. BUT yes, it does also seem…smoother.

My silk pillow doesn’t get as hot as my cotton one, by that I mean, I was constantly having to flip my pillow at night to get the colder side (am I the only one that does that?) and the silk doesn’t seem to get so hot.

I got my pillow case from John Lewis, but you can get cheaper ones and I thought it might make a nice thing to go on a Christmas present list.

The Tangle Teezer

Probably loads of you have already heard of this. It was a ‘Dragon’s Den’ reject a few years ago. But I hadn’t heard of it, or seen one, or noticed them hanging there in haircare aisle. One of the juniors at my hairdressers used one on my head two weeks ago and I said “what’s that?”

And what it was was a Tangle Teezer or a hairbrush that looks like a dog/horse’s grooming brush (I actually think the addition of a strap around the back of it would be no bad thing).

They come in three permutations. This one which is the original, and you can pick them up from £9 to about £13 depending on where you shop and what colour you go for (I actually choose black but I got this flourescent pink, that’s Amazon for you). Purple glitter, for example, costs the most as it’s ‘limited edition’. There’s a child’s version which is round and comes in a flower pot and then there’s a mini version. I think this is the best – read easiest to use.

Anyway, children love it – it sails through dry or wet hair with ease and every one fought to use my daughter’s at swimming (because of its design, it’s really easy to clean so that didn’t freak me out like it normally would). The the point of it is that it’s a tangle destroyer that works without pulling the hair. I love it, it’s kinda massaging. You can’t style with it, it’s really for just combing knots out. Not 100% sure how it’d cope with really thick hair, it struggled with the thicker bits of mine.

You might be able to see here that the ‘teeth’ are in two lengths – that’s apparently the secret of its success. And they’re bendy.

Anyway, you can buy them on line or in Boots/just about anywhere.