Preparing your hair for the gym can be so much more fun than putting it up in a ponytail. 

Exercise is actually good for your hair so it makes sense to look after it before, during and after just like hydrating. I will also give you a few hairstyles to play with.

I'm a keen runner and done a few 10k's and doing my first half marathon in May. 

Below I will share some of the things I've learned to look after my hair and keeping it healthy whilst exercising.

1. Exercise promotes hair growth

As I said earlier exercise can be good for your hair. It helps stimulate hair growth and improves blood circulation, which gives the follicles a boost of oxygen. It also distributes natural sebum evenly across the scalp, leading to good hair growth.

Regular cardiovascular exercise releases stress. Stress is disastrous for your hair so by for example running it will lower cortisol level which promotes hair growth. 

So let's put your trainers on and go. 

2. Prepare your hair

It might seem silly to put products in your hair before getting all sweaty. 

But it's crucial for better hair post-gym. Use a dry shampoo on your roots before your workout, it prevents excess moisture from saturating your whole head with sweat.

3. The Ponytail

Most women I see in the gym or on a race day wear their hair in a ponytail. But avoid pulling your hair into a tight ponytail if you can help it. Opt for clips or snag free elastics that are easier on your hair. Having it too tight pulls your hair and damages your hair.

What are the options?

Haven’t you been on Pinterest lately? There're so many styles for your workout. I decided to try some on myself to show how easy it is. My favourite are normally plaits and there're so many variations you can do. 

Dutch plait

Double dutch plait with a bun

French plait fringe & Fishtail plait

A loose, high bun will give you tons of volume after a workout. If extra control is needed, braid your fringe back or to the side, to keep off your face. Tie the rest into a low bun and secure with a spin pin rather than an elastic. When you’re done, use a texturising spray, blast with a blow dryer and shake out for beautiful loose waves.”

Loose buns

Minnie mouse buns

4.Protect from the sun

If you're a keen runner you might remember to protect your skin against the sun, but what about your hair. The sun dries your hair out. Make sure you protect your scalp as it's so painful when it burns. 

5. Don't wash it after every workout

If you workout every day, there's no need to wash your hair every time. 

Washing your hair too often dries it out and strip away your natural oils away. Again a dry shampoo can be your saviour. It soaks up all the unwanted sweat and oil while absorbing all the impurities. If you have to rinse your hair with water in the shower, but avoid using shampoo and just put some conditioner on your ends. 

6. Hair refresher

After your workout spray, some hair refresher on your hair will neutralize the odor and refresh your hair. It hydrates smoothes and conditions.

It does not weigh the hair down and hair is scented and soft like just-washed. 

What are some of the things you do to look after your hair while you are in the gym or running? 

London Fashion Week - Hair Spotting

I love living in London when fashion week comes to town. The city get bombarded with more stylish and cool people than normal and my favourite thing is people watching.

I must say I've seen some amazing hairstyles and colours during London fashion week and here are some of the amazing looks I've spotted over the weekend.

How To Care For Your Hair (9 Tips)

I want to share some top tips for every day hair care to look after your hair at home. Some of these tips are pretty basic, but you'll be surprised that many doesn't know how to care for their hair. And as this time of the year it's extra important to give it a little extra tender loving care.

1. Shampoo and conditioner
In the winter, it can be good to change to more moisturising shampoo and conditioner as the hair gets really dry  in the cold weather and central heating.
 Make sure you’re focusing it on your scalp when shampooing, because that’s where strong hair comes from. No need to shampoo the ends — it’ll just dry them out even more. And do it gently.
The conditioner is mainly for the ends and mid-length of your hair.  If you have very fine hair try to put conditioner on only your ends. Comb your hair whilst the conditioner is still in your hair and  it will condition evenly all over.
Use a deep conditioning treatment every week especially in the winter.

2. Don't Over Wash It
A lot of people wash their hair every day, this is not really necessary and you can train your hair to not need to be washed as often. Start with every other day, but if you can leave it longer then do. It's good to let your hair have some time with it's natural oils

3. Cold water
Unpleasant as it may be, I swear by this if you want to give your hair an extra boost of shine. Just before stepping out of the shower, rinse your hair with super cold water. It seals the cuticle, which helps prevent frizz and adds a bit of lustre.
Cold water is also good to keep your colour lasting longer and more vibrant.

4. Brushing/combing
Using your regular brush on wet hair is just asking for breakage. Since the hair is more flexible when it’s wet, it’s more prone to damage. To detangle after you hop out of the shower, use a wide-tooth comb or even better a tangle teaser. Best is to wait until it's dry. Start from ends first working yourself up the hair.

5. Take a break from the dryer.
I know that seems like asking for a lot, but I promise you, your hair will thank you. Heat styling your hair every day does major damage, so try cutting down on heat styling as much as possible. Personally, I try and let my hair air dry as often as possible.

6. The "cold" button
When blow-drying, don't forget the cold button. After blow-drying your hair, hit your hair with a wave of cold air to seal the cuticle and add shine, much like the cold water technique. It only takes an extra 30 seconds, and it’s totally worth it.

7. Regular trims
When your hair is getting split ends there is only one solution. Cut them off.
You should be getting your hair cut every 3-4months to keep it healthy and every 6-8 weeks to maintain a style.

8.Avoid Hairbands With Metal Cuffs
They are awful to your hair, the metal bit cuts your hair. Most ponytail lovers that use these end up with split ends right in the middle of their head.

9. Healthy Diet
Many people doesn't know this, but your diet has a big impact on your hair. Lots of green vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruits will help your hair looking strong and healthy and also the follow

• Vitamin C keeps your hair strong and rich in colour
• Potassium keeps your scalp healthy and helps prevent hair loss.
• Iron keeps your hair follicles healthy  and hair oils circulating.
• Zinc helps with hair growth and repairing damaged hair.
• Vitamin A antioxidant helps with cell growth and healthy sebum in the scalp. 
• Biotin helps to strengthen hair and prevent breakage.

I hope this has been helpful. Please share some of your hair tips for healthier hair.

REVIEW | H2o Water Colour

Working in an organic hair salon (Natural Colour Works) using natural ingredient colours, I thought I will tell you more about the products that I use every day. My first product I want to look at is the H2o Water Colour.

At Natural Colour Works, we believe in caring for the condition of your hair and it's important to keep it healthy and shiny looking, which the H2o Water Colour does. Why compromise on your hair's health just to accomplish the colour you want?


What is H2o Water Colour?
H2o Water Colour is a 95% water-based natural hair colour with no peroxide, ammonia or resorcinol in the mix making it completely odourless. It is the closest to a vegetable dye you can get and still get the result as of a hair dye. It gives 100% grey coverage and as it gently absorbs into the cuticle using hot water and natural body heat, adding perfect shine and reducing stress on your hair. It's ideal for clients with sensitive scalps or skin conditions.

Before and after photos of the H2o Water Colour covering grey hair (above)

How does it work?
It's easy to use. Mixing the powder with warm water, then shake the bottle and it is ready to use. There's no root glow or line between old and new colour as the H2o Water Colour doesn't give a defined regrowth line when growing out. As there's no peroxide in H2o Water Colour you can only use it to darken or match the same colour this is perfect for grey hair. (For lightening hair we use soya colour and seaweed lightener but I'll talk about them another time. )

H2o Water Colour is a perfect colour correction product for your hair as there is no need to pre-pigmentate and prevents any further damage being done to the hair shaft.

We have over 32 subtle colours available so if you want to start looking for your hair and scalp, be nicer to environment and animals why don't you try H2o next time your colour needs refreshing and take the first step to healthy looking hair.

Price
Go to www.naturalcolourworks.com for more information.

Happy Valentines

Here's some inspiration if you are not sure how to rock your hair tonight

Gorgeous BAFTA Hairstyles in 2015

The red carpet hair is all about drama, sophistication and creating that one-off striking look. There was plenty of this on show at the Baftas last weekend, and more than enough hairstyles to feel inspired by.

Below are some of my favourites, but which one did you like?

Holiday Grainger 

Alma Jodorowsky 

Anne-Marie Duff 

Felicity Jones 

Throwback Thursday

1940's photo shoot I did few years back. Perfect getting in the mood for valentines. Beautiful Icelandic model Vala. Swedish Photographer Hadil Mohamed

Fringes | Hair Trends for 2015

As one of the biggest trends for this year, many of you will ask yourselves "should I add a fringe to my new hairstyle?"

A small change with a big difference. A fringe can change someone's look completely so understandably it's a huge deal.

Fringe hairstyles can range from a full fringe look or you can get a subtle look with a fringe by adding in pieces that blend in with your layers.

So you've decided you want to go for a fringe. But what type of fringe? They come in every shape and form. Short, long, full, straight, concave, curtain, side etc

Looking at your face shape is important. There’s a fringe to suit every shape. It takes a few weeks to get used to a fringe as it can feel strange and changes your look. Give it at least 2 trims before you decide to grow it out again – most people find that once they’re used to it they love it.

Short and choppy is great If you have a small face a short fringe will look great.

Short and straight fringe is great for a smaller face with smaller features.

Sweeping fringe is  good to soften a squarer face.

Long and textured fringe is good to give round faces a more flattering shape.

Straight fringe looks great on heart shapes.

The flick can widen a small face.

A big fringe can give you extra height

If you have a big forehead then a short fringe can make it look bigger. If your features are big, for example, your nose, then a sweeping fringe can take away from this.

A fringe takes a lot more maintenance which many people don't consider. You'll need it trimmed regularly - every 3-4 weeks is about right. Fringes are great if they’re well looked after. They can quite easily look greasy or scruffy if too long. As many salons, we offer our clients complimentary fringe trims in between hair cutting visits. Please go instead of cutting it yourself.

After washing your hair. Make sure you comb your fringe right away so it sits right or it will be a nightmare to get it to behave later on. Often you might need to blow-dry it to make it look it's best. It doesn't take long so worth the extra minute or so in the morning to look fabulous for the rest of the day. Blow dry your fringe over a large round brush. If your  skin is prone to blemishes, it will keep your hair off your skin  as much as possible. A trace of hair spray also helps because it envelopes the hair and keeps it from soaking  up excess oil.

Touch your hair and fringe as little as possible. Your hands pick up millions of germs throughout the day and you don’t want to transfer them to your skin and hair. You can also make your hair a lot greasier a lot faster.

Dealing With The “Cow-lick.”

If you have a strong cow-lick there is no point trying to have a dead straight fringe.

If you have a gentle cow-lick, to style your fringe put a water-based gel on the roots of your fringe and rub the roots with your fingers. This ‘confuses’ the root area and the follicles don’t know what direction to lie in. Now blow-dry into your desired style aiming the hairdryer down the hair shaft - this will keep your fringe looking great all day.

Don’t hide behind a fringe -  Use it to bring out your best features.

Welcome

Sara Steele is going to be a organic and + natural  hair and beauty blog dedicated to the products I think you should be loving just as much as I am. I hope you do not leave empty handed. Watch this space.