Walk down the shampoo aisle at your local supermarket and you’ll be inundated with steep promises from snazzy bottles.

Can shampoo really ‘lock in colour’, repair split ends and create perfect curls? Will the ultra-hydrating pearl-infused protein-rich formula really make us look like Cheryl Cole in that advert? The truth is: probably not. Shampoo is not magic and it can only do so much.

LUSH, home of tasty looking handmade cosmetics, has done away with the fancy packaging altogether and created a rather retro revolution in hair-care products.

LUSH instructions

LUSH Solid Shampoo Bars sell on what they are, rather than what they promise: simple, healthy, efficient, cheap and a bit of a novelty.

Each bar is said to contain the equivalent of three bottles of shampoo and can last a long time if kept dry. They are compact and travel-friendly, and like all LUSH products, they smell delicious.

LUSH shampoo bars are free from damaging preservatives because they do not contain liquid.

The ‘New’ Shampoo Bar promises to regenerate weak and breaking hair by doing two simple things: stimulating follicles to maximise growth with bay oil, cinnamon leaf oil and peppermint oil, and giving hair extra shine with rosemary and nettle extracts.

If you prefer the natural feel and simple look of a shampoo bar, then head over to LUSH and buy LUSH Solid Shampoo Bars for £5.00 per 55g.

Umberto Giannini give their classic Incredible Body range a glamourous make-over. 

After much festive season styling and frequent battles with the wind and rain it is no wonder that January is never a particularly good month for the barnet.

If your hair is looking a little lacklustre then there is no time like the present to inject some much needed volume back into the mix.

Umberto Giannini (the maestro’s renowned for the most phallic packaging in hair care), have recently given their old Incredible Body range a fabulous make-over and it is now back on the shop shelves with it’s new and improved formula ready to give your hair some oomph!

The philosophy over at Umberto Giannini is ‘the bigger the hair, the smaller the hips’, so if that’s not enough to convince you to put down the scrunchie and pick up the barrel brush and blow-dryer, then nothing will be.

The Incredible Body range is made up of shampoo, conditioner, mousse and blow dry spray – four products key to obtaining ultimate volume.

To get a super glam Hollywood hairstyle start by washing your hair using the shampoo and conditioner.

Once you have towel dried your hair, pump out a generous helping of mousse and work it into the roots and lengths.

Next is onto the grand finale. Evenly spritz some blow dry spray through the hair (as well as a good heat protectant), and blow dry the hair starting at the roots using the biggest, roundest barrel brush you can lay your hands on.

The best type of brush to use is one with a metal barrel as this will hold the heat more effectively, helping to add more volume and seal in the style.

Finally, one you have achieved the desired look, spritz with the hairspray of your choice for hold and et voila…incredible body.

The Umberto Giannini Incredible Body range is available from Boots and is currently on a 3 for £10 special offer. Pop on over to the Boots website to view the full range.

As we all know, hair can be a touchy subject.

It is estimated that in a lifetime, a woman will spend almost £37,000 and 2 ½ years trying to make her locks look as luscious as Cheryl Cole’s or Jennifer Anistons’ (surely a wig?).

A bad hair-day can often mean a bad day in general for girls, although that’s no wonder if we’ve spent 2 ½ years frantically rubbing egg, mayonnaise, lemon and beer (all legitimate treatments!) into our scalps and our fringes still can’t follow the basic laws of gravity.

1/3 of women believe that hair is the most important aspect of physical appearance, and I am definitely one of them.

It came with some disappointment, then, when my hair suddenly began to snap off and fall out at a very alarming rate. This has resulted in a kind of static halo of frizz that, if caught in the wrong light, looks fairly terrifying.

I suspect this sudden change has something to do with using hair straighteners from the age of 12 and all throughout teen-hood, and perhaps thinking that bleaching my hair in the first year of University was a good idea.

Brittle hair is a very common occurrence in women who blow-dry, straighten, curl or colour on a regular basis. Unfortunately very few of us are blessed with naturally perfect hair, so a lot of these damaging regimes are pretty much unavoidable.

Luckily in my desperate search for a decent frizz-remedy, I have discovered something quite surprising.

I stumbled across Vo5 ‘give me moisture hot oil’ in the current ‘3 for 2’ sale in Boots. The product claims to seek out weak areas of each strand and once there, strengthen and reduce breakage. It also claims to remove 75% more chlorine than shampoo does. I have tried a lot of products with a lot of similar claims and still look like Garfunkel on a bad day, so I was rather skeptical.

The oil comes in a neat bottle with markers measuring 5 separate portions. You apply it before shampooing and leave it to work its magic for a maximum of 1 minute. (There are some fairly scary warning signs on the bottle advising you to keep the substance well away from your eyes and to never exceed the 1 minute waiting time, so I clamped my eyes shut adamantly throughout the duration, just in case.)

The results were truly astounding. My hair felt soft and sleek and well-nourished once I’d let it dry. Of course, I knew the frizz was still in there somewhere- it’s not miracle-grow- but it was definitely a lot less noticeable.

2 days on, and my hair still feels a lot healthier and less fly-away than it did. At about £4 a bottle, this is a very good buy and something I would recommend to anyone suffering from particularly unruly hair. It doesn’t quite give the Jennifer Aniston look, but I’m sure her hair is made of nylon anyway.

You can find more information about Vo5 ‘give me moisture hot oil’ at the Vo5 site.

VO5 is a haircare brand which seems to have been around since the dawn of time and up until recently their branding and products appeared to be stuck back there in the bye-gone era in serious need of a considerable revamp.

A few months ago I noticed that my local Boots store had reduced to clear all of their VO5 products so I was unsure about whether they had gone bust or were re-branding. I took the opportunity to snap up some reduced price bargains and was hugely impressed with the formula of both the shampoo’s and conditioner’s so was understandably thrilled when I found out that they were indeed re-branding and had not gone into administration.

The new line of products is far more vast than before with a huge choice of shampoo’s and conditioners, an exciting line of conditioning treatments and a styling range with lots of fantastic new additions.

If the new pink glossy packaging is anything to go by, the three new product lines are aimed women and there really is something in there to please everyone no matter what your hair type.

The range of shampoo’s and conditioner’s is huge and it’s key selling point is it’s Adaptive Haircare Technology™, which basically means that the products adjust to your unique hair type to provide it with the nourishment it needs.

The line consists of the following:

• Plump me up volumising shampoo and conditioner with cassis, hyacinth and passion fruit.

• Revive me daily shampoo and conditioner to refresh tired and limp hair with sweet apple, mango, pineapple, jasmine and rose.

• Nourish me truly shampoo and conditioner for damaged or heat styled hair infused with Cashmere Keratin.

• Gloss me smoothly shampoo and conditioner to smooth frizz prone hair with jasmine and orange flower.

• Give me moisture shampoo and conditioner to strengthen dry hair with pear, passion fruit and freesia.

• Beyond blonde shampoo and conditioner to brighten blonde locks with honey, coconut, lilly and jasmine.

• Cherish my colour shampoo and conditioner to keep coloured hair vibrant with rose, peach, apricot and vanilla.

In addition to the extensive line of shampoos and conditioners there is also a strong line of conditioning treatments which includes hot oil treatments, an intensive conditioner, a miracle mist and a miracle concentrate, plus a new range of styling products.

For the past week I have been trying out the nourish me truly shampoo and conditioner and I have to say that so far I am impressed with the results. All of the V05 products are really competitively priced and for me produce the same results, if not better, to the professional haircare lines I have tried from Boots such as Umberto Giannini, Lee Stafford, James Brown etc.

I am yet to try any products from the conditioning range but the miracle concentrate has already received some rave reviews from the beauty blogging community as have many of the styling products.

If you would like to try out some products from the new VO5 line then they are available to purchase online or in store as Boots and most other health and beauty retailers.

Happy Hair Days is a new range of shampoos and conditioners which pride themselves on including as few nasty chemicals as possible, and though they don’t claim to be completely 100 per cent natural they do offer a good range of gentle products.

The range is made up of the following:

-Blueberry and Pear Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner

-Lemongrass and Basil Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner

-Pomegranate and Ginger Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner

-Marshmallow and Coconut Colour Care Shampoo and Conditioner

I opted for the colour care shampoo and conditioner and was presently surprised with the results.

Despite being mostly baddie free, Happy Hair Days shampoo actually still created a generous amount of foam due to the ammonium lauryl sulfate, which is respectably natural and non toxic. In addition to this, I did not need to use a great deal of conditioner to leave my hair feeling soft and manageable.

This range of products receives a great big thumbs up from me and what’s more it is affordable and accessible.

Happy Hair Days Shampoos and Conditioners are priced at £4.07 and are available from either Boots or Sainsbury’s.

If you haven’t already received the memo, plaits are going to be huge for Autumn/Winter 2011 after having stormed the catwalks at fashion weeks around the globe, notably Lanvin at Paris Fashion Week AW11.

Each year we always see some sort of revival of the braid, and 2011 is no exception with one of our favourite all time hairstyles coming back with a vengeance in all shapes and sizes be it big, small, fat, skinny, preened or disheveled.

A whole host of celebs have also been rocking the laid back plaited look so if you can’t wait until winter to jump on the plait wagon then there is no time like the present.

A loose side plait is fantastic for hot summer days where you want your hair pulled back from your face but still looking nice. For the perfect beachy plait we suggest you give your hair a liberal spritz of sea salt spray (we like Lee Staffords Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray £6.89) before giving it a good scrunching and flipping. Sweep your hair to one side and then loosely plait before fastening with a snag free band and teasing away some pieces of hair from around the front to frame your face.

If you are looking for a more sophisticated look then try a side sweeping fish tale plait. For a sleeker look straighten your hair first before applying a smoothing serum and then plaiting. If you are unsure about how to do a fish tale plait check out Youtube for some great tutorials.

Finally if you really are all fingers and thumbs then pick up a plaited bando which you can slip on without a bobby pin, hair band or a can of hair spray in sight. You can pick up an Accessorize heidi plait bando in either blonde or brown for £4.

In a recent study detailed by the Daily Mail, figures state that 32 per cent of British women under the age of 30 have already started to go grey, with two-thirds of them believing it is down to stress. This is a huge jump from 20 years ago, when only 18 per cent of women spotting their first grey hair being aged under 30.

According to haircare brand John Frieda who carried out the research, more than seven million British women opt to colour their hair at home, but whilst the previous assumption was that young people did this as a fashion choice or statement, it has increasingly become about covering grey.

‘We wanted to find out whether women are actually going grey younger, so we commissioned the research.’ Said a John Frieda spokeswomen.

‘In recent years, I’ve definitely noticed an increase in younger clients coming into the salon asking for colour to cover their grey. It’s not unusual for me to see a client aged 25 with grey hair, and frequently they do put it down to stress.’ Said Nicola Clarke, creative colour director for John Frieda.

So is greying hair a result of stress, or is it simply an old wives tale?

Grey hair is a hair strand which has no pigment because the cells that produce the pigment (melanocytes) are damaging or dying. This is a very natural process which will happen to us all as we get older, and many scientists argue the age at which it happens is reliant on your genes and not your lifestyle.

According to Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists, earlier onset of greying is usually genetically determined, with very little environmental relevance.

‘For the majority of people, greying hair is not down to something you’ve done, but to genetic factors beyond your control. Generally, lifestyle does not greatly impact on when your hair loses its colour.’ She said.

As a 24 year old who is already spotting signs of grey peeping through my brown locks I have to say it isn’t ideal, or indeed the best thing thats ever happened to me. However, I’m not going to lose any sleep over my prematurely ageing hair, or beat myself up over the fact that if I’d have been more chilled out I might have less grey hairs. As a relatively easy going and happy go lucky girl, I’m inclined to believe that my somewhat earlier than expected transformation into a silver fox is more down to genetics than stress. In any event, isn’t that what hair dye is for? Here are some great tips for covering the grey with a professional touch:

Eco Colour – Neville Tucker of Neville Hair and Beauty recommends ECOlour for gentle grey coverage. ‘It’s the most gentle colouring treatment on the market and contains flax oil, castor oil and jojoba, as well as flower essences and vitamins E and C.’

The colour is painted all over the hair before a hat is added to warm the product and activate the colouring process (from £95, nevillehairandbeauty.net).

Reverse Highlights – If you have less than 25 per cent grey then John Frieda colourist Jo Reid recommends doing as little as possible. Instead of opting for an all over colour which will require lots of upkeep, try reverse highlights toned in with your natural shade to cover the grey pieces.

Subtle shades – Daniel Hersheson colourist Amy Fish recommends trying different techniques depending on your natural hair colour. On brunettes she often uses L’Oreal Inoa gel based hair colour which fades gradually into the natural hair colour to make regrowth less obvious (from £75 for L’Oreal Inoa, £100 for microlights, danielhersheson.com).

Comprehensive colour – If your hair is more than 50 per cent grey then opt for an all over colour with a blend of low lights and highlights around the face to soften the look.

View the original article and the full list of tips here.

First up we have to mention the got2b Rockin it Dry Shampoo. The dry shampoo market has exploded recently, with every hair care brand imaginable giving it their two cents. So how did Swarzkopf’s offerings stand up to the opposition?

First impressions do count, and for us the modern packaging was a refreshing change to the seventies retro feel of Batiste cans. Whats inside the can also did not disappoint, and though when initially sprayed you do get white powder residue which you have massage in (this is more noticeable on brown hair), it is no more or less than you get from other brands. The freshly washed hair look lasts all day and by far the best thing about this product is the delicious scent which is token to all of the got2b range.

As you know, it was the 2sexy Collagen Hairspray which first started our love affair with this range, so we were beside ourselves with joy when we heard news of the got2b 2sexy Collagen Mousse. This product is great when used after washing your hair. I used a walnut sized pump and spread evenly throughout my hair, concentrating on really massaging it in around the roots. Then style your hair as you usually would, or for extra volume use a great big barrel brush to inject extra volume into the roots.

The mousse contains real hydrolyzed collagen for big time volume and as we keep on saying…it smells really good and looks really good!

Last up to face the panel was the got2b POWDER’ful, a styling powder which comes in both a male and female variant to add volume for girls and matt texture for guys. This is really great product and I haven’t actually seen anything else like it in any UK high street stores. To use you simply sprinkle some of the powder into your palms, rub your palms together (the white powder will begin to dissolve)and then run through your roots or wherever you need a volume boost. If you feel like throwing caution to the wind you could even sprinkle the powder straight onto the roots before massaging in.

This product is so easy to use that its become a part of my morning routine. I used to get up and give my roots a quick going over with the hairdryer to pump some volume in, but now I can skip that step and just sprinkle, rub and go! The small tube also means that backcombing fiends can leave their brushes and hairspray at home and carry this in their handbags instead for boosts throughout the day and night.

For further details of all of the products mentioned, and for a list of stockists, please visit the got2b website here.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you undoubtedly would have heard about John Frieda’s latest product the ’3-Day Straight Spray’(£6.99), which claims to give any curly Sue a break from the straightening irons for three days at a time.

The spray aims to transform curly, frizzy hair into a straight smooth style which lasts up to three days (or until your next shampoo if less than 3 day), giving a relatively similar effect to the Brazilian blow dry, but obviously for a fraction of the cost and for three days at a time! The technology behind the product involves a unique blend of polymers with keratin protein which wrap each strand of hair to seal in straight style for up to 3 days.

Unlike a simple heat protector or leave in conditioner the process actually requires some specific steps, starting with washing and conditioning your hair. John Frieda obviously recommend their own products, (namely Frizz-Ease® Smooth Start® Shampoo and Conditioner) but we weren’t born yesterday and think perhaps your regular shampoo and conditioner or another ‘straightening’ product would suffice. After this you will need to spray around 10 – 15 pumps of 3-Day Straight (adjust according to length and thickness of hair) on damp or wet hair. After this you need to fully blow dry your hair as opposed to letting it dry naturally, and when totally dry give your barnet a thorough going over with the straightening irons to fully activate the product.

The general consensus on the product is that it is godsend, though there have been comments about the fact that though the hair generally remains straight, you may need to give it a little touch up every now and then to iron out the odd kink.

As far as we are concerned, any product which means less time attached to the hair straighteners is a winner and this will definitely be going in the shopping basket ASAP.

From the moment me and the 99p sachets of wash in wash out hair day locked eyes many moons ago, I knew my fate as a serial home hair dyer was sealed and though my tastes have refined slightly since the days of ‘Shaders and Toners’, I still opt to dye my hair myself at home.

After home dying for almost a decade you’d think I would be a dab hand, which is sadly not the case as until quite recently I had to employ either my mother or a very patient friend to colour my hair.

However, back in October myself and the Beauty Resource team were invited along to the Schwarzkopf Academy London to attend a home hair colour masterclass with twice British hair colourist of the year Anita Cox-McMillan.

Anita essentially took us through all of the essential steps for dying our hair at home with Scwarzkopf’s new Palette range before we were all let loose with the hair colours of our choice. The day was information and advice, all of which can be viewed in the video below. However here were what I considered to be the ‘top tips’:

You can custom mix your desired hair colour – Though this may seem like something which is salon specific it is actually really easy to do yourself at home. I decided I wanted to go for a really glossy brown with subtle hints of red throughout. The reds in the Palette range were not as subtle as I wanted so I opted for a mix of Dark Brown 800 and Bordeaux 872. Into a mixing bowl with a lip I squeezed half a tube of each of the colour creams before mixing in a bottle of development solution and pouring back into the application bottle and applying. Et Voila…your own customised hair colour.

You can’t lighten pre-coloured dark hair – Trying to go from dark brown to medium brown isn’t going to work unless bleach is involved and this something which is best done by a professional colourist.

Use more than enough product – Don’t be skimpy as you may miss bits. For medium to long hair it is best to use two bottles.

Once the development time is up your hair will not go any darker/lighter – I asked Anita whether or not we should start our timers from the moment we began applying hair dye. Often it takes me between 10 and 20 minutes to apply hair dye myself, meaning the dye has already been sitting on certain sections for the maximum development time before I even reach the ends of my hair. According to Anita once the colour has developed for the maximum amount of time it won’t get any darker/lighter as it has reached its sticking point!

View additional tips and a video of the masterclass below: