Malcolm Murphy Hair Leicester Review

A trip to Leicester’s premier boutique salon

 

Hello!

I’m so excited to write this review, I can honestly say this is the best salon I have ever been to, and if your local to Leicester you absolutely need to go!

So last week I took a trip home to visit my friends and family back in Leicester, and after having a bit of disastrous hair cut in Preston, I decided to drop in on my favourite stylist Shelley Manley at her new Salon Malcolm Murphy Hair. I’d been hearing a lot of great things recently in the media about the salon, and was very impressed with their celebrity clientèle for a small out-of-town boutique hairdresser, so I was keen to see what all they hype was about.

The first thing I really liked about Malcolm Murphy hair was its location, in the Braunstone Gate area of Leicester it’s far away enough from the hustle and bustle of the city centre to give it a really relaxed vibe, whilst giving the traditionally student area a fresh and premium feel.

 The interior of the salon is seriously opulent, in Malcolm’s own “Industrial Chic Vs Disney Princess” style with fabulous ornate mirrors and chandeliers, even gold plates for nibbles, creating a unique salon experience that you wont forget.

When I arrived I told Shelley about my bad experience in Preston, and the dramatic fringe (to say the least) that I was given after being told my hair was boring!!! As always, Shelley knew exactly what to do and I left it in her expert hands. She then talked me through the Kevin Murphy hair products the salon uses, which she described as ‘Skin care for hair’. Intriguing…

Not only does this brand have extremely cool packaging (something I can be a bit obsessed with as a Fashion Promotion student) but it is specifically designed for editorial stylists with the highest quality, weightless products, so us mere mortals can recreate model worthy hair. ‘Born from the same philosophy as skin care and inspired by nature’s best, the KEVIN.MURPHY range of shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling aids, is an indulgence of runway looks and natural aromatherapy catered for every hair type’  www.kevinmurphy.com . My hair felt amazing after the ‘Young Again’ restorative treatment, and although they are on the expensive side, I’m looking forward to snapping a few of these products up on my next (and final, boooooo) student loan day.

 Whilst waiting for the products to work their magic I was treated to some lovely tea and biscuits, and a home made cupcake which I devoured before I remembered to take a picture, oops!

As Shelley was cutting my hair, I was keen to hear all about her experience at London Fashion week , as a member of the Cloud Nine hair style team she got to work on the Emilio De La Morena, and one of my all time faves JW Anderson, shows! She’s also managed to land a place on the Clynol Protege team, which means she gets to attend loads of exclusive seminars and work on high fashion photoshoots giving her an ‘invaluable professional experience’, impressive stuff!

Overall I really loved my experience at Malcolm Murphy, it was great to see Shelley again and see what she’d been up to since my last appointment with her six months ago. The service from all the staff was fantastic, the décor was fabulous, the products were luxurious and most importantly I had a fringe I wasn’t embarrassed of! The only criticism I could of had was that I felt like the salon was a bit on the small side, but Malcolm was already one step ahead of me as they are opening up a new one two doors down on a much bigger premises, which I am super excited to check out next month!

If you’d like to know more about Malcolm Murphy Hair check out their website here http://www.malcolmmurphyhair.co.uk/

Bye for now,

Ali xxx

My Current Hair Care Routine…

I’m a chronic lid-loser!

Hello!

I’ve had a couple of lovely emails off girls this week asking what my current hair routine is and the best way to start a hair growth journey, so I’m going to try and give you all the advice I can over these next couple of posts! Today I’ll start with my normal hair routine…

As a hair blogger, I hope you agree that it is understandable I have a ridiculous amount of hair products! My parents certainly don’t. However, this doesn’t mean that a good quality hair routine needs lots of different lotions and potions, quite the opposite in fact, it’s about finding the products that are right for your specific hair type. I have fine hair that is relatively healthy, so I try to stick to volumising/thickening products and balance them out with deep conditioners and oils to prevent damage. Unfortunately, this list is subject to change as there are very few hair products that I’m loyal too, but the ones I do are my holy grail products and I will use them every single week without fail; I would highly recommend everyone to add them into their routine!

1. Shampoo & Conditioner

So I’m currently using the Bodyshop Banana shampoo & conditioner, which I have reviewed on my previous post. I like them a lot, but I imagine I will be very bored of the scent by the end of the bottles so I will be switching them up when I have finished. The only shampoos & conditioners I have bought twice are the Redken Extreme range ones, when I was nursing my hair back to health from a dip dye disaster. These are fantastic products and I would recommend them to anyone with damaged hair, and if I don’t get my hair trimmed soon I’m going to need to order myself another lot!

2. Deep Conditioner

My hair mask of the moment is the new Pantene Advanced Keratin Repair  which I bought on offer from superdrug for £4.97. I am actually really impressed with this deep conditioner, it boldly claims to restore two years worth of damage in 2 minutes and although I can’t technically test this, my hair does feel stronger and my split ends just seem to disappear when I use it which is fantastic. I’m normally a bit of a snob when it comes to hair masks, opting for Kerastase or Redken but I think it’s highly likely I will buy this again.

3. Leave-Conditioner/Detangler

So I’m still using my Joico leave-in conditioner and detangler, it seems to be lasting a really long time which makes it great value for just £11. I use it each time I wash my hair after towel drying and it means I cause minimal damage during the drying process, you can read my full review and tutorial from a few months ago here.

4. Hair Strengthener (Holy Grail Product)

This is my absolute favourite hair product of all time and I must have repurchased it at least 5 times in the last 2 years. It’s the Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Treatment, a protein and ceramide lotion that penetrates the hair shaft to restore and fortify it, protecting it against any further damage, and it really works! I honestly can’t swear by this stuff enough, I hardly ever see any visible damage to my hair and I believe this is product is the reason.

5. Styling

This is probably the hardest one to write about because it changes pretty much every week dependent on what I’m doing, what new products I have found on the market, and sometimes I have a detox and don’t use any at all! I’d say my favourite styling product is Redken Thickening Lotion which really makes my actual hair strands feel plumped up and voluminous, great for nights out. If I’m using my rollers I find the Treseme Root Booster Spray is very effective and keeps the volume for a full day. If I’m curling my hair I will always use the L’oreal Techni Art Constructor as this is very effective heat protector and keeps my curls in place all day whilst adding texture, I get mine from my local salon for £10, but I’m pretty sure LookFantastic.com sell the range too.

6. Hair Oils (Holy Grail Product)

Another product I am fiercely loyal to since its launch is the L’oreal Extraordinary Oil.  This product really delivers for such a reasonable price tag and for me, is far better than the over-hyped Moroccan Oil. It leaves my hair glossy and smooth, concealing any split ends. Just make sure you use this after any heat styling or you will cook your hair like frying food in oil, ouch! It also comes in new formulations for coloured or fine hair now, very similar to the Kerastase oils range. Would highly recommend.

So yep, that’s most of the products that I’m currently using on my hair, from time to time I substitute in natural alternatives like coconut oil or rosemary water, it just depends on my mood. If I was to write this post again in 6 weeks I’m sure it will have drastically changed so I may start doing a traditional beauty bloggers ‘Monthly Favourites’ type post so I can keep a record.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and you found it informative, next post I will discuss the best way to start a hair growth journey and give you a proper update on how mine is going as I haven’t talked about it for a while.

Bye for now,

Ali x

 

 

Redken Thickening Lotion 06 Review

How I get volume in my fine hair.

Redken Thickening lotion

Trying to grow long hair means avoiding heat as much as possible, so I’m always on the hunt to find new ways and products to make my hair look more voluminous and styled without damaging it. Redken is by far my holy grail of hair products, if you have checked out  my ‘Top Ten’ page, you’ll know Redken’s extreme anti snap is the one product I could never live without. So last week I was browsing the lotions and potions in the salon next to my work and I was instantly drawn to this thickening lotion.  The bottle states –

 

> Builds extra body, texture, volume and shine
> Bodifying proteins help reconstruct and strengthen hair
> Hair looks and feels thicker
> Thicker consistency is easier to apply
> Won’t build-up on the hair

This sounded perfect for me! Although my hair is healthy and in good condition, as it grows I am noticing it getting thinner and I really needed something to give the illusion of more hair without whacking in some terrible clip in extensions. So at £10 I snapped it up, eager to get home to wash my hair and try it out. Here’s what I thought…

As you can see above there is quite a dramatic difference in the volume and thickness of my hair. Both times I had used my Redken Anti-snap, Organix argan oil and some boots own-brand mousse. However in the right picture, I used the thickening lotion. I blow dried my hair in exactly the same way both times, by blowdrying to the left for 80% of the time and then flipping over to the right at the end for more volume. I noticed a huge amount more root lift, and my hair felt thicker all over, even at the tips! I went and did a night shift straight after this and by the time I got home at 6am my hair was still massive, I was very impressed!

The important thing with this product is to use the exact right amount for your hair type, length and thickness. The first time I used it my roots were a bit crispy because I had gone a little over board. Now I find one pump enough for my whole head and I run it down the length as well as the roots as it gives really lovely texture and hold. It can take a bit of trial and error to get it right, but I think this is an amazing product for faking lots of hair without extensions!

I bought mine on a whim at the salon, but you can buy it a little cheaper at http://www.lookfantastic.com/redken-thickening-lotion-06-body-builder-50ml/10451517.html they also do lots of redken promo’s so you can get it even cheaper if you keep your eyes peeled for one.

Let me know if you have any other recommendations on volumising products! I’ve also just put this blog onto bloglovin as wordpress blogs can be annoying to follow, so if your interested in hair care and hair growth follow my blog here http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4924441 I’ll also put a button in the sidebar!

Ali x