No Heat On My Hair Challenge

I love having long hair, but I would love it to be longer! I've been speaking with loads of you beauties over Twitter the last weeks about having long hair and I know I'm not on my own with my mission on having it longer - It seams that having your hair past boob length seams to be the desired length. I really want to avoid getting my hair cut, purley for the fact that I want it longer, but I have so many split and dead ends that leaves me in a hair dillema - I think we can all agree that whoever said getting your hair cut regulally makes your hair grow longer was telling big fat lies. Let's face it, no-one wants to have long hair, but have it feeling dry, damanged and looking crappy and I know for one that the bad condition of my hair is compleltly down to the overuse of heat. I think I use heat most days of the week, ranging from my hairdryer, curling wand and my beloved GHD's. 

So because it's January, the month which we all try and make important little changes in our lives, I decided to set myself a little challange to see if I can improve the quality and condition of my hair. Last Monday I decided to see if my hair and I could live without a week of using any sort of heat in my hair. Well I'm so pleased and proud that I managed to complete this little challange and during my week of no heat, I took a picture each day of the week, so you beauties can see how I wore my hair with no heat on it and how I got on with the challenge.

Day 1

I washed my hair in the morning, but had to get up so early to let it dry naturally. My hair always turns out differently when I ditch the hairdryer and leave my locks to their own devices, sometimes I'll get mega wavy hair, but today it turned out fairly straight with a natural wave.

Day 2

I don't wash my hair everyday, so day 2 was my second day hair and after a full days work and a nights sleep, I had total bed hair when I woke up. I used sea salt spray, dry shampoo and hairspray to add some texture and a little bit of volume. 

Day 3

Seeing as it took forever to let my hair dry naturally one day one, I decided to wash my hair the previous evening and give it all the time in the world to dry. I woke up in the morning with seriously soft and fluffy hair, so decided to wear it in a little side pony

Day 4

Day 4 was the hardest day into my challenge to not give into temptation on using any heat in my hair. I was planning on wearing it down (again) but I had bits of hair that would just not cooperate! Normally I'll give these bits of hair a quick fix with the straighteners - So as a result I said a big HELLO to the messy bun!

Day 5 

I was quite impressed with the whole washing my hair in the evening on day 3, but thought I would be a bit more adventerious with my hairstyle. So while my hair was wet, I decided to braid it, sleep on it and have a hassel free hairstyle in the morning. When I took my braids out I was a bit 'oh my gosh' as I had gotten completely carried away the night before and did my braids way too tight, which resulted in really tight waves. I was hoping that they would drop though the day, but nope they stayed put... total hair disaster!

Day 6

I woke up in the morning, still finding I had a lot of little waves in my hair from the day before, so decided to pop it in a classic pony tail. With a lot of dry shampoo, backcombing and hairspray I made this pony tail a little bit rough and ready and found that I really liked the way my hair looked.. Bonus!

Day 7 

On day 7, the final day of my challenge, I washed my hair in the morning, and spent a lazy Sunday morning, waiting for it to dry. I love how my hair looked and was super impressed that with no heat my hair looked pretty decent and felt full of life and really soft.

The Results 

So the big question has to be, over the course of one week did I notice any improvement or change in my hair - And I'm pleased to say the answer is YES

There weren't massive changes, but towards the end of the week I saw that my hair was noticeably softer and the dead ends didn't feel so course and dry. When I look at the picture from day 1 and the last picture on day 7, I think my hair looks in much better condition. On both these days I let my hair dry naturally in the morning and when I compare the pictures my hair looks ever so shiny by the end of the week. Not only does my hair look healthier but the ends don't look so bad either. 

It seams as though my hair is thanking me for the use of no heat and I found that as the week went on, I felt more comfortable and had more confidence with my hair looking a little un-kept. I am loving of the feel of my hair so much so that I'm definitely planning on having more heat free days.

I can honestly say that living with no heat on your hair was a little challenging, some days a lot harder than others - If it hadn't been for some fab hair products, my week surly would have been a total hair disaster. Below I've listed the products I used which helped me though my challenge and have helped with improving the condition of my hair.

The Denman Tangle Tamer Brush - This is an excellent tool for backcombing your locks and I find it's the perfect brush to do the job.

Toni & Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray - I am in love with sea salt sprays, they are just prefect for adding texture and a bit of volume into your hair, this one from Toni & Guy is my favourite - you can read my review here

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical - Dry shampoo is a life saviour, whether your using heat or not. I definitely used this little baby when I had those days without washing my hair. But I also used it on freshly washed hair as its perfect for adding some volume to your hair.

L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray - It goes without saying that every girl owns a good hairspray, this one from L'Oreal is one of my faves, prefect for holding your loose waves in places and spraying on those backcombed areas.

Lee Stafford Argan Oil - Taking a break from heat, is the prefect excuse to treat your hair to more treatments than usual. There are loads of hair oils around, but this one from Lee Stafford is priced well and does an amazing job at making the ends of your hair feel soft.

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor - Every time I washed my hair, I popped Aussies 3MM into my hair, it does an amazing job at nourishing your hair and making it feel soft, not to mention it smells amazing. As I was giving my hair a break I wanted to give it as much pampering as possible. I use this all the time anyway, but using it while I had my week of no heat, I can honestly say I felt the benefits of this conditioner a lot more.

Overall saying no to heat was hard, but so worth it, my hair looks and feels better and I can see improvements in just one week. It's made me realise I don't need to add heat all the time and if I want my hair to grow longer and still look healthy then I need to ditch the heat more often. A few of beauties of Twitter that have already took up their own 'no heat challenege' in the past told me how much faster their hair grew... So exciting news if this is true. 

Long, short, thick or thin hair...no matter what your hair is like I think it's good to take a break now and again, if any of you are wanting to give this ago I would love to know how you get on, or any hair styling tips you have for those days when you stay away from the heat.

Lot's of Love