Hair: #bantheblowdry

To trim or not to trim: that has been the question on my lips for much longer than my usual six weeks between hair cuts. I can't actually remember the last time I went to the salon, and as my hair routine has been working so well for me (combined with a little at home split end snipping), I've been feeling recently that my hair has been in the best condition I've ever known it.

Sadly, today I'm realising that I'm going to have to take myself back to the hairdresser, as the temptation to trim wayward ends is becoming a daily fixation. What's bugging me the most is the prospect that I'm going to return to the salon for my hairdresser to say, 'yep, you're going to need a good two inches off' which effectively takes me back to a bob, and back to where I started. That may not be the case, but it's what I'm preoccupied with at the moment.

I've spent literally thousands (shudder) on my hair in recent years and on days like today, I wonder if it's all been worth it (no!!) Yes, my hair is 100% healthier since I stopped colouring it almost three years ago, but I've entered into a dependent relationship with various high-end central London salons, and I'm still sitting here twisting my dry ends and hoping I don't end up back at the beginning. Permanent blow dries, expensive trims, oils and elixirs add up to an amount I don't even want to consider (I would certainly be happier if it were still in my pocket and ready to be added to my deposit on a flat, let me tell you!) and yet here I am. This may not sound like typical beauty blogger territory, but I just have to get it out there that my quest for perfect hair is driving me mad! As someone with naturally dry, unruly hair that's prone to damage, should I just accept that long, sleek locks aren't meant for me? That I'll always get to a point where the growth stops and the breakage starts? Well, I wouldn't be able to hang on to my beauty blogger stripes if I didn't take that to the extreme, so it's in this spirit that I'm setting myself possibly the biggest hair challenge of my life:

I'm giving up my hair dryer.

Yep, you read that right. I, Rachel, of unsound mind and unruly hair, will be booking myself in for a trim (pray for minimal end-ectomy, please!) and will then be handing my hairdryer to somebody who won't cave and give it back to me, however much I beg, and I'll be trialing everything to get my hair into properly good condition. This may not sound like a big ask for some of you, but for me, it's pretty terrifying. Without a good blow dry, I feel unfinished, less confident and generally not myself. It makes me realise what a comfort blanket hair can be, but if heat is what's keeping me in this damage cycle, I'm determined to break it. I won't be returning for a permanent blow dry just yet, but I'll be testing as much as I can lay my hands on: moisturising and styling products and anything that will keep my locks tamed on the road to improved health. I'll be tweeting everything with the hashtag #bantheblowdry, so please share your favourites there, and also over on facebook where I'm looking for a guest reviewer for a fab Charles Worthington product.

I'm also really excited to say that I will be running an amazing giveaway in the next few weeks for a heat-free styling tool that I've completely fallen in love with. If you're not already a follower, click over on the right to subscribe so you know as soon as it launches (you'll need to be a follower to enter so it saves you some time later!) It will be perfect for those of you who want to look like this...

http://www.metrolyrics.com/2011-taylor-swift-reveals-secret-to-perfect-curls-news.html

Or this...

http://www.stylebistro.com/lookbook/Jennifer+Lopez/8KPYbICwcff/Long+Hairstyles

Or maybe even this...

http://completehairstyles.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/curly-hairstyles-for-short-hair.html

What's your biggest hair gripe? x