The Perfect Blow-Dry? | Ego Professional & Schwarzkopf OSIS+

When it comes to my hair, styling starts right from the shampoo and conditioner I use.  I am most definitely not your 'wash and go' type. Oh no. I'm much more fussy and like to get everything 'just so'.  If I haven't got time to blow-dry my hair properly, then heaven forbid - it's going to be a bad day to say the least.  Blow-drying my hair is a delicate operation - I have a certain 'routine' and technique I use every single time without fail and I like to experiment often with new products in order to get the best possible barnet.

Ego Professional Hair Alter Ego* | Link

As hairdryers go, this one is pretty swish.  It's superly duperly lightweight - which makes it the perfect companion for those of you who take time blow-drying your hair like me - my hair takes an age to try so I like to avoid 'dead arm' whenever I can.  The design is also really satisfying (waheyy the design student in me is coming out...) - it's really smooth to the touch, easy to grip, buttons are easy to access and the 'nozzle' (not pictured) is very easy to whip on and off.   I also love the whole 'red to black' thing it's got going on.  Visuals aside, the actual performance is really good.  It has 8 speed and heat settings which is fabulous for a fussy little urchin like me, and also has the much needed 'cool' shot for setting in the style.  The best aspect for me, and what sets it apart from a lot of dryers on the market, is the 'HW2' technology - making your hair feel softer and smoother to the touch and generally increasing hair manageability and quality afterwards.  I can honestly say that my hair felt so smooth after using the dryer - even when I blow-dryed my hair upside-down (i do this to get volume in the roots).  I found that I had to use less hair serum the next day to tame frizz, and my GHD's glided through like a dream. I did find I had to read the manual a couple of times to get the best out of it - at first I found it didn't dry my hair as quick as I'd have liked but a quick gen up on the controls and I found it pretty speedy.

The downside? It's by no means a cheap addition to your hair tool collection.  At £109 it really is the crem de la crem of the hairdrying world and if you're a 'blow and go' kind of girl (scrap your filthy minds....) then this won't be for you.  If you're like me and are absolutely hair-care bonkers then it's worth a look if you're in the market for a new dryer - but it's worth shopping around.  You can find it on BeautyBay currently at full price, but a couple of weeks back I found it on Amazon for a great deal less.

Schwarzkopf OSIS+ 'Blow & Go' Volumising Blow Dry Spray* |  Link

Those of you who read my hair-related posts are probably well aware of my love affair with hair mousse. I flippin' love the stuff. If I blow-dry my hair without a dollop or two then I certainly know about it.  After trying a few volumising sprays in the past, I've always converted back to my trusty bottle of the whipped stuff. I often find sprays leave my hair crispy, or looking dull, and often don't provide as much volume as a mousse.   This little offering by Schwarzkopf has probably been the most successful in swaying me in the 'spray' direction so far.  I actually use this for my fringe.  I either like my fringe pushed back slightly, or sweeping across my forehead - and I always like it to look like it has volume. There's nothing I hate more than a flat, gappy fringe (fellow fringe fans will know what I mean here! Jeez, how many more times do I want to say 'fringe' in this paragraph? >>FRINGE!<<) I simply lift the section of hair up, and spray at the root a couple of times from a bit of distance and then blow-dry for a few seconds in the opposite direction, before drying and setting it into the position I like.  I find that it always looks much more glossy afterwards, and doesn't have any crispy bits that the mousse can tend to leave - the 'Blow & Go' doesn't leave any sticky residue whatsoever and leaves your hair looking polished and feeling light as air.  It also helps my fringe to stay pretty 'swoopy' all day.  Result. I can totally see why this little spray is a bestseller... At just under a tenner at £9.75 (you can find it for around £7 on eBay) it's well worth a try if you're struggling to inject a bit of volume into your barnet but don't want to pay a fortune.

Have you tried any of these products? Are you a blow-dry obsessive like me?! If so, recommend me some stuff!! :)