There is no denying, a good hair day really does have the power to lift your mood – I don’t care how vain or trivial this sounds, anything to boost the mood is a positive thing in my book, and after losing a lot of hair a few years ago due to auto-immune disease, and more recently having some of the front of my hair burnt off by a faulty hotel hairdryer, a good hair day will always raise a smile in me.
My hair journey is a lengthy one which I won’t bore you with, but the bottom line is; it’s crazy frizzy, coloured and recovering from the auto-immune disease (health is back on track and hair is gradually following). I am the perfect candidate for testing hair tools and products, because if they work on me, they will likely work on anyone. I have high hopes of restoring my hair’s former glory in 2023, and I expect a big part of that to be via new hair tools brand Bellissima Italia.
I started using the Bellissima Italia Steam Elixir straightener at the end of 2022, with a very dubious mind; the tagline is “a perfect straight look in a single stroke, without damaging your hair” which in my mind read “great idea but I bet it won’t smooth my fuzzy mane”. Well guess who is eating their words??
The straightener itself is understandably bulkier than ‘traditional’ straighteners but it is not heavy or uncomfortable to use. Before use, you detach a little chamber and insert regular tap water in it before reattaching the chamber with a slide on/off action. You then have a choice of heat settings from 170 – 230°C (I never go higher than 200 °C – despite the frizz, my hair is very fine and weakened from colour) it takes a few seconds to heat up, and then, most importantly, you must clamp the straighteners together a few times to activate the steam. My hair routine is on a strict 3-day wash – rough dry – straighten/smooth sequence with limited heat in between if I can possibly help it, and by day 3 it is usually crying out to be washed. After rough drying and preparing the Bellissima Steam Elixir, I started to smooth my hair (I always add a curl or wave with my straighteners) and would you believe, just as promised, a single stroke and my hair was smooth! I kept moving from section to section, expecting it to be a fluke (the underneath of my hair is not quite as crazy as the top half) but stroke after stroke, my hair was effortlessly smoothed. The thing I found most unusual, was that the straighteners don’t feel as though they are grabbing the hair very well at all, which I always thought was a necessity to achieve the smoothest hair, but I was obviously wrong – in fact, I’m sure ‘grabbing’ the hair firmly must add stress to the hair. Being a slightly wider straightener than standard tools, the curls I achieved were more like loose waves (this is a look I personally prefer anyway, but maybe if you have longer hair, you might manage more of a curl than I did) and the best part; my hair did not frizz up in humid weather! This makes complete sense, as the more hydrated your hair is, the less prone it is to frizz, but it still shocked me! As for damage, I suppose time will tell but from what I have seen so far, and with clinical tests to back up the claims (the results showed 95% of cases treated were free from damage, remaining the same or improving (tests performed at 200 °C)) I am now expecting the best!
Also part of the Bellissima Italia range is the Diffon Ceramic diffuser – this is the cutest most compact diffuser I have ever seen! My frizz is mostly due to the fact that I go against my natural curls (in fact, I think more of us are curlier than we believe, we just don’t know how to treat the curls) but at last, natural curls are making a comeback, with lots of curl specific product ranges now available and Instagram being flooded with curly girl hair wash routines – I’ve become obsessed. Learning from my mistakes, I have always encouraged my elder daughter to “go with the curl” and my goodness has she got a curl! She takes very good care of her curls and very rarely uses heat on her nearly waist-length hair, but I asked her if she would mind trying the Bellissima Diffon for me, and the results were perfect and beautiful bouncy curls! Watch this space, I might embrace my own curls this year after seeing my daughter’s results! With 7 tools in the Bellissima Italia range, there is something for every hair dream!
The other products I can highly recommend for your 2023 haircare goals are:
- K18 everything! I have written about the shampoos and the repair mask for StyleNest before – all incredible. From £39,
- Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil, for nourishment pre-styling, and smoothing post-styling (a little goes a very long way). £19 for 20ml
- It’s a 10 Miracle Blowdry Volumizer – if you haven’t seen the videos, you need to Google them – to my knowledge, there is not a volumizing spray on the market that can create a fuller blowdry! I cannot stand volumizing powders – this spray does leave a texture to the hair but no knottiness or roughness. £18.50
- Bondi Boost Satin Pillowcase is way more affordable than silk pillowcases but just as effective for keeping her smooth and unsnagged (great for the skin too!) do not underestimate the power of this simple little beauty swap. £18.99
- Fable & Mane HoliRoots pre-wash Hair Oil, £32
- Hair Syrup The Original, £13.99 (I haven’t tried their Rapunzel formula yet but it is next on my hitlist – the customer reviews are incredible), I am a big fan of pre-wash scalp treatments – healthy hair starts at the scalp after all.
Happy Growing! X
Bellissima Italia Steam Elixir £149.99 sephora.co.uk
Bellissima Italia Ceramic Diffon, £59.99 sephora.co.uk