Behind the Scenes | KeraCare Blogger Photoshoot

If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen the majority of my snaps from the past weekend, but for those of you who don't know, I was invited to a weekend of pampering by KeraCare in Birmingham along with other bloggers Megisa (My Black Hair), Diane (I Grew It Long) and Fatou (Black in the Air). The weekend included a makeover and 70s themed photoshoot to be featured in Black Beauty & Hair magazine where we were styled by award-winning hairstylist Michelle Thompson at the Francesco Group.

Day 1 - Prep 

I arrived at Francesco Group Salon around 11am and straight away Michelle got to work, asking what I use on my hair already and how I care for it generally. We'd been asked to send in photos of our hair before the shoot and I explained that my hair is a big mix of textures from relaxing and texlaxing. Michelle decided that she wanted my hair to be in wavy styles for the shoot and showed me her mood board depicting some classic wavy styles from the 70s. 

My hair was quite tangled and dry when I arrived so KeraCare Conditioning Mist (which melts away even the the difficult knots) was sprayed throughout my hair to detangle. My usual Shampoo from the Dry & Itchy range (reviewed here) was then applied neatly with a tint brush in small sections on my scalp. I sat for 5-10 minutes with the shampoo applied and then my hair was washed, deep conditioned and blowdried. A few drops of silken seal was smoothed on my strands before blowdrying to protect my hair from the heat. My hair was then straightened in very small sections and trimmed to even my ends. I now have blunt bra strap length hair and I've never been happier with the look of my ends! Finally my hair was delicately wrapped into a neat bun at the nape to complete the prep.

Later that evening we were all treated to a relaxing pampering session at the hotel we were staying - the Hyatt Regency Birmingham. I have to admit other than the odd face mask and mani/pedi I don't really indulge in pampering. It was definitely an experience, a surprisingly enjoyable one, to have a full body scrub, back massage and facial. All of us were feeling so relaxed and ready for sleep by the time our sessions had ended. Last on the day's agenda was a spot of dinner before finally retiring to a ridiculously comfortable bed. It definitely made it harder to get up the following morning!

Day 2 - The Photoshoot 

With an early start we all arrived at the salon just before 8. My hair was blown out and straightened again as it had started to revert a little - my hair never wants to stay straight which is why I rarely bother with heat. My hair was then curled with tongs in between sprays of KeraCare Styling Spritz before rolling into pin curls to set.

My makeup was then applied for the first look - a natural fresh face with pink lips and subtle eyeshadow to compliment a casual peach-toned playsuit. My hair was then carefully combed out and moulded into waves with a centre parting. I studied Michelle in awe of how she twisted the comb in certain directions to get my hair to fall exactly how she wanted.

For the second look I was dressed in a lilac jumpsuit with gold floral detailing on the straps and across the waist. Dressed in evening attire, my hair was swept to one side and held with (15) criss-crossed bobby pins to keep it in place - it actually held the same shape until the end of the night! My makeup was ramped up slightly with a little MAC heroine applied to my lips and purple shadow swept across my eyelids.

After the shoot we popped to George Kosit's salon opening and found a bite to eat later in Birmingham town centre rounding off a really lovely weekend. Michelle's team worked tirelessly to ensure not one hair (literally) was out of place and MUA Jess gave me some awesome tips on how to cover really bad scarring on my leg from insect bites last year. Lets just say colour correcting is key and MAC's face and body foundation is now on my wishlist. I'd like to thank everyone involved, it was organised perfectly with such a great group of people who I hope to see again in the future. The photos from the shoot should be featured in Black Beauty & Hair magazine soon. 

What did you get up to at the weekend?

Lesley x

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