Several years ago, I had what I thought was an ingenious product idea: a cordless hair straightener. I was inspired by the fact that I had been frustrated countless times by the cord on my own hair straightener.

If I wanted to wander around while I was doing my hair, I couldn’t; and the cord gets tangled in anything and everything, including chair legs and sometimes even around your limbs.

Little did I know that several manufacturers were already working on the idea, including Vidal Sasson, which came out with the VS Sassoon Total Freedom 230.

The Total Freedom 230 features a salon-standard ceramic heating system (you MUST use a ceramic straightener if you want to do the least amount of damage to your hair when styling it with heat) and comes with a docking station, so you can use it either with the cord or without.

The VS Sassoon Total Freedom 230 heats to 230 degrees, which is important - you want your hair straightener to get very hot so you’ll only have to go over your hair once or twice with a high heat than several times with a lower one.

Last but not least, the Total Freedom 230’s plates are also coated in tourmaline, which generates ionic conditioner to make your hair smooth and shiny.

Click here to find offers on the VS Total Freedom 230 near you.

By Caroline Warnes

If you loved the original, non-damaging formula of L’Oreal Casting semi-permanent hair colour, then you’ll love the new and improved Casting Creme Gloss.

Like the original, the Creme Gloss is a semi-permanent hair colour, but I think it’s far better. It leaves the hair soft and oh-so-shiny with natural-looking shimmer highlights, lasts a bit longer than the original and the colours you can choose from are absolutely divine.

You’ll find everything from blondes to brunettes to red-brown, each with delicious sounding names such as Iced Latte and Perle. What’s more, the formula comes with aloe vera and green tea to give your hair an extra bit of natural softness and shine.

Another bonus is that L’Oreal Casting Creme Gloss is highly effective in covering grey hairs - something you rarely find in a semi-permanent home hair colouring kit. And it’s very easy to use (although a tiny bit messy), even if you’ve never coloured your hair at home before.

By Caroline Warnes