Read Living Life the Essex Way Online
Authors: Sam Faiers
But then I decided to go a bit darker, and rather than going to the salon, I did it myself at home from a box. That wasn’t so good, and it seemed to look even worse on TV. When the first
episode of me with dark hair was aired, feedback on my looks became suddenly more, well, negative! Some people were still nice of course, but a lot of people were saying they preferred the blonde.
And I could see where they were coming from. It was still bright and shiny in real life, but it looked really harsh against my skin tone on screen, and somehow the colour looked duller. I remember
watching the beginning of the first episode, when Billie and I were in a bar together. Next to her bubbly blonde self, I just kind of disappeared. And that is not me! I am not a shy, hideaway
girl.
So after seeing how it looked on screen for myself, I decided I really was a blonde at heart, and it was time to go back. I introduced the blonde gradually, over a couple of sessions in the
salon, and I am more of a dark-gold blonde this time.
I don’t think
Star
magazine were very pleased when I went back to blonde though – they had just got me and my dark hair into the studio the week before to do a whole new set
of pictures to go at the top of my column. Oops, sorry about that!
I think I will stay like this now – and before you ask, yes, I do think blondes have more fun!
I tend to get my roots done every five weeks. A girl called Polly comes to my house and does the highlights, and then puts toner on it to stop them being too bright. It’s great, as she is
happy to come round any time, so it fits with my lifestyle – which doesn’t exactly allow for routine. But while I am fussy about the colour, I am not too worried about the cut and am
happy to let one of my friends cut it when I don’t want to go to the salon. That’s probably because I have never really had any hair nightmares. Like I’ve never been to the salon
and come out with green hair or anything! I do remember once getting really upset because I asked for an inch off, and they took off three inches, but that is it. It grew back in a few weeks
anyway.
I like having long hair, and it is my plan to grown it back – the bob is not here to stay! I had a bob with a fringe as a toddler too. After I started school, I just let it grow and grow,
and by the time I left it was down to my waist. It was only when I was 18 that I cut it to the length it was until the start of this year. One of the reasons I like it long is that, as I mentioned
earlier, I hate my ears. Honestly, they are really big! So I always try to cover the tips to make them look smaller. You are never going to see me with one of those little pixie haircuts or
whatever. Can you imagine?
How to Get Perfect Big Hair Without Extension
When I want my hair to look as natural as possible, this is how I get that big-hair effect.
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I put thickening or volume mousse in my hair, and brush it through with a big, round brush.
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Then I set my hair in rollers – I use five or six of them, and spread them out over my head. Heated rollers work best for me, but there
are many different kinds – Jess Wright prefers the Velcro ones, for example. It’s a question of trial and error to see what works best for you.
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After the rollers are in, I use a lot of hairspray – probably about half a can – and then leave it for an hour.
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After I take the rollers out, I run a wide-toothed comb through it. Some people get really curly hair at this point, but for me, because of
the type of hair I have, the curls drop and it is more wavy.
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Then I part my hair at different points, sprinkle on some talc and rub it in. This helps give hair more volume, but make sure you only apply
it at the roots.
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If I want really good volume, I backcomb my hair. Some people do this all over, but I think that is a bit much, so again I only do it at the
roots, to give my hair more lift.
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Then I add a bit more hairspray, and I’m all done. If you have followed this routine exactly, I promise you it won’t go limp
within half an hour, but will really stay big and full of volume for the night.
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As with all these beauty treatments, if you have a big night out coming up and you can afford it, go to the salon! Most of the time, you
won’t be able to do it as well as the professionals.
Choosing the Right Hair Extensions
There is such a huge choice of hair extensions that choosing what to go for can be a pretty hard decision! But there are a few things you need to
take into consideration.
The obvious one is whether you want them in for the long term, until you have them professionally removed or replaced, or if you just want them for a short while, to
make a particular style look good for the night.
Then there is price. Fixed extensions cost more than clip-ins, and obviously the better quality the hair, the more it will cost. It’s definitely worth forking
out a bit, or you can end up with an irritated scalp, or hair that just doesn’t look real.
If you are going for permanent extensions, really research the stylist – and where possible I would go for someone who specialises in extensions, rather than a
hairdresser who just happens to do them on the side.
If you are buying clip-ins, spend a lot of time matching the colour to your own. A good shop will let you try them on, and a good internet shop will have a returns
policy in case they don’t quite match your own colour when you receive them. With clip-ins, people worry about what length to go for. I’d say always go longer than you think
you’ll need – you can always cut them once they are in place, just like normal hair. And if you are unsure, pay a hairdresser to put them in the first time and show you how to
do it. It will be worth it!
How to Put in Clip-in Hair Extensions
Clip-in hair extensions are the only type you can put in yourself at home, and that’s easy to do – once you know how. Here is my
guide.
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Generally you will get six hairpieces – two medium pieces to go at the back of your head near the bottom, two large pieces to go further
up your head at the back, and two small pieces to go at the sides.
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Start with your hair washed, combed and down, in the way you want it to sit.
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Part your hair across the bottom at the back using your fingers, just a bit above the bottom of your hairline, and clip in the first medium
extension, attaching the clips as close to the scalp as possible. It doesn’t matter if the parting is not perfectly straight – no one will see it.
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Repeat this with the other medium piece, a couple of inches above.
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The next parting should be just above the top of your ears, and the first of the larger extensions can be clipped in here, with the second a
couple of inches above.
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The small sections are done in the same way at the side of your head. You can either do one on each side, or if you have a side parting and
want one side to be thicker, you can add both to one side.
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Use a large brush with soft bristles to run through your hair afterwards to combine your hair with the extensions and create a natural overall
look.
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When you take your extensions out, you need to treat them just as you would your own hair. So they need to be washed, conditioned, combed and
dried in the same way.
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You can also curl and style them as you would your own hair – I find it easier to curl them before I put them on my head.
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Store them carefully! Brush them out and put them back in the packet, to keep them clean and dry.
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If you want to watch me explain this technique, there is a video on YouTube of me demonstrating on my own hair – put my name in the
search bar and you will find it.
No book about me would be complete without a chapter on my sister Billie.
She has really influenced who I am as a person, and is my best friend as well as my sister.
She is only 11 months and 15 days older than me, so even in age we are really close. In fact we were born in the same year – she was born in January 1990, and I was born in December of
that year. So we grew up pretty much side by side, and did everything together. We went to the same schools, went on family holidays together, swapped gossip and fashion, and shared the same
friends. I don’t think I have met another two sisters who are as close as me and Billie.
We were also both really close to our mum growing up – in fact we are like three sisters, as Mum is so young. We hated to be apart from her when we were younger – Mum says that at
one point she couldn’t even go to the toilet without the pair of us appearing in the doorway, demanding to sit on her knee. She’s a very tolerant lady!
We both got our confidence from our mum, I think, as she is a very strong woman. But Billie and I deal with the downsides of life quite differently. She likes to let it all out and talk and rant
to people about things. I tend to keep things inside. I rarely cry in front of other people, not even my friends. If I am pissed off or upset, I will keep it to myself and then go off and cry on my
own in my room. I keep my emotions hidden pretty deep inside so, for example, I’ll talk openly with my friends about sex and that, but not the emotional side of my relationships. I think
everyone saw that side of me when Mark or Joey and I had any conversations on the show that got too serious. I rarely put my feelings out there on show, and it was always me who would cut off the
conversation when it got too deep. I am not sure why I do that, but it is me, and it is how I will always be, I think.
Billie always calls me Manf, rather than Samantha or Sam. My Auntie Sam is called Manf for short as well, so we are Big Manf and Little Manf! All our friends have copied Billie and call me that
too, but the rest of my family still call me Min – short for Minnie.
When I got onto the show, Billie was 100 per cent happy for me. She thought it was great, and would help me choose my clothes and stuff like that. It really helped that I could talk to Billie
about the things that were worrying me when
TOWIE
started, such as whether the real me was coming across.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved spending loads of time with Amy on series one – like I said before, I think that was the best series for me – but I was seen very much as
Amy’s agony aunt, and I wanted the chance to show people what I was really like. So I thought it would be good to have some of my family on the show, so people could see other sides of me. I
suggested Billie to the producers and brought her in to meet them, and they really liked her – she is as real as you can get. I really wanted to share the whole experience with her, and it
has been great that we have been able to do that.
People always think I am the older sister, or that I am the one in charge, and possibly that’s partly because I was on the show first and was more relaxed in front of the cameras, so I
tended to take charge when they were around the two of us together at first. But the reality is that Billie definitely has the more overpowering personality out of the two of us!
She is fierier, and reacts on the spur of the moment, whereas I am softer and more laid-back, maybe too laid-back at times! I just let Billie get on with things. But we agree on most things
anyway. For example, if we are deciding what to do with our day, we will always want to do the same things, and will come up with the same plan. The only time I might take the lead is if it’s
something to do with being brave. Say we are at a water park and there is a scary ride, Billie will wait for me to go on it first before she will go for it. I have to lead the way.
She was scared of a lot of things when we were little, like fireworks, and she would cry and climb into bed with me. One time Dad dressed up as Santa at Christmas to surprise us, but Billie was
frightened of him and hid in my bed. I had to tell her it was Dad and not to worry!
I am about the only person she doesn’t mind hugging, other than boyfriends. She is not a touchy-feely person – it annoys her – whereas as a kid, I would always want to be
hugged.
We have both always been thoughtful about each other, about what would make the other happy. I remember when we were little kids and we’d be given £5 each to spend at the shops.
We’d always make a deal that we’d spend it on each other, so we’d go off and come back with sweets and toys for each other.
We have the same humour, although Billie is definitely wittier than me – I’m not a funny person at all, annoyingly! She is also cleverer than me. While I was concentrating on sport
at school, and my piano practice, she was good at her studies, especially English. We thought she might go to university, and she did stay on for sixth form, but then she decided to work instead. I
think she saw me working and earning money, and realised she wanted to do the same.
Not that she is always sensible with her cash – that role falls to me! I have been saving all the money I’ve been earning from
TOWIE
and the life that has come with it to
buy a house. It is something I have wanted to do for ages, and so I have worked towards that – and I finally got my dream home at the start of the year. It is a three-bedroom house with a
garden and a big drive, just five minutes from Mum’s house. It is the perfect place and I hope I am here a long time – maybe I’ll even bring my kids up here!