Where do all the hairdryer nozzles go? I think they are like socks that get lost in the wash. I have found myself having to spend £120 this week on a new hairdryer, simply because I have lost my nozzles (and yes, they come with two!).
My dryer of choice is the WAM dryer, made by Neil Moodie, the session supremo, and Windle hair salon. It’s a match made in hair heaven!
But now I find myself nozzle-less at the end of a promo trip, with one day in England until I travel off to Warsaw for work. And how could I work without a nozzle? I know of hairdressers who tape the nozzle onto their dryer to avoid this scenario, but I use a dryer without a nozzle for 50% of the time – so that’s no good for me.
While tearing apart my hair cupboard in a panic, I have found five nozzles for other dryers.
Then it hit me! Assuming I can’t be the only one facing this scenario, shouldn’t there be a website where you can buy these sad little homeless nozzles? I know there must be a WAM nozzle out there that would be delighted to be adopted by me!
“Good home given to WAM nozzle. Loving hair family. Must love to travel and be happy to work in fashion.”
So, I have four Parlux nozzles and one BaByliss Pro. All going spare. If you write to me I will happily put them in the post to you, dear blog reader. All must go to good homes. xx

I heard about these scissors from Ben Cooke, who is Leona Lewis’s hairstylist. He is the Super Cutter, the man behind Victoria Beckham’s Pob haircut and many a celebrity style.
So if Ben says he loves something, I sit up and take note.
Ben has the skull versions of the Glamtechs. I love the weight of them and always prefer a longer blade in scissors. I’ve ended up with a few different pairs that I use to texture and blend – especially because I am a “soft slice” kinda girl.
Ever noticed how passionate hairdressers are about their blades?
Well, I’ve had a pair of Kasho Millennium for five years that I think are incredible. They cost as much as a Marc Jacobs handbag (£800) but I love them just as much too!
I love the price of Glamtech scissors. They’re affordable, £99 – £150, but also really good quality. I think of them as my diffusion-line handbag!

I find it really difficult to find good hairpins and hairgrips in England – my kit mainly consists of stuff bought in Paris as I can find strong hairpins there. But this website specialises in equipment for wigs and has great hairpins! I like the matt ones (especially in blonde) as I do a lot of TV and video work and these remain hidden in the hair. Also they are strong, so I do not have to use too many.
I know salons often struggle to find good Kirby grips, so this website will help solve a whole lot of issues!

Last night at the P&G awards, a beauty editor mentioned that I was the “queen of the tousled hair look”. I hadn’t really thought about it before too much, although many a client has booked me for that kinda-surfy-mussed-up-undone glamour thing that I have always loved. And when I talk to my agent, she seems to call anything textured in this way “Zoe hair”.
Well, maybe because I was at an award ceremony,  where the handsome Rick Edwards was giving out the prestigious beauty awards, I let my mind wander and imagined my acceptance speech for The Beachy Look of the Year Award.
It would have to start like this:
“I would like to thank my BaByliss PRO wand. Without it, none of this would be possible…”
The wand was launched several years ago and I now have 12 of them in three different sizes (it’s because I am a Virgo and tend to fret about losing things).  But I’m always so enraptured about how easy it is to style your hair well with them, I tend to give them away to my clients so that they can enjoy happy-hair days in the future!
I use a styling product first that is designed for use with heat tools, as this makes the wand work extra-fast and the hair holds the wave better. I wind the hair usually from the ear down around the wand and I always do one forward and one back.
Recently I am brushing a Mason Pearson through the ends for a “groomed tong” look (very this season).
I use two different sizes of wand if I want more curl but I mainly use the largest one.
You can buy them now from Amazon but I have always insisted that every salon I worked at sold them too, as I am a huge believer in salon styling lessons.
I cannot imagine my hair life without my BaByliss wand. Sad but true x

So, this is the Tangle Teezer of Dragons Den TV fame… If I hadn’t spent all my money on Marc Jacobs and holidays, I wish I had invested in this little wonder!
The Tangle Teezer has become an essential part of my kit as I tend to shampoo and pop a treatment on models and celebs before I start working, and this slips through all the tangles and really spreads the conditioner through. Then, after applying mousse or thickener, it distributes the product evenly.

On my own hair, which is fine and super-tangly, the Tangle Teezer has made such a difference to the condition. Even when I’m in a rush it really pushes product into the sad ends!
I have also given them to friends with young daughters to stop piercing screams at bathtime.

Okay, so lets get to the obvious bit – it’s neon pink. Adore!! (Mind you, I also have it in purple…) It is my desert island product, along with a vat of hair treatment.
We got them into Hari’s and they sold out in a day, so I took one to Mexico and had my own little still-life shoot with it!

This is a product that I mentioned last year in my summer kit bag  – but it now seems to be in my winter hair kit bag too!  It’s designed to be a sun protection spray but it is so great as a shine spray that I use it constantly. I use it in hair and then rake through a wide-tooth comb or just use my fingers, and the oil has a wonderful shine that shoots really well. I always put a towel underneath where I am working to avoid the model slipping on the floor!  

When removing from the hair, apply the shampoo first before water or use a shampoo designed for hair wax removal, like Black & White Shampoo.

I start my day at 5.30am – it feels like the middle of the night. My car arrives and I pack in my kit, which seems to be growing. I packed and cleaned it late last night and for blog purposes have listed what it now includes:
12 tongs in sizes from super mini to large
2 straighteners
2 crimping irons
2 hairdryers
3 waving iron things, marcel-like
3 wallets of pins, grips in 5 different sizes
1 wallet of hairbands in 10 colours and 5 sizes
27 hair products
1 bag of hair doughnuts and sausages
1 bag of velcro rollers, 6 sizes
6 towels
2 gowns
1 pack of baby wipes
hair wefts in 6 colours
1 wallet with hair glue and removers
1 book of self-made hair references
1 bag of food
1 bag of brushes, 10 sizes
1 ragdoll doll from Cuba (don’t ask)
So the kit weighs in at 27 kilos… I keep it downstairs where all the other flat owners keep their bikes. This baby is not being dragged upstairs with me. But I often fret that the downstairs guys will have someone over that will nick it on the way out. At 5.30 in the morning when I walk downstairs I say a silent thank you that my travelling salon is still there.

I seem to be using more and more shine products. Maybe it’s the Eighties hair that I’m being asked to do on shoots with slicked back sides? I use gel and spray on shine and over spray with hairspray. The mixture of a shiny top or side against height and dry textured hair seems very now somehow. I’m teaching this at Hari’s for the party season that awaits us. You can update long hair with a big blow dry, pulling back the sides and slicking with gel. It accentuates the cheek bones, which is always flattering. Over spray with hairspray for a look that can be brushed out the next day. Or for full on gloss get out the gel and slick on with a tint brush.

Zoe Irwin with Lisa Snowdon at the UK's Most Wanted 2009 Grand Final

Creative HEAD stepped up the style stakes this year with its inspiring UK’s Most Wanted awards, which proved full of surprises. I brought along a few friends for a special Creative Head shoot. They loved the evening and the shoot, which had such beautiful hair and styling. The trouble was there was so much going on, it was hard to know which bit to watch!

My Best Dressed Award goes to the beautiful Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck, who wore a jacket that screamed “I am so hot and so this season.” If I didn’t love her so much I would be jealous!

And Adam Reed, who owns so much of his best mate Henry Holland’s collection that I’m sure he even jogs in it!

Seeing all my peers and the work they do for awards inspires me to push my ideas further. I left thinking I want an award and I must check Net-a-porter for a new jacket when I get home!

London fashion week makes me so proud to be British. I love the way all the fashion crowd appear in their outfits and you watch tiny girls tottering in crazy heels that are normally only seen after dark, sashaying down the street with their super nerdy, but cool, gay friend wearing a practised bored scowl.

My role in this is to preen the fashion teams from the magazines. I spent the week updating colours, giving styling lessons and handing out “style kits” of pins, kitten brushes and mini hair sprays to my clients so that they could survive a month of shows, dinners and parties.

Texture is one of my key lessons – you can update a look super-quick with a different texture to the style. It’s all about “over-using” style products right now . Hairspray spritzed close to the head, then blowdried to give an upstyle gloss and a slightly tortured modern quality. I spray my fingers with a strong hairspray and rake them through the tops and sides of ponytails. I’m also still hooked on my dry shampoo habit! I overspray the ends of hair, then follow with the crimper and finally brush the hair with a Mason Pearson before placing it in a scruffy chignon.

The Hari’s crew need to be informed super-quick to keep up with the quick turnover of news from the weeklies so I’ve been giving trend demos at the salon.. This season’s chignon is extra-polished so I am upping my serum usage and my gel pots are empty after styling so many slick back looks on shoots. I use tint bowls filled with gel and apply with a brush with the precision of a high lift tint!

In my eternal search for the best beauty treatments for the salon I am now donning lashes that last a month and promise early morning glamour. The trouble is, with my half head of Russian hair extensions and my major lash flutter, I am becoming so fake. When my handsome man says I look cute I’m not really sure whether to take it as a compliment. The only way to understand a new salon treatment is to have it: our Brazilian Blo Out has a waiting list and our lash queen is busy as can be. Boy do I have to step up with my colour and foil!

So for me it’s back to school in the form of the Wella Studio. The only way to compete with the best is to obtain the highest knowledge and spend days watching the coolest new crowd in Hackney and Copenhagen. I think it’s an exciting mix. And my brushes are more than ready!

The most important thing is to be careful what you use. You need to know that the product will wash out with ease and not cause any harm to the hair. DO NOT put any type of sun oil spray in as I cannot guarantee it will wash out. I would not want to land the bill for a model that cannot shoot for days as she looks like she has just come from the local chippie!!

Sisley Body Sun Oil
This is a very fine spray, which leaves a high sheen. I use this when I’m shooting outside and want a wet look. Tong the hair to make it wavy and then spray the oil on liberally. It will give the hair a wet look but keep the texture in to create a surfy beach look. Also the oil is a super reflector so it’s great in the studio if you are shooting (be careful of the floor: it’s not so great if the model then slips and falls.) I always put at towel down to stop the oil from causing accidents!

Alterna Caviar Beach
This spray gives realistic end-of-day beach hair. I also love it because it’s kinda posh and has caviar in – a treat for the hair and an upmarket touch to your kit!

She Uemura Art of Style Fibre Lift
This gives amazing hold. Use it to create this season’s slick looks. Comb it through the hair then dry with a diffuser and finish by applying Sisley oil on top with a tint brush.

The mags are writing up their August issues so I’ve spent the last few weeks quoting beach tricks and creating  sexy holiday hair. Here’s a sneak peak inside my beach kit bag…

Sisley Golden Dry Oil for Face, Body and Hair

Ideal for girls who want to look hot and glittery on the beach – in a Vogue kinda way, not a WAG way. It’s a light oil with fine, copper-gold sparkle – run it through wet or dry hair and then tie in a top knot to add height. Or simple apply on top of a strong gel for hold and shimmer.

I used the oil throughout a whole week of beauty shoots in Ibiza for Grazia and I still had enough in the bottle for a fortnight away in St Lucia myself! I call it Credit Crunch Shimmer!

Kérastase Soleil

I love everything in this range – nothing beats it for UV protection and lightness. I can bask in the sun without worrying about messing up my hair and highlights!!

At the beginning of every shoot I build up a base of products in the hair to create the texture I need to work with that day – it’s a bit like building a foundation. Once this is done I can use heated tongs, crimpers or rollers on the hair and feel confident it will take hold immediately. I also have to be careful not to over shine or make the hair flaky because the lens and lighting will exaggerate any flaws.

I always use a mix of volume products, even if the finished look doesn’t need lift – I love the hold they give to any style.

For a soft texture with natural shine…

I love working with Frederic Fekkai. Starting with the underneath sections at the back I spray Instant Volume Root Lifting Spray on the first four inches of the roots. Next I cover the hair with Full Volume mousse. Then I take Kérastase Nectar Thermique or Ciment Thermique and work it through the last five inches of the lengths. I rough dry the hair and then blow out section by section, either with a large wooden bristle brush or a Mason Pearson brush. This gives a workable texture that holds a curl or a sleek look really well. I finally add an extra layer of Frederic Fekkai Full Volume Root Lift Spray to the top after it’s blown – I love the way this texture holds a back comb tease.

How to create a modern, dry texture…

This is my favourite texture and really popular at the moment.

I tend to use a lot of product, which dries quickly, so I usually blow out each section straight after applying the product – it’s also less damaging to the model’s hair. Spritz through Shu Uemura Art of Hair Depsea Repair Foundation, then follow with Tecni.art Volume Lift and – the magic product – Shu Uemura Liquid Fabric, which changes the hair completely. Blow out with a Mason Pearson brush and, if the hair is too soft, add more Liquid Fabric half way through drying. This creates an amazing texture for back combing or tonging. When the hair is dry add Klorane Dry Shampoo and thoroughly brush with a Mason Pearson.