Maintaining Those Luscious Locks: Conditioning

Today, we're talking hair. Long hair. I've talked about it before, but for those of you that haven't been around these parts: I've been growing my hair out for almost 3 years.. (probably a little bit longer, but I try not to remember the short haired years..) I've tried almost everything you can try to "grow your hair faster" and I can honestly tell you the one thing that helped, was not getting it cut all the time. But that's a different topic, today we're talking about conditioning that luscious mane, get it girl.

My hair and I have been through thick and thin together, and most of the time it lets me down so it's not exactly best friend material. But, I've learned some ways to beat it into submission.  I've always had super super super thick hair, seriously going bald is something I've never even contemplated, (knock on wood) but it's not always a blessing, there are so many other things going on, the weight of your hair isn't something you also want to have to worry about.  I've talked about pre-shampoo-ing before, but I'm going to go into more detail. Pre-Shampoo: There are tons of things you can use for this step, coconut oil has worked the best for me. You can use regular conditioner, but if it has a ton of silicone in it, it won't rinse out. Even when you wash it you'll have that didn't-rinse-your-hair residue feel. If you can't find coconut oil (or don't want to buy it because they only sell HUGE containers and you don't think you'll be able to use all of it, I know I've been there) you could even use olive oil. How to apply: There's two ways you could do this,  1) LAYER YOUR HAIR, even if you have thin hair this will help coat all the strands. (technical term: strands.) Take a quarter size amount, rub in between fingers to melt. Start closer to the end and run your oil coated fingers down the strands. I usually go up to about mid layer. I don't want the oil or conditioner (or whatever I'm using) on my roots, because that could be a disaster the next day. Re-layer and repeat until satisfied. Leave in for about 30 minutes to an hour, I do mine as soon as I get home and leave it in until I'm ready to shower.  The second way to do this is (messier, but) more effective I feel. I scoop some coconut oil out into a microwavable safe bowl and melt it. Once my hair is layered I dip the ends in the bowl all the way up to where I would normally stop the layer. After it's dipped, work the oil down almost like you're squeezing this out. I want to say this works because the heat is opening up the follicles but I don't think that's right because a) I'm not a scientist and b) pretty sure follicles are at the top of your head. It is what it is.  After you've pre-shampooed, wash it out, and use a regular (not deep conditioner or extremely hydrating) I use Tresemme damage control conditioner after I've washed the oil out. Once that's rinsed out and I've towel dried my hair I spray a leave in conditioner on my ends to keep them from splitting and frizzing.  On nights that I don't pre-shampoo, I wash my hair first, deep condition immediately after and let it sit while I finish showering. The last thing I do is rinse the conditioner and wash my face. When I don't pre-shampoo I use more leave in conditioner after I towel dry.  The key to frizz taming is condition condition condition. As much as you can. Do it all on one night and see how much better your hair feels the next day! Be careful not to put too much on your roots though, it won't be luscious, it'll be ludicrous. 

Don't fall for the lie!

#Longhairdon'tcare

You've probably seen this hashtag on, well, everything. I'm convinced that this was created by a person with short hair.... If you have long hair, you can't "not care", it should be:

#longhairdon'tcareaboutanythingelsebecauseidon'thavetime

and here's a couple reasons why, for those of you that can rock short hair. 

(looking at you, Chelsea)

1. When I take the time to fix my hair I don't have time to care about either sleeping in or doing my make up. A double edged sword. I love hitting that snooze button, and I look scary without make up on. Which is why most of the time my hair is tossed to the side into a top knot.

2. Washing your hair is seriously an all night event. I wash my hair 2 to 3 times a week (depending on how many times I went to the gym wore it in a top knot). The whole process takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on if I blow dry it then or not. Granted, during the hair mask portion of the evening I'm not constrained.. I can do whatever I want, but it's still an important part of the process.

3. This may just be me, or it could be everyone, but a problem I have is that I've been waiting 3-4 years for my hair to get to a desired length so I can have "pinterest worthy" hair. Well guess what? Just because your hair is long enough doesn't mean you can work that intricate up do. Hello, layers.

4. Speaking of different hairstyles, who has time outside of getting ready to try different hairstyles? When I was in high school when I got bored I would curl my hair, or do something different to it. I'm not in high school anymore and I don't have an abundance of time to try out that intricate braid... Curled or straight, those are my options when I actually have time to fix my hair. I did branch out and start doing a sock bun, but that's as creative as it gets..

5. Living in a windy city. I think I tweeted about this the other day.. My hair has been so tangly lately there's no point in leaving it down. It just ends up in a huge knot any way.

So for those of you with short hair thinking "Man, I wish I had long hair." It's not all it's cracked up to be. I would cut my hair if I didn't have to have all of it for an up-do/veil in October.. I've had short hair before, and after the wedding I'll probably cut off a couple inches.. We'll see.

This is probably the shortest it's been in the last 5 or so years... This was the year we took our cheap butts to the closest halloween store and found the cheapest matching costumes we could. Martini glasses. 

Have a fabulous Thursday, it's almost Friday!

Follow me:

Making a change!

Man this weekend was just as crazy as I predicted! But, I got all my Christmas shopping done, wrapped, and under the tree! So now I'm one hundred percent ready for Christmas!

I should be playing catch up on #theskinproject, but I know even less about serums than I did about toner. So I'm counting myself out this week, and I'll pick up next week with eye cream!

I've had dark hair my whole life. When we lived in Hawaii it had a blonde tint to it, but it's always been dark. -except for a little hiatus last year when I had golden highlights..- But I'm finally doing what I've been dying to do for months! I'm going blonde.

Not platinum blonde mind you, I'm jumping on the ombre train -choo choo- and I'm so excited! I got my hair cut this past weekend just to trim up my ends a little and add some swoop bangs. Originally I was going to hold out on dying it again, until we have our engagement pictures scheduled. -which we probably should already have done and printed..oops- but now that's freshly cut, and I'm rocking some new bangs, I'm regretting not getting it dyed while I was there...

So I have an appointment, for Friday at 5! No turning back now! I have faith in my hairdresser. She's the only one I've found that actually only "trims" my hair... Not "trimming =6 inches" trim....

Anyway; color. This is what I'm going for:

The Ombre look, my hair isn't that dark on top, and I have more red so I think I'm going to end in more of strawberry blonde. Eep! I'm so excited!

What do you think? Have you tried the ombre trend?









P.S. This was supposed to be posted yesterday, oops. So, two in one day! YAY! Merry Christmas!

Hair Spiel: Pre-poo

 

 Happy Tuesday Lovelies!

.

 Today we're talking about hair, specifically the act (and sometimes art) of pre-pooing. 

Let's start off with a little hair-background (I know I've gone into this before, but for new readers): I have super, super, super thick hair.The strands themselves are extremely fine and silky, but there's a ton of it. Going bald is not a fear of mine. -even though when I was little I did fear this because of all the hair in my hairbrush and shower- I've only dyed it a few times, maybe 4? And I try to get it trimmed every 3-4 months -even though right now I'm going on 5, yikes!-

I'm not real particular on the products I use on my hair. When I started growing it out about 2 years ago I read all the articles, "HOW TO GROW YOUR HAIR", "DON'T EAT THIS OR YOU'LL GO BALD", "DO YOU WANT HAIR DOWN TO YOUR FEET? THEN EAT BEETS!" Whether it made sense or not, I read it. -for those of you out there growing your hair out, we could probably have an entire days worth conversation of it's few pros and many, many cons- So I know the gist of things that are good for your hair, and the gist of things that aren't. But honestly, I don't have time to read every review of hair products before I buy them, and I DEFINITELY don't have time to sit in the isle and read all the ingredients on the shampoo and conditioner bottles to make sure nothing has sulfate or some form of it.  Andddd, in addition to that comment, just because someone reviewed a hair product badly, doesn't mean that it won't work for you. Believe me, I've bought so many things because I read a good review and have been sorely disappointed because my hair said "no way girl, good try though" So with that...... on to pre-poo.

What is pre-poo you ask? Pre-poo is applying conditioner, oil, or moisturizing balm, to your dry (or damp) hair to prepare it for the washing process. Washing is hard on your hair, the hair is most vulnerable when wet, so pre-pooing, makes the washing process a little less detrimental to your locks.

I've read about a ton of ways to do this, but I'm going to tell you the two ways I do it that I've found have worked the best. 

1. Coconut oil: I love it; I'll probably do a whole post on it because I use it so often. There are tons of different ways to do this, this is just how I do it that works for me and my stubborn hair (she's high maintenance).

-with Dry hair I section it into a couple parts (top, sides, and bottom generally) 

-take a scoop of coconut oil (a little goes a long way!) I seriously just use one finger and get a scoop out and rub it between my fingers and do the bottom layer until it's drenched. 

-repeat on the rest of the layers, pull it all up -you can use a shower cap if you prefer, I just pull it up in a clip on top of my head- and go on about your evening. The longer you leave this on the more beneficial it will be. I try to leave it on for 45 minutes to and hour. 

 2. Conditioner. I've been using this Tresemme split remedy shampoo and conditioner. I like the shampoo, but the conditioner is kind of hard to use on a regular basis... It's milky creamy consistency doesn't rinse out easily, but I've found that it works great as a pre-poo! I just use it the same as the coconut oil, but I've found this works better if the hair is damp. I rub it in the sections, let it sit for about an hour, and wash it out. My hair is soft and luscious for days! I also realize (and have this same problem most weeks) that not everyone has time to let some conditioner soak into your hair for an hour. Another thing you can do -I would suggest a shower cap for this one- put whatever you're using in your hair at night before you go to bed, and put the shower cap on and go to sleep! -this one is hard for me because I hate getting up in the morning to shower, so I do it at night-                                    

 Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday!

Be sure to visit Becky at A Girl and Her Sparkles

 her blog is awesome!

You can follow me on GFC, Google +, or Bloglovin' to get updates on my posts! over there--->

Hair Spiel: Dry Shampoo

Since this is my first "Hair Spiel" I'm going to give you a little hair background to compare:
My hair has always been SUPER thick. The hair itself is extremely fine, but there's A TON of it. I've been growing it out for about 2 years, and it's finally getting to where I want it. I don't really have a problem with split ends (thanks mom). I get my hair trimmed maybe every 4-6 months, and I found a hairstylist that really only "trims" it when she says that's all she's going to do!
Onto the Dry Shampoo Spiel!!

If you haven't heard about dry shampoo: A. you're living under a rock and I'm sorry, B. Go to walmart (or target, or walgreens, or Sephora.....you get the point) and get some.


Now that my hair is almost to my desired length I have hopeful thoughts of getting creative with it. Pinning different hair styles to try with hopes of recreating it perfectly to a "t" on the first try. yeah right. Turns out, I'm the laziest person ever when it comes to my long hair. I'd much rather sleep in than get up, shower, blow dry, straighten. Not to mention all the damage that would do everyday... Insert Dry Shampoo! It's seriously a miracle product if you find the right one. It can add volume, absorb oil, and make you look like a flow-y haired Herbal Essence commercial (ok maybe not, but close). I've read in multiple places that you're not supposed to wash your hair everyday, which is my excuse for a) purchasing dry shampoo and b) only washing my hair 1-2 times a week.

Because I try to use a whole bottle before I purchase anything else (budgeting ban in place, go me!) I've only tried a couple of brands, but so far I'm still on the hunt for THE dry shampoo.
I'm currently using the Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo. You can read all about Suave's dry shampoo here. I'm not impressed. It leaves a residue-y feel in my hair.. And considering I don't use dry shampoo until about day 3 or 4 hair, if I wanted a residue-y feel, I'd leave it alone. So I wouldn't really suggest anyone to use this one. The one I used before that was the "Not Your Mothers Clean Freak" I liked this one, it didn't leave a residue behind and it did it's job right. I didn't like that it smelled awful. I didn't want to smell like this all day. So if you don't care about the smell this is a great choice. If you don't want to smell like a grandma, move along people there's something better out there! You can read all about nym dry shampoo here!

What brands have ya'll tried that you like?

Stay Beautiful.