My Hair Care Essentials

I have maintained a love/hate relationship with my hair since middle school, when I started really caring  about what I looked like.  Throughout high school, I kept my hair pretty short - meaning chin length or a little longer.  I occasionally let it grow to my shoulders, but it never got much longer than that.  The first time I chemically-treated my hair in any way was my junior year of high school when I died my naturally auburn hair a darker red.  Senior year of high school was a dramatic year for hair changes.

I went from blonde highlights:

Back to a closer version of my natural color:

To dark brown right before graduation:

In college, I kept it mostly a strawberry-blonde:

And red:

Basically, I've damaged my hair quite a lot over the past eight years, and I continue to damage it by getting partial highlights every eight weeks and using heat styling tools on it at least twice a week.  Despite all of this hair destruction, I manage to get tons of compliments on my hair, and I truly believe I owe it all to my current hair routine and the products I use to keep it healthy.  I am very excited to share what works for me!

First of all, I was blessed with normal/dry hair so I only wash it 2-3 times per week.  I know some people have super oily hair and have to wash it everyday, but if you have normal/dry hair like me, you're really harming your hair by washing it daily.  It's good for your hair to get a little oily - it keeps it healthy.  Because my hair is chemically-treated with color, I use color-safe shampoo and conditioner.  Now, let me tell you, I've tried a multitude of shampoos and conditioners, from cheap brands to pricey, salon brands, and Pureology is the best.  Because my hair is naturally wavy, curly, thick and frizzy, I chose Pureology Super Smooth to help relax the kinks.

After I lightly towel-dry my hair, I liberally spray it with Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Wheat Leave In Conditioner and comb through it with a wide-tooth comb until I get all the knots out. 

Then, I use my all-time favorite product - Moroccan Oil.  I use two pumps of the oil on the ends (driest part) of my hair and then smooth what's left on my hands on the rest of my hair, careful not to get too much of the oil on the top of my head because that can make it look gross and greasy.

After I use Moroccan Oil, I let my hair air-dry for at least 30 minutes, depending on how much time I have.  Before blow-drying what's left of the damp hair, I spritz on some Pureology Heat Fortifying Spray for heat protection and spray my roots with a little Pureology Root Lift for added volume at the crown of my head.  I don't always use the root lift, only if I feel like I need a boost.

After all of my hair is dry, I use one pump of Moroccan Oil to smooth over my hair before curling or straightening.

I hope you all find these products as beneficial as I do, if you should choose to try any of them out for yourself.  This has been my routine for the past couple of years, and I'm happy I finally found the right products that work for my unruly hair!