Not only do I have some hair care tips today, but I also have a diet tip for you:
Spend all your money on your hair, and you won’t have any money to buy food.
But in all seriousness, your hair (along with your skin) can be one of the first things people see and make an impression of you from. As awful as that may seem, there’s just no way to avoid it. After all, we’re just humans.
So today I am sharing my hair care routine with you and some things I do to keep my hair as healthy as I possibly can.
WARNING: What works for me, may not work as well for you. So please be mindful of that. Also, I am not a hairstylist so there’s probably mistakes that I am making too. This is just what works for me, my routine, and my lifestyle.
I’ll start with the following details before I dive into the products I use:
1) It should be noted that I dye my hair blonde, but I only do it once or twice a year. Honestly, getting a cut + color can cost hundreds of dollars and that is quite expensive! Plus, who has time to sit at a salon for up to 4 hours?!
2) My color grows out in a way that it is a bit forgivable for me to get less coloring appointments (unless you have a different opinion of my hair lol don’t worry, I won’t be offended)
3) Curling my hair helps to hide some of my outgrown color so I tend to mostly curl my hair since it is a more forgiving look for me. Curling also helps to hide dry ends a bit better than if you were to straighten your hair.
4) I also like to wear a low pony 75% of the week since it means that I do not need to use heat on my hair or spend time in the morning styling it. I wish I can do a bun or other hairstyles, but my hair is simply too short (which I don’t mind too much anyway since I prefer my hair short).
5) This may come as a shocker to most, but I wash my hair every. single. day.
I know many stylists recommend washing your hair at least every other day or even less often, but I just can’t do it. I feel like my hair feels gross if I skip a day and I hate how dry shampoo feels in my hair so I would rather just wash my hair before I go to sleep. I love feeling super fresh + clean when I get into bed at night.
Since I don’t spend too much money getting a fresh cut + color every few weeks, I spend a little bit more on my hair products to ensure that my hair stays as healthy as possible for as long as possible between appointments.
Truth be told, I switch out my daily shampoo & conditioner every few months because 1) your hair gets used to a product if you use it for too long so then the product doesn’t benefit your hair as much as it did at the beginning, and 2) because I love trying new pretty bottles of shampoo.
I recently discovered this Kenra Thickening Duo at my local Ulta and decided to try it out because my hair is on the finer end of the scale so I wanted to see if a product like this would work.
Fortunately, it has. It hasn’t created a huge difference in the thickness of my hair, but I can definitely feel that my hair is slightly fuller (in the good kind of way were it feels thicker).
I apply a pump of the shampoo just to my roots and massage it really well.
Then I rinse off the shampoo and apply the conditioner to just my ends.
I let the conditioner sit in my hair as I wash my body, shave, and do whatever else in my shower routine.
I know for some people applying conditioner after your shampoo can sometimes weigh your hair down and give you less volume when your hair dries. If that’s the case for you, apply your conditioner to your ends first, then rinse and apply the shampoo.
For me, I like applying conditioner second because then I feel like my ends are more hydrated and feel healthier when my hair dries. Honestly, I’m not someone who cares alot about volume in my roots.
Once a week, I use the Drybar On The Rocks Clarifying Charcoal Shampoo on my roots to help clean my scalp of all the product buildup that occurs after using lots of hairspray throughout the week.
My hair (and scalp) feels sooo good after the deep, clarifying action of this gem.
Afterwards, I follow up with my regular daily Kenra Thickening Conditioner to keep my ends hydrated.
I also use the Kerastase Blond Absolu Anti-Brass Purple Shampoo once a week. If you’re a blondie, I highly recommend this shampoo (or any purple shampoo) to keep your blonde color looking as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
I have found that many purple shampoos can be quite drying on your hair though and have hated that. However, when I tried the Kerastase one, I fell in love. So grateful to Hal Bloss for talking about it on his blog here!
Afterwards, I also follow up with my regular daily Kenra Thickening Conditioner to keep my ends hydrated.
Because I like trying different hair products, I like to switch between two different leave-in conditioners: the It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner for Blondes & the OUAI Leave-In Conditioner.
I’ve been a lover of the classic It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner for years and I’m sure you’ve seen lots of people/bloggers talking about it. But when I saw that there was a version for blondes, I was super excited! I mean, I’m willing to try anything that delays me from going to a salon to spend hundreds of dollars on a fresh color. So I’m so glad I discovered this product!
Every other day, I’ll also use the OUAI Leave-In Conditioner. I actually received this deluxe sample from my Allure Beauty Subscription Box earlier this year and fell in love with it. It’s actually pretty comparable to the original It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner but feels more luxurious 😉 I definitely plan on purchasing the full size bottle once I run out of my current one (which has lasted me quite long!).
I was in search of a heat protectant spray and stumbled upon this brightening veil. Honestly, I’m not a fan of Joico hair products, but I actually enjoy this one. It’s supposed to protect your hair from thermal heat (like from styling tools) and from UV damage from the sun, which is then supposed to help your hair color last a bit longer. Plus, I feel like if I apply this spray to my hair before I curl or straighten it, then it helps to keep my hair style more curled/straightened. It’s almost like it has an added factor of “holding” your hair in the way that you style it, but it doesn’t feel stiff or like a hairspray at all.
OMG YOU GUYS.
This is legit the BEST hairspray everrrr. Whenever I’ve used a hairspray before, it definitely held my hairstyle, but I also noticed that many hairsprays tend to also weigh your hairstyle down.
For me and my preference, I like to hairspray my curls after I’m done with them, but I want them to stay voluminous and fluffy. However, some hairsprays can make them fall throughout the day and become less fluffy. But not this Kenra Spray. It keeps my hair in place allll day and it barely even falls throughout the day! Plus it’s so good at keeping the summer frizz away!
But I do want to admit that it is a bit too pricy to spend on a hairspray, so I’ll only either use this hairspray for church on Sundays or special events. Otherwise, I use the Tresemme hairspray on a daily basis.
I barely every blow dry my hair. Usually I just go to sleep with wet hair, let it air dry overnight, then style it in the morning with either my curler or straightener. But if I do need to blow dry my hair for either a super fancy event or if I ever end up showering in the morning before heading out, then I always use this spray. It’s a game changer! I apply it on my damp hair, turn my head upside down for added volume (I hate round brushing my hair), and use my T3 blow dryer.
Shoutout to my aunt & hairstylist Lena for introducing me to this spray!
Whether you’re blonde and choose the It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In for Blondes (or the Original) or the OUAI Leave-In Conditioner, I think that this is the most important step in your routine.
You can use a drugstore shampoo/conditioner, it’ll do the job. But then you wash it off.
The leave-in conditioner, on the other hand, stays in your hair until your next hair wash. So I think it’s important to have a good product on your ends that will have better ingredients, not weigh down your hair as much as a drugstore leave-in conditioner, and not be as oily as a drugstore product. A higher-end product will just be an overall better option for you since you’re leaving it on your hair for who knows how long.
And there you have it – my haircare routine + some tips in between!
I hope you enjoyed this long but hopefully helpful post.
Now tell me, what is your fave haircare product?
Do you have any tips that you like to follow to keep your hair healthy?
♡ Alena
Welcome to Love Everything Lovely, a life & style blog filled with my take on living a life all around lovely and with the goal to inspire you to pursue your loveliest life! I’m Alena, a twenty-something with a heart full of passion for beauty, fashion, and always striving to live my best and loveliest life.