Hair Care Tips

Hey guys! For this post I am going to be sharing with you some of my tips for having long, healthy, beautiful hair. I'm not a professional hair expert, but I have been told before that my hair is pretty and looks healthy. Read on if you want to learn my tricks!

1. Switch to Sulfate-Free Shampoo/Conditioner

Sulfate is a foaming agent that's found in most shampoos; its basically what makes them lather up in the shower. Unfortunately they have been found to be very drying and can really strip your hair of moisture. I started using the L'Oréal EverCrème Sulfate-Free Moisture System a couple of years ago and I LOVE IT! My hair has definitely been a lot more split-end free and just looks overall more healthy. Also a common complaint with sulfate-free shampoos is they feel like they're not doing anything since they don't lather up as much. Well I don't know what they put in this shampoo because that is not a concern at all, it still lathers up completely. The conditioner is amazing as well; it has a lot of omegas and no heavy waxes to weigh your hair down.

2. Use Just Cleansing Conditioner When You Can

I actually first started using only the L'Oreal Paris EverCreme Cleansing Conditioner when I made the switch to sulfate-free, it is particularly awesome if you are working out/sweating a lot and have to shower every day, because that many showers a week is really drying for your hair as it is. With just this my hair was perfectly clean and grease-free for a day (two days was pushing it). Now that I'm in law school I haven't had as much time and only shower about 3/4 times a week so I switched to the actual shampoo & conditioner. I still keep a bottle of this in my shower though for when I know I will be blow drying my hair (normally I just let it air dry) to lower down on the damage. It doesn't lather up at all but as long as you scrub it is definitely cleaning your hair, trust me! 

3. Do a Hair Mask at Least Once a Week

In order to keep your hair healthy you should really be doing a hair mask at least once a week. If your hair is really dry you might want to go the whole nine yards and put in a really heavy mask like the Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Mask; my hair on the other hand can get greasy, especially at the roots, so I just use the Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge 1 Minute Moisture-Plenish Treatment treatment after I shampoo instead of conditioning on the day I decide to do it. This mask seems to work pretty well, I'm not married to it or anything, I like to try different masks and am eyeing the L'Oreal EverCreme Deep Nourishing Masque next. It's just a good thing to do to make sure your ends don't get too dry. If your hair tends to get oily like mine, be sure to avoid your roots and just focus it on the ends of your hair.

4. Use A Hair Oil on The Ends of Your Hair After You Shower

Coconut oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, they're all good, but you should be putting something on your hair ends on a regular basis! Your hair is basically dead once it leaves your scalp, and as it grows out it will only continue to get more dry and more brittle the further it gets from your scalp. Therefore, you need to be adding some moisture to slow that process. I use the TRESemme Nourishing Rituals Cashmere Touch Hydrating Serum, it has a blend of coconut oil and argan oil and really helps to make my hair feel and look soft and silky. I put it on right after I get out of the shower because the oils absorb better in damp hair. 

5. Optional: Use an Anti-Aging Hair Serum

Sooo I don't know if this really works but I am a product junkie so I got sucked into this Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Elixir by Nexxus. What I do know is it makes my hair feel amazing! I actually got a sample in my Birchbox last month and loved it so much that I went out and bought the full thing. Plus it has a lot of cool-sounding ingredients like omegas, keratin, essence of pearl, wheat protein, etc. Apparently it helps combat visible signs of aging hair such as volume loss, dryness, and less shine. Your supposed to put 3-4 drops on your roots to build volume and ends to strengthen. I do both and have found that it does not make my hair flat when I put it in my roots and makes my ends feel so soft. Whether or not it is really helping my hair not age remains to be seen, but for now I love it.

6. Protect Your Hair With a Blow Dry Lotion

As I mentioned before, our hair is dead the second it leaves our follicles and progressively gets more dry and brittle as it grows out. Therefore the single worst thing you could do to it is fry it even more by blowing extremely hot air on it! Unfortunately, most of us do this on a regular basis because it is the only way to really style your hair and make it do things it cannot do on its own. Because of this, it is imperative that you use something to protect your hair before you blast it with heat. I am currently loving this Umberto Blow Dry Lotion from Target (cannot find but similar blow dry lotion here), it is a light-weight lotion that does not weigh your hair down at all. I distribute about a nickel-sized amount through my hair, focusing on the ends as usual. It also speeds up the drying time somehow; I'm not sure how, but my hair definitely takes less time to dry now that I use this, which means less damage, woo!

7. Before You Style Your Hair, Use Heat Protection Spray

Just like it's horrible for your hair to blast hot air on it, it is equally awful to wrap it around a hot rod of iron or steam-press it through two plates of hot metal. Therefore in order to lessen the damage you MUST use a heat protection spray! These sprays will protect your hair from heat and friction by coating and lubricating your strands. I use the Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray by TRESemmé; it's the most popular one and really helps to lessen that damage. I typically spray each section and brush it through right before I curl/straighten it. Again, avoid spraying it directly on your roots if you don't want to run the risk of your hair falling flat. However, it is a really lightweight spray and I never feel like its weighing me down. 

8. Don't Wash Hair Everyday, Use Dry Shampoo

My last tip for having healthy hair is to not wash it everyday. Showering everyday can be very drying to your hair, specially if you do not use sulfate-free products. Your hair produces natural oils which are really good for it and help keep it healthy. I typically wash it 3-4 times a week, and on my off days I use some dry shampoo to add texture and soak up any extra grease. This Pure Renewal Dry Shampoo by Aveeno works pretty good if you are on the hunt for one. 

Bonus: This Hair Spray Rocks!

Just wanted to add in case you are searching for that perfect hairspray that provides hold but does not leave your hair feeling crunchy, you can stop because I've found it for you. Ok not really me, this hairspray is an industry favorite among hair stylists everywhere. It's the L'Oreal Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold Hair Spray! This hairspray is seriously amazing, I just curl my hair, spray a little or a lot (depending on how much hold I want that night) and wait a few seconds, brush it out, and bam, have soft hair that somehow manages to keep its shape. I got the scent-free version but I actually think it smells worse than the scented version, so I will be buying that one again after I finish this bottle.







And that is it, my top hair care tips for beautiful, long, luscious hair. If you are thinking that I use a lot of products, you would be right! My hair (especially near the ends) is very thick and dry, and it needs a lot of moisture to stay healthy. If you hair is more thin, you can definitely ease back on how much of each you use.

I hope you found this informative and please let me know in the comments section if you have any tips that I missed!

xoxo Patricia

P.S. Also here are some pictures of me and my hair just so you can get an idea of how my hair looks after following these tips. I used some pictures from when it was long.