5 TIPS FOR HEALTHY, SHINY HAIR

If you know anything about me you KNOW that my hair has had it’s fair share of horror stories. I mean, let’s be serious, when we are younger, we think we know everything. My mom always told me to never touch my hair with color or it will ruin it. But of course, I never listened. I remember days when my sister & I would box dye our hair in our bathroom, or use blue color dye on the tips of our hair, or just a couple strips.. oh gosh, the agony I'm in writing this.. how embarassing is it that we actually did that!? and it wasn't like a once or twice thing.. oh no, we used to color our hair allllll the time! My hair has always been a little bit course and extremely thick, which I used to hate but I love that its like that now! My sisters hair, always shiny, straight, & perfect & I was always jealous of it! Hers always looked good & healthy but mine never did, & she would dye it, blow dry it, & straighten it more than I did! There was a point when I had a few friends in cosmetology school & I would let them practice what they were learning on me, no biggie, right? Free highlights? UH, YEAH! Well.. I had gotten a few highlights before & they had turned out awesome, it was almost summer so I'm thinking , lets go all blonde & leave out my low lights this time.. my poor friend, she was just learning & we had gotten some sally's beauty bleach (luckily it wasn't even a mile from my house) & she proceeds to split my hair in two parts down the middle & put the bleach on one half of my hair.. & RUNS OUT.. So, I'm sitting there with bleach on one side of my hair while she's running down the street to get more & comes back, mixes it, starts on the other side.. while its still on my hair. Finishes the other side, lets it sit until its ready to wash (the other side is still on there, fyi) She has to leave to go meet another friend or something, & leaves me to wash it out... little did I know I was gonna wash it out & have YELLOW hair that was SO damaged & frizzy I honestly didn't know what to do! My sister immediately went to get box dye & put it over top so that it wasn't as bad, but it wasn't THAT good either. Talk about damage... it was so. freaking. bad. I had to cut my hair at least 4 or 5 times within a few months until all the dead parts were gone. I don't really like my hair short so it was reallllly really tough!

So, thats a little background on my hair story. Today, my hair is the healthiest it has ever been. I take care of it more than I take care of anything else probably & wanted to share some tips that I've used to get my hair back & better before!

1. I only wash my hair once or twice a week.

I know, I know, it sounds disgusting but its honestly really good for your hair! There is a plethora of reasons why you shouldn't wash your hair everyday. Here's a few for you: It strips your naturals oils- the natural oils help your hair to grow & to moisturize them. Washing it daily can actually dull shiny hair. It can cause more split ends because it doesn't allow the natural oils to get replenished by washing every day. You end up styling it more often because which leads to more damage. Lastly, it'll dry out your scalp! These aren't the only issues you'll see, but just a few! If you're worried about greasy hair, dry shampoo does wonders for you! My favorite brand is Batise, I could spray just a little & go for days without retouching! Thats with working out & sweating, too! You can get it at Walmart or any beauty store & the best part is, that is has different scents, too!

2.Use as little heat as possible!

Like I said, I only wash my hair once or twice a week, same goes for styling. I usually always curl my hair & it will stay for the entire duration of me not washing it. I always curl it with a straightener & think it holds 100 times better than a actual curling wand. I also don't blow dry it when it's wet, I think its just unnecessary for ME, to add the extra heat. Some hairstylist say its better to blow dry some say its not, so you do whats best for you! So, I'll only style my hair maybe once or twice a week.. sometimes I'll touchup the front if it's fallen out really bad from my workouts but it usually holds really well.

3. Use a heat protectant prior to styling.

I used to ignore this step, but then one of my hairstylist friends sent me a care package with her favorite products & had a really great one in there & use it every single time. I actually get upset if I forget to use it! I'm almost out of it too & I've had it for almost two years. She told me that they quit making it, so I had her make me a list of some of her favorite things she uses at the salon & I made a collage down below for you ladies!

This step has definitely made a big difference though & I would recommend finding a brand you love!

4. Always use a detangler/leave in conditioner & an oil/serum.

This is just something that I have done every time I wash & I can tell the difference in the texture of my hair! I love me some detangler, not just for me, but for my daughter too, who has the curliest hair ever! So it's definitely my best friend! Plus, it is better to moisturize your hair & spray the detangled like crazy, than to rip out all the knots in your hair when you're brushing. That will cause more breakage & split ends that you don't want which will keep your hair from growing quickly! The detangler/leave in conditioner & oil serum that I use is through a wellness company, that gives you up to 30% savings if your a customer & it literally LIFE CHANGING. So, if any of you ladies would like to know some more information on those , just send me an email & I can get you some info! I have used these products my whole life so I can vouch for them when I say they are nothing short of amazing. Just a couple sprays & every knot is out & my hair is silky smooth!

5. Take advantage of hair masks

Yes, USE those hair masks! It's like a facial but for your hair! A really easy & cheap hair mask you can try are coconut oilyou can melt & evenly distribute through your hair & even sleep with it in. I have the holy grail of hair masks that you are going to love that completely transformed my hair from damaged, frizzy hair with tons of breakage & split ends to super shiny, smooth, tame, & hardly a split end in sight (& I barely ever get a trim anymore). I'm sure you've heard about it, if you haven't you may be hiding under a rock, because it is all the craze right now & luckily my hairstylist is an advocate for this company for 2 years so that means I've got the hook up for 2 years on this stuff. It has COMPLETELY transformed my hair. It's called Olaplex, it's a bond building treatment that goes in & relinks broken disulfide bonds in the hair that happens from chemical/mechanial damage (such as flat iron, curling, & blow dry). It's patented so it's the only one of its kind & there is nothing else quite like it that can physically go in & repair the damage done. Regular conditioners put a coating on the hair that last from shampoo to shampoo where olaplex stays in the cuticlel. This stuff is literally amazing, it's my little gold in a bottle. I usually try to do a treatment every month. I have the No. 3 ( which provides continuous protection at home) bottle in my cabinet. I just get my hair wet, brush it out, slap some of this amazing stuff in. It says to wait 10 minutes but sometimes I let it sit longer because I just get distracted by doing stuff, & rinse like normal! I also get a No. 2 treatment (which helps to rebuild & restore any remaining broken bonds ensuring the shiniest, strongest, healthiest hair possible) everytime that I get my hair colored. I love that the treatment lessens & prevents damage from coloring, which I only do once or twice a year by the same stylist.*It's important that you stick to a stylist so that they understand your hair history & can work better with getting you to your perfect color without damaging your hair in the process.

Now, I'm not an expert at all, these are just the things that have helped me & could possibly help you! I just take extra caution with what I use on my hair now & the amount of heat I use! I also have started using Redken MegaSoft on my hair & its made it suuuuuper soft! It's on of my favorite shampoo/conditioners that I have ever used & it lasts me forever too! I did talk to my hairstylist friend too to make sure she agreed with my tips & she gave me the go ahead with it, so it is cosmologist approved, but results may vary. The only other advice that I will give is that whatever you do, just get a routine & stick to it! That goes with anything, it's so much easier to stay consistent when you have a certain way of doing things & when it's important to you it'll be easier! Getting my hair back to healthy was extremely important to me. It was in such bad shape that it would literally break off every time I brushed it. Not the normal breakage; like chunks & chunks. The front was so dead & crinkly the only thing that helped was cutting it! So having it as healthy as it is now, to the point where people compliment me on my hair amazes me.

Down below I linked some of the items my hairstylists loves! & if you're interested in some of the products I mentioned above you can go to the "Contact" tab & email me!