You can’t imagine the joy I get from social media comments, text messages, or email when people say things like, “major hair envy”, “please do a tutorial on how you curl your hair” or “I love your hair”. These are the biggest compliment I have received in a long time because for the first time in 5 years I don’t have hair extensions in and it’s all my natural hair. The truth is I have never had good hair…. like ever! If I go back through all my “favorite” photos from high school and college my hair is usually pulled up or cut pretty short. I remember being in Italy in college and a man telling me that my hair looked like spaghetti. I asked why and he said, cause it is so thin and stringy. Needless to stay I wore it up the rest of my Europe trip. I looked back at old photos trying to post a good before and after. I have so many “before” pictures that are cringe worthy although I am sharing a few with you so you can see how big of a difference my hair is today. I have been through it all with my hair and quite frankly I was to blame for never having healthy hair. But changing up your hair habits will help you get your hair back on track. Since I have had friends and followers asking about my hair I thought I’d share with you my hair story and this embarrassing before and after hair photos. EEEWWWW, what was I thinking with that brown reddish color.
As seen from my sorority photo above I’ve had bad hair in every color. I so badly wanted long beautiful hair so I’d try to grow it out, but it was so thin and disgusting then I’d trying dyeing it a new color. I wouldn’t like that, I’d bleach back blonde, my hair would literally start falling out then I would cut it short and then “start growing it out again”. That was my hair cycle from age 15-24. Finally I had “had it” I was tired of everyone having good hair but me. So in 2010 when I finally had a “big girl job” I started getting hair extensions. I don’t even want to think about the money spent over the past 4 years on hair extensions, thankfully I had an awesome hair dresser who gave me a good deal. I would get keratin bond extensions put my hair twice a year. They usually lasted for about 4-5 months. I rarely could go without them because the minute I got them taken out I felt bald and would beg my hair dresser to put them back it in. I can honestly say I felt more confident and beautiful with my long thick (fake) hair. Finally after a good 2.5 years straight of having my hair extensions in my hair dresser Heather told me I needed to take a “break” or I would have no hair left to attach the extensions to. So I went from finally having beautiful long hair back to my short “spaghetti” hair yet again. As you can see in the photo below…..
I took a break for almost 9 months then it was about time for my wedding and I didn’t care about the hair I’d lose after taking the extensions out, all I wanted was long thick hair for my wedding. So back in went the extensions. But like usual I took them out and the damage was noticeable. I decided I was an extension addict and I needed to quit. To help ease the pain of losing my long think hair I bought some clip in extensions from Sally’s. I wore them for almost 6-8 months every time we went out to dinner, girls night out, or on vacation, etc. But then slowly I realized my hair was getting longer and thicker. And now almost a year later I rarely wear my clip ins because my hair has gotten so long and healthy. But on occasion I do wear them cause I love how thick they make my hair feel. Side note If you are looking for some clip ins I know Ang and myself both have these Sally’s Real Hair Extensions , they last forever and are super easy to use and wear. But make sure you go into a store so you can physically match your color hair to the color of the hair extensions.
So enough about my crappy hair….how did I get my hair healthy and long for the first time ever? I think a lot has to do with the styling tools I use and the simple changes I made with my hair care routine. Here are a few things I suggested doing to get your hair back on track or at least on the right track.
So enough about my crappy hair….how did I get my hair healthy and long for the first time ever? I think a lot has to do with the styling tools I use and the simple changes I made with my hair care routine. Here are a few things I suggested doing to get your hair back on track or at least on the right track.
- QUIT COLORING it every 6-8 weeks. I used to be a super blonde and would color my hair all the time. Not to mention I would color my hair red or brown, then dye it back to bleach blonde. It wasn’t good. My hair was constantly being dyed and because of that it was brittle and thin. Now I’ve embraced my more “natural” hair color. As well as the balayage colored look.
- Stop washing it everyday, this doesn’t mean stop showering everyday. I now only wash my hair every 2-3 days. If I can handle every 3 days that is more ideal, but with working out I sometimes can’t do it.
- Invest in a good blow dryer. I usually let my hair air dry until it is just barely damp, then I use my Tourmaline Hair Dryer. I did a lot of research on the best hair dryers for brittle hair. This one was the best hands down. It has some crazy ion thing and helps with breakage and not further hair damage. Click this link to learn more about it! Another huge thing is NEVER blow dry your hair on hot. I only use the medium or cool heat setting. Because I allow my hair to mostly air dry I only have to blow it dry for 2-3 minutes on medium.
- I also invested in a ceramic round brush, because I am not blow drying my hair for very long I needed a brush to assist with the taming of my hair (I have a weird cowlick on the back of my head so it needs some taming). I found this Nanothermic Ceramic Brush that has done wonders to my hair. The link will explain more of the science behind this brush. My Mom switched her round brush out for this one a few weeks ago and she has already noticed less breakage and split ends since using her Nanothermic brush.
- Suck it up and spend the money to buy the Kerastase Initialiste. Ang blogged about this a year ago and my Mom bought me a bottle. Ang swears by it, but Ang has always had good hair….(Except for that ONE time in high school before the Sadies dance when a waiter spilled an entire bowl of soup on her hair and she had greasy miso soup hair for the dance and photos:). Anyways…. I have been using it for almost 6 months and my hair is NIGHT and DAY different. I also bought this hair mask from Kerastase and it also is amazing. I use it about once a month.
- If you are going to curl your hair use a hair wand. My friend Katie introduced me to this Jose Eber Hair Wand. It’s expensive, but it is made well so it reduced the heat and breakage on your hair. Also the best part about it is that the curls last for 2-3 days. I only curl my hair once with this and even after sleeping and wearing it in a ponytail the curls stay. I think it partly has to do with the hairspray I use. I’ve been using “big sexy hair” since college and it is the best hairspray ever. Hands down!
- Buy a teasing comb, I don’t curl my hair everyday. This is because I also don’t brush the curls out. I use a teasing brush to loosely comb my hair and tame the curls. The only time I completely brush through my hair is when I’m blow drying it. This prevents me from pulling out my hair with a regular hair brush.
- Make sure your multi vitamin has biotin or get a biotin supplement. The link explains why biotin helps with hair growth.
Cheers,
Jess