Pre-wash: I like to start my day when the household is done with morning rush and I can fully concentrate on my things. So I may get up at 7 a.m., but will start my day only at 10-11 a.m. Depending on my plans for the day (and how I feel) I may or may not skip this step. Pre-wash is pretty much simple as the idea behind is to use some mask or leave-in conditioner before washing the hair. Most of the time I'm too lazy to do anything at night, so the first thing I do in the morning is apply hair product, and leave it in until I jump in the shower later. Though when I'm in a mood, I do the same before going to bed - I apply hair mask/oil/conditioner, braid my hair, and go to sleep. Just to be clear, I never apply those products to the roots of my hair, only to the ends and halfway the length of the hair. I don't buy any special products for that and usually use my all time favorite John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli detangler (link). I bet I've talked about it a lot already, and I'm sure you'll see it mentioned in my blog many more times as I can't live without it. This detangler makes hair soft, easy to brush out, smells wonderful, and doesn't weight the hair down. Applying products before hair wash is also a good way to use up whatever samples I have, especially the ones that are too heavy for my hair type, and that I don't like using after the wash.
In Shower: I've always been a weird person when it came to washing hair. I would take a shower, but would wash my hair separately in a sink or in the shower with my head bent forward. This habit changed only a couple years ago when I started staying in hotels more, and only fixed shower heads were available (and you know how inconvenient hotel sinks can be for long hair wash). Little by little I got used to washing my hair in the shower. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm not very patient, so any product that requires to sit in the hair for 3-5 minutes drives me crazy. One of these products is Pacifica Well Conditioned one step gentle cleanser & conditioner (link). Usually I don't apply any conditioners or masks throughout all hair length, but this is an exception. This product smells yummy (think fruits and berries), but most importantly it hydrates my hair without making it greasy, heavy, or weighted down. The only thing is those couple minutes of waiting, but I found a solution for that - Denman D6 Be-Bop Brights massage brush* (link). When I received this brush in the mail, I was a little skeptical as it seemed small-ish and uncomfortable in the hand. My opinion changed once I tried it as it fits in the hand perfectly, and while I was dealing with slippery products, the brush never fell out of my hands. So now instead of being impatient and cutting treatment time, I take my Be-Bop brush and massage my scalp, which also helps distributing the product more evenly. I did try his brush with shampoo, but I had to be more gentle and I could only move in smaller circles as shampoo doesn't let the brush slip through the hair as much as a conditioner does.
I recently discovered Rare Elements hair products, and fell in love with them. I shampoo my hair twice, so for my second shampooing I use Rare Elements Pure Shampoo (link). You only need a small amount of it. It has nice and clean ingredients (Blackseed, Kalahari Watermelon Seed oil, Murumuru butter, Marula), and while it is enriched with all these butters and oils, it's not a heavy product. This shampoo gives moisture to the hair without weighting it down. Also for everyday care I use Rare Elements Essential Lite Conditioner (link), which is also full of good stuff. While doing it's job, this conditioner doesn't make hair overpacked with product, and leaves hair manageable and soft.
Post-wash: Once I'm out of the shower, I wrap a towel on my head and continue with body care. After that, I apply my hair products. I start with Giovanni VitaPro Fusion leave-in hair treatment (link) all over my hair. I've been using it for years, and I can't remember a single time when I would overuse it. I spray it generously all over my hair, especially ends. Then I follow with Bare Republic UV protecting hair mist* (link). This mist is made with 70%+ organic ingredients, and not only provides UV and thermal protection, but also conditions and adds shine to the hair. Last step is to apply John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli detangler to my ends. I've talk about it so much already that I'm not gonna repeat again.
My hair is very fine, so it gets tangled easily. Of course, it gets tangled after a wash, so I brush it out before letting it dry naturally or before blow drying. Also, while my hair is completely straight, it dries nicer if I brush is rather than letting it dry naturally unbrushed. I use Denman D90L Tangle Tamer Ultra brush* (link) for brushing wet hair as the nylon bristles detangle hair easily and doesn't pull. I always start brushing from the ends of my hair and get higher and higher.
At this point is all depends on how much time I have. I usually don't have to rush, so I let me hair dry naturally. After my hair is dry, I brush it again, and this time I use a large paddle brush D83 from Denman* (link). This brush is my regular go to brush that I can use anytime. If I am in a rush, I use a hairdryer and this paddle brush is perfect for blowdrying as it helps smooth and straighten hair.
To make everything perfect and stay in place, I use Denman D82M 100% boar bristle brush* (link). It is a very gentle brush that tames any flyaway hair, but it's not a brush that can be your only brush as it doesn't detangle. It's purely a finishing/smoothing brush for me once my hair is detangled. This is my last step, and mostly I leave my hair alone afterwards. However, if I'm outside a lot, I'll spray Bare Republic UV protecting hair mist* to give extra protection from the sun, and/or I'll use some shine spray to add that extra to my hair.
I know all this might sound like a lot of steps, but everything goes way quicker once I do it. I believe in taking care of the hair, and the less tangled it is, the less pulling is needed to brush it out. My routine includes brushes and products that are perfect for my long fine hair, but if your hair is different type, they might not work for you. Though Denman does offer a wide range of brushes, so it's easy to find the ones that fit your hair type best.
* marks PR samples received complimentary
No comments:
Post a Comment