Posted in Hair

The Care & Keeping of My Hair

A couple of months ago haircare line Pura d’or sent me bottles of shampoo and conditioner after seeing my blog post about thin hair. I liked everything the label said: Volume, generates cell growth, revitalizes hair follicles, 100% natural. The argan oil based product is called Pura d’or Premium Organic Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo. Geez, I feel like a guy in his 30s who’s starting to recede.

Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 12.35.35 PMThe company suggests you’ll see results within 3 months. Looking back on the months I’ve used this product, I’ve got to admit, I don’t loose nearly as much hair in the shower as I used to. I can pretty much count the number of strands I lose. Previously it practically fell out in clumps. I know a lot of girls feel this way. So I’d definitely recommend this product if that’s a feeling you’re looking to avoid. I also see a lot less fallout on my shirts and the hardwood of my apartment.

Give yourself a little scalp massage and really work the stuff in for about 2 minutes. I don’t ever shampoo my hair ears down. In my book, that part of your hair is for conditioner only.

The one thing I don’t like about this stuff is it feels like it strips my hair during use. My hair feels a bit rough immediately following washing, but once I use the Healing Conditioner
that feeling disappears.

The Healing Conditioner is 99% plant based and has follicle strengthening argan oil, nourishing and soothing lavender oil, and frizz controlling vanilla extract. I leave this in for about 4 minutes and it feels silky once it’s washed out. It’s super shiny, soft, and healthy feeling when it’s dry. Pura d’or is really working in my favor because the way it makes my hair feel really entices people to play with it. 🙂

When Oily Hair Works

In high school, I always found split ends under a microscope fascinating and creepy crawly at the same time.

In high school, I always found split ends under a microscope fascinating and creepy crawly at the same time.

When I came back from The Bachelor my hair (and my extensions) were more FRIED than McDonald’s fries!! I cut two inches off immediately. My ends were still dead, so in March I chopped four inches and for the first time in… ohhhh I dunnoooo…a decade my hair was free of split ends and felt truly healthy.

I was determined to keep it that way. Leave in masks never seemed to penetrate my hair deeply enough. As a big fan of facial oils, I decided it was time to start using oils on my hair.

Avocados can do no wrong.

Avocados can do no wrong.

I wash my hair quite infrequently. See HERE. The night before I wash my hair, I work a tablespoon of coconut oil at the ends (earlobes down). I sleep in it. In the morning I will put a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of avocado oil in my hair and let it sit for an hour or two. When you wash you hair, make sure to shampoo twice or you’ll be left with greasy ends.

Once you’ve shampooed, conditioned, and towel dried, I LOVE spraying on Pantene Pro-V’s Moisture Mist Detangler.

Since I’ve started using the oil mask once a week, I haven’t found a split end!

Under $10 MUSTS

The World’s Greatest Lip Balm

There are some things I can’t explain why they’re so great, they just are. They’re simple and cheap and no other product can do what they do as well.

Duane Reade Brand Medicated Lip Balm: It’s critical you get the medicated variety. Look at the ingredients. It must have camphor, menthol, phenol, alum, beeswax, cocoa butter, lanolin, and petrolatum. The popularity of those little EOS balms drive me insane. Just because they’re cute, doesn’t mean they work. All other lip balms, even Chapstick, just put a thin layer of moisture on the surface of your lips and there’s no stick/tact to your lips. You’ll need to reapply all the time. I can honestly say, without eating, you’ll still feel this stuff for hours and your lips will be SO soft. I have given this stuff to a couple of friends and they all agree their lips are transformed. I’m sincerely sorry for going on and on about this if you don’t have a nearby Duane Reade. I load up

Put this body ointment on your lips

when I’m in NYC. If that is the case, use Aquaphor Healing Ointment. Don’t get the lip repair version, get the body ointment and put it on your lips. Trust me. At night I like to put a layer of this on top of my Duane Reade lip balm and I wake up and my lips still have the balm + ointment on. There’s no evaporation, people. Remember moisturized lips = your fullest lips.

Knot Killer

Wet Brush: My hair is prone to dreading and knots. This thing gets right through it without ripping out strands. Also, it’s okay to use on wet hair. You may not know, but it’s usually not recommended to brush your hair wet because it causes breakage. Other than that, I don’t know why it’s so different from other brushes, it just is. I trusted a friend’s advice and bought it and now I suggest you do the same. There available at beauty supply stores, including Sally and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

No need for Zoom with this.

Crest 3D Brilliant White Toothpaste: Not to brag 🙂 , but people are always commenting on how white my teeth are. I haven’t had them professionally whitened for 10 years and that was before Istarted drinking coffee. I use maybe one box of Crest Professional Effects White Strips a year, but I firmly believe the real key is Crest 3D Brilliant White toothpaste. I can’t elaborate anymore. Just buy it. It makes your breath crazzzzzyyy fresh for hours too.

Carrie Bradshaw, I’m sorry, I’m Wearing A…**SCRUNCHIE!!!!**

Steph Tanner rockin a scrunchie

Steph Tanner rockin a scrunchie

I find in this world there are two types of girls…make-up girls (i.e. Kim Kardashian) and hair girls (i.e Blake Lively). I am a make-up girl. I’m a lazy hair girl. I only touch it when I’ve got to look put together, even then it’s 10 minutes of dedication. Other than that, it’s a second to brush out the knots in the a.m., bobby pins, and recently *gasp* a scrunchie!! Yes, yes…I know Carrie Bradshaw “just can’t” with this…but that episode was at least ten years ago, so maybe she’s changed her mind. The schrunie is back, people, and this is why I like it:

1) I feel my hair being pulled and tugged a lot less! There’s less breakage with a scrunchie, but it still holds a nice tight ponytail. So replace your elastic with a scrunchie when chilling on the couch, working out, or running errands. I still don’t know if I condone this look in the presence of a fine man.

2) It’s girlier than a Mia Hamm hair band/elastic/whatever you call it.

3) It won’t give you a ring around your wrist when you wear it there! Yay for circulation!

4) I love the 90s and so do you.

Someone told me years ago that they washed their hair once a week and my 12-year-old self wanted to

Those Haim girls…awesome music, questionable hair care.

Those Haim girls…awesome music, questionable hair care.

barf. But now, I wash my hair once a week.  Whenever I tell my amaze stylist this, she says, “Good girl.” By now, everyone knows it’s better for your hair to bask in its natural oils for as long as it can before your hair is so limp, stringy, and stuck to your head that you look like a member of Haim.

However, my dad is still repulsed by this idea of shampoo conservation (as he is about pretty much all forms of conservation.) His hair is Homer Simpson-esque, so his opinion doesn’t count. I digress. In addition to the benefits of the natural oils, do you know how thin my hair would be if I washed it every day or every other day? Whenever I wash my hair I feel like a cancer patient. I will blog about falling strands another day in the near future.

Buy Me

Buy Me

Anyway! I’m able to go usually a week without washing my hair, or five days if I’m seeing someone important, thanks to Got 2b’s amazing Rockin’ It dry shampoo. The increased popularity of dry shampoos has revolutionized the amount we wash. I’ve been using Rockin’ It for about 2 years now and it’s the highest quality for pretty much the lowest price at $6.49.

When all the CVS brand hair product lines started rolling out a few years back, I tried them all and found myself disappointed, until I found this gem. The can will last you about a month. It zaps the grease and makes your hair so voluminous. In fact, I find my hair looks better a few days post-washing because of this product. I recommend to start spraying it in about 48 hours post-hair wash when you’re about to go to bed. You’ll wake up with it fully absorbed and your hair beautifully full.