Let’s talk hair care! Even though my basic hairstyle doesn’t reflect it, hair care is a huge part of my life. Before my recent job change this month, I was the Assistant Buyer for Sally Beauty Hair Care for 3 years, so quite literally I lived and breathed learning and being around product constantly.
Why I Cut Out Fragrance
Hair care is like skin care. It is so important to be paying attention to the ingredients that you are putting in your hair. I made the decision 2 years ago to cut out artificial fragrance from my hair care due to skin irritation. I spent countless hours googling causes for skin irritation (Drama Queen I know) and started cutting products out of my routine that I thought was causing my issues. I then started stumbling across articles speaking on the negative affects fragrance can have on some peoples skin. This peaked my interest on researching fragrance free, or low in fragrance % hair care. To my shock the options were slim. I found your basic fragrance free shampoos that had been around for years on the bottom shelf at your local Walgreens. These shampoos left my hair tangled and matted and feeling so dry. The past few years tons of new options have come out due to the clean beauty movement which has got me trying new products constantly! Another thing I implemented that is worth sharing is adding a shower filter to your shower head. During my research I also found that your local water can harbor harsh irritants to your skin. You can pick up a shower filter at your local hardware store for around 20 bucks. It is helped my sensitive skin and aids in not drying my hair out as well.
Ingredient Label
So you want to cut out fragrances out of your products now? Learning how to read an ingredient label is important. When you see the list of ingredients on the back of your products, ingredients listed at the top have a higher concentrate in the product. Ingredients listed at the end of the list have a very small percentage within the product. When I pick up a new product I immeditely flip the bottle over to gauge where fragrance is listed. If it is at the very bottom but not completely eliminated from the product, it is usually still fine for my skin to use. Fragrance has no added benefit to your hair except for smelling yummy when you are in the shower, same goes for skincare. Another fun tid bit is that when your shampoo lathers it also has no added benefit, it is part of a marketing tactic to make you feel like you are truly cleansing your hair. The ingredient that creates this affect is sodium lauryl sulfate. I am still doing a lot of research on this ingredient because it is hard to find natural options free of this chemical.
Holy Grail Products
Now onto the products that get the job done!
Shampoo + Conditioners
I have fallen in love with the hair care line Maria Nilla. These products are from Sweden and are clean. They leave my hair feeling soft and manageable when I get out of the shower. While these products are more of a splurge, I find the result to be well worth it and I can save on other parts of my routine. I then detangle my hair with the new Kristen Ess Fragrance Free line. I was so excited when she launched this line! It just came out last month and I am planning to test out her shampoo, conditioner and mask soon. If my hair is needing extra hydration I finish off with the Alterna leave in conditioner on my ends. If you have very fine or thin hair that gets oily easily, it is important to not get conditioners in your roots. This will create oils and make your hair look greasy.
Styling
Like I mentioned prior, I am the WORST at styling my hair. One of my goals for 2020 is to learn how to curl my hair. So I basically have one style, straightened hair. When I straighten my hair my go to primer is the Eva NYC Mane Magic. It leaves my hair so shiny and nourished. Depending on what I am doing that day, I will either top my ends off with some Playa hair oil or add some volume with Dry Bar Triple Sec. My hair is so fine and can get oily easily so I have to watch what products I am using. I love the Playa oil because it does not weigh my hair down and is light enough to run all over the shaft of my hair. If I have any baby hairs or fly aways, I recently started using the R+Co Pomade stick to smooth these down. Keeps my ponytails looking SNATCHED. And finally if I need to absorb any oils or have second day hair, I will go for my Batiste dark brown dry shampoo. I love this stuff because it leaves no white residue in my hair and really soaks up all the oils
Styling Tools
Keeping it simple I use the most basic hair dryer on the planet. I am blessed to require about a 5 minute blow dry time and only do this when I have to shower and immediately go somewhere. In all other cases I just sleep with wet hair. I straighten my hair with the GHD straightener. I love this straightener because it doesn’t feel like it pulls my hair or splits my ends. I started to feel that way about my Chi straightener so I switched over to this one and haven’t looked back. And I couldn’t forget to mention the best brush on the planet, the Wet Brush Flex. This thing is life changing! I have my family hooked on it and my boyfriend. It doesn’t pull at your hair and detangles so easily.
That wraps up all my hair secrets! Are there any ingredients or topics you would like me to dive deeper into for hair care or cosmetics?
