Give Your Hair a Break...
Give Your Hair A Break - Not Literally
Frizz, dullness, split ends and the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong. I love my hair, but it doesn't always love me back. I treat it well with lots of heat, plenty of products and ample coloring, bleaching and styling. It didn't take me long to learn that what I thought made my hair look great only made it look horrible in the long run. The solution was fairly simple. I needed to give my hair a break. You know, the kind of break that doesn't equal broken strands lying all over the floor.
Lose The Heat
I'm always in a hurry, so the high heat setting on the blow dryer used to be my best friend. I cut my drying time in half, but then I ended up spending all day trying to get my fried locks to stay down. By making sure I gave myself about 10 more minutes, I could use the medium setting until my hair was mostly dry and switch to the cool setting to help lock in moisture. You wouldn't believe the natural shine that results!
I cant tell you the countless college age clients I have that I have to remind at every apt to ALWAYS use "Protection" Heat Protection of course!
Okay, now for confession time. I do cheat and use high heat sometimes. However, I always coat my hair with a heat protectant spray or thermal protectant from Davine, like OI Milk before blow drying. Use one that not only protects by strengthens so you get double duty. Also do this before any type of heat styling. However, you should skip the heat as much as possible. Make time and you won't have so much repair work to do later.
Be Gentle
I know short hair tanglesand can stand strait up like a troll doll. I have had both long and short hair so I truly know the woes of massive tangles. Sometimes it's hard to be gentle. Brushes get stuck or you're brushing too fast and end up breaking strands instead of detangling. Be gentle at all times. Take your time. If it sounds like popcorn when you brush or comb, you're doing it too hard. For times when I've done something crazy like drive with the top down and my hair loose, spritzing my hair with a detangling spray and then combing prevents around 90% of the normal breakage.
Treat Less
I used to have products everywhere. Turns out, I only needed a few. Too many chemicals equals dull, lifeless hair. Now, I have moisturizing shampoo and conditioner (always use conditioner), a deep conditioning treatment, detangling spray, heat protectant and a gentle mousse to set my style. My counter has space and my hair's never looked better.
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