Happy Thursday readers!
I've had a lot on my plate emotionally these last few weeks, and it's really affected my blogging groove. I'm sorry to be getting away from my normal schedule and appreciate your patience as I work through some personal struggles.
I've had some reader requests for hair tips and thought it would be appropriate to write a post covering my favorite hair products and routine.
I'll start by being honest: I was blessed with really good hair. Every girl has things they love and hate about their appearance, and my hair happens to be one of the things I love.
My hair is pretty low maintenance; start to finish my whole routine takes less than 15 minutes. Aside from a cowlick at my part (
which just so happens to be one of Bryce's favorite features of mine, ha!) and a lack of volume at times, I can't really complain.
So while I don't necessarily have any hair secrets to share, I am happy to share some really helpful products I've discovered and my step-by-step routine.
During the week, most of the time I let my hair air dry and don't wash it every day. As a kindergarten teacher, it's perfectly acceptable to go to school with wet hair thrown into a bun as I walk out the door. If I haven't washed it a particular morning, I'm a huge fan of the baby powder trick. Because my hair is thin, it gets greasy really fast. An easy solution, however, is just to rub baby powder in your roots. I typically avoid my part, and also flip my hair over so that baby powder is never applied directly to the top. In college I tried a fancy
Bumble & Bumble dry shampoo and actually found the baby powder to be preferable. It saves me time, and also helps my hair to stay healthier, because I typically only blow dry it about 3 times a week.
When I do go through the effort of getting dolled up, however, here is my routine:
1.
Wash & Condition: I don't have any one go-to shampoo and conditioner. I go through phases and tend to switch it up. I will say, though, that I am a big fan of
John Frieda and
Biolage products.
2.
Brush: After my shower, I brush my hair using the
Olivia Garden Round Brush shown below. I like it because it is very easy to clean and the round vented design allows me to give my layers some shape and body when blow drying. My hairdresser often uses a paddle brush when styling my hair, so I'm also interested in trying one of those...
3.
Oil: After brushing, I put 1-2 squirts of
Pureology Precious Oil in my wet hair. I rub it in starting about halfway down through the ends. Because I do highlight my hair regularly, I like to provide all the conditioning I can to keep my hair smooth and moisturized. This is definitely a product to use sparingly, though, and I avoid putting it anywhere near the front of my hair or scalp.
4.
Mousse: I mentioned that one of my few complaints is that my hair can lack volume. I have a lot of hair, but it is naturally straight and thin. At times it can look a little flat and limp on my head. To help with this, I usually rub about a golf ball sized amount of
Kenra Volume Mousse Extra into my scalp and roots, making sure to poof it up a bit, before blow drying.
5.
Blow Dry: I usually just dry it using my hands and brush to target specific sections. To help with volume, I sometimes will part it in weird spots and dry it the opposite direction of the way it will eventually lay on my head. I also flip my head over and dry upside down for a minute or two which adds volume. I use a
Hana Air Dryer that I was gifted a few years ago and LOVE it. It makes my hair
so soft. You can read my full review of it
here.
6.
Fluff: Most of the time I stop at step 5, however, I just added step 6 for special occasions. I recently was introduced to
Bumble & Bumble Thickening Dryspun Finish by my friend Michelle and absolutely love it. You simply spray it at your roots and then work it in with your fingers fluffing your hair up.
And there you have it! My hair routine.
This is the end product of steps 1-5 on a particularly good hair day!
And finally, two other tips:
1. I have found that long layers are very helpful in terms of increasing volume and body!
2. In
this post, I asked for tips on curling hair, because I am hopeless with a curling iron. Responding to my request, sweet
Cambron recommended a curling wand and it was a total game changer. I can now curl my hair with ease! I have
this Conair one and love it.
This was my hair on just the second attempt with the wand!
What does your hair routine involve?
Any other tips for adding volume?
Have a great day!
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