All About Hair

On Friday morning I will head to the land where my hair will comply to all my wishes. That land is Colorado. In Houston I have to fight humidity every single day, which although good for the skin, is awful for the hair. It's unfortunate.

Since Houston is my current city, I've had to experiment with all sorts of products that would fight humidity giving me good hair days on a consistent basis. What most people don't know is that I have naturally curly/wavy hair, so I have to work extra hard to attain good hair. I feel as a girl it is my duty to share all good hair products with girlfriends, so I'm here to do just that. Some sweet friends recently also asked me to share my hair secrets, and I promised I would, so I want to be true to my promise.

What I need you to know upfront is that I'm a hair snob. It's the one thing I will splurge on because it absolutely makes a difference. Especially if you have a thick mane like me.

What you also need to know is that I currently have hair envy. Her name is Kate Middleton. Or Princess Katherine. Yes, I will shut up about PK after this post for good, but you have to admit, the girl has good hair. She and Pippa are currently displayed on every magazine cover so I see it every time I step foot in a store. Needless to say, it's hard to miss the perfect hair.

Enough about princesses, let's start with shampoo.

I used to think, since I had thick hair, that I didn't need a volumizing shampoo. My, how wrong I was. If you want volume all over, you have to go with a good, volumizing shampoo. My current favorite (which has been my favorite for a while) is Matrix Amplify Shampoo. Not only does it do wonders for the hair, it has a wonderful smell to boot. You can't go wrong here, folks.

Of course, it's only necessary to follow that up with its sister conditioner. Here's my secret with conditioner, start from the ends and go up. Your roots don't need a lot of conditioner, you have natural oils to take care of that. The more conditioner you put on top, the less volume you'll have. Conditioner is good when used in moderation. With that said, Matrix Volumizing Condition is the way to go.

After a good rinse, I typically let my hair towel dry for a bit (not too long or it gets all funky) and then I spray in Biolage Smoothing Shine Milk. Friends, I think this is my secret to shiny, soft, manageable hair. When I don't use this, or run out and don't stock up quick enough, I can tell. My hair tends to be more coarse and less manageable. Again, you don't need a ton and I would only spritz a tad up top, but this stuff is my absolute favorite. I'm addicted.

Once I smooth the hair, I pump up the volume one more time with Paul Mitchell Extra-Body Daily Boost Root Spray. I've owned a little bottle for months now and it has lasted a long time. I've tried a lot of root sprays and this one gives me the least amount of hassle. I really like Big Sexy Hair Root Pump as well, but if you go overboard on that, you can really leave you're hair looking matted and un-washed. This is just a spray, as opposed to a cream or mousse. You can be more generous with this pump.

Once I finish those steps, I'm good to go! I then blow-dry my hair, which takes, what it feels like, an hour. That and straightening my hair are my two biggest enemies. That is a lot of the reason I only wash my hair every other day. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can push three days. But that's really living on the edge.

Once I'm done blow-drying, I simply straighten and style. A lot of friends have asked what I put in my hair as a protectant before I straighten, but I truly don't use anything. I used to use a smoothing gel, but I've found those make my hair more greasy. The products I use before I blow-dry act as a protectant as well. Especially the smoothing milk. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

After I'm done straightening, I tease and spray. I feel like hairspray is the one thing you can go cheap on, because it all has the same purpose, however, there are a few I'm more drawn to, especially when I'm battling the humidity.

My favorite hairspray is Redken Forceful 23. Not only does it smell good, but it claims to have 24 hour humidity resistance, which was instantly attractive to me. I really like it, and I think it helps, but more recently I've been going the cheap route and using...

Suave Touchable Finish. After using it for about a month or so I'd say it isn't as strong as the Redken, but it does a pretty good job and it too smells heavenly. When you compare $15 to $3 right now, I'm gonna go cheaper. If it gets the job done and by the end of the day my hair is looking okay, then I'm happy.

There you have it friends, all my exhilarating hair secrets. Happy hair day to you!

What are some of your favorite hair products?