Haircare Do Care

I used to be pretty lax with my hair. I'd wash it, maybe pop a drop or two of MorrocanOil in and then just let it air dry. Those were the days.. the school/uni days; however those are no more. Now I get up with enough time to wash my hair and tame it a bit to make it look like I put in enough effort to turn up to my retail job and look presentable. The lazy days (for the most part) are sadly a thing of the past. So there are three products that I've been reaching for to make my hair dry more quickly, look extra healthy and prevent damage from heat and styling.

In order of application, we first of all have John Frieda's Brilliant Brunette Liquid Shine which was bought on Amelia Liana's recommendation. If you know of her, you'll know she has luscious, long locks that would be the envy of many a woman. She posted before & after photos when using this and even though I'm sure camera flash had a bit to do with it, you could tell a difference in shine. Running this through very slightly towel dried hair, it adds a gloss and shine that makes the lengths of my hair appear much healthier especially when it catches the light. I think applying this before properly blow drying your hair would be even more effective but I generally just do a shabby high force, medium heat gust of air all over my head.

While I apply my makeup, I put my hair up into my turby towel which is one of those quick drying towels (side note: honest lifesaver) and this makes a world of difference. For a lady with longish, thick hair, having one of these towels cuts my drying time in at least half, if not thirds. Makeup, lunch prep, outfit decisions etc. usually takes 20-30..40 minutes so my hair is up in my towel for that time; then we spritz through the most recent addition to the Bathroom cabinet which is the Bumble & Bumble Invisible Oil Protective Primer. I bought my Mum the Invisible Oil at the beginning of the year (which may or may not have been one of those gifts that we can "share") but we both really like it. It's more lightweight than other oils I've tried; hence the name 'Invisible' I would presume but it doesn't leave my hair feeling weighed down. Sorry got sidetracked there! The Primer is a newer launch for B&B which was released with an accompanying shampoo and conditioner. I was a fan of the oil, saw this launch in the UK, I think I maybe read one review and just bought it. I consulted the MeccaCosmetica assistant, she hadn't tried it, thought yolo and it was mine.  I like to spritz this through the lengths of my hair post towel-dry, as well as the fronts which get a lot of heat. Like the oil, the smell is very nice and because it's a spray, again it isn't heavy or feels like it's building up in my hair. When I use this I do skip a separate heat protectant because this can do it all!

Last but not least, if things are looking a little unloved and dry, I like to apply the Goldwell Elixir* to the ends of my hair which also works well for smoothing and taming after I've blow dried. This again is very lightweight and thinner than other hair oils I've tried. A very pleasant scent and you only need 1-2 pumps to do your entire head; keeping in mind I have longer hair. I do avoid applying oils to the roots of my hair just so it doesn't go greasy super quickly but from the mid-lengths down, this works a treat!

(*kindly sent to me for consideration)

Haircare Routine from Wet to Dry

I'm not one to put a lot of time and effort into my hair and it's only recently that I've started doing more regular treatments to try and restore my dry ends. In saying that though, there are a few products that I do run through my hair after I've washed it (so 2-3 times a week) but other than that I just spritz some heat protectant in everyday before straightening to taming the front frizzies.

I have quite thick, wavy hair and it is also a bit frizzy but much less than it used to be when I was younger. I've used MorrocanOil religiously for probably over 2 years now and it's been the only product I've really used together with heat protectant because I've always been quite weary about further damaging my hair. These days I've started incorporating more into my haircare routine from wet to dry so here's a bit of a rundown of what I'm currently using. 

From towel dried to blow dry I always start with either a pea size of MorrocanOil or more recently L'Oreal Ever Sleek serum or even both. Both of these are great for taming frizz and overall smoothing but I feel the MorrocanOil does a bit more for treating and repairing my hair whereas L'Oreal is more for just sleeking everything down. I then move onto drying my hair which I am far from professional at and generally I just dry my hair using a Tangle Teezer or my hands to pull the hair taught so it dries more straight. Before starting this I spritz Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protectant all over my hair, comb through with my fingers and give it a few minutes to sink in. Then on a low-medium heat I dry my hair as best as I can and just do about 3/4  (because there is a lot of it) and just let the rest air dry. I then clip my hair into a loose bun to kind of smooth it down and make it less fluffy, I'll keep getting ready for a few minutes then go back to straighten the front bits around the edge of my face. I don't like to straighten immediately after drying because I feel like that's a lot of intense heat on my hair in one go so I do like to leave my hair to cool down for a little bit. Once I've completely finished and straightened what I want to fix up I like to use a pea size drop of Bumble & Bumble's Invisible Oil all over, starting from the ends to further tame frizz and smooth everything down. If my ends are feeling particularly dry I'll add a tiny amount of John Freida's Frizz Ease Finishing Creme just to the ends avoiding the roots completely because this is quite a heavy product. 

So there we have a brief rundown of my wet to dry haircare routine and the products I reach for once I've washed my hair. Products I use for styling and curling is separate to the products I've mentioned, these are just for haircare and making everything look a bit more sleek and smooth!