Category: Conditioner

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Re-Hydrating Your Hair

 

While we have been sheltering in place, we may have neglected to wash our hair. I want to discuss hydration with you and why we need to get our hair wet again.

Have you ever neglected a house plant and went to water it and the water rushed right through the pot? This is due to lack of hydration in the soil. All you need to do is continue to water this plant daily to bring back the moisture into the soil.

This is the same thing with our hair.  If you:

  • feel your hair and it feels dry and brittle on the ends
  • you use heat every day to style your hair
  • it takes a long time for your hair to fully saturate with water in the shower
  • you haven’t gotten your hair wet in multiple days

Your hair is probably dehydrated and you need to spend a little bit of time re-hydrating your hair. This doesn’t mean using a deep conditioner,  it just means using water more often on your hair.

Try these ideas to see if you can rehydrate your hair:

  • On second or third day of your hairstyle,  you could scrunch in some water, or smooth some water over the top layer of your hair.
  • If you shampoo on a daily basis, you could skip the shampoo for the day, and just use conditioner on your hair. Fully saturate your hair with water, run conditioner on the ends, avoiding the scalp, let it sit for 5 min and then rinse. 
  • Another option is to really let the water soak into your hair. Just when you go to reach for your shampoo, stay under the water a little longer. Then when you rinse, do it very well, making sure to feel your scalp and know that all the product has been removed. 

Just some ideas to rehydrate your hair that doesn’t cost you a penny!!

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Hair is made from a protein called keratin. It gives structure, shape and strength to your hair. Without protein, your hair is limp, lifeless, weak and may fall out easily.

Protein helps to balance out the moisture in your hair. You need a good combination of moisture and protein to keep hair healthy. If you have more protein and less moisture, your hair will feel dry and brittle. If your hair is limp and lifeless you may have too much moisture.

Here’s a few things that can effect protein in your hair:

  • Chemical Treatments
  • Weather
  • Not enough Protein in your diet
  • Heat-styling too much 
  • Using too harsh of a surfactant to cleanse your hair

How to tell if you need more protein:

  • Your Hair is weak, lifeless or limp
  • No amount of moisture helps
  • You say your product isn’t working properly anymore

A protein treatment is going to attach to the outer layer of your hair called the cuticle. It will harden the cuticle, filling in any weak areas and adding strength to the hair.

There are proteins in most products you will use every day. Here are some key words that will be on the product if it contains protein: reconstructing, strengthening, rebuilding, The ingredient list will contain the words: keratin, silk, hydrolyzed protein, amino acids.

If you feel like your hair is limp and lifeless, add in a protein treatment once a month. Here’s an option for at home use.

For an in salon service, I highly recommend Virtue’s Color Kick to be added into your next coloring service with me. It is pure keratin delivered through the color to get into the cortex of your hair.

Just remember: Do not go over board on at home protein treatments and start using it too frequently.  There is a balance with moisture and protein. Make sure to notice how your hair feels after a protein treatment. If it feels hard and brittle, back off on the treatment to maybe once every 8 weeks. This is all based on what your hair feels like. For added moisture Inner Sense Hydrating Hair Masque is my go-to choice.

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Tips for Curly Hair

First time Deva Cuts can be quite overwhelming. There’s so much information to be talked about in such a short time period all while doing the service. Here’s a quick reminder in case you forgot anything.

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Hydration

Hydration is key for healthy hair. As we are transitioning into colder temperatures I want to offer some tips to maximize hydration and keep your hair from getting dry.

First- Fully saturate your hair with water before you apply shampoo.

If your hair is not saturated the shampoo will not be able to do the job it needs to do. I highly recommend Inner Sense Organic Beauty products due to the fact that they are concentrated and need water to make them perform properly. So before you even reach for the shampoo, make sure your hair is sopping wet and you can feel the water on your scalp.

Next- Make sure you emulsify the shampoo in your hands before applying it to your head.

This will allow the water from your hands to mix with the shampoo allowing it to begin to suds up. Then apply it to your hair and you should get a great lather and the shampoo spreads all over. If this is not happening, dip your head back under the running water and emulsify your hair some more. You need tons of water to allow the product to work properly.

Third- Rinse, Rinse, Rinse!!

Make sure all of the shampoo is completely rinsed from your head before you apply conditioner. Now the conditioner should be applied to sopping wet hair as well. With Inner Sense being concentrated, make sure to start with one pump and work up from there. I will tell you to scrunch your conditioner into your hair no matter what texture of hair you have. You are trying to push water into the cuticle layer of your hair.  Moisture will get trapped and the  cuticle will close over the water molecules hydrating your hair from the inside. You can now rinse the conditioner off of your hair. Depending on the texture of your hair, you can leave a little conditioner on your hair or rinse it completely apply a leave in conditioner.

Last- I highly suggest you apply your products to your hair while you are still in the shower but before you have towel dried your hair. You want to now trap all of the moisture still left on your hair with your products. This will seal the cuticle down completely, lock in the moisture and allow you to use less product because you are getting great slip from the added water. Always start with a leave in conditioner then followed by your product of choice. After this is complete you may towel dry your hair.

These tips should help you hydrate your hair all year round!

So don’t forget:

  • -Apply Shampoo to sopping wet hair.
  • -Emulsify your shampoo in your hands before applying to your hair.
  • -Rinse, Rinse, Rinse!
  • -Use a Leave in Conditioner or keep a little conditioner on your hair.
  • -Apply products on in the shower with sopping wet hair.

If you have found any of these tips to be beneficial, comment below, I would love to hear from you!

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Why you should be using Apple Cider Vinegar in your beauty routine?

Did your Grandma ever tell you to wash your hair with Apple Cider Vinegar? I can remember thinking, “Yuck!” Fast forward 25 years and I am doing it on a monthly basis!! Why…..here’s the benefits I have found:

-helps breakdown buildup
-anti fungal and anti bacterial properties. This helps with any flaking you may have on your scalp.
-helps oily scalp
-helps in transitioning from not shampooing daily
-a clean scalp = a clean follicles which will help strengthen the hair root which in turn promotes hair growth!
-seals cuticle to lock in color
-exfoliates the scalp

This rinse is going to be adjustable based on your needs for your scalp and hair. A good starting ground is to mix:
1-4 Tablespoons of ACV to 1 cup of water
You can add it in a squirt bottle, cup, or spray bottle to make the application easier. Then you will shampoo your hair, rinse, then apply the ACV rinse. Make sure to get it on scalp and ends. Rub it into your hair and leave on for 1-2 minutes. Rinse. Follow up with a conditioner.

Make sure to use the apple cider vinegar that contains the “mother” in it. This type contains nutrients and enzymes that contribute to its many different benefits.

Try incorporating this into your hair routine once a month to keep the buildup under control. If you are struggling with oily scalp then try doing this every 4-5 shampoos until your scalp settles down. If all of this is too much to start with, I can recommend a great product that contains ACV in it.


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5 Tips to Maintain Your Toner

With lived in color being such a trend right now, you will often hear the term toner, glaze, overlay or gloss being used in the salon. But what does it mean and why do you need it?

A toner deposits the lightest amount of color to your hair to help neutralize any unwanted pigments or tones. Anytime you lift the hair to get a lighter color, you are exposing underlying pigments. These pigments are not necessarily your desired tone. So we have to counteract it with a toner. A toner is usually done on wet hair and it processes anywhere between 5-20 minutes.

The benefits of a toner are:
-neutralizing unwanted tones
-incredible shine
-seamless blend between colors

You’ve spent the time and money to get your hair just right, now how do you maintain a toner.

Tip #1- Once you leave the salon try to not shampoo for 24-48 hours. This allows the cuticle to slowly lower and lock in the color. Anytime you shampoo right away, you are causing the cuticle to raise slightly, exposing the pigments and allowing them to wash away. The longer you can go the better. Also always use a sulfate-free shampoo. Don’t worry, I can recommend a few great products to help you get from shampoo to shampoo.

Tip #2- Avoid excessive amounts of heat by limiting blow drying and hot tool styling. Every time you add heat to your hair, you are expanding the cuticle which agitates that layer of the hair. This can cause color to fade and dry, brittle hair.

Tip #3- Try to avoid direct sunlight. Our skin tans when we are in the sun and our hair tends to lighten in the sun. Sitting in the sun for hours at a time without a hat or even an umbrella will cause your hair to naturally lighten, and pull out the color molecules that the toner placed in the hair cuticle. Go out and get a cute hat, head scarf or take along an umbrella!

Tip #4- Always using a leave in conditioner which helps close the cuticle down, sealing in the toner. This will also maintain shine, help with detangling and keep hair moisturized.

Tip #5- Use purple shampoos, conditioners or styling agents to help maintain that fresh from the salon hair color. These products will help deposit a slight amount of pigment to your hair to control brassy or yellowy tones. I can help recommend a great group of products to use at your appointment with me. But until then, my favorites right now are Milk Shake Silver Shampoo, Conditioner and Whipped Cream.

At the end of your service, we will determine when it is best to come back in and freshen up your toner. It can range between 2-8 weeks.

By incorporating these tips into your daily hair routine you should be able to increase the longevity of your toner. Comment if you have any questions!

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Humectants

One struggle we can all relate to is a bad hair day. How often do we love a product then have a bad hair day and we never want to use that product again? As a hairdresser I want to dive into ingredients with you so you can have the knowledge to pick the proper products for your hair. We discussed silicones in a previous post, so let’s take a closer look at humectants.
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Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is a must-have in my house for hair, skin & nails. Why is it so good for my thin, wavy textured hair? It has a tiny triglyceride which will penetrate the cuticle layer of the hair over time. This will allow for deep moisture and nourishment to happen. It also has antimicrobial properties. This helps prevent skin infections and has been known to help dandruff sufferers. When purchasing coconut oil, look for: organic, unrefined, cold-pressed pure coconut oil. All this means is you are getting a pure oil processed with no chemicals.
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