Since my late teens/early twenties—once I finally learned how to get my naturally curly and frizzy hair under control—I’ve taken the health and styling of my hair very seriously. Especially since most of my styling is done with heat, it’s very important to me to ensure my hair’s health more than anything. Even though more often than not on my Instagram stories, you’ll see me with no makeup and my hair thrown up in a messy topknot, it doesn’t mean I take hair care lightly. What I’m about to share in the following post is what works for me. It doesn’t mean it will work for everyone, but I want to share my favorite products and tools because sharing is caring, after all. 😉 As usual, I would only share products that are tried and true, and that I wholly believe in through personal experience. The links I’m sharing are not affiliate links—I’ll make no financial commission, but I will be personally satisfied if even one person tries a product I’m recommending and enjoys it.
Photo by Lauren Listor of Laurel Creative
That said, having had haircuts of all lengths and dyed my hair nearly every shade of the rainbow, I can honestly say “been there, done that” to almost anything I see. I’ve found being that my hair is so naturally curly and frizzy, in all honesty, keeping it longer is easier. Yes, it takes way longer to style—but if I’m home doing nothing, I don’t need to style it daily, and I have the luxury of throwing it up and not worrying. If it’s shorter, it actually requires way more work and daily styling, which I realized over time was killing my hair. No matter how much oil/silk serum I would use, my ends would appear brittle, even if they didn’t feel that way. It should be noted that I personally have also found that to help reduce my styling time and help the overall appearance of my hair, a keratin treatment helps me significantly. Before my most recent one, I consulted with my stylist; I made her aware of my previous experiences and told her my expectations/hopes for the outcome of the treatment. Based on that along with considering the texture of my natural hair, she decided on a specific treatment to use for me. Now, I know that there are opposing viewpoints on the thoughts of keratin treatments—the damage the chemicals cause, etc—but again, this is what works best for me. It’s worth the five days of strict maintenance after the treatment for a few months of easy peasy styling time!
Now on to the good stuff! I wanted to share some of my favorite products with you guys that help me maintain my healthy hair. I find that on a good hair day, even if I’m not feeling my best, it helps me feel like I kind of have my shit together! Bear in mind, what I’m listing are my favorites. It’s not to say I haven’t tried countless other products—they just didn’t work for me. Of course if you have any questions about products you’re considering trying, I’ll be happy to help answer to the best of my knowledge!
For starters, I wash my hair once a week, and I honestly don’t need to touch dry shampoo until at least day 3 or 4. The Redken Frizz Dismiss shampoo and conditioner system I use are available from Ulta and so affordable! I started using it with my most recent keratin treatment, but being that it’s sulfate free, it means it’s great for color-treated hair as well (which mine obviously is, thanks to the fact that it grows ridiculously quick and I started getting gray hairs in my early 20’s). Dove makes my dry shampoo of choice—a recommendation thanks to my friend Jacqueline, and again, I don’t usually need to start using it until around day 4. That said, I also don’t use it every day thereafter. (Usually days 4 + 6 or days 5 + 7). I’ve also recently found out that the best time to apply dry shampoo is before bed! 🤯 I’ve tried it a couple of times recently and I have to say, it makes a major difference! You can obviously use it before styling, but before bed is definitely my new first choice.
On the days I wash my hair, I let it towel dry as long as possible. After that I use—IMO—the holy grail of detangler sprays: Unite 7 Seconds Detangler—spray all over and brush through. I follow that up with a dollop of Unite Lazer Straight Relaxing Fluid, worked through my hair with my fingers from ends up to the roots (starting at the root gives a greasy appearance) and then brushed through again. My brush of choice is by Swissco—I can’t find a link to the exact one, but this is comparable. It’s nothing fancy, just a plastic paddle brush!
Depending on the day and time, I’ll let my hair air dry sometimes and style the next day. If I blow dry, I currently have a Conair hairdryer that is literally more than 10 years old. I tried to find a link and I can’t anywhere. It’s trusty and has lasted me this long, but I have to say I’m super excited for one of my Christmas presents coming my way—the coveted Dyson Supersonic hair dryer! (Trust me, I’ll give plenty of deets on that and the Dyson Airwrap system I’ll be getting—thanks mom!) When it comes to straightening my hair, I use my tried and true CHI. There’s something to be said for using the same flat iron for 10+ years and there still being an active link for it! It may not be the newest, chicest or fanciest flat iron, but this bitch heats up to 392º in mere minutes, and can usually straighten my unruly mane in one pass (but of course I usually go over it 3-4 times because…. OCD). In the time I’ve owned my CHI, I’ve tried variations of the CHI (the cuter colors—all died within months), other irons that claimed to be one-pass irons (maybe on baby-fine hair but not on mine), and so many others that just didn’t get the job done or last. When I want a bit of volume at the ends of my hair, as opposed to pin-straight, I’ll use another oldie but goodie tool from BedHead—the Curlipops 1 1/4” wand gives me the mermaid waves/loose curls of my dreams. Talk about #hairgoals. As I said with the CHI, there’s something to be said for a tool that’s more than a few years old and still has an active link. I’m not going to lie, I’m looking forward to trying the new Dyson system, as the heat setting is far from extreme and it’s supposed to be better for the overall health of one’s hair, but it’s good to know that I do have reliable tools to fall back on should it not work to my satisfaction. The most important part while styling is treating the hair. Once blown dry or air dried, I section it off (starting with the back and bottom, working my way up and toward the front). I spray each section both before applying the flat iron or curling wand and after with Unite 7 Seconds Glossing Spray. It coats the hair, protecting it from the high heat, and also sealing in the style. After each section, I also apply 1-2 pumps of HealthySexyHair’s Love Oil. This is another product that I’ve stuck with through the years, even back when it was called “Soy Renewal Oil” by the same brand. Once my hair is finished being styled, after the last couple of pumps, I brush my hair really well to make sure the product is dispersed and it also minimizes the chance of a greasy appearance. I finish off with a quick spray of hairspray—after my favorite years ago was discontinued, I went on the hunt for the perfect hairspray that gave a strong, but flexible and touchable hold. I hate nothing more than using hairspray and my hair feeling brittle! Shaper Plus by Sebastian works great and was the perfect replacement. The image of me in the beginning of this post is the result of all these steps!
The days I opt for styled curly hair are few and far between. I’m not referring to letting my hair air dry and going natural with little-to-no product, but when I embrace the curls and try to get them to stick. When I do, I use Unite’s Boing Moisture Curl Cream. It’s not so much for hold but for hydration. A small drop of that worked through the hair, along with some of the Love Oil, defines the curls and holds them without that crispy feeling that gel and mousse so often leave. If I choose to use hairspray after to lock in the style, I’ll often use another couple of pumps of the Love Oil on top of that, just to make it shiny, and again, avoid the crispy crunchy feeling! See the pic below for results.
Photo by Michelle Russo
As I first said, more often than not, you’ll find me on my IG stories with a topknot or messy ponytail. I used to use the “ouchless” elastics by Goody which are great, but when I tell you silk and satin scrunchies are GAME CHANGING, I’m not lying! They don’t dent or crease your hair nearly as much. They’re so gentle and are honestly just so much better if you’re looking to avoid the dreaded hair bump that comes with taking out your ponytail at the end of the day.
I know this was wordy, and even I didn’t realize how lengthy this post would be until I actually sat down to write it, but I hope it helped out! Again, if you have any questions, I of course welcome you to leave a comment or send me an email. I’ll be happy to help in any way I can to answer any questions you may have!