My Hair Regiment

Some of the photos I have been posting, the bridal shower and that awful Accent Challenge Video sparked  a few questions about my hair care regiment. What products do I use? How do I get it so long? Is there any special things I do in hair care? I am not an expert in hair care and everyone's hair is different. In fact, I have never met anyone who's hair is quite like mine.

To start off, I have a very oily scalp! Also, my hair is naturally curly but for some reason it is curliest when it is really extremely short and when it gets past my shoulder anything in between and it is practically stick straight. Most people's hair is bounciest before shoulder length since the weight of your hair can tend to pull down the curl. Lastly, my individual strands of hair are quite fine, but I have a lot of hair strands so it looks quite thick. Oh, and blonde is my natural color. So this is what I am working with.

When it comes to any specific routine, I don't really have one! I can say that I do not own or use a straightener. I don't use a lot of extra product. My curling iron and blow dyer get used maybe an average of once a month. I have never used permanent hair dye either. 

Here is a list of what I do (which are said on other sites to help grow out hair):

only shampoo my hair every other day or so, but always follow with a great conditioner

an additional deep condition every month or so

make sure to remove all the snarls and tangles out before a washing working from ends to roots

brush regularly to stimulate scalp brushing from roots to ends

use leave-in conditioner

take a daily vitamin

put my hair in a loose ponytail before bed

let it do its own thing

use fabric covered elastic hair ties without metal closures. No Rubber Bands!

drink ALOT of water

I really try to just let my hair be when it comes to styling. Living in Arizona, my hair is the healthiest it has ever been. The dry arid environment balances out my oily scalp. I can use conditioners to keep my ends looking nice without my whole head of hair looking like an oil slick. I do not force my hair into any one style. Usually I just throw it into a hair tie, fancy it up with a headband and call it a day. If my hair is extra frizzy I use a squirt of leave-in conditioner which I work in with my hands focussing only on the frizzy area. I hardly ever use gels, mousse, creams, serums, or hair spray.

As far as cutting and trimming goes, to date my hair hasn't been cut since summer 2010. I got a massive cut (roughly 4-5 inches of healthy hair not counting the 1-2 inches of unhealthy ends) when I went in for a trim and haven't trusted anyone near my hair again. I usually go 18 to 24 months before a "trim" because Flagstaff hairstylists love to chop it all off. Sometimes I trim to take care of split ends, but again, I haven't found anyone I trust with a steady hand. Most people recommend a half inch trim every three months or as soon as you notice breaking. Obviously, I don't follow those instructions!

As far as conditioning goes, I use a few different kinds. Again, this is just works for me and I am not an expert. During washes, I use either a damage control or curl boosting conditioner. This goes for whatever brand I am using at the moment. Once a month, I use a deep conditioning treatment and it is usually an organic olive oil root stimulator and replenishing conditioner. It doesn't require extra heat or chemicals and I just slather it in for an hour with a cap on and rinse it out. It tends to get thick and leave my hair excessively oily for the first day, but it is awesome!

As mentioned earlier, other than some normal maintenance, I tend to let my hair just be. So there it is!