HAIRCARE ROUTINE

(Sorry for how long this post is!)

A few weeks back I posted about my skincare routine and today I bring you my haircare routine! Now it's not really hair "care" as such. It's just washing it and letting it dry but I do use a number of products in it.

Now, I've had an absolute battle with my hair over the years to get it to the point I'm at now were I am actually happy with how it looks and feels. I first dyed my hair when I was 15, I've been straightening the life out of it since I was 12/13 and I would straighten it every single day as well as blow drying it. With my hair dying, I would do it about every 6 weeks when I was dying it purple and then when I got bored of that colour 2 years later, I was dying it a little less often but still. On top of that, I HATE having my hair cut. I cannot stand people touching my hair, not helped by how bad I get headsore, so I just never had my hair tidied up very often at all.
My hair looked disgusting. It was all dead and broken and covered in split ends. About 15 months ago, I dyed my hair for the last time and I think that was a shade of brown not too far from my natural colour. (However, I had actually forgotten what my natural colour was.) At the moment, my "roots" are about half way down my ear and my hair kind of looks like it's been dip dyed, but not harshly. I'm not overly keen on the colour right now but I'm trying to stick it out and besides, everyone tells me they like how to colour looks (unless they're lying!)
It's coming up to 12 months now that I last blow dried and fully straightened my hair. I now wash my hair in the evening, and I only do it every other day as opposed to every day, and then let it dry naturally. Then when I wake up I only need to tame little bits with the straighteners.
2 months ago, I had a fringe put in. Okay, so I lied about no heat to my hair in a year. The hairdresser dried and straightened all my hair and I felt really bad afterwards but she used a lot of heat protection. I think I did fairly well really..! In the mornings, I do need to straighten my fringe a little or it's just not acceptable but the amount of heat that goes on my hair now is a tiny amount in comparison to over a year ago.

So here's everything I put in my hair...

So, as you can see, it appears I'm a bit of a Tresemmé snob. I'm not really. I did used to be. I would tell mum to only buy Tresemmé shampoo and conditioner and then when I cut blow drying and straightening out I thought I'd try new shampoo but mum still buys this stuff so I just go with it!

So yeah, shampoo and conditioner. I just use whatever is in the bathroom and mum usually buys a different one from the Tresemmé range everytime. There's so many! But these "Naturals" ones are what I'm using at the moment. I don't really notice a difference between any of the ranges to be honest.
I wash my hair every other day. Sometimes I can get an extra day out of it but I don't really like to do this, especially if I'm going to work or I know I'm going out. My hair used to get so greasy so quickly and I think it was because I washed it every day. I've fully trained it to be every other day now and I would like to get another day in but I don't have the patience to go through it again to do it! If you're trying to cut down washes, the only way to do it is to actually do it! (Sounds obvious...) Invest in some dry shampoo for the first couple of weeks and then your hair just gets used to not being washed as often.

This Lee Stafford treatment is a very new product in my life. My hair grows fast but it's sort of just got stuck at the length it's at and I want it to grow longer. My friend has a lot shorter hair and she always wants it to grow but it doesn't so I told her about this and I've really noticed her hair getting longer so I went and bought it for myself. I can't say I've noticed a difference yet but I've only used it about 3 times. It says to use about once a week and it's supposed to make the hair roots stronger which encourages them to grow out more, I think.

First, the Tresemmé Straightening Spray. I bought this easily over a year ago when I wanted to cut down on straightening, before I embraced the wavy-ness of my hair, but I didn't find it worked all that well. I've found it does work well on my fringe though. Once I've washed my hair and combed it through and combed down my fringe, I spray this all over it and it's a lot more manageable once it's dried. I know about it when I forget to spray this!
The I have the Tresemmé Heat Defence Spray (yeah, definitely not a Tresemmé snob...). I've been using this since I was 13 or so. I obviously don't use it as much now that I don't put heat to my hair but I do try to remember to give my fringe a quick squirt before I style it. Also, I love the smell of this.

Argan Oil. This is my baby. Although the bottle seems little it lasts me a good 6 months and I use this everytime I wash my hair. I'm quite generous with the amount I put in too! I can put up to 10 squirts in my hand and run it all through my hair and in the morning, my hair is super soft! Sometimes on the in between wash days, I'll it a tiny bit through the ends just to give them a bit of shine and if they're feeling a bit dry. This bottle costs about £10 in Superdrug but totally worth it.

Bit random to have a hair roller in here but having a fringe does not make for an easy life and it took a while but I know have the perfect routine to get it to look how I like it. I mention in my fringe blog post that I have the dreaded cowlick on each side of my hairline so when my hair is wet, I need to get it in the right place before it has time to dry (and my hair dries pretty fast.)
So I comb down my fringe and spray it with the Straightening Spray and I roll the roller in so it sits under the fringe, against my hairline... not on top of my head, if that makes sense. I then spray the Straightening Spray on the hair in the roller and then I leave that in for about half an hour. Sometimes, I just forget it's in and it ends up staying in until I go to bed. I take it out and comb it through and then in the morning it just needs a little straighten, mainly on the underneath and I'm good to go!
The Tangle Teezer is another thing that I don't think I could live without. £10 for what essentially is a comb seems ridiculous but it's honestly worth it. Especially if you do get headsore like I do. The only time I brush/comb my hair (bar my fringe) is before and after I get out the shower. I don't do it on in between days and I don't do it in a morning, otherwise I turn into a ball of frizz. The Tangle Teezer doesn't hurt your head and gets all the knots out and SO GOOD.

Dry shampoo. A staple for everyone. I usually use the Batiste one for dark brown hair but I got both of these collectively for less than £1 in the Boots clearance so I've not had the need to buy that yet. I find I don't actually need to use dry shampoo that much anymore, I rarely do actually use it but it's nice to know I have some in case. The first is a Charles Worthington Brunette Dry Shampoo. It has the worst smell ever. I absolutely hate it. However, it does a decent job when I need it. I won't be re-buying it or paying full price for it, though. Then I have a Lee Stafford one. I love the smell of this but I try not to use it that much because it's only a little can but I feel this really refreshes my hair. Also, it's just an original one and not specifically for brunettes but I find it doesn't leave me with white hair. That's my big pet hate with dry shampoo, I hate ones that give you white hair which is why I buy the Batiste one for dark brown hair!

Finally, hairspray! Again, this is for my fringe and I talk about that in my March Favourites!

My hair was disgusting to look at and touch this time last year but now it's so soft and I don't have split ends and I am happy!

Congratulations if you managed to actually read all this!