A Few of My Favorite Things - **Hair Edition**

2.13.2009

I've had two emails in the last week asking about what products I use on my hair.

Oh, bloggers. That is a loaded question. I guarantee you anyone who knows me very well at all in real life is laughing right now.

Because my hair. It is an ordeal.

I have thick, course, wavy, frizzy hair. And I want it to be straight, glossy and not-so-poofy.

So that's where my fabulous Hair Queen comes in. This is Josie. She is magic to my hair. And she's gorgeous with a perfect body, too. Which makes me want to slap her. But I don't. Because she is magic to my hair.

The first line of defense in good hair is a Hair Queen. Without her, none of this other stuff would matter much. But as long as I'm telling my hair story, I'm going to go all the way.
And, as I said, it's an ordeal. So hang with me. Because I use a lot of stuff. And I've discovered it all through trial and error. If I had all of the money I've spent on hair stuff I didn't use, I could own a home at the beach. Can any of you relate?
Thought so.
My shampoo is Matrix Sleek Look. And for the record, I only later and rinse once. I used to lather and rinse twice, thinking that was better, but it is not.
Next I apply a generous amount of Marc Anthony Smooth Straight Conditioner...about the size of two quarters...or a little more. I leave it in my hair while I do the rest of my showering duties, and rinse it out the very last thing.

I towel dry my hair well, comb through with a wide-tooth comb, then generously spray (at least 8 or 9 times) with Paul Mitchell Heat Seal. This stuff is meant to protect hair that is blow-dried and flat-ironed and otherwise abused with hot stuff.


If you want smooth, sleek hair, a round brush is your friend. I have two favorites. The first is the Chi turbo. That's ceramic underneath the bristles..which helps make hair smooth and glossy. Make sure your round brush isn't too small or too large. I have a 2", which is great for short-to-medium length hair.

My other favorite is the Spornette brush. I dry and style my hair with the Chi brush until it is almost completely dry, and then go back for a final once-over with the Spornette. It does not have ceramic, but the plastic and boar's hair bristle combo make this baby great and grabbing the hair and letting you get one final, good tug and dry. Again, make sure you get a size that isn't too small or too large for the length of your hair.

After all that, I give a good once over with a flat iron. Again, Chi is hands-down the best in my opinion. This baby will run you around $100, but so worth it. I like the 1" Chi because it allows me to get really close to the roots and do small sections of hair at a time. I especially love it for getting the back of my hair really straight. If you have longer hair, the 2" might be better.

And finally, I spray on a little hairspray.... not too much! This is my new favorite: by Framesi Mist Hair Spray Light. I buy it from my Hair Queen Josie at the salon, but you can get it online, too, of course. I also love Sebastian Shaper hairspray.

Whew! What an ordeal, huh?

Now you know why I have to get up at the crack of dawn just to make it to work at a decent hour.

And now you also know why my son cries when he hears me turning the hair dryer on.

Now if only there were products like this to give me a body like Josie.

15 comments:

It's Always Something Around Here :

We have the same kind of hair....it is a battle for sure isn't it?

I don't have a good hair Queen though....I used too...but she stopped cutting hair. I need to find a new Queen...ughhhh.

Susan :

Now I understand why I have a wash and wear, short hair style!!!! I'm fortunate I guess. I wash my hair daily with shampoo, comb it out and get it cut every 5 weeks. It's simple.....it's me :o)
Susan

Leah :

Looks like what you DON'T use in the body wash and lotion department, you more than make up for with the hair stuff. But I agree that great hair products help create great hair! =)

Amber :

I have thick, corse, heavy, wavy hair...my chi has been god-sent!
Does your hair take FOREVER to dry? Mine does...got any "dry-your-hair-super-fast" advice?

Katy :

I have very thick and wavy hair (only in the back and underneath though) with straight hair in the front. My favorite hair girl put a relaxer in my hair to get rid of the wave and frizz and it has helped sooo much. I use a t3 straightener and a round brush similar to the one you show w/ the ceramic thing in the middle, I love it (it has boars hair bristles). Having the relaxer on my hair has really helped with drying time.
I use to have very stick straight, smooth, naturally glossy hair....BEFORE kids that is, I guess the hormones really changed my hair for sure.

Jill :

Susan - I am so smitten with your easy hair routine! That sounds like heaven to me.

Leah - hee-hee. You are right. What I don't spend on face and body wash I spend on hair products.

Amber - My hair used to take forever before I found the conditioner + heat seal combo. For some reason, that makes it dry faster. And use at least a 1800 watt hair dryer with the ionic option. I also happen to use a Chi hairdryer...love it.

Katy- I so agree with the hair straightening... I think it would be great. I had it done about 10 years ago and the (bad) hair guy that did it left it on too long and I literally had bald spots all over my head which took almost year to grow out.. and so I just can't go there again.

Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques :

Wow, lots of thick , wavy, frizzy, curly haired gals out there. More than I thought! I too have it. I've been straightening for years ...on my own. I just use the 2" round brush. Sometimes I use Victoria's Secret shampoo and conditioner (only on special occasions because I hate spending money on hair products) and it works really well!

When I use a flat iron I think for me, it looks too flat...so i save the time on it. And once I wash my hair it is so dry that I go two more days without doing anything to it....and it looks exactly the same. Really! I do NOTHING to it for two more days. Except maybe run my fingers through it.

Linda :

Wow what a great tutorial on how to manage your hair. It always looks so pretty in the pictures I would never have thought it required that much work. :) It is always nice to have a great hairdresser. She is cute too, go ahead and slap her I won't tell anyone.
Blessings,
Linda

Natalie :

A good hair girl is a must! I have thick, wavy hair.. bu only in the back. The front is super straight. It's only gotten worse with kids. After each pregnancies, my hair got wavier & frizzier.
I love my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny shampoo. I'll have to try the Matrix one .

Susan :

Oh my goodness..YES I could buy a condo if I had all the money I have spent on hair care! It's sad. Really sad. And my hair is supposed to be "so good" according to the Hair Queens and Kings out there. I use the Matrix products for scrunching and curl. It's great.

Hugs,
Susan

melissa :

Love seeing what others 'go through' when it comes to hair and looking god!! ;)
Mine is the opposite - fine and pin straight!

melissa

Beki - TheRustedChain :

I've always felt lucky that I have "good" hair. I wash it, sometimes blow dry, sometimes not. That's it. Not a single styling product or anything.

Easy peasy!

A good body, however... I DON'T have that and I'd kill for one! But apparently I won't workout to get one. *sigh*

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality :

Well, no wonder your hair always looks great. Me too, with the thick curly frizzy hair. You spend more time than I am willing though. I do have a good flat iron, but don't use it all over all the time. You have quite the routine & those products sound pretty awesome too. I'll have to take notes. My problem is...I don't want to do all that much to it so it could probably look a lot better if I took more time with it.

American Homemaker :

I have thick curly hair too :) I wish I knew back in high school the hair stuff I know now. Or maybe they weren't invented when I was in high school... lol

Unknown :

I too have the same hair as you, but I have a thermal straightner (I am actually getting another tomorrow) use all the same brushes and chi too! I may have to try your products for a nice change!

Hugs!

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