It’s winter–which means my hair won’t stop drying up and falling out. Do you have the same problem? During the summer, my hair is greasy and gets dandruff. Basically–it feels like there’s no winning.
After trying (what feels like) hundreds of products, I think I’ve finally figured out the perfect routine to make my hair the perfect amount of shiny yet healthy at the same time.
On days when it feels like the only way to manage your hair is to put it up in a cute scrunchie, here are some tips on ways to have those locks stay fine all of the time.
My first piece of advice is to make sure you’re using products with little to low sulfates. I find that when I use sulfate based shampoos and conditioners, my hair feels brittle and like it’s just going to break off at any moment. I’ve been told by many that it’s better to wash your hair with shampoo as little as possible. If you’re feeling brave you can even train your hair via the no-poo method to never have to use shampoo again (can you imagine?!)
Thanks to Act+Acre, I recently discovered this thing called a ‘scalp camera’ which basically connects to any smart device to a camera microscope to show you what your scalp looks like. That’s when I realized I had product build up and spit ends and decided to try a detoxifying mask. I seriously could not recommend one of those enough. For best results, many people say to leave on overnight or 4-6 hours with a 30 min minimum. If you have color treated hair, this is a pro tip!
If your hair has been every color of the rainbow like mine has, might I suggest a deep conditioner? Brands like TIGI have pretty powerful new products and are even taking unused hair products and donating them to the Trans Wellness Center, which provides services for trans and non-binary people. They’ll even send you a mailer to make the job as easy as possible. It’s definitely a win-win for all parties involved.
Because I’m growing my hair out, I’ve had to start brushing it. I’ve been told that it’s best to brush hair with a bristle brush when dry 100 times starting from the tips and going to the roots. If you brush your hair when it’s wet, it’s more likely to break off.
If your hair feels really really unmanageable, you might want to see a hairstylist. Since I’m only speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that your hair won’t always be like this if you’re willing to do something about it. That also doesn’t mean that you have to spend hundreds of dollars trying to fix your hair! By the way, all of the products I’d like to recommend I swear by, so what could go wrong? Shop ahead (pun intended).