In my early twenties I never really did much with my hair. I'd get up in the morning, wash, condition, and go. No product. No blow-drying. I'd get my hair cut basically when I started to get frustrated with it. There was no set schedule. Needless to say, my hair did not look very good.
In my mid-twenties that changed. At the suggestion of my sister I had my hair highlighted. And I got a new cut. And I started using product and using a blow-dryer in the morning. It made such a huge difference I decided I better keep it up and turn it into a routine. I get it cut about every 7-8 weeks. I get the highlights done about every other hair cut. Every once in a while I'll switch up the shampoo/conditioner and the product but the rest stays pretty much the same.
I recently deicded I wanted to try tresemme for my shampoo and conditioner. While I was at the store ready to purchase my new tresemme, I stood there for what seemed like an hour just looking at all the different options and trying to decide.
- My hair is really fine so the 24 hour body option sounded good.
- My hair is colored so the color revitalize option looked good.
- My hair tends to break and I have those annoying little hairs that stick up at the top of my head so I thought the anit-breakage option looked good.
- My hair is a little on the dry side so the smooth and silky for dry hair option looked good.
Anyway, since I didn't want to wash and condition my hair four times a day, I ultimately decided on one -- the smooth and silky option -- and it actually does seems to be doing what it says it should do. It could also be the new product I've been using -- paul mitchell super skinny serum smoothing.
After applying the product I then blow dry my hair upside down. After it's completely dry, if time allows, I'll quickly run it through a flat iron. My hair is almost totally straight, but the iron gives it a bit of a more polished look.
Just about two weeks ago, there was another piece of hair maintenence that I did for the first time. It is still TBD whether or not it will be a regular part of the routine. I had my eyebrows waxed. I am guessing most other women have this done at least once long before they their thirties, but it's not unusual for me to be late to the game. I am hoping to just keep it up on my own using the tweezers and only have them done professionally a few times a year.
What is your hair maintenance routine?
Wow. I can't imagine not having had my eyebrows waxed til 30. Of course, I had a unibrow at age four, so that might have something to do with it. LOL I was 18 or 19, I think, the first time I got my eyebrows waxed. Before that, I was trimming and caring for them myself for years.
I love switching shampoos, trying new scents, etc. But I hate when I buy a new shampoo or product and it ends up not working (usually leaving my hair flat and split looking). It's so disappointing.
Oh, my gosh. I am seriously not spending enough time on my hair. I don't even comb it. I get it cut once a year. If I ever want it to look halfway decent, the only solution is to sleep on foam rollers, which I do maybe three times a year.
I think I just need a good haircut, actually.
The variety of shampoo/conditioners is astonishing!
Candice, I am always way behind on these things. Not sure what takes me so long! I have been tweezing them myself for a very long time but was never very diligent about it. How often do you get them done? I definitely have the flat hair problem as well with the wrong shampoo/conditioner, too. :(
JD, obviously we have very different hair types requiring very different maintenance. I would love to have long full hair like yours that didnt need to be cut and highlighted regularly. Alas, it was not meant to be. It looks so thin and limp when it gets past my shoulders and it looks so flat and one dimensional without the highlights.
Don't worry, I'm a total late-bloomer too. I still very rarely get my hair cut professionally - I'll usually cut it myself about every 6 months or so (whenever it gets annoying). It actually looks good too - at least that's what people tell me. ;)
I've never had anything waxed either, although I do pluck between my eyebrows. I suppose I could grow up someday and start grooming like a "real" woman, but here in Oregon most people are laid-back and relaxed about such things, so my own laid-back personality gets a break. Lol.
As for shampoo, I usually buy the cheapest stuff. Suave or whatever's on sale. I always think I should try something better, but can't bring myself to pay for it.
I have a flat-iron and a curling iron that are gathering dust on a shelf, and I lost my hair dryer somewhere a couple years ago and never replaced it. I sound like a complete hippie, but I promise I'm not. Lol. I'm just a big fan of getting ready as fast as possible in the morning (mainly b/c I hit snooze a dozen times before I can drag myself out of bed!).
Jennifer, what type of hair do you have? I am very impressed that you are able to cut it yourself. I would say NY is not very laid back about there things, even in western upstate NY. I think I would like Oregon, ha. I actually am guilty of hitting the snooze button a few too many times as well. I have been a little better about it recently though!
I dedicate zero time to my hair. I get up in the morning, wash it and run to work (yes, most days I get to the office and it still wettish). I have wavy hair, and I never iron or blowdry. I like the "movement" expression that my natural waves give!
Couple of weeks ago though, I traveled for the weekend. On monday, I had to wake up REALLY early to go to the airport, catch a plane, and go straight to the office. So I took a shower the night before, and went to bed with my hair in a ponytail.I got up at 3 am, let my still-humid-hair loose , got on a plane, slept some more on the plane... and then run to the office. This seems like an awful plan to start the week, and I was slightly worried that my hair was a mess (my face as weel).
Unbelievably, at least 5 people complimented my hair that day at the office and asked what I done to it.
My natural waves, which I'm so proud of, must look awful for the rest of my colleagues, if going to bed with wet hair in a ponytail PLUS letting it dry on a plane while sleeping some more was considered an improvement to my regular routine!! lol
MSQ, what a great story. Have you tried going to bed with your hair still damp and in a ponytail since that time? In what ways did it look different from your usual natural waves?
not really. You see... I'm quite a stubborn person. So if I happen to like my hair as it is.. then that's how I'll wear it.
In the city I'm at now, fashion "rules" seem to be all in favour of extremely straight hair. Almost every woman in my office bolwdries and irons her hair every morning.
I guess that
pillow + airplane=flat curls,
as opposed to my normal "voluminous" waves. But I've never been inclined to care too much about what's IN and what's OUT. including for my hair!!
Good for you, MSQ. :) It seems most people want what they can't have (i.e. people with straight hair want curly and vice versa) but you are the exception. One of the lucky few who are actually happy with what they were born wtih!