Welcome back to the blog!
Happy June everyone! Seriously the month of May came and went like the blink of an eye. I'm not mad though, I'm truly looking forward to the summer. A time to get out, mingle and have some girls fun.
One things for sure, I want to look and feel my best. Look, this is the time of year wear we are less covered up so you have to put your best self forward for yourself. Did you catch that?, for YOURSELF. Some of you are in a relationship or married and attribute yourself looking good for your significant other. I'm not here for that. I'm here to help you do all the things that makes you feel good while still respecting your relationships. Now if you're not in a relationship and have let yourself go because of that, then honey I'm going to help you snap out that. A relationship doesn't define you. Ok...Ok I'll get off my soap box, but yup I meant what I said.
So let's get ready to be summertime fine. I'm going to get you all together from head to toe this month. So make sure you're checking back every week to pick up some tips that will make sure you're looking your best all summer long!
For the first week in our Summertime Fine series we're going to be discussing hair care. This is a topic I haven't discussed with you all because honestly I felt that since I don't sell haircare products, what would be the use? But then a shoe hit me on the head saying but you're a licensed cosmetologist🤪. Yeah, that was a moment (hey we all have them). So here we are💁🏽♀️
Proper hair care is very important all year round but more so during the summer because of all of the heat, humidity and sweating we do. If your regimen is not consistent it can lead to a host of issues such as build-up, odor, limp hair, breakage, scalp fungus and so on.
Here are some tips that will help keep your hair game on point this summer.
Hair Type
First you will need to know your hair type. This can help determine the type of products you need. The simplest test you can do was shared by a celebrity stylist is a ponytail test. A ponytail test can help you see if the diameter of the pony is smaller than a quarter. If so, this means you have fine hair. And a quarter or more means you have medium to thick hair.
Your hair care products should also be chosen based on your hairs needs, dry, breakage, color treated, etc.
Now for my curly girls that go by your pattern, here is a great resource from Allure.com that give a great breakdown of curly hair patterns.
Hair Cleansing
Now that we know what our hair type is, we can determine what type of cleanser we need. If you have fine hair, you need a cleanser that won't weigh the hair down, but give it strength and volume. Fine hair has 50 percent less protein than medium or thick hair, which means it's weak and needs to be strengthened.
For medium/thick hair, you need products with moisture that will soften the texture and detangle at the same time.
For color-treated hair, keep in mind the more you shampoo, the more oxidation occurs, which means your color can change. For lasting color, washing your hair when absolutely necessary. Shampoo for color-treated hair is still shampoo.
For those dealing with excessive dandruff, meaning that flakes show up a day or two after cleansing. I have two DIY natural scalp treatments that you can easily create at home. One recommendation is gently loosen the dandruff first with a natural scalp scrub.
Recipe: 1/2 cup of warm oil to 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar. The oil helps to gently soften and lift dandruff from your scalp and the sugar aids in breaking it up to allow it to easily rinse off during shampooing.
Directions: Part your hair in small sections (1/4 inch) and rub your scalp with the mixture until complete. Afterwards, massage the scalp with both hands to ensure the scrub is evenly distributed. Allow to sit on scalp for 30 minutes prior to shampooing.
Second, you can add Sea Salt to your scalp. Sea Salt is great at removing dead skin cells and hydrating your skin.
Recipe: 1 TBSP of sea salt to 1 to 2 cups of warm water and place it in a small bottle.
Directions: Part your hair in small sections (1/2 inch) and spray the salt water solution onto your scalp and rub in. Follow this process until hair is complete. Afterwards, massage the scalp with both hands to ensure the scrub us evenly distributed. Allow to sit on scalp for 15-20 minutes. Prior to shampooing, you will need to thoroughly rinse your hair and scalp to ensured all salt residue is removed prior applying shampoo.
There are many shampoos on the market for you. If these natural treatments are not for you, mayoclinic.org gives a great breakdown on ingredients (products) that you should look for depending on the cause of your dandruff.
Shampoo Routine
When shampooing your hair, thoroughly saturate your hair with warm water. This ensure all loose dirt and oils are removed from the hair and shampoo can thoroughly cleanse. Focus on your scalp by using the pads of your fingers. Now I know many of us use our nails and that's ok, just don't scratch hard and break your skin.
Gently glide the shampoo through your hair, never rub your hair as you can cause damage. Rinse thoroughly then repeat.
Conditioner
Conditioning and deep conditioning is the next step in the hair care process. Just like with shampoo, you need to choose a conditioner based on your hair needs. You will need to assess your hair to figure it out.
Let's start with out with fine hair. You will need a strengthening conditioner as this will help your hair to hold a style. If you have fine hair, you may also opt for a conditioner that adds volume as well. This will help make your hair appear thicker.
If you have medium/thick/coarse hair, a moisturizing conditioner that detangles is best. This best for your hair as it thicker hair is harder to moisturize and retain moisture. This is because the hair cuticle is closed and needs heat to open up.
Depending on your hair assessment, you may need to deep condition your hair. This is true for hair that is dry, damaged , or color treated. There are many deep conditioning treatments on the market, but I find that your moisturizing conditioner should suffice.
If you are experiencing breakage or excessive shedding, a strengthening conditioner is required specifically a protein treatment. *NOTE, if severe breakage, please seek help from a licensed cosmetologist in your area.
Conditioner/Deep Conditioning Routine
To condition your hair, apply quarter size amount of conditioner to towel dried hair. start at the ends and work toward the scalp. Comb through to evenly distribute (with a wide-tooth comb and start at the ends first). Place a conditioning cap on your hair for allotted time per the product instructions.
To deep condition your hair apply quarter size amount of conditioner to towel dried hair. Comb though to evenly distribute. Place a conditioning cap on your hair and sit under the hair dryer for 15-20 minutes. The heat opens up the hair cuticle and allows the conditioner to penetrate the hair cortex.
If you don't have a hair dryer, you can place a conditioning cap or saran wrap (yes I've done saran wrap plenty of times) on your hair with a towel for an hour or two. This allows the heat from your hair to stay in open up your cuticle. Some actually walk around all day with it all day or sleep with as well. Whatever works for you, do it.
Leave-in conditioner and heat protectants
I love a great leave-in conditioner because it gives the oomph at the end of the shampoo process and keeps conditioning your hair until your next shampoo. You can use a leave-in conditioner that best fits your needs. Per product instructions, apply the specific amount of leave-in to towel dry hair then with a wide-tooth comb, distribute evenly through hair starting at the ends.
Heat protectors are great for those who use blow dryers. Now, before you all get too excited I know that many of you don't use blow dryers, but for those who do this product is a game changer. After applying your leave in conditioner, apply heat protector to your hair per product instructions, evenly distribute through hair then proceed with blow drying.
Shampoo Routine
How often you wash your hair depends on your hair and scalp. There isn't a one-size-fits-all prescription for a shampoo schedule.
In regards to blow dryers, I have air dried my hair maybe three times in my entire life. So to say blow dryers causes breakage to your hair is wrong and my hair is almost bra strap length. What I did was invest in blow-dryer that cost me $90 about 20 years ago from a professional beauty supply store and I'm still using this same one today. I use Mizani Thermastrength Heat Protecting Serum. I have tried several serums and this is the best for me, hands down. Just in case, no I do not use Mizani's products for my hair care routine, I use KeraCare's Hydrating Detangling Shampoo and Humecto Creme Conditioner.😉
Hair Styles
As a guide, the best hair styles for this summer is based on you and your lifestyle. For instance, if you sweat a lot like me, and updo is your friend. Wearing your hair down is asking to walk around looking like a wet dog, IJS😂
If your rarely sweat or get hot, you can wear any style you want (I'm low-key jealous of you😉)
Protective styles, updos and short cuts are the craze when its comes to the summer. I want you to have fun and do you, but make sure your style is based on what your body can handle and not what you want.
Frizz
One more thing I would like to discuss about summer that we all have dealt with more times than we can count, and that's frizz. Humidity is your hair's enemy. If frizz has been stopping you from looking your best, look for products that are anti-frizz such as a balm or spray. If you have curly hair, make sure the products you choose are not water-based. If nothing works, a low maintenance style will never go out of style😉
I hope you enjoyed today's blog and received some value from it. If you should have any hair care questions, feel free to leave me a comment below and I'll be happy to answer.
Stay tuned as next week I'll be discussing your skincare routine for the summer.
Until next time,
Beauty Mixtress™