I don’t know about you, but taking care of my hair normally falls on the back burner out of everything. I have made a commitment to myself to actively start trying to take better care of it! Last time I went and got my hair done I decided to pick my hairstylist’s brain and thought I would share what we discussed and the questions I asked her! Thank you Emily Hebenstreit! (IG: @emily_stlhair)
What would you say are hair STAPLES? “Definitely shampoo, conditioner and leave in conditioner. If you don’t use a leave in conditioner I highly suggest you start. Not using one is like going in the sun without sunscreen.”
How often should you wash your hair? “Everyone is different but I recommend washing your hair every other day to every two days. If you can hold out, washing every two days is probably better.”
How often should you cut your hair? “After 12 weeks (3 months) your ends are technically split, so that is kind of a guideline to get basic trims.”
What temperature should you set your straighteners & curling irons to? “Usually you shouldn’t have to use your straightener, curling iron or heat tools up to 500 degrees. In my personal opinion I feel like that is way too high. That is basically like an oven, I mean you cook a pizza at 450! You definitely want you use a heat protectant in that case. I would try and stay close to 250 to 300 and after a few passes if you feel like you need more then bump it up a little bit. But definitely see what your hair can do on a lower temperature first. AND make sure your hair is 100% dry before you go in with a heat tool. Most people go straight from blow drying to flat ironing it. If you feel your hair and it feels cold to the touch that means there is moisture in it and you’re actually burning your hair.”
Quality product recommendations? “The price doesn’t necessarily matter. Some products can be super expensive and still have a ton of chemicals in them, while some products can be on the cheaper side and be super natural and organic. Usually if you can get a product line based out of a European country, Europe only has like 10-12 legal chemicals that are legal (in the UK I think) to use. While here in America I believe there are over 1000.”
What would you recommend for someone who has really dry hair? “It really just depends on WHY you have dry hair. If you have dry hair because you highlight it a lot I would recommend products that have repairing properties and agents to them. Such as protein and keratin. If you just naturally have dry hair I would just look for products that are moisturizing. Something that has oils built into the product or something that can help to build up the natural texture of the hair. But it honestly just comes down to why your hair is dry to determine the products to use. “
Best ways to help frizz with curly hair? “It’s different for every person, regardless ,when you get out of the shower use moisture base products, something that has a cream or oil to it. So when you get out of the shower you put in a leave in conditioner, then scrunch it with a cream mousse and when finished you peel the curls apart with an oil, thats the perfect thing to do. Then spray it with a curling hold spray that is non aerosol, because aerosol has alcohols in it. And whenever you have curly hair and you spray it with aerosol, it causes the hair to puff out and frizz a little more. So when you have more of that wet hairspray, it keeps the hair right where it needs to be.”
Best ways to get volume? “So backcombing can have a negative affect on the hair after doing it for a long period of time. And if you’re showering at night and sleeping on your hair wet that will naturally flatten it. You are hindering the process of the natural blowout and what blowouts do to create volume. If you can I would say try your best to blow dry in the morning to prep the hair for the day. Also try to use a volumizing mousse at the roots before blow drying. For dry hair you can use a volumizing spray/root lifter. Dry shampoo will also help with subtle volume”
How to get curls to hold with hairspray without them looking or feeling hard and crunchy? “Get more of a moveable or working hairspray. It’s a hair spray to use while you’re styling verses a finishing spray. They have different finishing textures and a working spray doesn’t leave your hair crunchy, it’s a little bit more moveable but still gives it a hold. Use the finishing spray one time when finished all over.”
How to shampoo and condition your hair properly? “Don’t apply conditioner about 2 inches at the root of your hair. Take your head and flip it upside down in the shower, start from your ends and scrape it up to the root as close as you can with leaving a couple inches untouched. Try and not shampoo the length and ends of your hair. When you go to put the shampoo in your hair, go straight to the scalp and massage it in. And then let the water run the shampoo through the roots to the ends of your hair.”
Best way to increase the life of your color? “Definitely using color safe shampoos. If your stylist uses a particular color line, try and get products that follow the same color line. They are chemically formulated to work together. It comes down to the chemical composition of both products. Try your best not to be in direct sunlight or tanning beds, they can tend to lift the color up. Heating tools can also strip the color from your hair.”
Advice for someone trying to grow out their hair. “Get trims every 3-6 months. Take good vitamins, biotin, use natural, organic products, don’t over wash your hair, and take good care of your overall health!”
How to make my hair look shiny? “Treat it well, don’t chemically or heat damage it as much as possible. You can put oils on it like a conditioning oil or smoothing oil. You can use a shine spray, or anything that has moisture to it “
Department store products, good or bad? “I wouldn’t necessarily say bad for your hair because everyones hair takes products differently. The thing with department store brands or products is that they can sometimes be pumped with animal fats to get bigger bottles and mass produce basically. Places like Marshalls that are a third party store, so basically a buyer is buying products that are expired or are expiring soon and they can do pretty much whatever they want with that product as far as reselling goes.”
Is it good to change your shampoo and conditioner every few months? “Yes! I wouldn’t say to the extent of every few months but maybe every 6 months to a year. Hair definitely builds an immunity towards certain products and thats why if you have a certain color thats been working really well for you for a long time and then your hair doesn’t take that same color after a certain amount of years the same because your hair just changes. So I would definitely suggest changing things up here and there to see if something better suites your hair at different points in your life.”
Fun facts and Tips!
-You want to switch up where you put your ponytail. When wearing the same style pony tail day in and day out it can cause breakage in that area of your hair, especially high ponytails.
-You can use clear eyebrow gel to take away fly aways and baby hairs around your face.
-If you want to minimize breakage, sleep with your hair in a low braid and hold it with a scrunchy.
-Get a silk pillow case, cotton can cause breakage. When your hair rubs against a cotton pillow case, it causes friction, which can cause breakage, frizz, and dryness.
REAL LIFE THINGS 