Let's Talk About Hair

For most of my life, my hair was exactly the same texture, with some variations in color. It was long and very, very curly, like in the top left photo above. I never straightened it, except for a costume opportunity of some sort, because who has time for that sort of thing? About three years ago, I got my very first salon blow-out, and it looked like it does in the top right. I didn't think my hair could look that good straight because I had not had very good results on my own, but that salon experience inspired me to try different things with my hair. Now that I've been straightening it for a while, my curls are more relaxed than they used to be, so I have to approach my hair care differently than I did before, when my hair was super curly. Since I've gotten some questions from people about hair, and I now have experience with using many different products for different hair textures, I thought I'd share some of my favorite products and tools here. I do not like to spend a lot of money on this stuff, so almost everything I'm sharing is available at Wal-mart or drugstores for cheap.

(Note: I don't have sponsors or even affiliate links, so I don't get any compensation for these recommendations. Though, come to think of it, I probably should get on board with that...:))

For very curly hair:

• Shampoo and Conditioner: Anything with extra moisture to keep frizz at bay. My favorite used to be Tresemme Moisture Rich for Dry or Damaged Hair. 
• Frizz Control: I preferred creams over gels or serums -- they gave me control without stiffness. My favorite for a low price is Garnier Sleek and Shine Leave-In Conditioning Cream.

For straightening and styling straightened hair:

I love all the Tresemme Keratin Smooth Products. They are inexpensive, they work, and the shampoo and conditioner comes in enormous bottles. Some of my favorites include:

• Shampoo and Conditioner: Tresemme Keratin Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner
• Heat protector spray: Tresemme Keratin Smooth Flat Iron Smoothing Spray
• Frizz Control: Tresemme Keratin Smooth Shine Serum. I've also had good results with Paul Mitchell Super-Skinny Serum. It's more expensive than drugstore brands, but one bottle lasted me well over a year, so it ended up costing me less than the cheaper stuff. 

I've experimented with many ways of straightening my hair, but my favorite and the fastest is the Remington Wet2Straight flat iron. It has steam vents in the iron so you can use it on wet hair. I let my hair air dry until it's about half dry, then I use a big round brush and the flat iron to both dry and straighten my hair at the same time. If I want my hair to have a little curl in it (as in the middle right and bottom left pictures), I use my flat-iron for that, too. Here's a good tutorial on how to use your flat-iron to curl your hair. It took me a lot of practice, but now it's easy. 

For more relaxed curly hair:

I use the same products as above, but lately, I've also been using a little bit of Bed Head Control Freak Serum. It has a consistency closer to a gel and is very light weight. I also enjoy using argan oil for frizz control and flexibility. There are lots of argan oil products out there now, and I haven't found a major difference among them yet. 

Sometimes, I just let my hair air dry with a bit of curl-scrunching, for a more beachy-curly look, as in bottom right. Other times, I'll use the headband curl technique to get romantic ringlets (middle left). 

So, that's my hair story. If you find yourself not knowing what to do with your curly hair, I hope this is a good resource for you.