Haven’t we all muttered this at one time or another? Well, our community of women have solutions for you! No matter what your hair challenge, frizzies, split ends, getting curls or an updo that will stay, our members have the answer!
1. Curing coarse, dry hair:
I have huge, dry, curly hair and the only thing that works for me is Redken All-Soft. I guarantee after you use it for a week, you will notice a huge difference. I also put a dollop of Alterna Hemp Seed Straightener in afterwards. It doesn’t straighten my curly hair, but it relaxes the curl a little and makes it softer.
2. Taming frizzy hair:
I have curly hair which I usually straighten because it is easier to style straight. I think I’ve tried all the products out there for coarse, frizzy, and dry hair! It’s a fun battle especially in the summer months with all the heat and humidity. Some days I just want to get a wig! But here’s what I’ve found that works. For styling coarse hair that in layers, try the pomades and balms they have out now. They usually come in a heavy and light consistency. The heavy ones are like a wax and usually come in a tin and the lighter ones have more of a liquid consistency. Of the heavier ones, I’ve tried John Frieda Shaping and Glossing Balm (not too expensive) and TIGI Bed Head A Hair Stick for Cool People (a little more pricey but good). I know it’s a weird name, but it helps me with taming some of my frizz and holding the style a bit. It comes in a silver metal stick with a brown label! Of the lighter ones, I’ve tried are Nexxus Transforming Pomade and Paul Mitchell Foaming Pomade. I’ve found them all at my local beauty discount store but almost all the haircare lines carry some sort of similiar product.
3. Heal with hot oil:
To help bad hair days for coarse hair, have you ever tried a hot oil treatment? That might help. It did me when I had hair like that. I still have very thick hair and it is also very coarse and I still do that about once a month. Coarse board.
4. Ease fine hair tangles:
I have such fine hair I use baby hair clips. I’ve used a natural bristle brush on my hair. Besides not getting all the tangles out, I just plain hated using it. Then I switched to a brush with few bristles and lots of holes (the kind you blow dry with). I still had huge hair problems. Then I made a change that made all the difference to my poor hair. I vowed to never brush it while wet. Brushes and combs never come near my hair after a shower. This has made my hair a lot healthier and more manageable. However, I have also had to come up with a few hairstyles that work if all you’ve done is towel dry your hair. If you blow-dry, may I suggest finger combing gently until it is mostly dry. Fine hair such as ours just doesn’t handle abuse well!
Some swear by volumizing shampoo to pump up their fine locks, too.
5. Repair highlighting damage:
I had a really bad highlighting experience (had to bleach, and then redye and then highlight!) which left me with horrible split ends and damaged hair. The salon gave me a bottle of Aveda Curessence Repair treatment, which I applied once a week for 10 minutes, and in only three weeks I noticed a monumental difference!! Split ends are a lost cause, you can never fully repair a split, but you can protect the hair above the split so that the split doesn’t grow and migrate up the hair shaft. This cream repairs your hair from the inside, providing it with amino acids to strengthen and moisturize. And the best part is that it doesn’t weigh down your hair. I treat mine on Saturday nights before I go out to the bar, and don’t have to worry about flat head. I wouldn’t recommend anything else!
6. Rejuvenate relaxed hair:
When relaxing or otherwise chemically treating hair, split ends can sometimes result. Unfortunately, there is no product that can ‘fix’ split ends. The only way to get rid of them is to cut them off. Are you getting all of your hair relaxed every 6-8 weeks, or just the roots? If you ae getting your whole head done every time, maybe try getting just the roots done to prevent the relaxer from damaging the rest of your hair so much. Wash with a super moisturizing shampoo, a good rich conditioner, and use a hair mask once a week at least. My favorite line is Biolage. It’s a little more expensive than drugstore shampoo but it’s great. Well worth the extra cost. Also, don’t blow dry or curl hair unless you absolutely have to!
7. Get elegant with an updo:
Here are a couple of ideas which can be manipulated into your personal style and can be a big help on those bad hair days! One is the ever-easy chignon: simply take your hair, pull back into a pony tail, secure with rubber band. Take the pony tail hair and twist it. Leave one to two inches of the ends untwisted. Secure the twisted hair to the back of your head with a funky clip or pins–they will be hidden by the one or two inches you left untwisted. At this point you can curl the tip of the hair or scrunch it to give it a messy look. You can add light glitter to the ends or the sides and emblish with pins if you need a fancy look. Another simple look is the bun. Pull your hair into a high pony tail. Secure with a rubber band. Twist your hair into a bun shape and secure that with bobby pins if needed. The fun part is next. You can pull strands out of the bun. You can curl these strands, leave them straight, scrunch them, whatever suits you. Again, embellish your bun or the strands. You can use glitter, pins, or tiny flowers. If you just want elegant, put a large but soft flower that matches your dress into the center of your bun. Preferably it should be silk and should be somewhat flat and only as big as the center of your bun otherwise your whole bun will look like a flower (nobody gets to see your pretty hair).
Hair accessories are another fun option to banishing bad hair days!
8. Pamper gray hair:
Problems with gray hair? Unfortunately gray hair is more porous than hair with color still to it. The color you are putting on it is making it wiry and unmanagable. You could try using an oil treatment once a week. I use olive oil and heat a quarter cup of the oil, massage into my hair and put on a shower cap and let sit for at least 30 minutes before I shampoo it out.
9. Blowdryer protection:
I blow dry my hair a lot. I just started using these fantastic products from Clairol called Clairol Renewal 5X. The shampoo and conditioner are aboslutely wonderful. They contain silicones which moisturize and make the hair really soft and shiny. I also use Tresseme Smooth and Shape styling creme which protects my hair from blow-dryer heat. My hair now looks like I just got it blown out at the salon. Try them, you won’t be sorry.
10. Indulge in curls:
If you’re going for curl, rollers will definitely hold longer than a curling iron curl. The only problem is the hair has to be rolled wet and they take a long time to dry without a dryer (like in a salon).