Let's Talk Shampoo
I’m sure like yours, my hair is constantly changing - now I don’t mean that my 30’s hair is different from my highschool hair. Which yes… it is. No I mean from season to season my somewhat textured July hair is noticeably different than my perfectly straight January hair with my October hair falling somewhere in the middle. This constantly changing state of texture, thickness, styling frequency and exposure to different elements means I am always adapting and adopting new hair care regimen. So here is what I am doing these days…
I have fine hair, but a decent amount. My hair is currently not straight or curly, floating somewhere in the middle. I highlight my hair every 3 months, rarely touching my base. I heat style my hair 3x per week (currently lining up to when I’m in the salon :))
Washing
I try to stick to an every other to every third day washing frequency. This generally depends on my level of activity, more active = more frequent washing. I personally love when my hair has more texture, I don’t like when it gets too straight so I am always searching for the balance of just clean enough but also just enough grit.
My current go to is the Christophe Robin Delicate Volumizing Shampoo with Rose Extracts. It is gentle enough for my highlighted blonde but cleansing enough to remove oil and leaves my hair with body. However because volumizing shampoos can be more cleansing and therefore more drying - I do alternate with the very gentle Wella Elements, a repairing and anti breakage shampoo and conditioner, while also being light enough it does not weigh my hair down.
Conditioning
I use a very small amount of conditioner on my ends. As I have said earlier, I am always searching to maintain texture so I usually only brush my hair before I wet it, to gently detangle before shampooing. Hair is most easily damaged when wet, so I found it very helpful to detangle when it is dry. I love my tangle teezer, and if my hair is feeling a little rough after I shampoo I will also comb my conditioner through. I don't leave it on too long, no more then 3 minutes and rinse well.
Extra Maintenance
Even with the most gentle or natural shampoos, conditioners and other products, build up is a real harm to hair growth. Once a week I use the Christophe Robin Salt Scrub, which exfoliates my scalp, breaking down product build up and encouraging hair growth. I pair this with the Christophe Robin Shade Variation Mask in baby blonde. This is my favorite at home hair color maintenance, The salt scrub brightens my hair and the baby blonde mask tones any unwanted yellow.
Something new
The newest addition to my haircare arsenal is the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil. The name is deceiving as it is still very much a shampoo, it lathers and has the cleansing strength to clean your scalp. It contains Camellia oil, a smaller oil molecule enabling it to penetrate the hair shaft vs sitting on top. The ‘oil’ part marks it much more moisturizing than your normal shampoo, meaning I can skip the conditioner. I love this product for when I am in a rush and can wash and go!