product recommendation series: hair

i haven't done this in awhile. in fact, i'm sort of horrible, since i just barely remembered, but as soon as I did, I felt the sudden urge to pamper my hair, so hair it is!

so. shampoo and conditioner. honestly? my very most favorite shampoo is Matrix (the "Sleek" kind. it's orange). It smells amazing, it works wonders, and it's also a little too expensive for me to justify buying it every time I need new shampoo. I am also a big fan of when my husband gets his hair cut at Remedez in the University Mall, because they only use Aveda products, which smell so good. I love it. Anyway...

since I can't bring myself to fork out the money for this stuff very often, I have found another love:

I have always liked Tresemme as a brand, I feel like they are higher end of the store bought stuff, and when they came out with this "naturals" line, I was all for it. I like using natural things in my hair. Chemicals are so damaging on my hair, which is why I have avoided dying it, and all that fun stuff. I love that this "Nourishing Moisture" kind uses aloe vera and avocado. Those sound like great things! I love how it smells. I love how it works. I am always satisfied.

But what about the days in between washes? I am one of the girls who can't wash her hair every day. If I do, it gets weirdly greasy and gross, unless of course, it's really dirty, then of course I was it, but day to day? I don't need it. I do have side swept bangs though, and since I'm always adjusting them and touching them, they get greasy the fastest, and on days in between washes, it helps to use this stuff. It's also nice to add to my roots and touch up the top layer of my hair to look nice. Another awesome thing about dry shampoo? I take it camping! It's a life saver. And again... smells amazing! (that's important to me!)

and on the days that I really want to pamper my hair? (i've posted about this before, and if you didn't see it, you may think i'm crazy) extra virgin olive oil. I know there are benefits, I just don't remember what they are. But try it, and your beautiful hair will speak for itself! It makes your hair so shiny and smooth, and helps keep it healthy! I just use whatever is in the cupboard we have for cooking. Devin loves cooking and tends to splurge on the EVOO, but we got this brand (Bertoli) from my bridal shower, I think, and it's pretty inexpensive and was great! (for cooking, and my hair... haha!)

I massage the EVOO from root to tip until my entire head is a stringy mess and reeks of olive oil (which is actually another smell i love, so i don't mind).

It feels weird. It looks wrong. You might think you are doing the opposite of what you were hoping to achieve. Don't worry, just wrap it up turban style in a hot, damp towel and leave it in for 20 minutes (or longer. I usually try to leave it in for 45. basically as long as i can stand having all that extra weight on my head that keeps me from doing basically everything).

Then, just shower. I usually have to shampoo really good twice, and condition once (and use less conditioner after this treatment then you normally do, because the olive oil has already done a wonderful job of moisturizing your hair, and too much moisturizing will just result in greasy locks.)

I like to think I have good hair. It's healthy for the most part, even though I blow dry and flat iron it almost every day... I love my natural hair color, which is lucky, I think! Or else I would probably dye it all the time... So I feel like my regimen works pretty well! 

Flat iron? Chi. All the way. Do I have one? ... No. But I certainly wish I did, and it's definitely on my christmas list. Right now I have a 1 inch Andis flat iron, and it's awesome. I love it. It works great. It heats up fast, but I am a firm believer in the Chi. It's awesome. My blow dryer is a bright pink Revlon $17 one from Target. I bought it because it was cheap and pink, but I am now noticing that with my thick hair, I need one with a little more power. So that's also on the list. (Any recommendations?)