Let's Talk About Hair | Hair Care Routine: End of 2013

I've discovered that every few months I make a major change in what I do to take care of my hair. For some reason I feel the need to try something new and if I like it then it stays in the routine. I changed several things in my routine during the last four or five months of 2013 and I thought I'd share with you what those were and why I did it.

Shampoo. Let's start with cleaning basics. In the early part of 2013 I was using the baking soda shampoo method. I loved it, but for some reason I ended up back with shampoo. I think it's because my hair was feeling really dry and not looking well. I'm not for sure on this though. However, I ended up buying a shampoo and using almost the whole bottle up from Spring to Fall 2013. One thing about using the shampoo: I seriously LOVED the way my hair smelled with shampoo vs. just using baking soda.

{photo via Walmart}

In late fall I used some of hubby's Pert Plus anti-dandruff shampoo (I haven't tried any of the other shampoos, but this one works great even though I don't have dandruff). I don't remember why I did it, but I do know it's one of the best things I've experienced! My hair felt so soft and silky after just one use that I decided to put my other shampoo away and just use his! The down side to using men's shampoo is it doesn't have that pretty scent like my old shampoo did so I like to use girly leave-in conditioner to help make my hair smell girly. This brings us to the next topic:

{photo via Walmart}

Leave-In Conditioner. As I just mentioned, I like to use a leave-in conditioner. My favorite leave-in conditioner has been the one in the photo above: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth. It is wonderful! The best time to apply leave-in conditioner to curly hair is after it's had a chance to dry for a bit. You don't want your hair completely soaked, but you don't want it completely dry either! If you want to use this product on days when you don't wash your hair I'd suggest wetting your hair with some water before applying the leave-in conditioner.

Other Conditioner. Because the Pert Plus is a 2-in-1 (shampoo & conditioner) I don't usually add conditioner to my hair in the shower each time I wash it. Maybe once a week I'll use conditioner with the shampoo, but it's not something I do every time. This is mostly because I pretty much always use the leave-in conditioner and I really don't think my hair needs three conditioners used on it on a regular basis!

I do still use coconut oil on my hair (read more about that here). This is a great way to get smooth, soft hair. I've probably done this once or twice a month for the past few months. It's not a daily or even weekly thing for me, and that's because my hair doesn't need it that often (and I don't think anyone's hair needs it daily!).

{photo via Walmart}

Mousse. This is something I just recently added to my routine. For probably two years I haven't used mousse or gel on my hair and lately the frizz of undefined curls has been getting to me. I had a few old bottles of Mousse which I am now using again and I have to say I love it! I still think mousse is tricky to apply (if your hair is still damp when you pull it up after applying mousse you run the risk of looking like you have partially greasy hair...gross!), but I am really enjoying the way my hair looks with mousse in it! (See my Christmas Maternity Pics where I had my hair down and thought it looked pretty good!)

Brushing. For more than five years I've not really ever brushed my hair. It almost always makes my hair super frizzy and poofy and I hated the way it looked. Plus I thought it ruined my curls. Lately though I've spent so much time in bed (with being pregnant and dealing with back pain/fibromyalgia) that my hair would get awful knots in it even if I kept it braided! It was horrible! I started brushing my hair out in the shower using lots of conditioner. This isn't something I do all the time, but it is something I started having to do when I would get these mass knots which I couldn't get out with finger detangling.

Finger Detangling. Yup this is is a curly girls life saver! If you get a small knot in your hair it's best to work it out using your fingers instead of a brush or comb. This method is better for your hair, and helps you get the knot without causing major damage/breakage to your hair... most of the time. This can be used on bigger knots, but its easier to do on knots you can actually see or partially see. The ones I was having as mentioned in the section just above were in the back of my hair and it was pretty much impossible for me to get anywhere with them.

Hairstyles. Since being pregnant I've not really felt like doing many hair styles. It's not that I don't like fixing my hair, I just don't feel like taking the time to do anything to it if I'm going to be home all day or lay in bed most of the day. Pony tails of the high and low version are my main go-to style right now. And many times when I go out I usually wrap my hair up in a bun and secure it with a large clip. As I said, I'm not into creative, fun hairstyles right now.

Closing. Well, I think that's all the new stuff in the hair department. When our current bottle of Pert Plus runs out I might try to get something that has a better scent to it. There are a lot of options in types of shampoo and they're all the same brand so I'm thinking they'll all work about the same. I've got some fun hairstyle ideas I want to try out in the near future so maybe we'll have a few more of those to share here on the blog. Oh! And I forgot to mention that my hair is getting quite long! It's now about 5 inches from my waist when it's wet (because of course you know curls shrink up as they dry). I'm SUPER excited about this! I'm hoping my hair will grow to my knees, but we'll see. I've never let it just grow before two years ago so I'm not really sure how long it will go. I know it can go past my bum, but I haven't had it longer than that at any point in my life. Anyway, things are exciting in the hair department and it's getting really long! I'm starting to really love it!