Back in December, the day before Christmas in fact, I decided to chop my hair shorter again. I had been growing it out for over a year, but decided with Hong Kong’s infamous humidity quickly approaching as the seasons change, I needed to consider how difficult it would be to style my hair. My hair does NOT handle humidity well AT ALL… all curls fall flat within 5 minutes no matter how much anti-humidity spray or hairspray I layer on. Plus with the hot and humid weather causing me to sweat a bit, I just end up throwing my long hair up into a bun anyway.
Despite chopping my hair shorter, I didn’t really need to change any of my hair care products that I had been relying on to grow my hair out naturally and to keep it healthy. I did switch things up a bit for a little while, but ultimately decided to go back to my usual routine and usual products, which I share below. I just want to point out that hair care is more than just what you use on your head – it also involves eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water, using certain tools, and limiting heat.
Shampoo and Conditioner
For several years, I’ve relied on Christophe Robin hair products for healthy hair, with the sea salt scrub shampoo and detangling conditioner being my go-to’s. I’d honestly credit those two products with helping my hair to grow so fast in one year, along with eating well, limiting how much heat I use on my hair, sleeping on a silk pillowcase, and reducing how often I shampoo (for reference, I used to shampoo every other day and now I shampoo every 3-4 days). I will say that I did switch things up temporarily and try the custom Prose hair care products when I was in Los Angeles in October. I was a fan of how custom my shampoo and conditioner were for my hair, and it definitely reduced how oily my hair can get between washes. However, since they do not ship to Hong Kong and their products have an expiration date (that comes up pretty fast for someone who doesn’t wash their hair every other day), which means I only end up using about half of the product, I stopped using them. I’ve gone back to using my original shampoo and conditioner since cutting my hair shorter and my hair seems really happy. Sometimes for an extra boost of volume, I’ll use the rose scrub shampoo and conditioner.
Hair Masks
I love to pamper my hair with thirst-quenching, softness inducing hair masks just to give it that extra shine and bounce. I usually use a hair mask every week, and I notice a difference in my hair on weeks that I accidentally skip. I alternate between two masks from Oribe – their signature moisture mask and their Gold Lust transformative mask. Out of the two, the Gold Lust mask is the one I tend to prefer and it’s what I used on my hair the morning I took the photos in today’s blog post.
Hair Tools
Almost a year ago, I decided to bite the bullet and invest in the Drybar Airwrap (I have the complete set). Yes, it’s pricey. But do I think it’s worth it? YES. Since I started using mine, I have barely reached for my hair straightener and I only use my curling wand to make waves in my hair for photo shoots. As someone who struggles with styling their hair to look like they just came from the salon, this styling tool felt like a bit of a savior. From my very first use of it, I was hooked. My hair was bouncy, held on to the style for days, and looked [nearly] professionally done. The tool I use most is the round brush attachment to achieve my go-to blowout look. Just a note: I do not wrap my hair in a towel after washing. I squeeze as much water out as I can before twisting it up in a hair clip and letting it air dry for 2-3 hours so that way my hair is simply damp and doesn’t require much heat to style.
Styling Sprays
Before using my Dyson Airwrap, I like to use a volumizing spray and heat protectant spray by Rossano Ferretti Parma. I’ve used both for years (past hair care blog posts continually mention them). After styling my hair, whether it be my blown out look or curled, I turn my head upside down and use R+CO Balloon Dry Volumizing Spray for one last boost from underneath. If I’ve curled my hair for waves, I’ll use Oribe Texturizing Spray to texturize my waves if I don’t want them to look so soft. To smooth the edges, I’ll use Ouai Pomade (which smells amazing!). To keep everything in place but to not make my hair feel or look like a helmet, I use Kristin Ess Workable Hair Spray. The key word there is “workable”, so if I choose to brush my hair out later, it’s not difficult to brush through and re-style.
Other Tools
Besides using the tools above, there are two other products I use that have helped me achieve soft, silky, fuller hair. I started sleeping with a silk pillowcase two years ago and I noticed some positive differences in my hair during my sleep. There’s less breakage as well as less static due to the silk being less harsh on my hair. And since I like to keep my hair out of my face when I sleep, I loosely tie my hair back with a silk hair tie for the same reasons I use a silk pillowcase.
What are some of your favorite hair care products?
