My hair care secrets. - Paige Joanna

Okay, so not really a secret as such, but after quite a lot of people have asked me over the years on the up keep of my red hair I thought it was time to do a post. Lately I have actually started getting a lot more into hair care, when I was making new years resolutions it was one of the things I wanted to treat myself to. When I started having pamper evenings one of the main things i’d focus on is my hair, and now it’s just become a part of my every day routine.

Step 1, Washing.

I wash my hair roughly 3 times a week, sometimes more or less depending on what style I want to go for or where I am, in the summer it tends to be every day or at least every other day. For washing i’m not fussy on shampoo brands as long as it is light weight and not full of chemicals. One I really love is the Pantene Aqualight shampoo, as my hair is quite fine but I have a lot of it, so it makes it feel really light weight, fresh and gives it body.

Tips: I shampoo in two stages (this is why washing my hair is a complete bitch and takes forever). I use about a cherry tomato sized blob (haha) to wash my hair, and then repeat the process and on the second wash I really lather my roots.

Conditioning, now this is a bit more complicated on some washes and I will get into products and things in a minute. On a basic wash I just tend to use a thick mask like the Herbal Essences yellow pot in the image below. For me I feel like after washing twice I need a heavy duty conditioner to re moisturize, even on a basic hair wash.

1, Panten Pro-V Split End Serum.

2, Umberto Giannini Leave-in Conditioner

3, Herbal Essences strengthening intensive mask

4, Renewing argan oil of Morocco

Products:

Here are my must have products I have been using lately. Number 1, the split end serum I use as a multipurpose item, I can ‘pre-poo’ (i’ll explain in a min) with it or simply put on near dry hair when hair drying to stop frizz. It’s a runny oil and perfect for hair that still needs body. Number 2 is the spray in conditioner which I have been using for 2 years now. I first discovered it in a christmas gift set from my nan, and haven’t gone back. It smells amazing, gives an instant feeling of softness on wet or dry hair and I personally like it on my hair, I think it makes it shiny and softer to touch. Numer 3 is the previous conditioner I mentioned in my general washing routine, it’s a mask so pretty thick but as its one of the cheaper products on the high street that’s why I tend to use it as a daily conditioner. It doesn’t work miracles but it is nice for every day softness. Finally, number 4 is pretty much everyone’s must have item and one I know is extremely popular and you probably already have heard of it or use it. It’s argan oil, this one is from Boots and basically I use this once a week on towel dried hair just on my ends and leave it in. OR I pre-poo and leave it on my hair for an hour before washing it out and re applying a tiny amount during after care.

(terrible image quality, sorry about that) This was me a couple of weeks ago trying out melted 100% coconut oil, yet to see results so will update via twitter if I like this. Also this is what a pre-poo looks like!

Step 2, Pre-care:

So, you might be thinking; What on earth is a ‘pre-poo’. WELL, obviously pre is for before and basically it is a care treatment you do for your hair before washing. I was introduced to the name of this technique only a few weeks ago. I already did pre-care but never knew it had a term for it!

What I do for my hair is I apply either the Argan oil, or Pantene serum to the ends of my hair (about a palm full of it, i’m pretty generous with it) I rub it in gently until I have hardly any left on my hands. I then either wrap my head in a towel or I tie it up in a messy bun and leave on for however I feel like, usually ten minutes and more is probably best but I leave it on for over an hour.

I then wash as normal and re-apply another small 50p sized amount whilst drying.

Step 3, After Care:

So if like me, you have coloured hair or are simply just prone to fly always and split ends then after care is probably the most important thing to keep in your routine. It is something I have pretty much always done since I used to use my mums hair serum when I was like 14. After washing I have to dry my hair, simply because if I don’t it goes frizzy, wavy and a complete mess with or without products.

So, to prepare my hair for the heat I very gently pat my hair with the towel to get off the remaining wetness and once it’s not dripping wet I spray in the Umberto Gianini Leave-in conditioner. This stops flyaways and slightly coats it from the heat of the dryer (I also quite like the Tresemme heat protect spray). I will then dry my hair until it is just fairly damp and i’ll either apply the serum, about a small palms worth if I haven’t pre-cared or a 50p sized amount if I have. Drying takes me over 2o minutes because I have so much hair and the process is a bit annoying but worth it for a nice style.

Step 4, thinking split end free:

So I have a few other little tips that I think help me. firstly, when I feel my hair is really suffering from central heating, lack of moisture or just general wear and tear I will have a ‘hair up’ week. I will give my hair all the usual treatments and then not style it in any way apart from wearing in a pony. I feel it gives my hair a rest and restores any damage done that isn’t too extreme.

I also tie my hair in a plait before I go to bed at night, I do this probably 3 or 4 nights of the week to stop my hair from getting destroyed my by constant fidgeting. I don’t know about you but sometimes I wake up and my hair looks like a birds nest, which of course is like back combing your hair every single night, not good for split ends! So plaiting just keeps it out the way, neat and tidy so it stays soft and you even get a nice natural wave the next day, win win!

So hair care is an ongoing process, one that I quite obviously enjoy! I go through stages though of having good and bad hair due to weather changes and things like that. Last week I had about 3 inches chopped off the bottom after I started to get frustrated at the straw like quality the ombre did to my hair. You can see the result in the image above. So I had a fresh cut and layers put in and it made me appreciate getting a trim or chop more often. It is definitely worth not being scared of a cut (like me) and just doing it!

I hope you felt this post was helpful for hair care. I don’t claim to be an expert of any kind but if you are just a normal girl and use a lot of high street products then give my tips a go and see what works for you!