My Hair Care Routine & Color Maintenance

Wow, finally writing this entry after pushing it out for forever.
If you've been on my friendslist since forever or have known me for a long time - or simply be following me on any of my social media platforms you can see how much my hair has gone through so many changes! Click 'read more' at the bottom of this to get to the nitty gritty of things!

***beware image and very text base heavy***



I can definitely say its been roughly about almost a decade (or even more since I've had my natural hair color. I've been dying my hair since I was in 2nd grade but didn't really do as crazy of an adventure as I have till way down the road. But you can just imagine how much my hair has gone through since.)

I will be writing a separate post on how to get silver hair but if you Google or go on YouTube you will see a lot of people posting about that stuff, I will though will be making a separate entry with a list of product I've tried to get there or maintain such color. If you are a red hair or looking on ways to maintain your firey red locks, I have an entry about that too here & here

Currently at the time of this post my hair has gone from red to purple to blonde ombre and well on its way to a granny dark cobalt gray color. So its safe to assume my hair is dry, overprocessed and hanging in there. A few years ago I went crazy and went straight silver and had bleached the shit out of my hair which resulted in very overprocessed, gummy hair and much breakage and inches lost! So I was pretty much adamant I was not going to let bleach touch my locks -ever. Well, never say never coz it'll happen eventually. I'll go more into detail on how I lifted the color slowly in another post to piggyback on this.

Current hair condition:  

• Dry ends 

• Bleached/over processed mid-shaft down to the ends

•  Not super gummy (only the super lighter parts are - those areas where I baliaged straight bleach on)  

•  Normal to Oily scalp (I can survive on dry-shampooing for the next day but I cannot do a 3rd day without washing)

Hair Routine:  As someone with dyed hair, you typically want to up keep with your roots unless your going for that ombre effect. I currently don't have to keep up with my roots thankfully since I'm just letting them do their thing for now. 

but as far as my general hair care, I have to plan out the days on when I will be washing my hair. When I do work out, I *have* to wash my hair, but at those times I just use a cleansing conditioner 

but for days that I know I will be doing a full cleansing (shampoo, conditioner and etc) I like to prep my hair with a mask before (if I can) usually with a toning mask then I shampoo and condition again. I know some people would argue that why would you mask your hair if your going to shampoo it and strip it with all the good stuff you just put in? My prep mask I use is a toner I mix hence why I do it and I don't always use a cream based toner. Sometimes if I feel my hair needs the extra boost. I will use an olive oil mixture - recipe and info below~  

 I'm a bit of a hippy & a cheapo when it comes to hair care. I'm a trained stylist but that doesn't mean I don't believe in saving a few pennies. I use to spend a crap ton of dinero at high end products in hopes it'll fix my hair but honestly, in the end some works and some just quite doesn't. (Even if you buy them for stylist-only stores. In the end your still spending a good chunk of change...)

And to some products who claims all organic, all natural - super good for you - also doesn't mean its all that great too. So let me share with you the stuff that did or did not work for me and alternatives for a cheaper version to them. Before we begin lets touch base on a few things:

Tips:

• Always check discount retail stores like Ross & Marshalls they tend to have higher end products for a much comparable price
• Amazon & eBay are great places to get discounts on hair products & for those products that are available through a stylist only
• DIY your hair masks, they tend to be cheaper and just as good if not even better than commercial grade stuff. Keep in mind though that they have a shorter shelf life.
• Mix protein fillers or deposit only color to your shampoo/conditioners to freshen and maintain color
• When masking or conditioning hair in the shower, use your fingers or a wide tooth comb to brush through the hair to make sure product really gets in there
• When towel drying hair, dab the water out. Don't ruffle your hair with the towel. The friction is whats going to cause breakage and tangles. Defeating the purpose of even masking or conditioning ):

Shampoo:

Honestly, I'm not particularly picky in terms of what shampoo I use :x
I use to use JOICO brand line but since lately I've just been reaching for more cheapy drug-store brand - ones that promises keratin or intense moisture types. 

I generally stay away from Pantene line because of the silicone stuff that they put in it (beauty school instructors all brain washed us to saying no to this stuff, I don't exactly remember why it was a no-no but I haven't used Pantene in YEARS)

My top picks are the following (for not breaking the bank):

I have the following top 3 picks:

Garnier Damage Erage, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration & Dove Intense Repair Shampoo
all 3 are just under $6 per bottle, and sometimes they even have deals at the stores.

Since I am in the process of trying to tone/maintain grey tones in my hair, a lot of people will push you to get shimmerlights shampoo which, don't get me wrong, I am definitely a fan but I change my hair color quite often that I just don't want to commit to 1 bottle of shimmerlights forever and I like the freedom of mixing my own toner. So I typically just transfer a chunk of the shampoo in another dispenser and mix in my own purple dye in there to create my own toner. This is also cheaper for me in the long run

 Conditioners & Hair Mask:

Likewise with the shampoos, I mix this in with my own dye to try and refreshen my color while in the shower. I generally pickup the complementary conditioner that comes with the shampoo line that I am using. But as someone who has overly processed hair, I tend to have a more extensive list of conditioners and masks that I use.

So with that being said, I am a big big big fan of the Dove Intensive Care line. Its generally my first go-to when it comes to drug-store brand quickly followed by Hello Hydration and the Garnier Damage control line. Those are my current go-to products in my shower.

but I want to talk about my go-to's for hair masks which I use before or while in the shower:

L'oreal Total Repairs Balm: This one claims it will erase damages for up to a year. I'm almost down to the last bits of the product and I can't entirely say it has erased damages ahaha but it does leave my hair nice and soft. No complains plus CVS usually has a deal on this. Hence why I picked it up. I usually leave it in my hair for about 3-5 mins in the shower

Hollywood Beauty Olive Cholesterol: THIS IS THE BOMB. Its super cheap, roughly around $3 atV CVS and its a giant tub of it too! I always mix olive oil with this before applying to my hair, I always talk about this to friends who asks me what I would recommend for their hair - especially great for dry or course hair. I do this before I shower and just leave it in my hair for about 20-30 mins prior to rinsing out. 

Organix Macadamia Oil: The pricier end compared to the other 2 products I mentioned and also the least amount when it comes to price-per-ounce.  I use this before or while in the shower. Leave it in for a few mins and wash out.

You can also never go wrong with the Ion Intense Moisture line or their Brazillian Keratin Line as well. You can get these locally at your Sally's. I use this also before and during my shower routine. Since this is white based conditioner, I can usually mix in some blue protein filler or purple dye to create a toner while it masks and deep conditions my hair, it'll also refreshen my granny grey locks.

Leave-in Conditioners and Serums:

 Your hair care routine should never be complete without a leave-in conditioner or serum. Especially if your hair has been through hell and back like mine has.

This is kinda where it gets a little bit on the pricier end but I swear by these products hence why I had featured them here  and are well worth every penny in my opinion!

Matrix Biolage Leave-in conditioner: you can get this from your local stylist or salon that carries the Matrix line or you can go to amazon and order one. Love it as a detanlger and just overall leave-in conditioning spray. But mostly as a detangler. 

12 Benefits: Definitely a harder to find product, I get this from my friend who gets it for me for a fairly cheap price since her Salon carries it. You can get it off Amazon for abuot $18. Pricey I know, but definitely well worth it. I honestly prefer this over the 'Its a 10!  Keratin leave-in spray' considering you get more per-ounce

Organix Coconut Milk Serum: Love love love love this! I have gone through a lot of different products for serums and whatnot (tried the Dove oil, Argan Oil, Tresamme serum...) but none of those products stood up to the test like this badboy. Its rich in proteins to really help replenish your hair. I want to credit this little serum from revitalizing my really dry ends before so I've always made sure to come back to this. I'm already on my 4th bottle and I really don;t think I'll be replacing it anytime soon. It doesn't leave my hair too heavy or greasy either which is always a win win for me! I apply this when my hair is damp and the following day just at the ends to make sure their still alive.

Now that I've talked about different ready-to-buy products that you can get off the shelf, I'm quickly going to shift gears on some DIY masks that I always go back to. Relatively cheap and super good for your hair too. 

DIY Hair Masks: 

Yogurt Mask: Grab a tub of plain yogurt, mix in 1-2 tsp of Honey & Olive Oil. Slather onto your hair. Leave it in your hair for about 20-30 mins. Then rinse with shampoo and condition. 

Fairly cheap and really great for replenishing your hair, naturally rich in fat and proteins. But I would not recommend this for color treated hair, ie: red hair.

The natural lactic acids in it will just fade your hair color too quickly. I made that mistake when I had red hair, but nonetheless. A very good product.

Coconut Milk: Can never go wrong with mother natures gifts. I remember when I was a kid my mom would put fresh coconut milk on my hair and it use to drive me insane coz I could not sit still long enough for it to just do its thing /: but now that I;m older and have tortured my hair to hell and back. This is definitely a cheaper alternative to buying $10-15 coconut oil from organic stores. 1 can of coconut milk is just under $1 and it'll last you up to 2 weeks if you leave it in the fridge.

I typically take 1 can of coconut milk + honey + olive oil. Heat it up in a bowl and transfer it into a spray bottle since I find its the easiest way to apply it. Or you can just...dump it on your head...leave it marinating in your hair for up to 30 mins. Rinse out and condition as always. I like to do this on my days off where I can devote more time to my hair.