30 November 2012

The Hair and Face Routine

My Brother and I
I have been worried lately; about my personal hygiene and beauty regimen. Meaning; I want to look my best for my wedding, but I am not sure if I can currently attain something of that caliber  So: I have been on my new favorite site, OffBeatBride.com tooling around in the forums for some helpful information, provided by off beat persons, such as myself. I have found some helpful information and some relief. Turns out, according to some and many, I am not a total lost cause when it comes to these things.
In the past (growing up) I was chastised many times for not owning a hair dryer and not actually knowing how to use one... But I thought heat wasn't good for your hair. I'm right, they're wrong, air drying is better for your hair than blow drying. On that note; I also don't use a curling iron, nor am I well versed in it's uses. I do own a hair straightener, but it is a good one, and it is ceramic, and I don't normally use it either.
I was told when I was probably 11 or younger that I should never brush my hair when it's wet, by an older daughter of one of my parents friends who had curly hair. However, she did say that I could brush it while it was dry. For the longest time I did actually do just that; I only combed it when it was wet and only brushed it when it was dry. The results was big, poofy, frizzy, terribly bad hair. In more recent years I have foregone brushing all together, except to get the knots out right before I shower. And because of a bottle of some fancy hair care product I was "prescribed" by an overly expensive hair dresser when I was probably 13, I now take a comb to my hair, in the shower, with conditioner in it, to even out distribution of the product.
About four years ago when I was without a home, I could only wash my hair/shower at all about every third day. I had it dyed dark at the time, and my hair took to this nicely. When my living situation got a little more regular, I stuck to not washing it every day, and washed it at best every other day. I did this because I wanted to save money and water. But it worked well for my hair. (I had bangs and a long Joan Jett style, with naturally curly hair; it HAD to be straightened, so I was also saving time.)
While I was living at this location, however, I was informed by a not-so-reliable source that washing your hair all the time is ok, but conditioning is bad. You don't have to wash every day, but conditioner is bad for your hair to use it all the time. I was also told this in a way that made it seem like she thought I was a total A**Hole for not knowing this OBVIOUS piece of trivia (I'm sorry, I'm not the beauty school dropout, you are! And you smell funny too.) I think my hair washing dosage increased about this time. Shortly after that encounter, I was told by a quasi-hippy/hipster friend that washing all the time was NOT good, but you should condition every day... Imagine my confusion. At this point I took all of what everyone told me and threw it away because everyone's full of Sh*t! (*Deep Breaths*)
More recently, in the last 6 months or so, I was reading up on random articles online about having "Younger Looking Hair." I think they were articles for women with gray hair, but I figured the logic was still sound. (I had gone back to not washing every day, but I was not religious about it, nor was I doing for any other reason but because I was most likely too lazy to.) From there I realized that I can save shampoo and help my hair by only shampooing my scalp. And every time I do shampoo, I must condition. I could also save conditioner by only conditioning the roots. (granted I would now use more conditioner than shampoo because I have long, tapered and layered hair and I would no longer be able to make my bottles last an even amount of time.) I also don't always use the comb in the shower anymore. I just comb my conditioner through my hair with my fingers.
I have over the years attempted to use "product" on my hair to assist in the frizz/poof reduction, but not much has made me happy. I was using some curl hydrating stuff, but I couldn't see a notable difference in my hair, having used it so I purchased a different brand of similar product and hate it, so I'm not using anything now.
Since my discoveries in my most recent hair hygiene research, I have found a few more things that can assist in long, happy, healthy, affordable hair. Besides the actually OBB forum (which you can't view unless you're a member) I was also directed to a few helpful links (and then I spent several hours on You-Tube watching related videos.. or at least it felt like hours.) One of these links was super useful, because I do have curly hair, and I have seen it at its best. The CurlyGirlMethod sounds good to me. And I could probably incorporate most of those things into my daily/bi-daily/every 3rd day routine. I actually ran out of my old shampoo this morning so was able to go and purchase a not too expensive sulfate free shampoo and conditioner justifiably. It wasn't too much more than what I was already spending on "good" shampoo and conditioner.
I was also directed to a few product sites, one of which caught my eye by their claims of being curly hair experts. Oiudad looks pretty legit, and a lot of the videos I watched today were reviews of said product. It looks like it is a worthwhile product, however I desperately hate it when I look like a poodle. Yes, my hair can get that curly. I don't plan on ever buying a fancy hair dryer. And I can't imagine I'd ever be one to spend lots of time putting product in my hair. I can't actually see myself using a product line like this, simply because of the cost of it.
I wonder about organic products, if they're worth a shot. Or if there's an at home remedy that can be made like this skin care method I'm keen to try out. Which is another thing I've been researching. (but not as much yet.) Skin care. I've started researching skin care because I'm 26 and I still don't understand what I'm doing. "Wash your face before bed and in the morning" "Rinse with Hot water." "Splash with cold water." "Use a warm wash cloth." "Massage with an exfoliating brush." "NEVER use your fingers." "Wash every day." "Buy proactive." "IF it doesn't work, you're doing it wrong." "Use Noxema." Use this, use that, don't ever, this always, Hot, Cold, Ice, Mask, Brush, Cloth, Oil. Oil is bad, oil is bad, oil is bad. "Use your faces natural oils to your benefit."... I'm sure there is some wisdom in there somewhere, but how does one make sense of it when it's all a bunch of hullabaloo? This Oil Cleansing Method sounds like it has some substantial backbone on it, and based on what I've read of "consumer" reviews, it's worth trying.
After I figure out what I'm going to do about my hair and face, I'll start looking into the rest of my body; skin care.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Curly Girl was a great help to me...also, I stopped shampooing all together and only condition. I also do this thing if I really want to get my hair looking better/less frizzy/less dry. I load it up with cheap conditioner...like Sauve...but the thick stuff, then I comb it and then start at the root and rub a section of hair between my palms in a downward motion to the ends. I think this may be in the curly girl book, but it really helps hydrate my hair and gets rid of the frizz! It only takes a few days of doing this. I think you and TC and I all got about the same hair, Robins is curly, but not near as kinky. I don't know if any of that helps. Anywho...you're a really good writer and congrats on the upcoming nuptuals!! -Shelly

Anonymous said...

I used to put a small amount of mayo in my hair while its still dry and let it set for 5 min then wash it. I don't have curly hair but my hair was really damaged at the time.... it worked wonders for a healthier look and feel. I did it about every 2 weeks. :-)