A new routine I’ve been doing every week is focusing on hair growth and thickness. I’ve always had fine hair however never dyed it or changed it over the years too much! This is except from having extensions and hair weaves which can pull at the finer hairs at the front of the head but apart from that the only other damage would be from heat. When you think about the amount of heat and damage your hair may go through daily with heat utensils it’s really important that you look after your hair.
I tend now, to only wash my hair once a week after the hair mask I use overnight, so I’ll apply the hair mask at night and wash in the morning. When I first learned it’s healthier to wash your hair once a week, I initially thought that’s not enough, however once you get into a routine like this, you’ll find once a week is all your hair needs. I always wear my hair in a ponytail at work so it suits me to wash it once, if it goes greasy a few days before wash day I’ll style my hair up instead of down when I’m not at work.
Hair mask – before bed I drench my full head of hair in castor oil, massaging into the front hairs and roots, this stuff is really cheap, it’s also good for eyelash and eyebrow growth. It naturally moisturises and is good to use as a hair mask for a nourishment treatment as it’s rich in vitamin E which encourages shiny, fuller and strong hair. I then mix castor oil and coconut oil (both products from Amazon), coconut oil ensures less breakages and less damage as it contains fatty acids which protects hair. Both products are put into a spray bottle, this is good for focusing on parts of your hair that need more attention, which will continue to moisturise the roots and scalp when the product is rubbed in. I put a leave in conditioner on the middle to ends of my hair for extra treatment and twist my hair in a low bun and tie with a silk scrunchie. A normal hair bobble may pull at the hair causing breakages whilst sleeping, silk pillowcases are also an option to promote healthy skin and hair care. Finally, I use a separate tangle teaser (only use this for hair treatments) to brush and coat every strand of hair from top to ends. Make sure the tangle teaser is used for hair treatments only, so that you’re not dragging all the hair oil products through your freshly dried hair.
Tip: put towels down on your pillowcase to avoid oil transfer on your bed sheets!
Next morning:
I strongly recommend paraben free shampoo and conditioner, I learnt this when I had hair weaves as normal shampoo and conditioner from supermarkets that aren’t paraben free were damaging my weave. I realised it was a actually losing its softness and colour very quickly. So I thought it must be damaging my own hair, just more visible with the hair weave. I get my shampoo and conditioner from my local hairdressing salon, you’re guaranteed to receive high quality hair products from your hairdresser, and I was recommended a volumising and thickening one.
Whilst shampooing focus on scrubbing your hair at the front, sides and into the scalp and under your hair at the roots to make sure it’s getting a good treatment. I tend to shampoo twice and condition once at the ends. Make sure you’ve washed out all the oil at the top of your head. You will realise you’ve not after drying if it looks and feels greasy, which can be annoying if you need to rewet your hair after already drying!
For heat protection I use a Tresemme heat protection spray on wet hair with mousse on the roots of my hair for volume (this was also from my local hairdresser). I also spray the Hairburst volume and hair growth elixir which is another heat damage product but also enhances gloss and hair volume. Hairburst has a whole range of different products from vitamins to other hair treatments on their website! I’ll dry my hair using a barrel brush and ghd hairdryer focusing on the roots for extra volume. I also like to use this brush to easily flick the ends of my hair whilst drying, I find that this brush helps dries my hair thoroughly and quickly.
Once dry I’ll add styling oil from the middle to ends of my hair to add shine and set hair in place, Moroccan oil is highly recommended.
I’ve stopped using hair straighteners and rather use a hair curling wand and hair roller, alternatively for no hair damage a heatless curling set which you leave in overnight is great. It’s basically a silk long tube that you wrap your hair round, clip and sleep with it in. The next morning you unwrap your hair and you’ll have heat-free curls.
Tip: regularly clean brushes so that product, skin and hair build up is cleaned out and a clean brush is used in fresh hair.
