I always took the “don’t brush wet hair” thing to mean, don’t try to detangle your hair with a brush when you get out of the shower. Ideally, when you style your hair, it would be damp but not totally wet (and already been combed). So that means either having taken a shower and let it air-dry a bit, or do a bit of “rough” blow-drying. Or, if you’re like me and you shower at night but style in the morning, I use a spray bottle filled with water to dampen it.
I would definitely recommend getting a round brush. A paddle brush is meant more for smoothing hair, so it doesn’t have as much grip as a round brush, which is meant for styling.
Shower as usual, with a cap or just avoiding the water with hair in a bun.
Dry hair on cool, focusing on roots. Shake hair out vigorously, dry it hanging your head upside down.
If needed, use dry shampoo on roots (your part and sections about half to three quarter inch apart, going back vertically on your scalp) – Batiste is best (shop around for it, Amazon’s not the cheapest, I think I used DermStore last time) but Suave Dry shampoo works in a pinch and Tresseme has a new one I haven’t tried.
Apply dry shampoo to roots in short bursts, wait 1 minute till it dries entirely, rub fingers vigorously on scalp, brush out, use cool blow dryer to fluff roots as needed.
I do Les Mills classes and I’m drenched by the end. I also use a thick headband right at my hairline from Goody to absorb a lot of sweat as well which certainly helps so it’s not all staying on my scalp.
My hair dresser uses a vented brush to dry my hair. I always used a round brush, but she said round brushes are best if you don’t plan to flat iron after-- otherwise, just use a regular brush (lifting at the roots!) and flat iron.
Big Sexy actually has a well priced dry shampoo-- I like it because it’s clear, whereas a lot of the others with often leave icky white or grey residue on my hair. I also don’t wait-- I just spray it in, foof my roots up with my fingers, then brush through for a minute (it makes the oil absorb into the shampoo).
Sattua, also things I forgot to mention (because they’re so ingrained I forgot)
-After conditioning, rinse your hair with cool (in the winter) and cold (in the summer) water as your final rinse to seal the cuticles of your hair. There is conflicting advice on this; some saying it doesn’t help and others saying it does. I find it does.
-And sleep with your hair in a ponytail high up on your head. This keeps the volume at the roots. If I pass out without it done like that, my hair is matted and won’t look as good.
Also (to everyone), I’m echoing Diosa above, don’t get a crappy hair straightener. Get a ceramic one from a big brand. In a cheap one, the plates won’t be evenly weighted, putting pressure and causing damage or even breakage to certain parts of the hair shaft. It won’t heat evenly, it won’t clamp as tightly, it could even be a fire hazard even (no auto-off features). For the chefs among us, think of it like the difference between All Clad and Cooks brand.
I use Wen and love it. Yes, it’s expensive but there’s no more frizz and I can grow my hair out long without worrying about split ends. I’ve gotten rid of my old shampoos and I brush my hair with a combo boar bristle/nylon brush when I wake up and before I go to sleep, and right before I clean my hair. It really does re-distribute my own natural oils and makes my hair shine.
Okay this thread has gotten me on a hair product kick and I just bought way too much stuff. Thanks, Diosa, you’ll be getting my Amex bill this month for introducing me to Lush.
Here’s a separate but related question. Why is curly hair never ‘rich girl’ hair?
I had a similar experience to WhyNot in that I always thought my hair was more wavy/frizzy until I went to a hair stylist who knows curly hair. Turns out, my hair air dries into perfect ringlets. I use products that keep it from getting frizzy and have it professionally colored, and people often tell me that they envy my curls.
But it would never be considered rich girl hair. Why is that? Or, not even just rich girl…A week or so ago, one of our Senior VPs at work mentioned being envious of my curly hair and all I could think was, “Yeah, but this isn’t Senior VP hair.”
Because, like it or not, we are still all aping a sort of WASP imagine of rich. Different skin colors are now fine, rich girls come in nice shades of cocoa and mocha as well as WASP Spring Break in Santa Lucia, but we haven’t quite made it to hair yet.
The last couple years of style haven’t helped either. There was a point 20 years ago where spiral perms were all the rage. For the last long time its been straight iron and now the big roller brush blow out.
Psh, like I don’t know that pain. I spent $200 there in December! I felt simultaneously stupid and incredibly proud of myself.
If you’re near a Lush store, I suggest going in. Not only is the staff crazy helpful, but they will also give you about 100 enormous samples of whatever you want to try.
This puzzles me. You never let your hair air dry before this stylist? That just seems so strange to me.
I have rich girl hair, but I don’t think I’m going to be much help to the OP. I wash mine every day with whatever shampoo costs less than 2 bucks and smells good, condition with cheap conditioner, towel it off with a regular bath towel, brush it and let it air dry. Every six months or so I cut it myself with my sewing scissors. I get complements on it from strangers regularly.
No, sorry—I didn’t explain well. Once I had a good cut that made the most of my curl pattern, letting it air dry resulted in nice curls. Prior to that, it just dried frizzy.
Eh, I disagree. Any style that is voluminous and doesn’t have an iota of frizz is, IMO, considered rich girl hair. But that could be the circles you run in too. Any kind of ethnic or Jewish circles would probably agree with me most. Like this woman has professional, curly hair. That to me says “I spend a lot of money and time on this”. A very wealthy Israeli girl who lived in my dorm freshman year of college had stunning hair, but I can’t find a picture like hers to do it justice.
Personally I can have pretty good waves but 1) it requires humidity, so it’s only possible in the summer or when I visit family in Florida is it possible and 2) it requires washing every day, so its more time consuming.
Well, yes, I know that *never *is an exaggeration. One of our senior VPs is a Black woman who has cornrows, so it’s not even true in my small world.
Still, I would bet that a majority of the women who saw the title of this thread pictured sleek, straight, smooth hair before opening it and reading the OP. I’m certainly happy to be wrong, though, since most days I don’t have the time or patience to do the straightening routine. Prior to trying it the other day when I used that John Freida stuff, it had been at least 2 years since I’ve even tried.
Ah, that makes more sense. I think curly hair must be a lot more complicated to cut than straight hair.
I did think of something that might be useful for the OP, though.
What color is your hair? My hair improved a lot when I started using henna. It got straighter, shinier, and stronger. Pic. (That’s just washed and air dried, no styling. Pre-henna, my hair would not have looked anywhere near that nice with no attention payed to it, I assure you.) If you have dark hair, it won’t even change the color. And it’s cheap, and DIY at home. Just a possibility.
I almost never shampoo. I had thick but fine hair as a teen and young woman, which, after I had my daughter when I was 21, lost a bit of thickness. As I’ve gotten older it’s been a bit dry, so a few years ago, I stopped shampooing it and I use conditioner only. I started by slowly weaning off of shampoo. I’d shampoo maybe once a week and every other day would either only rinse my hair in plain water, or would use conditioner only. I gradually got to the point where I only use conditioner. And I don’t use it every day either, probably three times a week at most, otherwise I just rinse it in plain hot water when I take my bath.
I don’t know how this would work for someone with oily hair, but those at WEN swear by it, even for oily haired people. (I don’t use WEN, too 'spensive!).
Missed the edit window. The conditioners I use are Aussie (the moisturizer one), Mane and Tail, and some expensive types my daughter, the former hair dresser buys on sale with her stylist card at beauty products stores.
I do change them up often, and I do occasionally shampoo (maybe a few times a year). When I do shampoo, it’s not because I need to though, it’s because the hotel I’m at doesn’t have those little conditioner bottles but only offers shampoo for instance.
I do, and I have. I ordered R&B and Retread online, and went in and got a sample of R&B to try before it arrives and Curly Wurly shampoo. Also got the powder for reviving without a shampoo on my straight days. Got a sample of some leave in treatment, and a sample of American Cream conditioner. I’m going back today to try some of their skin care stuff!
With the R&B, remember to use the tiniest, tiniest bit. Like, half a pea. . . or even a quarter, rubbed between your hands. When I first got it, I used a normal helping of it (the size I use of other stuff) and I looked like a greased up weasel.
And with the Retread: be sure to use it as a deep conditioning treatment out of the shower-- the longer you leave it in, the better. I shampoo, towel dry, throw the retread in, braid/bun my hair, and sleep with it in. Wash out in the morning and your hair will be stunning! I learned this the hard way: when I first got it, I used it like regular conditioner-- and thought it was total shit.
As far as face stuff, I’ve been sort of in love with the Mask of Magnaminty lately.
