Long Hair Care Program
__ or __
The Best Routine
Washing
* Avoid shampoos with benzyl alcohol, benzophenone-3 & DMDM hydantoin.
* Sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate are the most common primary shampoo ingredients. They are derived naturally from coconut and in their pure form can irritate the skin, however when diluted in a shampoo & properly rinsed cause no ill effects.
· Shampoos & conditioners leave a residue after so many uses. On the first of every month you should change your brand of shampoo & conditioner ideally for two washings. Then change back.
· Human hair is almost as strong as steel wire. However, hair is most fragile when wet. Clients that are very careful with their hair often are puzzled where the damage comes from. Wet hair damage - It is difficult to sense the damage as it occurs to wet hair, especially when brushing or combing.
- On wet hair use a brush that has bristles rubber mounted to the handle and round balls covering the tips of the bristles. For thick or wavy hair, search for a brush in which the rows of bristles are wide apart ... the fewer the bristles the better.
- Make sure you have no tangles in your hair before you shampoo.
- When shampooing, wet your hair by putting your head under the stream of water and work the water into the hair with straight downward strokes. Pour the shampoo into the palm of your hand, not onto your head, and begin working it into the ends of your hair, moving up toward the crown of your head.
* Do not scrub at your hair or bunch it up on the top of your head.
- When you are ready to rinse, put your head under the stream of water and work the shampoo out of your hair with straight, downward motions of your hands. Keep the hair straight and untangled at all times.
- Follow the same downward techniques when gently drying your hair with a towel. Pat or squeeze your hair dry with an absorbent towel and then allow the hair to air dry.
· Avoid wrapping your wet hair in the towel or pushing it up in a turban. Let
it hang drown as it dries.
Choosing Products:
* Extreme cases of dryness or damage use shampoos & conditioners with -cone ; ingredients derivatives of silicone that end in “-cone”: such as dimethicone,
I personally prefer the feel of healthy hair or natural hair oil than then the feeling of silicone. However it is relief for women who torture their hair and they can still sit and play with the ends for relaxation.
To achieve thicker looking hair use shampoos & conditioners with 'proteins' .
* Most proteins are 'vegetable' proteins but some animal proteins are back on the market.
(Of course animals are not killed for shampoo proteins, silly … in the late 60s, William Beeil was experimenting with possible uses for readily available placenta and discovered that it made hair super shiny, flattened split ends and best of all IT GAVE HAIR A 'MEMORY' ! Girls would leave a salon and walk into a gale wind and their hair would return to the way it was styled. In the 60s using animal byproducts was strictly taboo, so the “memory” was marketed instread as the “quality” of “the cut” or that particular stylist the particular type of haircut. Since the haircutters received the credit, lines of hippies flooded the salons to get “Precision” chops. Thick healthy sun painted 30” pony tails found a new home in dresser drawers. New salons sprang up in every strip mall and some only did 15-minute haircuts, such as Supercuts. Sassoon was thought to be a genius because you never had to fight that tricky wavy spot or check the mirror to see if the back looked the same. It did ! It was only a matter of time before animal activists had placenta dropped from U.S. Products. Available in Mexico it its pure form and by searching can be found again in the U.S. )
By the same means “animal proteins” in hair products is less available.
* Extreme cases of dryness or damage use shampoos & conditioners with -cone ; ingredients derivatives of silicone that end in “-cone”: such as dimethicone,
I personally prefer the feel of healthy hair or natural hair oil than then the feeling of silicone. However it is relief for women who torture their hair and they can still sit and play with the ends for relaxation.
To achieve thicker looking hair use shampoos & conditioners with 'proteins' .
* Most proteins are 'vegetable' proteins but some animal proteins are back on the market.
(Of course animals are not killed for shampoo proteins, silly … in the late 60s, William Beeil was experimenting with possible uses for readily available placenta and discovered that it made hair super shiny, flattened split ends and best of all IT GAVE HAIR A 'MEMORY' ! Girls would leave a salon and walk into a gale wind and their hair would return to the way it was styled. In the 60s using animal byproducts was strictly taboo, so the “memory” was marketed instread as the “quality” of “the cut” or that particular stylist the particular type of haircut. Since the haircutters received the credit, lines of hippies flooded the salons to get “Precision” chops. Thick healthy sun painted 30” pony tails found a new home in dresser drawers. New salons sprang up in every strip mall and some only did 15-minute haircuts, such as Supercuts. Sassoon was thought to be a genius because you never had to fight that tricky wavy spot or check the mirror to see if the back looked the same. It did ! It was only a matter of time before animal activists had placenta dropped from U.S. Products. Available in Mexico it its pure form and by searching can be found again in the U.S. )
By the same means “animal proteins” in hair products is less available.
Conditioning
* Avoid placing conditioner on the scalp unless your hair is very dry. Applying conditioner directly on the scalp can clog pores and flatten you hair. Most people only need to
- condition only the hair that extends past the hairline.
You might discover that your hair is fuller, not flatter.
* Mix the conditioner with very hot water and rub between your palms to increase the absorbency into the dry and damaged areas of the follicles. Work additional portion into just the ends.
* In addition, spread it on the surface of the top layer of your hair. This does not have to be an exact science.
* Make your final rinse a cooler one, but not too uncomfortable. Cold water has the effect of sealing the cuticle or outer layer of the hair and will improve the sheen of your hair. In the same manner that is difficult to wash the oil or lotion off of dishes with cold water, hot water rinses delete most of the conditioner right back out of your hair.
For frizzy taper cuts or blowfried / iron fried hair, Joico Kpak Reconstruction conditioner can mask your hair for a healthy look.
· Instead of a wet-hair conditioner, test-compare using a leave-in conditioner such as Redken Anti Snap ( best ).
· Plan to deep condition your hair preferably once a month. (Best after the washing when you switch back to your primary Shampoo)
Drying
DON'T fry
Blow drying should be avoided.
After all these years of promoting hair torture Modern Salon magazine finally had an article that reported that blow fryers produce a temperature of 400 degrees (capable of killing a lot of living things) (Same issue admitted finally that “razor cutting leads to severe damage”, duh )
* To avoid frizzies in wavy hair, a product isn’t necessary … just let the slightly damp top layers and ends dry making sure to resist combing through until completely dry.
* For damaged or frizzy hair use a spray-on laminator which contains polymers and '... cones'.
* If you do blow dry your hair, invest in a dryer with a “cool’ air setting and preferably multiple speeds. Three speeds, three temps is common & ideal. In the same way that when your carpet floods, fans blowing cool air is effective to dry them.
* The ends and top layer dries faster and can dry on their own.
* Do not hold the air on one spot very long.
On very wet hair, you can begin with a high heat setting and high speed if you avoid the ends, the top layer, and avoid aiming at the scalp. This is accomplished by lifting the top layer to one side and holding the handle of the dryer close to your head or neck aiming toward the middle of the strand and directing it toward the end … but stopping 4” away from the ends. Best results for avoiding damage over a long period of time is to leave the top layers and ends slightly damp to dry naturally.
Styling
DONT fry
I can not emphasize enough to use hot rollers rather than a curling iron. Rollers with “ionic” technology leave hair smoother and add shine. Rollers with wax or ceramic cores operate at lower temperatures & hold a set longer. Molecular rollers offer the best hold for difficult to hold hair but often are not as easy to use. Steam rollers are also ideal for long hair. Use a “setting lotion” such as Isoplus & Redken Hotsets rather that gels or sticky plastic sprays to extend the length or strength of the hold. 'Lottabody' is not only the popular vote for hold but also adds volume.
A great trick is to just put one very large roller, hot or wet type, on your fore lock. (the bang area if you don't have bangs). This can be worn aroun the house or even slept in ... and the results can be sooo flattering.
Another effective trick is to part your hair off center when kicking it at home ... random parts ... this counters the flat look and you will discover that your hair is looser and very flattering around the face.
When I see those girls that live in fear of not 'being into the current fad' and have these unflattering flat side bangs glued flat to their forehead, I am reminded that they will prematurely lose their hair where they are clogging the pores with gel every day to get these unnatural bangs to be stay.
Trimming
When people look at the back of someone’s hair, it is natural to drop your eyes to the ends of the hair. How the ends look is how the hair will be judged. A thick head of hair with lots of body will not be appreciated if the hair finishes weakly with a thin damaged fringe. Super long hair that is very damaged is difficult to appreciate as ‘long hair’ … it is long straw. I have actually felt the abrasiveness of damaged hair against my skin … really, that is not attractive.
Split ends that are 1⁄4 inch long will just keep ripping to 1⁄2 inch, then 1 inch , etc. as time goes on, if ignored. Proper conditioning will slow the increase in the amount of the ripping. These are normal and common on the very thin top layer of your hair and ate the ends, especially the front. By pinning up this top layer you can determine the actual honest condition of your hair. All bozo haircutters will point to some splits higher up on the top layer and attempt to convince you that all that good hair underneath needs to be chopped also. When actually, those 30 or so split ends just need to be individually snipped if you are lucky enough to find someone who will help you do it. This is easily achieved by bending locks of hair around ones finger making the split ends pop out. Unfortunately, Most cutters want to knock out a 15 minute cut and won't take the time to chase just splits. From experience, women who ignored trimming the usual 30 or so split ends because they wanted long hair faster always ended up frustrated with the constantly increasing damage and keep having it trimmed more often and finally chopping it much shorter. Short hair should be trimmed every 6 weeks. Hair grows an average of ½ inch a month.
* For faster growth, trim a tiny bit (1/4 inch ) every two months.
The hair in front has to grow 8 inches longer to reach the length that the hair on your nape reaches. The front hair is not only older but more susceptible to activity resulting in more damage. Layering the front is allows the hair to fall naturally and keeps it healthy around the face which is your most popular view.