My hair is course and has natural curl. I typically wash my hair 3-4 times each week followed by blow drying with a round brush and styling with some combination or a curling iron, curling wand or straightener. I’m a southern girl, so my teasing comb is never terribly far away from me. Add in environmental factors and the breakage that comes from the inevitable pony tail for humidity control and I have a head of broken, stressed and damaged hair if I’m not careful. So I HAVE to be careful. Through the years I’ve experimented with literally dozens of different shampoos, conditioners and treatments all promising to hydrate and repair my hair; most to no avail. If you’re a product junkie like me you know there’s no greater complement to give a brand or product than to buy it more than once or twice. If something truly works for me enough to keep me from buying the latest new savior product, then I know it’s really a good find. The 4 products I’m sharing here are tried, true and repurchased over and over again.
Considering what I put my hair through, I honestly feel this combination of goodies has my hair in the best condition it could be and I’m excited to share them with you in case you are also looking for something to try. I should let you know I’m not a beauty expert. I have no training for anything related to hair or beauty and I can’t answer questions about specific ingredient combinations or anything technical. The greatest testimony I have is that my current routine has my drastically reduce the amount of hair I lose in a typical washing/styling session, which has always been a huge concern for me.
SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER:
I LOVE this “Repair Me” duo from Kevin Murphy. I shared concerns about hair damage and the amount of hair I was losing with my hair stylist in DC, and he assured me this combination would do wonders. He was not wrong. I noticed an immediate improvement in the amount of hair it seemed I was losing in a day, and y’all, it smells AH-MAZING! The one draw back to this combination is that it’s pretty expensive. Honestly it was more than i’d ever considered spending on a shampoo/conditioner. In an effort to stretch my budget in this area as long as possible I began experimenting with the idea to rotate my drug store fave due from Dove. I have experimented with how frequently to rotate in the Dove Intensive Repair duo, and have found that I can continue to realize the benefits of the Kevin Murphy combo long term when I rotate every other wash. Note that I typically wash/dry my hair every other day or 2 days if I can stretch it. If the occasion presents itself where I need to wash/dry my hair day after day, I am sure to use the Kevin Murphy duo for extra protection against the additional risk of damage from blow drying and heat styling more frequently. I’ve also learned from my stylist that I traditionally have used WAY TOO MUCH product. When the bottle says a ‘pea sized” or “dime sized” amount, that truly all you need. I concentrate the shampoos on my scalp and the conditioners more along the mid-shaft to root. I’ve found this also helps my hair not be weighed down by heavier conditioners and find I’m able to get volume from natural styling rather than teasing.
MAINTENANCE TREATMENT:
Woman can’t live by shampoo/conditioner alone. (Pretty sure that’s how that goes, right?) I like to think of my shampoo/conditioner routine as the heavy lifting element of my hair care, and these two maintenance treatments get added in for additional help- especially during the summer when sun, sand and water damage can truly take a toll on the condition of my hair. (I’m lucky enough to live at the beach, so I do spend as much time as possible outside.) At least once a month I do a deep conditioning treatment with my Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector. I use a generous amount of this god-send product from root to tip on damp hair and let it sit at least 20 minutes but up to an hour or so if time allows. This can be used as often as a few times weekly, but I have found I see the most benefit from a treatment every couple weeks. This mends my ends and gives my hair an extra boost of hydration to help it stay as fresh as possible between color treatments/trims. I received my first bottle of Olaplex in a Fab Fit Fun box close to two years ago, and I’ve repurchased it several times since then. (I love to share this with friends when I have the chance so my bottles are replaced more frequently than they probably would be if I was using it on my own only.)
The final product I like to use on a regular basis is the “It’s a 10” treatment. I spray this on (mid-shaft to root) when I get out of the shower before I begin drying/styling my hair. It can be found a grocery and drug stores, which is a plus. There are other products that promise (and deliver) similar results for conditioning and protection from styling, but I keep coming back to this one because it’s easier to find and is less expensive than others I’ve tried.
Those are my faves. I’ll reiterate that I’m not a hair stylist or a hair expert in any way other than the fact that I’ve been lucky to come across these great products and have been experimenting with how to get the best results I can from them. If you have any questions about how I use them or other products I’ve tried, feel free to let me know. I’m always happy to answer any questions I can or admit freely when/if I have no idea what the answer may be.
Final note: I typically am not in favor of purchasing hair/beauty products on Amazon. I would always rather support local business owners/stylists who sell these products retail whenever I can. I have linked everything here on Amazon to show you what the products are give you access to reviews, official product information and pictures on the site. I have not yet found anyone locally who carries Kevin Murphy products, so I have ordered my latest bottle of the Repair Me Wash online and am waiting for it to arrive. If you know of a stylist who carries these products and can ship them to me, please let me know.
