When Megs is Away | Hair Care Guest Post | Made Up of Little Things

Rachael is literally one of the kindest ladies I've had the pleasure to 'meet' over the internet. So I was super happy when she offered to post for me whilst I was away....

MAJOR hair envy going on here.

Hi! I’m Rachael and I blog over at www.madeupoflittlethings.com. Megs has kindly allowed me to take over her blog for today whilst she is away sunning herself in Italy (jealous much??) I thought I’d take the opportunity to share my haircare routine as I thought it might appeal to Meg’s blog friends – I for one LOVE reading about other people’s haircare! My hair is fairly long and has dry ends as I'm in the process of lightening it, so I like to try to give it as much TLC as I can. Here's how I look after it;

Wash

I shampoo twice as I have oily roots and I always use the same shampoo as I have a sensitive scalp.  I have found the perfect shampoo to combat this – L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Pure Resource

I give my scalp a good massage whilst washing, this cleans it and encourages growth (who doesn’t want that??) There’s no need to rub shampoo into the lengths of your hair, they get cleaned as you rinse away the shampoo. They are fragile when wet, let’s not upset them J

After washing I wrap my hair in a towel – again, I don’t rub it, just let the towel blot away the water, squeezing the ends in the towel. This ensures your conditioner doesn’t get diluted with excess water

Condition

I apply conditioner from the bottoms of my ears down – never close to my roots – there’s simply no need, it only makes them look greasy. I comb the conditioner through with a wide tooth comb and wrap in a towel again.

I leave conditioner on for at least ten minutes, usually closer to 30 mins. Allowing your hair to wallow in conditioner for this long maximises it's effects and leaves hair feeling softer and smoother than if you were to rinse it straight out. Plus it gives you time to catch up with your favourite blogs!

I have three favourite conditioners, I swing between Joico Intense Hydrator, Moroccan Oil Moisture Repair and Kerastase Lait Cristal. I guess I’m a bit of a conditioner junkie! Believe me I’ve tried a lot of conditioners and these three are the best I’ve found. I’d recommend any of them, you definitely don’t need them all! You can read full reviews over on my blog, should you wish to. If you are on a budget, consider splurging on either conditioner or oil. Alternatively, L’Oreal Elvive shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair are fantastic as a lower cost option.

Dry

If I'm going somewhere special I will curl my hair or do a ‘proper’ blow dry with a round brush. But this isn't often! So mostly I just dry it straight and smooth.

I spray Paul Mitchell Daily Boost over my roots and run a pump of Shu Uemura Essence Absolue through the lengths, from the bottom of my ears down. This miracle oil detangles and leaves my hair so soft and smooth, it’s not cheap but MAN it’s worth it! It smooths hair like nothing on earth. A less pricey alternative is Orofluido – this is fabulous too and was my staple before I discovered Shu Uemura.

I use my Tangle Teezer to comb through my wet hair before drying my fringe first with my Denman Head Hugger brush, to stop it from going curly! Then I dry the rest of my hair with a Shu Uemura paddle brush,  pointing the dryer nozzle downwards to smooth the hair cuticles. This brush has a mixture of synthetic and natural bristles, it really leaves hair smooth and shiny.

I finish by running another pump of oil through the lengths et voila !   

Having committed this routine to print, I can see that I spend an awful lot of time and money on my hair! BUT my philosophy is this – your hair is your best and most worn accessory. If you could only wear one suit every day of your life, wouldn’t you make sure it was beautifully cut, made of the best materials, and of the very best quality? Wouldn't you care for it like it was gold? Treat your hair the same way and you won’t go far wrong :)