I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for over a year now, but better late than never!  Occasionally I’m asked about what I use on my hair, so today I’m sharing the products I use as well as my routine.  I am by no means a hair expert, I’m simply sharing what works for me.  I’m super low maintenance when it comes to my hair and I prefer drugstore/Target products over anything fancy.  And yep, these products probably don’t fall under the clean beauty category, but I’ve tried so many clean and expensive shampoos and conditioners over the years that my hair and scalp hated, so for now I’m sticking with these items because they work well and I like the results.  The majority of my skincare and makeup products are clean, so I figure I’m doing the best that I can.

My Hair Routine and Favorite Hair Products

My hair is:

• Naturally stick straight
• Very fine but there is a lot of it
• Very long and currently past my boobs
• Has a tendency to get oily (washing less frequently has helped with this)

My hair habits:

• I don’t dye my hair
• I get it cut about once a year
• I only use heat on it on special occasions.  It air drys and isn’t styled 99% of the time.  (Thankfully Hawaii’s warm weather allows this year round, I’m sure I may have to change some things once we move back to the mainland and experience a change in seasons!)
• I wash it every 3-4 days, and use dry shampoo on the days I don’t wash it.  (I wear this palm print shower cap when I don’t wash it.  It works well and is really cute!  $23.99 and on Prime too.)  If I have a particularly sweaty workout I may wash it more frequently, but not always.  My hair took a little adjusting to the less frequent washings because I washed it daily for about 30 years, but now it feels a lot better and doesn’t get greasy as quickly as it used to.
• When I do wash my hair I double wash, meaning I wash it twice.  The first wash is to remove the products from my hair and the second wash always foams much better because everything is washed out and it really cleans my scalp and hair.

outfit details (photo taken March 2019):

scalloped camisole | rattan earrings | similar sunglasses | similar necklace

Here are the products I’ve been using for about 2 years that I really like:

 1.  Head and Shoulders Instant Oil Control:  I don’t have dandruff but love this shampoo because it’s great at getting rid of the oil on my scalp.  It has to be this specific oil control shampoo though, and you definitely can’t use dandruff shampoo every day or it ends up causing dandruff.  If you wash as infrequently as I do though then this should work for you!  (I alternate between this shampoo and the one below, as well.)

2.  Suave Professionals Rose Oil Infused Shampoo:  This shampoo is great at cutting the oil too.

3.  Pantene Smooth & Sleek Conditioner:  I really like the “slip” this conditioner has.  It makes my hair feel nice and smooth.  (I only apply conditioner to my hair from my ears downwards…meaning I avoid my roots.)  As a test I’ve recently switched over to Beautycounter’s Daily Conditioner and while I like it, it doesn’t have the thickness that the Pantene conditioner has.  Probably because it’s made to be a daily conditioner.  Since I only wash my hair twice a week I like my conditioner to be a little more moisturizing.  It’s a great conditioner though!

4.  Kristin Ess Hair Mask:  I use this hair mask weekly and love how it makes my hair feel.  Really makes it nice and shiny.  Again, I only apply from ears down and avoid my roots.  I normally will apply it and then wrap it up in a turban hair towel and get out of the shower and also apply my favorite Beautycounter Charcoal Mask at the same time.  Then I’ll rinse them both off in the shower after 10-15 minutes.

5.  Kristin Ess Leave-In Conditioner:  After I get out of the shower I spray my hair down with this leave-in conditioner and then brush it out.  This helps keep it from getting frizzy and leaves it nice and shiny.

6.  Kristin Ess Air-Dry Cream:  When I want my hair to be really nice and smooth I’ll apply this air-dry cream when my hair is about halfway dry.  If your hair turns out frizzy when you air dry it I highly recommend trying this cream!  It really does make it look more like it was blown dry, as far as smoothness goes.

7.  TreSemmé Hair Spray:  On the rare occasion that I use hair spray I like this stuff.  It provides nice hold, though it’s not super touchable, so best for up-dos, taming fly aways or things like that.  If you have a good recommendation for a nice touchable hairspray for when I curl my hair please let me know!

8.  Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Dry Shampoo:  I really like how this dry shampoo soaks up oil on my roots and it also adds volume to my hair.  I use this on days I don’t wash my hair.  I also like Kristin Ess dry shampoo, although it’s a little more expensive.