Stuff I'm Loving: Hair Products!

I don't know about you guys, but when summer hits, my hair routine gets lazy. Maybe it's because it's so humid and hot in the bathroom that doing my hair results in a sweat sesh of epic workout proportions. Maybe it's because I can actually let my hair air dry without real risk of hypothermia. Whatever the reason, I avoid heat styling in the summer unless I really, really, like really have to.

Assisting me in my summer hair laziness are three stand out products that I thought you should know about.

Dry shampoo. Obviously you can use this all year long, but in summer this is really a go-to for me. I prefer to only wash my hair 2-3 times a week now that it's longer. I don't have crazy oily hair so I can usually go a couple of days before I even need this. There are lots of dry shampoos out there that offer a variety of benefits and features, but my fave is this one by Batiste. You can find this at Walgreens and Ulta for sure, and they have several versions but I like the one for dark hair as it doesn't cast as much of a white shadow in my hair. I typically spray this on the roots around my face and behind my ears let it set in and then rub my roots to make sure the product is fully absorbed and that I get some volume. Then I style it as I see fit (i.e., a bun or pony tail) and move on with my life. Fun fact: curls last better on dirty hair BUT you can spritz some dry shampoo at the roots of freshly washed hair and create some added texture that will hold a better curl. Also, I like the mild scent of this, some dry shampoos are crazy scented and it overpowers everything in my line of smell.

This is a new-ish product out there and I happened to pass by it at Target a month or two ago. This is a shine and anti-frizz spray. It says it lasts for 24 hours and I agree that it does (I am excluding the tropical like humidity we had at the beginning of this week as the only thing that will keep frizz away during days like that is a hat.) I spray this on my hair after I blow dry it OR once it's dry and it gives my hair a nice shine and reduces the frizz BUT what I really like about it is that it makes my hair soft. Like silky, shiny soft and fluffy.

Finally I have a new hair oil that I am loving. This is the new Garnier Frucits Marvelous Hair Oil. There are a couple versions of this and I chose the deep nourish version. I am still one hundred percent a Moroccan Oil lover BUT it's a tad on the spendy side and my bottle is (gasp!) almost empty. So I picked this up to see how it would work and I am pretty happy to report that it's kinda awesome. It's not an overpowering scent (it doesn't smell like heaven which is what the Moroccan Oil smells like) and the pump keeps trigger happy fingers like mine from over-dispensing product. I apply this to wet hair after I get out of the shower; I comb through my hair first and then apply this to the roots and then comb through it to distribute the product through my hair. This also adds shine and helps with the frizz and helps repair damage as well as acts as a heat protectant should you choose that route.

Favorite Hair Styling Products

I thought I would take a break from make-up for a couple of posts and talk about hair. I will apologize in advance for the less-than-stellar photos, I'm having camera issues this week. I don't know a lot about styling my hair, but I do know that some products are better than others at achieving the look I go for. Below are my faves (and by faves I mean these are the only products I use.) I've tried a lot and these are my best of the best.

Heat Protectant. If you blow-dry, flat-iron, hot-roll, curling iron or wand your hair you HAVE to use a protecting spray. Have to. You are burning the ever-loving daylights out of your hair each time you use one of those tools so you need to protect it as best as you can so it doesn't fall out or burn. This is like sunscreen for your hair. Except it doesn't have actual sunscreen in it (although there are products like that on the market). Anyway, there are many heat protectant sprays on the market and this one from Tresseme is my fave. I love this brand and they make a ton of amazing products for CHEAP. You can purchase this at Target, Walmart, Walgreens,etc. And the spray nozzle does lock for traveling or just when you aren't using it. It smells good, but not overpowering and I can really tell a difference when I use this. My hair is softer and shinier and feels healthier.

Moroccan Oil. Also known as liquid gold. I wrote a post on this a few years ago, and I am still in love with this. Let me say it this way, if you have hair, you need this. It smells divine, and makes your hair shiny, and beautiful. All you need is a small pump and you run it through your hair (I do it when it's wet) focusing on the tips and working your way to the roots and ta-da! Magic. I kid you not. This is about a $40 bottle, but for my mid length hair this will last at least a year if not longer. When I had short hair, this was all I used on it. Amazing. Buy it. Done.

Hair spray. Almost everyone and their mama uses hair spray and no joke, this stuff is the bomb dot com. It's from mark. and it's called Locks In Place. It's a buildable formula and it has a mild, clean smell. It's $14 for the bottle, which is a little spendy, but it's worth it. So worth it. I use this on my hair when I curl it and it lasts for two to three days. Yeah, days. I said it. Awesome in a bottle.

And speaking of awesome in a bottle. This is the Batiste dry shampoo for darker hair. If you don't have blonde hair then you get the ashy, dandruff-y look that most dry shampoos give your hair. My hair is greasy, I don't need it looking like I have severe dandruff too, right? This is a fantastic product and has the strongest smell of the ones in this post, but it's still not over-powering. I only use this on two or three day hair and usually only have to use it around my face. They do make one for blonde hair too along with a ton of other options. I got mine from Ulta.

What are your go-to hair styling products? Have one I should try? Tell me in the comments below.