My Favorite Hair Products

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been particular about my hair and I can tell you the exact reason why…

I think I went 10 years without a cut after this unfortunate school photo from 4th grade. In any case, I’ve never deemed myself a hair pro – I’m 100% self taught when it comes to styling and REAL TALK: I never really thought I had that great of hair. For starters, it’s very, very thin. That might surprise some of you – but it’s true! I have super thin hair, just a ton of it! And I’ll be honest – I don’t love my hair because of this. I just kind of work with what I have. I’m constantly in awe of people who can pull off these adorable hairstyles and braids and are just naturally good at doing their hair – I am not one of those people. I have to work really, really hard to get my hair to look halfway decent. After getting a ton of questions about my locks over on Instagram, I did a whole post about my hair (which you can read here) but today I wanted to chit chat about products since a few things have changed!

Favorite Hair Products

HOT TOOLS

I used to be a slave to my straightener, because I hated my natural waves. These days, I only really use the straightener sparingly, but when I do, this is the one I use. I love that it gets hot enough to get the job done with a single passover and I’m not constantly putting a mega hot tool onto my hair. That iron is a magic maker! When I want to curl my hair, there only one thing I trust and that’s my curling rod. I was always under the impression that my hair fell flat, there was nothing I could do, blah blah blah. Not with this magic maker! I can curl my hair one day and easily keep that same curl for several days. I attribute this to the mega hot temperatures and the quality of the rod. I understand it’s a bit of an investment, but for me it’s worth it since I don’t use other hot tools. I have both the cone and the 1-inch wand.

SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER

First a foremost, everyone reading should know that I don’t wash it very often and this is something that either really grosses people out or intrigues them beyond belief. Whichever side you fall on – that’s the truth. I average 8-10 days between each wash and once in February I went 12 days between washes, just because things were still looking and feeling pretty good and honestly – this mane is a bitch to wrangle with the washing, detangling, brushing, styling, yadda yadda yadda. It’s kind of like a competition with myself with how long I can go. Obviously there are exceptions to this, like if my head starts to itch, I’ve been in the ocean, I’m traveling and things aren’t looking good, etc., but I do try to let my hair go as long as possible. When I do give it a good scrub, I use whatever is on sale. Probably THE WORST ANSWER I could ever give you, but I’m not loyal (at this point) to a certain brand. Some I have really liked include this duo for moisture, this duo for smell and if I was made of money I would 100% never buy anything other than this for both smell, volume + EVERYTHING ELSE. Sadly, I am not rich, but it’s worth the treat every now and then. Full disclosure: I used it at a friend’s house ONCE and then picked it as a sample ONCE, so it’s truly only every now and then around these parts LOL

DRY SHAMPOO

Any that I can get my hands on! No, but really…LOL! I have two stand-alone favorites right now. The first is Hair Food, because the smell is intoxicating and it doesn’t leave my hair looking ashy. The second is Rockaholic (stock up now since it’s on sale!), but we don’t have Ulta here in Hawaii, so if I run out and don’t have an order to place then I just use what I’ve got, which is usually Batiste (love the multipack and great for brown hair), Keratin Suave (it’s mega affordable) or Garnier (gives some volume if you want to get rid of the teasing comb). Before bed, I use good ‘ol baby powder on my part!

HAIR BRUSH

When I did my Hair FAQ post I was using a paddle brush from Target that I didn’t love, but it did the job. When I was talking to my hairdresser (literally the only person I trust with my locks these days), she recommended this brush to me and I’ve been using it ever since. In fact, I ordered it from my phone before I ever left her salon. I think a lot of people use it on their kids, but whatever – it works and I love it.

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS

I have a ton I really like and what I use is completely dependent upon the day. I also try not to use a ton of product right after I wash my hair, because it gets weighed down and gross. In no particular order, some of my favorites include: Sea Salt Spray, Dove Non-Aerosol Extra Hold Hairspray (incredible for taming fly-aways if you spray on your hands first then smooth over hair), Big Spornette (best teasing brush ever), Powder Play , Girl Powder or Rock On for volume (they all rock, I buy what is cheapest!) and detangler (yep, it’s made for kids and it’s the best ever). Also, my mother-in-law makes me hair ties that are non-pull that I use every single day and when my hair is looking extra greasy, I line my roots with baby powder before bed. Works like a charm!