If I'm being honest, one thing I was dreading with moving was finding a new hair person... Little did I know that I would quickly fall in love with the first hair person I went to (found her on Instagramthe first hair person I went to (found her on Instagram)! Combine that with the humidity (hellloooo volume!) and I feel like I have had to get new grasp on my hair routine. I get a lot of questions on how I do my hair, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to spilling all the details.
I've never been shy about sharing that I wear hair extensions. I have Hashimoto's and my hair has gotten really thin with the condition. These clip-in extensions have been my ride-or-die for years. I really liked the ease of use, how they made my hair appear instantly thicker and not needing to find someone every 6 weeks to re-do my extensions. However, they weren't the best for my hair--always pulling out strands when I took them out at night. So for the last 9 months I switched to Natural Beaded Row extensions. I've noticed my hair has gotten longer and thicker since using them. The trade off is hair appointments every 7-8 weeks to move the hair up. It's definitely an upgrade, but I’ve been so in love with them! I am currently wearing 22” natural beaded extensions my stylist ordered and color matched and sewed on my head! She said she ordered from Covet and Mane in two colors—6 and Dubai!
Besides that--here are the rest tried and true, hair products and tools.
All the Hair Products I Use
I honestly don't do a ton when it comes to my hair. I wash it once a week (usually on Saturdays) and besides that first day, I rarely use heat on it and really embrace the undone look. Maybe that's obvious...lol.
1. Slip Silk Scrunchies $39 I typically leave my hair down (less breakage!), but when I do put it up, I love using these silk scrunchies or velvet ones! Cotton can absorb your hair's natural oils and tug at your hair, so silk is the way to go! Also, I love the chunky size of these.
2. BeautyBio Dry Shampoo $39 Dry shampoo is the secret to extending washes, and extending washes has been the key for not losing a ton of length or volume in my hair! I've tried many dry shampoos and my favorites are Kristen Ess Brunette Dry Shampoo and this BeautyBio kind. I don't get it, but it leaves my hair looking shiny AFTER I USE IT! How?! I spray my roots, let it dry a bit, brush it in, and air it out using the Dyson Airwrap. *Another thing I started doing is quickly drying any sweat in my hair after I workout...into my hair. The natural oils are good for it!
3. BaBylissPRO 1.25 inch Curling Iron $58 This is the curling wand I use when I'm wanting a bit of a tighter curl or wave. Anytime I use this I always get a ton of comments about how nice my hair looks. :)
4. T3 1.5 inch Curling Iron $100 I use this one for a looser curl/big waves. It can cover so much ground and gives my hair just the right amount of wave to make it look more natural. I think smoother, more effortless hair is making coming back vs. the tighter curls.
5. Dyson Cordless Straightener $499 This is an investment. But when my CHI died after ten years, I didn't know where to turn. I bounced around from straighteners before Chris surprised me with this one. I honestly didn't know how big of a difference a cordless straightener would make in my life until I started using this! A cordless straightener! It's a game changer.
6. Dyson Airwrap $599 If you know, you know. (If you don't, you don't. lol) This Airwrap is basically going to give you the best blow-out *at home. It includes attachments for curling, brushing, round-brushing, air-drying, all using the magic of air. Life changing, and worth the investment. I use the brush attachment when I'm blow drying and it has turned the whole thing into a one arm task.
7. Hair Drying Turban $20 I don't know what to say--you need this! Towels are so bulky and heavy on your head. Not this one. It's very thin and lightweight and ultra-absorbent. It has a button closure on the back, so it stays put. After I wash my hair, I wrap it up in this AQUIS turban, and I swear it cuts my hair drying time in half--at least! While it's on, I usually do my make-up and then total blow drying time is under 5 minutes.
8. OUAI Leave-In Conditioner $26 I like to spray this in after I take my hair out of the turban, and before I comb it or dry it. and it makes my hair so silky smooth and really cuts back on tangles.
9. Prose Shampoo $25 I've been using my prose shampoo and conditioner officially for over a year now! I think this is the "root" of my hair success. I took a little hair quiz and my products are customized to my hair needs–exactly what my frizzy, brittle hair needed. When we moved to North Carolina, I updated my zip code and they automatically updated my formula to address the humidity head on. Pun intended.
10. Prose Conditioner $25 Ditto on the conditioner!
Shop My Go-To Hair Products
Leave a Reply
WE'RE CHRIS + JULIA
Portfolio
Projects
Hi Julia -
Thanks for sharing. I have followed your work through your last four homes, and my style has migrated parallel to yours. Have always been inspired by your decor and project ideas.
On a whim, I opened this post today (lots of downtime being snowed in), and read about your health issues. I
don’t normally read about hair styling,etc, but something drew me in. Anyway, I wanted to share that yo7 are not alone in this struggle, but I have had some successes during the two decades since Hashimoto's (and subsequently Celiac disease) was diagnosed,
I live in Durham/Hillsborough, and have a helpful medical team at this point … a collection of practitioners from Duke, UNC and private. This is a great area from that vantage point, for sure!
If you wanted to share stories offline, I would be happy to chat. This is a journey that continues along a winding road, but, as I said, I feel very lucky to live here in the Triangle.
Take good care - and wishing you much health & happiness in 2022!