Heat and Your Hair.

I know we've already covered what hot water is supposed to do to your hair, but we haven't covered heat styling at all. By heat styling, I mean: Flat ironing, blow drying, curling, etc.

I just recently started worrying about the effects that heat styling has on the health of my hair. I know that this probably wasn't the best time to start worrying, I should have began worrying a long time ago just because of all the ill effects, like breakage and split ends, that heat can have on your hair. I've been witness to the breaking of hair, and let me tell you ladies and gentlemen... It ain't pretty.

Let's start with the most basic of heat styling... Blow drying. When blow drying your hair, it's important to use some type of product to protect your hair. Although, if you're not into using a ton of products on your hair, there are other options like letting your hair dry naturally. One product out there that I enjoy is Redken Ultimate Blow Dry Lotion. This is heartily expensive though. (I will admit that I did not buy this product myself so when I run out, I will be trying to find cheaper options.) After applying the blow dry lotion, I use my blow dryer on the lowest heat setting and use a brush to section my hair. This takes a long time, yes, but the lack of heat damage is worth it. I don't have a preference on hair dryers, as long as they get the job done.

When I blow dry my hair, I end up with almost straight hair with a good amount of volume. Because of this, I don't usually continue with any other heat styling. Why mess up a good thing, right? If I do plan on any other type of heat styling to come later, I let my hair dry without aid of blow drying.

Flat ironing and curling somewhat go hand in hand when it comes to heat care. I just found out that the Redken Extreme Iron Repair that I use on my hair is discontinued... When I run out I'll be looking for other cheaper options, so no worries! I'll keep you posted. After applying the iron repair though, I like to use the lowest setting possible that still gets the job done... My hair is thick and so I have to use a fairly high setting so I try not to flat iron or curl my hair very often. When I do, it's normally a night out on the town with the girls, or I have a date.

Oh yes! The type of flat iron I use is a Remington 2" Wet 2 Straight which you can get at Walmart for under $30. I never go from wet to straight though. My roommate ended up with broken hair from doing that too often, and I've been scared of doing it myself ever since. I've been through two Wet 2 Straights since 8th grade and have tried a couple different brands like Conair... But I love my Wet 2 Straight. I'll recommend it to anyone with all types of hair. I also use my flat iron to curl my hair, so I can't offer up a good curling iron for those of you out there.

For protecting my hair on days that I don't style it at all, I use Redken Anti-Snap leave in treatment. It's supposed to repair split ends and protect against breakage. I will admit that I don't use it as regularly as I should and I'm probably not seeing the results I should be but my hair does not break as much as it used to when I would brush it without using product. It doesn't leave my hair greasy or smelling bad so I would recommend it.

Comment and share what products you have used and have success with. Don't be shy!

Happy styling!

Andi.

Hot or cold?

In my last post we talked about shampooing and conditioning. One thing that goes hand in hand with shampoo and conditioner is water. One thing we didn't touch base on is that water is another thing that also strips the color from your hair. You wouldn't think that water would be something that would threaten your hair color, but alas... it is! In my personal opinion, there isn't a single thing you can do that will, without a doubt, protect your hair color. All you can do is try and prolong it, until it's time to color your hair once again.

The argument that comes with washing your hair is whether to use hot or cold water. I'll give you the science behind it, and then my own results. After that... You can make your own decisions.

Heat makes things expands. So it makes sense that hot water opens the pores of your hair, which allows for color to "escape." The evidence of your color escaping is the bleeding of your color into your shower water. On the opposite hand, cold makes things contract. The idea is that if you use cold water, the pores of your hair will contract and won't let your color escape.

My personal findings:
I use hot water. I use hot water because I feel like it gets my hair cleaner and then I don't feel the need to wash my hair as often. I have used cold water before though and the amount of bleeding turns out to be about the same. I'd rather use hot water and not have to wash as often than use cold water and have to wash more often and get the same results. I also don't like using cold water because I don't like to be cold. I do use "cool" water to rinse out my conditioner though. A hair dresser once told me that by rinsing with cool water it locks in moisture and with as dry as my hair is... I need all the moisture I can get.

In the end though, it's really up to you. No one can tell you that if you use cold water your hair color will last longer. If anyone tries to tell you that, they're lying, maybe they get different results, or maybe I'm just a pansy when it comes to being cold. Who knows? Only the hair gods, that's who. Maybe it's all psychological and none of this actually matters at all!

If you've been religiously using cold water, and it works for you... Tell us about it in the comments. How do you do it? How cold do you get the water? How much "bleeding" do you experience even with cold water?

Happy washing everyone!

Andi.

Shampoo.

Before we get to the nitty gritty of dying your hair, you have to start with the basics. Shampooing your hair is one of the most basic things you learn when dealing with personal hygiene. It's even more important when you're dying your hair. Shampoo choice can be the difference between a lasting or quickly fading hair color.

First though, we need to discuss frequency. I try to wash my hair every two to three days. I've read on other blogs and sources that they will wait as long as a week to wash their hair. The point is, don't wash your hair every day. Shampoo strips the color from your beautiful red hair, and nobody likes that. 

Because you aren't washing your hair, you should become acquainted with this awesome invention called dry shampoo. The main purpose of dry shampoo is to soak up the oils that build up whenever you don't wash your hair. You may think that dry shampoo is going to dry out your wallet, but it won't. I use Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo. I've used other dry shampoos before but this is the one that I have had the best results with. It's mainly a personal preference whenever you're dealing with hair products like this. I get it from Walmart for under five dollars, and I only have to get a new bottle about once a month. If you're not one for Walmart bargains, you can try Ulta for a few other brands like Batiste.

Suave also offers a Dry Conditioner if you're into that sort of stuff. I will admit that I have tried it and it wasn't my favorite. The directions on the bottle say that you should focus on the shaft and ends of your hair. It weighed my hair down a lot and made it feel greasy. I don't know what everyone else out there thinks, but greasy hair isn't sexy, at all.

Now that we've figured out how often you need to wash your hair, and how to fudge by without feeling gross everyday, we need to figure out with what you should be washing your hair with. Shampoo is the obvious answer, but, "What kind of shampoo?" is the next best question. 

Right now, I'm using Burt's Bees More Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner:

 

I really like Burt's Bees Shampoos and Conditioners. All Burt's Bees products are sulfate free which is a good thing for your red hair. Shampoos that contain sulfates are more likely to fade your color faster than those without. I always use moisturizing shampoos to help replace the moisture I lose when I dye my hair. That's a personal preference though.

One thing about sulfate free shampoos to mention though is they don't lather. If a nice rich lather is what assures you that your hair is clean, then you probably shouldn't go with a sulfate free shampoo. I've noticed since using a sulfate free shampoo that my hair doesn't feel as clean and I've been debating on going back to a color safe shampoo. 

One item of controversy out there though is whether color safe shampoos and conditioners are the way to go. I have used them before and I have no complaints. Personally, the main difference that I have seen between the two is how clean my hair feels otherwise I haven't really seen a difference between sulfate free and color safe. It's purely personal preference. 

It is so important to baby your hair after coloring though. Your hair just opened up, took on a new color, and is trying to hold in that color for you so the least you can do for your hair is provide proper care for it in the shower. If you don't enjoy moisturizing, color safe, or sulfate free shampoos, I would at the very least recommend a shampoo/conditioner combination that includes some type of repairing agents. After years of dying my hair, I've been doing hard battle with split ends. When I took breaks from dying my hair, it was important to me that I use a repairing shampoo and conditioner.

(One thing I like to spoil myself with is a deep conditioning treatment at a salon every once in awhile.)

Happy shampooing!

Andi. 

Hello friends!

This blog is to offer some red hair dying, maintenance, and other sorts of tips.

I would like to offer up the disclaimer that I am not a hair stylist at all. All information that I offer up is stuff that I have learned for myself through trial and error and is not to be taken as though it is law.

For a little about myself, my name is Andi. I've been dying my hair red since I was 14 years old. I've been doing this awhile but I'm still trying to perfect my technique. Follow this blog to join me in my struggle and to hopefully learn a few things for yourself along the way!