Hair's The Thing: March Into The Madness of Shine & Hydration
Do you know if you or your guest need shine or hydration?
If you've been lightening your hair or over-coloring it, you probably need more strength from the inside out. Your hair can be sapped of moisture from over-styling with hot tools, and if you're living in the chilly Midwest right now, the dry heat from your home, workplace, or car heating systems can rob your hair blind.
Hair's the thing: Cocktailing for your hair. We would not put moisturizers that we put on our feet or hands on our face, so with that in mind we need to address what is needed for all of your hair. Let's start with the foundation, shampooing. You need a product with either moisture or strength, to address what is needed most from your shampoo.
Don't get caught in the categories. Your shampoo and conditioner don't have to match categories. This is why cocktailing is the answer. Depending on what you need most, choose your shampoo accordingly. Strength? Moisture? Skinny? Curly? Clarifying? You can address this foundational need with your shampoo. For example, if you use moisture shampoo and conditioner, you could get left with flat, lifeless hair.
Then you're going to go in and treat the hair separately. The first thing I like to put on my scalp and root area is a lighter conditioner since we have natural oils on our scalp already. As we go down the shaft, we need to consider--do we lack moisture, do we lack protein? If the hair is brittle or has weak spots, we need strength. If the hair won't take a curl, it's lacking moisture. Sometimes, you need both.
In that case you can cocktail together your conditioners to create a mask, suiting what your hair wants and needs. I put the mask on the mid-shaft to the ends. After, put your hair in a nice little braid or plastic wrap (shower caps work well too), take a hand towel, wet it, ring it out, and pop it in the microwave for a minute or so. It will be hot coming out so be careful, and then wrap it around your head. Leave the towel on for 10 minutes. After, rinse it out and you've created a wonderful treatment to meet the needs of your hair. Shine, Bounce, flexibility, and easy styling.
Here are some of my favorite cocktails:
For fine hair: I'm loving Paul Mitchell Marula Oil Light. If you need volume and hydration, the shampoo and conditioner are great together for daily use and will fulfill these distinct needs. If your ends are a little weak, you can also cocktail the Marula Oil Light Conditioner with Paul Mitchell Super Strong Conditioner. I'll cleanse the hair with the Marula Oil Light Volumizing Shampoo, and you can use the Marula Oil Light Conditioner daily, but for a mask, cocktail it with the Super Strong. Style with a root-lifting gel or foam.
For coarse hair: Coarse hair typically needs both strength and hydration. I would go with the Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Moisturizing Lather Shampoo which is packed with keratin and the Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Mirrorsmooth Conditioner, which is also good for daily use, will make your hair reflective and will seal in the moisture from the shampoo. To intensify, you can always use the Keratriplex Treatment with the Mirrorsmooth Conditioner on it in a mask. Proceed with the hot towel treatment.
For color-treated hair: Just a note, for color-treated hair remember to use shampoo that's sulfate-free. I recommend Paul Mitchell Color Protect shampoo and daily conditioner. It's going to keep your hair from fading, and has sunflower extracts. Think of sunflowers, they continually face the sun and grow brighter and brighter. That's what this product will do for your hair. Plus, it's lightweight. To cocktail, put the Color Protect daily conditioner on your whole head, then put the Paul Mitchell Ultimate Color Repair Mask on your mid-shaft to ends, or where you feel it's needed most. It's rich in quinoa and antioxidants, which will lock in your hair color. Proceed with the hot towel treatment.
If you need more inspiration or have questions about cocktailing, message me. Happy cocktailing!