Hair Diaries: Kayennat's Hair

Brief Hair History:

I've had all kind of hair cuts and colour: I've had long hair, super long hair, short hair (shortest I've gone is just above shoulder length), relaxed hair, layered hair, one length hair, feathered hair, side-swept fringed hair and fully fringed hair. I've dyed my hair black, darkest black, purple, red, (I've also been ginger lol) blonde (highlights), dark brown, medium brown, light brown, super light brown. I think the only colour I haven't tried was blue and that was because my hair stylist had told me she'd need to bleach my hair fully so I said no (I ended up getting red highlights instead). 

So in short I've had it all. Now I have pretty thick hair to begin with (I got the good hair and good skin genes, sorry Nigar) and it has always been in pretty good condition. There was one time when I had dyed my hair supposedly chocolate brown, but it ended up really Gothic black. I hated it as it looked fake and like I was wearing a wig so I colour stripped it 3 times that week and then dyed a lighter brown. Hair was pretty rough and coarse for a while. 

For hair care products I typically get along with most shampoos and conditioners and it has to be a a really bad product for me to hate it (Nigar likes Herbal Essences from time to time and for the life of me I cannot get along with that shampoo, nor its conditioner. It always leaves my hair really rough). 

I've been a sulphate free girl for about 3 years now and I wouldn't go back to sulphates. Sulphates didn't cause me any problem but when the no sulphate shampoos came out I jumped on the bandwagon to see what the fuss is all about. Now my hair was already "good",and after being sulphate free it got even better. I do style my hair after every wash as I left my hair natural then it gets greasy much quicker for some odd reason. I curl my hair as curls last me the whole week (It does end up looking more like waves after a few days but I don't mind).

Examples of my "good" hair:

Sulphate free hair

Sulphate free hair

My hair currently:

Sulphate free hair

Hopefully you can see that my hair looks healthy and is pretty voluminous, shiny and bouncy, even with all the colour changes it undergoes. Currently my hair is ombred (didn't show very well in the above photo, but its there I promise). This was my hair on a 4th day no wash. 

So here are some of my hair care tips:

1. OIL OIL OIL: I never wash my hair if I haven't oiled it (I don't believe in silicone heavy oils like Moroccanoil or L'huile Ultime by Kerastase; both are fine as a finishing product. I just wouldn't personally use them to really oil my hair for a deep conditioning treatment). I mix my own blend of oil and apply overnight. Some times if I'm not going out I'll leave the oil in my hair for a couple of days and in fact I have actually gone out with oil in my hair. 

2. Wash your hair as little as possible: I know people who wash their hair everyday! I actually wash my hair between every 4-7 days. I like letting as many days in between as possible. Some people think its dirty but that's just personal preference. I used to have oily hair and guess what, I used to be washing my hair every other day and the oiliness was always there. Now my hair probably starts getting oily on the 4th/5th day (depending on weather).  So while 4 days without washing your hair is probably your idea of torture, you can wash every other day if you currently wash it everyday now. Just increase your no wash day by one day and see how it makes a difference. 

3. Condition: Conditioner is very important and when applying, leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse out properly. I know the consensus is to apply conditioner to the hair from your ears and below but I always apply to my roots as well and I have no issues from this as I rinse my hair well after.

4. Try going sulphate free: It might feel weird at first (sulphate free shampoos are formulated differently and typically they don't lather as much as conventional shampoos) but stick with it. Once you get used to it, you'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner! 

5. Use a hair oil after: I don't use a heat protectant, purely because I have never noticed a difference from using them. I do however use a hair oil (Organix Macadamia Dry Styling Oil) on my damp hair before blow drying and after styling. I have used the Kerastase H'huile Ultime in the past, and while I liked it, I don't think it did enough for me to warrant its price tag. 

6. Scrunchies: I know these are hated and they're never going to be fashionable but I don't care. They protect my hair without causing damage and actually helps my hair to stay how I styled it. I pull my hair into a loose bun at night and tie with the scrunchy and I wake up with perfect hair in the morning: my volume is maintained and my curls are as they were the night before. 

7. Nutrition: Ultimately like with  your skin your hair is a direct reflection of your diet (some people with really bad diets have perfect skin and hair and it's probably down to having awesome genetics, but if you're not blessed then maybe give a better diet a go!). Eating a balanced diet is key along with getting in enough water. I do take a Biotin supplement along with omega 3 oil capsules (I couldn't say whether they honestly make a difference as I've always had pretty good hair but I take them nonetheless). 

My Current Hair Care Routine:

Oil, L'oreal Ever Riche Shampoo and Conditioner, Organix Macadamia Dry Styling Oil

1. OIL: I mix my own blend and apply to my hair the night before the wash

2. Wash with sulphate free shampoo and condition

(I switch between various sulphate free shampoo and conditioners)

I do use a detangling brush in the shower after applying conditioner to evenly spread the conditioner.

3. Towel dry hair and apply hair oil

4. Blow dry 

5. Curl hair using straighteners 

6. Apply a little bit of more hair oil to the ends

And that's it! My hair care is ridiculously simple (in my opinion) but super effective. 

Have a good hair day people :) 

P.S. I do use the GHD straighteners

and this is my current hair lush want:

Image obtained from Google Images 

I want to have lilac hair, and the only reason I haven't already done so is not because I'd have to bleach my hair but because of the high upkeep (so constantly bleaching the roots to maintain this colour). Maybe I'll get a lilac wig instead.........