Great
Hair – Step By Step At Home Day 1 (of 7)
We’ve all had this
experience…
We look great after visiting the Hair Salon and even for a couple days
after. Then we wash and dry our new style at home and it never looks even half as good as the professional
version!
Sometimes it’s because the stylist gave you a cut that is too high maintenance and
it will never look good unless it’s worked by a pro.
But, most times it’s because we didn’t follow the same procedures at home that our
stylist used in her shop to get the look.
Whether you’re going for a touch-up or a radical new look, always pay close
attention to the tools and methods the stylist uses on your hair.
Ask what they’re doing and why they’re doing it to your hair.
Then, print out this overview of the steps to great hair (including the real pros’
secrets) and use it to recreate the professional look at home.
Apply the options below that work for your hair and your style and you will have a
lot fewer bad-hair days between salon visits!
The Down
and Dirty About Shampooing:
When to wash and when to skip it
There are three reasons to shampoo:
*First off, to remove the stuff your hair attracts from environmental dirt and
pollutants. Things like dust, smoke, chlorine or salt if you’re swimming, and all the nasty things cars belch
into the air if you live in an urban or suburban area.
*Then, there’s the oil that your scalp produces. You need those oils to protect your
scalp and hair but after a few days (more or less depending on your skin type) they start to cling to your hair
giving you that stringy look.
*Perspiration can also soil your hair. If you’re a gym rat, you’re gonna have to
wash more often.
Shampooing too often strips the hair of the protective oils so try to schedule as
many days between washes as you can stand. If you have a choice between washing today or tomorrow, I recommend
waiting.
But, there’s no hard-and-fast rule of how often to shampoo. You have to pay
attention to what kind of environment you’re in, your activities’ effect on your hair, and how much oil your
skin type secretes.
We all know our busy schedules have to be factored in too – if you shampoo when you
don’t have time to finish styling correctly, you’re not going to end up with great looking hair.
Types of products:
The #1 question is always…
“are professional brands sold in salons and beauty supply stores really any
better than drugstore brands?”
Short answer: “YES”… and here’s
why:
Drugstore Brands of shampoo are made with the cheapest possible ingredients. Read
the label of any shampoo and you’re likely to find lots of stuff with names you can’t pronounce. But the cheaper
the final product, the cheaper the ingredients that go into it.
“Name” Brands come in two categories:
The product-only producers like Wella, L’Oreal, and such that you can buy in beauty
supply stores (and through my website HairByMonica.com)…
… and the private label products commissioned by and for stylists and specialty
salons like Bumble & Bumble and Paul Mitchell (which you can also buy through my website
HairByMonica.com).
You should know that many shops require the stylists working
there to use their approved brands and that the stylists make a commission on product sales.
**You should also know that if you’re going to a salon and a stylist that
makes your hair look great, using their products is the easy way to keep your hair looking good between
visits.
For more specific recommendations for your hair type, visit HairByMonica online.
Step By Step Shampoo Instructions:
Wetting Your Hair
It’s important to thoroughly wet your hair before starting to apply product.
Especially if you have long or thick hair, be sure you give it time under the running water to get completely
soaked.
Use lukewarm water, probably cooler than you prefer to shower in.
Amount of Product
Pour enough into your palms to start a lather. You can always add more so start
small – a quarter’s worth – to use only as much as the volume of hair you’re washing requires.
Application of
Product
Start at your scalp and work down to the ends. Don’t rub, just smooth the lathered
up shampoo onto the strands.
When you have a light covering, which may require additional product, move onto the
next step.
Working Product Through Your Hair
You don’t want to create tangles or stress your hair with vigorous rubbing. Use your
finger tips (not your nails) on your scalp to loosen any dead skin and oily residues. Gently rub hair strands
between your hands, working from the head to the ends.
Rinsing
Tilt your head back and allow the water to run from your head to the ends of your
hair. Gently run your fingers through your hair to be sure all the shampoo is rinsed out.
Start with the lukewarm water and gradually add colder water (or turn down the hot
water) until your hair is cool through-out.
To Repeat or Not
Usually not. Modern shampoos are designed to wash with one application. Unless you
are removing paint or some particularly stubborn substance, one treatment with shampoo should do it.
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