Let's talk about... Hair

If you've been reading my blog, you've probably noticed I have a lot of hair. It's long, and without tooting my own horn, it's really healthy. As a result, I get asked a lot what my secret is. I'm blessed with fast growing hair, and there's not much that can really be done about that for people who don't. But I can certainly tell you how to make your hair healthier because healthier hair is shinier and more manageable hair, and that's what we all want. So, I figured I'd share my hair care routine for the benefit of everyone who asks.

I don’t believe you need to spend a million dollars to have shiny, healthy, happy hair. You just need to know what your hair needs. Here’s my list of products, but what you need might be different. Feel free to ask for recommendations if you need help with a specific hair problem – I can probably help.

1.

Original & Mineral’s ‘Seven Day Miracle Mask’ is best hair mask I’ve ever encountered for keeping your hair shiny, soft, healthy, and manageable as well as free of split ends. Just leave it in once a week for anywhere between 2 – 10 minutes (about how long it takes me to shave my legs lol) and you’ll be left with luscious hair. It has made the biggest difference to my hair of everything I use. It’s $29.95 per bottle and lasts me about 6 - 8 months.

2.

Lush's Ultimate Shine, $13.50. I know you're looking at it saying... is that a bar of soap? That was my first reaction to this product too. But then I tried it, and I was hooked. You just rub it into your head like you’d rub soap onto your body, work it through (it has a super duper creamy lather), and ta da, shiny, perfect hair that smells fantastic. It lasts up to 100 washes and works perfectly in conjunction with...

3.

Veganese, a liquid conditioner from Lush. It's very hydrating and leaves your hair soft. It smells INSANELY like lemons; it's such a fresh scent to wake up with of a morning. It really helps with tangles too. I normally use about three good squirts of this stuff per wash, so the 250ML bottle lasts awhile. It's $23.50.

4.

Batiste Dry Shampoo, about $9.50 from supermarkets. The blush variety smells a lot like baby powder and is perfect for keeping oil out of my fringe, as well as those days I'm running late and don't have time to wash my hair before I run out the door for work.

5.

After every wash, I get out and work through Prive’s Leave In Treatment. It helps a lot when it comes to combing the knots out, and leaves you hair manageable and soft. It’s $39.95 per bottle, and my bottle lasts about 9 months, so shorter hair would get even longer out of it.

6.

Another fabulous, cross my heart, hope to die favorite is Godiva by Lush. This $13.50 per bar is a solid 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner, perfect for days when you are in a hurry and need to get straight into the shower and out again and still have beautiful hair once the wash is over.

So my total hair care costs for 6 months supply is about $100 AU. Not too bad when you think about what salons ask for shampoo, conditioner and treatments! To compare, when I was buying the John Frieda range, I was spending about $150 for 6 months, and my hair wasn't as nice.

Other tips...

• Take it easy on harsh dyes and heated implements like straighteners, irons, curling wands and blow dryers - they damage the hair quicker than anything else.
• Always brush gently - pulling too hard on knots just causes breakages along the hair shaft. A brush is better than a comb for getting knots out too. Trust me!
• Don't rub vigorously with your towel after a shower, just pat. I find using an old t-shirt works better too than using a towel, it leaves your hair smoother.
• Regular trims, even when growing your hair, are essential. As damage in your hair worsens from neglect, the damage moves further and further up the hair shaft, meaning when you finally do go for a trim, the hair dresser will have to take more hair to get rid of the damage, which defeats the purpose. My hairdresser normally only trims half an inch at most to get rid of any dead ends when I visit her once every 8 - 12 weeks.
• Be careful not to have your hair under your handbag strap. Pulling it out from under the strap damages the hair shaft. 

Do you have any hair care suggestions of your own? What products do you love? Have you tried any of these? Let me know!

Love WTP x

P.S. This is not a sponsored post - I genuinely love and use these products. But I must thank the fabulous PR team over at Lush for originally introducing me to their hair products.